Congress examples - representation

Question 1

What is an example of a united government?

Answer 1

Joe Biden’s first two years in office, Trump’s first two years and Obama’s first two years in office (all 3 elements controlled by Democrats)

Question 2

What is an example of a divided government

Answer 2

All of Obama’s second term and Biden’s latter two years

Question 3

What is the current party control of the senate, HOR and presidency?

Answer 3

Presidency: D
Senate: D
House: R

Question 4

What is the division of the senate like currently between the two parties?

Answer 4

There are 48 democrats and 49 Republicans.
There are three independent: Sanders, Angus King and Sinema who all vote with the Democrats

Question 5

Who is currently the speaker of the house

Answer 5

Republican Mike Johnson

Question 6

Who is currently the majority leader in the Senate?

Answer 6

Chuck Schumer

Question 7

How many states have only one representative?

Answer 7

Seven

Question 8

Who has the most representatives and how many do they have?

Answer 8

California has 53 members to represent its population of 40 million

Question 9

Examples of Presidents asking congress to pass legislation?

Answer 9

Obama and the Affordable Care Act
Trump and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Question 10

Example of congressional oversight?

Answer 10

Following allegations of collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russians in the 2016 election, both houses begun a series of investigations, but no evidence was found

Question 11

Examples of congress overriding president’s veto?

Answer 11

Congress overrode four of Bush’s 12 vetoes. For example, in 2007, they overrode his veto on the Water Resources Development Bill
Congress overrode just one of Obama’s 12 vetoes on the Justice Against sponsors of terrorism act which would have allowed the families of victims of 9/11 to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for any role they may have played

Question 12

Example of both houses concurring in a declaration of war?

Answer 12

Occurred on only 5 occasions- the last one in 1941, when America declared war on Japan

Question 13

Example of both houses having to confirm the appointment of a VP?

Answer 13

In 1973, Nixon appointed Gerald Ford and he was confirmed in both houses

Question 14

When has the HOR successfully impeached a president?

Answer 14

Trump for the abuse of power and the obstruction of Congress in 2019 and for the incitement of insurrection in 2021

Question 15

How many times has the HOR successfully impeached a president since 1789?

Answer 15

21 times

Question 16

When is the only two times the HORs have chosen the president when the electoral college was deadlock?

Answer 16

To pick Jefferson in 1800 and John Quincy Adams in 1824

Question 17

What is an example of a treaty the senate ratified?

Answer 17

In 2010, the senate ratified the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), negotiated by Obama with the Russians

Question 18

What is an example of an executive order used by a president, meaning it circumvented the Senate?

Answer 18

Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran in 2015. However, when Trump came into power, he withdrew from the JCPOA, invalidating Obama’s executive agreement

Question 19

An example of the Senate confirming a judicial appointment?

Answer 19

When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in 2020, Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by 52 votes to 48 in the senate

Question 20

What is an example of the Senate trying cases of impeachment?

Answer 20

Trump was acquitted by the Senate for the accusation of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Then, for the second accusation, the Senate fell 10 votes short of the 2/3rds majority required for conviction.

Question 21

What is an example showing the HOR go for election to the senate?

Answer 21

In 2017, there were 50 former house members in the senate, but no ex-senators in the HOR

Question 22

Which former presidents have all been Senators?

Answer 22

Kennedy
Nixon
Obama
Biden

Question 23

What was the representation of women like in the 116th Congress (2019-21)

Answer 23

24% of congress compared to 51% of the US

Question 24

What was the representation of black Americans like in the 116th Congress (2019-21)

Answer 24

10.4% of congress compared to 12.1% of the US

Question 25

What was the representation of age like in the 116th Congress (2019-21)

Answer 25

The average age of congress was 59 years old compared to the US’s average age of 38 years

Question 26

What % of incumbent congressmen were re-elected to congress in 2020?

Answer 26

84% in the senate and 95% in the house

Question 27

What is an example of indulgent pork barrel politics?

Answer 27

‘Big Dig Highway’ Project in Boston, costing 14.6 bn moving 3.5 miles of highway underground

Question 28

In the 2018 election cycle, how much more did incumbent senators raise than challengers?

Answer 28

Incumbent senators raised seven times as much as their challengers

Question 29

What is an example of gerrymandering?

Answer 29

In North Carolina in 2020, the Democrats saw the most votes and yet the majority of seats were won by Republicans

Question 30

Example of a party unity vote in the HOR?`

Answer 30

The Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act (2016).
Establishing operations and laws concerning the security of federal information systems
In this vote, Republicans voted 237-2 and Democrats voted 4-179, showing it was clearly a party vote

Question 31

Which Democrats and which Republicans are often known for not voting with their party?

Answer 31

Conservative Democrats like Jim Cooper of Tennessee, often votes Republican and moderate Republicans like senator Susan Collins of Maine, often vote with the Democrats.

Question 32

Who are the congressional black caucus?

Answer 32

• Formed in 1971 exclusively for Black American members of both houses
  -originally only had 13 members, but there are now 60 members - all but two are House Democrats and only 5 black republicans have ever joined

Question 33

Who are the House Freedom Caucus?

Answer 33

Considered to be the most right wing group of all caucuses
Currently 45 members and all are Republican
Supports limited government, the constitution and liberty

Question 34

What’s an example of a incumbent congressman losing the primary to be elected for their congressional district?

Answer 34

Democrat Joseph Crowley served as the representative for the 14th Congressional district of New York from 1999 to 2019, until he was defeated by Democratic Primary Challenger AOC

Question 35

What is an example of congressmen not voting with party lines because they are worried about constituents views back home?

Answer 35

12 Republican representatives voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017). All were predominantly from California, New Jersey, New York, whose constituents would have seen their taxes increase