Deck 11: Congress

Question 1

About _____ percent of money contributed to campaigns in 2012 went to candidates challenging incumbents.​

A)4
B)10
C)​22
D)​41
E)63

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The practice of altering district lines for partisan advantage after the census is also known as

A)redistricting.
B)reapportionment.
C)gerrymandering.
D)impeachment.
E)cloture.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is not cited in the text as a reason Americans are unhappy with Congress?

A)​The weakness of the economy
B)Persistent partisan disagreements within Congress
C)Too much cooperation with the president
D)Too much influence from interest groups
E)​All of the above are reasons Americans are unhappy with Congress.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A president can be impeached by the _________ and tried and removed from office by the __________.

A)House and Senate; Supreme Court
B)House; House
C)Senate; House
D)House; Senate
E)Senate; Senate

Question 5

In the 2013-2014 session,there were __________ women in the U.S.Senate.

A)two
B)eight
C)fourteen
D)twenty
E)twenty-nine

Question 6

When making contributions to candidates for Congress,PACs tend to show a preference for

A)Democrats.
B)incumbents.
C)members of the Tea Party.
D)Republicans.
E)Independents.

Question 7

​Work performed by Congressional staff members on behalf of constituents is

A)​franking.
B)​appropriation.
C)​unethical influence peddling.
D)​lobbying.
E)​casework

Question 8

Since 1950,__________ of all House incumbents running for office have been reelected.

A)approximately 50 percent
B)approximately 90 percent
C)100 percent
D)less than 50 percent
E)approximately 80 percent

Question 9

The power to declare war resides with the

A)Senate only.
B)president only.
C)House of Representatives alone.
D)Armed Services Committee.
E)House and Senate together.

Question 10

With respect to social media,Representatives and Senators​

A)​are restricted by franking regulations as to what they can send.
B)​are limited by rules adopted by their respective chambers.
C)​are subject to legislatively-prescribed limits on the kinds of information they can convey.
D)​have no limits on what they can convey.
E)​are prohibited from communicating with their constituents through social media.

Question 11

Representatives elected from new districts after reapportionment tend to exhibit __________ than representatives from older districts.

A)less polarized voting partisans
B)more polarized voting patterns
C)the same amount of polarized voting
D)higher name recognition
E)less polarized voting partisans and higher name recognition.

Question 12

The key feature of the Great Compromise was its provision for

A)population-based representation for states in the House and equal representation for states in the Senate.
B)equal representation for all states in both houses.
C)proportional representation based on electoral votes in the Senate and equal representation in the House.
D)population-based representation in both legislative bodies.
E)election of senators by state legislatures.

Question 13

Every two years,_________ of the Senate must stand for reelection.

A)one-fourth
B)one-half
C)one-third
D)all
E)two-thirds

Question 14

An incumbent advantage that permits members of Congress to keep in touch with constituents by sending mailings at the taxpayer's expense is known as

A)casework.
B)reciprocity.
C)postal privilege.
D)communication allowance.
E)the franking privilege.

Question 15

Which of the following powers is the exclusive power of the Senate?

A)To approve treaties
B)To impeach
C)To redistrict
D)To originate revenue bills
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 16

Each state has __________ Senators.

A)two
B)three
C)four
D)five
E)ten

Question 17

The framers of the Constitution wanted a government strong enough to avoid the difficulties encountered under​ the 

A)​British Monarchy.
B)​Mayflower Compact.
C)​Bill of Rights.
D)​Articles of Confederation.
E)​Townshend Acts.

Question 18

All U.S.Senators were no longer chosen by state legislatures after the passage of the

A)Thirteenth Amendment.
B)Sixteenth Amendment.
C)Seventeenth Amendment.
D)Nineteenth Amendment.
E)Twenty-first Amendment.

Question 19

Every two years,how many of the 435 House seats are up for reelection at the same time?

A)All
B)One-third
C)Two-thirds
D)Three-fourths
E)One-half

Question 20

The redistribution of seats among the states every ten years after a census is known as

A)redistricting.
B)reapportionment.
C)reallocation.
D)gerrymandering.
E)impeachment.

