Deck 12: Congress

Question 1

Congress is a ______ legislature with ______ members.

A) unicameral;342
B) bicameral;535
C) bicameral;100
D) unicameral;630
E) unicameral;750

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Under the original Constitution,senators

A) served four-year terms.
B) had the authority to choose the president's cabinet ministers.
C) were appointed by state legislatures.
D) were selected by the federal judiciary.
E) could serve only two terms.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which statement about the membership of Congress is not true?

A) Senators and members of the House are much less likely to be Hispanic than the population on the whole.
B) Senators and members of the House are more likely than the population on the whole to be Jewish.
C) Senators and members of the House are much more likely than the population on the whole to hold a professional or law degree.
D) Senators and members of the House are less likely than the population on the whole to be Protestants.
E) Senators and members of the House are,on average,much older than the population.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The idea of ______ identifies the best representative as the one who shares a similar racial,ethnic,religious,or occupational background with those he or she represents.

A) agency representation
B) sociological representation
C) mirroring representation
D) trustee representation
E) delegate representation

Question 5

Which of the following statements is most accurate?

A) Party leaders frequently demand that representatives vote in a particular way even if it conflicts with the representative's district and may hurt their re-election efforts.
B) Representatives are always above constituency pressures when they vote on laws in Congress.
C) Many states have strict laws that require representatives to vote in accordance with what their constituents want.
D) On many issues,constituents do not have very strong views and representatives are free to act as they think best without fear of electoral reprisals.
E) On many issues,constituents have very strong views and representatives feel compelled to do exactly what their constituents demand.

Question 6

Which of the following statements concerning the representation of women and minorities in the U.S.Congress is true?

A) Representation of women and minorities has decreased by one-third since the 1970s.
B) Representation of women and minorities has increased over the past two decades but is not comparable to their proportions in the general population.
C) Women are underrepresented in Congress,but there is a disproportionate representation of minorities in Congress.
D) Since the mid-1990s,the number of women and minorities in Congress roughly reflects their proportions in the general population.
E) Women and minorities are overrepresented in the House but underrepresented in the Senate.

Question 7

Which of the following is a key assumption of the sociological model of representation?

A) Because similarity helps promote good representation,the composition of legislative bodies should mirror the composition of society.
B) The composition of legislative bodies need not mirror society because all members of Congress are equally well-equipped to represent the views and interests of their constituents.
C) The government that governs least governs best.
D) The government that governs most governs best.
E) All representatives should have extensive educations and degrees in the social sciences before taking office in order to ensure the best government.

Question 8

Which idea of representation says that a legislator should be viewed as someone whom voters hire to represent their interests?

A) agency representation
B) sociological representation
C) mirroring representation
D) trustee representation
E) contract representation

Question 9

A bicameral legislature is one that has

A) laws forbidding private hearings or conferences.
B) two chambers or houses.
C) authority to overrule state governments.
D) a prime minister.
E) equal representation for each state.

Question 10

Which of the following is the best definition of a constituent?

A) It is another name for a voter.
B) It is the name for a member of Congress running for re-election.
C) It is someone who donates money to a campaign.
D) It is a person who lives in the district represented by a member of the legislature.
E) It is the name for a person who has sued the federal government in court for violating the Constitution.

Question 11

In each House district there are approximately ______ people.

A) 200,000
B) 700,000
C) 1,000,000
D) 1,500,000
E) 2,000,000

Question 12

Which of the following best describes a way in which the House differs from the Senate?

A) The House is more centralized and organized than the Senate.
B) The House is a looser and more deliberative body than the Senate.
C) The House's representatives are much less specialized than the Senate's members.
D) The House has a much greater level of turnover in its membership than the Senate.
E) Only the House has the authority to approve the president's appointments to the federal judiciary.

Question 13

As of 2012,how many women serve in the U.S.Senate?

