APGovCh.6.Gerardo.Michel

Question 1

Bicameral Legislature

Answer 1

A two-house legislature.

Sentence: The Senate and the House of Representatives are considered bicameral legislature.

Question 2

Apportionment

Answer 2

The process of allotting congressional seats to each state according to its proportion of the population, following the decennial census.

Sentence: Apportionment is utilized to adjust the number of seats to the census of the state.

Question 3

Bill

Answer 3

A proposed law.

Sentence: A bill cannot be passed if both houses don’t consent.

Question 4

Impeachment

Answer 4

The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other “civil officers”, including federal judges, with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing government officials from office.

Sentence: Bill Clinton faced impeachment for having an immoral affair.

Question 5

Edmund Burke

Answer 5

Conservative British political philosopher of the eighteenth century who articulated the view that elected representatives should act as “trustees” and use their own best judgement when voting.

Sentence: Edmund Burke was a member of the British Parliament and sought to represent the interests of the entire nation.

Question 6

Trustee

Answer 6

Role played by an elected representative who listens to constituents’ opinions and then uses his or her best judgement to make a final decision.

Sentence: A trustee is essentially the source that executes a decision based on a variety of opinions.

Question 7

Delegate

Answer 7

Role played by a representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want, regardless of personal opinions; may refer to an elected representative to Congress or a representative to the party convention.

Sentence: Delegates cannot base their decisions off of personal preferences and must do it in the best of interests.

Question 8

Politico

Answer 8

An elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate, depending on the issue.

Sentence: A politico can switch roles between a delegate and a trustee.

Question 9

Incumbency

Answer 9

Already holding in office.

Sentence: Incumbency helps members stay in office once they are elected.

Question 10

Redistricting

Answer 10

The process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state.

Sentence: The majority party in state legislature can use the redistricting process to create a voting district that will protect their interests.

Question 11

Gerrymandering

Answer 11

The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district.

Sentence: Gerrymandering can result in congressional districts that are oddly shaped.

Question 12

Majority Party

Answer 12

The political party in each house of Congress with the most members.

Sentence: The majority party is the party who has the largest presence in Congress.

Question 13

Minority Party

Answer 13

The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members.

Sentence: The minority party is the party who has the smallest presence in Congress.

Question 14

Party Caucus (or conference)

Answer 14

A formal gathering of all party members.

Sentence: At the beginning of every new Congress, there is a party caucus held.

Question 15

Speaker of the House

Answer 15

The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; the chamber’s most powerful position; traditionally a member of the majority party.

Sentence: The Speaker of the House in 2019 is Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker that has served since January 2007.

Question 16

Majority Leader

Answer 16

The head of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarded as its most powerful member.

Sentence: The majority leader can help the Speaker schedule proposed legislation for debate on the House floor.

Question 17

Minority Leader

Answer 17

The head of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Sentence: The minority leader is the counterpart to the majority leader.

Question 18

Whip

Answer 18

Party leader who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party, takes vote counts on key legislation, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communications link within a party.

Sentence: One of a whip’s roles is to maintain close contact with all members on important votes.

Question 19

President Pro Tempore

Answer 19

The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party.

Sentence: The president pro tempore can preside over the Senate in the absence of the vice president.

Question 20

Standing Committee

Answer 20

Committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next.

Sentence: There are various standing committees, such as agricultural, educational, and commercial.

Question 21

Joint Committee

Answer 21

Standing committee that includes members from both houses of Congress set up to conduct investigations or special studies.

Sentence: A joint committee can focus public attention on a vital matter such as the economy.

Question 22

Conference Committee

Answer 22

Special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate.

Sentence: A conference committee can compromise members from the House and Senate committees.

Question 23

Select (or Special) Committee

Answer 23

Temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose.

Sentence: A select committee was created to investigate the Hillary Clinton email scandal.

Question 24

Hillary Clinton

Answer 24

First female major party candidate for president of the United States, a Democrat, who ran against President Donald J. Trump in 2016.

Sentence: Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote, but Donald Trump won the electorate vote.

Question 25

House Committee on Rules

Answer 25

The influential “Rules Committee” determines the scheduling and conditions, such as length of debate and type of allowable amendments for all bills in the House of Representatives (but not in the Senate, where debate is less regulated).

Sentence: One of the House Committee on Rules’ functions is to review most bills after they come from a committee and before they go to a full chamber.

Question 26

Discharge Petition

Answer 26

Petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction.

Sentence: A discharge petition needs at least 218 votes - the majority vote - to force bills out of a House committee.

Question 27

Seniority

Answer 27

Time of continuous service on a committee.

Sentence: Committee chairs in the House are no longer selected by seniority.

Question 28

Markup

Answer 28

A session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor.

Sentence: During markup, the committee can make changes to a bill they deem appropriate and beneficial.

