POSI 2310 Chapter 11: Congress: Balancing Nation Goals And Local Interest

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

Many congressional districts and some states are lopsidedly Democratic or Republican

________ is a proposed legislative act that if passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president becomes law

bill

When members of the Senate wish to halt or delay the passage of a bill, a ____ may take place

filibuster

Which of the following problems is most likely to jeopardize an incumbent's chances of reelection?

getting caught in a scandal

Every bill must be approved by both the House and the Senate in _____ form before it can be sent to the president

identical

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

jurisdiction over bills in their designated policy area

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

lawmaking function

The increase in party polarization in congress has led to increased

legislative gridlock

The framers of the Constitution granted Congress the power to _____, the greatest of all powers of government

make laws

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

mark up

When major disruptive issues occur incumbents are

more likely to lose

An _____ rule allows members to propose amendments that are relevant to any section of the bill

open

Ensuring that laws are being administered by the executive branch in the way intended by Congress is an important function of Congress and is known as __________

oversight

Which of the following are activities that typically take place in a party caucus?

- Developing issues - Adopting a single policy message.

When does a bill become a law?

- When the president signs it - When Congress overrides a presidential veto

Members of the House of Representatives typically serve on ____ committees, while members of the Senate serve on

2; 4

Which of the following makes a Senate challenger more likely to be successful?

- Having access to large sums of money to fund the campaign - Having an existing campaign organization - Having strong public recognition

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

- scheduling legislation for floor consideration - recognizing members who will be allowed to speak on the floor

The most powerful leader in the House of Representatives is the

Speaker of the House

The U.S. Congress is a _____ legislature with two chambers, the House and the Senate

bicameral

Partisan voting occurs more often when members are voting on _____ issues that involve intense partisan differences

domestic policy

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

A permanent committee in Congress is known as a ______ committee

standing

Gerrymandering is

usually legal

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

Which of the following best explain why a member of Congress is chosen to a party leadership

- ability to work with the other party - ability to successfully promote the party's goals within congress - demonstrated leadership ability

Which of he following are common threats to incumbency?

- strong challengers - personal misconduct - disruptive issues

Which of the following about midterm elections are true?

- the presidents party usually loses seats - there is less media coverage of candidates and issues than in a presidential election - voter turnout is lower than for presidential elections

Which of the following statements about congressional committees are true?

- they make it possible for congress to consider a high volume of bills - they each specialize in a certain area of legislation

When is congressional oversight exercised vigorously?

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

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

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

Which of the following statements are true of bills that are killed in committee?

-they can be brought back to life by a vote of the full house or senate -some bills are not supported by the members who introduced them -most are poorly conceived or of little interest to anyone

Incumbents to the United States Senate are only defeated in _____ of re-election races

16%

At present there are more than ___ standing committees In the House of Representatives

20

The cost of running for Senate rose by more than ___ between 1990 and 2010

300%

When an incumbent personally helps constituents solve problems with the federal bureaucracy, it is known as

Casework

_______ typically benefit from gerrymandering because the majority party ensures that there are enough of the party's voters in the incumbents district to ensure their reelection

Incumbents

Which of the following is the most powerful leadership position in the Senate?

Majority leader

Which of the following are the functions of Congress?

Oversight, Representation, Lawmaking

The Speaker of the House has the right to

Speak first during House debate on legislation, Select the chairperson of the House Rules Committee, Choose who may speak on the House floor.

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

Which of the following are true concerning women and minorities who run for congressional office?

Women and minorities have a winning percentage that is roughly the same as non-incumbent white males, Women and minorities are less likely to run for Congress than white males.

the framers of the constitution intended that lawmakers _____, something which has become difficult

act in the spirit of compromise

Which of the following strongly and positively affects a congressional candidate's ability to raise money and win an election?

being an incumbent

To end a filibuster, 60 senators must agree to invoke ____ and end the debate

cloture

Select committees are

designed to address a specific issue or problem

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

determine whether or not they stay in office

Most of the bills Congress passes are ______ in nature which means they provide benefits to a particular group in society while spreading the costs across the taxpaying public as a whole

distributive

The privilege of incumbents to send mail to their constituencies at the government's expense is known as the _____ privilege

franking

When a committee or subcommittee holds a _____, they are trying to gather information about a proposed bill

hearing

Donors are more willing to make campaign contributions to

incumbents

Pork barrel projects show constituents that their representative

is actively working for them in Congress

Historically, which Senate position has been honorary in nature?

president pro tempore

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

roll call

Choosing committee chairs based on which member has the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee is an example of the ___ ____

seniority system

In the House of Representatives, debate is limited on the congressional floor by

the Rules Committees

Which of the following is a right of the president pro tempore

to preside over the Senate in the absence of the vice president

Members of Congress may experience conflict between their lawmaking responsibility their constituency because

not all policies that are good for the nation as a whole coincide with the needs of their constituency

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

roll call

Put in order the following steps that a bill must pass through in order to become law. (Place the items from first to last.)

1) A member of the House of Representative or the Senate formally proposes 2) The bill is submitted to a committee for consideration 3) A majority of members in the House and Senate approve the bill 4) The president signs the bill

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

30; 9

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

joint

When there is no incumbent running in an election it is called an _____ election and usually sparks heavier spending by the two political parties.

open seat

The process of determining how many House seats each state is allowed as a result of population change since the last census is known as

reapportionment

The sole purpose of a conference committee is to

reconcile differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill.

When congressional district boundaries are redrawn within a state, it is known as ________-

redistricting