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1
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- Richard Fenno argues that power
as well as reelection incentives direct the Washington careers of
members of Congress
- He assesses separately members' behavior in Washington and in their
electoral Districts.
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2
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- In his early work on Congress, Congressmen in Committees (1973), Fenno
pointed out that the incentives of members of Congress fall generally
into three categories:
- (1) reelection,
- (2) internal power and influence on Capitol Hill, and
- (3) good public policy
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3
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- Member incentives explain the multiplicity and variety of congressional
committees.
- Committees are the venues that help members achieve their reelection,
personal power, and good public policy goals.
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4
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- House Agriculture
- House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittees Aviation Coast Guard & Maritime
Transportation Economic Development, Public Buildings,
& Emergency Management Highways, Transit &
Pipelines Railroads Water Resources & Environment
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5
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- House Ways and Means (also serves reelection)
- House Committee on Rules
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- House Committee on Appropriations
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6
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- Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- House Committee on Education and the Workforce
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7
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- When we speak of constituency careers, we speak primarily of the pursuit
of the goal of reelection.
- When we speak of Washington careers, we speak primarily of the pursuit
of the goals of influence in the House and the making of good public
policy.
- Thus the intertwining of careers is, at bottom, an intertwining of
member goals.
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8
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- So long as they are in the expansionist stage of their constituency
careers, House members will be especially attentive to their home base.
- They will pursue the goal of reelection with single-minded intensity and
will allocate their resources disproportionately to that end.
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9
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- "The trouble is," said one member near the end of his second
term," I haven't been a congressman yet. The first two years, I
spent all of my time getting myself reelected. The last two years, I
spent getting myself a district so that I could get reelected. So I
won't be a congressman until next year."
- By being "a congressman" he means pursuing goals above and
beyond that of reelection (i.e., power in the House and good public
policy).
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10
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- No matter how confident members may be of their ability to pursue their
Washington and their constituency careers simultaneously, however, they
all recognize the potentiality of conflict and worry about coping with
it.
- It is our guess that the conflict between the reelection goal on the one
hand and the power or policy goals on the other hand becomes most acute
for members as they near the peak of influence internally
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11
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- The congressman's home activities are more difficult and taxing than we
have previously recognized.
- Under the best of circumstances, the tension involved in maintaining
constituency contact and achieving legislative competence is
considerable.
- Members cannot be in two places at once, and the growth of a Washington
career exacerbates the problem. But, more than that, the demands in both
places have grown recently.
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12
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- It is conventional wisdom in the nation's capital that senators and
representatives "get Potomac fever" and that " they don’t
go back to Pocatello" when
their legislative careers end.
- Having pursued the goals of power and policy in Washington with
increasing success, they prefer, it is said, to continue their
Washington career in some nonlegislative job rather than to go back
home.
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