Question 29

Committee of the Whole

Answer 29

A procedure that allows the House of Representatives to deliberate with a lower quorum and to expedite consideration and amendment of a bill.

Sentence: The Committee of the Whole allows for members to offer amendments and the full House to take a vote.

Question 30

Hold

Answer 30

A procedure by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill or nomination is brought to the floor. This request signals leadership that a member may have objections to the bill (or nomination) and should be consulted before further action is taken.

Sentence: A hold can be anonymous or public and can be placed for any reason, which includes reviewing, negotiation of changes, or perhaps even scrapping a bill altogether.

Question 31

Filibuster

Answer 31

A formal way of halting Senate action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate.

Sentence: A filibuster can include reading from a phone book, reciting poetry, or even reading from a cookbook to delay a vote.

Question 32

Cloture

Answer 32

Mechanism requiring the vote of sixty senators to cut off debate.

Sentence: Once a cloture motion passes the Senate floor, members can spend no more than thirty additional hours debating the legislation at issue.

Question 33

Veto

Answer 33

The formal, constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress, thus preventing them from becoming law without further congressional action.

Sentence: Congress can override a President’s veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber, but it is an arduous task.

Question 34

Pocket Veto

Answer 34

If Congress adjourns during the ten days the President has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president’s signature.

Sentence: A pocket veto results in the bill having to be reintroduced in the next session of Congress.

Question 35

Richard M. Nixon

Answer 35

The thirty-seventh president, a Republican, who served from 1969 through 1974. Nixon advocated detente during the Cold War and resigned rather than face impeachment and likely removal from office due to the Watergate scandal.

Sentence: Nixon refused to spend appropriated money on many social problems, and Congress passed the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 in response.

Question 36

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

Answer 36

Act that established the congressional budgetary process by laying out a plan for congressional action on the annual budget resolution, appropriations, reconciliation, and any other revenue bills.

Sentence: The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has contributed to the establishment of levels for spending concerning the federal government and its agencies.

Question 37

Reconciliation

Answer 37

A procedure that allows consideration for controversial issues affecting the budget by limiting debate to twenty hours, thereby ending threat of a filibuster.

Sentence: The reconciliation procedure was used by Congress back in 2010 to pass a healthcare reform bill.

Question 38

Pork

Answer 38

Legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs.

Sentence: The pork procedure can make a legislator harder to defeat when up for reelection.

Question 39

Programmatic Requests

Answer 39

Federal funds designated for special projects within a state or congressional district. Also referred to as earmarks.

Sentence: Programmatic requests can sometimes lead to public criticism directed at the federal government.

Question 40

Divided Government

Answer 40

The political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and at least one house of Congress.

Sentence: In our present condition, with the Democrats in control of the House and Republicans holding the Senate, the nation has a divided government.

Question 41

War Powers Resolution

Answer 41

Passed by Congress in 1973; the President is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.

Sentence: The War Powers Resolution has had limited effectiveness in claiming an oversight role for Congress in a situation revolving around international crisis.

Question 42

Congressional Review

Answer 42

A process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations within a 60-day window by passing a joint resolution or legislative disapproval. The president’s approval of the resolution or a two-thirds majority vote in both houses to overrule a presidential veto is also required.

Sentence: Historically, congressional review has only been successfully utilized once, with Bush reversing Clinton administration ergonomics regulations.

Question 43

Senatorial Courtesy

Answer 43

A process by which presidents generally allow senators from state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block a nomination by simply registering their objection.

Sentence: A senatorial courtesy can be carried out through the “blue slip” process, whereas a senator submits a favorable or unfavorable review of a nominee.

Question 44

Unified Government

Answer 44

The political condition in which the same political party controls the presidency and Congress.

Sentence: An example of a unified government today would be Republicans having full control of Congress.

Question 45

Logrolling

Answer 45

Vote trading; voting to support a colleague’s bill in return for a promise of future support.

Sentence: Logrolling often takes place on specialized bills targeting money or projects to selected congressional districts.

Question 46

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Answer 46

Created in 1914, the non-partisan CRS provides information, studies, and research in support of the work of Congress, and prepares summaries and tracks the progress of all bill.

Sentence: The Congressional Research Service conducts nonpartisan studies of public issues.

Question 47

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Answer 47

Established in 1921, the GAO is an independent regulatory agency for the purpose of auditing the financial expenditures of the executive branch and federal agencies; until 2004, the GAO was known as the General Accounting Office.

Sentence: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) sets government standards for accounting, provides legal opinions, settles claims against the government, and conducts studies upon congressional request.

Question 48

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Answer 48

Created in 1974, the CBO provides Congress with evaluations of the potential economic effects of proposed spending policies and also analyzes the president’s budget and economic projections.

Sentence: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) can serve as a second opinion to use in budget debates for Congress.