Poli Chapter 11

13. Congress under the "necessary and proper" clause has __________. a. expanded the role of the national government relative to that of the states b. increased the powers of the state governments at the expense of Congress' powers c. limited their own ability to amend the Constitution d. served to limit the expansion of national authority e. restricted the ability of the president to veto legislation

a

2. __________ reinforced the logic of separate constituencies and separate interests underlying the bicameral Congress. a. Differences in length of tenure b. State governments c. The methods of amending the Constitution d. The Bill of Rights e. The unique role of the Speaker of the House

a

25. Techniques like "packing" and "cracking" may be used during redistricting to __________. a. maximize a political party's chances of winning seats in the state legislature and Congress b. confuse voters about their polling location or the candidates on their ballot c. decrease the voting power of undecided voters in national elections d. increase voter turnout of minority groups e. eliminate the opportunity for gerrymandering to occur

a

38. Generally, leaders in the House of Representatives __________. a. have more control over the agenda of the body than leaders in the Senate b. must work closely with the other party's leaders to achieve success c. are considered weak compared to party leaders d. hold more power than leaders in true party government legislatures e. need to overcome the unusual power of individual members

a

44. Democratic members of Congress from moderate districts who sometimes vote with Republicans and who are frequently pursued by Republican leaders are known as __________. a. Blue Dog Democratse b. fence sitters c. logrolling democrats d. pork barrelers e. swing voters

a

55. All of the following steps are part of the process for passing the annual federal budget except __________. a. ​the federal agencies submit their budget requests directly to Congress b. ​the Office of Management and Budget reviews the budget requests of the various federal agencies c. ​the proposed budget is considered by the appropriations committees in the House and the Senate d. ​the proposed budget is considered by the budget committees in the House and Senate e. ​the president signs or vetoes the various appropriations bills passed by Congress

a

58. Before Congress can appropriate money to an agency, __________.​ a. ​an authorization bill must have been passed b. ​all unauthorized appropriations must be returned c. the House of Representatives must wait two weeks​ d. ​the Senate must have waived the ability to filibuster e. ​the Secretary of the Treasury must approve the budget

a

6. A representative who is performing the role of an instructed delegate is __________. a. primarily representing the wishes of his or her constituents b. supporting all of the president's legislative programs c. representing the broad interests of the entire society d. supporting his or her political party e. representing other members of Congress

a

9. The most important of the domestic powers of Congress are the right to collect taxes, to __________. a. spend, and to regulate commerce b. establish post offices, and to regulate copyrights and patents c. establish the federal court system, and to coin money d. coin money, and to borrow money e. establish rules for naturalizing citizens, and to borrow money

a

. The most important foreign policy power is the power to __________. a. borrow money from other countries b. declare war c. punish piracy on the high seas d. raise an army e. summon and regulate state militias

b

14. The __________ is the only part of the government that has always been elected by the people. a. Cabinet b. House of Representatives c. president d. Senate e. Supreme Court

b

16. Which of the statements accurately describes the legislative process?​ a. The House of Representatives and the Senate both use the exact same rules, procedures, and criteria for debate and argument. b. ​Filibusters in the Senate are used to stop bills from coming to a floor vote. c. ​Cloture in the Senate is used to send a bill into committee for further discussion and review. d. ​The Rules Committee in the House of Representatives can call for a floor vote at any time once a bill is introduced. e. ​The House of Representatives and the Senate both allot the same amount of time for party leaders to present their arguments.

b

20. Every two years, the Senate __________. a. has the entire membership elected b. has one-third of its members elected c. redraws the House districts for the following election d. prepares for a new census e. permits a territory to rotate into the membership

b

23. Redistricting is __________. a. the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census b. the redrawing of district boundaries within each state to ensure equal district populations c. a court order to hold new elections because of voting irregularities d. the alteration of a legislative formula that apportions spending among the states e. normally a bipartisan exercise

b

24. Gerrymandering is __________. a. legislation passed in southern states to limit African American participation in elections b. the drawing of legislative district boundaries for the purpose of gaining partisan advantage c. an attempt to prevent the passage of a bill through the use of unlimited debate d. a process that attempts to limit debate on a bill in the Senate e. unconstitutional following an 1812 ruling by the Supreme Court

b

27. Which of the following statements about gerrymandering is true? a. One of the few states in which gerrymandering no longer occurs is New York, where the state legislature prohibits such practices. b. The strategy of dividing the opposing party's supporters into different districts is known as "packing." c. Partisan redistricting almost inevitably works to the detriment of incumbents. d. The Supreme Court has been unwilling to review the constitutionality of legislative plans to redraw congressional districts. e. Although the Supreme Court has been willing to review the constitutionality of redistricting plans, the most recent decisions have upheld redistricting plans in Pennsylvania and Texas.

