Having read the chapter, you should be able to do each of the following:

1. Define each of Congress’s three major policymaking functions: legislation, representation, and oversight. Analyze to what degree these roles overlap or compete.
2. Briefly describe how the increasing preoccupation of representatives with local concerns has affected their ability to carry out each of the above functions.
3. Comment on the effect of partisanship on congressional effectiveness. Summarize recent trends in the rise and fall of partisan and other influences on voting patterns.
4. Assess how the decentralization of power in Congress affects the institution’s policymaking capacity.