Home Page Flashcards Chapter 11 GOVERNMENT - Flashcards

Chapter 11 GOVERNMENT – Flashcards

user

14 July 2022

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers

question

Legislation whose tangible benefits are targeted solely at a particular legislator's constituency is

answer

pork-barrel legislation.

question

Compared to House incumbents, Senate incumbents are more likely to face the problem of

answer

a strong challenger.

question

Committee staffs within Congress

answer

perform an almost entirely legislative function.

question

One must be ________ years of age to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and ________ years of age to serve in the U.S. Senate.

answer

25; 30

question

The second-most powerful federal official (after the president) is often said to be the

answer

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

question

Campaign spending tends to be a much greater challenge for

answer

challengers and nonincumbents than for incumbents.

question

In the nation's first century,

answer

service in Congress was not seen as a lifetime career for most of its members.

question

The modern Congress is different from the nineteenth century Congress in that most members

answer

are now professional politicians who want to stay in Congress.

question

Incumbents may have some problems in reelection campaigns if

answer

All these answers are correct.

question

Which one of the following statements about the seniority principle is most accurate?

answer

Seniority is no longer absolute in the selection of committee chairs, but it is usually followed.

question

Because of the inherent tension in Congress between the need for strong leadership at the top and the individual congressional member's need to act according to local concerns,

answer

power in the Congress is widely dispersed.

question

Senators are generally less likely to take directions from their leaders than House members because A. senators are prohibited by their state legislatures from taking orders from others.

answer

senators think of themselves as being equals and are only willing to be led by persuasion.

question

Most of the legislative work of Congress is performed by A. the standing committees and their subcommittees with jurisdiction over particular policy areas.

answer

the standing committees and their subcommittees with jurisdiction over particular policy areas

question

Which nation does NOT have a one-house dominant legislature?

answer

the United States

question

Through a vote for cloture, the Senate

answer

can end a filibuster.

question

A pocket veto differs from a regular presidential veto in that the pocket veto

answer

can take effect only when the Congress is not in session.

question

Congress's inability to consistently provide leadership on broad national issues is due to

answer

the fragmented nature of Congress.

question

In initiating broad legislative proposals, the president enjoys all the following advantages over Congress EXCEPT

answer

the president being granted more authority by the Constitution in the area of lawmaking.

question

Most members of Congress are

answer

concerned with national issues, but even more concerned with local ones.

question

By and large, partisanship is

answer

a huge source of both cohesion and division within Congress.

question

The oversight responsibility of Congress is

answer

None of these answers is correct.

question

News media coverage of Congress and the president is

answer

heavily tilted toward presidential coverage.

question

What is the strategy employed in the Senate to prevent a bill from coming to a vote?

answer

filibuster

question

For a bill to pass in either chamber of Congress, it must

answer

receive the support of a simple majority of its members.

question

The dominant policymaking political institution during most of the nineteenth century was

answer

Congress.

question

Defining the conditions and scheduling a bill for floor debate in the House of Representatives is the responsibility of the

answer

Rules Committee.

question

Which of the following statements is true?

answer

Party-line voting has increased in recent years.

question

Since the founding of the United States, the debate over the representation function of Congress has centered on whether

answer

the primary concern of a representative should be the interests of the nation or of his or her constituency.

question

The trading of votes between members of Congress so that each gets the legislation he or she wants is called

answer

logrolling.

question

Today's Congress differs from the Congress of the nineteenth century in

answer

the size of total staff the proportion of incumbents who successfully run for reelection the amount of legislation it considers that many members aspire to have a lengthy career All of the answers are correct.

question

The highest priority for most members of Congress is

answer

getting reelected.

question

Compared to other congressional campaigns, open-seat races tend to have all of the

answer

a higher overall level of campaign spending more evenly matched competitors more evenly distributed PAC money a closer vote on Election Day All of the answers are correct

question

Compared to the Senate majority leader, the Speaker of the House has more power because the House

answer

places more limits on debate is the larger chamber in terms of membership has less of a tradition as a chamber of equals operates within a more restrictive set of rules All of the answers are correct.

question

In contrast to the Speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader

answer

is not the presiding officer of his/her chamber.

question

A standing committee in the House or Senate

answer

is a permanent committee has jurisdiction over a particular policy area has authority to draft, amend, and recommend legislation is usually organized according to the seniority principle All of the answers are correct

question

When the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, the differences are resolved

answer

conference committee.

question

The congressional lawmaking process is biased toward

answer

blocking legislation rather than passing it.

question

The major source of a committee's power is

answer

its jurisdiction over a particular policy area

question

On broad issues of national significance, Congress is ordinarily most responsive to the initiatives of

answer

the president.

question

In which area has Congress been more likely than the president to exert leadership?

answer

policies affecting special interests

question

The biggest obstacle to effective congressional oversight is

answer

the sheer magnitude of the task

question

Congress's strength as a policymaking institution includes its

answer

a. ability to represent a wide range of interests. b. capacity for compromise and negotiation c. responsiveness to local interests. ALL are correct

question

The major function of Congress

answer

is to enact legislation.

question

Bills are formally introduced in Congress by

answer

members of Congress only.

question

Most of the work on legislation in Congress is done

answer

by committees and their respective subcommittees.

question

The scheduling of bills in the Senate is left up to

answer

the Senate majority leader.

question

________ has the most seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

answer

California

question

There are currently ________ voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives and ________ voting members of the U.S. Senate

answer

435; 100

question

The author states that successful candidates now run two campaigns

answer

one campaign in Washington raising campaign funds and a second back home appealing for votes

question

Why do congressional incumbents have such a high rate of reelection?

answer

Incumbents have a great advantage in congressional elections due to the various benefits that incumbency provides. Among these are the ability to claim credit for congressional achievements, provide pork-barrel legislation, perform constituent services, and garner publicity. Incumbents can also represent states or districts that greatly favor a candidate of one party; once elected from a constituency that is not electorally competitive, the incumbent can normally expect an easy road to reelection. Finally, incumbents have an advantage over their challengers in terms of ability to raise campaign funds.

question

Identify the three congressional agencies and explain the function of each one.

answer

The General Accounting Office (GAO) is the largest congressional agency and has the responsibility of monitoring how executive agencies spend money that has been appropriated by Congress. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is the oldest congressional agency and is part of the Library of Congress. It is a nonpartisan research agency that any member may use to obtain information. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is the newest agency and supplies Congress with projections of the nation's economic situation.

Chapter 11 GOVERNMENT – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards