Deck 7: Committees: Workshops of Congress

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of the informational theory of committees?

A) A member on the Agriculture Committee fights for subsidies for cotton farmers in her district.
B) After spending many years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, a member becomes an expert on trade issues with China.
C) A member of the Budget Committee adds extra provisions that benefit his district.
D) A Democrat on the Judiciary Committee fights to win approval for Obama's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of the distributive theory of committees?

A) Because of his background in finance, a member is appointed to the Financial Services Committee.
B) A member on the Public Works Committee fights for a new water treatment plant in her district.
C) A Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigates a scandal in the Secretary of State's office.
D) A small business owner lobbies to join the Small Business Committee because of his personal experiences with this issue.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of the partisan theory of committees?

A) A member on the Armed Services Committee fights for increased funding for the military base in her district.
B) A former astronaut is appointed to the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
C) A Republican votes to support a bill introduced by his party's leadership.
D) The Financial Services Committee holds hearings on financial regulations after problems in the banking industry.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Who gets to decide how many seats the minority party gets on each committee in the House of Representatives?

A) the president
B) congressional rules
C) the majority party
D) the minority party

Question 5

What are select committees?

A) committees with members selected by the party leadership
B) small committees with limited membership
C) exclusive committees with significant competition for membership
D) temporary committees created for a specific purpose or group

Question 6

All of the following are types of committees in Congress EXCEPT ______.

A) joint
B) select
C) standing
D) partisan

Question 7

Which of the following is true of joint committees?

A) They contain members of both chambers.
B) They are limited to Republicans only.
C) All members are appointed by the Speaker of the House.
D) They are typically short-lived, lasting one to two weeks.

Question 8

What is the most desirable committee assignment in the House?

A) Agriculture
B) Ways and Means
C) Armed Services
D) Foreign Affairs

Question 9

Which of these committee assignments seems to be least popular among members?

A) Education and the Workforce
B) Finance
C) Appropriations
D) Ethics

Question 10

Which of the following is a formal rule that guides House committee assignments?

A) Assignments need not follow seniority.
B) Assignments must give priority to senior members.
C) Party loyalty should be considered in making assignments.
D) Assignments must take electoral considerations into account.

Question 11

Witnesses typically testify in front of a panel of committee members during which of the following steps?

A) hearings
B) refer to president
C) markups
D) reports

Question 12

All of the following are a purpose of committee hearings EXCEPT ______.

A) raise visibility of an issue
B) stake out committee jurisdictions
C) publicize the role of the committee chair
D) record the final vote on a bill

Question 13

Which of the following statements pertaining to committee staff is true?

A) Committee staff members are active in outside communications and issue networks.
B) Committee members are not allowed to accompany their Congress member to the floor.
C) Committee staff members always make policy decisions.
D) Committee staff members are not allowed to negotiate with lobbyists.

Question 14

Which of the following is a nonpartisan legislative support agency that provides information to members of Congress?

A) Ways and Means Committee
B) Government Accountability Office
C) State Department
D) Democratic National Committee

Question 15

Committee chairs in the modern Congress are powerful and almost completely independent from party leaders.

Question 16

It has become more common to bypass committee consideration in recent years.

Question 17

The Congressional Research Service operates under strict rules of nonpartisanship.

Question 18

A committee report is created only if the full committee votes to send the bill to the House or Senate.

Question 19

According to the informational theory of committees, the purpose of committees is to provide expertise to Congress as a whole.

Question 20

Standing committees process the majority of Congress's daily and annual agenda.

Question 21

Committee assignments are made solely on the basis of seniority.

Question 22

The circumvention of committees reflects the dominance of party power over committee power.

Question 23

Republicans, but not Democrats, have term limits for committee leaders in the Senate.

Question 24

Party task forces are formed to promote party priorities.

Question 25

Each policy area is assigned exclusively to only one committee.

Question 26

Multiple referrals are more common in the House than in the Senate.

Question 27

Multiple referrals can be employed to slow down legislative decision-making.

Question 28

How do party leaders balance informal criteria in making committee assignments?

Question 29

Seniority used to be the rule in selecting committee chairs. Which factors are more important today?

Question 30

What are the purposes of committee hearings?

Question 31

What are some of the costs and benefits of overlapping jurisdictions?

Question 32

How has the committee system evolved over time?

Question 33

Committees serve two broad purposes: individual and institutional. Define these purposes and give an example of a situation that illustrates each purpose.

Question 34

What is meant by the "safety valve" function of congressional committees?

Question 35

Which goals of lawmakers influence the committee assignments sought by members? Give an example of how these goals might influence a committee assignment in a specific case.

Question 36

Legislation must be passed by the House and Senate in identical form before being signed by the president. How does Congress reconcile differences in House and Senate bills before sending them to the president?

Question 37

Why are select committees created?

Question 38

Scholars have developed three major theories for explaining the development of the committee system. Compare and contrast these three theories and explain which you think is most relevant to the modern Congress.

Question 39

How does the policy environment influence committees? Which of these influences do you view as most important in the modern Congress?

Question 40

Select a House or Senate committee of interest to you. Do the members seem to have been appointed for distributive, informational, or partisan purposes? What types of activities have the committee recently engaged in, and how do these fit with the different purposes of congressional committees?