Deck 5: Congress

Question 1

Which article of the Constitution describes the powers of Congress, the selection of its members, and the processes of lawmaking and governing?​

A) ​Article I
B) ​Article II
C) ​Article III
D) ​Article IV

Answer 1

A

Question 2

​The president of the Senate votes

A) ​if a tie-breaking vote needs to be cast.
B) ​if a quorum is needed.
C) ​if one of the senators from the vice president's home state is absent.
D) ​on every motion.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is not a qualification to be a senator?​

A) ​A senator must be at least thirty years old.
B) ​A senator must be a natural-born citizen of the United States.
C) ​A senator must be a resident of the state he or she is to represent.
D) A senator must be a citizen of the United States for at least nine years​.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The Constitution addresses​

A) ​four leadership positions within Congress: the Speaker of the House, the president of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate.
B) six leadership positions within Congress: the Speaker of the House, the president of the Senate, the majority leader of the House and Senate, and the minority leader of the House and Senate.​
C) ​two leadership positions within Congress: the Speaker of the House and the president of the Senate.
D) two leadership positions within Congress: the Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate.​

Question 5

What portion of the Senate is scheduled for election or reelection in any given election year?​

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

Question 6

What is the total number of senators?​

A) ​50
B) ​100
C) ​150
D) ​200

Question 7

Which of the following is not a qualification to be a member of the House of Representatives?​

A) ​A member must be at least twenty-five years old.
B) ​A member must be a resident of the state he or she represents.
C) ​A member must have been a U.S. citizen for seven years.
D) A member must be a registered voter.

Question 8

​Which of the following is not a unique responsibility of the Senate?

A) ​It starts the process of the federal budget.
B) It approves the president's nominations to the cabinet.​
C) ​It holds the impeachment trial of any federal official.
D) ​It approves the president's nominations to the federal judiciary.

Question 9

Unanimous consent​ allows the Senate to conduct business

A) ​only without the objection of majority members, rather than taking continuous votes.
B) only without the objection of any members, rather than taking continuous votes.​
C) only with a quorum present.
D) without a quorum present but with the presence of all majority members.​

Question 10

Which congressional leaders have the following duties? 1. Work with their respective party leaders regarding their legislative programs
2. Generate support for their own party's position on legislation
3. Promote party cohesion
4. Gather member for votes and calls quorum of members in order to do business

A) Whips​
B) ​Minority leaders
C) ​Majority leaders
D) ​Presidents of the Senate

Question 11

Which congressional leader has the following duties? 1. Plays a role in scheduling legislation for consideration for a vote by the full body
2. Plays a role in planning the legislative agenda
3. Works with members to gauge where they stand on issues
4. Advances the party's agenda

A) ​Senate minority leader
B) ​Senate majority leader
C) ​House minority leader
D) ​House majority leader

Question 12

Which of the following roles does the president of the Senate also serve?​

A) ​The member of the Senate of the majority party who has served the longest
B) ​The minority leader
C) ​The vice president of the United States
D) ​The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Question 13

Which amendment changed the election of senators to direct election by the people?​

A) ​Sixteenth Amendment
B) ​Seventeenth Amendment
C) ​Eighteenth Amendment
D) ​Nineteenth Amendment

Question 14

​Which of the following is not a duty of the Senate majority leader?

A) ​Keeps members informed of the status of legislation in progress
B) Stands in for the minority leader when needed
C) ​Deals with procedural questions
D) ​Stays on the floor of the Senate to ensure that the legislative agenda is carried out

Question 15

Which of the following is not a specific responsibility of the House of Representatives?​

A) ​It starts all revenue-related bills.
B) It draws up articles of impeachment for a federal official.
C) ​It approves international treaties.
D) ​It begins the federal budget process.

Question 16

After a bill is proposed, it is​ referred

A) ​to the full House.
B) to a committee​.
C) ​to a subcommittee.
D) ​for a vote.

