Deck 5: The Legislative Process

Question 1

Why did the founders not include more detailed requirements of the legislative process in the Constitution?

Answer 1

no answer

Question 2

Do you think it is easier to get a bill passed in the House or Senate? Why?

Answer 2

no answer

Question 3

Is the legislative process working as it should or has gridlock become too intense? What might the founders say about the Textbook Congress?

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

Do interest groups or the president have too much, too little, or about the right amount of power in the legislative process?
a. Should the president be allowed to introduce bills into Congress?

Question 5

Do you think any individual member has too much power in the legislative process?
a. Or, does any role (e.g., Speaker of the House or committee chair) of a member have too much power in the legislative process?

Question 6

Discuss the role of cosponsorship in the United States Congress. In drafting your essay, be sure to address, at least, the following questions. Why do members seek cosponsors for their bills? At what point in the legislative process do they seek cosponsors? Which types of members do they prioritize? How many cosponsors do they seek?

Question 7

After introducing a bill it is critical that the member gain support for her legislation. How does a member build early support among her peers in Congress? Name at least three ways and be sure to explain how and why they make a difference.

Question 8

Suppose a bill has been introduced and referred to a subcommittee. Let's assume there is support enough to move forward with the legislative process. What happens next? What happens if the bill never makes it out of subcommittee? How can the bill ultimately make it to the floor?

Question 9

Compare and contrast the floor procedures in the House and Senate. Be sure to address how amendments are handled, which chamber more empowers their members, and any important procedural motions that shape the nature of floor debate.

Question 10

Suppose a bill has been passed, in different forms, by both chambers of Congress. What is next for the bill? What can happen between this stage and the bill finally becoming law. Be sure to consider the role that the president can play in this stage of the legislative process.

Question 11

If a member seeks to turn an idea into a bill, what two nonpartisan offices would they contact to facilitate that process? What do each of those offices do?

Question 12

How does a member introduce a bill on the floor? Be sure to speak to House and Senate differences.

Question 13

How does each chamber adopt committee jurisdiction guidelines?

Question 14

Who are the two main targets of sponsors as they attempt to build support for a bill of theirs?

Question 15

What do witnesses do after they have been called before a congressional committee?

Question 16

What is the role of a congressional hearing?

Question 17

What happens after all amendments have been offered and voted on in committee?

Question 18

What role do interest groups play in the legislative process? What actions do they take to fulfill this role?

Question 19

What exactly can special rules in the House dictate?

Question 20

The Textbook Congress is said to balance three competing interests necessary for obtaining aggregate success in a legislative body. Name each interest and how it manifests in the Textbook Congress legislative process.

Question 21

The constitution mandates which of the following aspects of the legislative process?

A) The use of cloture to break filibusters
B) A structured amendment process to be determined by party leaders
C) The recording of all things said on the floor in the Congressional Record
D) None of the above

Question 22

How can Congress override a presidential veto?

A) Majority support in each chamber
B) 3/5 support in each chamber
C) 2/3 support in each chamber
D) Presidential vetoes cannot be overridden

Question 23

If the president has a policy idea that he wants to see become law, what is the first thing he should do?

A) Have the Vice President introduce a bill in the Senate
B) Introduce a bill in the House of Representatives
C) Lobby a friendly member of Congress to introduce a bill on his behalf
D) Jointly introduce a bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate

Question 24

Which of the following are requirements for a bill to be introduced?

A) It must have at least one cosponsor
B) It must be formatted properly by the Office of Legislative Counsel
C) It must bear a member's signature
D) Both b and c

Question 25

A member who signs on to a bill after it is formally introduced is known as what?

A) Cosponsor
B) Post-sponsor
C) Original cosponsor
D) Partial cosponsor

Question 26

Who decides which committee a bill is assigned to after it is introduced?

A) Council of Committee Chairs
B) Parliamentarian
C) Clerk
D) Rules Committee

Question 27

Which of the following is a nonpartisan office?

A) Clerk of the House
B) Office of the Parliamentarian (both chambers)
C) Secretary of the Senate
D) None of the above

Question 28

Members sometimes give a floor speech after introducing a bill. What purpose does this speech serve?

A) It allows the member to call their own panel of witnesses if the bill is brought up in committee
B) It signals the member is serious about the bill and increases its chance of passage
C) It is required by rules in both chambers before a bill can become law
D) It is an opportunity to partner with party leaders to politicize the bill introduction process

Question 29

How can a member influence what committee a bill they introduce is assigned to?

A) Use specific legal language in the bill to influence which committee has jurisdiction
B) Use a point of inquiry to direct the parliamentarian which committee to assign the bill to
C) Earn the support of a committee chair who can make a motion on the floor to accept the bill
D) Earn the support of the president who can decide which committee the bill is assigned to

Question 30

Getting the committee chair's support for a bill is critical because the chair has the ability to do what?

A) Refer the bill to a subcommittee
B) Veto the bill's assignment to her committee
C) Approve the bill by proclamation and send it straight to the floor for a vote without debate
D) All of the above

Question 31

Amendments in committee require how much support to be adopted into a bill?

A) A majority of the committee
B) A majority of the committee's subcommittee chairs
C) 2/3 of the committee
D) A majority of the majority party's members

Question 32

Which of the following most accurately characterizes the committee phase of the Textbook Congress' legislative process?

A) Almost every bill is given a hearing, but many are defeated by subcommittee votes
B) Almost every bill is given a hearing, but amendments almost always doom the bill
C) Many more bills are never given a hearing than those that are
D) The committee process is not consequential and mostly serves as a rubber stamp for the president

Question 33

What is a markup?

