Khan Academy Chapter 4
The president wants Congress to pass a new tax to help raise funds for a high-speed transcontinental train.
A member of the House must introduce the bill to the House floor
Which of the following scenarios would be considered logrolling?
A senator agrees to vote on another senator's bill, provided that the senator will support their own legislation
Which of the following is a consequence of holds applied to a bill in the Senate?
A senator can slow down the legislative process
Which of the following statements explains how the structural differences between the House and Senate affect the policymaking process?
Because members of the House have shorter term lengths, they are more likely to be influenced by demands from their constituents
"And the closer the 2006 midterm elections got, the more nervous congressional Republicans could be expected to get. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives sought to have the Senate move first, not wanting to have their members go out on a limb with a series of potentially costly party-line roll call votes that would have no policy payoff if Republicans in the Senate decided not to move a bill because they did not have the votes needed to pass it." Martin A. Levin, et. al, Building Coalitions, Making Policy: The Politics of the Clinton, Bush & Obama Presidencies, 2012
Because members of the House have two-year terms, they are unlikely to support a piece of legislation that may upset their constituents
How do the different chamber sizes in the House of Representatives and the Senate influence the formality of debate in each chamber? Choose 1 answer:
Because there are more members in the House of Representatives, there is a more formal process for debate
Which of the following is an intended consequence of ideological divisions within Congress?
Compromise between the two parties on congressional legislation
Which of the following is an enumerated power Congress has in making foreign policy?
Confirming ambassadors to foreign countries
"Size explains much about why the two chambers differ. Because it is larger, the 435-member House . . . is a more structured body than the 100-member Senate. Indeed, the restraints imposed on representatives by rules and precedents are more severe than those affecting senators . . . The Senate is more involved than the House in cultivating national constituencies, forming questions for national debate, and gaining general public support for policy proposals." -Walter J. Oleszek, Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process
Different chamber sizes and constituencies influence the formality of debate in each chamber
Which of the following actions by a state government would most likely violate the precedent established by Shaw v. Reno (1993)?
Drawing new congressional district lines in a city that grouped people based on race
Which of the following statements best explains how rule differences in the House of Representatives and the Senate can affect the policymaking process?
Even though the House may pass a bill, the Senate can kill the bill with a filibuster
Which of the following is an enumerated power of Congress?
Generating a budget that addresses both discretionary and mandatory spending
Which of the following statements best explains an advantage the majority party in the House of Representatives has in lawmaking?
It can assign bills to committees
Which of the following statements best explains the impact the necessary and proper clause has had on congressional power?
It has broadened the power of Congress to enact legislation addressing a wide range of economic, environmental, and social issues
Pork barrel legislation is best defined as which of the following?
Laws that include federally-funded local projects that benefit a specific district
In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, which regulates the amount of pollutants there can be in waters of the United States and the quality standards for surface waters. Which of the following constitutional provisions granted Congress the power to pass environmental protection laws like the Clean Water Act?
Necessary and proper clause in Article I
What role do coalitions play in the policymaking process?
Politicians create coalitions to enact policy that has broad support from the public
The majority party in the Senate wants to vote on a bill that would change requirements for granting citizenship, but a member of the minority party has the floor and continues to debate the bill.
Propose a cloture vote
Which of the following describes the role of the House Rules Committee?
Schedules and manages the flow of legislation on the floor
Ohio has 16 representatives in the House of Representatives, but only two representatives in the Senate. Which of the following statements best explains the reason for this difference in representation?
The House represents states according to the size of their population, while the Senate represents the states equally
Representative Siddiqui introduces a bill that would reform campaign finance in the House of Representatives. After the bill is assigned a number, which of the following describes the next step of the lawmaking process?
The Speaker of the House assigns the bill to a relevant committee
15 percent of Congress member Seaborn's constituents have reached out to him urging him to support a new bill expanding Medicaid coverage to people who make $20,000 a year. Even though he disagrees with this position on the bill, he does as his constituents wish. He tries to follow his constituents' wishes on every bill, regardless of how many calls he gets. Which model of representation do his actions embody?
delegate model
Senator Jon Snow has proposed a bill to increase funds to the military to fight the White Walkers threatening to invade the North. He hasn't received enough support to get the bill to pass, so he reaches out to Senator Daenerys Targaryen for her support. She agrees to support his bill as long as Senator Snow supports her legislation that allows public schools to teach High Valyrian as an elective language.
logrolling
Congress member Amy Santiago votes her conscience on bills that her constituents care little about, but she votes according to the wishes of her constituents on bills they care about a lot.
politico model
Congress member Chidi Anagonye has proposed an Agriculture Appropriations bill that would fund important agricultural food programs and food services. While the bill was in committee, Congress member Eleanor Shellstrop added an amendment to the bill that would send $250,000 to her district in Arizona for an Arizona Fried Shrimp Institute. She says she will only vote for the bill if it includes the funds for her district.
pork barrel legislation
Senator Ramirez listens to her constituents' wishes on every piece of legislation, but always votes her conscience, even if it goes against her constituents' wishes on pieces of legislation they care about.
trustee model
The Republican Party in the House of Representatives has recently proposed a new tax bill that would cut corporate taxes for the top 1% of Americans. Representative Ron Swanson, a libertarian, has decided to vote for the bill even though a recent poll of his district shows that 56% of his constituents do not support the new tax bill. Which model of representation do his actions embody?
trustee model
