Contact: Maridith Geuder
To give junior high and high school students--and their parents--a better understanding of American constitutional processes and civic life, Mississippi State now offers a new Internet web site.
Titled "How Congress Works," the PowerPoint presentation was developed by a team at the university's Mitchell Memorial Library and John C. Stennis Institute of Government to describe the history of Congress and, using actual case studies, illustrate the legislative process. The presentation is available at http://library.msstate.edu/congressional/research_center.asp and also at http://www.sig.msstate.edu.
Michael B. Ballard, archivist and coordinator of the library's Congressional and Political Research Center, developed the project with library colleague Craig S. Piper and Stennis Institute research analyst Stephen Williams.
"Our goal is to show the human side of government," Piper said. "Presented in simple, understandable language, this project illustrates how congressional decisions affect everyone."
Methods of introducing legislation, types of legislation and the typical path a bill follows through Congress to the president's desk are among topics covered. Web site visitors also are introduced to congressional committees and their roles in the legislative process, with links provided to additional committee information.
Additionally, "How Congress Works" offers insights into both interactions between Congress and the executive branch and the motivations and personalities that drive legislation.
Using the 1973 War Powers Act as a vehicle, the web site invites visitors to follow the act's development and ultimate passage over President Richard M. Nixon's veto. Growing out of conflicts during the Vietnam War between the executive and legislative branches, the WPA requires presidents to consult with Congress before involving American armed forces in military hostilities. (Stennis, then Mississippi's junior senator and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was a co-sponsor of the document.)
"This web site will provide a variety of constantly changing examples that portray the dynamic nature of the legislative process," Williams explained.
In addition to Stennis, MSU's Congressional and Political Research Center houses the papers of former United States representatives G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, David R. Bowen, Charles Griffin, and Mike Espy, and current 3rd District Rep. Chip Pickering. Rounding out the collection are papers of the late Wiley Carter, former chief aide to Sen. Thad Cochran, and Wayne Weidie, chief of staff for Rep. Gene Taylor.
The library center and Stennis Institute jointly produce a quarterly newsletter titled "We the People" and co-sponsor a school-year lecture series featuring a variety of political leaders.
For more information on "How Congress Works," telephone Ballard and Piper at (662) 325-7680 or Williams at 325-6693.