US Congress for Kids: Over 200 Years of Lawmaking, Deal-Breaking, and Compromising, with 21 Activities
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS hank you to LaVergne Rosow and Lauren Okayama for your helpful activity sug gestions Thank you Dale Beck my first editor who is always there Thank you Ellen Hornor editorial assistant at Chicago Review Press for your quick responses to my inquiries And of course a special thanks to Lisa Reardon senior editor at Chicago Review Press for all your encouragement and professionalism Finally a special debt of gratitude to my wife Karen for all you do in aiding my writing
FOREWORD t’s an exciting time to learn about Congress and our government Congress truly is a body of the people by the people and for the people Together members of Congress repre sent the entire nation bringing with them a range of diverse backgrounds interests and experiences to make decisions on behalf of the American people The Constitution confers great power upon Congress to govern Throughout history the work of the Congress has greatly changed the nation It abolished slavery and created new federal programs under President Roosevelt s New Deal to bring the country out of the Great Depression It passed civil rights laws to end racist practices and established environmental protections to guarantee the safety of the air we breathe and the water we drink It changed the landscape of national security after Sep tember 11 and passed landmark health care reform to provide better health care to all Americans Many of the most important figures in our nation's history have been members of Congress Approximately half of this country's
served in Congress Many members of the Cabinet including secretaries of state served in Congress Even Davy Crockett was a member of Congress from Tennessee The legislature is the branch of government that most directly allows you to participate and have your voice heard Your member of Congress carries your voice to Washington and fights for you and your fam ilies When you begin voting at age 18 you can choose the best candidate to represent your interests And when you turn 25 you can run for Congress yourself and make important choices for your coun try FORMER CONGRESSMAN HENRY A WAXMAN served for 40 years in the House of Representatives repre senting Los Angeles's Westside The congressman was known as a tireless author of bills and negotiator of deals He retired with the end of the 113th Con gress effective January 2
