Leading political scientists analyze how Congress tackles - and fails to tackle - national challenges, from health care to immigration.

1. The evolving textbook Congress: polarization and policy making on Capitol Hill in the twenty-first century Jeffery A. Jenkins and Eric M. Patashnik; Part I. Congressional Policy Making in a Polarized Age: 2. Entrepreneurial politics, policy gridlock, and legislative effectiveness Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman; 3. Partisan polarization and congressional policy making Barbara Sinclair; Part II. Congress and Society: 4. Making a rainbow military: parliamentary skill and repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Rick Vallely; 5. Who votes for inequality? Nicholas Carnes; Part III. Congress and Economic Policy: 6. Congress makes tax policy: Democrats and Republicans at two critical junctures Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Theda Skocpol; 7. The decline of regular order in appropriations: does it matter? Nolan McCarty; 8. Congress and the Federal Reserve: independence and accountability Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel; Part IV. Congress and Domestic Policy Dilemmas: 9. The $40 trillion question: can Congress control health care spending? Jonathan Oberlander; 10. The demise of immigration reform: policy making barriers under unified and divided government Daniel J. Tichenor; 11. It's hard to get mileage out of Congress: struggling over CAFE standards, 1973-2013 Bruce I. Oppenheimer; Part V. Reflections: 12. Explaining legislative achievements R. Douglas Arnold.