A.P. Government: Chpt. 12

The United States Senate has _______________ members.

100

How many senators are elected from each state?

2

According to the Constitution, once impeached, federal officials are then tried in the a. senate b. supreme court c. department of justice d. united states district court for the district of columbia e. house

A

All of the following may increase the likelihood that an incumbent is defeated EXCEPT a. campaign funding b. scandals c. a strong challenger d. national political "tidal waves." e. redistricting

A

Compared to members of the House, senators are a. more likely to face difficult reelection opponents b. less likely to use television in their reelection campaigns c. more likely to have personal contact with their constituents d. less likely to face difficult reelection opponents e. none of the above

A

Comparison between members of the House and Senate concerning the impact of incumbency on their reelection chances shows that one of the reasons that senators have a smaller advantage is because they a. are more likely to be held accountable on controversial issues b. are less visible c. have longer terms that increase the chance of scandal d. represent more homogenous constituencies e. have become overspecialized as policymakers

A

For member of Congress, advertising refers to a. making frequent trips back home b. placing ads on television c. placing ads in newspapers d. raising money e. all of the above

A

House and Senate committees a. all have majority of members from the majority party in that chamber b. are populated by the hired staff members of Congress, freeing the elected members for more important work d. all have an equal number of Republicans and Democrats e. are nonpartisan, and thus some committees are nearly all Democrats and others nearly all Republicans

A

Millionaire Senator Edward Kennedy sponsoring a bill to help the poor and disadvantaged would be an example of a. substantive representation b. descriptive representation c. elite representation d. franking privileges e. constituent representation

A

One of the key differences between the House of Senate is that the Senate a. is less independent on seniority for determining power b. has more anarchy c. has a low turnover rate d. has stronger leadership e. is more centralized

A

The House Rules Committee a. reviews most bills coming from committee before they go to the full House b. is similar to the Senate Rules Committee c. usually retains independence from the House leadership d. has its members appointed by the House majority later e. all of the above

A

The House _____________ Committee reviews most bills coming from other committees before they go on the full House, thus performing a traffic cop function. a. rules b. ways and means c. appropriations d. review e. authorization

A

The most common prior occupation for members of Congress is a. law b. public service c. business d. state legislator e. education

A

The procedure used to cut off debate and end a filibuster is known as a. cloture b. hushing c. overriding d. coattails e. franking

A

The single most important advantage to someone trying to get elected to Congress is a. being an incumbent b. having more money to spend on campaigning c. having a clean record d. winning the endorsement of the top leaders of their party e. being charismatic and photogenic

A

What is descriptive representation? a. representing constituents by mirroring their personal, politically relevant characteristics b. when members of congress have not lived in their home district very long c. representing issues affecting the poor when the representative is extremely wealthy d. when members of congress serve on committees e. representing the interests of groups

A

Which of the following statements about those who challenge incumbent members of the House is TRUE? a. they are usually not well known b. they are usually experienced legislators c. they tend to be well financed d. they usually conduct public opinion polls and only run if they have a good chance of winning e. they usually have well-established organizational backing

A

Which of these candidates would most likely get elected? a. a representative running for reelection b. an incumbent c. a challenger d. a senator running for reelection e. an incumbent representive challenging a senator

A

Why are so many Senators reluctant to use cloture? a. for fear of setting a precedent to be used against them when they want to filibuster b. because the size and complexity of today's government make it impossible for any one person to understand all the issues before the Senate c. because, in most cases, the House or Senate usually consider only the bills that obtain a favorable committee report d. because they have to stay in their positions to monitor the bureaucracy, otherwise there would be no congressional oversight e. because it has always been used as a stepping-stone to the Speaker's job and once used, they may not get a second chance at the job

A

Women occupied ___________ percent of the seats in the 110th Congress. a. 16 b. 40 c. 10 d. 5 e. 20

A

______________ members present and voting can halt a filibuster by voting for cloture. a. sixty b. seventy-five c. seventy d. eighty e. fifty-one

