Report #4: Representation in the U.S. House

You are to write a brief report on a current member of the U.S. House of Representatives that I will randomly assign to you. A list of assignments for each student will appear in this week’s block by the third week of classes. Before beginning this assignment, make certain that you have read Chapter 11 in your text (“Congress”). The only source you will need for writing the report is the Project Vote Smart web site. The link is provided below. Using the tabs at the top of the website, locate the information needed for answering the questions below. The report should contain three separate sections that address all the points in each set of questions. Notice the expected word count for each section (exceeding the word count will not negatively affect your grade, but please try to stay within the range).

1. Provide basic biographical information about the member. What is their current or past occupation, education level, party affiliation, past political experiences, leadership positions held, etc.? This information can be found under the “Bio” tab. (approximately 150-200 words)

2. Characterize the member’s typical roll call voting patterns based on their votes on specific issues and rating scores compiled by interest groups (found under “Votes” and “Ratings” tabs). Would you describe the member’s voting as mostly conservative, mostly liberal, or somewhere in between? Cite examples of votes to justify your characterization. (approximately 150-200 words)

3. Where does the member receive the bulk of their campaign contributions (found under “Funding”

tab)? What industries or professions provide a significant portion of the member’s campaign funds? Provide examples. (approximately 150-200 words)

Be careful not to plagiarize. If you want to quote directly, do so using quotation marks (giving the page number if available). But try to do this sparingly and simply use your own words in addressing the questions. In your writing, use an analytical tone that is free of your personal opinions. In other words, try to answer the questions in a straightforward and objective manner. When you are done, save the document as a Word file or as an Adobe PDF file (it cannot be Google docs, etc.) and upload it through Moodle (these parts are very important!). Papers not uploaded by the deadline will receive a grade penalty. WARNING: This is an individual assignment and you are to do your own work. Use of another person’s words without proper citation or copying from another student’s paper is considered plagiarism. All papers are checked and retained in a plagiarism software program to identify cheating. Any suspicion of plagiarism or other violations of the university’s academic conduct policies are turned over to the Dean of Students.

PLEASE NOTE: When using the Project Vote Smart web site, you will be asked to make a financial contribution to their organization. It is not necessary to contribute in order to use their web site. Link to the site: Project Vote Smart