ABSTRACT
Belittling the Congress is a venerable national pastime. Lord Bryce observed in the nineteenth century that "Americans are especially fond of running down their Congressmen". As complex organizations faced with a demanding workload, the Senate and the House of Representatives have evolved elaborate procedures for processing legislation. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives boast a large number of work groups—committees, subcommittees, task forces, party committees, informal caucuses, and factional groupings. As a result of the proliferation of work groups, the path of legislation through the House and Senate—always subject to twists and turns—has become even more convoluted and nearly impossible to describe to outsiders. The members of the Congress are by and large men and women with a long-term attachment to their political party. Despite the impression of some that the Congress is remote and unresponsive, it is more than ever affected by the activities of individuals and groups.
