Researching Members in the U.S. House of Representatives

Researching Members in the U.S. House of Representatives

1. Click to find your member in the House of Representatives: Find Your Representative

To learn about your state’s member(s) in the House of Representatives, click here: C-SPAN’s Congressional Chronicle

From the drop-down arrow on the website, select your state to view your state’s representative(s).

How many total members are in your state?

Provide the number for each political party that is represented.

Consider the political party representation in your state, how could that impact policy decisions that are made in your community?

2. From the list of members in your state, choose the person who represents your district and click on the name. Then, click the “Official Bio” link under the photo and complete the charts below with the given information.

________________________________                      _____________                  _____________                        Name                                                              State                                  District   _______________________________       _________          ___________________________                        Title (if indicated)                        Party                     Years in Congress

 

 

3. Work Experience before Congress?

 

 

Education

 

 

4. Click on the Twitter link beneath the person’s photo if it is available and complete the chart.

Number of People Following:	Number of Followers:
Evaluate tweets you see in this person’s feed. Some ideas to consider are: what is this person doing in your state or DC, which issues are being discussed, what position does this person take, explain why you agree/disagree with the content, how would you respond

 

5. Committees

On your representative’s page, scroll down to the “Committees” section. Respond to the questions below.

On which committees does your representative serve?

Choose one committee to explore. Click here: House of Representatives Committees to learn about that committee, then go to the “About” page and read about it. What is the purpose of this committee?

Explain how these committees relate to the representative’s experience or background:

 

6. Positions on the Issues

What are some issues that are important to you, and what position do you take on these issues? Here are some ways to see what positions your representative has taken on these issues:

1. Search their official website (lastname.house.gov or lastname.senate.gov) for words related to your issue. Do they announce their position? Have they made statements? Do they mention a vote they took?
2. Go to votesmart.org, enter your representative’s name, and click on the VOTES folder. Here you will see how they voted on recent high-profile bills, like the infrastructure bill. You can also use the drop-down menu to choose an issue area you care about
3. On votesmart.org, click the RATINGS folder. Many interest groups give ratings (0-100%, A-F) to elected officials to inform their supporters which elected officials are on their side. Look for groups who take your position on issues you care about, and see what rating they gave your representative.  

7. Votes

On your representative’s page, scroll down to the “Votes” section and complete the information in the charts.

Voting Record	Recorded Votes	Missed Votes	Votes Against the Majority	Party Line Votes	Featured Votes

 

Based on the data in your chart, explain your representative’s voting record as it relates to their political party.

 

8. Bills

On your representative’s page, scroll down to the related sections below and complete the information in the charts.

Bills Sponsored	Bills Passed	Bills Failed	Amendments	Co-Sponsored Bills

 

Click on several of the blue text links in the “Bills” section on the page to view the bills your representative has supported. In the space below, explain some of the issues that are reflected in the bills.

9. Evaluation

The point of your essay, which will be due on Dec 7, 2021, and should be 3-5 double-spaced pages long, is to evaluate your member of Congress, using your research. You should decide, based on your own values and political interests, and what you have learned about your member of Congress, whether you would support that person or seek another candidate in the coming election.

I am asking you to write a paper that makes an argument, based on evidence, that the representative is or is not worthy of your support.  This requires you to make normative judgements – you might want a representative who prioritizes lowering taxes, while I might prefer a representative who supports adequate funding for public schools. I will judge your paper on how well you articulate your values, and how thoroughly and accurately you judge your representative according to YOUR stated values. I am not grading you on your values/interests/views, but on your articulation of them and how well you research your rep’s actions, and evaluate them in light of your views.

In considering what your expectations are, think about these questions (you don’t have to consider all of these, but try a few:

• Do you identify yourself with a party? Why or why not? Is your representative of the same party as you? If so, do you consider him or her a good representative of your party?
• What issues are important to you? What positions would you like your representative to take? Do his or her votes, interest group ratings, and other actions or information, lead you to think he or she is good or bad, from your perspective, on these issues?
• What issues does the representative appear to consider most important – ones he or she seems to be spending the most time on, ones that he or she highlights on their website? What do you think about their choices?
• What else would matter to you in deciding whether to support or not support a candidate?

How would you find the information you need to answer these questions?

• First, Review the data you collected in your charts. What does this information tell you about them and how supportive and effective they are on issues that you care about?
• You can look at the elected official’s own website — what do you learn about them? What issues do they prioritize?
• You can look at the information provided at Vote Smart (votesmart.org), which collects speeches, voting records, and interest group ratings for elected officials.
• You can search Google News or Proquest. Has your representative’s name been in the news (“Congressman makes great speech”? or “Congressman arrested for petty theft”?) News articles may also inform you whether someone is running against the incumbent, and if so what their criticisms of the incumbent are.

Please remember that I am not asking you to write a profile or biography of a member of Congress. I don’t want you to tell me where they went to high school or college. Biographical details should only be included if they influence an elected official’s views or your evaluation of them. Such a paper will receive a grade no higher than a D.

Please cite your sources, using Chicago Author-Date style.

 

 

 

APA

 

 

 

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