Smartbook Chapter 11

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

25

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

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

If the president chooses to veto a bill,

Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

In terms of the budget to hire office staff,

House members receive identical amounts of money. senators receive varying amounts of money, depending on the population of their state.

How has the importance of local issues changed in Congress as party polarization has taken hold?

Local issues are less important.

Which of the following correctly describes protocol for committee membership?

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

Who established the standard for the proper approach to Congress's representative function?

No one; it has been debated since the founding.

Which of the following statements about midterm elections are generally true?

The president's 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.

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.

Which of the following is true of bills that emerge from committee with the full support of the committee members?

They are typically passed by an overwhelming majority.

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

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 finds 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

Which of the following oversight tools help Congress to ensure that the executive branch is administering the laws properly?

budgetary appropriations congressional hearings

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

Which of the following is not a direct power of the committee chair?

changes party affiliation at will

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

constituency.

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

Partisan voting is most apparent when members are voting on major ______ issues.

domestic policy

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

gerrymandering.

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

getting caught in a scandal

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.

Every bill must be approved by both the House and the Senate in___form before it can be sent to the president.

identical, same, like, or exact

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

incumbent.

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

jurisdiction over bills in their designated policy area.

When a bill falls into the area in which a committee is authorized to act, that committee is said to have

jurisdiction.

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

lawmaking

Which of the following are the functions of Congress?

lawmaking representation oversight

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

majority

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

messaging

When major disruptive issues occur, incumbents are

more likely to lose.

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

an _____rule allows members to propose amendments that are relevant to any section of the bill.

open

Which function describes the process by which the legislature checks on the executive branch to make sure it is carrying out the laws in the way Congress intended?

oversight

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 partisan divide in Congress has grown in recent years and each party engages in ______, which is when party members band together on legislation and oppose the other party.

party unity

Which of the following are common threats to incumbency?

personal misconduct disruptive issues strong challengers

The increase in party polarization in Congress has led to increased

policy deadlock.

The term that describes the minority party's committee and subcommittee leaders is______ members

ranking

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

representative

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

The Speaker of the House has the right to

select the chairperson of the House Rules Committee. choose who may speak on the House floor. speak first during House debate on legislation.

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

Incumbents have ______ over challengers. Multiple choice question.

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 or super pacs

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

the Rules Committee.

Who helps the Speaker set the party's legislative agenda in the House?

the majority leader

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

the power to sign only part of a bill into law

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

the seniority system

Whether or not Congress takes the lead in the making of laws usually depends on

the type of policy at issue.

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

two, four

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.

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 Congress overrides a presidential veto

Both political parties in the House have a ______, who acts as a go-between with the leadership and the party members in the House.

whip

The U.S. Congress is a(n)____legislature with two chambers, the House and the Senate.

bicameral, bi-cameral, bi cameral, bicarmel, or bicaramel

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 or thirty 9 or nine

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

Their parties differ philosophically. Their parties differ politically.

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

scandal

The most powerful leader in the House of Representatives is the

Speaker of the House.

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

determine whether or not they stay in office.

The purpose of pork barrel projects is to show constituents that their representative

is actively working for them in Congress.

If the majority of the members of the House of Representatives are Republican, then every committee and subcommittee in the House will

If the majority of the members of the House of Representatives are Republican, then every committee and subcommittee in the House will

Which of the following terms describes a permanent committee in Congress that has a defined legislative jurisdiction?

standing committee

Positive aspects of party polarization include the fact that

voters can more clearly see and understand party differences.

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

Midterm

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

mark up

The sole purpose of a conference committee is to

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

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

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

In Congress, disagreement over national policy usually occurs

along partisan divisions.

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

being an incumbent

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

party leaders