POLS101 - Identify one of your two US Congressional Senators

POL S 101

1. VALUES:  Listed below arekey values one considers when thinking about public policy and voting.  Determine your top three values which will be used in the paper.

1. Freedom      6.  Justice

2. Diversity        7.  Self-Reliance

3. Equality          8.  Community

4. Cooperation  9. Stability

5. Security          10.  Democracy

REPORT PARAMETERS:

You are requested to research information about your representatives in the US Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) and the California Legislature (Senate and Assembly), followed by a short analysis thatincludes the results from Number 1. Suggestion is to use primary headers to ensure you cover all areas. 

Key websites to help you get started are www.congress.gov for the US Congress and www.legislature.ca.gov for the California State Legislature. However, information from the representatives’ websites should be verified, expanded upon or countered with information from other sites.

REPORT OUTLINE

I. Introduction:Introduce the paper in 1-2 sentences.

II. The US Congress (20 Points)

A. Your US Congressional Senator:

1. Identify one of your two US Congressional Senators in Glendale, California.

2. Give a short description of the individual, party affiliation, how long holding the seat, when up for re-election

3. Review bills, issue, regulations, or policies that your senator engages on and select ONE of significance.  Briefly outlinethe issue, note your views on what appealed to you and why you thought this issue was important. Conversely, note what worried you about this issue and why you think attention to it is important. Trace the issue to the US Constitution by Article, amendment, etc.

 

B. Your CongressionalRepresentative

1. Identify the number and name of your congressional districtin Glendale, California and briefly discuss features and/or demographics.

2. Identify your Congressional Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives.

3. Give a short description of the individual, party affiliation, how long holding the seat, when up for re-election.

4. Review bills, issue, regulations, or policies that your senator engages on and select ONE Briefly outline the issue, note your views on what appealed to you and why you thought this issue was important. Conversely, note what worried you about this issue and why you think attention to it is important. Trace the issue to the US Constitution by Article, amendment, etc.

 

III. TheCaliforniaState Legislature (15Points)

A. YourCaliforniaState Senator

1. Identify your California State Senator for Glendale, California’s district.

2. Note his/her party affiliation, how long holding the seat, when up for re-election.

3. Select ONE bill, issue, regulation, or policy that your senator engages on and briefly discuss.  Note your views on why/not you think the topic/issue is a) important and b) relevant to your life.

B. Your California State DistrictAssemblyMember

1. Identify Your California state district assemblymember in Glendale, California.

2. Note the district number, boundaries and demographics.

3. Select ONE issue, regulation, or policy that your assembly person engages on and briefly outline. 

IV. Analysis:and Recommendations (20points)

A. Outline which if any of your representatives or senators (or a voting bloc constituency) you would you support or not and outline why. 

? Consider including as you answer, whether typology or values impacted your vote. For example

1. Did you base your support on your values or your typology aligning with the candidate? (You do not need to divulge theactual values/party affiliation in the document unless you prefer)

• Was it a certain policy decision (s)? Was it an overall voting record? 

• Was is character, likeability, years in service, name recognition etc.?

• Other?

B.  If you could offer any recommendations to this particular lawmaker on the main issue discussed or on how he/she conducts affairs as a people’s representative, what would it be?

C. Conclusion: Discuss the lessons you learned from doing this assignmentin relation to government and politics, and any relevance to youpersonally as a citizen/student.

V. Annexes: (5points)On separate pages, not counted as part of the 4-5 pages document

A. Appendix:Providecontact information for each of your representatives including e-mail, phone, mailing address, social media

B. Sources:Bibliography, using correct formatting from MLA or another credible source.