Deck 12: Congress

Question 1

Representatives from which of the following may vote in Congress?

A)Samoa
B)Guam
C)The Virgin Islands
D)The District of Columbia
E)Hawaii

Answer 1

E

Question 2

What role do whips play in Congress?

A)They preside in the absence of the Speaker or vice president.
B)They chair conference committees.
C)They control committee assignments in each chamber.
D)They are assistant floor leaders.
E)There are no whips in Congress.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Assume that the party balance in the U.S.Senate is 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats.Which of the following individuals would be a Democrat?

A)Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
B)Senate Majority Leader
C)Senate Minority Leader
D)Chair of the Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee
E)Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following descriptions more accurately describes the Senate as opposed to the House?

A)It is like a great debating society.
B)It is responsive to local interests.
C)It is attentive to detail.
D)It is relatively impersonal.
E)It limits debate strictly.

Question 5

Congressional committees established for a limited period of time are known as which of the following?

A)Standing committees
B)Continuous committees
C)Joint committees
D)Special or select committees
E)Allied committees

Question 6

Which of the following individuals would be most likely to hold the position of Senate president pro tempore?

A)The most senior member of the majority party
B)A member of the minority party in the chamber who is the most senior member of the entire Senate
C)A member of the majority party who is one of the most popular and respected members of the entire Senate
D)A member of the majority party who is a first-term member of the Senate
E)A retired member of the majority party

Question 7

Which of the following is

A)It is the largest constituency.
B)It is the most loyal to the member.
C)It includes swing voters.
D)It represents the entire population in the area the member represents.
E)It is generally the focus of a member's attention.

Question 8

When can the vice president cast a vote in the Senate?

A)He can vote on any measure considered on the floor of the Senate or in committee.
B)He can vote on any measure considered on the floor of the Senate.
C)He can only vote to break a tie in a vote on the floor.
D)He is never allowed to vote.
E)He can only vote on proposed constitutional amendments.

Question 9

Which of the following actions could the Senate take without participation by the House of Representatives?

A)Passing a bill to lower the drinking age
B)Increasing taxes on luxury cars
C)Confirming the president's choice of secretary of state
D)Lowering the highest marginal tax rate
E)Firing a cabinet member

Question 10

Which of the following actions requires the participation of BOTH the House and Senate?

A)Confirming a presidential appointment to a federal district court
B)Ratifying a treaty with Panama
C)Proposing a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning
D)Confirming a presidential appointment for attorney general
E)Ratifying a treaty with the United Nations

Question 11

Which of the following statements is NOT

A)Members of the House must stand for reelection every four years.
B)Members of the Senate must stand for reelection every six years.
C)Members of the House are elected from single-member districts.
D)Members of the Senate are elected in statewide,at-large elections.
E)All members of the House are up for election at the same time.

Question 12

Which of the following describes the party caucus?

A)The party leadership in both houses
B)The party leadership in the House or Senate,meeting separately
C)All party members of either house
D)All party members of the Senate
E)All party members of the House

Question 13

Assuming that the Republican Party holds a majority of seats in the U.S.Senate,what title does the Republican leader in the Senate hold?

A)Speaker
B)Minority Leader
C)Majority Leader
D)President pro tempore
E)Speaker of the Senate

Question 14

Which of the following is the best example of constituency service?

A)A member of Congress succeeds in amending an appropriation bill to provide money for a veterans' hospital in the member's home district.
B)A member of Congress helps a constituent resolve a problem involving Social Security benefits.
C)A member of Congress votes to toughen immigration laws to limit the number of people who can enter the U.S.legally.
D)A member of Congress votes in favor of legislation that would require businesses to provide their employees with unpaid leave in case of the birth of a child or a family emergency.
E)A member of Congress votes in favor of an amendment to the Constitution that would give constituents veto authority.

Question 15

According to the Constitution,who is the presiding officer in the U.S.Senate?

A)Speaker
B)Vice President of the U.S.
C)Majority Leader
D)President Pro Tempore
E)Secretary of State

Question 16

How is the Senate Majority Leader chosen?

A)Elected by majority-party members in the Senate
B)Elected by the Senate as a whole
C)Chosen on the basis of seniority
D)Selected by the committee chairs
E)Selected by the party leadership

Question 17

The detailed work of Congress takes place in which of the following stages of the legislative process?

A)In committees and subcommittees
B)On the floor
C)In conference committees
D)In the Rules Committee
E)In members' offices

Question 18

For which of the following is their representation in Congress less than one-third of their percentage of the population?

A)Latinos
B)Asian or Native American
C)Women
D)Black or African American
E)American Indian

Question 19

In the Senate,how are bills scheduled for debate?

