Congressional Questions
The people that a legislator spends considerable time and effort serving are called
A. delegates.
B. trustees.
C. constituents.
D. representatives.
E. members.
The founders of the American republic believed that most of the power that would be exercised by a national government should be in the hands of
A. The chief executive.
B. The legislature.
C. the Electoral College.
D. The bureaucracy.
E. The judiciary.
The concept of logrolling refers to
A. Action taken by a senator that attempts to prevent a bill from passing in the Senate.
B. A method that is used to keep one bill on the floor for an extended period of time, thus blocking all legislation.
C. An arrangement by which two or more members of Congress agree in advance to support each other's bills.
D. A method that the president uses when he wants to prevent the passage of legislation.
E. A legislative strategy originally developed by representatives from the Pacific Northwest, in which one party ends up winning while the other ends up "in the water."
A representative who is performing the role of a trustee is
A. Only representing the needs of his or her constituents.
B. Supporting the president on all of his legislative programs.
C. Acting on conscience or representing the broad interests of the entire society.
D. Supporting his or her political party.
E. Representing other members of Congress.
A representative who acts on conscience or to represent the broad interests of the entire society is acting as a(n)
A. Blue Dog.
B. Instructed delegate
C. ombudsperson.
D. trustee.
E. whip.
A representative who is performing the role of an instructed delegate is
A. Primarily representing the wishes of his or her constituents.
B. Supporting the president on all of his legislative programs.
C. Representing the broad interests of the entire society.
D. Supporting his or her political party.
E. Representing other members of Congress.
One major problem with the role of the instructed delegate is that
A. The president's program may not have the support of the public.
B. The constituents may not actually have well-formed views on many issues.
C. A majority of the constituents may be of a different political party than the representative.
D. Few members of Congress are knowledgeable about most legislation.
E. Members of Congress find it difficult to cooperate.
Oversight is the process by which Congress
A. Follows up on the laws it has enacted.
B. Reviews the actions of subcommittees.
C. Chooses its leadership.
D. Supervises the activity of the judicial branch.
E. Passes legislation.
The enumerated powers of Congress are powers
A. Expressly given to that body in the Constitution.
B. that Congress has created by passing legislation.
C. That have been created by decisions of the Supreme Court.
D. That are imprecise and are usually disputed by strong presidents.
E. That follow implicitly from the United States existing as one nation among many.
The necessary and proper clause
A. Has expanded the role of the national government relative to the states.
B. Has increased the powers of the state governments at the expense of Congress' powers.
C. Was eliminated as a consequence of the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
D. Has served to limit the expansion of national authority.
E. Is located in the Constitution in the text of the Tenth Amendment.
One major difference between the House and Senate is the total number of members, a difference that has meant
A. the House will spend much more time on a bill on the floor as opposed to the Senate.
B. the Senate is able to decide on the proper action on a bill quicker than the House.
C. A greater number of formal rules are needed to govern activity in the House.
D. House members must sit on more committees than senators.
E. That a constitutional amendment has been proposed to increase the size of the House and to reduce the numbers in the Senate.
An attempt in the Senate to prevent the passage of a bill through the use of unlimited debate is known as
A. Agenda setting.
B. appropriation.
C. A continuing resolution.
D. A filibuster.
E. logrolling.
The concept of cloture refers to
A. A method used to defeat legislation in Congress.
B. A process that attempts to limit debate on a bill in the Senate.
C. Closed meetings held by parties to elect their leadership or resolve important issues.
D. Action taken by the House Rules Committee that must be approved by the Speaker.
E. The resolution that adjourns Congress.
The largest occupational group among members of Congress is
A. lawyers.
B. educators.
C. businesspersons.
D. lobbyists.
E. clergy.
In mid-term congressional elections, those held between presidential contests,
A. Voter turnout increases sharply.
B. The president's political party will usually gain seats in Congress.
C. Voter turnout falls sharply.
D. The president's political party will be unaffected unless the president campaigns for congressional candidates.
E. Incumbents are more likely to lose.
The allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census is known as
A. Constituent service.
B. franking.
C. gerrymandering.
D. reapportionment.
E. redistricting.
Members of Congress are granted generous franking privileges that
A. Permit them to mail letters to their constituents without charge.
B. Allow them to charge items to a special expense account.
C. Allow members unlimited phone calls to their district without charge.
D. Permit them to receive four round-trip airfares to their district.
E. Allow them to hold events such as barbeques in their districts at taxpayer expense.
The most important committees in Congress are ________ committees, permanent bodies that possess an expertise resulting from their jurisdiction over certain policy areas.
A. standing
B. select
C. joint
D. conference
E. legislative
Most of the actual work of legislating is
A. Performed by interest groups and then acted on by Congress.
B. Accomplished in state legislatures and then acted upon by Congress.
C. Performed by the president and then accepted routinely by Congress.
D. Performed by the committees and subcommittees within Congress.
E. Undertaken through a series of floor votes in the respective chambers.
The seniority system provides that
A. Members are awarded additional committee assignments in line with their seniority.
B. The committee member of the majority party with the longest continuous service normally becomes the committee chairperson.
C. Members become party whips in order of seniority.
D. Members of the House can be appointed to the Senate to fill vacancies.
E. the Speaker of the House is the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service.
The foremost power holder in the House of Representatives is the
A. President of the House.
B. Majority leader.
C. President pro tempore.
D. Speaker of the House.
E. Chief whip
The Speaker of the House
A. Is a symbolic position that does not provide power to make decisions.
B. Is picked by the president.
C. Has to perform duties in a non-partisan fashion.
D. Is the leader of the majority party.
E. Is the vice president
The president of the Senate is
A. The leader of the majority party in the Senate.
B. The senator with the most seniority, regardless of party.
C. The fourth person in line to succeed the president.
D. The vice-president of the United States.
E. Always a member of the majority party in the Senate.
Generally, leaders in the House of Representatives
A. Have more control over the agenda of the body than leaders in the Senate.
B. Must work closely with the other party's leaders to achieve success.
C. Are considered weak compared to party leaders.
D. Hold more power than leaders in true party government legislatures.
E. Need to overcome the unusual power of individual members.
When member's request for a special appropriation for projects back home that are attached to a bill to gain votes is known as a(n)
A. authorization.
B. Discharge petition.
C. earmark.
D. filibuster.
E. reapportionment.
Most people who study the decision-making process in Congress agree that the single best predictor for how a member will vote is his or her
A. Party affiliation.
B. Affiliation with organized interest groups.
C. Length of time in Congress.
D. age.
E. region.
"Money bills"
A. Must originate in the Senate.
B. Must originate in the House.
C. Must originate in conference committee.
D. Must originate with the president.
E. May originate from any of the above sources.
After being reported by a committee but before being sent to the House floor, bills are given to the ________ Committee, which defines the conditions under which the bills are to be considered by the House.
A. Select
B. Joint
C. Rules
D. Determination
E. Definitional
The job of a conference committee is to
A. Originate appropriations bills.
B. reconcile House and Senate versions of a bill.
C. Set the rules of debate for a bill.
D. Determine the committee path of a bill.
E. Override a presidential veto.
The actual passage of a bill setting the funds that an agency can spend is called a(n)
A. authorization.
B. appropriation.
C. allocation.
D. reconciliation.
E. Consolidation.
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