Deck 7: The Committees

Question 1

Does the committee system benefit members in pursuit of their goals? Are they giving up too much power?

Answer 1

no answer

Question 2

Are members better off with party leaders or committee chairs wielding the most power? Why?
a. How does the level of partisan polarization change things?

Answer 2

no answer

Question 3

Is the seniority system an effective way of selecting committee chairs?
a. What other alternatives might there be?

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

Should there be term limits for chairing a committee?

Question 5

Would you rather serve on an authorizing committee or an appropriations committee? Why?

Question 6

Characterize the history of committees in Congress. When and why did Congress adopt committees? Has the role of committees been the same throughout history? Did the committee system develop uniformly in both chambers? Be specific and provide context when possible.

Question 7

Is a committee system necessary for the proper functioning of Congress? Be sure to explain what the committee system does for the legislative process and for individual members. Address any tensions between the use of a committee system and any other way of processing legislation. Support your answer with examples when necessary.

Question 8

The committee system, when in use, can be quite restrictive on the power of individual members of Congress since they are expected to mainly work in the policy area congruent with their committee. Why do members accept a system where their power is restricted?

Question 9

Compare and contrast the roles and duties of the House and Senate Rules committees.

Question 10

Describe the seniority system including how is came to exist, what allowed it to persist, what members held the power and any decline it has had. Be specific and include context and examples to make sure your answer is complete and clear.

Question 11

Which chamber of Congress developed a committee system first and why?

Question 12

The committee system was the bedrock of the Textbook Congress. In which decade did the system first begin weakening and what change caused this weakening?

Question 13

When do the House and Senate establish committee jurisdictions?

Question 14

One of Congress' most important jobs is conducting oversight. What is oversight and what does it involve?

Question 15

In what ways are Appropriations Committees limited?

Question 16

After receiving funding suggestions from the Authorizing Committees, the Appropriations Committees do what?

Question 17

What is the purpose of the Congressional Budget Office and how was it created?

Question 18

Select Committees deal with issues that do not neatly fall into existing standing committee jurisdictions. Who decides when these committees formed?

Question 19

Who decides committee membership ratios and what do those ratios usually correspond with?

Question 20

Unlike in the House, committees dealing with what types of issues tend to be more prestigious in the Senate? Why are these issues of special interest to senators?

Question 21

Both chambers of Congress developed standing committee systems by what year?

A) 1825
B) 1816
C) 1809
D) 1778

Question 22

Speakers of the House over time had attempted to ignore committees that were out-of-step with their agenda. The chamber responded in turn by restricting the number of standing committees from 48 to 19 by passing what legislation?

A) Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
B) Cannon Reform Act of 1900
C) Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970
D) Contract With America Reform Act of 1994

Question 23

Which of the following did NOT enhance the power of committee chairs in Congress?

A) More well-defined committee jurisdiction
B) Subcommittee Bill of Rights
C) The development of the seniority system
D) All of the above enhanced committee chair power

Question 24

Which of the following was NOT a norm developed during the Textbook Congress that favored committee chairs?

A) New committee members were treated as apprentices until they acquired expertise
B) Committee members were expected to designate one staffer from their offices to serve the chair of their primary committee
C) Committee members were expected to concentrate on issues that came before their committees and disengage from issues before other committees
D) Committee members were expected to be available for hours of committee work at the will of the chair

Question 25

Committees have existed since the first session of Congress. During the earliest years of Congress every bill passed through which committee?

A) Committee on Floor Debate
B) Rules Committee
C) Joint Appropriations Committee
D) None of the above

Question 26

______________ is well known for exercising intense control, and not bowing to the power of committee chairs, during their time as Speaker of the House.

A) Joe Cannon
B) Newt Gingrich
C) Thomas Reed
D) All of the above

Question 27

In the early years of Congress committees were meant to do what?

A) Hold broad debates about wide ranges of issues and publish their findings in local newspapers
B) Pass legislation directly into law
C) Recommend legislation to their parent chambers
D) Review the behavior of members and expel any wrongdoers

Question 28

When a member watches how another more experienced and involved member votes on an issue it is known as what?

A) Signaling
B) Logrolling
C) Vote Buying
D) Committee Masking

Question 29

Gatekeeping is best defined as which of the following?

A) A meeting among prestigious committee chairs to determine which programs will be funded for the upcoming fiscal year
B) The power to control whether the chamber ever considers a bill that has been referred to the committee
C) The ability of Congress to withhold funds from White House programs
D) The term describing members ability to still walk onto the chamber floor after they are no longer members of Congress

Question 30

About ____ bills died in committee during the 114^th Congress.

A) 50%
B) 93%
C) 85%
D) 78%

Question 31

The outline for which committees are assigned which issues is known as what?

A) Policy Direction
B) Jurisdiction
C) Seniority System
D) Committee Rule

Question 32

Political scientists agree that the committee system is effective, in one way or another, for attaining which of the following goals?

A) Good public policy
B) Reelection
C) Influence
D) All of the above

Question 33

Authorizing Committees do which of the following?

A) Study new issues, develop new policies, and create new federal programs or agencies
B) Create new tax policy
C) Investigate claims made against members of Congress
D) Establish the framework by which the federal government raises and spends money

Question 34

Before new federal programs can be established the program must be funded by the Appropriations Committees. But, before the program can be funded, what must first occur?

