Congress and the Public Teacher Resource Component: Contemporary News Analyses

Burek, Josh. “Will the 112th Congress Work Hard—or Hardly Work?” Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2011. Available at: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Editorial- Board-Blog/2011/0104/Will-the-112th-Congress-work-hard-or-hardly-work

Burek discusses the reaction to the new legislative calendar created by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA). Supporters of this new legislative schedule like the “less is more” approach that it brings, while critics say it amounts to a “Do-Nothing Congress.”

DeRusha, Jason. “Good Question: Does Calling Your Congressman Help?” CBS News Minnesota, July 26, 2011. Available at: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/07/26/good- question-does-calling-your-congressman-help/

DeRusha reports on public attempts to influence members of Congress by following President Obama’s suggestion that the public contact its Representatives regarding the debt ceiling standoff between the President and Congress. This article confirms that staffers track public opinion when calls are made to Congressional offices, and first-hand stories from constituents hold the most clout.

O’Keefe, Eric and Aaron Steelman. “The End of Representation: How Congress Stifles Electoral Competition.” Cato Institute, August 20, 1997. Available at: http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-279.html

O’Keefe and Steelman explain the many reasons why the reelection rates for incumbents is so high in the United States Congress. Some of the key topics discussed in this essay are: pork- barrel spending, constituent service, franking privilege, the use of the internet, campaign finance, gerrymandering, and proposals for reform.

O’Meara, Kelly Patricia. “For Constituents, Help is on the Hill.” Insight on the News: A Publication of the Washington Times, February 22, 1999. Available at: http://dreier.house.gov/ins022299.htm

In this commentary, O’Meara provides insight on the over 1,100 Congressional aides who handle the constituent services for individual members of the House of Representatives. Highlighting a variety of successful casework stories, O’Meara demonstrates the importance of constituent services to the success of Congress members.

Polis, Jared. “Commentary: This isn’t much of a Recess for Congress.” CNN, August 6, 2009. Available at: http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-06/politics/polis.congress_1_health-care-interns- congress?_s=PM:POLITICS

U.S. Representative Jared Polis (D-CO, 2009-present) discusses his experiences as a freshman in Congress and shares how much he enjoys traveling across his district to meet with constituents. He considers participating in constituent services as “less stress and more fun,” than his legislative duties.