Ch 6 Congress

Each state has __________ senators elected every __________ years.

Two; six

__________ is the process of allotting congressional seats to each state according to its proportion of the population.

Apportionment

The Constitutional Convention resulted in what form of legislature?

bicameral

Over the past century, partisan polarization has __________ along with __________.

increased; income inequality

In the House of Representatives, who is second in authority to the Speaker of the House?

majority leader

Why are there currently 435 members in the House of Representatives?

white, upper-middle-class, middle-aged, and male

A __________ is a special committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate.

Conference committee

"Pork" legislation may aid the district of a member of Congress by __________.

increasing jobs and revenue with federally funded projects

Successful members of Congress share the same policy interests as voters, according to the __________.

b. delegate model of representation

Congressional whips serve what main function?

persuade party members to toe the party line

__________is the only formal method for ending a filibuster, and requires the approval of __________ senators.

cloture, sixty

On average, each member of the House represents __________ voters.

700,000

During an election, an incumbent representative might point to local allocations of a federal highway bill as a reason to be re-elected. This is an example of __________.

Credit claiming

What best explains the overwhelming advantage incumbents possess in seeking reelection over opposition candidates?

name recognition, access to media, and franking privilege

How might a bill become law if it has been pocket vetoed?

The bill must be reintroduced in the next session of Congress.

Which statement is true of the House of Representatives?

Members are elected every two years and apportioned to states based on population.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is administered by the __________, which tracks bill status and conducts research on behalf of Congress.

Library of Congress

Why were Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton impeached but not removed from office?

A simple majority in the House led to charges of wrongdoing, but a Senate trial failed to impeach.

Why are there currently 435 members in the House of Representatives?

The number is fixed at this limit by a statute.

What occurs during the appropriations process?

Congress grants funds to federal agencies and programs.

A rise in party unity is indicative of __________.

low bipartisanship levels

The __________ is where congressional Democrats gather to select their leadership at the beginning of each term.

party caucus

__________ committees exist in both the House and Senate, may be temporary or permanent, and usually have a focused responsibility.

Select/Special

How have Americans rated members of Congress in recent years?

Individual members of Congress rate slightly higher than Congress as a whole, but approval ratings are at an all-time low.

The true leader of the Senate is the __________, elected by the majority party.

majority leader

What advantage does a subcommittee offer the legislative process?

greater division of labor

The president pro tempore __________.

is an honorific office awarded to the senior senator of the majority party

What demonstrates the Founders’ desire to insulate the Senate from popular displeasure?

terms of six years, with one-third of seats open for election every two years

The role of Senate minority leader is important because __________.

he or she represents the opposition in negotiations with the majority leader

In the House of Representatives, the __________ decides who will speak on the floor, and rules on points of order.

Speaker

According to the trustee model of representation, legislators are __________.

trusted by their constituents because they are natives of their home districts

What is the purpose of a discharge petition?

to force a vote on a House bill within an opposing committee

Which statement best characterizes the hearing process of a formal bill?

Most formal bills receive a hearing, but few are marked up and sent to the floor.

A committee report is written __________.

before going to the Committee on Rules, but after a measure is marked up

Which of the following groups would be most likely to have influence over non-ideological legislation?

congressional staff and colleagues in Congress

What procedure or process limits debate of budget controversies to twenty hours, thereby ending the threat of a filibuster in the Senate?

reconciliation

Which is an example of logrolling in Congress?

supporting a bill in exchange for support of one’s own bill

What is the typical trajectory of a bill in the House of Representatives?

introduction, committee referral, subcommittee, full committee report, rules committee, full House vote, conference committee, send to president

__________ is a good example of Congressional casework.

Assistance to a constituent in obtaining a Social Security check

In which event was there congressional oversight?

the Watergate scandal

T/F:

introduction, committee referral, subcommittee, full committee report, full Senate debate and vote, conference committee, send to president

Packing and cracking both draw district lines to the favor of the majority party, and thus, are two types of __________.

gerrymandering

A __________ is one tactic to signal the leadership that a Senate member may have objections to a bill.

hold

The House minority leader __________.

is elected by the minority party

Charged with the responsibility to __________, the __________ is almost certainly the most powerful committee in either chamber of Congress.

grant and set procedural rules, House Committee on Rules

This individual keeps close contact with all members of his or her party, counts votes for key legislation, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communications link within the party.

majority/minority whip

Which statement about incumbency is most accurate?

Incumbents have a huge advantage in reelection.

What best describes the purpose of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), established in 1921 as an independent agency?

auditing the financial expenditures of the executive branch and federal agencies

In the event of a major scandal, which kind of committee would be convened to conduct a special investigation?

a joint committee

Which example best demonstrates a legislator acting as a trustee of his or her constituency?

A legislator considers public opinion, refining it with information and careful thought.

A lobbyist for the NRA would be most effective when targeting a legislator ___________.

whose voting behavior supports gun control

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between Congress and the Judiciary?

Congress must be increasingly mindful of the Supreme Court’s reaction when it enacts new laws for the nation.

What occurs at a congressional party conference?

Republicans meet to select leaders and determine objectives.

One example of the Framers’ intent to insulate the Senate from the tyranny of the majority was to __________.

have members appointed by their respective state legislatures

Executive deference to senators in the appointment of judges to federal courts is __________.

senatorial courtesy

How are committee chairs selected in the House?

interviews to determine party loyalty

What can be inferred from the current demographic composition of the Senate?

Senate members tend to be wealthier than their House counterparts.

Which response best reflects the dilemma of pork in legislation?

Programmatic requests favor one district at the expense of all American taxpayers.

What best represents the trend of party polarization over the last three decades?

Party polarization has increased as bipartisanship has decreased.

Although Congress authorized the expenditure of funds for many social problems, President Nixon refused to spend money appropriated for them. Frustrated by Nixon, Congress solidified its role in the budgetary process by __________.

passing the Congressional Budget Act of 1974

T/F: Appropriations committees help determine the programs that will be funded, while authorizations committees determine the amount of monies to be distributed.

False

T/F: The Framers made Congress a bicameral body because they were concerned that too strong a legislative branch would lead to tyranny.

True

T/F: Legislators typically eschew casework, as it is burdensome to the staff and emphasizes benefits for individuals over the good of the whole district.

False

T/F: A bill goes through markup in a full committee after a subcommittee votes in favor of it.

True

T/F: Studies show that legislators vote in conformity with the prevailing opinion of their district constituents about two-thirds of the time.

True

T/F: The House currently has 435 members, but this number increases every ten years with the taking of the census, as mandated by the Constitution.

False

T/F: The CBO was created in 1974 to evaluate the economic effects of different spending programs, and to provide information on the cost of proposed policies

True

T/F: Especially since the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Congress has ceded to the president a major role in the legislative process.

True

T/F: Logrolling, or vote trading, was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court following the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

False

T/F: A conference committee is comprised of members from the House and Senate committees that originally considered the bill.

True

T/F: In the face of inaction by House membership, a discharge petition signed by a majority can force a bill out of a committee and to the floor.

True

T/F: The vast majority of bills receive a subcommittee hearing, but not full passage.

False

T/F: The increasing partisanship and unproductivity of Congress have contributed to lower approval ratings of congressional members in recent years

True

T/F: Although the Constitution allows states to create their own legislative boundaries, gerrymandering in favor of any partisan or racial group is expressly forbidden by law.

False

T/F: The necessary and proper clause allows Congress to increase the scope of its authority.

True

The __________ is the counterpart to the majority leader in the House opposition party.

Minority leader

__________ committees are standing committees that include members from both houses of Congress and are set up to conduct investigations or special studies.

Joint

The Constitution is vague about the __________ process, even though it remains Congress’s ultimate oversight of the U.S. president.

impeachment

Congress may override a presidential veto with a(n) __________ vote in each chamber.

Two-thirds

The Constitution specifies that the presiding officer of the Senate is the vice president; however, the __________ presides in the vice president’s absence.

president pro tempore

Only one member of Congress may __________ a bill at its introduction, though other members show support by placing their names on the legislation.

sponsor

The __________ established the congressional budgetary process we use today.

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

After the Speaker, the next most powerful person in the House is the __________.

majority leader

At their party __________, Democrats will meet at the beginning of each new Congress to nominate or elect party officers, review committee assignments, discuss party policy, impose party discipline, set party themes, and coordinate media.

caucus

Cloture is the only way to end a(n) __________.

filibuster

Though individual senators are perceived as more powerful than their House counterparts, the chairperson of the Senate, or __________, is decidedly less powerful than the Speaker of the House.

majority leader

The year __________ was significant because elections saw a record number of women, African Americans, and other minorities elected to Congress.

1992

__________ decides who shall be recognized to speak on the House floor, and rules on points of order (with advice from the parliamentarian), among other responsibilities.

The Speaker of the House

Because they continue from one Congress to the next, __________ committees are permanent fixtures to which bills are referred for consideration.

standing

House members each represent approximately __________ per district.

713,000