A

After each federal census, a. the office of the Speaker of the House change hands b. the membership of the House is reapportioned c. the Senate reapportions its membership d. the size of Congress increases e. all of the above

B

An example of casework by a member of Congress is a. voting for a bill desired by constituents b. helping a constituent gain citizenship c. writing a newsletter to send out to constituents d. working with a caucus on a public policy that affects his or her constituents e. all of the above

B

Bicameralism means that a legislative body is one a. in which there are only two political parties b. with two houses, providing checks and balances on policymaking c. that must share power with a president, providing more efficient policymaking d. in which incumbents have a better chance of being reelected, providing continuity in policymaking e. in which each state has two senators, providing equal representation of the states

B

House seats are up for election every a. eight years b. two years c. four years d. six years e. five years

B

Nominees to the United States Supreme Court must be confirmed by a. the president b. the Senate c. either the House or the Senate d. the House e. both the House and the Senate

B

Occasionally, a major political tidal wave rolls across the country and throws large numbers of incumbents of a given party out of office. When did this last occur? a. 1980 b. 1994 c. 1974 d. 1964 e. 1954

B

The constitution give the House of Representative the power to a. try impeached officials b. initiate all revenue bills c. ratify all treaties d. confirm presidential nominations e. all of the above

B

The filibuster a. is allowed in both the House and the Senate b. is unique to the Senate c. has been prohibited in both the House and Senate d. has been ruled constitutional e. is unique to the House

B

The minority whip a. becomes the Speaker automatically if the Speaker resigns b. keeps a close head count on key votes, and attempts to keep party members in line. c. represents African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans in each chamber of Congress d. assists the majority leader in party-line votes e. is used to punish members who do not vote with the rest of their party

B

_____________ privileges refer to the free use of the mail system enjoyed by Congress. a. procurement b. franking c. e-mail d. conmail e. junket

B

______________ committees draw their membership from both the Senate and the House. a. conference b. joint c. standing d. select e. ad-hoc

B

A ____________ committee is one appointed for a limited, specific purpose, such as that set up to investigate the Watergate scandal. a. joint b. conference c. select d. standing e. special

C

In the most congressional elections, challengers a. outspend an incumbent b. spend roughly as much money as incumbents c. lose d. win e. are better known than incumbents

C

Individuals already holding office are called a. consulates b. secretaries c. incumbents d. chairmen e. challengers

C

Most of the business of Congress takes place a. during evening social functions b. in congressional districts c. in committees and subcommittees d. in the Rules Committee e. on the floor of the House and Senate

C

Nebraska's legislature is the only one in the United States that is NOT a. under term limits b. unicameral c. bicameral d. tricameral e. elected by the voters

C

Party loyalty at the voting booth is a. no longer a good indication of voting behavior b. stronger than it was a generation ago c. still a good predictor of voting behavior d. almost nonexistent today e. greater among Democrats than among Republicans

C

Substantive representation refers to a. representing the poor b. serving constituents through pork barrel projects c. representing the interests of groups d. representing constituents by mirroring their personal, politically relevant characteristics e. descriptive representation

C

The principle partisan ally of the Speaker of the House or the party's manager in the Senate is called the a. minority leader b. chief diplomat c. majority leader d. vice president e. Speaker of the Senate

C

When the House of the Senate pass different versions of the same bil a. the senate bill is changed to conform with the house bill b. the president may elect which bill to enact into law. c. a conference committee is appointed to resolve differences d. a joint committee is appointed to resolve differences e. the House bill is changed to conform with the Senate bill

C

Which of the following congressional offices is mandated by the Constitution? a. President of the United States b. House and Senate Majority leader c. Speaker of the House d. President of the House e. all of the above

C

A senate seat is up for election every a. eight years b. four years c. two years d. six years e. five years

D

Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals are known as a. advertising b. pork barrel politics c. credit claiming d. casework e. franking

