When creating the Congress, the founders of the United States strove primarily to create a legislature that could check the power of the

TERM

Image

President

DEFINITION

the following BEST describes the makeup of the legislature in the United States?

TERM

Image

bicameral

DEFINITION

Which branch of government was specifically created to closely represent the people's views?

TERM

Image

House of Representatives

DEFINITION

Because of the constitutional duties of the Senate, in which of the following policy sectors do many members of the Senate specialize?

TERM

Image

foreign

DEFINITION

Japan's modern Diet, or Kokkai,

TERM

Image

is similar in structure to the U.S. Congress

DEFINITION

How often are House members elected?

TERM

Image

every two years, in even-numbered years

DEFINITION

Which of the following statements is true?

TERM

Image

House members serve for two years and Senate members serve for six years.

DEFINITION

On average, how many Senate seats are up for election every two years?

TERM

Image

33

DEFINITION

How many United States senators does each state have?

TERM

Image

exactly two

DEFINITION

Which constitutional amendment shifted the power to elect senators from state legislators to popular elections?

TERM

Image

seventeenth

DEFINITION

In 2016, how much did it cost, on average, to make a successful bid for the U.S. Senate?

TERM

Image

10 million

DEFINITION

Of the following, which would be the MOST important determinant in a successful congressional campaign?

TERM

Image

the candidate's incumbency

DEFINITION

Which of these factors makes it more likely that incumbents will prevail in congressional elections?

TERM

Image

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.

DEFINITION

Which of the following statements about reapportionment is NOT accurate?

TERM

Image

It redraws the congressional district boundaries within the state.

DEFINITION

How often does reapportionment and redistricting of seats occur in the House of Representatives?

TERM

Image

every 10 years

DEFINITION

The practice of redrawing electoral boundaries for political advantage is known as

TERM

Image

gerrymandering

DEFINITION

Under Supreme Court jurisprudence, the drawing of legislative district boundaries for the purpose of benefitting an incumbent, political party, or another group is unconstitutional

TERM

Image

when it eliminates the minority party's influence statewide.

DEFINITION

The MOST precise way to describe attempts by state legislatures to address racial imbalance in the House of Representatives is

TERM

Image

through the creation of majority-minority districts.

DEFINITION

Which of these powers is/are granted to Congress by the Constitution?

TERM

Image

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.

DEFINITION

Because of the elastic clause, Congress exercises a ________ scope of authority.

TERM

Image

broad

DEFINITION

Which of the following is NOT a power of Congress?

TERM

Image

establish taxes on exports

DEFINITION

Which of the following is a source of congressional power and authority?

TERM

Image

the Constitution

Supreme Court decisions

the media

the people

All of these answers are correct.

DEFINITION

Which of the following was an important consideration during the shaping of congressional functions?

TERM

Image

checks and balances

DEFINITION

Which eighteenth-century political theorist espoused the trustee model of political representation, in which congressional members follow their own conscience when deciding issue positions?

TERM

Image

Edmund Burke

DEFINITION

Within the instructed delegate model, elected representatives act

TERM

Image

in line with constituents, even if those views contradict representatives' personal views.

DEFINITION

Most representatives in Congress employ ________ in their approach to governance.

TERM

Image

a combination of the trustee model and instructed delegate model

DEFINITION

Appropriations of funds by congressional legislators for projects in their districts are known as

TERM

Image

pork barrel

DEFINITION

What type of bills have traditionally been used as a means for legislators to appropriate funds to special projects within their congressional districts?

TERM

Image

transportation bills

DEFINITION

What has been the result of the recent moratorium on earmarks?

TERM

Image

effective, with a significant decrease in the amount of dollars appropriated

DEFINITION

A special form of representation, personal aid to a constituent or group of constituents, is known as

TERM

Image

casework

DEFINITION

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

TERM

Image

ombudsperson

DEFINITION

Which former senator and vice president warned of the constituent service dilemma?

TERM

Image

Walter Mondale

DEFINITION

________ is the process by which Congress "checks" the executive branch to ensure that laws are being administered in keeping with legislators' intentions.

TERM

Image

oversight

DEFINITION

All of the following are tools that Congress uses to "check" the executive branch EXCEPT

TERM

Image

legislative veto

DEFINITION

In many congressional districts, particularly in more populated areas, House members' constituencies tend to have fairly ________ positions on many issues.

