The American Legislative Process: Congress and the States

I. LEGISLATURES AND LEGISLATORS IN THE POLITICAL SYSTEM. 1. The Legislative Task. 2. Legislative Structures and Powers. 3. Representation and Apportionment. 4. Legislators and the Electoral Process. 5. The Legislators. II. THE LEGISLATIVE STRUCTURE FOR DECISION MAKING. 6. The Committee System. 7. Committees at Work. 8. Debate and Decision Making on the Floor. III. LEGISLATURES, PARTIES, AND INTERESTS. 9. Political Parties and the Legislative Process. 10. Interest Groups and the Legislative Process. IV. INTERACTION WITH THE EXECUTIVE AND THE COURTS. 11. The Chief Executive as Legislator. 12. Legislative Oversight of Bureaucracy. 13. Legislative-Judicial Relations. V. CONCLUSION. 14. The Legislative Process: Problems and Perspectives. Index.