Question 17

The framers of the Constitution created two houses because​ ​one would represent the

A) agricultural areas and one would represent the urban areas.
B) lower and middle socioeconomic classes and one would represent the upper class.
C) people and one would represent the states.​
D) people and one would represent the federal government.

Question 18

Any bill may be proposed in either chamber of Congress except for​

A) ​revenue bills.
B) transportation bills​.
C) ​foreign relations bills.
D) ​immigration bills.

Question 19

Which of the following is a responsibility of the Speaker of the House?​

A) ​Leads debate
B) ​Serves as leader of the minority party
C) Heads all committees
D) ​Casts a tie-breaking vote

Question 20

The first step in the creation of a law is for a bill​ to be

A) ​introduced to the full House or Senate.
B) reviewed through the committee process.
C) ​reviewed by the executive branch.
D) proposed and sponsored by a member of the House or Senate.

Question 21

A senator's Official Personnel and Office Expense Account is calculated based on​

A) ​state population and distance from Washington, D.C.
B) ​state population and committee assignment.
C) ​committee assignment and distance from Washington, D.C.
D) ​committee assignment and number of staff members.

Question 22

What are two of the options the president has when a bill has been sent to the White House?​

A) ​To sign or to table
B) ​To veto or to send it for judicial review
C) ​To sign or to veto
D) ​To veto or to send it back to committee

Question 23

​Which of the following statements about rules of debate on legislation is true? I. In the House, any member who wishes to speak about a particular issue is given a specific amount of time to talk by the Speaker.
II. In the House, once debate is closed, final conversation can occur in a specific amount of time before the vote is called.
III. In the Senate, a member may keep discussing a bill after debate is closed to keep it from coming up for a vote.
IV. Three-fifths of the Senate must vote to decide to close debate for a legislative matter.

A) ​Statements I, II, and III
B) ​Statements II and III
C) ​Statements I and II
D) Statements I, III, and IV​

Question 24

​The committee system in Congress is

A) ​developed over time to organize the lawmaking process.
B) led by the party that holds the minority.
C) ​specifically detailed in the Constitution.
D) ​not used to create national policy.

Question 25

Which is the best description of a select committee?​

A) ​A select committee is called together to handle issues that come up for a short period of time or to handle a particular investigation.
B) A select committee is established by a resolution of a chamber of Congress; it can conduct investigations and studies and consider legislation.
C) ​A select committee is continuously in operation to handle bills on a regular basis.
D) A select committee has members from both the House and the Senate.

Question 26

​If Congress discovers that an executive agency is not conducting itself properly or is implementing policy the wrong way, what can it do about it?

A) ​It can file a formal complaint through an arbitrator.
B) ​It can fire the agency's head and hire a new one.
C) ​It can restrict the agency's funding.
D) ​It can ask the courts to intervene.

Question 27

The "home style" approach​

A) ​focuses on the voting record of a congressional member.
B) ​paints a congressional member as someone who desires to spend more time in his or her district and less time in Washington, D.C.
C) focuses on the policy decisions of a congressional member.​
D) describes a congressional member as someone who can deliver on the things that matter most to his or her constituents.​

Question 28

For a bill to become a proposed law, it must be​ approved by

A) a majority of the members of the house where the bill originated and signed by the president.
B) a majority of members of both the House and Senate and signed by the president.
C) ​all the congressional committees of the house where it originated and signed by the president.
D) ​all of the members of the house where the bill originated and signed by the president.

Question 29

If a bill is tabled, it means that

A) ​the committee will vote on it in seven days.
B) ​it has passed through the committee process.
C) ​the committee has sent the bill for markup.
D) ​the committee will consider it at a later time, if at all.

Question 30

Congressional oversight​

A) ​was not originally granted to Congress by the Constitution.
B) ​allows Congress to check the judicial branch bureaucracy.
C) ​allows Congress some control over policy implementation.
D) ​is not a power granted to Congress.

Question 31

Casework is best defined as researching and following up on

A) committee findings.
B) inquiries from constituents.
C) inquiries from other representatives.
D) inquiries from the judicial branch.

