Welte Gov. Chapter 12 Test

How can Congress override a presidential veto?

2/3 vote in both houses can override the president's power

An individual must be ___ years old to run for the House and a US citizen for at least ___ years

25; 7

The number of seats in the House has been fixed at ___ since 1929

435

What does the term "pork barrel" refer to?

Appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to direct spending to a representative's district

When Democrats gather in the House to elect their House leaders it is called a:

Caucus

Suppose that a major piece of climate change legislation is being considered by Congress. The House and the Senate have passed mostly similar versions of the bill, but important differences remain. Leadership has assigned representatives and senators to a ___ to reconcile the differences.

Committee

What are the four joint committees in Congress?

Economic, taxation, library, and printing

T/F: The most powerful leader in the US House of Representatives is the Majority Leader

False

A senator has a ___ year term, while a US representative has a ___ year term

Four; Two

Your state has gained four congressional seats in large part due to significant growth of the Latino population. The legislature's proposed maps, however, fail to include any districts that reflect the large Latino population. This would be an example of:

Gerrymandering

A senator or representative running for re-election is called an:

Incumbent

I'm the Senate, the most powerful senior leadership role is the ___, while in the House is the ___

Majority Leader; Speaker of the House

the session in which a congressional committee rewrites legislation to incorporate changes discussed during hearings on a bill is called the:

Markup

A member of Congress who feels only loosely constrained by the policy preferences of his or her constituents and empowered to make the decisions he or she thinks best is acting as a:

Policy entrepreneur

How are senators elected today?

Popular vite

Which of the following is the best definition of redistricting?

Redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives

Congressional leaders form ___ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem

Select

Who is usually the president pro tempore of the Senate?

Senior senator of the majority party

A ___ committee remains in existence from one session of Congress to the next, and has the power to write legislation that covers a particular subject, in most cases paralleling a major department or agency of the executive branch

Standing

Under the original Constitution, senators were chosen by their?

State legislators

A subcommittee is helpful for members of the House because:

They allow members of Congress to focus on one specific issue

Why do incumbents generally have a significant advantage over their challengers?

They are part of the Majority Party

Why are the Senate and House Appropriations committees important?

They are responsible for legislation that funds the government

Why is the House Rules Committee?

They are responsible for rules under which bills are presented to the House

T/F: In recent years, congressional oversight power has increasingly been used as a tool of partisan politics

True

T/F: Interest groups play an important role in congressional decision-making by supplying members with information about policies

True

T/F: Members of Congress acting as delegates strictly adhere to constituency opinion, while those acting as trustees use their own experience and judgement to decide what is best for their constituents

True

T/F: Partisan polarization has increased in both the House and Senate

True

T/F: Standing committees are permanent committees that can propose and write legislation dealing with particular issues like finance or agriculture

True

T/F: The filibuster is a procedural tactic used by opponents of a bill to delay or kill it in the Senate

True

A member of Congress who votes for a bill with which he or she disagrees because a majority of his or her constituents favor it is acting as a:

Trustee

How is the Speaker of the House determined?

Vote by the House

What is the relationship in the House between the Speaker and Majority Leader?

Work together to meet party agenda

The process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states is called:

apportionment

Congress is a ______ legislature with ______ members

bicameral; 535

All of the people living in a congressional district are the ___ of their member of Congress

constituency

the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party is known as:

gerrymandering

What are conference committees?

joint committees created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation

Who elects the minority leader?

minority party

In most states who controls the redistricting process

state legislature