Chapter 11 - Congress

Question 1

redistribution of representatives among the states, based on population change; the House is reapportioned after each census

Answer 1

Reapportionment

Question 2

the formal charging of a government official with “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”

Answer 2

Impeachment

Question 3

a current officeholder

Answer 3

Incumbent

Question 4

redrawing a congressional district to intentionally benefit one political party

Answer 4

Gerrymandering

Question 5

solving problems for constituents, especially problems involving government agencies

Answer 5

Casework

Question 6

a belief that constituents are most effectively represented by legislators who are similar to them in such key demographic characteristics as race, ethnicity, religion, or gender

Answer 6

Descriptive Representation

Question 7

the drawing of a legislative district to maximize the chance that a minority candidate will win election

Answer 7

Racial Gerrymandering

Question 8

the president’s disapproval of a bill that has been passed by both houses of Congress; Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in each house

Answer 8

Veto

Question 9

a permanent congressional committee that specializes in a particular policy area

Answer 9

Standing Committee

Question 10

a committee made up of members of both the House and the Senate

Answer 10

Joint Committee

Question 11

a temporary congressional committee created for a specific purpose and disbanded after that purpose is fulfilled

Answer 11

Select Committee

Question 12

a temporary committee created to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of a specific piece of legislation

Answer 12

Conference Committee

Question 13

years of consecutive service on a particular congressional committee

Answer 13

Seniority

Question 14

the process of reviewing the operations of an agency to determine whether it is carrying out policies as Congress intended

Answer 14

Oversight

Question 15

the presiding officer of the House of Representatives

Answer 15

Speaker of the House

Question 16

the head of the majority party in the Senate; the second-highest-ranking member of the majority party in the House

Answer 16

Majority Leader

Question 17

a delaying tactic, used in the Senate, that involves speechmaking to prevent action on a piece of legislation

Answer 17

Filibuster

Question 18

the mechanism by which a filibuster is cut off in the Senate

Answer 18

Cloture

Question 19

people who live and vote in a government official’s district or state

Answer 19

Constituents

Question 20

a representative who is obligated to consider the views of constituents but is not obligated to vote according to those views if he or she believes they are misguided

Answer 20

Trustee

Question 21

a legislator whose primary responsibility is to represent the majority view of his or her constituents, regardless of his or her own view

Answer 21

Delegate

Question 22

a system of government in which the chief executive is the leader whose party holds the most seats in the legislature after an election or whose party forms a major part of the ruling coalition

Answer 22

Parliamentary System

Question 23

federal funds appropriated by Congress for use on local projects

Answer 23

Earmarks