Deck 6: Modern Developments in the Legislative Process

Question 1

Was every single force that brought about irregular order critical? That is, if one or two of the forces had not occurred would we still have regular order today?

Answer 1

no answer

Question 2

How critical is partisan polarization to the persistence of irregular order? If the parties were to become more ideologically heterogeneous would we see irregular order fade?
a. Bonus: What would replace irregular order in this scenario?

Answer 2

no answer

Question 3

Why do members of Congress condemn irregular order but make no efforts to change it?
a. Put another way, why do rank-and-file members allow for power to be centralized with party leaders?

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

Would the framers have detested irregular order?
a. Related: Why did they use such varying congressional processes early in American history?
i. Why did they not prescribes a consistent and regularized process like the Textbook Congress?

Question 5

Will irregular order continue to get worse or might it start to slowly go away? Why?
a. Related: How tolerant will members be about new innovations in irregular order?

Question 6

Compare and contrast the Textbook Congress with the modern legislative process. Identify three steps in the process and outline the Textbook Congress process and then the way the process changed. Be sure to explain why the change occurred and who stood to gain or lose with the change. Provide examples when necessary.

Question 7

Why did the Textbook Congress fade away? Identify at least four causes and elaborate on why these changes in American politics forced changes in the legislative process. Provide examples when necessary.

Question 8

Describe how the amendment process has changed from the Textbook Congress to the modern legislative process. Be sure to explain changes, and provide concrete examples from, each chamber.

Question 9

What are the consequences of irregular order on Congress and American politics? Who gained and lost power? What attributes characterize the modern legislative process and what does that mean for a bill as it moves through the modern legislative process? Be specific and be sure to include examples when necessary.

Question 10

We have discussed at length how the era of irregular order came to be and what changes have come about. How might the era of irregular order come to an end? What would need to change to reshape member behavior toward a different legislative process? Would that process be more similar to the Textbook Congress or something entirely new? Why or why not?

Question 11

Why did congressional Republicans decide to start running their campaigns as individuals instead of as partisan teams in the 1950s? How did this change member behavior in Congress?

Question 12

Following the series of Supreme Court decisions that led to more regular redistricting of congressional districts what changes occurred within districts and how did that shape member behavior in Congress?

Question 13

The American Political Science Association stepped into politics fueled by concern for the way the major political parties were operating. What did they suggest should happen to improve democracy?

Question 14

The Subcommittee Bill of Rights empowered subcommittee chairs and brought about what three major changes?

Question 15

What happens if a bill receives a joint referral and both committees report the bill, but not an identical bill?

Question 16

Identify three reasons, other than enhancing their own power and influence, why party leaders might want to avoid the committee process and use an ad hoc committee or task force instead.

Question 17

Self-executing rules are powerful tools of irregular order in the House. Identify three different things that can be accomplished via a self-executing rule.

Question 18

What are the differences between King of the Hill rules and Queen of the Hill rules?

Question 19

Complex Unanimous Consent Agreements are similar to restrictive rules in the House. Which of these two mechanisms of irregular order is more powerful and why?

Question 20

By filling the amendment tree the Senator Majority Leader is doing what?

Question 21

Which of the following helped stall civil rights legislation?

A) The House Rules Committee would only report queen of the hill rules on civil rights legislation
B) Speaker Rayburn opposed the legislation
C) Senators worked to filibuster civil rights legislation
D) Both a and c

Question 22

What event most helped increase the stature of the president relative to Congress?

A) Terrorist attacks of 9/11
B) Vietnam War
C) The APSA's release of their report on parties
D) The election of Newt Gingrich

Question 23

Multiple referral takes many forms, which of the following describes the referral wherein a bill is sent to one committee, which is given a specified amount of time to work on the bill, and then goes to a second committee where the process repeats.

A) Sequential
B) Joint
C) Split
D) Long-Term

Question 24

In the mid-19^th century Henry Clay used what aspect of irregular order to broker a peace during the lead-up to the Civil War?

A) Discharge petition
B) Commissions
C) Complex unanimous consent agreement
D) Omnibus bills

Question 25

Which Supreme Court case struck down the malapportioned districts by instituting a one person, one vote standard.

A) Buckley v. Valeo
B) Baker v. Carr
C) Citizens United v. FEC
D) Wesberry v. Sanders

Question 26

One of the main duties of Congress is to fund the federal government. In the past few decades they have failed to fulfill that duty and therefore have had to rely on what tactic of irregular order to fund the government?

A) Self-executing rules
B) Fast-track authority
C) Continuing resolutions
D) None of the above

Question 27

In the 1990s Newt Gingrich helped convince Republicans they could govern if they had control. This began an era characterized by what?

A) Rapid policy changes that were opposed by the president
B) Intense electoral competition where either party could be in the majority following the next election cycle
C) An influx of dark money into the political system
D) Intense oversight of issues favored by the Republican Party

Question 28

Many aspects of irregular order threaten the power of committee chairs, but members are less concerned because committees are mandated to be part of the legislative process in ___________ of the Constitution.

A) Article I, Section 2
B) Article I, Section 4
C) Fourth Amendment
D) None of the above

Question 29

If a committee refuses to act on a bill individual members do not have many options, but they can always use which irregular order tactic to send their bill directly to the floor?

A) Continuing resolution
B) Discharge Petition
C) Queen of the Hill rule
D) Filibuster

Question 30

Representative Wilson has been a policy expert in defense weapon procurement for years. She has written a broad bill that he thinks would benefit from multiple referral, and specifically, she thinks different parts of his bill should be examined by members with different areas of expertise. What type of referral is she hoping for?

