chapter 13 ap government

seniority

The system under which committee chairs are awarded to members who have the longest continuous service on the committee.

parliament

An assembly of party representatives that chooses a government and discusses major national issues.

organizational view

Explanation of congressional voting that suggests members of Congress respond primarily to cues provided by their colleagues.

conservative coalition

An alliance of conservative Democrats with Republicans for voting purposes.

party polarization

Indicated by votes in which a majority of voting Democrats oppose a majority of voting Republicans.

closed rule

A rule issued by the Rules Committee that does not allow a bill to be amended on the House floor.

simple resolution

Resolution used for matters such as establishing the rules under which each body will operate.

concurrent resolution

Resolution used for settling housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses.

joint resolution

Resolution that is essentially the same as a law and is used to propose constitutional amendments.

filibuster

A means by which senators can extend debate on a bill in order to prevent or delay its consideration.

attitudinal view

Explanation of congressional voting which emphasizes the impact of personal ideology and party identification as a voting cue.

cloture rule

A Senate rule offering a means for stopping a filibuster.

restrictive rule

A rule issued by the Rules Committee that permits some amendments to a bill but not to others.

markup

Committee revisions of a rule.

congressional caucus

An association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest.

party whip

An individual who assists the party leader in staying abreast of the concerns and voting intentions of the party members.

committee of committees

Assigns Republicans to standing committees in the Senate.

representational view

Explanation of congressional voting that is based on the assumption that members want to get reelected and vote to please their constituents.

house rules committee

The group that decides what business comes up for a vote and what the limitations on debate should be.

discharge petition

A means by which the House can remove a bill stalled in committee.

multiple referral

The process through which a bill is referred to several committees that simultaneously consider it in whole or in part.

steering committee

Assigns Democrats to standing committees in the Senate.

party caucus

A meeting og the members of a political party to decide questions of policy.

party vote

The extent to which members of party vote together in the House or the Senate.

bicameral legislature

A lawmaking body composed of two chambers or parts.

marginal districts

Districts in which the winner got less than 55 percent of the vote.

riders

Unrelated amendments added to a bill.

safe districts

Districts in which the winner got more than 55 percent of the vote.

sequential referral

The process through which a bill is referred to a second committee after the first is finished acting

millionaire's club

A traditional, pejorative name for the United States Senate.

divided government

One party controls the White House and another part controls one or both houses of Congress.

unified government

The same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress.

majority leader

The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate.

franking privilege

The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge.

select committees

Congressional committees appointed for a limited tithe period and purpose

roll call vote

A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering yea or nay to their names.

minority leader

The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or Senate.

joint committee

A committee on which both representatives and senators serve.

open rule

An order from the Rules Committee in the House that permits a bill to be amended on the legislative floor.

public bill

Legislation that deals with matters of general concern.

teller vote

A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, first the yeas and then the nays.

voice vote

A method of voting used in both houses in which members vote by shouting yea or nay.

double tracking

A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster; the disputed bill is shelved temporarily.

christmas tree bill

A bill that has many riders

conference committees

A special type of joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation.

standing committees

The permanent committees of each house with the power to report bills.

division vote

A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted.

pork barrel legislation

Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in the hope of winning their votes.

private bill

Legislation that deals only with specific matter rather than with general legislative affairs.

quorum call

A calling of the role in either house of Congress to determine whether the number of members in attendance meets the minimum number required to conduct official business.

true

In every election from 1968 to 1992, Republicans gathered a higher percentage of the popular vote than they have the percentage of seats in the House of Representatives.

false

Serving in Congress had become a career by the 1930s.

false

Congress has become more male and white.

false

The text suggests conservatives in the Senate monopolized the use of the filibuster both for lofty and self-serving purposes.

true

The tradition of unlimited debate remains strong in the Senate.

millionaires club

By the end of the nineteenth century, the Senate was known as the "_________."

U.S. Term limits, inc. v. Thornton

In the case of [answer1], the Supreme Court struck down an effort by a state to impose term limits on its own members of Congress.

conservative coalition

The ____________ consisted of Republicans and certain Southern Democrats

40

During the 1980s, about ________ members of Congress were charged with misconduct.

