AP GOV CH 2

Which of the following committees of the House of Representatives sets the conditions for debate and amendment of most legislation?

Rules

Which of the following types of committee deals with broad areas of public policy and can be found in both houses of Congress?

Standing

Which of the following is a unique power held by members of the Senate?

The ability to filibuster

Which of the following is true of the seniority system of Congress in relation to committee leadership and committee staffing?

The chairs of congressional committees tend to be senior members of the body's majority party.

Which of the following explains why any attempt to reduce Social Security benefits is difficult?

There are many voters who support Social Security.

Which of the following statements about motions for cloture is true?

They are used by senators to end a filibuster and bring a bill to a vote.

Which of the following committees plays a major role in the House in shaping tax policy?

Ways and Means

If legislation passes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate but each version is slightly different, the conflicting bills are sent to

a conference committee for review and compromise

A committee chair in the House of Representatives is always

a member of the majority party in the chamber

Debate of a bill in the House of Representatives under a "closed rule" means that

amendments to the bill cannot be offered

The committee that resolves differences between House and Senate versions of a bill is called a

conference committee

The House Rules Committee is an important part of the legislative process because it

determines the terms and conditions of debate when a bill goes to the House floor

The congressional system of standing committees is significant because it

fosters the development of expertise by members

"Pork barrel" legislation helps the reelection chances of a member of Congress because such legislation

helps earn the member of Congress a reputation for service to his or her district

The largest source of federal revenue is the

income tax

The power of the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives rests on its authority to

place a bill on the legislative calendar, limit time for debate and determine the type of amendments allowed

Most of the work of legislating in Congress takes place in

standing committees

The Constitution states that all revenue bills must originate in

the United States House of Representatives

In which year did Congress pass all stand-alone appropriations (spending) bills on time?

1977

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a member of Congress supporting pork-barrel legislation?

A senator from an agricultural state amending legislation to establish a potato research institute in his or her state

The details of legislation are usually worked out in which of the following settings?

A subcommittee

Which of the following is true according to the diagram?

Both chambers make use of a system of majority and minority whips.

Which of the following identifies the formal procedure for ending a filibuster?

Cloture

When a bill passes the House and the Senate in different versions, the bill is resolved by which of the following types of committee?

Conference

Which of the following actions by a congressional representative is an example of "pork barreling"?

Directing federal funds into the representative's district through legislation

Federal spending for which of the following is determined by laws that lie outside the regular budgetary process?

Entitlement programs such as Social Security

The largest portion of "uncontrollable spending" in the federal budget is designated for which of the following?

Entitlement spending

Which of the following statements is true based on the bar graph?

From 2011 to 2016, no stand-alone appropriations bills were passed on time.

A member of the House of Representatives who wishes to be influential in the House itself would most likely seek a place on which of the following committees?

Rules

A first term member of the House of Representatives from North Dakota who wished to maximize opportunities for constituent service would be most likely to seek placement on which of the following committees?

Agriculture

A "cloture motion" passed in the Senate does which of the following?

Cuts off debate on a bill.

If Congress wanted to effect a change in the Social Security payroll tax, to what congressional committee would the task initially be assigned?

House Ways and Means Committee

To which of the following congressional committees would a proposal to reform the national income-tax system initially be sent?

House Ways and Means Committee

Which of the following are differences between the legislative process in the House of Representatives and that in the Senate?

I, II, and IV only

Which of the following statements about the Senate is true?

Individual senators can exercise substantial influence over the legislative process.

Which of the following categories accounted for the majority of spending in 2017, according to the chart?

Mandatory

Which of the following best describes pork barrel politics?

Members of Congress negotiate bills so that individual districts get money for projects that do not benefit the nation as a whole.

Which of the following statements about rules of procedure in the House and Senate is correct?

The House operates more by formal rules, while the Senate operates more on informal understandings.

Of the following, which is the most powerful figure in Congress?

The Speaker of the House

Which of the following has decreased in Congress over the past twenty years?

The influence of committee chairs

Based on your knowledge and the diagram, which of the following is true regarding the leadership structure of Congress?

The role of the minority leader in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is to coordinate a strategy for the minority party.

Much of the steady increase in federal government expenditures since 1960 has been caused by

increases in entitlement programs

Federal benefits that must be funded by Congress and must be paid to all citizens who meet eligibility criteria are called

individual entitlements

A difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate is that in the House

legislative activity on the floor is more constrained by rules

The practice in Congress whereby Representative A promises to vote for Representative B's legislation, provided that Representative B will support Representative A's legislation, is referred to as

logrolling

Congressional standing committees are best described as

permanent subject-matter committees

The term "pork barrel" refers to legislation specifically designed to

provide funding for local projects that are intended to benefit constituents

The role of a conference committee in Congress is to

reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate

Most of the bills introduced in the House and the Senate are then

referred to committee but never sent to the full Congress

Nominations to the Supreme Court must be approved by a

simple majority vote in the Senate only

An example of a discretionary item in the federal budget is

spending on national parks

Fiscal policies refer to the government's power to

tax and spend

The committee system is more important in the House than in the Senate because

the House is so large that more work can be accomplished in committees than on the floor

A major difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate is that

there is unlimited debate in the Senate but not in the House

Federal budget entitlements refer to spending

to provide individual benefits established by legislation