Question 32

​The Congressional Budget Office

A) ​provides expertise and policy analysis on many issues at every stage of the legislative process.
B) ​is part of the Library of Congress.
C) ​provides policy analysis and information regarding economic considerations and research to support the budget process.
D) analyzes the impact of alternative policy positions​.

Question 33

At what stage of the process can a bill be edited or amended?​

A) During its proposal and sponsorship
B) After it has been presented to the House or Senate
C) ​At any stage of the process in committee
D) ​Once proposed, the bill cannot be edited or amended.

Question 34

​Which of the following is not a significant duty that members of Congress and their staff do for their constituents?

A) Visiting constituents on a weekly basis
B) ​Assisting constituents with contacting federal agencies
C) ​Communicating with constituents
D) ​Providing services to constituents

Question 35

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is an example of​

A) ​the elastic clause.
B) ​judicial review.
C) ​the system of checks and balances.
D) a standing committee in the Senate.

Question 36

Which of the following is not a resource available to members of the House and Senate?​

A) ​Franking
B) ​Gifts from constituents
C) ​Access to the Congressional Budget Office and the Congressional Research Service
D) ​Information and research

Question 37

The House and Senate Intelligence Committees have been actively involved in government oversight of which of the following government organizations for collecting information on private citizens over the past several years?

A) ​Central Intelligence Agency
B) ​National Security Agency
C) ​Internal Revenue Service
D) ​Federal Bureau of Investigation

Question 38

Which of the following is not a basic type of committee?​

A) ​Standing
B) ​Revenue
C) ​Joint
D) ​Select

Question 39

The two most powerful committees in Congress are​ ​the House of Representatives

A) Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
B) International Relations Committee and the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
C) International Relations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee​.
D) Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

Question 40

​Which of the following is false about the Rules Committee?

A) ​There is a Rules Committee in the Senate.
B) ​There is a Rules Committee in the House of Representatives.
C) ​The Rules Committee decides whether and when a bill comes up for a full vote.
D) ​The Rules Committee decides on the conditions for debate of the bill.

Question 41

Which of the following is not a problem associated with redistricting?​

A) Gerrymandering
B) ​Home styling
C) ​Cracking
D) ​Packing

Question 42

Which of the following does not describe the typical person elected to Congress​?

A) Non-Christian
B) Upper level income
C) Highly educated
D) ​Male

Question 43

Reapportionment​

A) ​calculates the number of senators each state gets.
B) ​results in some states gaining and some states losing seats.
C) rarely ​results in redistricting.
D) ​directly impacts funding for congressional races.

Question 44

What occurs when a particular group of voters, such as a racial group, is distributed among several districts in order to limit its influence?

A) ​Cracking
B) ​Packing
C) Gerrymandering
D) ​Collating

Question 45

In Shaw v. Reno, the Supreme Court ruled that states

A) ​could use race as the primary motivation for creating congressional districts.
B) could not use race as the primary motivation for creating congressional districts.
C) were not exempt from a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required them to get approval from the federal government for any changes to the voting systems.​
D) were exempt from a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required them to get approval from the federal government for any changes to the voting systems.

Question 46

Which of the following is not a significant advantage incumbents have over their challengers?​

A) ​The power of name recognition
B) ​Networks of people and organizations that donate money to their campaigns
C) Fewer donations from PACs and more from individual citizens
D) ​The use of congressional media services

Question 47

PACs are organizations dedicated to getting candidates elected who​

A) ​support particular policies.
B) ​are incumbents.
C) ​are first time candidates.
D) ​support the sitting president.

Question 48

The percentage of minority members in Congress after the 2012 elections was

A) ​well above that found in the general population.
B) ​above that found in the general population.
C) ​equal to that found in the general population.
D) ​below that found in the general population.

Question 49

Reapportionment begins​ after the

A) ​most recent House of Representatives election.
B) ​decennial census.
C) ​most recent presidential election.
D) ​annual census.

Question 50

​Congress forms what branch of the federal government?

A) ​Legislative
B) ​Judicial
C) ​Executive
D) ​Legal