A) two
B) seven
C) twenty
D) twenty-one
E) twenty-nine

Question 14

Making laws is frequently compared to making sausages because

A) the result is always unhealthy.
B) it is such an easy and straightforward process.
C) almost everyone likes the result even if they do not know what went into making it.
D) it is such a complex and often ugly process.
E) there are no rules that need to be followed.

Question 15

The larger,more heterogeneous constituencies and longer terms of Senators means that they are

A) more attuned to the needs of groups and interests organized on a city or countywide basis.
B) more likely to consider "new ideas" and are better able to act as the agents for groups and interests organized on a statewide or national basis.
C) more likely to serve existing interests than to bring together new coalitions of interests.
D) more likely to spend their time thinking about and running for re-election.
E) more concerned about reapportionment than members of the House.

Question 16

The most common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress is

A) business executive.
B) sales representative.
C) professor.
D) lawyer.
E) lobbyist.

Question 17

In 2006,______ became the Speaker of the House.

A) Harry Reid
B) Dennis Hastert
C) Kay Bailey Hutchinson
D) Nancy Pelosi
E) Rahm Emanuel

Question 18

Three factors related to the American electoral system affect who is elected to office in this country and what they do once they get there.Those factors are

A) party affiliation,family connections,and the substance of issues raised during a campaign.
B) who decides to run for office,incumbency,and the drawing of district lines.
C) incumbency,franking,and party affiliation.
D) military service,professional connections,and religious beliefs.
E) race,religious beliefs,and the region of the country the district falls within.

Question 19

The frequency with which they must seek re-election makes members of the House

A) more responsive to the needs of the elites in the states they represent.
B) less responsive to the needs of elites in the states they represent.
C) less responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
D) more responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
E) less responsive to the needs of both elites and interest groups in the districts they represent.

Question 20

How long is the term of office for a U.S.senator?

A) two years
B) four years
C) six years
D) eight years
E) ten years

Question 21

What did the Supreme Court declare in Miller v.Johnson?

A) Districts could not be drawn to favor the incumbent candidate.
B) The racial composition of a district could not be the predominant factor when redistricting.
C) Incumbents could not begin fund-raising more than nine months before the general election.
D) It was not unconstitutional for states to use an unelected,nonpartisan committee to redistrict.
E) The use of computer technologies to draw districts that will favor one party over another is unconstitutional.

Question 22

Constituency service is so important that

A) representatives spend about three-quarters of their time aiding constituents.
B) party leaders will not ask any member to vote in a way that conflicts with the interests or opinions of the member's district.
C) the House and Senate have recently created a Committee on Constituency Service.
D) the Constitution explicitly lists "constituent service" as the most important responsibility of Congress.
E) members of Congress have been impeached for not devoting enough attention to constituency service.

Question 23

Congressional organization is influenced by all of the following except

A) parliamentary rules of the House and Senate.
B) presidential directives.
C) political parties.
D) the committee system.
E) congressional staff.

Question 24

The "sophomore surge" refers to

A) the fact that many members of Congress lose their re-election campaigns after their second term in office.
B) the tendency for college students to intern with their local members of Congress during the summer between their sophomore and junior years in college.
C) the fact that most members of Congress leave office after serving only two years.
D) the fact that many college sophomores choose to vote in midterm congressional elections but not in presidential elections.
E) the tendency for candidates to win a higher percentage of the vote when seeking future terms in office.

Question 25

Over the past several decades,the ______ and the ______ have benefited most from apportionment.

A) Northeast;Midwest
B) Northeast;South
C) Northeast;West
D) South;West
E) South;Midwest

Question 26

In recent years,approximately what percentage of House members seeking re-election won their race?

A) 50 percent
B) 60 percent
C) 75 percent
D) 80 percent
E) 95 percent

Question 27

Gerrymandering refers to

A) the resources that elected officials use to reward their supporters.
B) the manipulation of electoral districts to serve the interests of a particular group.
C) the practice whereby legislators trade their support or opposition on one bill to get the support of another legislator on a different bill.
D) the investigations of the executive branch that Congress frequently engages in.
E) the tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down.