Question 21

The vice president

A)has no formal constitutional title over the U.S. Senate.
B)has the ability to select Senate committee chairmen.
C)can break tie votes in the Senate.
D)frequently visits the Senate to lobby on behalf of the president.
E)can veto Senate resolutions.

Question 22

A dispute over floor debate procedure in the House would be settled by

A)the House Ways and Means Committee.
B)the bill's author.
C)unanimous consent.
D)the Rules Committee.
E)the standing committee from which the bill originated.

Question 23

An underlying assumption of the concept of descriptive representation is that

A)elected representatives should follow their own consciences.
B)any citizen can be represented by any congressional representative.
C)minorities can be effectively represented only by people who "look like them."
D)representatives should carefully heed public opinion polls.
E)the more outspoken people are regarding the type of representative they want, the closer the representative will be to voter preference.

Question 24

​The 2013 Cybersecurity Enhancement Act is an example of an issue on the Congressional agenda and a piece of legislation that

A)​failed to pass because of opposition from industry.
B)​sailed through to become law in response to a national security threat.
C)​demonstrates how the House and the Senate can cooperate when needed.
D)didn't become law at least in part because of a presidential veto threat.
E)​shows once again that Congress is out of touch with the majority of American citizens.

Question 25

If the president neither signs nor vetoes a bill within 10 days while Congress is in session,the bill

A)becomes law.
B)is sent back to Congress.
C)is recalled by Congress for further action.
D)has been pocket-vetoed.
E)is killed.

Question 26

The minority counterpart to a committee chairperson is called a

A)ranking majority member.
B)vice chairperson.
C)minority whip.
D)ranking minority member.
E)ranking assistant chair.

Question 27

A __________ is a temporary committee established to deal with issues that either overlap or fall outside the areas of expertise of standing committees.

A)subcommittee
B)select committee
C)conference committee
D)joint committee
E)makeshift committee

Question 28

The 1993 Shaw v.Reno decision ​held that a congressional district in North Carolina was an example of

A)​"best practices" redistricting.
B)​"political apartheid."
C)​legal racial gerrymandering.
D)a ​political decision that was an inappropriate area of court interference.
E)​a matter best left to the states.

Question 29

​The 113th Congress is considered by some to be ___________,compared to the general population.

A)​the most diverse in history
B)​about as diverse as previous sessions
C)​far less diverse
D)​almost perfectly representative
E)​of uncertain diversity because of legal restrictions on asking demographic questions

Question 30

A key difference between the House and the Senate concerning bill procedures is the

A)Senate Appropriations Committee.
B)House Rules Committee.
C)Senate Ways and Means Committee.
D)prefiled bill requirement in the Senate.
E)House floor procedure.

Question 31

About __________ of Congress are millionaires.

A)5 percent
B)20 percent
C)32 percent
D)50 percent
E)​69 percent

Question 32

Congressional oversight is often stereotyped as an opportunity for lawmakers to lash out at executive branch officials because of some scandal or mistake,but many lawmakers are advocates of the programs they oversee given these programs benefit their constituents back home.Thus,most oversight

A)is done in formal public hearings.
B)is aimed at trying to find ways to improve programs.
C)is aimed to mobilize voters.
D)is designed to influence committee chairmen.
E)is about demonstrating effectiveness to key executive branch officials.

Question 33

The so-called "supercommittee" created in 2011 to issue recommendations for reducing the deficit,which included members from both the House and Senate,is an example of a(n)

A)standing committee.
B)subcommittee.
C)joint committee.
D)conference committee.
E)select committee.

Question 34

Congress can overturn a presidential veto with a

A)two-thirds vote in the House and a majority vote in the Senate.
B)majority approval in the supreme court.
C)two-thirds vote in each house.
D)three-fourths vote in each house.
E)majority vote in the House and 60 votes in the Senate.

