Congress (Test 2 (7-15-14)) Flashcards
0
Q
Who is the president pro-tem?
A
Patrick Leahy
1
Q
Who is the president of the senate?
A
Joe Biden
2
Q
Who is the speaker of the House?
A
John Boehner
3
Q
Who is the majority leader of the senate?
A
Harry Reid
4
Q
Who is the majority whip of the senate?
A
Richard Durban
5
Q
Who is the minority leader from the senate?
A
Mitch McConnell
6
Q
Who is the minority whip from the senate?
A
John Cornyn
7
Q
Who is the majority leader from the House?
A
Kevin McCarthy
8
Q
Who is the majority whip from the House?
A
Steve Scalise
9
Q
Who is the minority leader from the House?
A
Nancy Pelosi
10
Q
Who is the minority whip in the House?
A
Steny Hoyer
11
Q
Who are Alabama’s US senators and what party are they from?
A
Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, both from the Republican Party
12
Q
Who is Alabama’s US representative and what party is he from?
A
Spencer Bachus, from the Republican Party
13
Q
In the senate, there are ____ democrats (demographics of the 113th congress)
A
53
14
Q
In the senate, there are ____ republicans
demographics of the 113th congress
A
45
15
Q
In the senate, there are ____ independents
demographics of the 113th congress
A
2
16
Q
In the House, there are ____ republicans
demographics of the 113th congress
A
234
17
Q
In the House, there are ____ democrats
demographics of the 113th congress
A
201
18
Q
The average age in the senate is ____
demographics of the 113th congress
A
62
19
Q
The average age in the House is ____
demographics of the 113th congress
A
57
20
Q
In the House, there are about ____ women
demographics of the 113th congress
A
78
21
Q
In the senate, there are about ____ women
demographics of the 113th congress
A
20
22
Q
In the House, there are about ___ African Americans
demographics of the 113th congress
A
43
23
Q
In the senate, there are about ____ African Americans
demographics of the 113th congress
A
1
24
In the House, there are about ____ Hispanics
| demographics of the 113th congress
33
25
In the senate, there are about ____ Hispanics
| demographics of the 113th congress
4
26
In the House, what are the most to least common previous occupations?
(demographics of the 113th congress)
Business, politics, law
27
In the senate, what are the most to least common previous occupations?
(demographics of the 113th congress)
Law, politics, business
28
In all of congress, what is the percentage of professing Protestants?
(demographics of the 113th congress)
56%
29
In all of congress, what is the percentage of professing Catholics?
(demographics of the 113th congress)
30%
30
In all of congress, what is the number of professing Jewish?
| demographics of the 113th congress
6%
31
How many members of congress served or are serving in the military and what percentage is that?
(demographics of the 113th congress)
108 served/are serving
| 20% of congress
32
How many members of congress only have a high school degree?
| demographics of the 113th congress
22
33
8 major areas of difference between the House and the Senate when passing bills
1. ) the introduction of bills
2. ) the use of discharge petitions
3. ) existence of a Rules Committee
4. ) amending the bills
5. ) calendars
6. ) debate
7. ) voting on bills
8. ) the use of Committee as a Whole
34
5 things that a committee can do with a bill
1. ) pigeon-hole it (refuse to report on the bill)
2. ) report the bill favourably
3. ) report the bill negatively
4. ) rewrite the bill and report it as a committee bill
5. ) amend the bill
35
How can a member of the House introduce a bill? (2 ways)
1. ) handing it to the clerk
| 2. ) putting it in a box on the clerk's desk called the hopper
36
How can a member of the senate introduce a bill?
By getting the attention of the chair during the Morning Hour
37
How can the members of the House release a bill to committee?
By writing up a discharge petition. If a majority of members want it in committee, it has to be released to committee
38
How can members of the senate release bills to committee?
They don't have a discharge petition, they are just read twice and then put in committee
39
How can members of the House receive bills from subcommittees?