Question 28

Which of the following does not typically affect an individual's decision to run for elected office?

A) the strength of the individual's connections with interest groups and the national party organization
B) the way state legislative districts overlap with congressional districts.
C) the individual's ability to meet the extensive list of educational requirements defined by local,state,and federal laws
D) the individual's level of personal ambition.
E) the individual's ability to raise money for his or her campaign

Question 29

What are the most common private bills proposed in Congress?

A) bills giving individuals or corporations tax relief
B) bills for permanent visas or citizenship for foreign nationals
C) bills for defense contracts in a representative's district
D) bills that declare certain foreign nationals enemies of the United States
E) There are no private bills in Congress;all bills must be public.

Question 30

Which of the following is not a service often provided by representatives to their constituents?

A) attempting to influence the decision of a regulatory commission on behalf of a constituent
B) presenting a special bill for constituents
C) offering constituents legal advice regarding new administrative laws
D) writing and mailing out newsletters
E) talking to constituents

Question 31

What unusual action did Texas take after the 2000 census?

A) The Texas legislature refused to change the congressional districts from what they were during the 1990s.
B) Texas redistricted twice,in 2001 and 2003.
C) The Texas legislature established a nonpartisan redistricting board to draw new districts.
D) The Texas legislature permitted the Department of Justice to draw the new district boundaries,in conformity with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
E) The Texas legislature allowed citizens to vote directly on how each of the new districts should be drawn.

Question 32

Which of the following statements concerning the process of reapportionment is correct?

A) In order for one state to gain a seat,another state must lose a seat.
B) States that grow in size may gain extra seats,but the Constitution forbids reducing the number of representatives for any state.
C) States that fall below a minimum number of inhabitants are represented in the House by a nonvoting delegate.
D) States that grow in size may gain extra seats,but the Constitution forbids any state from having more than 35 representatives.
E) States that grow in population can refuse to accept further seats and instead give them to another state.

Question 33

The process of allocating congressional seats among the fifty states is called

A) redistricting.
B) gerrymandering.
C) redlining.
D) apportionment.
E) filibustering.

Question 34

Pork-barrel legislation

A) deals with specific projects and their location within a particular congressional district.
B) deals with specific agricultural subsidies.
C) funds efforts to increase the levels of America's meat exports.
D) grants a special privilege to a person named in the bill.
E) orders state governments to implement a program without providing funding for doing so.

Question 35

Which of the following best explains the small number of women in Congress?

A) More men than women vote,and men tend not to vote for women candidates.
B) Women do not have organizations or PACs supporting their candidacy.
C) Incumbency is a very powerful resource,and most incumbents have been men.
D) Women do not make very effective representatives.
E) Women do not want to run for Congress.

Question 36

One reason some people support the instatement of term limits in the House and Senate is

A) that it will decrease the power and influence of interest groups.
B) that it will decrease turnover in Congress and lead to more experienced legislators.
C) that it will increase turnover and get new faces into Congress.
D) that it will limit the power and influence of the judiciary.
E) that it will limit the use of patronage by representatives.

Question 37

Which of the following would not constitute an example of patronage?

A) a senator from Virginia adding a project for a $3.5 million horse trail in Virginia to a highway bill
B) a senator from New York voting in favor of a law to eliminate earmarks
C) a member of the House helping a senior citizen who lives in their district overcome problems with their Social Security benefit eligibility
D) a member of the House securing an appointment to one of the military academies for the child of a constituent
E) a member of the House sponsoring a bill to obtain legal status for an undocumented couple whose son had died as a marine in Iraq

Question 38

One reason why redistricting is controversial is that

A) computer technologies allow legislatures to know statistically what kinds of people live where and this can be used to give one party an advantage over the other.
B) it is unclear whether state legislatures or the federal government has the authority to redraw districts.
C) incumbents never lose when districts are redrawn.
D) it is unclear whether districts have to be drawn in such a way that each district includes roughly the same number of people.
E) interest groups and PACs exert a great deal of influence over the specific shape of each district.

