Chapter 7 Test Bank Docx Congress Barbour

Test Bank

Chapter 7: Congress

Multiple Choice

1. It is hard to get rid of the filibuster because ______.

a. it would require a constitutional amendment

b. both Republicans and Democrats want the opportunity to use it when they are in the minority

c. the president would veto legislation eliminating the filibuster

d. the public favors keeping it

e. the Supreme Court has ruled that the parliamentary procedure to eliminate it is unconstitutional

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

2. The two major roles of members of Congress are ______.

a. agenda setting and lawmaking

b. policymaking and agenda setting

c. representation and lawmaking

d. constituency service and budget approval

e. budget approval and policy making

Learning Objective: 7.1: Describe the tensions between local representation and national lawmaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

3. The midterm loss effect implies that ______.

a. incumbent politicians are more likely to win midterm elections

b. the president’s popularity is likely to be high at the time of the midterm elections

c. members of Congress belonging to the president’s party are likely to lose midterm elections

d. strategic politicians should not pay attention to this phenomenon

e. first time aspirants to political office are most likely to win during midterm elections

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

4. The textbook identifies all of the following as types of representation EXCEPT ______.

a. policy representation

b. allocative representation

c. casework

d. symbolic representation

e. authoritative representation

Learning Objective: 7.1: Describe the tensions between local representation and national lawmaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

5. Congress is ______.

a. more likely to engage in vigorous oversight when the presidency and Congress are controlled by the same party

b. more likely to engage in oversight when the public is not interested in the work of an agency

c. less likely to engage in oversight when the presidency and Congress are controlled by the same party

d. less likely to engage in oversight in an election year

e. more likely to engage in oversight in an election year

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

6. The major differences between the House and the Senate include all of the following EXCEPT ______.

a. the length of their terms

b. the size of the institutions

c. the method of determining their constituencies

d. their role in the impeachment process

e. their power in the legislative process

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

7. ______ refers to a congressional committee’s monitoring of the executive branch and of government agencies to ensure they are acting as Congress intends.

a. A congressional witch hunt

b. A markup

c. Congressional oversight

d. Committee interference with executive prerogative

e. One of the enumerated powers of Congress

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

8. Descriptive representation is ______.

a. the idea that an elected body should demographically mirror its population

b. when candidates carefully explain what they will do if they are elected

c. important to constituents who want to keep tabs on their members of Congress

d. practiced much more frequently in the United States than in other democracies

e. the idea that one’s political power should expand in relation to time spent in office

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

9. During the constitutional process of removing a president from office, ______.

a. the Senate impeaches and the House removes the president from office

b. the two houses convene in joint session for all impeachment votes

c. the House impeaches and the Senate tries the impeached president

d. representatives of the media are prohibited from entering the legislature’s chambers

e. either chamber can impeach, but then the Supreme Court must decide if the president is to be removed from office

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

10. The Senate shares with the president the power to ______.

a. approve members of the Supreme Court

b. declare war

c. impeach executive branch officials

d. approve constitutional amendments

e. declare laws unconstitutional

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

11. All of the following powers can be exercised only by the Senate EXCEPT ______.

a. conducting a trial of a president on impeachment charges

b. approving treaties

c. confirming presidential appointments to the Supreme Court

d. declaring war

e. confirming presidential appointments to top positions in the executive branch of government

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

12. The textbook suggests that weak congressional oversight was a factor in the ______.

a. attacks of September 11, 2001

b. decision to begin the war in Iraq

c. slow response of the government to Hurricane Katrina

d. increasing budget deficit

e. BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

13. The job of confirming presidential appointments belongs to the ______.

a. judiciary

b. cabinet

c. House of Representatives

d. Senate

e. Congress as a whole

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

14. The reallocation of congressional seats among the states every ten years, following the census, is known as ______.

a. malapportionment

b. reapportionment

c. gerrymandering

d. franking

e. redistricting

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

15. The recent increase in ideological distance between the two main parties in Congress can be best described as party ______.

a. polarization

b. discipline

c. activism

d. identification

e. gerrymandering

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

16. Congress can influence the judiciary through all of the following EXCEPT ______.

a. reducing the salaries of judges

b. amending the Constitution

c. the process of approving judicial appointments

d. the power to create lower courts

e. defining court jurisdiction

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

17. The Supreme Court has ruled that House districts ______.

a. need not be changed if a state has not gained or lost seats since the previous census

b. may not be gerrymandered to benefit one political party

c. may not be gerrymandered to protect incumbent members of Congress

d. may not be gerrymandered to take race into account

e. must adhere to the “one person, one vote” standard

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

18. Permanent committees that are responsible for legislation related to a particular set of issues are called ______ committees.