b

35. The job of a conference committee is to __________. a. originate appropriations bills b. reconcile House and Senate versions of a bill c. set the rules of debate for a bill d. determine the committee path of a bill e. override a presidential veto

b

37. The seniority system provides that __________. a. members are awarded additional committee assignments in line with their seniority b. the committee member of the majority party with the longest continuous service normally becomes the committee chairperson c. members become party whips in order of seniority d. members of the House can be appointed to the Senate to fill vacancies e. the Speaker of the House is the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service

b

47. When a senator says, "One man's pork is another man's job," that senator is probably referring to __________. a. a continuing resolution b. an earmark c. an enumerated power d. a filibuster e. logrolling

b

51. Following the introduction of a bill in the House of Representatives, what is the next step in the legislative process? a. ​The bill must be introduced in the Senate because both houses of Congress must consider all proposed legislation. b. The bill is referred to a committee.​ c. ​The majority-party caucus votes whether or not to support the bill. d. ​The Speaker of the House decides whether to ignore the bill or take action. e. ​The bill dies unless a committee chair decides to "mark up" the bill.

b

53. Which statement regarding the steps taken for a bill to become a law is most accurate?​ a. ​A joint resolution is required for all bills to move from Congress to the president. b. ​The initial step for a piece of legislation under consideration is for the subcommittee(s) to review the bill for approval. c. ​Bills are introduced in Congress but they may face disapproval by the president using the veto. d. ​Following the signing of a bill into law by the president, two-thirds of the states must approve the law. e. ​If chambers pass a bill and it contains different provisions, the bill must move to the compromise committee to be resolved.

b

56. In order to actually fund programs established by authorization bills, Congress must pass __________. a. a budget resolution b. an appropriations bill c. a budget reconciliation d. authorization vouchers e. a continuing resolution

b

. The representation function of a member of Congress varies because __________. a. a member might feel more compelled to conduct oversight through enforcement and administration b. casework might have been the platform on which that representative was elected c. the interests of constituents in a district may be in conflict with the demands of national policy d. the member might be focused on his or her reelection campaign and potential challengers e. the member might be torn between serving as a trustee or instructed delegate

c

. Which statement about gerrymandering is true? a. Gerrymandering is a relatively new tactic, originating in the 1960 congressional elections, that is used to increase the likelihood of an incumbent being reelected with minimal opposition. b. In the case of Davis v. Bandemer the Supreme Court ruled that redistricting for the political benefit of one group could be challenged on constitutional grounds and agreed that districts in Indiana had been drawn unfairly because voters were deprived of influence at the polls. c. During the early 1990s, the federal government encouraged gerrymandering that made possible the election of a minority representative from areas where minority voters were the majority. d. The Supreme Court has supported the creation of congressional districts based solely on race or ethnicity and stated that in no way do they undermine the equal protection clause of the Constitution. e. The Supreme Court in 1996 and 2001 held that North Carolina has drawn districts with race being the dominant factor and ordered that they be redrawn to remedy the racial gerrymandering.

c

1. Which statement about the powers of Congress as granted by the U.S. Constitution is most accurate? a. The founders envisioned Congress as having a leading role in the new government, which is evidenced by the powers of the legislative body being outlined in Article I of the Constitution. b. Congress is a unitary body because the two separate assemblies, the House of Representatives and the Senate, convene under one roof as one united legislature. c. The Connecticut Compromise resulted in Congress becoming a parliamentary body that reflects the social-class biases of the founders. d. The principal and most obvious function of Congress is the carrying out of laws that have been created by the president and the executive branch. e. The enumerated powers of Congress as they apply to the United States are found in Article I Section 2 of the Constitution.