6;8

Studies suggest the incumbency advantage is worth about _____ to ______ points in an election today.

senate; 17

The ______ eventually agreed to a constitutional amendment that changed the manner in which its members were elected. The _______ Amendment was ratified in 1913.

435; 100

The House has ____ members. The Senate has ____

senate; house

According to the text, ______ members are more likely to lose bids for reelection than members of the ____

60?

Refer to Figure 13.2 (Page 308): Reelection Rates for House and Senate Incumbents, 1964-2014.

Generalize about the percentage of Senate members who have been reelected in elections from 1964-2014.

the house

Refer to Figure13.1 (Page 306): Blacks, Hispanics, and Women in Congress, 1971-2015.

Which chamber generally features a greater number of blacks, Hispanics, and women?

80?

Refer to Figure 13.2 (Page 308): Reelection Rates for House and Senate Incumbents, 1964-2014.

Generalize about the percentage of House members who have been reelected in elections from 1964-2014.

114

Refer to Figure13.1 (Page 306): Blacks, Hispanics, and Women in Congress, 1971-2015.

Which Congress featured the greatest number of blacks in the House of Representatives?

114

Refer to Figure13.1 (Page 306): Blacks, Hispanics, and Women in Congress, 1971-2015.

Which Congress featured the greatest number of women in the House of Representatives?

house and senate

Refer to Figure 13.2 (Page 308): Reelection Rates for House and Senate Incumbents, 1964-2014.

Which members of Congress tend to win with 60 percent or more of the vote?

114

Refer to Figure13.1 (Page 306): Blacks, Hispanics, and Women in Congress, 1971-2015.

Which Congress featured the greatest number of women in the Senate?

secret ballot

Because of changes made by the Democratic Caucus, House chairmen were elected by _________ in party caucus.

republicans

When ___________ took control of Congress in 1995, they implemented term limits for committee chairmen in both chambers.

60

What the filibuster means in practice is that neither political party can control the Senate unless it has at least _______ votes.

10000

In a typical two year term of Congress, as many as ____________ bills are introduced.

house

Leadership carries more power in which chamber of Congress.

committee

Most bills will die in ____________.

attitudinal

The ____________ explanation of how members of Congress vote has increased in importance.

senate

Members of which chamber are often less in tune with public opinion, members of the ______________.

safe

Most congressional districts are not competitive and can be described as _________ districts because the winner usually receives at least 55% of the vote

senate

Conference reports of a bill tend to favor which chambers version of a bill, the ___________.

true

A member's final vote on a bill may conceal as much as it reveals.

true

Congress has become an increasingly ideological organization.

false

Democrats tend to do exceptionally well in high-turnout districts.

true

The votes of Republicans on the four impeachment articles against President Clinton did not even represent the views of their districts.

true

Today, most bills in the House are considered under strict time limits and no possibility of amendment from the floor

true

Members of Congress are more likely to deal with one another through staff intermediaries than personally.

false

Members of Congress who win in close races are usually eager to vote the way their constituents want.

true

Today, members of the House are more likely to investigate and denounce each other.

false

Bills that feature the spending of a lot of money tend to move through Congress more quickly than others.

true

Most bills are often introduced to get publicity for a member of Congress.

true

The text suggests that the only way to get rid of congressional "pork" is to eliminate Congress altogether and replace it with a tightly controlled parliament.

true

In most instances, the conference report on a bill is accepted by the respective chambers.

false

Sequential referrals have slowed down the business of Congress considerably.

striking, but anecdotal

The evidence that the electoral fortunes of members of Congress are shaped by the redrawing of congressional districts is

running in a primary election

A person ordinarily becomes a candidate for representative or senator by

wish to end policy gridlock by making Congress capable of speedily adopting sweeping changes in national policies.

Contemporary critics of Congress disagree with the framers' vision of Congress in that the critics

their colleagues

When voting on matters where constituency interests or opinion are not vitally at stake, members of Congress respond primarily to voting cues provided by

liberal senators

Which group's seniority and influence began to grow in the mid 1960s?

2

How many standing committees does the average House member serve on?

christmas tree

What are bills with a large number of riders attached to them called?