Legislatures learnsmart 5 Essay

1. True or false: Both chambers of Congress allow a member to speak for an unlimited time on the floor. A: false 2. Which of the following are members of the House leadership? A: Majority leader, majority whip and minority leader 3. Redistricting can diminish the advantages of being an incumbent because the candidate loses name recognition 4. Order the following general steps that a bill must pass through in order to become law 1. A member of the House of Representatives or the Senate formally proposes the bill 2. Subgroups within the House and Senate, composed of legislators who have expertise in the bill’s subject mater, review the bill 3. A majority of members in the House and Senate must approve it 4. The Conference Committee reconciles the bill when different versions have passed in the House and the Senate 5. President signs the bill 5. Members of Congress may experience conflict between their policy-making function and their representation function because A: They feel pressured to vote for a policy that clashes with their constituent’s interests. 6. To balance the desire for representation at different levels, the framers made Congress a bicameral institution. 7. Congress has a number of functions other than lawmaking. These include A: Acting on presidential actions, setting the national agenda, and representing its constituents. 8. Because taxation was such an important power to the framers, they required that all these measures must start A: in the House. 9. Reapportionment is the reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state based on changes in the state’s population since the last census. 10. Which of the following is the most powerful leadership position in the Senate A: Majority leader 11. Which of the following are reasons why specific members of Congress are chosen for congressional leadership positions? A: Ability to guide compromise, to persuade and to negotiate. 12. When congressional district boundaries are redrawn within a state, it is known as redistricting 13. Two of the most important influences on congressional elections are incumbency and redistricting. 14. Which of the following oversight tools ensure that Congress has some say in how the executive branch administers the laws that Congress creates? A: congressional hearings, budgetary appropriations and confirmation hearings. 15. The single most important factor in determining the success of a congressional campaign is incumbency. 16. Which congressional function involves auditing agency implementation of policy? A: Oversight 17. The power of taxation, among other powers, was given to Congress: A: to limit the power of the president; and because it is more representative to the people. 18. Gerrymandering A: is usually legal. 19 Which of the following influence agenda setting in Congress? A: public discourse, House and Senate leaders’ goals 20 Which of the following of Congress, which all other functions of Congress are related to? A: Policy making. 21. Constituents influence the legislative process by ensuring that their representatives in Congress work hard to represent their perspectives and policy interests 22. True or False: A president’s popularity rating cannot affect a legislator’s decision to vote for a particular bill A: True 23. Committees are important because A: They help develop passable legislation; they facilitate the consideration of high volume of bills; and they each specialize in a certain type of legislation. 24. Congressional oversight includes the federal bureaucracy because it is a part of the executive branch. 25. Interest groups engage in which of the following activities in order to influence legislators’ decision? A: grassroots activism, financial contributions, and lobbying. 26. Each senator represents his or her state, while House members represent their congressional district. 27. Partisan voting occurs more often when members are voting on domestic policy issues that tend to crystallize ideological differences between the parties. 28. House and Senate members often rely on which of the following inform their decision making on legislation because they frequently have policy expertise that can guide a legislator on an upcoming vote? A: Staff member 29. The president’s opinion concerning a specific bill can influence members of Congress, especially A: when they belong to the same party. 30. Some examples of Congress’s use of the ‘elastic clause’ include A: determining an oil company’s authority to drill on federal lands; expanding law enforcement authority in terrorism case; and regulating stem cell research. 31. Which of the following is a legislative power the president does not possess? A: Line-item veto. 32. Legislators use pork barrel politics and earmarks to bring money and jobs back to their home districts to show their constituents that they are working toward their best interests in Congress. 33. For mundane matters about which their constituents are less likely to be aware or hold a strong position, legislators typically rely on the trustee model of representation. 34. Citizens wanting policies that benefit the elderly, while others advocate for legislation beneficial for children, is an example of the influence that Congress has A: in managing societal conflict 35. Which of the following is not a way new legislation can be introduce in the Senate? A: A senator’s staff drafts a piece of proposed legislation and the senator place it in the hopper on the Senate floor. 36. Congress manages societal conflict by representing a wide range of views and interests. 37. The U.S Congress has a number of Constitutional powers beyond lawmaking. For example, it A: govern the District of Columbia; regulates the armed forces; regulates interstate commerce; and declares war. 38. When a committee or subcommittee holds a hearing, they are trying to gather information and views from experts about a proposed bill. 39. Interest groups can be a valuable resource to legislators because A: They can provide financial and electoral support. 40. Oversight is an important function of Congress because it ensures that laws are being administered in keeping with legislators’ original intent. 41. Which of the following are duties of the Speaker of the House? A: Making majority party committee assignments; chairing floor debates 42. Match the characteristics on the right with the chamber, which they describe: House: Taxation policies start in this chamber; this chamber faces more frequent elections Senate: Treaties are considered in this chamber; this chamber is more deliberative. 