PLSC 103 Ch 11 study guide

Which of the following correctly describe protocol for committee membership?

- Most newly elected members of Congress request committee assignments. - Most vacancies occur after elections, either from retirements or incumbent defeats.

Why do Republican and Democratic lawmakers generally have different perspectives on national issues?

- Their parties differ politically. - Their parties differ philosophically.

Which of the following statements about congressional committees are true?

- They each specialize in a certain area of legislation. - They make it possible for Congress to consider a high volume of bills.

Which of the following oversight tools help Congress to ensure that the executive branch is administering the laws properly? (Choose every correct answer.)

- congressional hearings - funding review

Which of the following are common threats to incumbency?

- personal misconduct - disruptive issues - strong challengers

Reapportionment takes place every ____ years following a census.

10

At present there are ______ standing committees in the House of Representatives.

20

Today, in the grip of partisan deadlock, congressional approval ratings are about ______ percent.

20

In order to be a member of the House of Representatives, a person must be ______ years of age.

25

In order to become a member of the Senate, a person must be at least ___ years of age and have been a citizen for at least ____ years.

30; 9

True or False: The Senate majority leader's position is more powerful than that of the House Speaker.

False

The privilege of incumbents sending mail to their constituencies at the government's expense is known as the ____ privilege.

Franking

The difference between amendments that can be offered in the House and Senate to a bill under consideration is that in the

House, amendments must directly relate to a bill's contents.

Which of the following is a major reason why incumbents are reelected?

Many congressional districts and some states are lopsidedly Democratic or Republican.

What shift brought the president to a more central role in the legislative process?

National and international forces combined to place greater policy demands on the federal government.

Which of the following describes the power of Congress relative to the other branches of government?

No executive agency or lower court can exist without congressional authorization.

Which of the following are duties of the Speaker of the House?

Recognizing members who will be allowed to speak on the floor Choosing leadership of the House Rules Committee

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

Why is the president usually better suited than Congress to taking the lead on broad national issues?

The president has sole executive authority and thus can decide a course of action without needing the consent of other top executives.

The text uses the immigration issue as an example of a national issue on which Republican and Democratic lawmakers cannot agree. What is the sticking point?

The two parties have different solutions to the same problem.

How do committees and subcommittees serve to decentralize power in Congress?

They allow more members to hold leadership positions.

Polls indicate that voters' opinions of Donald Trump's performance had what effect in the 2018 midterms?

Those who were discontented with Trump helped Democrats retake control of the House.

True or false: After clearing the committee stage, floor debate on a bill is usually led by the majority party's leadership in the House.

True

Why are incumbents at risk when elections are being waged in the context of disruptive issues?

Voters are more likely to believe those in power should be removed from office.

A procedural move in which a member or members of the Senate speak for an unlimited amount of time on the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill is known as ______.

a filibuster

In 2012, Senator Richard Lugar, a six-term incumbent, was beaten in the GOP primary by conservative Richard Mourdock, who portrayed Lugar as

a moderate Washington insider.

Members of Congress may experience conflict between their lawmaking responsibility and their responsibility to represent their constituency when ______.

a policy that is good for the nation as a whole does not coincide with the needs of their constituency

If congressional representatives find themselves having to choose between angering voters and donors or angering party leadership by refusing to go along with a vote, which will they likely choose?

angering leadership by voting the way their donors and voters want them to

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

A(n) _____ is a proposed legislative act that if passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president becomes law.

bill

Most members of Congress are

career politicians who want to stay in Congress and put themselves in position for reelection.

To plan strategy and resolve policy issues, party members in Congress typically meet behind closed doors in a session called a party _____ .

caucus

A constituency is comprised of ______.

citizens from the incumbent's state or district

Which of the following is a procedural move in the Senate that can end a filibuster?

cloture

Members of Congress usually serve on congressional committees that concentrate on policy areas that affect the members' ______.

constituency

Select committees are

designed to address a specific issue or problem.

Members of Congress are attentive to the concerns of constituents because constituents ______.

determine whether or not they stay in office

How does the public generally feel about Congress?

dissatisfied

True or false: It is more common for House incumbents than Senate incumbents to face challengers in the form of prominent local politicians.

false

The redrawing of congressional boundaries to benefit a political party is called ______.

gerrymandering

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

In the large majority of cases, the winner of a congressional campaign is the

incumbent

Congressional elections usually favor

incumbents

Donors are more willing to make campaign contributions to ______.

incumbents

A committee that is composed of members of both chambers of Congress is known as a ______ committee.

joint

One reason why standing committees are powerful is that they have by law

jurisdiction over bills in their designated policy area.

