Deck 12: Congress

Question 1

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 1

C

Question 2

Following the 2006 elections, ________ became speaker of the U.S. House.

A) Harry Reid
B) Dennis Hastert
C) Newt Gingrich
D) Nancy Pelosi
E) John Boehner

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Congress is a ________ legislature with ________ members.

A) unicameral; 342
B) bicameral; 535
C) bicameral; 100
D) bicameral; 442
E) unicameral; 750

Question 5

A U.S. senator has a ________-year term.

A) 2
B) 4
C) 6
D) 8
E) 12

Question 6

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 7

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 8

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

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

Question 9

What is the most common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress?

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

Question 10

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 11

In recent years, about ________ percent of U.S. House incumbents win re-election.

A) 33
B) 50
C) 66
D) 80
E) 95

Question 12

According to ________ representation, a legislator should be viewed as a person who is hired to represent the interests of his or her constituents.

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

Question 13

The "sophomore surge" refers to the

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

Question 14

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 15

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

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

Question 16

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 17

The idea of ________ representation 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
B) sociological
C) mirroring
D) trustee
E) delegate

Question 18

________ occurs when a member of Congress makes resources available to government officials.

A) A trusteeship
B) Expendituring
C) Patronage
D) Cloturing
E) Filibustering

Question 19

Following the 2012 elections, there were ________ women serving in the U.S. Senate.

A) 2
B) 10
C) 20
D) 33
E) 45

Question 20

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 21

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 within which the district falls.

Question 22

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 have/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 23

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 candidacies.
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 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

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 28

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 29

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 30

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 31

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 32

What did the Supreme Court justices declare in Miller v. Johnson (1995)?

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 33

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 members of the House are much less specialized than the members of the Senate.
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 34

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

A) attuned to the needs of groups and interests organized on a city or countywide basis.
B) 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) likely to serve existing interests than to bring together new coalitions of interests.
D) likely to spend their time thinking about and running for re-election.
E) concerned about reapportionment than members of the House.

Question 35

The frequency with which they must seek re-election makes members of the U.S. 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 36

One reason some people support the establishment of term limits in the House and Senate is that it will

A) decrease the power and influence of interest groups.
B) decrease turnover in Congress and lead to more experienced legislators.
C) increase turnover and get new faces into Congress.
D) limit the power and influence of the judiciary.
E) 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 his or her district overcome problems with his or her 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

What happened after the 2010 census?

A) Pennsylvania gained the most U.S. House seats.
B) Texas gained the most U.S. House seats.
C) Utah gained the most U.S. House seats.
D) Michigan gained the most U.S. House seats.
E) South Carolina gained the most U.S. House seats.

Question 39

Which statement about the membership of Congress is NOT true?

A) Senators and members of the House are much less likely to be Latino 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 professional or law degrees.
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.

Question 40

Gerrymandering refers to the

A) resources that elected officials use to reward their supporters.
B) manipulation of electoral districts to serve the interests of a particular group.
C) practice whereby legislators trade their support or opposition on one bill to get the support of another legislator on a different bill.
D) investigations of the executive branch that Congress frequently engages in.
E) 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 41

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 42

The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee are two of the most important committees in Congress because

A) the members decide 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) the members determine which representatives are assigned to which committees within the House.
C) they have the final vote on all foreign policy legislation moving through the House.
D) they have jurisdiction over taxes, trade, and entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
E) they are placed in charge of voting on impeachment charges.

Question 43

The House Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over ________.

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 44

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) does not exist.

Question 45

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 46

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 47

________ percent of all proposed bills die in the committee phase.

A) Forty
B) Fifty-five
C) Seventy
D) Eighty
E) Ninety-five

Question 48

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 49

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 50

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 51

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 52

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 53

A proposed piece of legislation is called a ________.

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

Question 54

Who is the Speaker of the House?

A) The vice president of the United States is also 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 55

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 56

The terms of the floor debate on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives are dictated by the ________.

A) sponsors of the bill
B) Rules Committee
C) Ways and Means Committee
D) majority leader
E) majority whip

Question 57

A closed or an open rule refers 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 58

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 59

Who has the most real power in the Senate?

A) the president 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 60

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 61

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 62

Which of the following statements about party unity is true?

A) Party unity is not based on ideology and background.
B) Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives tend to represent urban districts.
C) Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives tend to represent rural areas.
D) Party unity has been on the rise in recent years.
E) Party unity has been on the decline in recent years.

Question 63

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 64

________ occurs when two members of Congress share no common interests but agree to support each other's bills.

A) Filibustering
B) Delegating
C) Logrolling
D) Bargaining
E) Pork barreling

Question 65

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

A) by a two-thirds vote in either chamber
B) by a two-thirds vote in both chambers
C) by a simple majority vote in both chambers
D) by a majority vote in the Veto Override Committee in the House and the Senate
E) A president's veto cannot be overridden according to the U.S. Constitution.

Question 66

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 67

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

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

Question 68

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 69

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

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

Question 70

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 71

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 72

In general, members of the U.S. 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 73

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 74

What is a legislative "hold"?

A) a stalling tactic used in the U.S. House of Representatives
B) a stalling tactic used in the U.S. Senate
C) a secret way to delay the passing of bills in the U.S. Senate
D) both b and c
E) a way for presidents to avoid the U.S. Senate altogether

Question 75

A ________ veto occurs when Congress adjourns during a ten-day period after presenting the president with a bill and he or she takes no action.

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

Question 76

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 77

Conference committees are

A) permanent and involve members from both the House and the Senate.
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 78

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 79

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 U.S. House of Representatives.

Question 80

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