aP cLaSsRoOm x88
In which year did Congress pass all stand-alone appropriations (spending) bills on time? (Bar Graph)
A 1977
Which of the following Supreme Court cases involved the principle of "one person, one vote"?
A Baker v. Carr
Which of the following statements accurately summarizes the reasoning for the decision in Baker v. Carr (1962) ?
A Because rural districts had fewer people, representation was unevenly distributed; thus, Baker was denied equal protection under the law.
Which of the following is an example of congressional oversight?
A Holding hearings for review of an executive agency's activities
A difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate is that in the House
A Legislative activity on the floor is more constrained by rules
Which of the following categories accounted for the majority of spending in 2017, according to the chart? (percent graph)
A Mandatory
Members of Congress who have adopted the delegate role of representation normally cast their votes based on which of the following?
A The preferences of the majority of their constituents
Based on your knowledge and the diagram, which of the following is true regarding the leadership structure of Congress? (Congressional Leadership diagram)
A The role of the minority leader in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is to coordinate a strategy for the minority party.
The United States Constitution says that Congress has the power to coin money. This is an example of
A an enumerated power
The term "bicameralism" refers to the
A establishment of two legislative chambers that have different structures and rules
The congressional system of standing committees is significant because it
A fosters the development of expertise by members
Nominations to the Supreme Court must be approved by a
A simple majority vote in the Senate only
Federal budget entitlements refer to spending
A to provide individual benefits established by legislation
Which of the following accurately compares the powers of Congress and the president?
B Congress Has Greater Control: Budgetary policy President Has Greater Control: Cabinet appointments
A "cloture motion" passed in the Senate does which of the following?
B Cuts off debate on a bill.
Which of the following actions by a congressional representative is an example of "pork barreling"?
B Directing federal funds into the representative's district through legislation
The largest portion of "uncontrollable spending" in the federal budget is designated for which of the following?
B Entitlement spending
Which of the following powers is shared by the House of Representatives and the Senate?
B Establishing federal courts
Which of the following statements is true based on the bar graph? (Bar Graph)
B From 2011 to 2016, no stand-alone appropriations bills were passed on time.
Which of the following is an accurate description of the powers of the House of Representatives and the Senate?
B House of Representatives: Initiates all revenue bills Senate: Confirms presidential appointments
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate?
B House of Representatives: The Constitution's framers intended it to reflect the will of the people. Senate: The Constitution's framers designed it to represent the interests of the states.
Which of the following is the best conclusion that can be drawn from the data in the table? (WAR FUNDING TABLE)
B Public concern over the Vietnam War led Congress to hold more hearings to consider using the power of the purse to influence the conduct of the war.
Which of the following is an accurate conclusion based on the pattern shown in the bar chart? (BAR CHART)
B Special circumstances in 2005 and 2018 led Congress to approve supplemental appropriations.
Fiscal policies refer to the government's power to
B Tax and Spend
Of the following, which is the most powerful figure in Congress?
B The Speaker of the House
Which of the following statements about Congress is true?
B The legislative process is frequently lengthy, decentralized, and characterized by compromise and bargaining.
Which of the following situations best reflects the author's concern about an "imperial" presidency? (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Imperial Presidency, 1973 passage)
B The president issuing an increasing number of executive agreements
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a formal check on the power of the bureaucracy?
B The secretary of defense being called to testify before a congressional committee
One of the formal tools used by Congress for oversight of the bureaucracy is
B authorization of spending
"Pork barrel" legislation helps the reelection chances of a member of Congress because such legislation
B helps earn the member of Congress a reputation for service to his or her district
Federal benefits that must be funded by Congress and must be paid to all citizens who meet eligibility criteria are called
B individual entitlements
The role Congress plays in ensuring that executive branch agencies are carrying out their legislated responsibilities is known as
B legislative oversight
An example of a discretionary item in the federal budget is
B spending on national parks
Congressional district boundaries are usually redrawn every ten years by the
B state legislatures
The boundaries of United States congressional districts are usually determined by
B the state legislatures
Which of the following scenarios is an example of the trustee model of representation?
C A member of Congress votes to close a popular tax loophole based on the belief that the money would be better spent paying down the national debt.
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a member of Congress supporting pork-barrel legislation?
C A senator from an agricultural state amending legislation to establish a potato research institute in his or her state
Based on the data, which of the following is the most likely consequence for the legislative process in Congress? (PUBLIC OPINION POLL)
C An increase in gridlock and failure to compromise on legislation
Which of the following explains how Congress would most likely respond if it were concerned about the slight increase in spending over time, as indicated by the bar chart? (BAR CHART)
C Congress could vote to reduce spending on the Department of Homeland Security in the next year's budget.
Which of the following is an example of Congress using its implied powers?
C Congress passing occupational safety regulations for the private sector
Which of the following best reflects the holding in the case Baker v. Carr (1962) ?
C Created a one-person, one-vote standard for reviewing congressional districts.
Which of the following is the most likely consequence of divided government?
C Delays in confirmation of federal court nominees
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the rules for debate used by the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate?