Question 35

Bills are assigned to committees primarily on the basis of _____________________.​

A)​the president's recommendation
B)​a vote among members of the political party of the official who introduced the legislation
C)​a hierarchy of committees expressing an interest in the legislation
D)​taking turns among committee chairs who request the legislation be assigned to their committee
E)​subject matter jurisdiction

Question 36

The content of a proposed bill in Congress can be changed

A)only in committee.
B)only during floor deliberation.
C)at any stage of the legislative process in either the House or the Senate.
D)only in conference committee.
E)up to three times.

Question 37

Meetings in which legislation is debated and amended are called _________ sessions.

A)ex nihilo nihil fit
B)markup
C)brainstorming
D)skull
E)war

Question 38

A __________ is a committee composed of legislators from both houses that works out legislative differences between the Senate and House and develops a compromise version.

A)subcommittee
B)select committee
C)conference committee
D)joint committee
E)makeshift committee

Question 39

Efforts to draw boundaries to promote the election of minorities

A)have been equally effective for blacks as for Hispanics.
B)have been more effective for Hispanics than for blacks.
C)have been more effective for blacks than for Hispanics.
D)were more effective for blacks in the 1980s, but more effective for Hispanics in the 1990s.
E)have been equally ineffective for blacks as for Hispanics.

Question 40

The House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are examples of

A)select committees.
B)standing committees.
C)subcommittees.
D)ad hoc committees.
E)conference committees.

Question 41

Which voting behavior by a representative indicates delegate behavior?

A)Voting with the representative's party on an issue
B)Voting with the president on a bill if the president promises to campaign for that representative at reelection time
C)Voting the way the representative thinks best, even if the vote is against the wishes of a large number of constituents, because the representative knows that no matter which way the vote is cast, a large number of constituents will be offended
D)Trading votes on an issue of low importance with another House member to gain a voting favor on another bill
E)Voting according to the results of a telephone survey regarding the preference of district constituents

Question 42

In today's Congress,the mere threat of a Senate filibuster is extremely common,which means that a bill often needs the support of

A)sixty Senators.
B)the president.
C)a plurality vote of the Senate.
D)all Senate Committee Chairman.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 43

A whip is a member of the legislature who _____________.​

A)​acts as leader of the party when the majority leader is unavailable
B)​rounds up votes for legislation
C)​controls the kinds of amendments offered on the floor of the House
D)​is each party's primary liaison with the opposing party
E)​determines which committees legislation will be referred to

Question 44

The rules that govern floor debate in the House of Representatives

A)must be agreed upon by all members.
B)are a tool the majority party uses to help it control the legislative process.
C)are neutral and assure a fair hearing for all sides.
D)encourage the development of partisan hostilities.
E)often result in deadlocked legislation that the leadership must negotiate.

Question 45

A survey of House members during a nonelection year showed that most lawmakers made an average of _________ trips back to his or her district each year.

A)40
B)20
C)5
D)75
E)100

Question 46

Most democracies outside the United States have a(n)

A)parliamentary system.
B)executive-legislative system.
C)congressional system.
D)constitutional monarchy.
E)legislative oversight system.

Question 47

The Senate delay tactic of talking a bill to death is called

A)cloture.
B)logrolling.
C)filibustering.
D)gerrymandering.
E)muckraking.

Question 48

A vote on a bill in the Senate results in a tie.What would likely be the official outcome of the vote on the bill?

A)The bill would be withdrawn and submitted at a later time, when one additional vote could be secured.
B)The bill would be killed.
C)The president's party would prevail.
D)The parties would reach a compromise in the conference committee.
E)The leadership would canvass members to change the one vote needed for passage.

Question 49

The most powerful person in the Senate is the

A)majority leader.
B)majority whip.
C)vice president.
D)president pro tempore.
E)sergeant-at-arms.

Question 50

When the Senate votes to invoke cloture,it

A)limits the amount of time that may be spent debating a bill.
B)means a bill must either pass or fail without any amendments.
C)sends a bill back to its originating committee for amendment.
D)forwards a bill to a conference committee so that differences between the House and Senate versions may be worked out.
E)will result in a bill's failure.

Question 51

In 2011 congressional parties formally banned _________,which are pork-barrel projects that benefit specific districts or states.

