Unit 2

Question 1

What is the minimum age requirement to be a member of the Senate?

Answer 1

30 years old

Question 2

How long is a Senate term?

Answer 2

6 years

Question 3

What is the minimum age requirement to be a member of the House of Representatives?

Answer 3

25 years old

Question 4

How many representatives are in the House of Representatives?

Answer 4

435 representatives

Question 5

What is the term length for members of the House of Representatives?

Answer 5

2 years

Question 6

What happens for a bill to become law?

Answer 6

Both houses agree on identical versions and the president signs it

Question 7

True or False: The Senate allows unlimited debate on bills.

Answer 7

True

Question 8

What does Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution enumerate as a power of Congress?

Answer 8

Pass a federal budget, raise revenue, coin money, declare war, raise and maintain armed forces

Question 9

What is an implied power of Congress?

Answer 9

Create laws deemed necessary and proper

Question 10

Who is the leader of the House of Representatives?

Answer 10

Speaker of the House

Question 11

What role does the Speaker of the House play?

Answer 11

Recognizes who can speak and makes committee assignments

Question 12

What is the function of the House Rules Committee?

Answer 12

Decides when votes take place and assigns bills to committees

Question 13

What is a Discharge Petition?

Answer 13

A majority vote to take a bill out of committee and bring it to the floor

Question 14

Who serves as the President of the Senate?

Answer 14

Vice President of the US

Question 15

What is a filibuster?

Answer 15

An attempt to stall or kill a bill by talking for a long time

Question 16

What is required to invoke the Cloture Rule? What is it?

Answer 16

A three-fifths vote to end a filibuster

Question 17

What is a Standing Committee?

Answer 17

A committee that remains from session to session

Question 18

What is a Joint Committee?

Answer 18

A committee that involves members from both the House and Senate

Question 19

What is the purpose of a Conference Committee?

Answer 19

To resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill

Question 20

What are Non-Germane Riders?

Answer 20

Provisions that have nothing to do with the subject of the bill

Question 21

What is Pork-Barrel Spending?

Answer 21

Funds earmarked for a particular representative’s district

Question 22

What does Logrolling refer to?

Answer 22

Voting for another representative’s bill in exchange for their vote

Question 23

What does polarization in Congress affect?

Answer 23

Compromise between parties

Question 24

What is gridlock in the context of Congress?

Answer 24

Difficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people

Question 25

Define Divided Government.

Answer 25

Opposing parties hold majorities in both houses or the president is from one party while Congress is majority from the opposing party

Question 26

What is a Lame Duck President?

Answer 26

A president not seeking re-election, losing influence

Question 27

What is the Delegate Model of representation?

Answer 27

Representative votes with the will of the people

Question 28

What is the Trustee Model of representation?

Answer 28

Representative votes according to their own conscience

Question 29

What is the Politico Model?

Answer 29

A hybrid of Delegate and Trustee models

Question 30

What is Gerrymandering?

Answer 30

Drawing districts to benefit one party over another

Question 31

What is the term for the policies that a candidate campaigns on?

Answer 31

Policy Agenda ## Footnote This refers to the specific goals and plans a candidate proposes during their campaign.

Question 32

What is the formal power that allows the president to reject legislation?

Answer 32

Power of the veto ## Footnote The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.

Question 33

What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?

Answer 33

⅔ vote of each house ## Footnote This means that both the House of Representatives and the Senate must achieve a two-thirds majority.

Question 34

How many days does the president have to sign a bill once it reaches their desk?

Answer 34

10 days ## Footnote If the president does not sign the bill within this time frame, it may lead to a pocket veto.

Question 35

What is a pocket veto?

Answer 35

When the president doesn’t sign the bill in 10 days but Congress is not in session, so the bill fails ## Footnote This mechanism effectively allows the president to prevent a bill from becoming law without formally vetoing it.

Question 36

What role does the president serve as in military matters?

Answer 36

Commander-In-Chief ## Footnote This role grants the president control over the armed forces.

Question 37

What is one of the informal powers of the president?

Answer 37

Bargaining and persuasion ## Footnote These skills are crucial for negotiating with Congress and other political actors.

Question 38

What is an executive order?

Answer 38

A directive from the president that has the force of federal law, but is not actually a law ## Footnote Executive orders allow the president to manage the operations of the federal government.

Question 39

What is a signing statement?

Answer 39

An additional statement the president can offer when signing a bill into law ## Footnote This statement may include the president's interpretation of the law and intentions for its execution.

Question 40

What is an executive agreement?

Answer 40

An agreement between the president and another head of state, not a formal treaty ## Footnote Executive agreements do not require Senate approval unlike treaties.

Question 41

What power is given to the Senate concerning presidential appointments?

Answer 41

Advice and Consent ## Footnote This power requires that many presidential appointments must be approved by the Senate before taking effect.