AP Government Quiz

Which of the following types of committee deals with broad areas of public policy and can be found in both houses of Congress?

Standing

Which of the following is a unique power held by members of the Senate?

The ability to filibuster

Which of the following committees plays a major role in the House in shaping tax policy?

Ways and Means (they raise the revenues)

If legislation passes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate but each version is slightly different, the conflicting bills are sent to

a conference committee for review and compromise

Under the Constitution prior to the Seventeenth Amendment, US Senators were

chosen by members of state legistures

Which of the following identifies the formal procedure for ending a filibuster?

cloture

Congress enacted the presidential line-item veto primarily in order to

control local pork-barrel projects

Congressional oversight refers to the power of Congress to

exercise some control over executive agencies

Which of the following scenarios is an example of the trustee model off representation?

A member of Congress votes to close a popular tax loophole based on the belief that the money would be better spent paying down the national debt

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a member of Congress supporting pork-barrel (legislation that will only benefit what you represent-very narrow-focused) legislation?

A senator from an agricultural state amending legislation to establish a potato research institute in his or her state

Which of the following is true according to the diagram?

Both chambers make use of a system of majority and minority whips

Based on the information in the line graph, which of the following is most likely implication of entitlement and defense spending as a portion of the federal budget?

Changes in entitlement spending put pressure on discretionary spending

Which of the following policies involves more state spending than federal spending?

Education

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the information in the line graph?

Entitlement spending has steadily become a larger portion of the federal budget

A member of the House of Representatives has introduced a bill to raise the minimum wage, but it has been in committee for 36 days and is unlikely to make it to the floor. Which of the following is the best course of action for the representative to take to get a vote on the bill?

Filing for a discharge petition

Policy that describes the impact of the federal budget (including taxes, spending, and borrowing) on the economy is referred to as which of the following?

Fiscal policy

Which of the following is a consequence of the way the district is drawn on the map?

It will likely lead to a less competitive general election, which could lead to increased partisanship

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the House of Representatives and the Senate?

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Members are elected by constituents in a local district based on populations SENATE: Members are elected by constituents of an entire state

Members in US House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs are concerned about the quality of services at hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Which of the following is an action the committee can take to address the problem?

Holding a hearing and subpoenaing high-level officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs to testify

Which of the following scenarios illustrates Washington's concerns?

Ideological divisions within Congress can lead to partisan gridlock

The map shows the outline of a congressional district. Which of the following statements best explains the motivation behind the way in which it is drawn?

It has likely been drawn to pack together voters who are registered with the same party

The majority party in the Senate is concerned that the Supreme Court has made a number of ideologically dangerous and controversial rulings. Which of the following actions would the Senate take in their attempt to limit the Supreme Court's power?

Pass legislation that would limit the impact of the Supreme Court's recent ruling.

The trend shown in the chart contributed to which of the following in the 1980's?

Rising federal deficits

Which of the following best describes the pattern in the chart?

Tax rates for wealthy people were lowest in 1991-1992 and highest in 1981

Which of the following constitutional provisions broadened the power of Congress?

The necessary and proper clause

Which of the following is supported by information in the table?

The number of women elected to Congress more than doubled between the 100th and 105th Congresses

Senator Smith votes her conscience on bills that her constituents care little about, but she votes according to the wishes of the majority of her constituents on other bills. Which model of representation do her actions embody?

The politico model

Which of the following enumerated powers would permit Congress to stimulate the economy by hiring unemployed citizens?

The power to pass a federal budget

Members of Congress who have adopted the delegate role of representation normally cast their votes based on which of the following?

The preferences of the majority of their constituents

Based on your knowledge and the diagram, which of the following is true regarding the leadership structure of Congress?

The role of the minority leader in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is to coordinate a strategy for the minority party

The House Rules Committee is an important part of the legislative process because it

determines the terms and conditions of debate when a bill goes to the House floor

The term "bicameralism" refers to the

establishment of two legislative chambers that have different structures and rules

Much of the steady increase in federal government expenditures since 1960 has been caused by

increases in entitlement programs

The practice in Congress whereby Representative A promises to vote for Representative B's legislation, provided that Representative B will support Representative A's legislation, is referred to as

logrolling

The legislative process at the national level of government reflects the intent of the framers of the Constitution to create a legislature that would be...

slow and deliberate in the law-making process