POSI 2310 Unit 2 Online Lesson

Joint

A committee that is composed of members of both chambers of Congress is known as a _____ committee

Party Unity

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 _________ vote

Party Leadership in Congress

Ability to successfully promote the party's goals within Congress Demonstrated leadership ability Ability to work with the other party

Open Rule

Allows members to propose amendments that are relevant to any section of the bill

House

Amendments must directly relate to a bill's content

Open-Seat

An election with no incumbent running Sparks heavier spending by the 2 political parties

Lawmaking Function

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

Executive

Budgetary appropriations and congressional hearings are oversight tools that Congress uses to ensure that the __________ branch is administering laws properly

Incumbent Moderates

Candidate that faces greater risk of losing the primary election due to increased levels of party polarization

600%

Compared to the 1980s, the cost of running for the House of Representatives has risen by more than ____ in 2010

Underrepresented

Compared with their percentage of the overall population of the United States, women and minorities are _______ in Congress

Constituency

Compromised of citizens from the incumbent's state or district

Bill to law

Congress overrides a presidential veto President signs it

Rules Committee

Debate in the House of Representatives is limited on the congressional floor because of the:

Constituents

Determine whether or not members of Congress stay in office

Incumbents

Donors are more willing to make campaign contributions to _____

Midterm

Elections held in the years between presidential elections

Oversight

Ensuring that laws are being administered by the executive branch in the way intended by Congress Important function of Congress

President

Has sole executive authority Can decide a course of action without needing the consent of other top executives

Incumbents

Have substantial advantages over challengers

Majority Leader

Helps the Speaker set the party's legislative agenda in the House

Party Leaders

House and Senate each elect _______ to lead their party's efforts in the chamber

Vice President

If a vote in the Senate is tied, the _______ breaks the tie

Partisan Divisions

In Congress, disagreement over national policy usually occurs along ________

30 and 9

In order to be a member of the Senate, a person must be ___ years of age and ___ years a citizen

Mark up

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

16%

Incumbents to the Unite States Senate are only defeated in ___ of re-elections

Is Not

It ____ more common for House incumbents than Senate incumbents to face challengers in the form of prominent local politicians

Congress

Lawmaking Representation Oversight

Women and Minorities

Less likely to run for Congress than white males Have a winning percentage roughly the same as nonincumbent white males

Congressional Committees

Make it possible for Congress to consider a high volume of bills Specialize in a certain area of legislation

Congress

Members come from different districts and often have conflicting views on national policy Has 2 chambers and they are not always in agreement on policy issues

Representative

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

Constituency

Members of Congress usually serve on Congressional Committees that concentrate on policy areas that affect the members'

Do not

Most Congressional bills _______ survive committee scrutiny and ______ get voted upon by the House and Senate

Bills Killed in Committee

Most are poorly conceived or of little interest to anyone They can be brought back to life by a vote of the full House or Senate Some are not supported by the members who introduced them

Distributive

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

Speaker of the House

Most powerful leader in the House of Representatives

Joint Committees

Perform advisory functions Composed of members of both houses

Majority leader

Position in the Senate that schedules debates on legislation

Reapportionment

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

Bill

Proposed legislative act that, if passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president, becomes a law

House Members

Receive identical amounts of money when trying to hire office staff

Senators

Receive varying amounts of money, depending on the population of their state when trying to hire office staff

Gerrymandering

Redrawing of Congressional boundaries to benefit a political party

Speaker of the House

Responsible for recognizing members who will be allowed to speak on the floor and scheduling legislation for floor consideration

President Pro Tempore

Senate position honorary in nature

Majority Party Leader

The ________ directs the floor debate after the bill leaves the committee and shape the bill's broad content

Make laws

The framers of the Constitution granted Congress the power to _____, the greatest of all powers of government

Lawmakers

The framers of the Constitution intended that ______ act in the spirit of compromise, something which has become increasingly difficult in today's partisan Congress

Logrolling

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

Bill

The sole purpose of a conference committee is to reconcile differences in the House and the Senate versions of a ____

Roll-Call

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

Incumbency

Threatened by disruptive issues, strong challengers, and personal misconduct

Cloture

To end a filibuster, 60 senators must agree to invoke _____ and end the debate

Caucus

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

Incumbents

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

Bicameral

US Congress is a _______ legislature with 2 chambers (House and Senate)

Midterm Elections

Voter turnout is lower than for presidential elections Less media coverage of candidates and issues than presidential election President's party usually loses seats

Being an Incumbent

What strongly and positively affects a congressional candidate's ability to raise money and win an election?

Redistricting

When Congressional district boundaries are redrawn within a state

Hearing

When a (sub)committee holds a ______, they are trying to gather information about a proposed bill

Jurisdiction

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

Lose

When major disruptive issues occur, incumbents are more likely to _____

Filibuster

When members of the Senate wish to halt or delay the passage of a bill, a ______ may take place