Congress in a Nutshell 
Understanding Congress

A half-day crash course about Congress.

Our Washington insiders provide an exceptional overview of the process, the leadership and the politics of Congress for those who need to know more than the basics about the legislative branch.

This course is tailored for your group's specific needs, and it can be presented in your facility or in a classroom we provide in Washington, DC. *  It can also be delivered as a webinar using your organization's studio and facilities.

This course explores:

• The Constitutional powers granted to Congress
• Legislative branch structure
• House and Senate formal and informal leadership
• How power politics play in the hallways and cloakrooms
• How a bill becomes law from introduction and referral of legislation through presidential action

Our basic Congressional primer is an intensive half-day session covering the House and Senate, their differences, congressional leadership and more. This class is an excellent introduction to Congress for anyone new to government affairs or needing a refresher.

Variations of this course, Understanding Congress, and Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process and Capitol Hill Workshop, have been taught in Washington, DC, for more than 30 years by TheCapitol.Net and its predecessor, Congressional Quarterly Executive Conferences.

Registration and payment at least 3 weeks before the sponsored course date is required so the program can be customized for your group. The program fee includes program development, faculty, materials, and classroom space in the DC area for up to 20 attendees (the program fee also includes AV, breaks and lunch). *  We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details.

See the FAQs About Sponsored Courses for more information. 

Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing for on-site training.

TheCapitol.Net, Inc.
Contract GS02F0192X

 

More Information
Agenda	When	Where	Related Training	Policies

 

The leadership competencies for this course include:

• External Awareness
• Strategic Thinking
• Political Savvy

Bring this course to your site. This course and any combination of its topics are available as custom on-site training for your organization. We have tailored this course for budget and program analysts, staff new to legislative affairs, administrative assistants, and others in federal agencies, law firms, and Fortune 500 companies. For more information about how this training can help your staff, please contact our client liaison.

This is a required course for the Certificate in Congressional Operations.

Sample Agenda	Congress in a Nutshell: Understanding Congress 9:00 am to 1:00 pm   Introduction to Congress and Capitol Hill Nature of and differences between the House and Senate Why Congress behaves the way it does The many responsibilities of members A look at the current Congress The Path of Legislation Introduction and referral Committee action, hearings, and reports Scheduling; amending; and floor action Conference committees--reconciling differences between the houses Final passage and presidential action Politics and Leadership in Congress The current political environment Types of leadership in Congress Majority and minority leadership structure in the House and Senate Committee assignments, the seniority system, party organizational meetings Leadership in the Congress This course is also available as a custom, on-site training program.  Do you need a training course we don't offer or coverage of an additional topic in this course? If you have suggestions for courses or topics you would like to see us offer, please contact us or complete our online suggestion form.
Suggested Prerequisites	None. If you need help deciding which courses you should take based on your work experience or training, please contact us via email or phone: 703-739-3790.
Time and Dates	9:00 am to 1:00 pm W, September 11, 2013 Th, December 5, 2013 M, February 10, 2014
Location	September 11, 2013: This course can be presented at your location in Washington, DC, or at a location in Washington, DC, that we provide. * Other dates:  This course can be presented at your location in Washington, DC, or at a location in Washington, DC, that we provide.  For a map with a brief list of hotels near the Capitol, click here. When we arrange space, we use these Washington, DC, locations.
Course Materials	Course materials are included.
Certificate of Training and CEUs	A Certificate of Training is available for this course. To get a Certificate of Training, your registration fee must be paid in full, and you must attend the entire course. This is a required course for the Certificate in Congressional Operations.   This course is approved for .4 CEUs from George Mason University.
Related Training	Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process Congressional Operations Briefing - Capitol Hill Workshop Advanced Legislative Procedure How to Find, Track, and Monitor Congressional Documents Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
Policies	See http://www.thecapitol.net/PublicPrograms/CoursePolicies_Sponsored.html All statements and discussion at all of our courses, workshops and seminars, public and custom, are off the record and not for attribution, unless specified otherwise. The resulting confidentiality ensures a frank and free exchange of views.
FAQs	FAQs about our sponsored courses including suggested attire.
Program Fee and Registration	$7,750 - for up to 20 attendees Registration and payment at least 3 weeks before the sponsored course is required so the program can be customized for your specific needs. The program fee includes program development, faculty, materials, and classroom space in the DC area for up to 20 attendees (the program fee also includes AV, and breaks). We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details. * There is a discount if you provide classroom space in the DC area, AV, and breaks. This program can be presented outside the DC area. Contact us for details.     Fax or Mail: Print out and complete the registration form (in Adobe pdf). The completed form should include your method of payment.    Fax the completed form to us at 703-739-1195.    Mail the completed form to us at TheCapitol.Net, Inc., PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA  22313-5706
Available as custom, on-site training?	Yes.  This program can be tailored for on-site agency, association and corporate training.  Please call 703-739-3790 for information. Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing. TheCapitol.Net, Inc. Contract GS02F0192X
Need more information?	Phone: 703-739-3790 Email: registrar -at- TheCapitol.Net Complete our online information request.
Non-Partisan	TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.

URLs: www.TheCapitol.Net/PublicPrograms/CongressInANutshell.html
uc.html
TCNBCC.com
TCNCBC.com
BootCampForCitizens.com
UnderstandingCongress.com
CongressInaNutshell.com
TCNUC.com

Next Course
September 11, 2013
9:00 am to 1:00 pm

   
Approved for .4 CEUs from George Mason University.

All of our courses and workshops include extensive interaction with our faculty, making our courses and workshops both educational and mini-consulting sessions with substantive experts.

Rave Reviews

"Impressed with depth of knowledge. An overall better understanding of how Congress works and who the major players will be in the 112th." 
-- Course Attendee

"Useful background for understanding some of US political mechanisms." 
-- Assistant Naval Attache, British Defence Staff, British Embassy

"Excellent overview of the government and the legislative process." 
-- Workshop Attendee, Sandia National Laboratories

"Excellent synopsis in a short period of time - good coverage of the technical and the political." 
-- Course Attendee

"I would encourage people with the same work experience [5 years] to attend this program.  It has enhanced my understanding, cleared confusion, and dusted off previous knowledge." 
-- Manager, Food Distributors International

"Would recommend to someone with little or no previous congressional experience."   
-- Program Analyst, DEA

"A good, thorough introduction. Materials are helpful reference."
-- Course Attendee

"Program provides attendee a broad understanding of all facets of Congress. Excellent!"  
-- Captain, Air Combat Command, Financial Analysis

"Very useful program....  The speakers brought out points that aren't usually discussed."   
-- Paralegal

"Good general info for foreign diplomat." 
-- Attaché, foreign embassy

See more testimonials about this course.

Martha Angle

Ron Elving

Karen Foerstel

David Hawkings

Robert Healy

Jackie Koszczuk

Gebe Martinez

Paul Rundquist

Congress - Published Schedules

Congress by the Numbers

Congressional Documents Online

Congressional Leadership and Committees (listing)

Federal Budget Links and Research Tools

Glossary of Congressional and Legislative Terms

Legislation and Legislatures, including national, state and local links

Resumes of Congressional Activity