C House of Representatives: Debate is limited. Senate: Members can filibuster.
Which of the following scenarios illustrates Washington's concerns? (VGeorge Washington's Farewell Address, 1796)
C Ideological divisions within Congress can lead to partisan gridlock.
In 2013 a parliamentary procedure was implemented in the Senate that allowed a simple majority vote to end debate on Cabinet member confirmations. Which of the following best explains how the procedural change relates to the information in the graphic? (pi chart)
C If the procedural change had not occurred, Republican senators would not have been able to immediately invoke cloture of a filibuster.
Advocates of shifting the task of drawing United States House districts from state legislatures to independent commissions are likely to claim which of the following as an advantage of independent commissions?
C Independent commissions significantly reduce the influence of partisan gerrymandering in the redistricting process.
Which of the following statements about the Senate is true?
C Individual senators can exercise substantial influence over the legislative process.
Which of the following statements about gerrymandering is true?
C It can be used by a political party to draw boundary lines to control as many districts as possible.
The practice in Congress whereby Representative A promises to vote for Representative B's legislation, provided that Representative B will support Representative A's legislation, is referred to as
C Logrolling
Which of the following describes the ruling in Shaw v. Reno (1993) ?
C Racial gerrymandering was ruled unconstitutional.
All of the following help to explain the President's difficulty in controlling cabinet-level agencies EXCEPT.
C The President can only fire appointees before they have been confirmed by the Senate
Which of the following is a unique power held by members of the Senate?
C The ability to filibuster
Which of the following best describes gerrymandering?
C The party in control of the state legislature draws district boundaries in such a way as to favor its own candidates in subsequent elections.
Which of the following enumerated powers would permit Congress to stimulate the economy by hiring unemployed citizens?
C The power to pass a federal budget
The House Rules Committee is an important part of the legislative process because it
C determines the terms and conditions of debate when a bill goes to the House floor
Congressional oversight refers to the power of Congress to
C exercise some control over executive agencies
The power of the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives rests on its authority to
C place a bill on the legislative calendar, limit time for debate and determine the type of amendments allowed
Most of the bills introduced in the House and the Senate are then
C referred to committee but never sent to the full Congress
Which of the following is true according to the diagram? (Congressional Leadership diagram)
D Both chambers make use of a system of majority and minority whips.
Which of the following identifies the formal procedure for ending a filibuster?
D Cloture
Congress is most likely to exert oversight of the executive bureaucracy in which of the following ways?
D Controlling an executive agency's annual budget
The government depicted above is best described by which of the following terms? (hypothetical government table)
D Divided government
Establishing the boundaries of United States congressional districts to give one party an advantage over another party is referred to as
D Gerrymandering
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate?
D House of Representatives: Debate on bills is limited Senate: Debate on bills can be unlimited
Which of the following is generally true of the gerrymandering of congressional districts?
D It creates districts that favor one political party over another.
Which of the following best describes pork barrel politics?
D Members of Congress negotiate bills so that individual districts get money for projects that do not benefit the nation as a whole.
Which of the following committees of the House of Representatives sets the conditions for debate and amendment of most legislation?
D Rules
A person claiming that the House can pass legislation with a simple majority, but the Senate is unlikely to pass legislation unless a bill has the support of a 60-vote supermajority is most likely to cite which of the following institutional differences as the cause of this trend?
D The House has strict limits on debate, while the Senate allows unlimited debate.
Which of the following situations best illustrates the meaning of divided government in the United States political system?
D The majority of senators and the majority of representatives are from one party, but the president is from another.
Which of the following statements about motions for cloture is true?
D They are used by senators to end a filibuster and bring a bill to a vote.
A committee chair in the House of Representatives is always
D a member of the majority party in the chamber
Debate of a bill in the House of Representatives under a "closed rule" means that
D amendments to the bill cannot be offered
The committee that resolves differences between House and Senate versions of a bill is called a
D conference committee
Congressional standing committees are best described as
D permanent subject-matter committees
The term "pork barrel" refers to legislation specifically designed to
D provide funding for local projects that are intended to benefit constituents
The committee system is more important in the House than in the Senate because
D the House is so large that more work can be accomplished in committees than on the floor
The Constitution states that all revenue bills must originate in
D the United States House of Representatives
The details of legislation are usually worked out in which of the following settings?
E A subcommittee
Federal spending for which of the following is determined by laws that lie outside the regular budgetary process?
E Entitlement programs such as Social Security
Most of the work of legislating in Congress takes place in
E Standing committees
Which of the following statements about rules of procedure in the House and Senate is correct?
E The House operates more by formal rules, while the Senate operates more on informal understandings.
Which of the following is true of the seniority system of Congress in relation to committee leadership and committee staffing?
E The chairs of congressional committees tend to be senior members of the body's majority party.
If legislation passes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate but each version is slightly different, the conflicting bills are sent to
E a conference committee for review and compromise
The role of a conference committee in Congress is to
E reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate
A major difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate is that
E there is unlimited debate in the Senate but not in the House