A)The Majority Leader decides,usually in consultation with the Minority Leader.
B)The Rules Committee sets the schedule.
C)The Senate considers bills on the floor in the order in which they cleared committee.
D)The Speaker sets the schedule.
E)The Senate leadership decides the debate schedule.

Question 20

Which of the following statements more accurately describes the House than the Senate?

A)It focuses on national policy issues rather than local concerns.
B)It depends on formal rules of debate.
C)It focuses on the grand design of national policy.
D)It is so small that the members all know each other.
E)Members are more concerned with reelection because they represent entire states.

Question 21

Women represent more than half of the population of the United States,and about half of Congress.

Question 22

What is the most important position on the floor of the Senate? How does an individual get that position?

Question 23

Logrolling is the practice of achieving bipartisan support for a bill.

Question 24

Who sets the length of floor debate on bills pending before the full House?

A)Vice President
B)Majority Leader
C)Rules Committee
D)Floor debate in the House is not limited.
E)Minority Leader

Question 25

What factors tend to give individual senators more power in their chamber than representatives in the House?

Question 26

The U.S.House passes a bill dealing with healthcare reform.The Senate passes a bill that is similar but not identical to the House bill.What becomes of the legislation?

A)Both bills go to the president,who chooses which one to sign.
B)The legislation dies.
C)A conference committee would likely be formed to attempt to reach a compromise between the two bills.
D)The Rules Committee would rewrite the two bills to produce a single version.
E)The Senate version goes to the president;the House version dies.

Question 27

The Rules Committee sets the terms of debate for the floor of the Senate.

Question 28

Congress is more ethnically and racially diverse today than at any time in its history.

Question 29

The majority party holds a majority of seats on each committee and subcommittee in the House and Senate.

Question 30

The Speaker of the House is a member of the majority party in the House.

Question 31

A resolution,unlike a bill,is

A)a law that has already passed both houses of Congress and awaits the president's signature.
B)a legislative statement of opinion on a certain matter.
C)a vetoed bill sent back to the Congress by the president.
D)a policy passed by Congress that requires no further action.
E)a statement from the minority party about a bill it does not support.

Question 32

Congress cannot override the president's veto but must rewrite the legislation to his liking.

Question 33

Briefly discuss the level of turnover in Congress.Why are so many members reelected?

Question 34

In the U.S.Senate,how many senators must agree to end a filibuster?

A)50 one-half of the membership)
B)60 three-fifths of the membership)
C)67 two-thirds of the membership)
D)75 three-fourths of the membership)
E)100 all of the members)

Question 35

What percentage of bills introduced were enacted into law in the 110th Congress?

A)3
B)13
C)23
D)33
E)43

Question 36

About how many bills were introduced in the 110th Congress?

A)14
B)140
C)1,400
D)14,000
E)140,000

Question 37

The Constitution limits members of the House and Senate to serving no more than eight years.

Question 38

The position of president pro tempore in the Senate is usually held by the senator with seniority,and is a position of great influence.

Question 39

A vote of cloture is a vote to override the president's veto.

Question 40

What happens if a president fails to sign a bill and Congress is adjourned?

A)The bill becomes law.
B)The bill is introduced in the next Congress.
C)The bill dies through a pocket veto.
D)The bill is automatically passed.
E)The situation is ambiguous,without any clear resolution.

Question 41

What role does the House Rules Committee play in the legislative process?

Question 42

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the healthcare system in Canada?

Question 43

What is the most important position on the floor of the House? How does an individual get that position?

Question 44

Nearly every textbook has a section headed "How a Bill Becomes a Law." It might be more accurate,however,to change the heading to "How Most Bills Don't Become Law." Write an essay outlining the formal legislative process in which you note the various places a bill can be defeated.At the end,make some evaluations of the nature of the process,and discuss why some bills are more successful than others.

Question 45

Congress is a more diverse body now than it was in the 1950s.Write an essay in which you describe the changing nature of congressional membershi

Question 46

Choose a bill from the current Congress and chart its progress http://www.house.gov).What obstacles did it encounter,and how were difficulties resolved? In other words,how did it beat the other 97 percent that never made it through to become law?

Question 47

Are members of Congress adequately paid? Write an essay in which you describe the amount of compensation both monetary and nonmonetary)for the nation's legislators.Identify and evaluate the arguments for and against higher pay for members of Congress.

Question 48

When and why is a conference committee used in Congress?

Question 49

What is a pocket veto? When is a president most likely to use such a veto?

Question 50

What is a rider,and why is it attached to some bills?

Question 51

Should elected officials be limited in the number of terms they may serve? Write an essay in which you discuss the pros and cons of term limitation.Explain which side of the argument you support,and give the reasons for your position.

Question 52

Why are states challenging the constitutionality of healthcare reform?