Gov Quiz 6

floor debates in congress are

for public consumption so members can make arguments justifying their votes to constituents, guide administrators and courts when interpreting legislation, and legitimizing policy choices.

Political parties in Congress

have grown more unified with higher levels of support on party unity votes as well as becoming more polarized along ideological lines.

Which committees are responsible for making decisions about exercising Congress's power of the purse?

House and Senate Appropriations Committees

Bills

often carry their authors' names to gain personal credit and most bills are introduced simultaneously in each chamber.

Under the Constitution, the President pro tempore presides over the Senate

only whenever the Vice President is absent

If a bill fails because of a pocket veto, it means which of the following?

Congress adjourned before ten days elapsed after sending a bill to the President, and the President metaphorically stuck it in a pocket and forgot about.

Which of the following statements about parties in Congress is accurate?

Party leaders assemble and maintain party coalitions, but they need tools to encourage cooperation, and members have to sacrifice some independence.

The powers that party leaders exercise

mainly take the form of favors that the leaders may grant or withhold.

In the lawmaking process

unorthodox lawmaking requires heavy investments of leaders' resources-time, energy, and favors-reflecting the high transaction costs of getting Congress to act collectively on issues provoking strong disagreement.

The Budget Impoundment and Control Act

was designed to force members to vote on explicit levels of taxes, expenditures, and deficits so members would have to take direct responsibility for fiscal consequences of many separate decisions.

Assignments to committees are

A multiple referral sends a bill to which of the following?

Which of the following is required for a congressional override of a presidential veto?

A two-thirds vote in each chamber

a discharge petition does which of the following?

Brings a bill directly to the floor without committee approval when signed by a majority of House members

When voting by roll call, which of the following is true?

Each member of the House inserts a small plastic card in a voting machine on the House floor and then electronically votes while senators announce their votes as their names are called.

The seniority rule avoids which of the following two unwelcome alternatives in legislative organization?

Elections and appointments

Which of the following best describes the Madisonian system that Congress epitomizes?

It erects formidable barriers to collective action

The seniority rule does which of the following?

It routinely allocates first choice in committee assignments to majority party members who have served the longest time in Congress.

House party leaders are which of the following?

Members' agents, not their bosses

What type of committee exists from one Congress to the next unless it is explicitly disbanded?

Standing

Which of the following statements about standing committees is not true?

The seats on each of the standing committees is equally divided between the parties to foster a more cooperative legislative process.

Which of the following are true about unanimous consent agreements in the Senate?

They can be killed by a single objection.

Which of the following is true about the committee systems in Congress?

They collectively are the second organizational pillar upholding the institutional power of Congress in the federal system.

To end a filibuster in the Senate, cloture must be invoked by how many votes?

Three-fifths of the Senate membership, currently sixty votes

A multiple referral sends a bill to which of the following?

To multiple committees at the same time or in sequence, in whole or piece by piece

The 1910 House revolt that weakened the office of Speaker and stripped Republican Speaker Joe Cannon of much of his power is an example of House members choosing to do which of the following?

Tolerate higher transaction costs to reduce their conformity costs

role of party leaders in voting

is constructing legislative packages members feel comfortable supporting and if they succeed no persuasion is necessary.

speaker of the house

is elected by the reigning majority and serves as the party's leader and agent with the power to appoint committees, make rules, and manage the legislative process.

Congressional hearings

provide an opportunity to make a record for a particular proposal, evaluate how well a program is working, or simply to generate publicity.

The use of rules in the House of Representatives

specify when, how long, and under what procedures a bill will be considered.

The power and influence Senate leaders exert depends on

their personal political skills and the extant of intraparty divisions.