Chapter 12: Congress

Question 0

What are incumbents and what is significant about them?

Answer 0

Incumbents are those members of Congress that are already holding office. Incumbents are usually re-elected during election.

Question 1

How many members are in Congress?

Answer 1

There are 535 members of Congress. 100 are Senators, 2 from each state and the remaining 435 are members of the House of Representatives.

Question 2

Casework

Answer 2

Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get.

Question 3

Pork Barrel

Answer 3

Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district.

Question 4

Bicameral Legislature

Answer 4

A legislature divided into two houses. The U.S. Congress and all state legislatures except Nebraska a bicameral.

Question 5

How many representatives does California have in the House?

Answer 5

California has 53 representatives in the house.

Question 6

House Rules Committee

Answer 6

The committee in the House of Representatives that reviews most bills coming from a house committee before they go to the full house.

Question 7

What is the longest amount of to e a single senator has held the floor to prevent a filibuster? Who was the senator?

Answer 7

Strom Thurmond of South Carolina held the floor for 24 hours 18 minutes opposing a civil rights bill in 1957.

Question 8

Filibuster

Answer 8

A strategy unique to the senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to nil tied debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting in a bill. Sixty members present and voting can halt a filibuster.

Question 9

Cloture

Answer 9

A method of closing a debate and causing an immediate vote to be taken on the question.

Question 10

Speaker of the House

Answer 10

An office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed the presidency should the office become vacant.

Question 11

What are the major roles of the Speaker of the House?

Answer 11

The Speaker of the House has four major roles:

1. Presides over the house when it is in session.
2. Plays a major role in making committee assignments, which are coveted by all members to ensure their electoral advantage.
3. Appoints or plays a key role in appointing the party’s legislative leaders and the party leadership staff.
4. Exercise substantial control over which bills get assigned to which committees.

Question 12

Majority Leader

Answer 12

The principal partisan ally of the speaker of the house, or the party’s manager in the senate. The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes in behalf of the party’s legislative position.

Question 13

Whips

Answer 13

Party leaders who work with the majority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party.

Question 14

Minority Leader

Answer 14

The principle leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or senate.

Question 15

Standing Committees

Answer 15

Separate subject matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas.

Question 16

Joint Committees

Answer 16

Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses.

Question 17

Conference Committees

Answer 17

Congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill.