Fact Test Flashcards
How Many Members In The House Of Reps
435
How Many Members In the senate
100 2 per state
What terms do Members serve in both houses?
2in the house 6 in the senate
On average how many people are there in a congressional district?
711,000
How many congressional districts does Wisconsin currently have?
8
How many congressional districts does California have?
53
Name 4 exclusive powers of the Senate
Try cases of impeachment, ratify treaties, confirm presidential appointments,elect vp in cases of deadlock
What changes did the 17th Amendment make?
Passage of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution allowed for direct elections of senators.
What was the situation before the 17th Amendment?
Senators originally chosen indirectly by state legislatures.
Name 4 exclusive powers of the House of Representatives.
Elect president in case of electoral deadlock, Vote on Impeachment, initiate money bills
Name 3 concurrent powers shared by both houses of Congress
Initiate Constitutional Amendments.
Declarations of War.
Confirm appointed Vice Presidents
Where does it stipulate Congress’ powers in the Constitution?
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution
Why was the House of Representatives given the power to initiate money bills?
As the only directly elected house (at the start) the FF believed that the directly elected representatives should have the first say in spending the people’s money
How many times has the House used its power to impeach a member of either the executive or the judiciary?
17 times since 1789.
How many times has the electoral college been deadlocked?
Twice 1800 and 1824
Which president was impeached by the House and tried by the Senate in 1999?
Bill Clinton
What kind of majority is required in the Senate to confirm an appointment made by the president?
Simple majority
What is ‘senatorial courtesy’?
President can confer with any Senator in his own party before he makes nomination to fill a vacancy for a federal office affecting the state.
What is the most important of the concurrent powers of Congress?
the passage of legislation – all bills must pass through all stages in both houses – neither can override the other. Both must agree the same passage before it is sent to president for his signature.
Give 2 reasons why North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District is contentious.
100 miles long and gerrymandered for purposes of representation of minorities
