Federal Government Chapter 11

Among the reasons why Congress has difficulty taking the lead on broad issues are the facts that

- Congress has two chambers, and they are not always in agreement on policy issues - members of Congress come from different districts and often have conflicting views on national policy

On major bills, it is increasingly typical for the majority party's leaders to

- direct the floor debate after the bill leaves the committee - shape the bill's broad content

Which of the following are common threats to incumbency

- disruptive issues - strong challengers - personal misconduct

In order to be a member of the House of Representatives, a person must be ______ years of age

25

In the 1980's, before the partisan deadlock, congressional approval ratings were about ______ percent

60

Among the reasons why Congress has difficulty taking the lead on broad issues are the facts that

Congress has two chambers, and they are not always in agreement on policy issues

How do committees and subcommittees serve to decentralize power in Congress?

They allow more members to hold leadership positions

The U.S. Congress is a ________ legislature with two chambers, the House and the Senate

bicameral

How does the public generally feel about Congress?

dissatisfied

The framers of the constitution granted Congress the power to _______, the greatest of all powers of government

make laws

Which of the following is a major reason why incumbents are reelected?

many congressional districts and some states are lopsidedly democratic or republican

In the House, both the full committee and a subcommittee may ________ or propose changes to, a bill.

mark up

In Insecure Majorites, Frances Lee noted that, in the currently closely matched parties, members of Congress are engaged in "________" rather than "governing"

messaging

What term describes the situation in which Republican and Democratic lawmakers vote in the same way as their fellow partisans, regardless of constituency

nationalization

Which of the following describes the power of Congress relative to the other branches of government?

no executive agency or lower court can exist without congressional authorization

The increase in party polarization in Congress has led to increaded

policy deadlock

A permanent committee in Congress is known an a ________ committee

standing

Which of the following oversight tools help Congress to ensure that the executive branch is administering the laws properly?

- budgetary appropriations - congressional hearings

Which of the following are duties of the Speaker of the House?

- choosing leadership of the House Rules Committee - recognizing members who will be allowed to speak on the floor

Which of the following makes a challenger to a Senate incumbent more likely to be successful?

- having strong public recognition - having access to large sums of money to fund the campaign - having an existing campaign organization

Which of the following statements about congressional committees are true

- they each specialize in a certain area of legislation - they make it possible for Congress to consider a high volume of bills

When is congressional oversight exercised vigorously?

- when members are annoyed with an agency - when members are intending to modify an agency problem

At present there are _______ standing committees in the House of Representatives

20

In order to become a member of the Senate a person must be at least _____ years of age and have been a citizen for at least _____ years

30 - 9

If the president chooses to veto a bill,

Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

T/F Most congressional bills survive committee scrutiny and are voted upon by the House and Senate

False

The emergence of __________ _________, groups that can pour money into a political campaign with few limits has given challengers a better opportunity to unseat congressional incumbents

Super PACs

Why is the president usually better suited than Congress to taking the lead on broad national issues?

The president has sole executive authority and thus can decide a course of action without needing the consent of other top executives

T/F After clearing the committee stage, floor debate on a bill is usually led by the majority party's leadership in the House

True

Members of Congress may experience conflict between their lawmaking responsibility and their responsibility to represent their constituency when

a policy that is good for the nation as a whole does not coincide with the needs of their constituency

Congress's structure makes it easier to

block legislation than enact it

The plan strategy and resolve policy issues party members in Congress typically meet behind closed doors and a session called a party ______

caucus

Which of the following is not a direct power of the committee chair?

changes party affiliation at will

A constituency is compromised of

citizens from the incumbents state or district

To end a fillibuster, sixty senators must agree to invoke ______ and end the debate

cloture

Members of Congress usually serve on congressional committees that concentrate on policy areas that affect the members

constituency

Most of the bills Congress passes are _______ in nature which means they provide benefits to a particular group in society while spreading the costs across the taxpaying public as a whole.

distributive

The redrawing of congressional boundaries to benefit a political party is called

gerrymandering

Which of the following problems is most likely to jeopardize an incumbents chances of reelection?

getting caught in a scandal

Every bill must be approved by both the House and the Senate in _______ form before it can be sent to the president

identical

The purpose of pork-barrel projects is to show constituents that their representative

is actively working for them in Congress

One reason why standing committees are powerful is that they have by law

jurisdiction over bills in their designated policy area

An _____ rule allows members to propose amendments that are relevant to any section of the bill.

open

When there is no incumbent running in an election it is call an _____-______ election and usually sparks heavier spending by the two political parties

open-seat

If a "turf war" erupts as different committees vie for jurisdiction over a bill, who or what decides the committee assignment?

party leaders

Members of Congress give various interest a voice in the legislative process as part of Congress's ________ function

representative

Choosing committee chairs based on which member has the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee is an example of the

seniority system

In the 2018 midterm elections, how many House and Senate races received money from super PACs?

several dozen

Today, Congress and the president

share legislative power

In the House of Representatives, debate is limited on the congressional floor by

the Rules Committee

The privilege of incumbents sending mail to their constituencies at the government's expense is known as

the franking privilege

Who helps the Speaker set the party's legislative agenda in the House?

the majority leader

What holds party lawmakers together?

they have far more in common with each other than they do with the lawmakers of the other party

T/F Congress is an institution in which many interest are represented, which is a strength in a diverse nation; yet Congress is also a place in which narrow interest can block Congress from acting even when there's an important nation need, which is a weakness

true

Why are incumbents at risk when elections are being waged in the context of disruptive issues?

voters are more likely to believe those in power should be removed from office

Before 1900, service in Congress

was not usually a career for most of its members

Which of the following are the functions of Congress?

- oversight - representation - lawmaking

In terms of budget to hire office staff

- senators receive ranging amounts of money, depending on the population of their state - house members receive identical amounts of money

Partisan divisions have become more _____ as a result of party polarization

acute

If the majority of the members of the House of Representatives are Republican, then every committee and subcommittee in the House will

have a majority of Republican members

The partisan divide in Congress has grown in recent years and each party engages in _______, which is when party members band together on legislation and oppose the other party

party unity

Why is the Rules Committee considered one of the most important committees in the House?

because it decides whether a bill will be sent to the Senate

Which of the following correctly describes protocol for committee membership?

- most newly elected members of Congress request committee assignments - most vacancies occur after elections, either from retirements or incumbent defeats

A procedural move in which a member or members in the Senate speak(s) for an unlimited amount of time on the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill is known as

a fillibuster

In Congress, disagreement over national policy usually occurs

along partisan divisions

If congressional representatives find themselves having to choose between angering voters and donors or angering party leadership by refusing to go along with a vote, which will they likely choose?

angering leadership by voting the way their donors and voters want them to

__________typically benefit from gerrymandering because the majority party ensures that there are enough of the party's voters in the district to ensure reelection

incumbents

a vote where most members of one political party vote one way while most members of the other party vote the other way is categorized as a ____ unity vote

party

Going into the 2018 election, the Democratic party was able to field an unusually strong set of candidates because

polls showed that voters were trending towards democrats

The term that describes a party's committee and subcommittee leaders is _______ members

ranking

Whether or not Congress takes the lead in the making of laws usually depends on

the type of policy at issue

What is one reason that incumbents have a fundraising advantage over challenges?

incumbents have a ready list of potential contributors from past campaigns

An example of Congress's _______ is when Congress passes legislation that creates incentives for the development of alternative energy sources

lawmaking function