Ch.12: Congress

Question 1

Qualifications of a seat in the House:

Answer 1

25 years and up
7 years of US citizenship
term 2 years
depends on population
constituency is local

Question 2

Qualifications of a seat in the Senate:

Answer 2

30 years and up
9 years of US citizenship
term 6 years
2 each
local and statewide

Question 3

Congressional districts are often very ___________

Members of Congress therefore tend to specialize in one committee.

Answer 3

homogenous

Question 4

States are far more_________

Senators have to be generalists

Answer 4

heterogeneous

Question 5

shares demographic traits, experiences, and interests with constituents

Answer 5

social representation

Question 6

representative has electoral incentive to act on constituent interests

Answer 6

agency representation

Question 7

Who runs for congress?

Answer 7

Candidates must “self-select” to run

Some encouraged by parties more than others

Question 8

Strong candidate qualities include:

Answer 8

Good name recognition
Success in prior elected offices
Ability to raise funds
Willingness to campaign
Ability to reach out to voters

Question 9

Incumbency advantage

Answer 9

Constituency services
Ranking privilege
Name recognition and title
Pork-barrel spending for district

Question 10

The vast majority of incumbents represent “______ _______,” where most voters support one party
Primaries are therefore the critical elections in these districts

Answer 10

safe districts

Question 11

Apportionment and redistricting happens every ___ years

Answer 11

10

Question 12

Parties in the House:

Answer 12

Speaker of the House is the leader of the majority party.
Both parties also elect a majority and minority leader and whip.
The parties determine which of their members sit on various committees.

Question 13

Parties in the Senate:

Answer 13

The vice president officially chairs the Senate, but only presides at ceremonial events and in the event of a tie vote.
Real power rests with the majority leader, although he or she is weaker than the Speaker of the House

Question 14

Committee system include:

Answer 14

Standing committees
Select committees
Joint committees
Conference committees

Question 15

Formed temporarily to focus on a specific issue
Cannot present bills to the chamber
Bring attention to a specific subject

Answer 15

Select committees

Question 16

Formed from members of both chambers
Gather information
Cover issues internal to Congress

Answer 16

joint committees

Question 17

For a bill to become a law, the same wording of the bill must be passed by both chambers.
________ __________ are formed to write the final wording when both chambers pass similar bills that need to be reconciled.

Answer 17

Conference committee

Question 18

determines committee assignments.
Chairs can be removed by the party caucus.
Chairs are term-limited.

Answer 18

Seniority

Question 19

Specific topic or issue expertise

Constituent services

Answer 19

Congressional staffers

Question 20

Staff agencies include

Answer 20

The CRS, GAO, and CBO

Question 21

Groups of senators or representatives who share common goals or interests; may be bipartisan.

Answer 21

congressional caucuses

Question 22

if there are less than ten days left in the congressional calendar and the president does not sign the bill into law, it dies and must begin again from scratch in the next session.

Answer 22

Pocket veto

Question 23

Vetoes can be overridden by a ____ ____ _____ in each chamber.

Answer 23

two-thirds vote

Question 24

The president is given ___ days to veto a law.

Answer 24

10

Question 25

factors influence members of Congress

Answer 25

Constituents are most important
Interest groups may also play a role
Party leadership might care if it is a partisan vote

Question 26

Tools party leaders have at their disposal:

Answer 26

Leadership PACs
Committee assignments
Access to the floor
The whip system
Logrolling
Presidency

Question 27

Congress is expected to oversee the activities of the executive branch in order to ensure funding is spent and laws are enforced properly.

Answer 27

oversight

Question 28

The Senate must confirm top-level executive appointments, ambassadors, and federal judges.
Approves all treaties

Answer 28

Advice and Consent

Question 29

If high officials are thought to have committed “Treason, Bribery or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” they can be impeached.
The House acts as a grand jury.
The Senate conducts the actual trial.

Answer 29

impeachment