Chapter 10

Question 1

what 3 things does majority rule in congress do?

Answer 1

1. leads to instability
2. policy reversals, “cycling”
3. endless series of changing winning coalitions

Question 2

what is structure induced equilibrium?

Answer 2

stability of political control results from institutions which suppress the underlying stability, like the procedural rules of congress

Question 3

how was religion a barrier to statehood?

Answer 3

republicans didn’t want the democrats in religious territories to be able to influence the nation if their territory were to become a state

Question 4

how did churches solve the barriers to statehood?

Answer 4

Latter day saints and Catholics adopted the American idea of a church, by limiting women roles, becoming more secular, and basically faking it to make it

Question 5

what unique role in impeachment does the House have?

Answer 5

the power to impeach public officials, president included

Question 6

what unique powers does the Senate have in impeachment?

Answer 6

they can hold a trial and with a 2/3 majority can decide to remove a public official from office

Question 7

what are 2 other powers that the Senate has?

Answer 7

1. the power to approve treaties

2. the power to review presidential appointments

Question 8

what is an example of a failed policy reversal?

Answer 8

the Republican failure to repeal Obamacare

Question 9

what is a filibuster?

Answer 9

a Senate rule (not in the constitution) where an individual Senator can stall a vote indefinitely or until a 60-vote cloture is reached

Question 10

what happens when the same political party controls both executive and legislative branches?

Answer 10

they agree on policy prescriptions and power can be centralized

Question 11

what happens when different political parties control the legislative and executive branches?

Answer 11

the government is divided and power is dispersed throughout government

Question 12

what happens no matter who controls the legislative and executive branches?

Answer 12

they both have to negotiate to make government effect

ex. No Social Security for Nazi’s Act

Question 13

what is the floor?

Answer 13

the full chamber, either in House or Senate, bills must have unanimous consent by all Senators in order to be brought to the floor

Question 14

what is a legislative hold?

Answer 14

an informal way for a senator to object to a bill or other measure, effectively halts Senate proceedings on that issue, sometimes for weeks or longer

Question 15

are all votes required to be conducted by role-call?

Answer 15

no, only a few dozen votes per session are important enough for that

Question 16

what is a conference committee?

Answer 16

if different versions of a bill pass, a conference committee must reconcile them

Question 17

what is presidential action in the legislative process?

Answer 17

the president reserves the power to veto legislation

Question 18

what is a congressional caucus?

Answer 18

a group of House or Senate members who convene regularly to discuss common interests; may share political outlook, race, gender, or geography

Question 19

what do the 2 chambers of congress represent?

Answer 19

different national priorities

Question 20

which chamber of congress do Populists like?

Answer 20

the responsive House

Question 21

which chamber of congress do advocates of stability prefer?

Answer 21

the deliberate Senate, which filibusters and legislative holds that make it more difficult to pass legislation
“cooling saucer of congress”

Question 22

what is the conundrum that all members of congress face?

Answer 22

whether to do what they think is best (delegate representation), or what their constituents want (trustee representation)

Question 23

what takes up a huge amount of congress members’ time and attention?

Answer 23

fundraising for their constant campaign

Question 24

what do congress members pay special attention to?

Answer 24

their home style; most go back to their constituency every week

Question 25

what does the constant running back home of congressional members do to the work week?

Answer 25

compresses it into the period from Tue-Thurs

Question 26

who is the chief administrative officer of the House?

Answer 26

Speaker of the House, voted by the majority party

Question 27

what is the President pro tempore?

Answer 27

the majority party senator with the longest Senate service

Question 28

who is the leader of the Senate?

Answer 28

the Senate majority leader, elected by the Senators

Question 29

what does the House majority leader do?

Answer 29

second in command, acts as the majority party’s floor manager, spokesperson, and negotiator

Question 30

what does the Speaker of the House do?

Answer 30

public face of the House, presides over the chamber on special occasions, rules on procedural issues, chooses members for committees, assigns legislation to committees, and “maintains order and civility”

Question 31

who formally resides over the Senate?

Answer 31

the Vice President

Question 32

who are the workhorses of congress?

Answer 32

committees

Question 33

what do congressional committees do?

Answer 33

draft legislation, sponsor hearings, oversee the executive branch, and draft the federal budget

Question 34

why have committees lasted for so long?

Answer 34

1. inertia, it is hard to remake congress

2. they just work

Question 35

what is an earmark?

Answer 35

a legislative item usually included in spending “appropriations” bills that directs congress to fund a particular item in a district or state

Question 36

how many whips are in the House leadership?

Answer 36

10

Question 37

which chamber allows more individual action?

Answer 37

the Senate

Question 38

what are the 4 complaints about committees?

Answer 38

1. they fragment Congress
2. hide action from public view
3. accommodates constituents seeking individual favors
4. make it difficult to pass major legislation

Question 39

what is a committee hearing?

Answer 39

a way for committees to gather information and gauge members’ support for legislation. hearings usually feature witnesses who submit testimony, make an oral presentation, and answer questions from members of congress

Question 40

what are the 4 major tasks that committees perform once assigned a bill?

Answer 40

1. hold hearings on policy topics
2. prepare legislation for floor consideration
3. kill legislation
4. exercise oversight

Question 41

what is a committee markup session?

Answer 41

a gathering of a full committee to draft the final version of a bill before the committee votes on it

Question 42

what is unanimous consent?

Answer 42

a Senate requirement, applied to most of that body’s business, that all senators agree before an action can proceed

Question 43

what is a cloture vote?

Answer 43

the Senate’s only approved method for halting a filibuster or lifting a legislative hold. if 60 senators (3/5 of the body) vote for cloture, the measure can proceed to a vote
(used to only need 2/3 majority, changed in 1975)

Question 44

what is a voice vote?

Answer 44

a congressional vote in which the presiding officer asks those for and against to say “yea” or “nay” and announces the result. no record is kept of House or Senate members voting on each side

Question 45

what is a roll-call vote?

Answer 45

a congressional vote in which each members’ vote is recorded, either by roll call (Senate) or electronically (House)

Question 46

what is a veto?

Answer 46

the constitutional procedure by which a president can prevent enactment of legislation passed by congress

Question 47

what percent of proposed legislation never becomes law?

Answer 47

97%

Question 48

what makes congress so unpopular?

Answer 48

partisan fighting and gridlock

Question 49

what are the 3 most popular proposed congressional reforms?

Answer 49

1. imposing term limits
2. limits on lobbyists
3. public education about what congress really does