Deck 5: Congress

Question 1

What is the best explanation for why the size of the House would be capped at 435 members?

A) The House chamber could not fit more members and therefore needed to be kept at that size.
B) The House would have difficulties in resolving collective dilemmas if the size were any greater.
C) The House must not be more than four times larger than the Senate by constitutional provision.
D) The House was limited by state populations in 1911.
E) The House is not limited to 435 members, but rather is that size due to the original district size distributions.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What is the difference between plurality rule and majority rule?

A) Plurality rule takes more people to win an election.
B) Plurality rule generates different legislative rules.
C) Plurality rule does not require more than 50 percent.
D) Majority rule generates different legislative rule.
E) Majority rule does not require more than 50 percent.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The ____________________ is more responsive to constituents than the ____________________.

A) president/House
B) Supreme Court/House
C) bureaucracy/Senate
D) Supreme Court/president
E) House/Senate

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Where does political representation occur most?

A) political parties
B) congressional caucuses
C) Supreme Court judges
D) individual politicians
E) congressional committees

Question 5

What is the tradeoff inherent in performing constituent service?

A) More offices must be opened in order to deal with greater demands for constituent service.
B) Limited time available to members means that increased constituent service creates less time for other activities.
C) Constituent service involves committees on which members serve, therefore it increases committee power at the expense of party power.
D) Members do not value services provided to constituents, and thus choose to do less of it.
E) There is no tradeoff for constituent service.

Question 6

Why do only 33 or 34 Senators face re-election in each cycle?

A) Many senators retire rather than face reelection.
B) Six-year terms mean only 1/3 of the chamber is re-elected at a time.
C) Each state only has one senator and retirements lower the number of re-elections.
D) Senators want to become president and thus pursue that goal.
E) All senators face re-election in each cycle.

Question 7

What effect did the districting cases of Baker v.Carr and Wesberry v.Sanders have?

A) All districts are of the same geographic size.
B) All states have more equal representation in the House.
C) All states have equal representation in the Senate.
D) All districts have roughly equal populations within states.
E) All state legislatures are roughly the same size.

Question 8

Why do liberal representatives largely come from liberal districts and conservative representatives from conservative districts?

A) State legislators know the preferences of every citizen in their state and draw district boundaries to perfectly match this.
B) Representatives poll on every issue and always vote in accordance with the majority opinion from these polls.
C) Political parties perfectly match the liberal-conservative dimension and thus members vote with their party on all votes.
D) Citizens vote for candidates which are most like them, thus producing representatives who share the general majority opinion in districts.
E) Representation is inconsistent, and members simply vote their conscience on every issue in the chamber.

Question 9

What does the elastic clause entail?

A) the distance between Congress and the president increases and decreases when the elastic clause is exercised
B) the Supreme Court can become more activist when the need to do so arises
C) the powers given to Congress can be expanded through the authority to make laws in the national interest
D) the powers given to Congress can be expanded without limit to cover any facet of daily life
E) the powers given to the president can be expanded through the authority to make laws in the national interest

Question 10

How do campaign finance laws advantage incumbents?

A) Incumbents are allowed to take unlimited donations from private groups and challengers are not.
B) Incumbents are allowed to give an unlimited number of speeches, and challengers are not.
C) Incumbents are allowed to roll over their offices and gain more from previous elections, and challengers are not.
D) Incumbents are allowed to change their tax status, and challengers are not.
E) Incumbents are allowed to roll over funds from previous elections, and challengers cannot.

Question 11

Why would two sitting incumbents face each other in a general election for Congress?

A) One moved to run for the Senate and lost.
B) Each is running for governor.
C) They have been redistricted into the same district.
D) Their districts have been moved into the same state.
E) Incumbents do not face each other in general elections.

Question 12

Which of these is the best explanation for why representatives might not vote in a manner consistent with majority opinion in their district?

A) The majority opinion is factually incorrect.
B) The minority opinion is the position of the opposition party.
C) The representative is facing a tough primary election challenger.
D) The representative is facing a tough general election challenger.
E) The representative will never vote against the district majority opinion.

Question 13

Why are measures of incumbency success in re-election often overstated?

