Ch. 10 Congress: Politics on Capitol Hill Flashcards
What is the youngest age at which you can serve at the House of Representatives?
25 years
How many Senate members must vote for cloture in order to halt a filibuster?
60
How many years does a Senator serve per term?
6 years
Exclusive power of Congress, given by the Constitution, to consider (THESE) bills that AUTHORIZE specific government EXPENDITURES
appropriations
in 2010, approximately how many women served in Congress?
94
If a bill has SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES between the House and Senate versions, BOTH versions must go to this committee in order to resolve those differences.
conference committee
What has happened to representation of Hispanics in Congress?
Has lagged behind their proportions in the general population
In both the HOUSE and the SENATE, the Party Leader’s assistant who ENSURES ATTENDANCE of party members at important roll calls
Party Whip
Who presides over the Senate in the usual absence of the Vice President?
The president pro tempore
While still a member of the executive branch, what Legislative Branch position (this role given by the constitution) does the Vice President hold?
President of the Senate
Before the 17th amendment, Senators were elected via State legislatures. Today, Senators are elected by ______
Popular Vote in each state
Individual Senators have the power to engage in unlimited debate and stall proceedings on given legislation. This action is called….
Filibustering
The division of Congress into two chambers (House and Senate) makes it what kind of legislature?
Bicameral
What has happened to the norms that guide behavior in Congress?
are increasingly ignored by new members
Chamber of Congress with the sole authority to bring charges of impeachment on the President of the U.S.
House of Representatives
When legislators view public opinion in their district as authoritative direction for how they should vote.
Delegate
A circumstance in which an incumbent is likely to be defeated by a new challenger
a challenge raises more campaign funds
What is the major factor used in determining the selection of a committee chair in the House and Senate?
Seniority
Congressional redistricting is largely what kind of process?
Political
According to the conventions of seniority in Congress, which members are first in line for committee chairmanships?
Members with the most years of service
Committee that reconciles two significantly different versions of a bill by the House and Senate into a single version to be resubmitted to both houses
conference committee
The U.S. Constitution requires that a census be conducted how often?
Every 10 years
Line-by-line revision of a bill in committee, by editing each phrase and word, is referred to as…
Markup
Currently how many members of Congress are in the House? The Senate?
435; 100
The ________ has the job of presiding over the Senate and breaking ties when necessary
Vice President
How many members are there in Congress?
535
What would be the most likely factor to diminish gridlock in Congress?
There is divided party control between the House and Senate
What support agency would Congress most likely choose to conduct a financial review of Federal Student Aid, an agency in the executive branch?
Government Accounting Office
Congressional monitoring by committees of the activities of executive branch agencies, to determine if the laws are being faithfully executed, is called ________.
oversight
As the polarization between the two political parties in Congress has increased, the Democrats have become more ________ and the Republicans have become more ________.
liberal; conservative
The Leader of the House of Representatives is _______.
elected from the majority party
The founders created Congress to be _______.
the most powerful branch of government
What part of the Constitution has given Congress more expansive powers throughout history?
The Commerce Clause
Today, Congress has _______.
historically low approval ratings
During what period of time did both polarization and income gap increase?
Both at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century
A vote of cloture is needed to end
a filibuster.
Why has the Senate become super majoritarian?
It needs 60 votes to ensure that a bill will not be filibustered
Which Congress was the least productive since World War II?
the 112th Congress (2011-2012)
From the 96th Congress to the 112th Congress, _______.
the number of pieces of legislation passed by Congress has generally declined
The number of pieces of legislation passed by a congress is a measurement of _______.
gridlock
Polarization in the House and Senate has _______.
has increased dramatically since the 96th Congress
What is a “safe seat”?
A congressional seat that the same party captures in election after election
The process of allocating legislative seats to districts according to population is called _____
apportionment
A written command to appear before a court or congressional committee
Subpeona
An open seat is a seat in which
no incumbent member is running
When members of Congress directly work with constituents it is called…
casework
Responsible for the oversight of the operation and finance of executive agencies and performing policy research and evaluation
The Government Accountability Office (GAO)
What does the committee process ensure?
it ensures that members of congress contribute to specialized policy making pursuits and implements division of labor within each chamber
What major event quickly shifted the context of policy focus of the nation, lending more public support to conservatives?
9/11 attacks
This party held control of the House of Representatives from the 1950’s to the 1990’s.
The Democratic Party
