Welcome to The Dirksen Congressional Center's Communicator - a web-based e-newsletter providing educators with news and ideas to improve the understanding of Congress -- http://www.webcommunicator.org.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison
2. What I Wish Political Scientists Would Teach About Congress
3. Prior Restraints and the Presumption of Unconstitutionality
4. Congressional Research Awards
5. Concentration: America Becomes a United Nation
6. Postscript Information

1. HOUSE AND SENATE RULES OF PROCEDURE: A COMPARISON

House and Senate rules of procedure are largely a function of the number of members comprising each chamber. This report compares selected House and Senate rules of procedure for various stages of the legislative process; referral of legislation to committees; scheduling and calling up measures; and floor consideration. However, no attempt is made to present a comprehensive discussion of how both chambers operate. Find House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_rulesofprocedure.htm.

The appendices provide sources of additional information about House and Senate rules of procedure.

2. WHAT I WISH POLITICAL SCIENTISTS WOULD TEACH ABOUT CONGRESS

Congressman Lee Hamilton, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, offers some thoughts on the role that political scientists can play in improving public understanding of the U.S. Congress. Find What I Wish Political Scientists Would Teach About Congress at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_expert_polisciteach.htm.

This feature first appeared in PS: Political Science and Politics (December 2000) and was posted at The American Political Science Association's Web site. It is posted on CongressLink with permission from the APSA and Congressman Hamilton. © Copyright 2001 American Political Science Association (APSA).

3. PRIOR RESTRAINTS AND THE PRESUMPTION OF UNCONSTITUTIONALITY

The issue: When may government enjoin publications posing a threat to national security or the general welfare? Find Prior Restraints and the Presumption of Unconstitutionality at -- http://www.aboutgovernment.org/print_historicaldocuments.htm#constitution -- to learn more.

4. CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH AWARDS

**Congressional Research Awards Announcement**

DEADLINE: All proposals must be received no later than February 1, 2006.

The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants totaling $30,000 in 2006 to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress.

The competition is open to individuals with a serious interest in studying Congress. Political scientists, historians, biographers, scholars of public administration or American studies, and journalists are among those eligible. The Center encourages graduate students who have successfully defended their dissertation prospectus to apply and awards a significant portion of the funds for dissertation research.

The awards program does not fund undergraduate or pre-Ph.D. study. Organizations are not eligible. Research teams of two or more individuals are eligible.

There is no standard application form. Applicants are responsible for showing the relationship between their work and the awards program guidelines. Applications are accepted at any time. Incomplete applications will NOT be forwarded to the screening committee for consideration.

All application materials must be received on or before February 1, 2006. Awards will be announced in March 2006. Complete information about eligibility and application procedures may be found at The Center's Web site: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_CRAs.htm. Frank Mackaman is the program officer -- fmackaman@dirksencenter.org.

The Center, named for the late Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen, is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to the study of Congress and its leaders. Since 1978, the Congressional Research Awards (formerly the Congressional Research Grants) program has paid out $650,000 to support 337 projects.

5. CONCENTRATION: AMERICA BECOMES A UNITED NATION

Important events surrounding the establishment of an experiment called the United States of America. Find Concentration: America Becomes a United Nation at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/articlesofconfederation/2_artofconf.htm#. See the list of terms used in the activity and try to uncover matching pairs of cards.

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