Chapter 7: Congress. Multiple Choice Questions

Transcription

1 Chapter 7: Congress Multiple Choice Questions 1) Any legislature with two houses is referred to as A) Congress. B) bifurcated. C) bimodal. D) bicameral. E) bipolar. Answer: D 2) According to the Constitution, apportionment and redistricting must occur every A) two years. B) four years. C) six years. D) eight years. E) ten years. 3) In general, the House than the Senate. A) has stricter rules B) has weaker leadership C) is more personal D) has emphasized foreign policy more E) has weaker party loyalty 4) The process of allotting seats in the House of Representatives is called A) redistricting. B) gerrymandering. C) proportionality. D) census. E) apportionment. Reference: LO 7.2, pgs

2 5) The advantage that MOST helps members of Congress stay in office is A) redistricting. B) incumbency. C) political action committees. D) being a member of the president s party. E) demographics. Reference: LO 7.2, pgs ) The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution is the A) Speaker of the House. B) president pro tempore. C) vice president. D) sergeant at arms. E) majority leader. 7) The official president of the Senate is the. A) majority leader B) Speaker C) caucus chair D) vice president E) president pro tempore Answer: D 8) Bills can be forced out of committee A) by a discharge petition signed by a majority of House members. B) by a vote of cloture. C) by removing a hold. D) by the committee chair. E) by amending a majority of the original bill's provisions. 194

3 9) All bills must be introduced by A) members of Congress. B) the president. C) interest groups. D) staffers. E) the president's Cabinet. Reference: LO 7.4, pgs ) Individual senators can exercise tremendous power by filibustering A) unless a majority of the Senate votes to cut her or him off from speaking. B) unless the party leader tells him or her to stop. C) unless three-fifths of the senators vote to cut her or him off. D) unless two-thirds of the senators vote to cut her or him off. E) unless three-quarters of the senators vote to cut him or her off. Reference: LO 7.4, pgs ) Elected representatives that listen to their constituents opinions and then use their best judgment to make decisions behave as A) delegates. B) trustees. C) politicos. D) representatives. E) statesmen. 12) When both the presidency and Congress are led by members of the same party, the government is said to be A) unified. B) working together. C) monolithic. D) uni-party. E) single cause. 195

4 13) The Great Compromise resulted in A) a two-house legislature. B) legalization of slavery. C) an Electoral College based on representation. D) a weakened executive branch. E) a single-house legislature. 14) State legislatures lost their control over the selection of senators when the Amendment was ratified in A) Fifteenth B) Seventeenth C) Nineteenth D) Twenty-First E) Twenty-Third 15) Every years, of members of the Senate are up for re-election. A) two/one-quarter B) two/one-third C) six/one-third D) six/one-half E) six/three-quarters 16) Under the Constitution, senators are elected to -year terms. A) two B) four C) six D) eight E) ten 196

5 17) The Constitution stipulates that members of the House of Representatives are elected directly by the people for -year terms. A) two B) four C) six D) eight E) twelve 18) A proposed law is known officially as a A) proposal. B) suggestion. C) bill. D) apportion. E) affidavit. 19) The power of the House of Representatives to charge politicians with Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors is known as A) the authority to indict. B) impeachment. C) accusation. D) removal authority. E) federal charging. 20) The House of Representatives and the Senate combined have members with full voting privileges. A) 435 B) 475 C) 605 D) 575 E)

6 21) A new Congress is seated every years. A) two B) three C) four D) six E) eight 22) In general, Congress is than the rest of the United States. I. more liberal II. better educated III. older and whiter IV. more male and richer A) I and II B) I and IV C) II and III D) I, II, and III E) II, III, and IV Reference: LO 7.2, pgs ) Which of the following are advantages of incumbency? I. Ease in fundraising II. Casework III. Franking privilege IV. Credit claiming A) I only B) II and III C) II, III, and IV D) I, II, and III E) I, II, III, and IV Reference: LO 7.2, pgs

7 24) The franking privilege is A) the ability of a member of Congress to speak bluntly on the floor without fear of public ridicule. B) the ability of a member of Congress to speak on television for free during campaign season. C) the ability of a member of Congress to send mail for free by using their signature instead of a stamp. D) another term for redistricting. E) illegal, as a result of a 1978 Supreme Court decision. Reference: LO 7.2, pgs ) The main organizational vehicle in the House and Senate is A) the two major political parties. B) the committee chairs. C) the two major political parties plus the Independents. D) the strong party leaders. E) the subcommittees. 26) In 2011, Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives. That made the Democratic Party the party within that legislative body. A) opposition B) minority C) losing D) lesser E) weak Skill: Application 27) The most powerful position in the House of Representatives is called the A) majority leader. B) president of the House. C) Speaker of the House. D) president pro tempore. E) party whip. 199

8 28) Congressional leaders whose major task is to keep party members in line and track votes are called A) party whips. B) majority leaders. C) minority leaders. D) sergeants at arms. E) president pro tempores. 29) The presiding officer of the Senate who can vote only in the case of a tie is the A) president pro tempore. B) vice president of the United States. C) majority leader. D) Speaker. E) head of the majority party's campaign committee. 30) The president pro tempore is I. the youngest member of the Senate. II. fifth in the line of succession to the presidency. III. largely a ceremonial position. IV. generally the most senior person of the majority party. A) I and II B) II and III C) III and IV D) II and IV E) II, III, and IV 31) Committees to which proposed bills are referred and that continue from one Congress to the next are called committees. A) standing B) conference C) ad hoc D) joint E) special 200

9 32) A committee that is established on a temporary basis is called a/an committee. A) standing B) ad valorem C) select D) pro tempore E) discharge 33) Standing committees can I. kill bills. II. amend bills. III. hurry bills through the process. IV. reconcile differences in House and Senate versions of bills. A) I and II B) II and III C) I and III D) II, III, and IV E) I, II, and III Skill: Analysis 34) The Senate has no real counterpart to the House Committee on A) Budget. B) Armed Services. C) Rules. D) Veterans Affairs. E) Appropriations. 35) Which of the following is a true statement regarding the House rules given to each bill? A) They originate with every committee in Congress. B) They determine the limits on floor debate. C) They rarely specify the type of amendments that can be made to a bill. D) They affect the composition of House budget bills. E) They govern debate in both the House and the Senate. Reference: LO 7.4, pgs

10 36) There is only one way to end a filibuster. It is called A) a hold. B) cloture. C) a discharge petition. D) a veto. E) a pocket veto. Reference: LO 7.4, pgs ) Suppose Congress allocated funds to the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out a new, controversial method of surveillance, and President Barack Obama refused to spend the money. These actions would be similar to those of President A) Lyndon B. Johnson. B) Richard M. Nixon. C) Gerald R. Ford. D) Jimmy Carter. E) Ronald Reagan. Reference: LO 7.4, pgs Skill: Application 38) In the context of the legislative process, pork refers to A) the appropriations for members pet projects that can help them be reelected. B) the vote trading that goes on when members agree to fund each other s favorite projects. C) subsidies for the U.S. meat industry. D) regulations implemented by the Food and Drug Administration concerning the content of hot dogs. E) pet programs favored by the president. Reference: LO 7.4, pgs ) If you vote for a candidate whom you believe thinks and acts exactly like you, then you MOST likely subscribe to which theory of representation? A) Delegate B) Trustee C) Politico D) Representative E) Statesman Skill: Application 202

11 40) After 2010, Democratic President Barack Obama faced a Republican-led House of Representatives. This scenario is an example of A) coalition government. B) divided government. C) adversarialism. D) unified government. E) factionalism. Skill: Application 41) Overall, in terms of approval ratings of individual representatives, people A) have dismal views toward them. B) like their own member of Congress, but not Congress as a whole. C) have very positive views of them, often topping 70 percent approval. D) have lower approval ratings than they do toward Congress as a whole. E) hold their own members in about equal regard as they do Congress as a whole. 42) A member of Congress will often have trouble voting on an issue such as abortion because A) few people care about the issues, so a vote may be seen as wasted time. B) there is a clear majority opinion. C) members do not know the intricacies of abortion law. D) state policies vary dramatically. E) people feel passionately on both sides of the issue, so the member will always upset a large group of people, not matter how he or she votes. 43) Suppose Senator Smith asks Senator Ushkowitz to support the bill she is introducing to Congress, promising that if he supports it, she will vote in favor of the bill that he helped write. This is an example of A) bribery. B) pork barreling. C) reciprocal voting. D) you-scratch-my-back theory. E) logrolling. Skill: Application 203

12 44) Which of the following people or groups influences congressional decision making? I. Constituents II. Political parties or colleagues III. Political action committees IV. Staff A) I and III B) II and III C) I, II, and III D) II, III, and IV E) I, II, III, and IV Skill: Analysis 45) The first president to ever be impeached was A) Bill Clinton. B) Richard M. Nixon. C) Andrew Johnson. D) James Buchanan. E) Rutherford B. Hayes. Reference: LO 7.6, pgs