42. In the House of Representatives, a member of a legislator’s staff drafts t he proposed legislation and the House member puts the bill into the hopper. 43. House leadership is chosen at the A: beginning of each session of Congress. 44, Congress continuously engages in agenda setting because it relieves the pressure parties face in getting their members to vote with their particular party. 45. Congress engages in agenda setting when it determines which public policy issues the federal legislature should consider. 46. The framers had tax bills start in the House because A: it had a smaller constituency than the Senate; it had a shorter electoral term. 47. The practice in which members of Congress agree to vote for a bill in exchange for their colleague’s vote on another bill is called logrolling. 48. If a vote in the Senate is tied, the vice president breaks the tie. 49. Historically, which position has been honorary in nature? A: president pro tempore 50. Which of the following contribute to incumbents having an advantage during congressional elections? A: stronger name recognition; ease in attracting contributions; and easier access to media coverage. 51. An agency review provides an opportunity for executive agencies that would administer a proposed law to comment on the measure. 52. The Senate is more deliberative because A: its electoral terms are longer; it has fewer members. 53. A filibuster can arise when a member of the Senate wishes to halt or delay the passage of a bill. 54. After a committee agrees to the wording of a bill, the committee issues a report to the full chamber that explains the bill and its intent. 55. Creating â€Å"majority-minority† districts is a type of Gerrymandering. 56. Which committee sets the structure for the debate that ensues in the full House? A: Rules Committee. 57. An elderly person deciding to vote to reelect a House representative after the representative has tracked down the constituent’s Social Security check is an example of how casework can benefit an incumbent. 58. Unanimous consent agreements require that all senators agree to the terms of debate on a given piece of legislation. 59. A joint committee is composed of members of both chambers of Congress. 60. Redistricting can lessen the impact of incumbency, especially in years ending in the number 2. 61. Congress gets its powers from sources other than the Constitution, including A: American citizens, the media, and Supreme Court decisions. 62. The House Majority leader acts as an assistant to the Speaker of the House in performing legislative duties. 63. In more populated areas, congressional districts in the House of Representatives are often A: homogeneous, cohesive units. 64. AN elected or appointed official acts as an ombudsperson when advocating for citizens by listening to and investigating complaints against a government agency. 65. Which of the following is true about the Senate minority leader? A: Leader of the minority party in the Senate; negotiates with the majority leader. 66. A select committee is created to consider specific policy issues or address a specific concern in legislature. 67. Redistricting sometimes makes incumbency less important. 68. If 51 or more Democrats are elected to the Senate, each committee and subcommittee will have a minority of Republicans as members. 69. When there is a designation within a spending bill that provides for a specific expenditure it is called A: an earmark. 70. Congressional leadership refers bills to the lead committee. 71. Which of the following is not true about a markup? A: The committee actually alters a bill 72. The framers structured Congress in way that A: made it an effective check on the president; made it powerful enough to govern, and kept it from becoming too powerful. 73. After 1995, joint referrals were abolished from the House 74. The House leadership position of whip acts as a liaison between A: leadership and part members in the House. 75. Which of the following terms describes the segment of voters who pay careful attention to political issues? A: attentive public 76. Subcommittees are a subset of a A: Standing committee. 77. A standing committee is a permanent committee in Congress. 78. Members of the House of Representatives are reluctant to defy the will of their congressional districts because A: Their short two-year terms increase the probability that they will be voted out of office for going against the electorate. 79. When an incumbent performs casework for a constituent, it helps to create a good-word-of-mouth reputation and attracts support for that candidate during reelection. 80. The ability to use franking to communicate with voters is a benefit inaccessible to non-incumbents. 81. The attentive public is the segment of voters who pay careful attention to political issues. 82. The term pork barrel describes legislators’ appropriations of funds via legislation for special projects located within their congressional districts. 83. To end a filibuster, a supermajority of sixty senators must agree to invoke cloture and end debate 84. Which of the following is required to extract a bill from committee in order to have it considered by the entire House? A: discharge petition 85. A consequence of having a congressional â€Å"safe seat† is that a house member A: can generally be partisan without unfavorable political outcome. 86. Committee chairs are often chosen using the seniority system, by which the member with the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee receives preference when the committee chooses its chair 87. Which model of representation insists that legislators vote in line with their constituents’ views even when this contradicts their personal views? A: Instructed delegate model. 88. What occurs after a conference committee reconciles a bill between the House and Senate? A: The bill goes back to both chambers for a vote 89. In this model of representation, a legislator may act in opposition to the clear wishes of his or her constituents, such as in cases where an action is â€Å"for their own good† or the good of society. A: Trustee model 90. The most powerful position in the Senate: the majority leader manages the legislative process and schedules debate on legislation 91. Senators sometimes find it hard to represent constituents because they are elected by an entire state’s population, which may contain citizens who have conflicting views, ideologies, and policy priorities.