a. standing

b. joint

c. select

d. conference

e. franking

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

19. The process of redrawing congressional districts to match population shifts in states with more than one representative is called ______.

a. restructuring

b. franking the membership

c. redistricting

d. gerrymandering

e. reapportionment

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

20. Redrawing congressional district boundaries to favor a particular group or party is known as ______.

a. reapportionment

b. redistricting

c. gerrymandering

d. franking

e. malapportionment

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

21. Partisan gerrymandering is the process in a particular state legislature whereby the majority party ______.

a. draws districts to maximize the number of House seats the party can win

b. promotes candidates who will most likely vote Republican

c. favors candidates who believe in a patriarchy

d. tries to keep the opposition party from voting

e. tries to win an election by getting young people to vote

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

22. According to the textbook, ______ gerrymandering is highly controversial.

a. partisan

b. incumbent

c. geographic

d. racial

e. gender-based

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

23. When deciding whether to run for a seat in Congress, strategic politicians will ask all of the following questions EXCEPT ______.

a. Will this seat lead to the presidency?

b. Is this the right district or state for me?

c. What is the strategic situation in the district?

d. Do I have access to the funds necessary to run a vigorous campaign?

e. How are the national tides running?

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

24. The slate of issues that members of Congress want to address during the coming term is the ______.

a. constituency demands list

b. franking privilege

c. legislative agenda

d. State of the Union address

e. descriptive representation

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

25. Cloture is ______.

a. a vote to end a Senate filibuster

b. the process of restricting debate in the House

c. a petition to force a bill out of committee

d. the end of a congressional term

e. the extension of a filibuster by vote

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

26. In general, what has the greatest effect on the midterm losses suffered by the president’s party?

a. the economy and the president’s standing in the world

b. how aggressively the Supreme Court has ruled against or for the president’s positions

c. whether the president’s party controls Congress

d. whether or not the president campaigns for reelection

e. the president’s standing with the public and the state of the economy

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

27. Strategic politicians are ______.

a. politically inexperienced nonincumbents who challenge incumbents only when their party controls the presidency

b. politically experienced nonincumbents who rationally and carefully weigh key considerations before they decide to run for Congress

c. politically inexperienced nonincumbents who base their appeals on a strategic issue rather than personal image

d. politically experienced incumbents who avoid using their incumbency advantages for fear of an electoral backlash

e. politically experienced nonincumbents who choose not to raise significant campaign funds for fear of an electoral backlash

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

28. All of the following statements concerning Hispanic representation in Congress are true EXCEPT ______.

a. they are even more underrepresented than African Americans

b. they do not vote as solidly for one party as do African Americans

c. in recent years, they have been more likely to vote for the Republican Party

d. both parties have tried to win the Hispanic vote

e. the issue of immigration has had an important effect on the Hispanic vote

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

29. All of the following conclusions concerning the effects of descriptive representation are true EXCEPT ______.

a. the poor suffer in the distribution of goods and services because they are badly underrepresented

b. African Americans and women have gained symbolically from greater representation in Congress

c. African Americans and women have clearly gained substantively from greater representation in Congress

d. the primary effect of descriptive representation appears to be to bring neglected perspectives to the legislative process

e. partisan identification is often more important than race or gender in determining the policy positions a representative will support

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

30. All of the following statements concerning political parties in Congress are true EXCEPT ______.

a. parties are important because Congress is organized along party lines

b. parties are important because they are the mechanism for member advancement

c. parties punish members who do not vote with the party position on important issues

d. the parties stand for very different positions on major issues

e. the tendency for a majority of Democrats to vote on the opposite side of a majority of Republicans has been increasing for many years

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Central Role of Party

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

31. Which of the following statements concerning power in Congress is NOT true?

a. The Speaker of the House has become more powerful in the past thirty years.

b. Committee chairs have become weaker in the past thirty years.

c. The Senate majority leader is much less powerful than the speaker of the House.

d. The Speaker’s office gained power when the Republicans took control of the House in 1994.

