FINAL: Ch. 11

Question 1

When does a bill become a law?

Answer 1

When Congress overrides a presidential veto

When the president signs it

Question 2

The framers of the Constitution granted Congress the power to _____, the greatest powers of government.

Answer 2

Make laws

Question 3

Every bill must be approved by both the House and the Senate in ________ form before it can be sent to the president.

Answer 3

identical

Question 4

Congressional committees:

Answer 4

Specialize in a certain area of legislation

Make it possible for Congress to consider a high volume of bills

Question 5

Members of Congress may experience conflict between their lawmaking responsibility and they responsibility to represent their constituency because…

Answer 5

not all policies that are good for the nation as a whole coincide with the needs of their constituency

Question 6

If a vote in the Senate is tied, the _________ breaks the tie.

Answer 6

vice president

Question 7

The U.S. Congress is a ________ legislature with two chambers: the House and the Senate.

Answer 7

bicameral

Question 8

Steps that a bill must pass through in order to become a law:

Answer 8

1. A member of the House of Representatives or the Senate formally proposes the bill.
2. The bill is submitted to a committee for consideration.
3. A majority of member in the House and Senate approve the bill.
4. The president signs the bill.

Question 9

Bills that emerge from committee with the full support of the committee members..

Answer 9

are typically passed by an overwhelming majority

Question 10

A permanent committee in Congress is known as a _______ committee.

Answer 10

standing

Question 11

Bills that are killed in a committee…

Answer 11

• Some are not supported by the members who introduced them
• Most are poorly conceived or of little interest to anyone
• They can be brought back to life by a vote of the full House or Senate

Question 12

What occurs after a conference committee reconciles differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill?

Answer 12

The bill goes back and forth to both chambers for a vote.

Question 13

The most powerful leader in the House of Representative is the:

Answer 13

Speaker of the House

Question 14

Choosing committee chairs based on which member has the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee is an example of the…

Answer 14

seniority system

Question 15

What did the Supreme Court decide in McCulloch v. Maryland?

Answer 15

• National law overrides state law

- The necessary and proper clause implies the power to establish a national bank

Question 16

Reserved
Implied
Enumerated

Answer 16

Reserved: state
Implied: national
Enumerated: national

Question 17

Since the 1930s, the federal government had dramatically _____________ its power.

Answer 17

increased

Question 18

New Deal programs…

Answer 18

The government responded to massive unemployment during the Great Depression.

Question 19

Great Society programs…

Answer 19

Americans supported government-provided health care for the elderly and poor.

Question 20

Welfare Reform Act…

Answer 20

Americans believed that too many people were getting undeserved benefits and federal programs had become too expensive.

Question 21

The complex demands of contemporary society…

Answer 21

have shifted power to the national government

Question 22

The Constitution’s commerce clause says that __________ shall have the power to “regulate commerce” among the states.

Answer 22

Congress

Question 23

What happened during the New Deal period?

Answer 23

• The New Deal programs thrust federal power into policy areas previously reserved for the states.
• The Supreme Court struck down pieces of the New Deal program.

Question 24

If the president chooses to veto a bill, who can override? And how?

Answer 24

Congress, by a two-third vote in each chamber

Question 25

When a committee or subcommittee hold a ________, they are trying to gather information about a proposed bill.

Answer 25

hearing

Question 26

A committee that is composed of members of both chambers of Congress is known as a __________ committee.

Answer 26

joint

Question 27

Steps that a bill must pass in order to become law...

Answer 27

1. A member of the House of Representatives or the Senate formally proposes the bill. 2. The bill is submitted to a committee for consideration. 3. A majority of members in the House and Senate approve the bill. 4. The president signs the bill.

Question 28

Which of te following is true of bills that emerge from committee with the full support of the committee members?

Answer 28

They are typically passed by an overwhelming majority.