A) Incumbents lie about their re-election to office.
B) Representatives retire rather than face probable defeat.
C) Measures of incumbent success are actually understated.
D) These measures are probabilities of success, and thus are not accurate.
E) These measures add together Senate and House re-election rates.

Question 14

What is an effect of primary elections for Congress?

A) increased party control of members
B) increased power for committees
C) decreased power for individual members
D) decreased party control of members
E) decreased power for committees

Question 15

Why does the makeup of state government affect redistricting for Congress?

A) State legislatures often determine the boundaries of congressional districts.
B) Nomination for office occurs through state legislatures, and divided government produces more moderate candidates.
C) Governors draw maps on their own and thus parties must control the governorship if they wish to have an effect.
D) State legislatures approve judges, and therefore the judges that draw the map respond exclusively to the partisanship of the legislature.
E) Commissions draw all maps, and thus the makeup of state governments does not affect congressional redistricting.

Question 16

Which of these is a power given to Congress in the Constitution?

A) executive agreements
B) drafting treaties
C) vetoing legislation
D) coining money
E) nominating judges

Question 17

Which of these is an allowable gerrymander?

A) two completely separated portions of one district
B) income-based distribution of constituents
C) minority-heavy districts relative to the general population
D) preference for individual business interests
E) decreasing the population of the district relative to other districts in the state

Question 18

Which of these is the best explanation for the increase in the amount of constituency service?

A) The president values his constituents, and mandates that Congress engage in this activity.
B) Constituent service is a consistent percentage of the annual budget.
C) Bureaucrats argue amongst themselves, and this causes an increase in paperwork.
D) The complexity of the federal government has increased as it has grown larger.
E) Riders on bills mandate that elected officials do more casework.

Question 19

What is the best explanation for why Congress bears ultimate responsibility in lawmaking?

A) The Supreme Court cannot rule congressionally generated laws unconstitutional.
B) The president cannot be trusted to make wise decisions.
C) The bureaucracy cannot make decisions.
D) The creation of laws occurs within Congress.
E) The veto override ability of Congress is guaranteed to work.

Question 20

____________________ representation is more independent of district opinion than ____________________ representation.

A) delegate/descriptive
B) descriptive/substantive
C) substantive/trustee
D) delegate/trustee
E) trustee/delegate

Question 21

Which is a type of congressional committee?

A) separate
B) regular
C) national
D) agriculture
E) standing

Question 22

Why were disappearing quorums effective before the Reed Rules?

A) Representatives could be counted as not present and stop consideration of bills.
B) Representatives could speak at length against bills and could not be stopped.
C) Representatives could not be forced to vote on measures and often did not.
D) Senators could be counted as not present and stop consideration of bills.
E) Senators could speak at length against bills and could not be stopped.

Question 23

Why are parties stronger in the Senate than in the House?

A) Party leaders write all bills in the House, unlike Senate individualism.
B) Members are elected as partisans in the House, and not in the Senate.
C) There are more independents in the Senate, which undermines parties.
D) The parties run the House Rules committee, which has more control than in the Senate.
E) The parties are equally strong in the Senate and House, and there is no difference.

Question 24

Why do the jurisdictions of committees matter?

A) The party caucuses determine the jurisdiction of committees.
B) Bills are drafted entirely in committees.
C) Committee jurisdictions determine what bills are heard in what committee.
D) Committees are the same between the House and Senate.
E) Only standing committees hear legislation.

Question 25

Why are staffs for legislative and campaign work separate entities?

A) The sizes are too much to deal with under one heading.
B) The president mandates that staff be organized in this fashion.
C) Congress functions more efficiently in this fashion.
D) The separation is mandated by election law.
E) The separation is mandated by the Constitution.

Question 26

What is the most limiting factor for the power of congressional party leaders?

A) size of the chamber
B) level of campaigning of representatives
C) coordination of fellow partisans
D) number of committees
E) number of parties in the electorate

Question 27

Why do large bills contain many small,targeted provisions?

A) Writing bills in small portions is easier.
B) These provisions garner more support for a bill from affected members.
C) Office staff write bills amongst many people.
D) Presidents find these bills easier to sign into law.
E) The Court is less likely to declare these bills unconstitutional.