c

15. One major difference between the House and Senate is the total number of members, ensuring that __________. a. the House will spend much more time on a bill on the floor than will the Senate b. the Senate is able to decide on the proper action on a bill quicker than the House c. a greater number of formal rules are needed to govern activity in the House d. House members must sit on more committees than senators e. that a constitutional amendment has been proposed to increase the size of the House and to reduce the numbers in the Senate

c

17. The use of the filibuster and cloture in the Senate has occurred because __________. a. the leadership in the Senate does not have the same authority to set the agenda like in the House of Representatives b. the movement of bills from committee to committee requires these steps c. the rules governing debate in the Senate are not as limited as in the House of Representatives d. the majority party in the Senate is reacting to the use of the "nuclear option" by the minority party e. the greater size of the Senate requires procedures to limit the debate on the floor of the Senate

c

18. The greater size of the House of Representatives means that __________. a. the members will have a greater number of committee assignments b. the members will receive greater media exposure c. a member must become an expert to attain recognition d. the level of prestige is higher than the Senate e. recognition is easily attained

c

26. Which statement about redistricting is true? a. Partisan redistricting aids challengers because most voters distrust incumbents. b. Redistricting decisions are made by the majority party in the House of Representatives. c. Only 30 to 50 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives are open for real competition in the most recent elections. d. Gerrymandering allows districts to be redrawn in such a way as to ensure one political party's continued strength in the state legislature, not Congress. e. The concept of "one person, one vote" applies to presidential election, not the apportionment of U.S. congressional districts.

c

3. A majority of the bills on which Congress acts originates __________. a. among the bureaucracy b. among the people c. in the executive branch d. from members of Congress e. from Supreme Court decisions

c

31. In the House of Representatives, the discharge petition is used to __________. a. force the Speaker to take action on a bill b. prevent the president from using the pocket veto c. force a bill out of committee so that the entire House can vote on it d. delay action on a bill that has the support of the majority e. adjourn for the remainder of the session

c

36. After being reported by a committee, but before being sent to the House floor, bills are given to the __________ Committee, which defines the conditions under which the bills are to be considered by the House. a. Appropriations b. Joint c. Rules d. Select e. Ways and Means

c

39. The whips assist the party leaders by __________. a. voting to support the party platform at the national convention b. attempting to convince the general public that congresspersons should vote the party line c. passing information to members of Congress from the leadership of the party d. gathering research information to use in committee e. pressuring them to take positions popular among the party rank-and-file

c

41. The House of Representatives has a more formal, complex, and centralized leadership structure compared to the Senate because __________. a. the Senate was originally supposed to be composed of more elite members of society who would have not required procedural rules to maintain order b. the House of Representatives has a diverse membership that is similar to the multiparty systems found in a parliament c. the membership of the Senate is less than one-fourth the size of the House of Representatives d. the Senate has six years to pass the same laws that the House must address in only two years e. the members in the House tend to be younger and more inexperienced, requiring more detailed procedures for the legislative process

c

46. A congressional earmark allows __________. a. ​for deficit spending rather than balancing the federal budget b. ​the president more discretionary funds that can be channeled to where the money is most needed c. ​the government to spend money on a specific project d. a tax loophole for a specific corporation e. ​the funding required for entitlement programs

c

48. ​Which of the following steps in the legislative process is in the correct order? a. ​conference committee is convened, floor vote, proposal, referral to subcommittee b. ​conference committee is convened, proposal, referral to subcommittee, floor vote c. ​proposal, referral to subcommittee, conference committee is convened, floor vote d. ​proposal, referral to subcommittee, floor vote, conference committee is convened e. ​floor vote, conference committee is convened, referral to subcommittee, proposal

c

49. According to the Constitution, all bills for raising revenue __________. a. are introduced by the president b. must start in the Senate c. must originate in the House d. must originate in conference committee e. must receive a two-thirds vote in both houses

c

57. A temporary law that Congress passes when an appropriations bill has not been decided by the beginning of the fiscal year is __________. a. the Emergency Revenue Generation Act b. an Emergency Fall Review c. a continuing resolution d. a Second Temporary Budget Resolution e. a spring review

c

7. One major problem with the role of the instructed delegate is that __________. a. the president's program may not have public support b. a majority of the constituents may be of a different political party than the representative c. the constituents may not actually have well-formed views on many issues d. few members of Congress are knowledgeable about most legislation e. members of Congress find it difficult to cooperate

c

President Obama's decision to make recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Protection Agency __________. a. was accepted by both houses of Congress in a nonpartisan show of unity b. angered Senate Republicans because the Senate has the duty to accept or reject presidential nominations for "Officers of the United States" c. was stopped by a federal court because they violated the Constitution d. was opposed by the Supreme Court because the president had failed to get their approval before the positions were filled e. outraged Democrats in the House because the House of Representatives has the duty to confirm presidential appointments to departments and agencies of the federal government

c

19. Which statement about the composition of Congress is true? a. Both houses of Congress are 20 percent women. b. The Senate has more African American members than women. c. Minority group members fill 30 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives. d. The House and Senate today are significantly more diverse in gender and ethnicity than ever before. e. Most members of the 112th Congress were born in 1946 or earlier.

