Subject: U.S. Government, Social Studies
Grade Level: 11-12
Introduction for Teachers
This WebQuest was developed by The Dirksen Congressional Center
to introduce students to information on the Internet about how
members of Congress vote on issues. By accessing the voting records
of individual members, it is possible to determine who is conservative,
who is liberal. This exercise uses a unique resource developed
by ProgressivePunch that shows the voting performance of members
within 125 different issue categories. This database can be searched
in several different ways, as the ProgressivePunch
Web site explains.
The Task for Learners
You are fresh out of college with a degree in hand indicating
a major in political science. You have worked in local political
campaigns and are now eager to move to the next level - actually
working in government. Although your fellow class members questioned
your sanity, you moved to the nation's capital, found an apartment,
and began to search for a job. After looking through the classified
ads in the Capitol Hill newspaper, The
Hill, you have settled on seeking the position of legislative
assistant to a member of the House of Representatives. There
is one problem, however, for whom do you want to work? You have
always thought of yourself as a liberal on most issues, and you
think you would be most comfortable working for someone who views
the issues the same way you do. But how to determine who that
might be? Your task is to select the House member you want to
work for.
You have the following tasks ahead of you:
- Finding out what a legislative assistant to a Congress member
does
- Consulting a Capitol Hill newspaper to find job openings
- Visiting a Web site that compiles the voting records of members
of Congress
- Deciding how to locate a liberal House member
- Learning more about that member
The Process
1. Find out what a legislative assistant to a Congress member
does. You may consult the following sources on CongressLink: http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_staffpositions.htm and http://www.congresslink.org/print_expert_communicating.htm.
Write a job description for the legislative assistant position
you seek.
2. Compare your job description to actual listings in the Capitol
Hill newspaper, The
Hill. Keep in mind that lobbying firms also employ legislative
assistants, so it's ok to look at those classified ads, too,
as examples of what the position encompasses. You may have to
look at more than one issue of The Hill to find an example.
3. Go to the ProgressivePunch
Web site. Choose the "Select by Score" for House of Representatives
option for searching the database. This process will rank House
members by their progressive, or liberal, score. Click on two
or three links to members for details about their scores. Compare
their voting records to determine (a) how their score was derived
and (2) on what issues the members differ. Select the House
member for whom you want to work.
4. Go to CongressLink, the 109th
Congress, and find the link to the Web site of the member
you've chosen. Write a letter of application to the Member
indicating how you will assist him or her in their work.
5. OPTIONS. You may use this exercise for the Senate as well
as the House or to identify a conservative member as well as
a liberal one.
The Resources
1. CongressLink: http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_staffpositions.htm, http://www.congresslink.org/print_expert_communicating.htm, http://www.congresslink.org/index2.htm
2. ProgressivePunch: http://www.progressivepunch.org/
3. The Hill: http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Classifieds/Employment/index.html |
