PS: Political Science and Politics | Political Science Now

APSA Fellowship with the Congressional Research Service

July 11, 2016 By APSA

The latest virtual issue of PS features articles written by alumni of the Congressional Fellowship Program (CFP) from 2010 to 2015. The CFP fellows serve yearlong placements in congressional and executive offices, and they chronicle their firsthand experiences in the pages of PS. Enjoy the full virtual issue here.

APSA Fellowship with the Congressional Research Service

Anthony Madonna, The University of Georgia

“Serving as an APSA Congressional Fellow had been a goal of mine since I started graduate school. The fellowship provided an opportunity to examine the congressional policy-making process first hand. And while I had worked on congressional campaigns, in state legislative offices, and supervised student internships, I had no direct experience working on Capitol Hill for Congress. In addition, the program was highly recommended by senior colleagues who had served as fellows themselves. Nearly all of them had worked on the staffs of individual congressional members and found the experience served to better inform both their research and teaching. When I found out I would be serving as a fellow for the 2012–13 academic year, my plan was to spend that year in a congressional member office as well.

In addition to House or Senate member offices, the two-month fellowship orientation exposed me to other types of assignments fellows could receive. This included working for committees in either chamber, as well as legislative and executive branch agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, Congressional Budget Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Congressional Research Service, among others. Settling on a type of assignment was difficult, as each one had its own advantages. To make an informed decision on this question, I did what I do best: relentlessly hassled more knowledgeable people for advice. This included former fellows, undergraduate students, other political scientists, and friends from college and graduate school working on the Hill…” Read More.

PS: Political Science & Politics / Volume 46 / Issue 03 / July 2013, pp 700-701

A Glimpse of History: Working for the House Majority Whip in the Early Days of the 111th Congress

July 7, 2016 By APSA

A Glimpse of History: Working for the House Majority Whip in the Early Days of the 111th Congress

Bryan W. Marshall, Miami University

“The rapidity, duration, and intensity of it all caught me by surprise. Nearly at a full run, I dashed through a corridor and down a winding staircase to my first morning meeting. I took a place along a wall with a few other staff, but my eyes were fixed upon the principals. Gathered around a vast table were the chairs, the majority leader, and my boss—the house majority whip. The discourse was mostly heavy—President Obama’s historic election, the burden of leadership, and the daunting task to balance politics and policy in order to deliver on the promises and hopes of the people who sent them. The immediate business was expanding children’s health insurance and a stimulus package to turn around an economy teetering on the brink. The majority leader was resolute. Congress would need to deliver bold actions in order to overcome the deep anxiety of the times and to build confidence for the long struggle ahead. The whip was equally resolute as he summoned back hard lessons from lost eras—Roosevelt’s New Deal and Truman’s Fair Deal. Congress could not allow mistakes of the past to be repeated. With a clear appreciation of history, the whip made the case for a 21st Century New Deal that ensured the poor and most vulnerable would not be left behind. No sooner did I try to reflect upon this special moment and it was time to rush off once again.” Read More.

Bryan W. Marshall is professor and Assistant Chair of the Department of Political Science at Miami University. His teaching and research focuses in the areas of Congress, congressional-executive relations, and quantitative methods. Marshall’s recent articles appear in Social Science Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Journal of Theoretical Politics, American Politics Research, and Conflict Management and Peace Science.

PS: Political Science & Politics / Volume 43 / Issue 01 / January 2010, pp 183-186

Making Sense of the Hill: A Political Scientist in Politics

July 5, 2016 By APSA

Making Sense of the Hill: A Political Scientist in Politics

Joshua Carstens Huder, University of Florida

“One of the first, and most frequent, questions asked of congressional fellows is: What do you want to get out of your fellowship? Fellowship Director Jeff Biggs, former fellows, professors, chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and members will, at one point or another, raise this topic. At an abstract level I had an answer: I sought a better understanding of the legislative process. But, at times, it felt like a trick question. At a practical level I had almost no idea what I was getting into. I had few expectations or preconceived notions about the lessons that would come over the next year. Without legislative experience to fall back on, setting out to accomplish a prearranged set of goals seemed impossible. So I took a different tact. Rather than search for expertise in a particular policy area or with a specific goal in mind, I sought a placement that would treat me unexceptionally. I set out to find an office assignment that would offer complete emersion as a congressional staffer. I fashioned myself as a miniature Clifford Geertz. I needed to get as close as possible to living the life of a full-time staffer, complete with long hours and a significant portfolio. After I came up for air at the end of my fellowship, I figured I will have learned lessons I did not necessary start out to find, but would nonetheless enhance my understanding of the institution and how those within it practice and perceive politics…” Read More.

PS: Political Science & Politics / Volume 46 / Issue 04 / October 2013, pp 875-876

Lest Congress Forgets: A Fellow’s Walk and Institutional Partisanship in Contemporary Representational Politics

July 1, 2016 By APSA

Lest Congress Forgets: A Fellow’s Walk and Institutional Partisanship in Contemporary Representational Politics

Tyson King-Meadows, University of Maryland Baltimore County

“Perhaps the most underappreciated dimension in public response to the post-Bush v. Gore controversies involving state election administration and Supreme Court jurisprudence involving the right to vote has been the central role of Congress in enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment. As a scholar of American electoral politics, legislative representation, and black political engagement, I sought placement with the House Committee on the Judiciary of the 113th Congress [hereafter the Judiciary Committee] to learn more about the history of congressional efforts to nationalize election standards and to protect voting rights. I was especially interested in examining how members of Congress thought about the recent spate of judicial rulings affecting federal election law and how members imagined the future of congressional action to address racial and socioeconomic disparities in participation and representation. Moreover, I relished the opportunity to work for Michigan Rep. John Conyers (Thirteenth District). Conyers is a founding member and the “Dean” of the Congressional Black Caucus, the first African American chair of and then-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, the second most senior member of the House, and is a member of the original enacting coalition of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965…” Read More.

