Spring 2010
PSC 312 “Adopt-a-Freshman” Paper Assignment
Posted February 3, 2010
Due Friday, April 9, at 5 PM (either turn in during class on Wed. Apr. 7, or e-mail it through E-Learning)

Go to http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freshman_Members_of_the_111th_Congress#House_freshmen

There you will find an alphabetical list of House members elected for the first time in 2008. You may write your paper about EITHER of the freshmen whose last names bracket your last name. For example, since my last name is Borrelli, if I were doing this assignment I could choose between either John Boccieri (D-OH) or Bobby Bright (D-AL).

Imagine you are working as intern for a lobbying firm with several clients interested in health care policy and reform. Your assignment is to find out as much politically relevant information about your assigned freshman as possible, that might be useful for your lobbyist boss as he or she prepares to meet with this freshman for the first time.

Your paper should be organized as follows, with the following subheadings. You should try to answer as many questions as possible within each subheading, but you should not feel constrained to answer every single question in exactly the order I present them below; feel free to vary the order, or to present additional or alternative information beyond (or instead of) what is specifically requested. Pay special attention to any and all data that might have some relevance for lobbying on health care issues.

1.) THE DISTRICT (2-3 pp.) Describe the member’s district: geographically, economically, demographically (the latter includes information about race, population growth, education levels, poverty and/or income, ethnicity, etc.), and politically Your economic discussion should cover major industries, businesses, and employers in the district (including actual company names if they are familiar), agricultural products (if any) and recent trends (for example, how this area has fared in the current recession). Your political discussion may include the results of the 2004 or 2008 presidential elections in the district, past representatives or other political celebrities in the area, ideology, and/or party registration (if the state registers voters by party). To help the lobbyist make “small talk,” you might also want to find some interesting factoids about historical, tourist, and/or environmental/natural attractions found in the district.

Possible sources: http://www.census.gov/mp/www/cat/decennial_census_2000/census_2000_congressional_district_summary_file_109th_congress.html, Congressman’s own website (or links it may contain), accessible through www. house.gov
Library reference books: Almanac of American Politics, Politics in America (any editions after 2002), Congressional Districts in the 2000s

2.) PRE-ELECTION BIOGRAPHY AND ELECTION CAMPAIGN. (2-3 pp.) In brief, tell the story of how your assigned freshman came to be a member of Congress. This should include his or her educational background and previous political and non-political job experience, as well as information about the campaign (was there both a primary and a general election, who the opponent was (or opponents were), what the major issues or events in the campaign were, how close the result was, and/or what “lessons” you think might be drawn from the campaign).

Possible sources: Hometown newspapers online, politics websites, member’s own website, http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/main.results, / for elecdtion results; http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory/browse-cd-09.html for biographical information
Library reference books: Almanac of American Politics, Politics in America (must be current editions in order to contain freshmen))
Use Wikipedia only as a last resort!

3.) COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITIES (2 pp). Find out what committees your freshman was assigned to, what issues those committees have jurisdiction over, and how these issues may or may not be relevant to the member’s district (why might your member have sought out membership on these committees, and how pleased you think he or she is with the assignments). Then, find and report on an example of your member’s involvement with one of his or her committees during the last two years (something he or she might have said at a hearing or a markup session, or an amendment he or she might have offered at a committee markup).

Possible sources: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory/browse-cd-09.html for committee assignments; committee websites (accessible through www.house.gov)

4.) FLOOR ACTIVITY (2 pp.) Offer a sample of some of the legislation your member has cosponsored (again, keep an eye out for legislation related to health care), and speculate as to why your member might have wanted his or her name associated these bills. Then, find out whether he or she was the principal sponsor of a bill or floor amendment during the previous two years, and give a quick summary of what this legislation was about (if there was more than one bill, choose the one that most interests you or might interest your boss).

Sources: http://thomas.loc.gov, searchable by member name

5.) SPEECH (1 – 2 pp.) Quote something from remarks your member has made on the floor (as reported in the Congressional Record), and again speculate as to why you think this member made the effort to “go public” with this particular statement.

Sources: http://thomas.loc.gov, searchable by member name