A) A report authored by the Clerk on lobbying disclosures made in a given monthly period
B) The period when (sub)committee members can debate and offer amendments to a bill
C) The act of a staffer making changes to legislation on behalf of the member who employs them
D) The final approval given by the Speaker of the House to have the Rules Committee report the bill to the floor

Question 34

Which committee in the House is in charge of deciding which amendments are in order on the floor during debate?

A) Majority Committee
B) Ways and Means Committee
C) Amendment Committee
D) Rules Committee

Question 35

The Constitution grants broad authority to Congress in determining its legislative process. Which of the following is Congress NOT able to do?

A) Reduce passage of a bill to 1/4 support
B) Eliminate the role of Speaker of the House
C) Reduce the threshold of overriding a veto to majority support
D) All of the above

Question 36

The House Rules Committee usually has _______ the members from the majority party.

A) Twice
B) Four times
C) Three times
D) Half

Question 37

What procedural tactic might the minority party use as a last-ditch effort to change a bill?

A) Motion to Halt
B) Request for Tabling
C) Motion to Recommit
D) Cloture

Question 38

In the House, how are the rules, which dictate the order that bills come up for debate on the floor, adopted?

A) They continue from congress to congress and can be changed at any time
B) They are adopted with majority support at the start of each congress
C) They are adopted by the House Rules committee twice per congress
D) The Speaker of the House has the sole authority to write the rules

Question 39

What does a modified closed rule in the House do?

A) Closes off certain titles from amendment while opening up other titles to any amendment on the floor
B) Permits any member to offer an amendment on the floor so long as the amendment has been printed in the Congressional Record prior to the debate
C) Prohibits any amendment from being offered on the floor
D) Refers a bill to a particular committee with some suggested change

Question 40

What type of special rule in the House permits any member to offer any germane amendment to any part of the bill?

A) Open Rule
B) Germane Rule
C) Modified Open Rule
D) None of the above

Question 41

If a member is not satisfied with the presiding officer's determination of who won a voice vote what type of vote tends to follow?

A) A second voice vote
B) Cloture vote
C) Standing vote
D) Proclamation vote

Question 42

Sometimes votes are held open much longer than the time designated. Who is responsible for ending the voting period in the House?

A) House Majority leader
B) The floor manager
C) Chair of the Rules Committee
D) Presiding officer

Question 43

If the Senate Majority Leader wants to bring a bill to the floor, what does he need to do to determine the rules for debate?

A) Instruct the Rules Committee what he would like the terms of debate to be
B) Submit a simple resolution to the floor that lays out the terms of the debate
C) Negotiate a unanimous consent agreement
D) Make a motion on the floor to suspend the rules thus allowing him to stipulate his preferred terms

Question 44

If a senator threatens to filibuster a bill what can be done to ensure a bill has the chance to pass?

A) Negotiate a unanimous consent agreement without the objecting member
B) Invoke cloture to end debate
C) Appeal to the Rules Committee to make filibusters out of order for a given legislative day
D) Both a and b would work

Question 45

Which of the following is unique about the amendment process in the Senate?

A) Amendments only need majority support to be adopted
B) Nongermane amendments are allowed
C) The Rules Committee decides which amendments are in order
D) None of the above

Question 46

When members, especially in the Senate, make floor speeches about bills their arguments are usually aimed at whom?

A) Constituents
B) Fellow members of Congress
C) Interest groups
D) Both a and c

Question 47

What proportion of senators is necessary to request a roll-call vote on the floor?

A) 1/5
B) 1/4
C) 1/2
D) 1/10

Question 48

When a member finds a bill they like in the chamber they do not serve in they might introduce what kind of bill to allow both bills to travel through the legislative process at the same time?

A) Privileged bill
B) Conference bill
C) Companion bill
D) Private bill

Question 49

After a bill makes its way through both chambers there is a conference committee to reconcile differences between the two versions passed. How many days does the presiding officers have to appoint conferees before the bill is automatically sent to the president?

A) 7 days
B) 30 days
C) 1 day per cosponsor of the bill across both chambers
D) None of the above

Question 50

Conference committees are chaired by whom?

A) The most senior senator
B) The chairmanship simply alternates between members of the House and Senate
C) The highest-ranking party member from the House
D) A nonpartisan staffer

Question 51

To be reported from conference committee a bill must ______________________.

A) Have majority support from both House conferees and Senate conferees separately
B) Have 2/3 support within the committee
C) Be supported by the most senior senator and House member
D) Have majority support within the committee

Question 52

What does a president's printed memorandum on a bill do?

A) Informs members of the president's position
B) Details the president's reason for his position
C) Explain whether members of Congress should fear a presidential veto
D) All of the above

Question 53

What happens when Congress adjourns sine die?

A) It adjourns until the next congress
B) All remaining bills in committees are discharged to the floor and voted on in rapid succession
C) Any bill not signed into law dies and must be reintroduced in the next congress
D) Both a and c

Question 54

To declare war or amend the constitution members of Congress use what type of legislation?

A) Public Bill
B) Joint Resolution
C) Concurrent Resolution
D) Simple Resolution

Question 55

Occasionally one of the chambers of Congress will seek to take a formal position on an issue without passing a law. When they do this it is known as expressing the sense of the chamber. What type of legislation is used for this purpose?

A) Concurrent Resolution
B) Private Bill
C) Simple Resolution
D) Joint Resolution