POLS chapter 10
Which of the following are the most salient three factors related to the American electoral system that affect who is elected to office?
who decides to run office....
Conference committees...
(not all are correct) 3?
The congressional practice of "ping-ponging" refers to which of the following?
House and Senate leaders send a bill back and forth to reconcile differences between the bills in the two chambers.
Why does the House typically have greater party unity than the Senate?
House rules grant greater control over the actions of representatives
In 2019, Democrats impeached President Trump on
charges that he sought to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating Joe Biden and his son.
When Republicans gather in the House to elect their House leaders every two years, this is called a
conference
What is the most common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress?
lawyer
Which of the following are set up by Congress to provide the legislative branch with resources and expertise independent of the executive branch?
staff agencies
If a member of Congress directs a great deal of federal funding to build dams that are not really necessary in her state but create a lot of jobs, the member of Congress is engaged in which of the following?
pork barreling
When Senator Robert Byrd steered brought federal money to build highways, dams, and government facilities to his state of West Virginia, he was doing which of the following?
pork barreling
A filibuster allows members of the Senate to
prevent a vote on a bill
Conference committees
reconcile differences between bill passed by house and senate
Congressional leaders form ________ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem
select
Congressional leaders form ________ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem.
select
The 2015 House of Representatives committee that held hearings to investigate Hillary Clinton's use of private email services during her tenure as secretary of state is an example of a
select
The Senate Watergate committee of 1973 is an example of a ________ committee.
select
In addition to pressuring members of Congress to vote a certain way on a bill, interest groups also have substantial influence in
setting the legislative agenda
If a member of the House of Representatives won her first election with 52% of the vote and won her second election with 75%, it would be an example of the
sophomore surge
Over the past several decades, the ________ and the ________ have benefited most from apportionment.
south; west
The Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office are examples of
staff agencies
A legislative "hold" is a
stalling tactic used in the U.S. Senate to delay debate on a bill.
Over what policy areas does the House Ways and Means Committee have jurisdiction?
taxes, trade, and entitlement programs
Conference committees are
temporary, involve members from both houses of Congress, and are charged with reaching a compromise on legislation once it has been passed by both the House and the Senate.
The "sophomore surge" refers to the
tendency for candidates to win a higher percentage of the vote when seeking future terms in office.
Race became a major factor in drawing congressional district lines as a result of
the 1982 amendments to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The framers gave the power to introduce "money bills" to the House of Representatives but not the Senate because they believed that
the chamber closest to the
Which congressional staff agency assesses the economic implications and likely costs of proposed federal programs?
the congressional budget office (cob)
Oversight can best be described as the
the efforts of congress to supervise the manner in which its laws are implemented by the executive branch
In the House of Representatives, what is the relationship between the majority leader and the Speaker of the House?
the majority leader is subordinate to the speaker of the house.
The president pro tempore of the Senate is usually
the majority party member with the greatest seniority.
The Senate's constitutional power of advice and consent extends to which of the following?
the president's power to make treaties with foreign nations
Which of the following is the best definition of redistricting?
the process of redrawing votes every 10 years
A subcommittee is helpful for members of Congress because
they specialize in particular aspects...
The role that the U.S. Senate plays in impeachments can best be compared with that of a
trial jury
A major risk of the delegate model of representation is that
voices of only a few and active constituents will be heard...
The number of seats in the House of Representatives has been fixed at ________ since ________.
435; 1929
Approximately ________ of the ________ bills introduced in a typical congressional session die in committee.
85%; 10,000
In 2018, about ________ of U.S. House incumbents won reelection.
90%
Which of the following illustrates a member of Congress acting as a delegate?
During a town hall, constituents of Senator Ted Cruz (TX) urge him to vote in favor of an upcoming tax cut, which he does.
Who decides which committee assignments members of the House of Representatives receive?
Each party's own "steering and policy" committee.
Which of the following statements best describes the representation of women and minorities in the U.S. Congress?
Representation of women and minorities has increased during the past two decades but is not comparable to their proportions in the general population.
Which of the following statements best describes the representation of women in the U.S. Congress?
Representation of women has increased over time but still lags behind the rest of the world.
A ________ committee remains in existence from one session of Congress to the next, and has the power to write legislation that covers a particular subject, in most cases paralleling a major department or agency of the executive branch.
STANDING
How is the Speaker of the House determined?
The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker.
How can Congress override a president's veto?
a two-thirds vote in both chambers
Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) is running for re-election. Which of the following advantages would he have over his rivals?
all are correct
Most programs and agencies are subject to some oversight every year during the course of hearings on
appropriations
The amount of money approved by Congress in bills that each agency of government can spend is called
appropriations
The term pork barrel refers to
appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win reelection in their home districts
Imagine that you are one of the Framers of the Constitution and want to design a legislature with two chambers. Which type of legislature would that be?
bicameral
Congress is a ________ legislature with ________ total members.
bicameral; 535
A proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of Congress is called a
bill
In the House of Representatives, virtually all the time allotted by the Rules Committee for debate on a given bill is controlled by the
bill's sponsor and the leading opponent.