Question 39

A senator or representative running for re-election is called the

A) constituent.
B) incumbent.
C) elector.
D) trustee.
E) delegate.

Question 40

The powers and resources available to government officials that are used to favor supporters are called

A) trusteeships.
B) expenditures.
C) patronage.
D) clotures.
E) filibusters.

Question 41

In the House of Representatives,the majority leader

A) is subordinate to the Speaker of the House.
B) is the same office as the Speaker of the House.
C) is superior in formal powers to the Speaker of the House.
D) has the same powers as the Speaker of the House but is a different office.
E) There is no majority leader in the House of Representatives.

Question 42

Which of the following is not a task of congressional staff members?

A) dealing with administrative agencies
B) drafting legislative proposals
C) organizing hearings
D) debating and voting in subcommittee meetings
E) negotiating with lobbyists

Question 43

A bill's supporters in the House of Representatives generally prefer ______ while opponents generally prefer ______.

A) an open rule;a closed rule
B) a closed rule;an open rule
C) a filibuster;cloture
D) cloture;a filibuster
E) a committee markup;a closed rule

Question 44

Who decides which committee assignments members of the House of Representatives receive?

A) the Speaker of the House
B) each party's own "steering and policy" committee
C) the president selects for members of his own party,and either the House majority or minority leader selects for opposition members
D) each party's National Committee
E) each party's whip

Question 45

A proposed piece of legislation is called a

A) bill.
B) referendum.
C) proposal.
D) cloture.
E) filibuster.

Question 46

Congressional leaders form ______ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees,to highlight an issue,or to investigate a particular problem.

A) conference
B) joint
C) select
D) standing
E) rules

Question 47

Approximately what percentage of proposed bills die in committee?

A) 40 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 60 percent
D) 75 percent
E) 95 percent

Question 48

The need to divide the labor of legislation is best exemplified in what formal structure of Congress?

A) the establishment of party whips
B) the establishment of standing committees
C) the strict control over floor time in Congress
D) the use of conference committees
E) the establishment of minority and majority leaders

Question 49

The jurisdiction of standing committees

A) is related to a specific geographic region.
B) is defined by the subject matter of legislation,which often parallels the major cabinet departments or agencies.
C) is determined by the different political parties.
D) is determined by the U.S.Supreme Court.
E) often overlaps with the jurisdiction of select committees.

Question 50

Who has the most real power in the Senate?

A) the Speaker of the Senate
B) the majority and minority leaders
C) the Senate president pro tempore
D) the chair of the Rules Committee
E) Unlike the House,all senators are equal in power.

Question 51

The House Ways and Means Committee is one of the most important committees in Congress because

A) it decides the order in which specific bills come up for a vote on the House floor and the specific rules that govern the length of debate.
B) it determines which representatives are assigned to which committees within the House.
C) it has the final vote on all foreign policy legislation moving through the House.
D) it has jurisdiction over taxes,trade,and entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
E) it is placed in charge of voting on impeachment charges.

Question 52

"Closed rule" and "open rule" refer to congressional provisions regarding

A) whether deliberations are closed or open to the general public.
B) assignment to powerful committees.
C) whether lobbyists are allowed inside Congress.
D) floor debate on a bill.
E) whether all members of the House or just members of a particular committee vote on passing a bill.

Question 53

Who is the Speaker of the House?

A) The vice president is also the Speaker of the House.
B) The representative with the longest tenure in the House is the Speaker of the House.
C) The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker.
D) An employee of Congress who formally brings the House into session each day is the Speaker.
E) The president selects the Speaker of the House from the majority party in the House.

Question 54

The Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office are examples of

A) staff agencies.
B) executive-congressional liaison offices.
C) caucuses.
D) select committees.
E) conference committees.

Question 55

Which of the following is the best definition of a congressional caucus?

