Chp 12

a

Who decides which committee assignments members of House of Representatives receive? a. the Speaker of the House b. each party’s own Committee on Committees c. the president selects for members of his own party, and either the House majority or minority leader selects for opposition members d. each party’s National Committee e. each party’s whip

b

A vote on which 50 percent or more of the members of one party take one position while at least 50 percent of the members of the other party take the opposing position is called a. an ideological split. b. congressional gridlock. c. a party unity vote. d. a pocket veto. e. cloture.

c

Who is the Speaker of the House? a. The vice president is also the Speaker of the House. b. The representative with the longest tenure in the House is the Speaker of the House. c. The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker. d. An employee of Congress who formally brings the House into session each day is the Speaker. e. The president selects the Speaker of the House from the majority party in the House.

b

A bicameral legislature is one that has a. laws forbidding private hearings or conferences. b. two chambers or houses. c. authority to overrule state governments. d. a prime minister. e. equal representation for each state.

b

When the House and the Senate coordinate two versions of the same bill, they will often use a ______ to obtain a single unified bill. a. joint committee b. conference committee c. reconciliation committee d. standing committee e. select committee

b

The need to divide the labor of legislation is best exemplified in what formal structure of Congress? a. the establishment of party whips b. the establishment of standing committees c. the strict control over floor time in Congress d. the use of conference committees e. the establishment of minority and majority leaders

c?

In addition to pressuring members of Congress to vote a certain way on a bill, interest groups also have substantial influence in a. setting the legislative agenda. b. getting senators to filibuster debates on bills that they oppose. c. determining whether a member of Congress will run for re-election. d. deciding committee assignments for members of Congress. e. determining whether a bill will receive an open rule or a closed rule.

?c

Which of the following best explains the small number of women in Congress? a. More men than women vote, and men tend not to vote for women candidates. b. Women do not have organizations or PACs supporting their candidacy. c. Incumbency is a very powerful resource, and most incumbents have been men. d. Women do not make very effective representatives. e. Women do not want to run for Congress.

a

The Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office are examples of a. staff agencies. b. executive-congressional liaison offices. c. caucuses. d. select committees. e. conference committees.

e

"Astroturf lobbying" refers to the practice whereby a. members of Congress are influenced by being given free tickets to sporting events or other gifts. b. a special interest group simulating a grassroots movement works with well-organized campaigns and petitions. c. members of Congress are influenced by large campaign donations. d. lobbyists begin to specialize, with narrow areas of professional expertise. e. a special interest group pretends to represent the public interest.

d

Which of the following is the best definition of a constituent? a. It is another name for a voter. b. It is the name for a member of Congress running for re-election. c. It is someone who donates money to a campaign. d. It is a person who lives in the district represented by a member of the legislature. e. It is the name for a person who has sued the federal government in court for violating the Constitution.

b

What did the Supreme Court declare in Miller v. Johnson? a.Districts could not be drawn to favor the incumbent candidate. b. The racial composition of a district could not be the predominant factor when redistricting. c. Incumbents could not begin fundraising more than nine months before the general election. d. It was not unconstitutional for states to use an unelected, nonpartisan committee to redistrict. e. The use of computer technologies to draw districts that will favor one party over another is unconstitutional.

c

A filibuster allows members of the Senate to a. refer a bill to multiple committees. b. avoid a conference committee. c. prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor. d. call into question any action of the executive branch. e. add amendments to any bill at any time.

c

In general, members of the House seek committee assignments that will a. bring them the largest number of campaign donations. b. give them greater media exposure. c. allow them to influence decisions which are of special importance to voters in their districts. d. allow them more personal contact with the president. e. allow them to avoid issues that are important and controversial to voters in their districts.

d

The determination of the time and structure of floor debate on a bill, in the House of Representatives, is up to the a. bill’s authors. b. Rules Committee. c. Ways and Means Committee. d. majority leader. e. congressional staff.

b

What are the greatest dangers with a trustee model of representation? a. Members of the Congress may not bring back enough pork-barrel projects to their districts. b. Representatives may become inattentive to the wishes and opinions of their constituents. c. Members of Congress may give inadequate deference to the executive branch in the area of national security. d. The representatives who adopt this model are too influenced by special interest groups. e. Members of Congress may become too polarized and bipartisanship will decrease significantly.