They can use the process of Committee of the Whole, and they all discuss the bill with mark-up sessions and timed debates
40
How can the senate handle bills that have come out of subcommittees?
The don't use Committee of the Whole, they don't have mark-up sessions, and they don't vote
41
What do members of the House do when they have marked up a bill from subcommittees?
They send it to the Rules committee
42
How do bills come off of calendars in the House?
The Rules Committee has to take them off
43
How do bills come off of the Legislative calendar in the senate?
They can only vote them off, they don't have a Rules Committee
44
The House has ___ legislative calendars, while the senate has ____
The House has 4, the senate has 1
45
What are the 4 calendars in the House called?
1. ) the Union Calendar
2. ) the House Calendar
3. ) the Consent Calendar
4. ) the Private Calendar
46
How do debates work in the House?
They are timed and limited
47
How do debates work in the senate?
They are unlimited, which are called filibusters
48
How does proposing amendments work in the House?
The amendment has to be on topic, and riders aren't allowed
49
How does proposing amendments work in the senate?
Riders are allowed, and amendments don't have to be on topic
50
2 types of voting used in both the House and senate?
1. ) voice votes
| 2. ) roll call votes
51
2 ways to kill filibusters
1. ) cloture (60 votes)
| 2. ) unanimous consent to end it
52
Bill (vocab)
A type of proposed legislation
53
Private bills (vocab)
A type of bill dealing specifically with private, personal, or local matters that aren't general legislative affairs
54
Public bills (vocab)
A type of bill that deals with matters of general concern
55
Resolutions (vocab)
A type of legislation that is for either the House or the senate, never both, and is taken on by the respective house
56
Concurrent resolutions (vocab)
A type of legislation involving both the House and the senate, and it never becomes law. These don't require the president's signature.
57
Joint resolutions (vocab)
Are like bills in that they have the power of a law when they are passed. These require the president's signature
58
Cloture (vocab)
A motion in the senate to limit debate and end a filibuster. It takes 60 votes for it to go into effect
59
Filibuster (vocab)
An unlimited debate used to try to kill bills
60
Rider (vocab)
A miniature bill that can't pass on its own, so it's tacked onto a bigger piece of legislation. Not always on topic
61
Germane (vocab)
Pertaining to the topic
62
Committee of the Whole (vocab)
Used only in the House, it allows the whole entire house to become a committee temporarily so that they can debate and mark-up bills
63
Quorum (vocab)
A majority of the full membership
64
After a bill has been passed and signed by the speaker of the House, where does it go?
To the senate
65
After a bill in the senate has been signed, where does it go?
To the House
66
What fraction of bills don't make it out of committee?
9 out of 10
67
The House has how many members?
435
68
What is the member count in the House based on?
It's based on population, and was arbitrarily frozen at 435
69
How many members are in the senate?
100
70
What is the member count in the senate based on?
Equal representation; each state has two representatives
71
What is the term length in the House?
2 years
72
What is the term length in the senate?
6 years
73
What is the day of elections?
The Tuesday after the first Monday in November
74
How many senate members are up for reelection at the regular election times?
1/3 of the senate
75
How many members of the House are up for reelection at the regular election times?
435 (all of them)
76
What is the age qualification in the House?
At least 25 years
77
What is the age qualification in the senate?
At least 30 years
78
What is the required length of citizenship in the House?
At least 7 years
79
What is the required length of citizenship in the senate?
At least 9 years
80
What are the rules of residence in the House and the senate?
You have to live in the state you're elected from
81
How were members of the House chosen originally?
By voters in the district
82
How are members of the House chosen today?
By the voters in the district
83
How were members of the senate originally chosen?
By state legislatures
84
How are members of the senate chosen today?
By voters in each state
85
When did congress pass a law to allow the citizens to vote on their senators?
In 1917
86
Continuous body (vocab)
All seats are never up for reelection at the same time
87
Constituencies (vocab)
The people and interests that senators represent