Question 28

Why are committees a central feature of the distributional model?

A) Members pay party leaders to be assigned to committees.
B) Committees allow members to insert specialized allocations into bills.
C) Parties control access to committees in the referral process.
D) Members do not value committees independently of monetary gain.
E) Committees are not a central feature of the distributional model.

Question 29

Why are subcommittees allowed to exist?

A) solving collective dilemmas in committees
B) mandated by the Constitution
C) greatly benefit party whips
D) passing legislation is easier for the president
E) partisans favor their creation

Question 30

Which of these is the best explanation for why logrolling works?

A) Representatives will vote together to get their own pet projects passed as well.
B) Representatives desire to work together in drafting and passing legislation.
C) Committees require that members draft legislation together.
D) Representatives pick which committees their bills go to.
E) Presidents appreciate the work that logrolling takes and pass these bills.

Question 31

Which of these is a constitutionally mandated institution of Congress?

A) majority leader of the Senate
B) speaker of the House
C) minority leader of the House
D) speaker of the Senate
E) committee chair

Question 32

Which of these is a combined committee between members of the House and Senate?

A) agriculture
B) conference
C) standing
D) special
E) member

Question 33

Why are conference committees important?

A) Combined effort between the House and Senate is important to American government.
B) They enable leaders of the House and Senate to meet.
C) The Constitution mandates that all legislation be passed through conference committees.
D) Differences between the House and Senate bills are resolved.
E) The president is able to direct the content of legislation at this stage.

Question 34

What is the best example of party discipline?

A) representatives leaving at the same time for their districts
B) representatives campaigning for one another in non-election years
C) representatives caucusing with their fellow partisans in election years
D) representatives voting with their fellow partisans on difficult votes
E) senators caucusing with their fellow partisans in election years

Question 35

Why would free riding occur in Congressional politics?

A) Representatives utilize air travel to visit their constituents as often as possible.
B) Writing legislation is difficult, and members will let other members do it.
C) Being a representative is difficult, and members do not put effort into their tasks.
D) Committees are not valuable, and members do not want to be on difficult ones.
E) Parties allow members to not work in order to advance.

Question 36

Which of these is a duty of the party whip?

A) organize party retreats for member organization
B) write legislation that is in the best interest of the party
C) encourage members to vote for party-sponsored legislation
D) coordinate partisans on relevant committees to produce partisan legislation
E) speak at party events with outside interest groups

Question 37

The ____________________ model emphasizes committees while the ____________________ model emphasizes leadership control.

A) partisan/distributional
B) distributional/expertise
C) expertise/distributional
D) partisan/expertise
E) expertise/partisan

Question 38

Why is having a fellow partisan as the chamber leader important?

A) The leader writes all legislation.
B) The leader is the chair of committees.
C) The leader is the agenda setter.
D) The leader pressures the president to sign bills.
E) The leader makes all members vote in partisan fashion.

Question 39

The Congressional Black Caucus holds a meeting at the beginning of every session.What is it most likely they discuss in those meetings?

A) issues related to the Democractic Party
B) issues related to the Republican Party
C) issues related to African Americans
D) issues related to African politics
E) issues related to urban politics

Question 40

Where does the informational model place the most emphasis?

A) drafting legislation
B) referring legislation
C) committee deliberation
D) floor debate
E) presidential vetoes

Question 41

What is the impact of the power and duties of the House Rules Committee relative to proceedings in the Senate?

A) There is no difference between the two committees.
B) Senators have more power than representatives.
C) The House has greater partisan control of floor proceedings.
D) The Senate has greater partisan control of floor proceedings.
E) The parties have complete control in the House over all proceedings.

Question 42

What is the Rules Committee? How does the Rules Committee support the power of party leaders in the House of Representatives? How does the absence of a parallel institution in the Senate increase the power of individual senators relative to party leaders?

Question 43

Why might a representative propose a bill knowing it will fail?

A) Party leaders write the bill for the member.
B) Guaranteed referral to a committee on which the member serves.
C) Popularity with the representative's constituents.
D) The Supreme Court is unlikely to strike down the bill.
E) The president favors the legislation.

Question 44

What effect does the separation of powers have on the pace of legislation?

