Act of Congress: How America's Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn't

A Washington Post Notable Book

An eye-opening account of how Congress today really works—and how it doesn’t— Act of Congress focuses on two of the major players behind the sweeping financial reform bill enacted in response to the Great Crash of 2008: colorful, wisecracking congressman Barney Frank, and careful, insightful senator Christopher Dodd, both of whom met regularly with Robert G. Kaiser during the eighteen months they worked on the bill. In this compelling narrative, Kaiser shows how staffers play a critical role, drafting the legislation and often making the crucial deals. Kaiser’s rare insider access enabled him to illuminate the often-hidden intricacies of legislative enterprise and shows us the workings of Congress in all of its complexity, a clearer picture than any we have had of how Congress works best—or sometimes doesn’t work at all.

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• How Congress Works and Why You Should Care
• The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives
• A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped OurConstitution: Revised Edition
• Andrew Jackson and the Bank War (Norton Essays in American History)
• Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence
• Congress and Its Members
• Bailout: How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street
• Congress Reconsidered