e. Increasing bipartisanship has weakened the power of committee chairs.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

32. It has been increasingly difficult for the parties to work together in Congress in recent years because of ______.

a. the decreasing willingness of members to follow their party leaders

b. an increasing number of members who refuse to identify with either party

c. increasing hostility toward presidential leadership

d. the public’s decreasing attention to the actions of Congress

e. increasing party polarization and hyperpartisanship

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

33. Leaders in Congress obtain their power from ______.

a. the Constitution

b. seniority

c. the members

d. the president

e. the Supreme Court

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

34. ______ are important in Congress because they organize the chambers.

a. Presidents

b. Senior staff

c. Parties

d. Standing committees

e. Lobbyists

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Central Role of Party

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

35. The major source of power for the Senate majority leader is ______.

a. control over the choice of committee chairs

b. the strict party discipline expected of members in floor voting

c. the ability to put holds on legislation favored by individual members

d. the control of filibusters

e. influence over the scheduling of legislation for floor consideration

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

36. All of the following statements concerning congressional committee chairs are true EXCEPT ______.

a. committee chairs have lost some of their power in the past thirty years.

b. committee chairs serve at the pleasure of the party caucus and party leaders.

c. throughout most of the twentieth century, the seniority system controlled the selection of committee chairs.

d. the use of the seniority system means that the member of the majority party with the longest service on the committee is selected as the chair.

e. seniority is now irrelevant for the selection of committee chairs.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

37. Most of the hard work of considering legislative alternatives and drafting legislation occurs ______.

a. at the discretion of the executive branch

b. within congressional standing committees

c. only after the Supreme Court reviews it

d. on the floor of both chambers

e. strictly among the parties’ leadership

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

38. When Congress sends a bill to the president within ten days of the end of its session and the president does not sign it into law, what results is ______.

a. franking

b. a pocket veto

c. cloture

d. the bill becoming law without the president’s signature

e. a filibuster

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

39. Barbour and Wright aver that term limits for members of Congress would be ______.

a. the end of the founders’ dream for a long-lasting American republic

b. terribly disruptive in the short term but positive for American politics in the long run

c. a good first step toward creating a more responsive legislative branch

d. unlikely to improve the effectiveness of the institution

e. cripple congressional ability to check the powers of the executive branch

Learning Objective: 7.6: Discuss the relationship between the people and Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Citizens and Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

40. Which of the following is the extremely powerful congressional committee that determines when debate on a bill will take place?

a. the House Government Reform Committee

b. the House Ways and Means Committee

c. the House Rules Committee

d. the House Appropriations Committee

e. the House Administration Committee

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

41. Over the past several decades, reforms in the House of Representatives have tended to weaken the implications of the seniority system in favor of ______.

a. concentrating power in favor of the Speaker of the House

b. distributing power more broadly into the hands of rank-and-file members

c. pushing legislative powers and responsibilities into the Senate’s lap

d. intensifying the powers of committee and sub-committee chairs

e. expanding the president’s executive authority

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

42. The Vietnam War and Watergate affected Congress by ______.

a. causing Congress to take steps to increase its independence from the information sources of the executive branch

b. causing Congress to reduce its dependence on information sources outside of the executive branch

c. causing Congress to increase the power of committee chairs to strengthen the institution

d. causing Congress to reduce the power of the leadership

e. reducing party line votes in Congress

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

43. The drafting and redrafting of legislation is done primarily ______.

a. by the House and Senate leadership

b. by the political parties in Congress

c. on the floor of the House and Senate

d. within congressional committees

e. by party whips

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

44. When different versions of the same bill pass in the House and the Senate, ______.

a. the chamber that considered the bill originally should take the lead in resolving the differences

b. it dies immediately, and both chambers must start over

c. a conference committee is formed to bridge the gap between the bills

d. the president appoints a mediator to negotiate an acceptable compromise

e. it is sent back to each chamber for reconsideration

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

45. Joint committees are often formed in order to ______.

a. address problems that cannot be assigned to a particular standing committee

b. speed up consideration of complex legislation

c. investigate bureaucratic malfeasance

d. demonstrate frugality to overburdened taxpayers

e. prevent filibusters on key issues

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

46. Policy entrepreneurship is defined as the ______.

a. rare instances in which members of Congress change committees in midcareer

b. creation of coalitions that support pork barrel legislation

c. practice among legislators of becoming expert leaders in specific policy areas

d. legislative norm by which members of Congress swap votes

e. members of Congress who are puppets of their constituents and interest group donors

