practice quiz 4 Flashcards
The process of electing members of Congress is
decentralized and conducted by individual state governments.
The seniority system used in Congress
specifies that the member of the majority party with the longest term of continuous service is given preference when a committee chairperson is selected.
Enumerated powers are
powers that are specifically granted to the national government by the Constitution.
The division of a legislature into two separate assemblies is called
bicameralism
The actual passage of a spending bill specifying the amount of authorized funds that will be allocated for an agency’s use is called
appropriation
The largest occupational group among members of Congress is
lawyers
The necessary and proper clause
has provided the basis for an expanded role of the national government.
A _______ is formed by the concurrent action of both chambers of Congress and consists of members from each chamber.
joint committee
Redistricting is
the redrawing of district boundaries within each state.
The people represented by a legislator or other elected or appointed official are called
constituents.
After a bill has been introduced and referred to full committee,
it usually goes to a specialized subcommittee for hearings, revisions, and approval.
One major difference between the House and Senate is the total number of members—a difference that has meant that
a greater number of formal rules are needed to govern activity in the House.
The concept of cloture refers to
a process that shuts off discussion on a bill in the Senate.
The major function of Congress is
lawmaking.
For a member of Congress, casework is
personal work for constituents.
One major problem with the role of the instructed delegate is that
the constituents likely do not actually have well-formed views on the issues that are decided in Congress.
A legislator from Florida who votes, against his or her personal beliefs, to support subsidies for orange growers would be acting
as an instructed delegate.
Gerrymandering is
the drawing of legislative district boundary lines to give the dominant party an advantage.
The real leadership power in the Senate rests in the hands of the
Senate majority and minority leaders and their respective whips.
The president of the Senate is
the vice president of the United States.
The whips assist the party leaders by
passing information down from the leadership to party members and ensuring that members cast their votes on important issues.
A majority of the bills that Congress acts on originate
in the executive branch.
Members of Congress are granted generous franking privileges that
permit them to mail letters to their constituents for free.
A representative who is performing the role of a trustee is
acting according to the broad interests of the entire society.
A filibuster is
the use of unlimited debate as a delaying tactic to block a bill.
Determining which public policy questions will be debated or considered is the process of
agenda setting.
The founders of the American republic believed that most of the power that would be exercised by a national government should be in the hands of
the legislature.
An important function of the House majority leader is to
act as spokesperson for the majority party in the House.
The rights to collect taxes, to spend, and to regulate commerce are
the most important domestic powers of Congress.
Reapportionment is
the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census.
All of the following are true of the filibuster EXCEPT
most senators are satisfied with the increased use of the filibuster and do not want to abolish it.
This is TRUE about midterm congressional elections.
Voter turnout falls sharply.
The “speech or debate” clause in Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution means that a member of Congress
may make any allegations in connection with official duties and normally not be sued for defamation.
The practice of logrolling is
an arrangement in which members of Congress agree in advance to support each others’ bills.
A special provision in legislation to set aside funds for projects that have not passed an impartial evaluation by agencies in the executive branch is called a(n)
earmark
In a landmark vote in 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court made the redistricting of state legislative seats
a justiciable question.
Oversight is the process by which Congress
follows up on the laws it has enacted.
In recent years, polls show that ______ of respondents have favorable opinions about Congress as a whole.
fewer than 35 percent
The ______ of the Senate is mostly a ceremonial position.
president pro tempore
Because the interests of constituents in a specific district may be at odds with the demands of national policy, the ______ function is often a source of conflict for individual lawmakers.
representation
The most important committees in Congress are _______ committees, permanent bodies that are established by the rules of each chamber and that continue from session to session.
standing
One of the most powerful agencies in Washington, the _______ assembles the budget documents and monitors federal agencies throughout each year.
Office of Management and Budget
Oversight is the process by which Congress
follows up on the laws it has enacted.
