chapter 12 Congress part 4
As of 2018, how many African Americans have been elected to the U.S. Senate?
9
Why is the Rules Committee considered one of the most important committees in the House?
Because it decides the length of debate that will occur on a bill and whether amendments will be allowed.
If the president chooses to veto a bill,
Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
How do the demographics of Congress compare to those of the constituents they serve?
Congress is less diverse.
True or False: The minority leader's job description varies greatly from the majority leader's job description.
False
True or false: Most congressional bills survive committee scrutiny and are voted upon by the House and Senate.
False
True or false: Personal experiences play no role in legislative decision making.
False
True or false: The demographics of Congress are roughly equivalent to those of the American public at large.
False
True or false: The president's position on legislation rarely affects the way members of Congress vote on it.
False
True or false: When asked by their party leaders to "toe the party line" on a legislative vote, members of Congress automatically do so.
False
Whose job is it to implement the minority party's legislative strategy in the House?
House minority leader
Which of the following is true of current African American representation in the U.S. Congress?
More African Americans serve in Congress than at any other point.
Which of the following best accounts for instances where members of the president's party fail to vote in favor of one his/her favored policy initiatives?
Other entities have pressured the party members to oppose the measure.
Which two of the following were major factors in the the record number of women running for Congress in 2018?
President Trump's rhetoric and behavior toward women Republican attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act
In the House, the Committee on is responsible for determining the debate and amendment procedures for each bill prior to it going to the floor for debate.
Rules
Which of the following are ways new legislation can be introduced in the Senate?
Senators can announce new legislation in a speech on the Senate floor. Senators can propose new legislation by offering it as an amendment to an already pending piece of legislation. Senators can submit a written draft of the proposed legislation to the Senate clerk.
The most powerful leader in the House of Representatives is the
Speaker of the House.
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.
Which of the following are true about markup?
The committee may eliminate a component of the bill. The committee suggests language changes and amendments. All changes are referred to the full chamber.
True or False: The president pro tempore is third in the line of presidential succession.
True
True or false: Despite winning a record number of congressional seats in the 2018 midterm election, the proportion of women in Congress is not nearly equal to their proportion in the national population.
True
Which of the following most accurately describes a congressional subcommittee?
a committee that typically handles specific areas of a standing committee's jurisdiction
A procedural move in which a member or members of the Senate speak(s) for an unlimited amount of time on the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill is known as
a filibuster.
How many signatures does a discharge petition require?
a majority
During a(n) ______, executive agencies provide written comments on a proposed bill that has been assigned to a committee.
agency review
Unanimous consent agreements require that ______ agree to the terms of debate on a given piece of legislation.
all senators
The segment of voters who pay careful attention to political issues are referred to as the
attentive public.
To end a filibuster, sixty senators must agree to invoke and end the debate.
cloture
Which of the following is a procedural move in the Senate that can end a filibuster?
cloture
If the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, it must first go to a ______ committee to have any differences reconciled before it can be sent to the president.
conference
Which of the following generally exert(s) the strongest influence on congressional decision making?
congressional constituents
In the 2018 midterm elections, in the face of possible candidacies of many female candidates, many congressional incumbents
decided not to seek reelection.
Members of Congress are attentive to the concerns of constituents because constituents
determine whether or not they stay in office.
A(n) petition is a tactic used to extract a bill from a committee in order to have it considered by the entire House.
discharge
The seniority system
does not always mean that the person with the most tenure will be chair.
.Partisan voting is most apparent when members are voting on major ______ issues.
domestic policy
Standing committees are important because they
each specialize in a certain area of legislation. allow Congress to consider a high volume of bills.
Constituents influence the legislative process by
ensuring that their representatives in Congress work hard to present their perspectives and policy interests.
When members of the Senate wish to halt or delay the passage of a bill, a(n) may take place.
filibuster
Interest groups engage in which of the following activities in order to influence legislators' decisions?
financial contributions lobbying grassroots activism
Hearings are an effective way for committees to
gather information.
If the majority of the members of the House of Representatives are Republican, then every committee and subcommittee in the House will
have a majority of Republican members.
Members of Congress might make policy decisions that lead to an endorsement from which external source?
interest groups
The House leadership position of whip acts as a liaison between
leadership and party members in the House.
The practice in which members of Congress agree to vote for a bill in exchange for their colleague's vote on another bill is called
logrolling
Which of the following is the most powerful leadership position in the Senate?
majority leader
The Speaker of the House is effectively chosen by the
majority party.
Which of the following are duties of the Speaker of the House?
make majority party committee assignments guide legislation through the chamber
If Democrats hold a majority of the seats in the Senate, each committee and subcommittee will have a(n) ______ of Republicans as members.
minority
Political polarization in the Senate is ______ when compared to the House.
not as apparent
In 2013, Senate Democrats exercised the ______, a maneuver eliminating the possibility of filibusters on federal judicial nominations and appointments to the executive branch.
nuclear option
Which of the following describe a maneuver exercised by the presiding officer of the Senate that eliminates the possibility of filibusters by subjecting votes on certain matters to a simple majority vote?
nuclear option
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 ______ vote.
party
A special presidential veto of a bill passed at the end of a legislative session is referred to as a(n) veto.
Which of the following have a significant influence on the decisions of legislators?
political parties interest groups constituents
Which of the following events resulted in an increase in partisan voting?
rise of the Tea Party in 2010 Republican retake of Congress in 1994 Watergate scandal
In the 2018 midterm elections, Latinos
saw marked success in gaining congressional representation.
In 2014, the House formed a ______ committee to investigate the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, which killed a U.S. ambassador and several American service members.
select
Committee chairs are often chosen using the , by which the member with the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee receives preference when the committee chooses its chair.
seniority system
Who do House and Senate members often rely upon to inform decision making on legislation due to their policy expertise?
staff members colleagues
A permanent committee in Congress is known as a(n) committee.
standing
Which of the following terms refers to a permanent committee in Congress that has a defined legislative jurisdiction?
standing committee
What type of committee typically handles specific areas of a standing committee's jurisdiction?
subcommittee
Who helps the Speaker set the party's legislative agenda in the House?
the House majority leader
In the House of Representatives, debate is limited on the congressional floor by
the Rules Committee.
Which of the following are members of the House leadership?
the minority leader the majority leader the majority whip
Which of the following methods is most often used to select committee chairs?
the seniority system
Who has the power to preside over the Senate and vote in case of a tie but otherwise has little real authority in the Senate?
the vice president of the United States Concept Resources Text
The president's opinion concerning a specific bill can influence members of Congress, especially when
they belong to the same party as the president.
How do congressional committees and subcommittees gather information on issues related to proposed laws?
through hearings
In the Senate, terms of debate are defined through
unanimous consent.
Compared with their percentage of the overall population of the United States, women and minorities are ______ in Congress.
underrepresented
The Senate minority leader
works with whips to keep the minority party united on roll call votes.