d

21. Which of the statements best describes reapportionment? a. ​The redrawing of congressional districts by the House of Representatives based on a new census. b. ​The redrawing of congressional districts by state governments based on a new census.​ c. ​The reallocation of seats in the Senate and House of Representatives following a census.​ d. ​The reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives to the states following a census.​ e. ​The reallocation of seats on committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate between the two parties based on the most recent election.​

d

22. Following the 2010 census, Ohio lost two seats in the House of Representatives due to __________. a. a caucus b. a filibuster c. gerrymandering d. reapportionment e. redistricting

d

28. Research has shown that __________ districts are more competitive because they have not been drawn to favor one party over the other. a. gerrymandered b. malapportioned c. minority-majority d. nonpartisan e. packed

d

30. Most of the actual work of legislating is __________. a. performed by interest groups and then acted on by Congress b. accomplished in state legislatures and then acted upon by Congress c. performed by the president and then accepted routinely by Congress d. performed by the committees and subcommittees within Congress e. undertaken through a series of floor votes in the respective chambers

d

33. ​The House of Representatives and the Senate are most similar to each other in the __________. a. checks they have on the power of the president b. way they select their presiding officer c. number of members they have d. power standing committees have in the legislative process e. power of the Rules Committee to set the rules for floor debate

d

4. A __________ committee is established for a limited time period and for a special purpose. a. conference b. joint c. oversight d. select e. standing

d

43. Most people who study the decision-making process in Congress agree that the single best predictor for how a member will vote is his or her __________. a. affiliation with organized interest groups b. age c. length of time in Congress d. party affiliation e. region

d

5. A representative who is performing the role of a trustee is __________. a. representing only the needs of his or her constituents b. supporting all of the president's legislative programs c. supporting his or her political party d. acting on conscience or representing the broad interests of the entire society e. representing other members of Congress

d

50. After a bill has been introduced and referred to a committee, the committee __________. a. is required to pass the bill on to the entire house b. is not allowed to make changes in the bill's wording c. may hold hearings to explore the merits of the bill d. is required to refer the bill to a subcommittee e. is required to consult with the president's official legislative liaison

d

54. The Office of Management and Budget is one of the most powerful agencies in Washington because it __________. a. audits the expenses of all other agencies to ensure fiscal responsibility b. appropriates funds to other departments and agencies c. oversees the operation of the executive branch and the bureaucracy d. assists in the preparation of the federal budget and monitors federal agencies throughout the year e. authorizes all budget resolutions and guides the budget through approval in Congress

d

8. Which statement about the functions provided by members of Congress is most accurate? a. Congress performs the representation function when it decides what issues it will discuss through agenda setting. b. The public-education function permits Congress to resolve differences among competing perspectives through compromise on legislation. c. Casework occurs when a member of Congress spends time in committee, focused on lawmaking. d. Oversight is the process in which Congress follows up on the laws it has enacted. e. Conflict resolution involves holding public hearings to allow Congress to hear a range of viewpoints on pressing national questions.

d

. A power that is unique to the Senate permits the __________. a. right to collect taxes b. power to declare war c. ability to break a tie in the electoral college d. override of a presidential veto e. ratification of treaties

e

32. The most important committees in Congress are __________ committees, permanent bodies that possess an expertise due to their jurisdiction over certain policy areas. a. conference b. joint c. legislative d. select e. standing

e

40. When a member chooses to "cross the aisle," he or she is __________. a. opting to run for reelection in the other house of Congress b. switching his or her party affiliation for future votes c. changing his or her party affiliation for future elections d. selecting to sit in a different seat of his or her house for him or her to network with other representatives e. choosing to vote with members of the opposing political party

e

52. The federal government's fiscal year runs from __________. a. January through December b. April through March c. July through June d. August through July e. October through September

e