One way the majority leader and minority leader in the Senate exert power is through control
calendar
Under the rules of the U.S. Senate, the introduction of new amendments
can be stopped only by unanimous consent.
When Democrats gather in the House to elect their House leaders every two years, this is called a
caucus.
The "nuclear option" refers to a
change to the filibuster rules enacted in 2013 that prevents the filibustering of nominees for positions in the executive branch and the federal courts.
A provision by the House Rules committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate is called a
closed rule
A bill's supporters in the House of Representatives generally prefer ________, while opponents generally prefer a(n) ________.
closed; open
In ________, legislators rewrite bills to reflect changes discussed during hearings.
committee markup
Suppose that a major piece of legislation is being considered by Congress. The House and the Senate have passed similar versions of the bill, but important differences remain. Which committee would be in charge of working out a compromise between the two chambers?
conference committees
All of the people living in a congressional district are the ________ of their member of Congress.
constituency
A member of the House of Representatives that helps a constituent apply for Social Security benefits is engaging in
constituency services
The Senate and House Appropriations committees are important because they
decide how much funding various programs will receive...
The House Rules committee is important because it
decides the order in which bills come up for a vote on the House floor and determines the specific rules that govern the length of debate and opportunity for amendments.
A member of Congress who votes according to the preferences of his constituency is called a
delegate
If a member of Congress always votes according to the interests of the majority of her constituency, what kind of representation best describes her behavior?
delegate
Which sort of representation is based on the principle that if two individuals are similar in background, character, interests, and perspectives, then one could correctly represent the other's views?
descriptive
If a legislative body was composed of 10% Latinos and 80% males in a state whose residents were 35% Latino and 50% male, the legislative body could be said to lack
descriptive representation.
In a roll-call vote,
each legislator's yes or no vote is recorded
What are the four joint committees in Congress?
economic, taxation, library, and printing
Imagine that all Republican members of Congress in the House vote to pass a bill to cut taxes. This action is known as a
filibuster.
Which of the following are methods U.S. senators can use to block or delay debate on a bill?
filibustering, adding amendments to a bill, and placing a hold on a bill
A closed or an open rule refers to congressional provisions regarding
floor debate on a bill
one cause of party unity voting in recent Congresses is
increased polarization
Holding the political office for which one is running is known as
incubency
Senator Mitch McConnell is running for re-election; this means the senator is a(n)
incumbent
A senator or representative running for reelection is called the
incumbent.
The jurisdiction of standing committees
is defined by the subject matter of legislation, which often parallels the major cabinet departments or agencies
Which of the following statements about the impeachment process is most accurate?
it is a political practice
Who has the most real power in the Senate?
majority and minority leaders
In the Senate, the most senior leadership role is ________. In the House, the most senior leadership role is ________.
majority leader; Speaker
Who elects the minority leader?
minority party
Recent congresses are ________ polarized than other congresses within the last century.
more
One advantage of seniority in Congress is that it makes it
more likely to get leadership in a committee.
The frequency with which they must seek re-election makes members of the U.S. House of Representatives
more responsive to the needs of local interest groups...
Which best characterizes the use of oversight powers in Congress in recent years?
not 1 or 2
If the increased number of women in Congress makes it more likely that Congress passes laws to guarantee that women get paid as much as men for their work, which type of representation best describes this scenario?
not 1 or 2 descriptive?
Senators' longer terms of office, and larger, more heterogeneous constituencies makes them more
not 3
The kind of representation that takes place when constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives is called
not delegate or trustee. substantive?
Which is an important factor in organizing the work of Congress?
not gerrymandering. parties?
A bill that deals with such a diverse set of unrelated issues as environmental issues, tax issues, and criminal justice issues is likely to be a(n)
omniubus appropriations bill
In 2017, Democrats called for investigations into allegations that Trump's campaign had colluded with Russian operatives to help him win in the 1016 election. This is an example of which power of Congress?
oversight
The 2014 Select Committee on Benghazi is an example of Congress's
oversight powers.
Imagine that there is a roll-call vote on a bill on Medicare in the Senate and 50% of Republicans vote against it and 50% of Democrats vote in favor. This is known as a(n)
party unity vote
Joint committees are
permanent, but do not have the power to present legislation
A ________ veto occurs when Congress adjourns during a 10-day period after presenting the president with a bill on which he or she takes no action.
In 2019, the Supreme Court made which ruling on gerrymandering?
political question out of reach
The practice of referring a bill to more than one committee for consideration is called
a multiple referral
In Congress, the term "whip" refers to
a party member in the House or Senate responsible for coordinating the party's legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes.