A) Sequential
B) Joint
C) Split
D) Poly

Question 31

Which of the following have the least formal power in solving policy problems?

A) Gangs
B) Commissions
C) Task Forces
D) Each of these has about the same amount of formal power

Question 32

During the Textbook Congress the House Rules Committee, if it chose to report a bill, issued what kind of rule?

A) Queen of the Hill
B) Restrictive
C) Self-executing
D) Open

Question 33

King of the Hill rules do which of the following?

A) States that the last alternative to receive a majority vote, even if it does not receive the greatest number of votes, is the alternative that is considered passed by the House
B) Allows the executive branch to negotiate trade agreements that Congress must approve or reject in total
C) States that the alternative with the highest number of votes, so long as it is at least a majority, is the alternative that is considered passed by the House
D) None of the above

Question 34

In avoiding conference committees party leaders have instead engaged in a process known as "ping pong" negotiations. Which of the following best describes this process?

A) Party leaders cede negotiations to executive branch officials who decide which members of Congress can submit changes
B) Committees, appointed by party leaders in each chamber, submit changes in a disjointed manner
C) Party leaders bargain directly between the two chambers
D) None of the above

Question 35

Some members of Congress dislike Fast-Track Authority because it reduces their power in negotiations. What specifically does it prevent Congress from doing with deals presented via Fast-Track Authority?

A) Members are not allowed to debate the deals on the floor
B) Members cannot amend the deals
C) Only one committee is permitted to amend the deals
D) Both a and c

Question 36

The elimination of what procedural motion led to the creation of the filibuster in the Senate?

A) Motion to table
B) Motion to recommit
C) Motion to vacate
D) None of the above

Question 37

It's 1970 and the Senate is about to vote on a cloture motion. Every senator is present and intending to vote. How many votes are needed to enact cloture?

A) 60
B) 50
C) 75
D) 67

Question 38

If a senator notifies her party leadership that she will object to a give Unanimous Consent Agreement it is known as what?

A) Placing a hold
B) Filibustering
C) Signing a discharge petition
D) Overruling a motion

Question 39

Filling the amendment tree in the senate works because the Senate does not allow what?

A) Third-degree amendments
B) Second-degree amendments
C) Non-germane amendments
D) Both a and c

Question 40

Which of the following allows for people who are not members of Congress to join?

A) Task Forces
B) Gangs
C) Commissions
D) None of the above

Question 41

Representative Wallace is trying to gain signatures for a discharge petition. He knows that signatures are visible once a member signs and so he is targeting influential members first. What proportion of House members does he need to sign his petition for it to take effect?

A) 2/3
B) 1/4
C) 1/3
D) 1/2

Question 42

Partisan polarization has slowed the pace of congressional action and this has led to an increase in power of who?

A) The president
B) Committee chairs
C) Individual members
D) All of the above

Question 43

Irregular order rewards what type of behavior?

A) Policy expertise by members
B) Deliberative floor debate
C) Legislative efficiency
D) All of the above

Question 44

After the norms of regular order began to fade away members were left with the process known as irregular order, which is best defined as which of the following?

A) Processes that emphasize the importance of order, committees, and issue expertise
B) Processes that emphasize reciprocity among members
C) Processes that emphasize efficiency and centralized power around majority party leaders
D) Processes that highlight the importance of fundraising and primarily serving corporate interests

Question 45

In Congress, gangs are defined as which of the following?

A) Official groups of members and nonmembers who meet to investigate particular problems and are sometimes empowered to write legislation
B) Informal groups formed by members as a bottom-up approach to solving policy problems
C) Group composed of negotiators from the House and Senate tasked with reconciling differences in the same bill passed by both chambers
D) None of the above

Question 46

In 2011 the Senate voted to makes holds public if they last longer than how many days?

A) 2
B) 5
C) 14
D) None of the above

Question 47

To overcome a hold, the Senate Majority Leader might do what?

A) File a cloture petition
B) Fill the amendment tree
C) Force the senator who placed the hold to object to a unanimous consent agreement
D) Either a or c

Question 48

Of all the influences and causes of irregular order, the process could not have changed without approval from who?

A) Members of Congress
B) The President
C) Federal judges
D) All of the above

Question 49

When this type of rule is adopted it not only sets the parameters for floor debate of a bill, but it also allows some other action to be taken. What is the name of this rule?

A) Chairman's rule
B) Double rule
C) Sequential rule
D) Self-executing rule

Question 50

The availability of what helped cement candidate-centered campaigns?

A) Corporate fundraisers
B) Radio and television ads
C) Interest group scoring
D) Funding from political parties

Question 51

In the mid-20^th century ___________________ helped forge a national identity and national standards for acceptable behavior.

A) Local political party clubs
B) Regional newspapers
C) Broadcast journalists
D) More competitive presidential campaigns

Question 52

If President Trump plans to negotiate a trade deal with six or seven different South America nations he is likely to pursue what aspect of irregular order to make sure the deal is more easily negotiated?

A) Fast-track authority
B) Continuing resolution
C) Gangs
D) Split referral

Question 53

Compromise was a keystone feature of the Textbook Congress, but over time, and many presidents, the issue of _____________ proved too contentious for even regular order to resolve.

A) Space exploration
B) Education policy
C) Land-use policy
D) National debt

Question 54

In what decade did Congress first implement multiple referrals?

A) 1980s
B) 1970s
C) 2000s
D) 1990s

Question 55

The previous-question motion does which of the following?

A) Send a bill back to committee
B) Forces a re-vote on the last rule to be on the floor
C) Forces a re-vote on the last bill to be on the floor
D) Procedurally terminates debate