Which function is the main responsibility of Congress, to which all other functions of Congress are related?

lawmaking

An example of Congress's ______ is when Congress passes legislation that creates incentives for the development of alternative energy sources.

lawmaking function

The party that controls the rules and has the most powerful leadership position in the House is the ____ party.

majority

In the House, both the full committee and a subcommittee may ______, or propose changes to, a bill.

mark up

In Insecure Majorities, Frances Lee noted that, in the currently closely matched parties, members of Congress are engaged in "______" rather than "governing."

messaging

What term describes the situation in which Republican and Democratic lawmakers vote in the same way as their fellow partisans, regardless of constituency differences?

nationalization

If the Rules Committee places a "closed rule" on a piece of legislation, ______ amendments are permitted.

no

What is a distributive policy?

one that confers a benefit on a particular group while spreading the cost across the taxpaying public

A(n) _____ rule allows members to propose amendments that are relevant to any section of the bill.

open

When there is no incumbent running in an election it is called a(n) ___ - ____ election and usually sparks heavier spending by the two political parties.

open-seat

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 ______ unity vote.

party

If a "turf war" erupts as different committees vie for jurisdiction over a bill, who or what decides the committee assignment?

party leaders

The House and the Senate each elect ______ to lead their party's efforts in the chamber.

party leaders

Going into the 2018 election, the Democratic Party was able to field an unusually strong set of candidates because ______.

polls showed that voters were trending toward the Democrats

Redistricting consists of ______.

redrawing congressional district boundaries within a state

The trend toward party unity in Congress can clearly be seen in voting records of members of Congress when their votes are officially recorded during a ___ - ____ vote.

roll call

Political scientist John Hibbing advises that the "first thing to being reelected is to stay away from ______."

scandal

Choosing committee chairs based on which member has the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee is an example of the ______ system.

seniority

Today, Congress and the president ______.

share legislative power

A limit of ______ exists for how long a Republican member can chair a particular committee.

six years

A permanent committee in Congress is known as a(n) ____ committee.

standing

Who is more likely to vote in a primary election?

strong partisans

Incumbents have ______ over challengers.

substantial advantages

The emergence of ____ _____ , groups that can pour money into a political campaign with few limits, has given challengers a better opportunity to unseat congressional incumbents.

super PACS

Which of the following is a legislative power the president does NOT possess?

the power to sign only part of a bill into law

The 2014 North Carolina Senate race (Hagan vs. Tillis) was one of the most extensive campaigns in Senate history, with more than $75 million spent. What portion of that money came from super PACs?

two-thirds

Gerrymandering is

usually legal.

Positive aspects of party polarization include the fact that ______.

voters can more clearly see and understand party differences

Which of the following could be considered personal misconduct that might lead to a congressional incumbent losing a bid for reelection?

- being involved in a sex scandal - engaging in bribery

Members of Congress are most indebted to which of the following?

- hardcore partisan voters in their state or district - the wealthy donors who fund their campaigns

Among the reasons why Congress has difficulty taking the lead on broad issues are the facts that

- members of Congress come from different districts and often have conflicting views on national policy. - Congress has two chambers, and they are not always in agreement on policy issues.

The framers of the Constitution intended that lawmakers ______, something that has become increasingly difficult in today's partisan Congress.

act in the spirit of compromise

Partisan divisions have become more ______ as a result of party polarization.

acute

Elections held in the years between presidential elections are called ______ elections.

midterm

Members of Congress give various interests to a voice in the legislative process as part of Congress's ______ function.

representative

True or false: Congress is an institution in which many interests are represented, which is a strength in a diverse nation; yet Congress is also a place in which narrow interests can block Congress from acting even when there's an important national need, which is a weakness.

true

On major bills, it is increasingly typical for the majority party's leaders to

- shape the bill's broad content. - direct the floor debate after the bill leaves the committee.

When is congressional oversight exercised vigorously?

- when members are annoyed with an agency - when members are intending to modify an agency program.

When does a bill become a law?

- when the president signs it - when the president signs it

Which of the following methods is most often used to select committee chairs?

the seniority system