Congress

Question 1

What is pork-barrel spending?

Answer 1

Funds from congress that are pumped into local projects to bring money back to the congressman’s home district

Question 2

What percentage of the Senate and the House of Representatives is African American?

Answer 2

Senate = 3%
House = 10.5%

Question 3

How long was Senator Ted Cruz’s filibuster? What was he blocking? And what did he talk about?

Answer 3

21 hours, he was blocking Obamacare and he recited Dr Seuss green eggs and ham.

Question 4

Which pressure group is Marco Rubio linked with and why?

Answer 4

AARP because they’re an interest group for pensioners and many pensioners retire in Florida.

Question 5

What are the exclusive powers of the Senate?

Answer 5

• confirm appointments
• ratify treaties
• To try the case of impeachment

Question 6

What are the exclusive powers of the House?

Answer 6

• power of the purse
• power to impeachment
• the power to elect the president if the electoral college is deadlocked

Question 7

What were the three main effects of the government shutdown in January 2018?

Answer 7

• poor global image for the US
• 11 million federal workers sent home without pay
• makes the ruling party and president look weak

Question 8

When was the power of the purse most significant and why?

Answer 8

The foreign assistance act in 1974 which suspended all federal funding for the war thus ending the war.

Question 9

Which judge was impeached in 2010 and why?

Answer 9

Thomas Porteous for accepting bribes

Question 10

What presidential appointment got a 99-1 approval and for what position?

Answer 10

Jim Mattis as Defence Secretary

Question 11

Give an example of a recent treaty ratified by the Senate.

Answer 11

START treaty in 2010

Question 12

How has the Senate’s power to try cases of impeachment played a decisive role in the state of the executive branch?

Answer 12

In 1999 President Bill Clinton was acquitted by the Senate

Question 13

Which Presidents were all former members of the Senate?

Answer 13

Obama, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy and Truman

Question 14

What shows that the Senate is more prestigious than the House?

Answer 14

House members frequently seek election to the Senate yet there are rarely ex-senators in the house (the Senate is an upgrade)

Question 15

How has Paul Ryan controlled the agenda of Congress?

Answer 15

He has been pushing for the repeal of Obamacare.

Question 16

How does the speaker of the house have influence over legislation?

Answer 16

He determines which legislation is assigned to each committee and which legislation reaches the House floor for a vote.

Question 17

In what way has the power of Paul Ryan as speaker of the house been limited?

Answer 17

Deep divisions among house republicans have led to a lack of unity in Congress.

Question 18

What circumstance can lead the speaker of the house to become more powerful?

Answer 18

When the president and the majority of Congress are of different parties because the speaker assumes a leader of the opposition role.

Question 19

How did Nancy Pelosi give the Democrats more power in Bush’s 2nd term?

Answer 19

As speaker and leader of the opposition, she clashed a great deal with the President over the Iraq war

Question 20

Give an example of committees conducting investigations.

Answer 20

The senate judiciary committee is investigating russian interferance

Question 21

Give an example of Senate committees confirming appointments

Answer 21

The Senate foreign relations committee approved Joseph Mondello in March 2018 as the ambassador to the republic of Trinidad and Tobaygo

Question 22

Give an example of how members of committees are influenced by the state they represent.

Answer 22

Both Senators for North Dakota are members of the Senate agriculture committee

Question 23

Name three powers of a committee chair.

Answer 23

• control the committee’s agenda
• controls the committee’s budget
• decides when the committee will meet

Question 24

Who did Trump call a part-time senator and why?

Answer 24

Marco Rubio, because he spent little time in Florida

Question 25

What’s the worse case of racial-packing gerrymandering? Yet how is it beneficial?

Answer 25

North Carolina’s 12th congressional district, it increased representation of ethnic minorities as it grouped together African Americans

Question 26

Give an example of political parties influencing how members of congress vote.

Answer 26

Obama’s budget in 2009 was voted for by all Democrats but not one republican HYPERPARTISANSHIP

Question 27

Give an example of how members of congress are not influenced by parties.

Answer 27

Arizona republican John McCain voted against Trumps budget and healthcare reform (regional ideologies, great scale of the country)

Question 28

What do congressman do in order to appear to represent their constituents?

Answer 28

Many gain credit by helping a few constituents through casework and then claim to be doing a lot e.g. Micheal Capuano does immigration casework in Massachusettes

Question 29

Apart from political parties and constituents, what other factors influence how a congressman votes?

Answer 29

personal beliefs, administration and pressure groups