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When creating the Congress, the founders of the United States strove primarily to create a legislature that could check the power of the
President
the following BEST describes the makeup of the legislature in the United States?
bicameral
Which branch of government was specifically created to closely represent the people's views?
House of Representatives
Because of the constitutional duties of the Senate, in which of the following policy sectors do many members of the Senate specialize?
foreign
Japan's modern Diet, or Kokkai,
is similar in structure to the U.S. Congress
How often are House members elected?
every two years, in even-numbered years
Which of the following statements is true?
House members serve for two years and Senate members serve for six years.
On average, how many Senate seats are up for election every two years?
33
How many United States senators does each state have?
exactly two
Which constitutional amendment shifted the power to elect senators from state legislators to popular elections?
seventeenth
In 2016, how much did it cost, on average, to make a successful bid for the U.S. Senate?
10 million
Of the following, which would be the MOST important determinant in a successful congressional campaign?
the candidate's incumbency
Which of these factors makes it more likely that incumbents will prevail in congressional elections?
stronger name recognition
easier access to media coverage
the privilege of franking, or sending mail free of charge
larger campaign contributions
All of these answers are correct.
Which of the following statements about reapportionment is NOT accurate?
It redraws the congressional district boundaries within the state.
How often does reapportionment and redistricting of seats occur in the House of Representatives?
every 10 years
The practice of redrawing electoral boundaries for political advantage is known as
gerrymandering
Under Supreme Court jurisprudence, the drawing of legislative district boundaries for the purpose of benefitting an incumbent, political party, or another group is unconstitutional
when it eliminates the minority party's influence statewide.
The MOST precise way to describe attempts by state legislatures to address racial imbalance in the House of Representatives is
through the creation of majority-minority districts.
Which of these powers is/are granted to Congress by the Constitution?
to borrow money and regulate currency
taxation, spending, and establishment of tariffs
administration of post offices
punishing illegal acts on the high seas
All of these answers are correct.
Because of the elastic clause, Congress exercises a ________ scope of authority.
broad
Which of the following is NOT a power of Congress?
establish taxes on exports
Which of the following is a source of congressional power and authority?
the Constitution
Supreme Court decisions
the media
the people
All of these answers are correct.
Which of the following was an important consideration during the shaping of congressional functions?
checks and balances
Which eighteenth-century political theorist espoused the trustee model of political representation, in which congressional members follow their own conscience when deciding issue positions?
Edmund Burke
Within the instructed delegate model, elected representatives act
in line with constituents, even if those views contradict representatives' personal views.
Most representatives in Congress employ ________ in their approach to governance.
a combination of the trustee model and instructed delegate model
Appropriations of funds by congressional legislators for projects in their districts are known as
pork barrel
What type of bills have traditionally been used as a means for legislators to appropriate funds to special projects within their congressional districts?
transportation bills
What has been the result of the recent moratorium on earmarks?
effective, with a significant decrease in the amount of dollars appropriated
A special form of representation, personal aid to a constituent or group of constituents, is known as
casework
When a member of Congress advocates on behalf of a constituent who has an issue with a bureaucratic agency, he or she is playing the role of
ombudsperson
Which former senator and vice president warned of the constituent service dilemma?
Walter Mondale
________ is the process by which Congress "checks" the executive branch to ensure that laws are being administered in keeping with legislators' intentions.
oversight
All of the following are tools that Congress uses to "check" the executive branch EXCEPT
legislative veto
In many congressional districts, particularly in more populated areas, House members' constituencies tend to have fairly ________ positions on many issues.
unified
Compared to the House, the Senate
is more prestigious
Compared to a colleague in the Senate, a House member
id less reliant on staff
Identify the correct chronological order of a legislative bill's passage.
introduction, committee review, House and Senate approval, conference committee reconciliation, presidential approval
The wooden box into which House members insert proposed bills is known as the
the hopper
What process replaced the practice of joint referral, which had allowed bills to be referred for consideration to two House committees simultaneously, after it was abolished in 1995 by the 104th Congress?
referral to the lead commits
What is the second step in the process of a bill becoming a law?