A) slowed down
B) sped up
C) remains the same
D) slower through the Supreme Court
E) slower through the bureaucracy

Question 45

Why is the Senate more individualistic than the House?

A) Lower number of members makes parties more difficult.
B) The president plays a much greater role in the Senate.
C) The Constitution mandates that the Senate be more individualistic.
D) Senate debate and procedure rules permit such behavior relative to the House.
E) The Senate is not more individualistic than the House.

Question 46

How can parties exercise control over the functioning of committees?

A) Leaders function as committee chairs.
B) Leaders appoint committee chairs.
C) Parties approve all members of committees.
D) Parties are constitutionally bound to committees.
E) Parties exist wholly outside committees.

Question 47

Why is the inability of a party leader to control a candidate's usage of a party label in elections important?

A) Election monitors have a more difficult time differentiating fake ballots.
B) Women candidates have a more difficult time being nominated in primary elections.
C) Candidates run individualistic campaigns and not party-wide plans.
D) Parties do have the ability to control the usage of their label.
E) Presidents can utilize this feature to generate more institutional strength.

Question 48

What is the importance of markups for individual representatives?

A) Representatives can bribe other representatives in this process.
B) Party leaders can control the actions of committee members.
C) Presidents influence the markup process.
D) Bureaucrats give testimony about the needs of their programs.
E) Representatives can control bill content at this stage.

Question 49

Identify two collective dilemmas faced by Congress.What institutions has Congress put in place to mitigate the negative consequences of these dilemmas? How do the institutions you identify help Congress as an institution overcome the problems that would be created by the uncoordinated activities of its members?

Question 50

____________________ rules allow no amendments while ____________________ rules allow specified amendments.

A) Open/closed
B) Closed/open
C) Open/restricted
D) Closed/restricted
E) Restricted/closed

Question 51

Why is the Speaker important in the referral process?

A) controls all bill referrals
B) strategic referral of bills
C) appoints committee chairs
D) authors bills to shape their referral
E) The Speaker is not important to the referral process.

Question 52

Identify and define the four major models of congressional activity described in the text.Explain how each model can explain some aspect or aspects of the congressional committee system.Which model is most consistent with the structure and operation of congressional committees?

Question 53

Why are laws passed by Congress often not far from the status quo?

A) Broad support needed to pass legislation generates moderate legislation.
B) All representatives are close to the center of the ideological distribution.
C) Presidents favor the status quo and will only sign bills close to it.
D) The Supreme Court will strike down extreme legislation.
E) Most laws passed by Congress are far from the status quo.

Question 54

How can votes on the floor of the House and Senate be utilized by interest groups?

A) Scores of closeness to the group's interest are generated through votes.
B) Senators are differentiated from representatives.
C) Interest groups use votes to push for new interest groups.
D) Representatives utilize these to grade their party leaders.
E) Interest groups judge based on individual bills.

Question 55

Compare and contrast the delegate and trustee models of representation.What might motivate constituents to accept a trustee-type representative rather than a delegate-type representative? Which model is a more accurate representation of how members of Congress actually operate? Give examples or cite evidence to support your judgment.

Question 56

What is the best description of the difference between the informational and distributional models of congressional organization?

A) Informational places more weight on the opinions of party leaders.
B) Distributional places less emphasis on jurisdictions of committees.
C) Informational places more emphasis on members receiving benefits.
D) Distributional places less emphasis on the needs of constituents.
E) There is no true difference between the two models of organization.

Question 57

Compare and contrast the constituencies and terms of office of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.Why did the framers provide for different electoral mechanisms to select representatives and senators? How do these institutional choices relate to the different procedures and characters of each house of Congress?

Question 58

Which of these Senate tools is the closest to a rule issued by the House Rules Committee?

A) committee markups
B) unanimous consent agreements
C) filibusters and holds
D) multiple track requests
E) right of first recognition

Question 59

Which of these models of congressional organization places the most emphasis on the growth of bureaucracies such as the congressional research service?

A) distributional
B) descriptive
C) partisan
D) substantive
E) informational

Question 60

What presidential tool is most useful at the end of a Congressional session?

A) appointment powers
B) signing statements
C) executive orders
D) pocket vetoes
E) advertisements