A) New revenue must be generated
B) Approval from the president must be obtained
C) The program must be authorized
D) Public polling must be conducted

Question 35

Bills regarding raising revenue must originate in the House and those bills are generally delegated to which committee?

A) Ways and Means
B) Finance
C) Taxation and Oversight
D) Budget

Question 36

North Korea has declared war on the United States and members of Congress are under pressure to quickly allocate money to fight. Senator Watkins has submitted a supplemental budget request to fund additional defense spending. Which committee has jurisdiction over such requests?

A) Senate Finance Committee
B) Senate Budget Committee
C) Senate Rules Committee
D) None of the above

Question 37

Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 did NOT do which of the following?

A) Centered budget making in Congress
B) Created the Congressional Budget Office
C) Created the House and Senate Budget Committees
D) Banned the White House from writing any future federal budget documents

Question 38

Membership on the House Budget Committee is limited, but members can be granted extended membership in what way?

A) Approval from the House Budget Committee chair and every single subcommittee chair
B) Support from the membership of the House Budget Committee
C) Approval from the Speaker of the House and the Minority Leader
D) Support from the membership of the entire House of Representatives

Question 39

Which committees handle inquiries into the behavior of members?

A) Ethics Committees
B) Approiations Committees
C) Joint Committees
D) B Committees

Question 40

What happens if a rule, sent to the floor by the House Rules Committee, is defeated on the floor?

A) It is sent back to the Rules Committee along with its accompanying bill and can be taken up again at the discretion of the Rules Committee
B) It is sent back to the Rules Committee along with its accompanying bill and cannot be taken up again until the next Congress
C) It is sent back to the Rules Committee along with its accompanying bill and it can only be taken up again with 2/3 support of the House
D) The bill it was directing debate on dies unless the Speaker of the House immediately raises a point of order

Question 41

How is membership on the Ethics Committees determined?

A) Every member is required to serve on the committee for at least two weeks during their first term
B) Members have to wait years to get a seat because it is one of the most prestigious committees
C) Party leaders tend to draft members onto the committee with promises of short appointments
D) Members who raise the most money for the party are appointed for one-year terms

Question 42

Representative Bainbridge is serving her first term in office and is concerned about some of the language her staff has drafted for a constituent communication. If she wanted advice on whether the language was appropriate she might confer with which committee?

A) House Select Committee on Intelligence
B) House Ethics Committee
C) House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
D) None of the above

Question 43

If the Senate Ethics Committee reports on the conduct of a senator and the Senate votes to punish that member what happens next?

A) The president must approve the punishment with his signature
B) The House Ethics Committee begins their investigation of the senator
C) The punishment is carried out
D) The House must vote to concur with the Senate's decision

Question 44

_________________ are temporary committees that deal with issues that do not fall neatly into the jurisdiction of a standing committee.

A) Standing Committees
B) Joint Committees
C) Authorizing Committees
D) Select Committees

Question 45

Joint Committees consist of members from both chambers serving together. What is the proportion of House/Senate members on these committees?

A) 50/50
B) 45/55
C) 55/45
D) 60/40

Question 46

The version of a bill that the chair of the committee hopes to see emerge and move through the legislative process is known as what?

A) Chairman's Report
B) Chairman's Mark
C) Committee Report
D) Committee Resolution

Question 47

Who decides the number of subcommittees and their jurisdictions in the Senate?

A) Committee chairs consult with majority party committee members before making decisions
B) Majority party committee members vote
C) The entire Senate votes to approve every subcommittee at the start of each congress
D) None of the above

Question 48

The chair of a committee is from the majority party, but the minority party gets to select a committee leader as well and that member is known as the _________________.

A) Minority Leader
B) Ranking Member
C) Committee Vicechair
D) Minority Designee

Question 49

Which of the following factors might a member consider before choosing who to appoint to a committee?

A) The member's chance for reelection based on their potential membership
B) Committee membership of the member's predecessor
C) The current makeup of the committee regionally, racially, and based on gender
D) Both a and c

Question 50

Committee staffers can be sorted into which broad categories?

A) Chairman's staff and subcommittee staff
B) Member's staffs and expert staff
C) Support staff and expert staff
D) Budgeted staff and support staff

Question 51

Service on some House committees is not taken into consideration when seeking other committee assignments. These committees are known as which of the following?

A) Exclusive committees
B) A committees
C) Exempt committees
D) C committees

Question 52

The Senate authorizing committees that do not have restrictions on membership are known as which of the following?

A) Super A Committees
B) B Committees
C) Nonexclusive Committees
D) None of the above

Question 53

Committee assignments for Democrats are determined by which of the following?

A) Steering and Policy Committee
B) Committee on Committees
C) Priming Committee
D) Appointments Committee

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT true of Ethics Committees?

A) Equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats serve on the committees
B) Deliberations are public
C) Decisions by the committees are recommendations to their full chamber, which retains the responsibility of taking any real action
D) Staffers are nonpartisan

Question 55

The Subcommittee Bill of Rights was part of which legislative reforms package?

A) Newt Gingrich's Contract with America
B) Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
C) Legislative Reorganization Act of 1990
D) None of the above