committee review
Permanent committees with a defined legislative jurisdiction are known as
standing committees
Advisory committees, like the specially created House committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming that held hearings on the issue of climate change, are examples of
select committees
Committees that include members of both chambers of Congress are known as
joint committees
Identify the correct chronological sequence of subcommittee procedures in Congress.
agency review, hearings, markup, report
How many House members' signatures are necessary to execute a discharge petition, where a bill is extracted from committee for full House consideration?
a majority
In what way does the House of Representatives determine the terms of debate and the scope of amendments that will be allowed on a bill?
through the rules committee
In an attempt to block the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the former Republican senator from South Carolina Strom Thurmond spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes on the Senate floor. This set the record for the Senate's longest
filibuster
What is the fourth step in the process of a bill becoming a law?
conference committee reconciliation
Which of the following is NOT required for an effective presidential pocket veto?
The bill was passed at end of the legislative session.
The president does not sign the bill.
The president has waited 10 days.
Congress has adjourned.
correct : The president sends a message to Congress explaining why the bill should not become law.
In what position in the line of presidential succession is the Speaker of the House?
second
Who is the MOST powerful person in the House of Representatives?
speaker of the house
Which of the following House leaders is responsible for developing party strategy, working with minority party leadership, and encouraging unity among majority party legislators?
House majority leader
Which of the following leaders acts as a go-between with the leadership and the majority party members in the House?
house majority whip
According to the Constitution, who is the president of the Senate?
The Vice President t
Who is the MOST powerful person in the Senate?
Senate majority leader
In what year did Republicans regain control of both the House and the Senate?
1994
Partisan voting is usually MOST prominent
just prior to election
Using computer-driven mapmaking technology, most congressional seats are configured to ensure a "safe seat." This tends to increase congressional
partisanship
The reciprocal practice of trading votes, or ________, is widely used in Congress.
logrolling
Which of the following typically wields the MOST influence in congressional decision making?
the constituency
Which of the following statements about members of Congress is MOST accurate?
Congress is not demographically representative of the American public
Discuss the framers' differing visions for the roles of the House and the Senate.
Framers had to balance the desires of representation of two opposing groups by crateing a bicamera, or two-house, legislature in which one house, the house of representatives, would be based on population and the other chamber, the senate, would be based on state representation.
Identify the advantages of incumbency in congressional elections.
Stronger name recognition, Easier access to media coverage, redistricting that favors the incumbent party, franking, campaign contributions, casework
Define gerrymandering and discuss its use in congressional redistricting.
Gerrymandering is the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit an incumbent, a poliical parth, or another group and is was used to redraw congressional boundaries for the purpose of political advantage.
Compare and contrast the trustee and instructed delegate models of representation.
According to the trustee model of representation, a member of the House of the Senate follows his or her own conscience when deciding issue positions and determining how to vote. Instructe4d delegate models of representation is the idea that a legislator as a representative of his or her constituents and should vote in keeping with the constituents views even if those views contradict the legislator's personal views.
Outline the process of casework as a form of congressional representation.
providing representation in the form of personal aid to a constituent or goup of constituents, typically by getting the government to do something the constituent wants done. Members of Congress and their staffs commonly assist constituents in dealing with bureaucratic agencies.
Identify the types of tools employed by Congress to fulfill its oversight functions.
Congressional hearings, Confirmation hearings, Investigations, budgetary appropriations
Outline the five sequential features of the congressional legislative process, or how a bill becomes law.
Introduction
Committee review
House and Senate approval
Conference committee reconciliation
Presidential approval
Explain the role and functions of congressional subcommittees.
Subcommittees typically handle specific areas of the committees jurisdiction.
What is a filibuster and when it is applied?
A filibuster is a procedural move by a member of the senate to attemp to halt passage of a bill, during which the Senator can speak for an unlimited time on the Senate floor. It is used to halt passage of a bill or change its contents
What is the attentive public, and what is its impact on congressional politics?
Attentive public is the segment of voters who pay careful attention to political issues being debated by Congress and to the votes cast by their representatives and senators who will bring any missteps to the public's attention during the indiviual's next congressional campaign.
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