A)categorical funds
B)bylines
C)redactions
D)delineations
E)earmarks

Question 52

A letter requesting that a bill be held from Senate floor debate is also known as a(n)

A)cloture request.
B)gerrymander.
C)hold.
D)Senatorial veto.
E)sequestration.

Question 53

The text identifies __________ as an important "external source of influence" on Congress.

A)parties
B)the president
C)constituents
D)interest groups
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 54

One reason there may be no delegate position for members of Congress to take is that

A)many issues are of great concern to their constituents.
B)sometimes what constituents really want is not clear.
C)technology has made most congressional issues highly visible back home.
D)congressional issues rarely cut across a constituency in the same way.
E)many issues are of great concern to their constituents, and technology has made most congressional issues highly visible back home.

Question 55

A congressional representative is following the delegate philosophy when he or she

A)takes instructions from party leaders on how to vote.
B)votes in accordance with the perceived wishes of the citizens back home.
C)votes according to his or her conscience, even if doing so means going against the wishes of the majority back home.
D)consults the president before an important vote.
E)relies primarily on personal experience, philosophy, and ideology in deciding how to vote.

Question 56

​In 2013,in response to minority filibusters,Senate Democrats ____________________________.

A)​eliminated filibusters for confirmation of presidential nominees other than Supreme Court justices
B)​invoked "perpetual cloture," ending the possibility of filibusters
C)​agreed to split appointments 50/50 among Republicans and Democrats
D)​announced their intent to end legislative recesses until Republicans agreed to limit filibusters
E)​changed Senate committee structures so that Republicans would be less represented and would lose influence

Question 57

Over time,political parties in Congress have __________________.​

A)​become more inclusive of varying ideological perspectives
B)​tended to become more and more similar, giving voters fewer legitimate choices
C)​shown a remarkable consistency in ideology, with their ideological makeup essentially the same as it was 50 or even 100 years ago
D)​become more ideologically cohesive
E)​largely abandoned traditional ideological viewpoints

Question 58

A congressional representative is following the trustee philosophy when he or she

A)takes instructions from party leaders on how to vote.
B)votes in accordance with the perceived wishes of the citizens back home.
C)votes according to his or her conscience, even if doing so means going against the wishes of the majority back home.
D)consults the president before an important vote.
E)polls members of the district prior to a vote.

Question 59

​As parties in Congress have become more polarized,____________________.

A)​the middle ground has expanded, offering greater space for compromise
B)​compromises have become harder to achieve
C)​the president has become the "compromiser-in-chief" in a way that is new for American democracy
D)​members of parties have started to respond to the resulting public distrust of Congress with increased attempts to reach across the aisle
E)​they have become more able to work with members of the opposition

Question 60

On issues of high visibility and great concern to constituents,members of Congress are most likely to behave as

A)tribunes.
B)trustees.
C)advertisers.
D)delegates.
E)insiders.

Question 61

Discuss how their four major influences affect Congressional decision-making.

Question 62

Explain how racial gerrymandering is designed to achieve greater descriptive representation in Congress.

Question 63

Identify and describe the differences between the various types of congressional committees.

Question 64

Explain three of the advantages incumbents have over challengers in congressional elections.

Question 65

In the text,one suggested response to the charge​ of being the "least productive Congress ever" is to

A)​increase the influence of parties in the legislative process.
B)​eliminate the House Rules Committee.
C)​​end the ban on earmarks.
D)​adopt a parliamentary system of government.
E)end the practice of legislators inserting special financial benefits for their own districts.

Question 66

Describe three differences that the Constitution specifies between the U.S.House of Representatives and the U.S.Senate.

Question 67

Discuss the president's veto power​ over legislation passed by Congress.

Question 68

Explain how growing partisanship in Congress represents a trend toward greater majoritarianism.​

Question 69

Explain the Senate procedures known as the filibuster and cloture,and why the mere threat of a filibuster is extremely common and often criticized.

Question 70

Describe the positions of the president of the Senate,the president pro tempore of the Senate,and the majority leader in the Senate.

Question 71

Discuss the difference between the trustee and the delegate role,and explain when a member of Congress is likely to adopt one or the other.