Chapter 11

Which of the following are common threats to incumbents?

- Disruptive issues - Strong challenges - Personal misconduct

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

- Most are poorly conceived or of little interest to anyone. - Some bills are not supported by the members who introduced them .- They can be brought back to life by a vote of the full House or Senate.

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 helps Congress to ensure that the executive branch is administering the laws properly?

- congress hearings - budgetary appropriations

which of the following are helpful in a campaign against a senate incumbent?

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

Which of the following are the functions of congress?

- lawmaking - representation - oversight

Which of the following are true about joint committees?

- they perform advisory functions - they are composed of members of both houses

when does a bill become a law

- when the president signs it - when congress overrides a presidential veto

among the reasons why congress has difficulty taking the lead on broad issues are the facts that

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

Put in order the following steps that a bill must pass through in order to become law.

1. A member of the House of Representatives or the Senate formally proposes the bill.\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.

Reapportionment takes place every ______ years following a census.

10

in order to become a member of the house of representatives, a person must be at least ___ years of age

25

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.

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.

What is true concerning women and minorities who run for congressional office?

Women and minorities have a winning percentage that is roughly the same as nonincumbent white males. there are more women than minorites in congress Women and minorities are less likely to run for office than white males

What 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

the US congress is a ______ legislature with two chambers, the house and the senate

bicameral

______ is a proposed legislative act that if passed by both chambers of congress and signed by the president becomes law.

bill

most members of congres

career politicians who want to stay in congress and put themselves in position for re-election

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

caucus

a constituency is comprised of

citizens from the incumbent's state or district.

To end a filibuster, sixty senators must agree to invoke ________ and end the debate.

cloture

if the president chooses to veto a bill

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

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 cost across that taxpaying public as a whole.

distributive

true or false, the senate majority leader's position is more powerful than that of the house speaker

false

true or false: it is more common for house incumbents than senate incumbents to face challengers in the form of prominent local elections

false, not attractive enough to risk running against an incumbent house opponent

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

filibuster

Redrawing congressional district boundaries to favor a particular group or party is known as

gerrymandering

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

hearing

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

identical form

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

incumbent

As a result of the increase level of party polarization in the United States, which candidates face greater risk of losing the primary election.

incumbent moderates

Donors are more willing to make campaign contributions to

incumbents

_____ typically benefit from gerrymandering becuase the majority part ensures that there are enough of the party's voters in the district to ensure reelection

incumbents

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

jurisdiction over bills in their designate policy area.

An example of congress ___________ 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 increase

legislative gridlock

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

Most powerful leadership position in the Senate

majority leader

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

majority leader

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

majority party

When major disruptive issues occur incumbent's are

more likely to lose

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

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

open

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

open seat

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

A vote where most members of one political vote one way while most members of the other party vote the other way is categorized as a _______ unity vote.

party

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 scheduling legislation for floor consideration

When congressional district boundaries are redrawn within a state, it is known as ____.

redistricting

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

representative

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

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

seniority system

_____ refers to a practice whereby members of congress respond to a constituents' individual requests for information or help with a federal benefit or service

service strategy

On major bills, it is typical for majority party's leader to

shape the bill's broad context and direct the floor debate after the bill leaves the committee

which of the following terms describes a permanent committee in congress that has defined legislative jursidiction?

standing committee

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

in the house of representatives, debate is limited on the congressional floor by

the rules committee

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

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

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

true or false: House and Senate committees have the power to make suggestions for changing a bill in the process known as mark up

true

which of the following statements about midterm elections are generally true

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

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