D

Appropriations, Judiciary, and Armed Services are all examples of __________ committees. a. select b. rule c. joint d. standing e. conference

D

Committee chairs play a dominant role in a. hiring staff b. scheduling hearings c. appointing subcommittees d. all of the above e. none of the above

D

Cutting through red tape to give people what they think they have the right to is a. advertising b. franking c. pork barrel politics d. casework e. credit claiming

D

Overall, members of Congress can ____________ of the American people. a. possibly claim descriptive representation, but not substantive representation. b. claim both substantive and descriptive representation. c. claim neither substantive nor descriptive representation. d. possibly claim substantive representation, but not descriptive representation e. possibly claim both substantive and descriptive represenation

D

The income and occupations of members of Congress a. are very close to the average found among their constituency. b. places over 9 percent of them in the millionaire business person class. c. have no real impact on public policymaking. d. would, for the most part, make them members of the elite in American society. e. typically reflect the pluralistic nature of American Society.

D

The pork barrel and casework are examples of a. advertising techniques b. position taking c. congressional continuity d. opportunities for credit claiming by members of Congress e. descriptive representation

D

The real differences between the House and Senate lie in their a. ideology b. members' characteristics c. power relative to each other d. organization and centralization of power e. respective roles in policy

D

Which of the following is TRUE about the minimum age requirements for members of Congress set forth in the Constitution? a. one must be at least 21 years of age to serve in the House of Representatives. b. the age requirements are the same for the House and the Senate. c. there are no age requirements for members of Congress. d. one must be at least 30 years of age to serve in the Senate. e. one must be at least 35 years of age to serve in either the House or the Senate.

D

Which of the following is TRUE? a. fewer women than men become major party nominees for office. b. women with children report lower levels of political ambition than do men. c. women without children report lower levels of political ambition than do men d. both a and b e. all of the above

D

Which of the following statements about PACs is TRUE? a. PAC expenditures are limited to $5000 per candidate b. most PAC money is given to incumbents c. PACs seek access to policymakers d. all of the above e. none of the above

D

A legislature divided into two houses is called a ___________ legislature. a. dual b. unicameral c. double d. divided e. bicameral

E

According to the Constitution, revenue bills must originate in the a. treasury department b. internal revenue service c. senate d. federal reserve system e. house

E

In terms of religion, most members of Congress are a. born-against Christians b. catholic c. atheists d. jewish e. protestant

E

One of the key differences between the House and Senate is that the House a. is less institutionalized b. is more influential on foreign affairs c. ahs weaker leadership d. is less centralized e. has more policy specialization

E

The fact that incumbents usually win reelection a. creates stability in the membership of Congress b. insulates members of Congress from political change c. allows representatives and senators to gain some expertise in dealing with public policy d. makes it more difficult for citizens to "send a message to Washington" with their votes e. all of the above

E

The seniority system gives a decisive edge to House members from __________ districts. a. suburban b. older c. Republican d. competitive e. safe

E

Which of the following is a consequence of the fact that members of Congress feel "unsafe at any margin"? a. members of congress staff more local offices b. members of congress spend more time raising campaign funds c. members of congress spend more time at home in their states and districts d. members of congress send more to their constituents e. all of the above

E

Which of the following statements about the role of money in congressional elections is FALSE? a. the more challengers spend, the more votes they receive b. outspending your opponent by a large margin is no guarantee of success c. incumbents benefit less from campaign spending than challengers d. in open seats, the candidate who spends the most usually wins. e. challengers usually outspend incumbents

E

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. most incumbents running for reelection are victorious. b. in 2006, 89 percent of House incumbents were reelected c. in 2006, 92 percent of Senate incumbents were reelected d. most incumbents decide to run for reelection e. most incumbents forgo the opportunity to run for reelection

E

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. it costs a great deal of money to elect a member of Congress b. challengers are usually outspent by incumbents c. incumbents are usually outspent by challengers d. both a and b e. both a and c

E