Posc 100 Ch. 12 MC

Congressional organization is influenced by all of the following except a. presidential directives. b. congressional staff. c. political parties. d. the committee system. e. parliamentary rules of the House and Senate.

A

Approximately what percentage of proposed bills die in committee? a. 95 percent b. 60 percent c. 50 percent d. 40 percent e. 75 percent

A

The larger, more heterogeneous constituencies and longer terms of Senators means that they are a. more likely to consider "new ideas" and are better able to act as the agents for groups and interests organized on a statewide or national basis. b. more likely to spend their time thinking about and running for re-election. c. more attuned to the needs of groups and interests organized on a city or countywide basis. d. more likely to serve existing interests than to bring together new coalitions of interests. e. more concerned about reapportionment than members of the House.

A

The process of allocating congressional seats among the fifty states is called a. apportionment. b. gerrymandering. c. redistricting. d. filibustering. e. redlining.

A

The role the House of Representatives plays in impeachments can best be compared with that of a a. grand jury. b. defense witness. c. defense attorney. d. judge. e. prosecuting attorney.

A

Congress adjourns during a ten-day period after presenting the president with a bill, and the president takes no action. This is known as a a. expiration veto. b. pocket veto. c. line-item veto. d. procrastination veto. e. silent veto.

B

Congress is a ______ legislature with ______ members. a. unicameral; 342 b. bicameral; 535 c. unicameral; 630 d. unicameral; 750 e. bicameral; 100

B

The determination of the time and structure of floor debate on a bill, in the House of Representatives, is up to the a. Ways and Means Committee. b. Rules Committee. c. majority leader. d. congressional staff. e. bill's authors.

B

The need to divide the labor of legislation is best exemplified in what formal structure of Congress? a. the strict control over floor time in Congress b. the establishment of standing committees c. the establishment of party whips d. the use of conference committees e. the establishment of minority and majority leaders

B

Which of the following does not typically affect an individual's decision to run for elected office? a. the individual's level of personal ambition. b. the individual's ability to meet the extensive list of educational requirements defined by local, state, and federal laws c. the strength of the individual's connections with interest groups and the national party organization d. the individual's ability to raise money for his or her campaign e. the way state legislative districts overlap with congressional districts.

B

Which of the following is the best definition of a constituent? a. It is someone who donates money to a campaign. b. It is a person who lives in the district represented by a member of the legislature. c. It is another name for a voter. d. It is the name for a person who has sued the federal government in court for violating the Constitution. e. It is the name for a member of Congress running for re-election.

B

Which statement about a party unity vote is true? a. The decline of party unity voting reflects the increasing strength of party discipline. b. In 2005, party unity voting was close to an all-time high. c. Party unity voting has been increasingly rare since the 1970s. d. Party unity voting was disallowed by the organizational reforms of the 1970s. e. Party unity voting is usually higher in the Senate than in the House.

B

Who has the most real power in the Senate? a. the Speaker of the Senate b. the majority leader c. the chair of the Rules Committee d. Unlike the House, all senators are equal in power. e. the Senate president pro tempore

B

A filibuster allows members of the Senate to a. call into question any action of the executive branch. b. refer a bill to multiple committees. c. prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor. d. add amendments to any bill at any time. e. avoid a conference committee.

C

How can a president's veto be overridden by Congress? a. by a two-thirds vote in either house b. by a majority vote in the Veto Override Committee in the House and the Senate c. by a two-thirds vote in both houses d. by a simple majority vote in both houses e. A president's veto cannot be overridden.

C

How long is the term of office for a U.S. senator? a. ten years b. four years c. six years d. eight years e. two years

C

Pork-barrel legislation a. funds efforts to increase the levels of America's meat exports. b. deals with specific agricultural subsidies. c. deals with specific projects and their location within a particular congressional district. d. orders state governments to implement a program without providing funding for doing so. e. grants a special privilege to a person named in the bill.

C

The idea of ______ identifies the best representative as the one who shares a similar racial, ethnic, religious, or occupational background with those he or she represents. a. delegate representation b. mirroring representation c. sociological representation d. agency representation e. trustee representation

C

Which idea of representation says that a legislator should be viewed as someone whom voters hire to represent their interests? a. sociological representation b. contract representation c. agency representation d. trustee representation e. mirroring representation

C

Which of the following best describes a way in which the House differs from the Senate? a. The House's representatives are much less specialized than the Senate's members. b. The House is a looser and more deliberative body than the Senate. c. The House is more centralized and organized than the Senate. d. The House has a much greater level of turnover in its membership than the Senate. e. Only the House has the authority to approve the president's appointments to the federal judiciary.

C

Who is the Speaker of the House? a. The president selects the Speaker of the House from the majority party in the House. b. The representative with the longest tenure in the House is the Speaker of the House. c. The elected leader of the House, chosen by all the elected members of the House, who is always from the majority party. d. An employee of Congress who formally brings the House into session each day is the Speaker. e. The vice president is also the Speaker of the House.

C

Agencies in Congress designed to oversee administrative agencies and evaluate presidential proposals are called a. staff agencies. b. committee agencies. c. iron triangles. d. oversight committees. e. review offices.

D

As of 2012, how many women serve in the U.S. Senate? a. two b. seven c. twenty-nine d. twenty e. twenty-one

D

Gerrymandering refers to a. the resources that elected officials use to reward their supporters. b. the investigations of the executive branch that Congress frequently engages in. c. the tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down. d. the manipulation of electoral districts to serve the interests of a particular group. e. the practice whereby legislators trade their support or opposition on one bill to get the support of another legislator on a different bill.

D

When the House and the Senate coordinate two versions of the same bill, they will often use a ______ to obtain a single unified bill. a. joint committee b. select committee c. standing committee d. conference committee e. reconciliation committee

D

A proposed piece of legislation is called a a. cloture. b. filibuster. c. referendum. d. proposal. e. bill.

E

A senator or representative running for re-election is called the a. constituent. b. trustee. c. elector. d. delegate. e. incumbent.

E

In recent years, approximately what percentage of House members seeking re-election won their race? a. 75 percent b. 60 percent c. 80 percent d. 50 percent e. 95 percent

E

Three factors related to the American electoral system affect who is elected to office in this country and what they do once they get there. Those factors are a. military service, professional connections, and religious beliefs. b. incumbency, franking, and party affiliation. c. party affiliation, family connections, and the substance of issues raised during a campaign. d. race, religious beliefs, and the region of the country the district falls within. e. who decides to run for office, incumbency, and the drawing of district lines.

E

By the 2008 election, the representation of women and minorities in Congress was roughly comparable to their proportions in the general population.

F

The number of seats in Congress changes as the population of the United States changes.

F

A filibuster is a parliamentary device found in the Senate but not the House.

T

Congress may overturn a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote by each house.

T

Oversight is an important legislative check on the executive branch.

T

The Supreme Court has ruled that race could not be the predominant factor in creating electoral districts.

T