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

47. The influence of interest groups on roll-call voting decisions by members of Congress is ______.

a. much less than is usually thought

b. greater than any other factor

c. more important than party affiliation

d. more important than constituency influences

e. more important than the cues of other members

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

48. The primary reason why Congress has so many paid employees is that its members need a ______.

a. method of supporting the patronage networks that they must have to ensure their reelection

b. great deal of help sorting through and processing the information necessary to write legislation

c. way of fending off constituent and interest group demands

d. lot of assistance in countering the power of the judicial branch

e. means through which to analyze data from multiple ideological perspectives

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

49. It is so difficult for Congress to pass laws because ______.

a. a bill can be defeated at many points in the process

b. of the sheer size of the institution

c. of the rivalry that exists between the House and the Senate

d. of the lack of legislative leadership demonstrated by recent presidents

e. passing a bill is costly

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

50. The legislative agenda is influenced strongly by all of the following EXCEPT ______.

a. the policy proposals of newly elected presidents

b. well-publicized events that bring a problem to national attention

c. the ability of presidents to get the attention of the press for their policy proposals

d. a member’s willingness to invest time and resources in pushing a proposal

e. lobbyist demands

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

51. In recent years, the filibuster has ______.

a. been used much less frequently than in the past

b. become more likely to be used by bipartisan groups of opponents of civil rights legislation

c. become a tactic regularly used by the minority party to block proposals of the majority party

d. become a tactic regularly used by the majority party to block proposals of the minority party

e. become a much weaker tactic because of recent reforms instituted by the Senate

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

52. According to the text, the congressional process is slow and involves a great deal of bickering and arguing because ______.

a. politics breeds competitiveness

b. each side is more interested in partisan advantage than in solving the nation’s problems

c. politics draws self-interested men and women

d. media coverage causes members to posture and behave in partisan ways to play to their constituents

e. democracy is a messy process that involves bargaining and compromise

Learning Objective: 7.6: Discuss the relationship between the people and Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Citizens and Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

53. The public dislikes Congress for all of the following reasons EXCEPT ______.

a. Members run for Congress by running against it

b. Media coverage has become more negative in recent decades

c. The public has more information concerning how much money is spent in congressional elections

d. The public perceives the legislative process as involving constant bickering and partisanship

e. There has been an increase in corruption among members of Congress in recent years.

Learning Objective: 7.6: Discuss the relationship between the people and Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Citizens and Congress

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

54. If Americans wanted Congress to quit creating pork barrel projects (also known as earmarks), they would have to ______.

a. insist that their individual representatives be more responsive to local needs

b. pay closer attention to what their representatives are doing in Congress

c. reward their representatives more for engaging in national lawmaking and less for acts of representation

d. give more money to congressional campaigns

e. give more support to incumbents

Learning Objective: 7.1: Describe the tensions between local representation and national lawmaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

55. Congress finds it difficult to make policy that solves national problems because ______.

a. constituents reward them for taking care of their individual interests

b. they are in debt to special interests

c. government is inefficient

d. they are too interested in scoring political points

e. they do not want the president to get credit for solving problems

Learning Objective: 7.6: Discuss the relationship between the people and Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

56. Citizens view Congress with ______.

a. increasing approval

b. growing disapproval for individual representatives and senators

c. increasing disapproval across the board

d. approval only during election seasons

e. disapproval only during election seasons

Learning Objective: 7.6: Discuss the relationship between the people and Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Citizens and Congress

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

57. In order for a bill to be considered for passage, it must first be ______.

a. subjected to a cost-benefit analysis by the Congressional Budget Office

b. introduced by a sitting member of Congress

c. reviewed by the Supreme Court for its constitutionality

d. approved by the president

e. analyzed by party whips in both parties

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

58. A ______ majority vote is necessary in order to invoke cloture in the Senate.

a. simple

b. three-fourths

c. two-thirds

d. three-fifths

e. four-fifths

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

59. The founders created the congressional decision-making process to be ______.

a. rapid-fire

b. neither fast nor slow

c. expedient

d. slow and deliberative

e. pell-mell

Learning Objective: 7.1: Describe the tensions between local representation and national lawmaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

60. In recent decades, congressional leaders have turned to omnibus legislation in order to ______.

a. make minor changes in existing laws that otherwise Congress couldn’t be bothered to address.

b. reduce spending on pork-barrel projects.

c. pass important legislation that might otherwise be blocked by Congress or the president.

d. declare war on other countries and fund anti-terrorism programs.

e. ensure the needs of their constituents are being met at the local level.