b

Cloture is a. the ability of a senator to speak for as long as he or she wishes to prevent action being taken on legislation that he or she opposes. b. the process by which three-fifths of the Senate can end a filibuster. c. the rule which allows one house of Congress to circumvent the other during the legislative process. d. the process by which the president can end a filibuster. e. a lawsuit filed by a member of the Senate against a member of the House or vice versa.

b

Which of the following is the best definition of a congressional caucus? a. a formal substructure of congressional parties, oriented toward fund-raising b. unofficial groups of representatives or senators sharing similar interests or opinions c. informal lobbying groups, organized around similar interests such as agriculture or maritime affairs d. a formal committee that has the power to propose and write legislation. e. a vote by members of the House in order to determine who the Speaker of the House will be.

?c

The Senate’s constitutional power of advice and consent extends to which of the following? a. the president’s power to make treaties with foreign nations b. the president’s power to make executive agreements c. the president’s power to issue executive orders d. the president’s power to issue pardons e. all federal court decisions regarding the separation of powers

b

Agencies in Congress designed to oversee administrative agencies and evaluate presidential proposals are called a. committee agencies. b. oversight committees. c. staff agencies. d. review offices. e. iron triangles.

d

Which of the following is not a task of congressional staff members? a. dealing with administrative agencies b. drafting legislative proposals c. organizing hearings d. debating and voting in subcommittee meetings e. negotiating with lobbyists

b

How can a president’s veto be overridden by Congress? a. by a two-thirds vote in either house b. by a two-thirds vote in both houses c. by a simple majority vote in both houses d. by a majority vote in the Veto Override Committee in the House and the Senate e. A president’s veto cannot be overridden.

a

A proposed piece of legislation is called a a. bill. b. referendum. c. proposal. d. cloture. e. filibuster.

e

A(n) ______ has the same status as a treaty, but does not require Senate approval. a.international accord b. multilateral initiative c. executive agreement d. foreign policy position e. executive order

b

Responsibility for communication among party members in Congress lies with the a. Speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore. b. whip system. c. party’s national committee. d. party caucuses. e. the Ways and Means Committee.

c

How long is the term of office for a U.S. Senator? a. two years b. four years c. six years d. eight years e. ten years

?a?

Why does the House have greater party unity than the Senate? a. Representatives have more partisan constituents than senators. b. House leaders have more organizational control over the actions of representatives than Senate leaders. c. Political parties donate more money to re-elect representatives than senators, who are more independent fund-raisers. d. There is, in fact, no real difference in levels of party unity between the House and the Senate. e. Interest groups are less influential in the House than in the Senate.

c

Congressional leaders form ______ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem. a. conference b. joint c. select d. standing e. rules

c

Three factors related to the American electoral system affect who is elected to office in this country, and what they do once they get there. Those factors are a. party affiliation, family connections, and the substance of issues raised during a campaign. b. who decides to run for office, incumbency, and the drawing of district lines. c. incumbency, franking, and party affiliation. d. military service, professional connections, and religious beliefs. e. race, religious beliefs, and the region of the country the district falls within.

a

One reason why redistricting is controversial is because a. computer technologies allow legislatures to know statistically what kinds of people live where and this can be used to give one party an advantage over the other. b. it is unclear whether state legislatures or the federal government has the authority to redraw districts. c. incumbents never lose when districts are redrawn. d. it is unclear whether districts have to be drawn in such a way that each district includes roughly the same number of people. e. interest groups and PACs exert a great deal of influence over the specific shape of each district.

e

In recent years, approximately what percentage of House members seeking re-election won their race? a. 50 percent b. 60 percent c. 75 percent d. 80 percent e. 95 percent

d

Which of the following is not a task for which congressional party leaders are responsible? a. the organization of the House and Senate calendar b. the establishment of a legislative agenda c. the assignment of members of Congress to committees when there is conflict d. the organization of the re-election strategies for incumbents e. nominating a policy committee

?b

The jurisdiction of standing committees a. is related to a specific geographic region. b. is defined by the subject matter of legislation, which often parallels the major cabinet departments or agencies. c. is determined by the different political parties. d. is determined by the U.S. Supreme Court. e. often overlaps with the jurisdiction of select committees.