A) a formal substructure of congressional parties,oriented toward fund-raising
B) unofficial groups of representatives or senators sharing similar interests or opinions
C) informal lobbying groups,organized around similar interests such as agriculture or maritime affairs
D) a formal committee that has the power to propose and write legislation
E) a vote by members of the House in order to determine who the Speaker of the House will be

Question 56

Cloture is

A) the ability of a senator to speak for as long as he or she wishes to prevent action from being taken on legislation that he or she opposes.
B) the process by which three-fifths of the Senate can end a filibuster.
C) the rule that allows one house of Congress to circumvent the other during the legislative process.
D) the process by which the president can end a filibuster.
E) a lawsuit filed by a member of the Senate against a member of the House or vice versa.

Question 57

Agencies in Congress designed to oversee administrative agencies and evaluate presidential proposals are called

A) committee agencies.
B) oversight committees.
C) staff agencies.
D) review offices.
E) iron triangles.

Question 58

The determination of the time and structure of floor debate on a bill,in the House of Representatives,is up to the

A) bill's authors.
B) Rules Committee.
C) Ways and Means Committee.
D) majority leader.
E) congressional staff.

Question 59

The House Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over which of the following areas?

A) taxes,trade,and entitlement programs
B) foreign relations and national security
C) rules governing debate on the floor and committee assignments
D) highways and waterways
E) agricultural and food issues

Question 60

The four joint committees in Congress are

A) budget,veterans' affairs,labor,and health.
B) economic,taxation,library,and printing.
C) foreign affairs,welfare,currency,and trade.
D) globalization,human rights,employment,and citizenship.
E) justice,agriculture,education,and technology.

Question 61

Congress adjourns during a ten-day period after presenting the president with a bill,and the president takes no action.This is known as a

A) procrastination veto.
B) pocket veto.
C) line-item veto.
D) silent veto.
E) expiration veto.

Question 62

According to the text,which of the following is not an important influence on the legislative agenda of Congress?

A) constituents
B) lobbyists
C) the president
D) the federal courts
E) party leadership

Question 63

The filibuster is likely to remain a feature of legislative politics in the United States because

A) the House,the Senate,and the president all must agree to eliminate it.
B) it makes majority rule in the Senate much easier.
C) a sixty-seven vote majority is required to eliminate it.
D) a constitutional amendment is required to eliminate it.
E) it is universally regarded as an essential part of every legislative assembly.

Question 64

When two members of Congress who share no common interests agree to support each other's bills,the practice is called

A) filibustering.
B) delegating.
C) logrolling.
D) bargaining.
E) pork barreling.

Question 65

Conference committees are

A) permanent and involve members from both the House and the Senate,but they do not have the power to report legislation.
B) temporary and are created to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees,to highlight an issue,or to investigate a particular problem.
C) permanent and have the power to write and propose legislation.
D) temporary,involve members from both houses of Congress,and are charged with reaching a compromise on legislation once it has been passed by both the House and the Senate.
E) informal committees composed of members from both political parties and both houses of Congress that are designed to promote bipartisanship.

Question 66

In addition to pressuring members of Congress to vote a certain way on a bill,interest groups also have substantial influence in

A) setting the legislative agenda.
B) getting senators to filibuster debates on bills that they oppose.
C) determining whether a member of Congress will run for re-election.
D) deciding committee assignments for members of Congress.
E) determining whether a bill will receive an open rule or a closed rule.

Question 67

Why does the House have greater party unity than the Senate?

A) Representatives have more partisan constituents than senators.
B) House leaders have more organizational control over the actions of representatives than Senate leaders.
C) Political parties donate more money to re-elect representatives than senators,who are more independent fund-raisers.
D) There is,in fact,no real difference in levels of party unity between the House and the Senate.
E) Interest groups are less influential in the House than in the Senate.

Question 68

Which is the best description of the K Street Project?