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

True/False

1. Barbour and Wright claim that partisanship is a relatively recent development in American politics.

Learning Objective: 7.1: Describe the tensions between local representation and national lawmaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

2. The founders believed that the House of Representatives and Senate should serve the same functions in the American political system.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

3. The majority party in each house of Congress has more members in that chamber than does any other party.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Easy

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

4. Congress can override a presidential veto if a two-thirds majority of both houses vote to do so.

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

5. The Constitution mandates that candidates who wish to run for the House of Representatives must live in the districts that they intend to serve.

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

6. The Constitution requires that legislation must typically pass Congress in identical form before it can be considered by the president.

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

7. Barbour and Wright maintain that it is much easier to stop legislation from passing through Congress than it is to successfully get a bill onto the president’s desk.

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

8. The founders intended for voters to directly elect their representatives in both the House and Senate.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

9. Senate terms are staggered so that they do not all come up for reelection in the same year.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

10. Because pork-barrel projects only benefit specific regions they are funded solely by taxes drawn from those regions.

Learning Objective: 7.1: Describe the tensions between local representation and national lawmaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

Short Answer

1. Why is a bill guaranteed to fail if a president chooses to pocket veto it?

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

2. Why do members of Congress often prefer addressing the concerns of their local constituents as opposed to the needs of the nation as a whole?

Learning Objective: 7.1: Describe the tensions between local representation and national lawmaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Understanding Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

3. Why did the founders invest Congress with the majority of the government’s lawmaking power?

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

4. What is the president’s role in policy formation?

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

5. Although both parties have recently worked to mobilize the Hispanic vote, what has caused Hispanics to increasingly align with the Democratic Party?

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

6. How do members of Congress utilize the information provided to them by party whips?

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

7. What are the advantages of having a strong party leader in Congress?

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

8. What are the disadvantages of having a strong party leader in Congress?

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

9. What types of external forces impact which congressional policies are passed?

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

10. What are the three ways in which an issue is typically added to the legislative agenda?

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

Essay

1. Define the term hyperpartisanship, and discuss why it has become more prevalent in modern American politics.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

2. Define racial gerrymandering, and explain its current legal status.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

3. What are some of the factors that affect a candidate’s chances of winning a congressional race?

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

4. Explain the role of the parties in Congress. How does party leadership differ between the two chambers and why? Explain recent trends in party leadership strength over time as well as the reasons for changing strength.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Summarize the central role that the parties play in Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

5. Discuss the committee system in Congress. What functions does the committee system perform? What are the types of committees, and how do they differ? What is the role of the chair, and how has the selection and power of the chair changed over the years? How are members chosen for committees, and how do they decide the committees on which they wish to serve?

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Organization

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

6. Explain the process of how a bill becomes a law. Specifically, highlight the many places where a bill may be sidetracked, fundamentally changed, or killed. How does this process fit with the founders’ intent concerning Congress?

Learning Objective: 7.5: Describe the process of congressional policymaking.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: How Congress Works

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

7. How do the House and the Senate differ in terms of how they consider bills?

Learning Objective: 7.2: Explain how checks and balances work between Congress and the executive and judicial branches.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Congressional Powers and Responsibilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

8. Explain why the dual roles of members of Congress encourage citizens’ love–hate relationship with Congress.

Learning Objective: 7.6: Discuss the relationship between the people and Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Various pages

Difficulty Level: Medium

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

9. Discuss the clash between representation, partisanship, and lawmaking. What tension exists between these functions for our representatives and senators, and what effect does this have on how the public views Congress? What effect does it have on how our government functions?

Learning Objective: 7.6: Discuss the relationship between the people and Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Various pages

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.

10. Using occupations, education and income, and race and gender, discuss they ways in which Congress does or does not meet the expectations of descriptive representation.

Learning Objective: 7.3: Identify the ways that politics influences how congressional districts are defined and who runs for Congress.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Congressional Elections

Difficulty Level: Hard

TOP: SAGE Learning Outcomes for American Government: Explain the main institutions of American government, including their roles and interrelationships.