c

What are the most common private bills proposed in Congress? a. bills giving individuals or corporations tax relief b. bills for permanent visas for foreign nationals c. bills for defense contracts in a representative’s district d. bills that declare certain foreign nationals enemies of the United States e. There are no private bills in Congress; all bills must be public.

d

The process of allocating congressional seats among the fifty states is called a. redistricting. b. gerrymandering. c. redlining. d. apportionment. e. filibustering.

a

Which is the best description of the K Street Project? a. It was an attempt to place former Republican staffers in key lobbying positions to help ensure a large flow of corporate donations to the Republican Party. b. It was an attempt by Democrats to place party loyalists in key positions in the administrative agencies that line K Street in Washington, D.C. c. Orchestrated by the Federalist Society, it has the goal of placing conservatives on the federal courts. d. This describes a bipartisan movement to get the offices of congressional staffers expanded beyond Capitol Hill to K Street. e. It was a collective attempt by interest groups who had offices on K Street in Washington, D.C., to have their staffers elected to the House of Representatives.

?b

Which of the following best describes the organizational changes made in Congress during the 1990s? a. Attempts were made to concentrate more power into the hands of party leaders. b. Power was decentralized by increasing the number of subcommittees. c. Partisan conflicts were reduced by allowing some committees to be chaired by a member of the minority party. d. The power of seniority was increased in standing committees. e. Conference committees were eliminated in order to speed up the process of passing legislation.

?d

Which of the following is not an important influence on the legislative agenda of Congress? a. constituents b. lobbyists c. the president d. the federal courts e. party leadership

a

Pork-barrel legislation a. deals with specific projects and their location within a particular congressional district. b. deals with specific agricultural subsidies. c. funds efforts to increase the levels of America’s meat exports. d. grants a special privilege to a person named in the bill. e. orders state governments to implement a program without providing funding for doing so.

d

The most common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress is a. business executive. b. sales representative. c. professor. d. lawyer. e. lobbyist.

c

The powers and resources available to government officials that are used to favor supporters are called a. trusteeships. b. expenditures. c. patronage. d. clotures. e. filibusters.

e

Approximately what percentage of proposed bills die in committee? a. 40 percent b. 50 percent c. 60 percent d. 75 percent e. 95 percent

a

In the House of Representatives, the majority leader a. is subordinate to the Speaker of the House. b. is the same office as the Speaker of the House. c. is superior in formal powers to the Speaker of the House. d. has the same powers as the Speaker of the House but is a different office. e. There is no majority leader in the House of Representatives.

?b

Constituency service is so important that a. representatives spend about three-quarters of their time aiding constituents. b. party leaders will not ask any member to vote in a way that conflicts with the interests or opinions of the member’s district. c. the House and Senate have recently created a Committee on Constituency Service. d. the Constitution explicitly lists "constituent service" as the most important responsibility of Congress. e. members of Congress have been impeached for not devoting enough attention to constituency service.

b

Which idea of representation says that a legislator should be viewed as someone whom voters hire to represent their interests? a. agency representation b. sociological representation c. mirroring representation d. trustee representation e. contract representation

b

Congress adjourns during a ten-day period after presenting the president with a bill, and the president takes no action. This is known as a a. procrastination veto. b. pocket veto. c. line-item veto. d. silent veto. e. expiration veto.

c

Under the original Constitution, senators a. served four-year terms. b. had the authority to choose the president’s cabinet ministers. c. were appointed by state legislatures. d. were selected by the federal judiciary. e. could serve only two terms.

d

Conference committees are a. permanent and involve members from both the House and the Senate, but they do not have the power to report legislation. b. temporary and are created to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate particular problem. c. permanent and have the power to write and propose legislation. d. temporary, involve members from both houses of Congress, and are charged with reaching a compromise on legislation once it has been passed by both the House and the Senate. e. informal committees composed of members from both political parties and both houses of Congress that are designed to promote bipartisanship.

d

The need to divide the labor of legislation is best exemplified in what formal structure of Congress? a. the establishment of party whips b. the establishment of standing committees c. the strict control over floor time in Congress d. the use of conference committees e. the establishment of minority and majority leaders

a

The role the House of Representatives plays in impeachments can best be compared with that of a a. judge. b. grand jury. c. prosecuting attorney. d. defense attorney. e. defense witness.