Chapter 11

When is congressional oversight exercised vigorously?

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

Which of the following are duties of the speaker of the house

-Scheduling legislation for floor consideration -Recognizing members who will be allowed to speak on the floor

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.

Which function is the main responsibility of congress which all other functions of congress are related to

Lawmaking

Redistricting consists of

Redrawing congressional district boundaries within a state

When does a bill become a law?

When the President signs it When congress overrides a presidential veto

Redrawing congressional district boundaries to favor a particular group or party is known as

gerrymandering

Pork barrel projects show constituents that their representative

is actively working for them in congress

Members of the House of Representatives typically serve on ___ committees, while members of senate serve on ___.

two, four

Which of the following makes a senate challenger more likely to be successful

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

Which of the following are true about joint committees

•they perform advisory functions •they are composed of members of both houses

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 •women and minorities have a winning percentage that roughly the same as the non incumbent white males

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

Reapportionment takes place every ___ years following census

10

Incumbents to the United States senate are only defeated in ____ of re-election races

16%

In order to member of the senate a person must be ___ years of age and a citizen for at least ___ years.

30, 9

The cost of running for Senate rose by more than ____ between 1990 and 2010.

300%

Which of the following best explain why a member of congress is chosen to a party leadership position

Ability to work with the other party Ability to successful promote the party's goals within congress Demonstrated leadership. Ability

Which of the following could be considered personal misconduct that might lead to a congressional incumbent losing a bid for re-election

Being involved in a sex scandal Engaging in bribery

___ is a proposed legislative act that if passed by both chambers of congress and signed by the president becomes a law

Bill

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

Casework

Which of the following is a procedural move in the senate that can end a filibuster

Cloture

Which of the following are common threats to incumbency

Disruptive issues Strong challengers Personal misconduct

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

Most congressional bills survive committee scrutiny and are voted upon by the house and senate

False

The privilege of incumbents to send mail to their constituencies at the governments expense is known as the ___ privilege

Franking

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

Have a majority of republican members

Which of the following makes a senate challenger more likely to be successful

Having access to large sums of money to fund the campaign Having an existing campaign organization Having string public recognition

The difference between amendments that can be offered in the house and senate to a bill under consideration is that in the

House amendments must directly relate to a bill's contents.

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

Incumbents

The practice in which meme era of congress agree to vote for a bill in exchange for their colleagues vote on another bill is called

Logrolling

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

Midterm

The trend toward part unity in congress can clearly be seen in voting records of members congress when their votes are officially recorded during a ___-___ vote

Roll-call

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

Rules committees

_____ ___ refers to a practice where members of congress respond to constituents individual requests for information or a help with a federal benefit or service

Service strategy

The most powerful leader in the House of Representatives is the

Speaker of the House

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

How do committees and subcommittees serve to decentralize lower in congress

They allow more members to hold leadership positions

Gerrymandering is

Usually legal

If a vote in the Senate is tied, the __________ ____________ breaks the tie.

Vice President

Both political parties in the house have a ___, who act as a go-between with the leadership and the party member in the house.

Whip

Which of the following strongly and positively affects a congressional candidates ability to raise money and win an election

being an incumbent

The U.S congress is a ___ legislature with two chambers, the house and the senate.

bicameral

Most members of Congress are

career politicians who want to stay in Congress and put themselves in position for reelection

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

caucus

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

constituency

Select committees are

designed to address a specific issue or problem

How does the public generally feel about congress

dissatisfied

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

filibuster

When a committee or subcommittee holds a ___, they are trying to gather information about a proposed bill

hearing

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

What is one reason why incumbents have a fundraising advantage over challengers

incumbents have a ready list of potential contributors from past campaigns

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

jurisdiction over bills in their designated policy area

Which of the following are the functions of congress

lawmaking, representation, oversight

the increase in party polarization in congress has led to increased

legislative gridlock

Which of the following positions in the senate schedules debates on legislation

majority leader

The framers of the constitution granted congress the power to ___, the greatest of all powers of government

make laws

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

mark up

When major disruptive issues occur incumbents are

more likely to lose

Members of congress may experience conflict between their lawmaking responsibility and their responsibility to represent their constituency because

not all policies that are good for the nation as a whole coincide with the needs of their constituency

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 called an ___-____ election and usually sparks heavier spending by the two political parties.

open seat

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 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

Which of the following is a right of the president pro tempore

preside over the Senate in the absence of the vice president

The speaker of the house has the right to

select the chairperson of the House Rules Committee. speak first during House debate on legislation. choose who may speak on the House floor.

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

seniority system

Which of the following terms describes a permanent committee in congress that has a defined legislative jurisdiction

standing committee

Incumbents have ___ over challengers

substantial advantages

What occurs after a conference committee reconciles differences in the house and senate versions of a bill

the bill goes back to both chambers for a vote

Put in order the following steps that a bill must pass through in order to become law.

•a member of the House of Representatives or the senate formally propose the bill •the bill is submitted to a committee for consideration •a majority of members in the house and senate approve the bill •president signs the bill