TERM

Image

unified

DEFINITION

Compared to the House, the Senate

TERM

Image

is more prestigious

DEFINITION

Compared to a colleague in the Senate, a House member

TERM

Image

id less reliant on staff

DEFINITION

Identify the correct chronological order of a legislative bill's passage.

TERM

Image

introduction, committee review, House and Senate approval, conference committee reconciliation, presidential approval

DEFINITION

The wooden box into which House members insert proposed bills is known as the

TERM

Image

the hopper

DEFINITION

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?

TERM

Image

referral to the lead commits

DEFINITION

What is the second step in the process of a bill becoming a law?

TERM

Image

committee review

DEFINITION

Permanent committees with a defined legislative jurisdiction are known as

TERM

Image

standing committees

DEFINITION

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

TERM

Image

select committees

DEFINITION

Committees that include members of both chambers of Congress are known as

TERM

Image

joint committees

DEFINITION

Identify the correct chronological sequence of subcommittee procedures in Congress.

TERM

Image

agency review, hearings, markup, report

DEFINITION

How many House members' signatures are necessary to execute a discharge petition, where a bill is extracted from committee for full House consideration?

TERM

Image

a majority

DEFINITION

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?

TERM

Image

through the rules committee

DEFINITION

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

TERM

Image

filibuster

DEFINITION

What is the fourth step in the process of a bill becoming a law?

TERM

Image

conference committee reconciliation

DEFINITION

Which of the following is NOT required for an effective presidential pocket veto?

TERM

Image

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.

DEFINITION

In what position in the line of presidential succession is the Speaker of the House?

TERM

Image

second

DEFINITION

Who is the MOST powerful person in the House of Representatives?

TERM

Image

speaker of the house

DEFINITION

Which of the following House leaders is responsible for developing party strategy, working with minority party leadership, and encouraging unity among majority party legislators?

TERM

Image

House majority leader

DEFINITION

Which of the following leaders acts as a go-between with the leadership and the majority party members in the House?

TERM

Image

house majority whip

DEFINITION

According to the Constitution, who is the president of the Senate?

TERM

Image

The Vice President t

DEFINITION

Who is the MOST powerful person in the Senate?

TERM

Image

Senate majority leader

DEFINITION

In what year did Republicans regain control of both the House and the Senate?

TERM

Image

1994

DEFINITION

Partisan voting is usually MOST prominent

TERM

Image

just prior to election

DEFINITION

Using computer-driven mapmaking technology, most congressional seats are configured to ensure a "safe seat." This tends to increase congressional

TERM

Image

partisanship

DEFINITION

The reciprocal practice of trading votes, or ________, is widely used in Congress.

TERM

Image

logrolling

DEFINITION

Which of the following typically wields the MOST influence in congressional decision making?

TERM

Image

the constituency

DEFINITION

Which of the following statements about members of Congress is MOST accurate?

TERM

Image

Congress is not demographically representative of the American public

DEFINITION

Discuss the framers' differing visions for the roles of the House and the Senate.

TERM

Image

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.

DEFINITION

Identify the advantages of incumbency in congressional elections.

TERM

Image

Stronger name recognition, Easier access to media coverage, redistricting that favors the incumbent party, franking, campaign contributions, casework

DEFINITION

Define gerrymandering and discuss its use in congressional redistricting.

TERM

Image

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.

DEFINITION

Compare and contrast the trustee and instructed delegate models of representation.

TERM

Image

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.

DEFINITION

Outline the process of casework as a form of congressional representation.

TERM

Image

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.

DEFINITION

Identify the types of tools employed by Congress to fulfill its oversight functions.

TERM

Image

Congressional hearings, Confirmation hearings, Investigations, budgetary appropriations

DEFINITION

Outline the five sequential features of the congressional legislative process, or how a bill becomes law.

TERM

Image

1) Introduction

2) Committee review

3) House and Senate approval

4) Conference committee reconciliation

5) Presidential approval

DEFINITION

Explain the role and functions of congressional subcommittees.

TERM

Image

Subcommittees typically handle specific areas of the committees jurisdiction.

DEFINITION

What is a filibuster and when it is applied?

TERM

Image

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

DEFINITION

What is the attentive public, and what is its impact on congressional politics?

TERM

English

Image

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.

DEFINITION

English

TERM

Image

DEFINITION

Add a card

CreateCreate and practice