Thielke U.S. Gov and Politics Final (All tests)
In each House district, there are approximately ________ people.
700,000
Approximately ________ percent of the ________ bills introduced in a typical congressional session die in committee.
85; 10,000
Approximately ________ percent of members of Congress have university degrees.
90
How can Congress override a president's veto?
A president's veto can be overridden with a two-thirds vote in both chambers.
________ have the same status as treaties but do not require U.S. Senate approval.
Executive agreements
Which of the following best describes a way in which the House differs from the Senate?
The House is more centralized and organized than the Senate.
How is the Speaker of the House determined?
The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker.
What did the Supreme Court justices declare in Miller v. Johnson (1995)?
The racial composition of a district could not be the predominant factor when redistricting.
A bill's supporters in the House of Representatives generally prefer ________, while opponents generally prefer a(n) ________.
a closed rule; open rule
The kind of representation that takes place when constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives is called ________ representation.
agency
The process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states is called
apportionment
The term pork barrel refers to
appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts.
Congress is a ______ legislature with ______ members.
bicameral, 535
A member of the House of Representatives who helps a constituent apply for Social Security benefits is engaging in
casework
The Senate and House Appropriations committees are important because they:
decide how much funding various programs will receive and how the money will be spent.
A member of Congress who votes for a bill with which he or she disagrees because a majority of his or her constituents favor it is acting as a:
delegate
Which of the following are methods U.S. senators can use to block or delay debate on a bill?
filibustering, adding amendments to a bill, and placing a hold on a bill
A closed or an open rule refers to congressional provisions regarding:
floor debate and potential amendments on a bill.
In the impeachment process, the U.S. House of Representatives acts as a:
grand jury.
Which of the following statements best describes the difference between a congressional hearing and a congressional investigation?
hearing is held in order to analyze a specific bill that has already been proposed, while an investigation examines a broad problem and concludes with recommendations for a proposed bill.
One reason some people support the establishment of term limits in the House and Senate is that it will
increase turnover and get new faces into Congress.
The jurisdiction of standing committees
is defined by the subject matter of legislation, which often parallels the major cabinet departments or agencies
What is the MOST common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress?
lawyer
Senators' longer terms of office, and larger, more heterogeneous constituencies makes them more
likely to consider new ideas and better able to act as the agents for groups and interests organized on a statewide or national basis.
A senator who agrees to vote for a tax-cut bill with which he or she disagrees in order to receive another senator's vote on a climate change bill that he or she has proposed is engaged in
logrolling
Who has the MOST real power in the Senate?
majority and minority leaders
The Senate's constitutional power of advice and consent extends to the president's power to
make treaties with foreign nations.
Gerrymandering refers to the:
manipulation of electoral districts to serve the interests of a particular group.
The frequency with which they must seek re-election makes members of the U.S.House of Representatives
more responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
Compared to the rest of American history, recent congresses have been ________ polarized and ________ productive in terms of passing laws.
more; less
"Leadership PACs" are
organizations that members of Congress use to raise funds that they then distribute to other members of their party running for election.
A ________ veto occurs when Congress adjourns during a 10-day period after presenting the president with a bill and he or she takes no action.
A "filibuster" allows members of the Senate to:
prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor.
A bill proposed in Congress that grants citizenship to a specifically named individual from a foreign country would be an example of a(n)
private bill.
Many interest groups produce "scorecards" that
rate how members of Congress vote on issues of importance to that group.
The House of Representatives and the Senate come closest to providing sociological representation on which of the following characteristics?
religion
The "delegate" model of representation requires that:
representatives remain in constant touch with constituents and that constituents follow each policy issue very closely.
Congressional leaders form ________ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem.
select
A U.S. senator has a ________ year term.
six
Which sort of representation is based on the principle that if two individuals are similar in background, character, interests, and perspectives, then one could correctly represent the Other's views?
sociological
During the past several decades, the ________ and the ________ have benefited most from apportionment.
south, west
A legislative "hold" is a
stalling tactic used in the U.S. Senate to delay debate on a bill.
The Supreme Court has ruled that
state governments can use independent commissions rather than state legislatures to draw congressional district lines.
Six states have responded to concerns about partisan gerrymandering by
taking redistricting power away from their state legislature and giving it to independent commissions.
The House Ways and Means Committee have jurisdiction over:
taxes, trade, and entitlement programs.
Conference committees are:
temporary, involve members from both houses of Congress, and are charged with reaching a compromise on legislation once it has been passed by both the House and the Senate.
Which congressional staff agency assesses the economic implications and likely costs of proposed federal programs?
the Congressional Budget Office
The framers gave the power to introduce "money bills" to the House of Representatives but not the Senate because they believed that
the chamber closest to the people should exercise greater authority over taxing and spending.
"Oversight" can best be described as the
the efforts of congress to supervise the manner in which its laws are implemented by the executive branch
The president pro tempore of the Senate is usually
the majority party member with the greatest seniority.
In addition to gerrymandering, a major reason why so many members of Congress are elected from "safe" districts is
the natural geographic clustering of people who share a political ideology.
What is "cloture"?
the process by which three-fifths of the Senate can end a filibuster.
A major risk of the delegate model of representation is that:
the voices of only a few active and informed constituents will be heard because most people do not pay close attention to every issue.
In the impeachment process, the U.S. Senate acts as a:
trial jury
A member of Congress who feels only loosely constrained by the policy preferences of his or her constituents and empowered to make the decision he or she thinks best is acting as a:
trustee
A congressional caucus is a(n):
unofficial group of representatives or senators sharing similar interests or opinions.
The filibuster:
was rarely used throughout most of American history but has become a frequently used tactic in the U.S. Senate during the last 20 years.
Under the original Constitution, senators
were appointed by state legislatures
Which three factors related to the American electoral system affect who is elected to office in this country and what they do once they get there?
who decides to run for office, incumbency, and the drawing of district lines
