Gov DC quest+answers

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

Incumbents have a ready list of potential contributors from past campaigns.

Which of the following correctly describes protocol for committee membership?

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

What is it that holds party lawmakers together?

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

Polls indicate that voters' opinions of Donald Trump's performance had what effect in the 2018 midterms?

Those who were discontented with Trump helped Democrats retake control of the House.

______ refers to a practice whereby members of Congress respond to constituents' individual requests for information or help with a federal benefit or service.

Service strategy

True or false: After clearing the committee stage, floor debate on a bill is usually led by the majority party's leadership in the House.

True

True or false: House committees have the power to make suggestions for changing a bill in a process known as mark up.

True.

Which of the following statements about midterm elections are generally true?

Voter turnout is lower than for presidential elections. There is less media coverage of candidates and issues than in a presidential election. The president's party usually loses seats.

Which of the following are true concerning women and minorities who run for congressional office?

Women and minorities are less likely to run for Congress than white males. There are more women than there are minorities in Congress.

In Congress, disagreement over national policy usually occurs

along partisan divisions.

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

changes party affiliation at will

To end a filibuster, sixty senators must agree to invoke _______ and end the debate.

cloture

Select committees are

designed to address a specific issue or problem.

Which of the following are activities that typically take place in a party caucus?

developing issues adopting a single policy message

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.

When members of the Senate wish to halt or delay the passage of a bill, a(n) ____ may take place.

filibuster

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

frank, franking

Which of the following problems is most likely to jeopardize an incumbent's chances of reelection?

getting caught in a scandal

As a result of the increased level of party polarization in the United States, which candidates face greater risk of losing the primary election?

incumbent moderates

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

jurisdiction over bills in their designated policy area.

When a bill falls into the area in which a committee is authorized to act, that committee is said to have

jurisdiction.

Which of the following are the functions of Congress?

lawmaking representation oversight

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

lawmaking function

Which of the following positions in the Senate schedules debates on legislation?

majority leader

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

mark up

Elections held in the years between presidential elections are called ______ elections.

midterm

A(n) ____ rule allows members to propose amendments that are relevant to any section of the bill.

open

A(n) ______ rule allows members to propose amendments that are relevant to any section of the bill.

open

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

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 toward the Democrats.

The president is usually better suited to take the lead on national issues because

presidents tend to have a national perspective.

The term that describes the minority party's committee and subcommittee leaders is ______ members.

ranking

The process of determining how many House seats each state is allowed as a result of population change since the last census is known as

reapportionment.

The sole purpose of a conference committee is to

reconcile differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill.

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.

A limit of ______ exists for how long a Republican member can chair a particular committee.

six years

A permanent committee in Congress is known as a(n) _____ comittee

standing

Who is more likely to vote in a primary election?

strong partisans

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

What are conference committees?

temporary joint committees that are formed to work out differences

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

the Rules Committee.

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

the majority leader

Which of the following methods is most often used to select committee chairs?

the seniority system

When an incumbent personally helps constituents solve problems with the federal bureaucracy, it is known as

the service strategy.

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

the type of policy at issue.

Members of Congress are most indebted to which of the following?

the wealthy donors who fund their campaigns hardcore partisan voters in their state or district

Members of the House of Representatives typically serve on ______ committees, while members of the Senate serve on ______.

two, four

Both political parties in the House have a ______, who acts as a go-between with the leadership and the party members in the House.

whip

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.

Which of the following are common threats to incumbency?

1. personal misconduct 2. disruptive issues 3. strong challengers

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.

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

True or False: The Senate majority leader's position is more powerful than that of the House Speaker.

False

True or false: It is more common for House incumbents than Senate incumbents to face challengers in the form of prominent local politicians.

False

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

They allow more members to hold leadership positions.

Which of the following could be considered personal misconduct that might lead to a congressional incumbent losing a bid for reelection?

engaging in bribery being involved in a sex scandal

Which of the following is the most powerful party leadership position in the Senate?

majority leader

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.

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

caucus

As political scientist James Sundquist noted, "Congress [is] organized to deal with _____ problems but not with _____ ones."

narrow; broad

The party that controls the rules and has the most powerful leadership position in the House is the ______ party.

Majority

The practice in which members of Congress agree to vote for a bill in exchange for their colleague's vote on another bill is called

logrolling

If the Rules Committee places a "closed rule" on a piece of legislation, ______ amendments are permitted.

no

What is a distributive policy?

one that confers a benefit on a particular group while spreading the cost across the taxpaying public

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

party leaders

The trend toward party unity in Congress can clearly be seen in voting records of members of Congress when their votes are officially recorded during a _______-_______ vote.

roll, call

Political scientist John Hibbing advises that the "first thing to being reelected is to stay away from ______."

scandal