The Waxman Report: How Congress Really Works

From Strand Bookstore

From the lawmaker responsible for some of the most crucial pinpoints in recent congressional history comes a book that defines the modern congress. In Henry Waxman's time in Washington, DC he has served important roles on committees responsible for banning steroids in Major League Baseball, curbing the abuses on Wall Street and trying to wane the overspending cuased by the War in Iraq. This in-depth report shows the crusade of a Democrat fed up with modern society's laissez faire idealism. In showing America the innerworkings of Congress, Waxman proves his worth and hopes to create a new generation with a sense of involvement with American democracy.

From the Publisher

One of America's most respected members of Congress describes the inner workings of Congress to explain how legislators and other elected officials can bring about changes in American politics and society and details his own important role in investigating waste, fraud, and abuse throughout every aspect and level of American politics and society.

Review

Robert G. Kaiser - Miami Herald
"Henry Waxman is to Congress what Ted Williams was to baseball--a natural. As you read this nicely proportioned, fast-paced book, you realize that Waxman was born to be a member of the House, ideally the chairman of an important committee....THE WAXMAN REPORT explains how Congress ''can'' work, and it is fun to read. You finish it with gratitude to the voters of Beverly Hills and nearby areas who keep returning this ornery fellow to the House to challenge special interests. More Waxmans on both sides of the aisle would give us a much better Congress than the one we've got."

Review

Tim Rutten - Los Angeles Times
"[T]he congressman...has, along with his collaborator Joshua Green...produced something unexpected and rather fine. THE WAXMAN REPORT IS part compelling memoir, part fascinating, shrewd civics lesson and part bracing statement of practical idealism. It's impossible to put down and a joy to read--a model, in fact, of lucid exposition."

More about the book

No matter which party is in control at any given time, Congressman Henry Waxman may be in the minority on one major point--he believes that legislation is still an art, and when it is done well it is a beautiful and effective thing.In THE WAXMAN REPORT, he explains how a bill can effectively be written and shepherded through committees until it is ready for a vote. He examines The Ryan White Act, The Clean Air Act, and laws on nutrition labeling, dietary supplements, and pesticides became law. Waxman has chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has held hearing on topics such as tobacco, fraud, and steroids in Major League Baseball. .

First Line

I was born in 1939 in the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights.