Test 1

Question 1

Joint referral

Answer 1

Referring a bill to two different house committees to consider at the same time (abolished by the 104th Congress in 1995)

Question 2

Lead Committee

Answer 2

Place where bills introduced into the House are sent to be considered. Bill can be referred to secondary committee w/jurisdiction over subject matter if needed.

Question 3

What is the majority of each Congressional comittee and subcommittee?

Answer 3

Each committee’s majority is of the same political party as the majority in the respective house of congress

Question 4

Seniority system

Answer 4

Committee chairs are chosen by seniority/continued presidency in the standing committee (permanent committee, has defined power over legislation)

Question 5

Select committee

Answer 5

Committee made for a specific purpose/issue

Question 6

Joint committees

Answer 6

Committees w/two branches composed of senators and house of reps representatives, offering administrative guidance

Question 7

Subcommittee

Answer 7

Committee which handles a much more specific part of a standing committee’s powers/decisions to make

Question 8

What happens when a committee/subcommittee favors an action?

Answer 8

1. Agency review - Committee/subco asks executive organizations for comments
2. Hearings - Sessions of gathering of information from experts such as interest groups, citizens, and policy experts
3. Markup - Suggestions made to the wording of the bill by committee (but does not actually change the bill) to be heard by the full chamber
4. Report - Report to whole chamber on agreed upon wording, explaining bill and purpose to be considered

Question 9

Discharge petition

Answer 9

(Only for house of reps) petition to take bill from committee and send directly to whole House of Reps to be considered, requiring a majority of reps to sign to work

Question 10

Legislative process

Answer 10

1. Member of either house proposes bill to their respective chamber
2. Committees review the bill and decide to forward it
3. House and Senate approve of the bill in the exact wording as created during markup
4. President vetoes, pocket vetoes, signs, or doesn’t sign and it still passes

Question 11

Rules committee

Answer 11

Committee of the House of Reps, decides length of debate and restrictions of amendments that can go on the bill, and also limits floor debates in house of reps (i.e. who can speak and how long)

Question 12

Unanimous consent

Answer 12

Senate version of rules committee, Senate small enough for members to agree to terms (but EVERY senator needs to agree)

Question 13

Filibuster

Answer 13

• Can only occur in the senate
• Becomes possible if the Senate does not unanimously agree/consent
• Senator speaks for an unlimited amount of time, halting senate proceedings for as long as their speech is, and can talk about anything as long as they keep talking
• In general filibuster = debate just doesn’t stop either for lack of votes for cloture or someone talking way too long

Question 14

plurality

Answer 14

2nd most + 1, someone cannot become president with plurality, you need MAJORITY

Question 15

Vote of Cloture

Answer 15

• Ends filibuster via senate supermajority (60 senators) by ending debate
• initiated by 16 senators signing a petition

Question 16

The “nuclear option”

Answer 16

• Filibusters only need 51 votes instead of 60 to be overridden by ending debate w/cloture when the subject is federal nominations/appointments (except SCOTUS)
• Comes from 1957 opinion from VP Richard Nixon stating Constitution gives officer of senate power to override senate rules
• Thus democrats in charge declared the nuclear roption

Question 17

Conference committee

Answer 17

• If House and Senate pass a bill but not the EXACT SAME version
• Bipartisan and bicameral to “iron out” differences
• Compromise version sent back to be devoted on in both houses

Question 18

Pocket veto

Answer 18

• After congresss has adjourned and pres. waits 10 days without signing
• bill dies

Question 19

Supermajority

Answer 19

60 votes in the senate, in general a designated percentage that is more than half + 1 for a given government, organization, etc.

Question 20

Packing vs. cracking

Answer 20

packing: Concentrates opponents into as few districts as possible, theyre guaranteed to win them by landslides but between all the districts gerrymandering party has advantage

cracking: divides concentrated areas of a party to create a majority in multiple districts

Question 21

Are the populations of congressional districts equal across the country? Why?

Answer 21

No, as although 385 districts have roughly equal populations, the other 50 and thus house reps. are mandated per state regardless of population

Question 22

What is the “one person one vote” principle? What court case established it for congressional districts?

Question 23

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Question 24

Congress is responsible for:

Answer 24

Makes laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce, controls taxing and spending policies

Question 25

Intragovernmental holding

Answer 25

Debt from US treasury borrowing from federal reserve

Question 26

What power does the VP have as president of the senate?

Answer 26

Tie-breaking vote

Question 27

Who has majorities in which houses today?

Answer 27

Democrats - senate
Republicans - House of reps

Question 28

Informal powers of the House speaker

Answer 28

No express powers
1. Preside over house (authority in any gathering)
2. Chair the house rules committee (determines who speaks and how long and whatnot)
- is able to make rules, including those around the powers of the house speaker
3. Leader of majority party
4. Decides committee appointments
5. Refers bills to committees and sets deadlines
6. Can completely stop legislative process by themselves

Only one person needed to initiate vote to get rid of house speaker

Question 29

Types of committees:

Answer 29

1. Joint committees - Members of both houses
2. Conference - Compromise for bill that both houses will accept (temporary)
3. Standing Committee - Permanent committee (ex. rules committee)
4. Select Committee - Temporary committee made for a specific purpose

Question 30

How many appropriations subcommittees? What do they do?

Answer 30

• 12 in total
• They determine discretionary funding for each part of their government
• Have to pass 12 bills
  LOOK AT DETAILS AFTER

Question 31

Pell grants and SNAP, what are they?

Answer 31

Pell grants - college grants for poor people
SNAP - food stamps

Question 32

Medicare vs. Medicaid

Answer 32

Medicare - Federal health insurance for ppl like 65 and older and ppl with disabilities
Medicaid - Both federal AND state for ppl who have limited income and resources

Question 33

Government fiscal year

Answer 33

October 1-September 30

Question 34

Clean continuing resolution

Answer 34

Re-authorizes budget of last fiscal year for that 1/12 of government

Has no poison pills (ex. 60th senator wants a pony unicorn made of goldand antimatter and they give it to him bcz they don’t want the government to shut down)