Government Test

How often are federal elections held?

Federal Elections are held every two years

What do we call federal elections that aren’t presidential elections?

Midterm Elections

In which type of federal election is voter turnout usually higher for Presidential or Midterm?

Voter turnout is higher during presidential election years than in Midterm elections

What Day is Election day?

always first Tuesday after a Monday in November

What are the Qualifications to be a member of the house of representatives?

- Must be at least 25 years of age
-Must have been a citizen for at least 7 years
-Must be a resident of the state you represent

How long is the term of a Representative?

they face reelection every two years

How many members of the House of Representatives are there?

220 Democrats, 212 Republicans, 3 vacant seats
435 total

How Many Representatives Does Missouri have?

Missouri has 8 representatives

Who are the representatives from Missouri?

Cori Bush (D-MO1), Ann Wagner (R-MO2)
Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO3), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO4)

Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO5), Sam Graves (R-MO6), Billy Long (R-MO7), Jason Smith (R-MO8)

Who is your/tolton Representative in the House of Representatives

Blaine Luetkemeyer

What is the maximum number of terms a member of congress can serve?

as many as they want

What is the Current Party Divide in the Senate?

50 democrats and 50 republiicans

What the current party divide in the House of Representatives?

220 Ds, 212 Rs, and 3 empty seats

Roughly how many members of Congress are women?

151 Women (28.2%)

What is the largest religious background of Members of Congress?

55.4% Protestant

Who is the Current Speaker of the house?

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

What are the special powers of the House?

-power of the purse: means that have sole power to create revenue bills (Bills that raise or lower taxes/ income for the government)
-sole power to impeach federal officials
-elect the president in the event of an electoral college tie.

What are the Qualifications to be a Senator?

-must be at least 30
-must be a citizen for at least 9 years
-Must Be a resident of the state that they are elected from

How long is the term of a senator?

6 Years long

How Many Senators are there in the US?

100 senators

How Many Senators are there in each State?

2 per state

Who is the Current Senate Majority Leader?

Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Who are the Current Senators from Missouri?

Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Josh Hawley (R-MO)

What are the special powers of the senate?

-sole authority to approve appointees of the President
-power to ratify treaties with foreign nations

Explain the Process of making laws

1. someone has an idea for a new law

2.person then creates a draft bill that contains the new law they wish to pass(This person is called a sponsor)

3.Once a sponsor has draft a bill they then take it to other members of their chamber If those members of congress support the bill then they may sign on to the bill and become cosponsors

4. once enough cosponsors it will be taken to a Committee that works on those kinds of bills

5. in the Committee each member will then read the bill and in a group make changes to the bill (called Markup)

6. If a simple majority (218) in the House supports a bill then it will be sent to the senate, Once it arrives at senate, the bill can be amended further, If it is amended, then the bill has to be sent back to the House for them to vote on it again

7.Once a final version of the bill has been agreed on by both houses, the Senate will then debate the bill

8.enough votes from both the house and the senate in favor of the same bill the bill is then sent to the president

9.The president can then sign the bill and make it a law or veto it (sending it back to where it started with a note saying why the president didn’t make it a law)

10.if 2/3rds of both the House of Representatives vote in favor of the legislation anyway, the congress can override the president's veto and make the bill a law anyway

What is it called when a senator talks for so long that they can’t vote on a bill?

Filibuster

How many senators are needed to get around the filibuster?

60 Senators agree to vote in favor of the bill

What is it called when a president refuses to sign a bill?

Veto

What Fraction of each house of congress is needed to make something a law without the president’s approval?

2/3

How Long is the Term of the President

4 years

How many terms can a president serve?

2

What body officially elects the president?

Electoral College

How many electoral votes does missouri have?

10

How is the number of electoral votes a state has calculated?

number of state representatives +2

How many electoral votes does a candidate need to have to become president?

270

How Many Presidents have there been?

have been 46 presidents, technically 45

What Branch of Government is the president in charge of?

Executive branch

What are the roles of the president?

-Commander in Chief (the highest level of military command)
-Chief Executive- president is in charge of the largest branch of government with some 4 million employees
-Chief Diplomat- the president is our most important representative to foreign countries and must visit our friends and restrain our enemies
-chief legislator- while not a member of congress the president does often suggest and support different pieces of legislation
-head of their political party

Roughly how many people work in the Executive branch?

4 million

Who/what is the cabinet?

-group of people who serve as the heads of the executive departments and are the closest advisors to the president
-The Cabinet includes the VP and the heads of the 15 major executive departments. Cabinet members are appointed by the president and approved by the senate. The president can fire them at any time.

What are the oldest departments in the cabinet?

State, Treasury, Defense, and Justice

What is the newest department in the cabinet?

Homeland Security (Created after 9/11)

Who are the first five people in the Presidential order of Succession?

Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro Tempore of the State, Head of the department of the state, Head of the department of the treasury.

What are the special powers of the president?

-power to issue pardons
-issue executive orders to allow him to due somethings (like make a new holiday) without need for congress
- power to appoint Supreme Court Justices ambassadors to foriegn countries and other executive officials

Who is the current president?

Joe Biden (D-DE)

Who is current vice president?

Kamala Harris (D-CA)