A) It was an attempt to place former Republican staffers in key lobbying positions to help ensure a large flow of corporate donations to the Republican Party.
B) It was an attempt by Democrats to place party loyalists in key positions in the administrative agencies that line K Street in Washington,D.C.
C) Orchestrated by the Federalist Society,it has the goal of placing conservatives on the federal courts.
D) This describes a bipartisan movement to get the offices of congressional staffers expanded beyond Capitol Hill to K Street.
E) It was a collective attempt by interest groups who had offices on K Street in Washington,D.C. ,to have their staffers elected to the House of Representatives.

Question 69

The Senate's constitutional power of advice and consent extends to which of the following?

A) the president's power to make treaties with foreign nations
B) the president's power to make executive agreements
C) the president's power to issue executive orders
D) the president's power to issue pardons
E) all federal court decisions regarding the separation of powers

Question 70

"Astroturf lobbying" refers to the practice whereby

A) members of Congress are influenced by being given free tickets to sporting events or other gifts.
B) a special interest group simulating a grassroots movement works with well-organized campaigns and petitions.
C) members of Congress are influenced by large campaign donations.
D) lobbyists begin to specialize,with narrow areas of professional expertise.
E) a special interest group pretends to represent the public interest.

Question 71

A filibuster allows members of the Senate to

A) refer a bill to multiple committees.
B) avoid a conference committee.
C) prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor.
D) call into question any action of the executive branch.
E) add amendments to any bill at any time.

Question 72

Which statement about a party unity vote is true?

A) In 2005,party unity voting was close to an all-time high.
B) Party unity voting was disallowed by the organizational reforms of the 1970s.
C) The decline of party unity voting reflects the increasing strength of party discipline.
D) Party unity voting has been increasingly rare since the 1970s.
E) Party unity voting is usually higher in the Senate than in the House.

Question 73

Oversight can best be described as

A) the efforts of Congress to supervise the manner in which its laws are implemented by the executive branch.
B) the organizational control exercised by party whips over members of Congress.
C) the authority of committee chairs over the hearings and investigations conducted by the subcommittees.
D) the informal power of the president to set the legislative agenda for Congress.
E) the approval that the Senate must give to all presidential appointments to the federal judiciary.

Question 74

A vote on which 50 percent or more of the members of one party take one position while at least 50 percent of the members of the other party take the opposing position is called

A) an ideological split.
B) congressional gridlock.
C) a party unity vote.
D) a pocket veto.
E) cloture.

Question 75

Responsibility for communicating the leader's wishes to members in Congress lies with the

A) Speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore.
B) whip system.
C) party's national committee.
D) party caucuses.
E) the Ways and Means Committee.

Question 76

Most members of the House attempt to stay on good terms with the Speaker of the House because

A) the Speaker has the authority to call all party unity votes.
B) the Speaker possesses the power of recognition.
C) the Speaker controls all committee assignments.
D) the Speaker approves all requests for logrolling.
E) the Speaker makes all decisions regarding how leadership PACs will distribute their funds.

Question 77

Which of the following is not a resource congressional party leaders have at their disposal to secure the unity and cooperation of their members?

A) committee assignments
B) access to the floor
C) constituency service
D) access to leadership PACs
E) the whip system

Question 78

When the House and the Senate coordinate two versions of the same bill,they will often use a ______ to obtain a single unified bill.

A) joint committee
B) conference committee
C) reconciliation committee
D) standing committee
E) select committee

Question 79

In general,members of the House seek committee assignments that will

A) bring them the largest number of campaign donations.
B) give them greater media exposure.
C) allow them to influence decisions that are of special importance to voters in their districts.
D) allow them more personal contact with the president.
E) allow them to avoid issues that are important and controversial to voters in their districts.

Question 80

How can a president's veto be overridden by Congress?

A) by a two-thirds vote in either house
B) by a two-thirds vote in both houses
C) by a simple majority vote in both houses
D) by a majority vote in the Veto Override Committee in the House and the Senate
E) A president's veto cannot be overridden.