Setting Course: A Congressional Management Guide

by Congressional Management Foundation

Now in its seventh edition, Setting Course is a comprehensive guide to setting up and managing a congressional office. The edition for the 107th Congress is divided into three distinct sections to better serve the needs of freshman and veteran Members of Congress and their key aides. New Members can look to Part I for the critical decisions they'll need to make in November and December to prepare for opening day and a successful first term. Part II is designed to help both freshmen and veterans define their roles as Members, understand the culture of Congress and choose a path to success within it, and become effective leaders of their offices. Part III offers guidance for veterans, and for freshmen once the dust from the transition has settled, on the ongoing, long-term challenges of managing a congressional office, including chapters on planning, budgeting, staff management, constituent communications, scheduling and ethics.

354 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2000

Reviews

[Matthew Boak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The institution of the United States Congress has always been very intriguing to me. This guide helped to feed my hunger for more knowledge pertaining to Congress and its functions. While the book is primarily meant for newly elected members and their senior staff members, I think any individual can learn a lot from reading this, from learning inside information about the inner workings of Congress to what kind of decisions go into deciding where a district office should be.

Thank you to AOC for posting about this on her Instagram story, or else I would have never known it existed.