Government Chapter 12

Which of the following statements best describes a majority-minority district?

It is a district where minority members are clustered together, creating a majority of voters.

What happens directly after a bill is introduced?

It is assigned to committee.

True or false: The Constitution is far more explicit in defining the responsibilities of Congress than it is in describing the functions of the other branches of government.

True

Which of the following strongly and positively affects a congressional candidate's ability to raise money and win an election?

being an incumbent

Congressional oversight is a check on the federal bureaucracy because the bureaucracy is a part of the ______ branch.

executive

A lead committee is the

first committee a bill is referred to.

The ability to use ______ to communicate with voters free of charge is a benefit exclusive to incumbents.

franking

In the House of Representatives, a member of a legislator's staff drafts the proposed legislation and the House member puts the bill into the

hopper

A bill must pass both the House and Senate in ______ form(s) before it can be sent to the president.

identical

Which of the following has most hampered the ability of Congress to manage social conflict in recent years

increased polarization caused by partisan redistricting

Donors are more willing to make campaign contributions to

incumbents

What model of representation are legislators most likely to follow in important or high-profile issues?

instructed delegate

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

is actively working for them in Congress.

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

An example of Congress's ______ function is when Congress passes laws creating incentives for the development of alternative energy sources.

policy-making

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

In 2014, the House formed a ______ committee to investigate the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, which killed a U.S. ambassador and several American service members.

select

Committee chairs are often chosen using the , by which the member with the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee receives preference when the committee chooses its chair.

seniority system

What type of committee typically handles specific areas of a standing committee's jurisdiction?

subcommittee

With the widespread use of computer-driven mapmaking technology, congressional seats can be configured to ensure that

the majority of a district's population identifies with one party.

Standing committees are important because they

-Each specialize in a certain area of legislation -Allow Congress to consider a high volume of bills

Besides lawmaking , Congress can

-administer post offices. -regulate currency. -limit the power of the president.

Congress gets its powers from sources other than the Constitution, including

-the media. -Supreme Court decisions. -American citizens.

A(n) is a proposed piece of legislation that is considered by Congress.

Bill

Which of the following statements about Congress and congressional representatives are true as a result of partisan redistricting?

-House members are less likely to compromise with the opposition. -Congress has become more politically polarized.

Which of the following are ways new legislation can be introduced in the Senate?

-Senators can submit a written draft of the proposed legislation to the Senate clerk. -Senators can propose new legislation by offering it as an amendment to an already pending piece of legislation. -Senators can announce new legislation in a speech on the Senate floor.

Which of the following describe ways that the media are a source of congressional power?

-The media provide congressional members with a forum with which to communicate with constituents. -The media can sway public opinion. -The media can create a favorable climate for the passage of legislation.

Which of the following are ways that Congress manages societal conflict?

-by representing a wide range of views and interests -by taking stands on issues -by compromising and negotiating issues

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

-congressional hearings -budgetary appropriations -confirmation hearings -investigations

Which of the following policy-making functions are explicitly granted to Congress by the Constitution?

-declare war -regulate the armed forces -establish courts -tax and spend

As of 2018, how many African Americans have been elected to the U.S. Senate?

9

Which of the following is true of current African American representation in the U.S. Congress?

More African Americans serve in Congress than at any other point.

The seniority system

a system that gives the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee

Ensuring that laws are being administered by the executive branch in the way intended by Congress is an important function of Congress and is known as

oversight

A subcommittee is a subset of the members of a ______ committee.

standing

In the original version of the Constitution, members of the House were to be elected by the ______, while senators were to elected by ______.

the citizenry; state legislatures

Which of the following benefits of office are an advantage for incumbents in their campaigns for reelection?

-free news exposure -franking privileges -casework

How is legislation proposed in the House of Representatives?

A staff member places legislation in a wooden box on a desk at the front of the House chamber.

Congress continuously engages in ______ setting because it relieves the pressure parties face in getting their members to vote with their particular party.

Agenda

An elderly person deciding to vote to reelect a House representative after the representative has tracked down the constituent's Social Security check is an example of how can benefit an incumbent.

Casework

Because taxation was such an important power to the framers, they required that all taxation measures be granted to

Congress

Gerrymandering is

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Why might voting against their constituents' will on a particular issue be less significant for a member of the Senate than for a member of the House?

Senators have longer terms of service.

Why is it challenging for U.S. .senators to represent the views of their constituencies?

They represent entire states, which may include many different ideologies.

True or false: Supreme Court decisions often uphold the constitutionality of a law, in a sense verifying Congress's ability to create policy on a given subject.

True

According to analysts, most legislators use ______ of representation.

a combination of trustee and instructed delegate models

Which of the following most accurately describes a congressional subcommittee?

a committee that typically handles specific areas of a standing committee's jurisdiction

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.

After 1995, joint referrals were

abolished from the House.

The segment of voters who pay careful attention to political issues are referred to as the

attentive public.

To balance the desire for representation at different levels, the framers made Congress a ______ institution.

bicameral, bicamral, bicamera, bicamerel, or two-house

The framers wanted a legislative branch that could govern

but not exercise tyrannical rule.

One consequence of having a congressional "safe seat" is that a House member

can generally be partisan without an unfavorable political outcome.

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

casework

Joint committees are unique because they

include members from both chambers of Congress.

The "necessary and proper" clause was also called the elastic clause because

it increased the powers of Congress beyond the language of the Constitution.

With regard to representation, members of Congress

may speak for several constituencies.

If Democrats hold a majority of the seats in the Senate, each committee and subcommittee will have a(n) ______ of Republicans as members

minority

Members of Congress frequently use ______ as a means of appropriating funds for projects within their districts

pork barrel politics

Which of the following describes the process by which members of Congress articulate and vote for the position that best reflects the views of their constituents?

representation

Senate House of Representatives

represents the states represents the population

In the 2018 midterm elections, Latinos

saw marked success in gaining congressional representation.

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

seniority system

Congress manages ______ conflict by representing a wide range of views and interests.

societal

What area has traditionally been the vehicle for pork barrel projects?

transportation bills

To reflect the variety of national and state interests, Congress

was made a bicameral institution.

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