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Chapter 11: Congress

Multiple-Choice Quiz

Multiple-Choice Quiz
Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

This activity contains 26 questions.

	Congressional power is detailed in:   Article I. Article II. Article III. Article IV. Article V.

	The Founders created a _________ legislative body.   one-house two-house three-house unicameral multicameral

	Which of the following is a reason for creating a Congress comprised of two houses?   so public policy could be made quickly to limit debate to allow for more representatives so laws can be made without haste and only after patient deliberation to provide one house for each political party

	The Founders said that U.S. Senators were to be selected by:   the people. state legislatures. the electoral college. the president. the Supreme Court.

	The provision that gives Congress broad powers to legislate beyond its enumerated powers is called the:   elastic clause. war clause. supremacy clause. we can do anything clause. line-item veto.

	Congress is prohibited from doing which of the following?   granting titles of nobility passing ex post facto laws suspending the right of habeas corpus All are correct. passing bills of attainder

	Which of the following duties does the Constitution assign to the Senate alone?   the authority to declare war the authority to adopt a budget the authority to propose a constitutional amendment the authority to confirm the president's judicial and upper-level executive branch appointments origination of revenue bills

	The Constitution assigns which of the following powers to the U.S. House?   the power to approve executive agreements the power to confirm presidential appointments the power to originate tax bills the power to try those brought up on impeachment charges the power to declare war

	In which style of representation does a representative try to mirror perfectly the views of his or her constituents?   professional delegate representative trustee internal

	A perfectly representative legislative body would have characteristics similar to the characteristics of:   the general population in terms of race, gender, religion, age, etc. business interests. major interest groups. residents in the state of California. residents in the state of New York.

	In terms of social status, members of Congress:   are representative of the larger population. are far better educated and enjoy incomes that are substantially better than average. tend to be poor. have none. are incredibly diverse.

	Which of the following statements BEST supports the argument that it doesn't matter that Congress is demographically unrepresentative of the American people?   Congress doesn't listen to what citizens want anyway. Congress as an institution is so weak that its influence on government policy is minimal, so it really doesn't matter who is in Congress. The need to face the electorate forces lawmakers to be attentive to all significant groups in their constituencies. Demographic variables have little influence on the way members of Congress vote. Congress is insulated from public opinion.

	How often does reapportionment of House seats occur?   every ten years every two years every twenty years after each election with every new presidency

	Who is largely responsible for redrawing congressional district lines?   Congress state legislatures the Supreme Court state governors the president

	The process of taking full partisan advantage of the redistricting process is called:   one man, one vote. dilution. gerrymandering. malapportionment. to the victor belongs the spoils.

	Which of the following statements BEST explains why incumbents in Congress have an easier time attracting campaign contributions than challengers?   Incumbents are usually better candidates than those who challenge them. Incumbents are more knowledgeable about how to raise large amounts of money. Because incumbents are likely to win, interest-group contributors believe that their contributions ensure access to members after the election. Contributors know where incumbents stand on the issues due to their past voting in Congress. Incumbents are better educated and better connected.

	Members of Congress can mail newsletters, legislative updates, surveys, and other self-promoting literature free of charge. This is called:   franking privilege. patronage. operations. log-rolling. the media blitz.

	Members of Congress helping constituents solve problems with the bureaucracy is called:   pork barrel politics. patronage. casework. franking privilege. leverage.

	Members of Congress providing federal dollars back to their districts/states in the form of contracts, facilities, and subsidies is called:   patronage. casework. franking privilege. pork. leverage.

	Why are there congressional committees?   they allow policymaking to take place largely in isolation from public attention so that congresspeople can develop expertise and specialization in policy areas because the Senate and House are small enough to be easily organized into committees so that congresspeople can have an opportunity to visit with executive branch workers to give media exposure to selected issues

	What type of committee is a relatively permanent committee, specified in the House and Senate rules?   subcommittee select committee joint committee standing committee fixed committee

	Which factors play the biggest role in determining committee assignments?   presidential and executive branch preferences political parties, members' seniority, and members' preferences constituent preferences majority leaders' preferences luck of the draw

	Which of the following leaders has the most power within the Congress?   Senate Majority Leader House Majority Leader Speaker of the House President Pro Tempore of the Senate Minority Whip

	After being reported favorably out of committee, where does a bill go next in the House?   to the floor for a vote to an ad hoc committee to the Speaker to the Rules Committee to the markup committee

	What proportion of the vote is necessary in both houses of Congress to override a presidential veto?   three-fourths one-half two-thirds four-fifths one-third

	Keeping an eye on how the executive branch carries out the provisions of the laws that Congress has passed is called:   oversight. franking. deliberation. evaluation. checks and balances.

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