PS: Political Science & Politics / Volume 47 / Issue 01 / January 2014, pp 257-259

Political Science Election Forecasts of the 2016 Presidential and Congressional Elections

June 30, 2016 By APSA

Normally around this time in a presidential election cycle — the “interregnum,” as it has come to be known — we would be waiting for the dust from the nomination campaigns to settle before moving on to the conventions and to considerations of the general election race. As you may have noticed, however, this is not a normal year. It has been anything but. No dust, just tons of rubble from two wildly contentious nomination fights left to clear away as we turn to a general election bout likely to be the political equivalent of a mixed martial arts cage fight.

So who will emerge from the cage next November?

Read the rest of the story at Sabato’s Crystal Ball. This is part one of an ongoing series. The introduction is by James E. Campbell, a UB Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. His previous books include The American Campaign and The Presidential Pulse of Congressional Elections. His latest book, Polarized: Making Sense of a Divided America, is forthcoming from Princeton University Press in July.

Capitol Hill Culture Shock: A Perspective from an Asian Fellow

June 24, 2016 By APSA

Capitol Hill Culture Shock: A Perspective from an Asian Fellow

Sa-ngopkarn Moungthong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand

“As an Asia Foundation-sponsored Thai fellow with a Foreign Service background, the obvious choice for my fellowship was with a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate who was a member of either the House Foreign Affairs or the Senate Foreign Relations Committees, and in particular the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee. That had always been my choice. But during one of the APSA Congressional Fellowship orientation sessions, when former fellows shared their experiences on Capitol Hill, I was exposed to a new idea. “The fellowship is yours, and it is up to you to make of it what you will,” said one of the former fellows. “Get out of your comfort zone and try something new,” said another on the same speaking panel. Those comments kept running through my mind when I was selecting potential offices for my fellowship. During my office selection period, I had prepared a wish list of offices I would like to work for, including both those related to Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Relations Committee, as well as those I hardly knew anything about and that had no direct connection with foreign affairs, but could potentially be good offices in which to work. Thanks to sequestration’s reduction of congressionally authorized staff positions, I was fortunate to get six interviews, and three offices offered to host me. The choice I had to make was between staying in my comfort zone and going for something new. In the end, I chose the latter…” Read More.

PS: Political Science & Politics / Volume 47 / Issue 03 / July 2014, pp 764-766

Capitol Hill Insights: Voices from the Congressional Fellowship Program

June 8, 2016 By APSA

Capitol Hill Insights: Voices from the Congressional Fellowship Program

The second virtual issue of PS: Political Science & Politics is now available online!

Entitled “Capitol Hill Insights,” the issue features articles written by alumni of APSA’s Congressional Fellowship Program and published in PS between 2010 and 2015. Each of the 24 articles pivots to a unique perspective of the fellowship experience, providing rich details and first-hand anecdotes that clarify and explain how Congress and government work.

Established in 1953, the Congressional Fellowship Program brings select scholars and professionals to Washington, DC, each year to serve fellowship placements in congressional and other offices. The articles gathered here—written by alumni who are political scientists, journalists, health policy specialists, and other domestic and international professionals—illustrate the unique first-hand insights into Congress and the legislative process provided by the fellowship experience.

Legislative Error and the “Politics of Haste”

May 27, 2016 By APSA

Legislative Error and the “Politics of Haste”

Jonathan Lewallen, University of Texas at Austin

Legislative error is an important and understudied element of the policy process. Even simple clerical mistakes—if unnoticed before enactment—can lead to ambiguity about a law’s meaning, spark political battles concerning rulemaking and implementation, and involve the courts in statutory interpretation. Understanding how and why error occurs can help us better understand how political institutions are intertwined in the design, enactment, and implementation of public policy. This article analyzes the sources of legislative error using data on corrected legislation in the US Senate from 1981 to 2012. The author finds that Senate drafting error is related to unified control of Congress and new majority parties, inexperienced committee members, and committee workload. Funding for the Senate office that helps draft legislation also can affect legislative error. In addition to bringing in different perspectives and preferences, elections can affect a legislature’s ability to draft clear, error-free statutes.

[Read more]

APSA Fellowship with the Congressional Research Service

APSA Fellowship with the Congressional Research Service

A Glimpse of History: Working for the House Majority Whip in the Early Days of the 111th Congress

A Glimpse of History: Working for the House Majority Whip in the Early Days of the 111th Congress

Making Sense of the Hill: A Political Scientist in Politics

Making Sense of the Hill: A Political Scientist in Politics

Lest Congress Forgets: A Fellow’s Walk and Institutional Partisanship in Contemporary Representational Politics

Lest Congress Forgets: A Fellow’s Walk and Institutional Partisanship in Contemporary Representational Politics

Political Science Election Forecasts of the 2016 Presidential and Congressional Elections

Capitol Hill Culture Shock: A Perspective from an Asian Fellow

Capitol Hill Culture Shock: A Perspective from an Asian Fellow

Capitol Hill Insights: Voices from the Congressional Fellowship Program

Capitol Hill Insights: Voices from the Congressional Fellowship Program

Legislative Error and the “Politics of Haste”

Legislative Error and the “Politics of Haste”

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Around the web