Leadership Chapter 11 Answers – Flashcards
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Today's Congress differs from the Congress of the nineteenth century in a. the size of total staff. b. the proportion of incumbents who successfully run for reelection. c. the amount of legislation it considers. d. that many members aspire to have a lengthy career. e. All of the answers are correct.
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e
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The highest priority for most members of Congress is a. ensuring that the constitutional system of checks and balances works properly. b. supporting his or her party's legislative platform. c. getting reelected. d. gaining a reputation among other members of Congress as an effective legislator. e. working with the president to get things done.
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c
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Legislation whose tangible benefits are targeted solely at a particular legislator's constituency is a. pork-barrel legislation. b. logrolling. c. gerrymandering. d. private legislation. e. public interest legislation.
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a
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Compared to House incumbents, Senate incumbents are more likely to face the problem of a. raising enough money to run a strong campaign. b. an electorate which is inclined to judge their fitness for reelection in the context of pork-barrel legislation and other favors for the local community. c. a strong challenger. d. name recognition. e. All of the answers are correct.
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c
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Compared to other congressional campaigns, open-seat races tend to have all of the following characteristics except a. a higher overall level of campaign spending. b. more evenly matched competitors. c. more evenly distributed PAC money. d. a closer vote on Election Day. e. All of the answers are correct.
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e
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Compared to the Senate majority leader, the Speaker of the House has more power because the House a. places more limits on debate. b. is the larger chamber in terms of membership. c. has less of a tradition as a chamber of equals. d. operates within a more restrictive set of rules. e. All of the answers are correct.
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e
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In contrast to the Speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader a. plays a key role in formulating the majority party's legislative positions. b. seeks to develop influential relationships with his/her colleagues. c. is not the presiding officer of his/her chamber. d. holds a position that is defined in the Constitution. e. None of the answers are correct.
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c
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A standing committee in the House or Senate a. is a permanent committee. b. has jurisdiction over a particular policy area. c. has authority to draft, amend, and recommend legislation. d. is usually organized according to the seniority principle. e. All of the answers are correct.
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e
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When the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, the differences are resolved by a a. conference committee. b. standing committee. c. select committee. d. rules committee. e. joint committee.
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a
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The congressional lawmaking process is biased toward a. bold new initiatives rather than small adjustments in existing legislative programs. b. blocking legislation rather than passing it. c. national interests at the expense of local ones. d. foreign-policy issues at the expense of domestic-policy issues. e. the enactment of big social programs.
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b
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The major source of a committee's power is a. the political skill of its chairperson. b. its jurisdiction over a particular policy area. c. its relationship to the president. d. its support from political action committees (PACs). e. its support in the mass media.
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b
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Marking up a bill means that a. a president has crossed out sections of the bill that he finds personally objectionable. b. a bill has been approved after floor debate has finished. c. witnesses at committee hearings suggest modifications of the bill. d. that the House speaker and Senate majority leader have written a bill in a way that they favor. e. None of the answers are correct.
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e
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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. a. 18; 21 b. 21; 25 c. 25; 30 d. 35; 45 e. 40; 50
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c
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Successful congressional candidates tend to run "two campaigns," meaning a. one campaign for newspaper endorsements and a second for neighborhood and ethnic support. b. one campaign in the free television news and a second campaign in paid television advertising. c. one campaign in Washington raising campaign funds and a second back home appealing for votes. d. one campaign for votes and another for media support. e. None of the answers are correct.
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c
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The second most powerful person in Washington, D.C. (after the president) is often said to be a. the chair of the House Appropriations Committee. b. the president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate. c. the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. d. the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. e. the Senate majority leader.
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c
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Committees kill roughly ________ percent of the bills submitted in Congress. a. 10 b. 25 c. 50 d. 60 e. 90
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e
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The modern Congress is different from the nineteenth-century Congress in that a. most members are now career politicians who want to stay in Congress. b. most members are now amateur politicians who want only to spend a short time in Congress. c. most members are now minorities or women. d. most members now have previously been governors of their home states. e. most members return to their respective state legislatures after their congressional service is over.
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a
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Campaign spending tends to be greatly more important a. for challengers and non-incumbents rather than incumbents. b. for Republican candidates. c. for Democratic candidates. d. for candidates in urban areas than candidates in rural areas. e. for men rather than women.
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a
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Incumbents may have some problems in reelection campaigns if a. disruptive issues such as general public discontent with Congress become prominent. b. the incumbent is tainted with charges of personal misconduct or corruption. c. the election is a midterm election and the incumbent is of the same party as the president. d. through redistricting, they are placed in a disadvantageous district. e. All of the answers are correct.
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e
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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, a. Congress is unable to take effective action to counter the growth in the power of the president. b. power in the Congress is widely dispersed. c. power in the Congress is highly centralized in the Speaker and Senate president pro tempore. d. members of Congress prefer to address international issues because the tension between local and national issues is less substantial in this situation. e. Congress has been unable to take effective action to counter the growth in the power of the Supreme Court.
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b
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As compared with House members, senators are typically less like to take orders from their chamber's party leaders because a. senators are prohibited by their state legislatures from taking orders from leaders outside their state. b. senators think of themselves as being equals and are therefore less inclined to take directions from their chamber's party leaders. c. senators are more highly paid than House members and are thus immune from financial threats. d. House rules mandate that all party members on major bills must vote according to the directions of their leaders. e. All of the answers are correct.
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b
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Which one of the following statements about the seniority principle is most accurate? a. The seniority principle is based on length of time the member has spent in Congress. b. Because of seniority, committee chairs exercise absolute power over their committees. c. Seniority is no longer absolute in selection of committee chairs, but it is usually followed. d. Seniority is no longer used at all in the choice of committee chairs. e. Seniority is used in the Democratic party, but not the Republican party.
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c
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Most of the legislative work of Congress is performed by a. the standing committees and subcommittees with jurisdiction over particular policy areas. b. the joint committees chosen to coordinate actions between the two chambers of Congress. c. the select committees chosen to study special problems on a temporary basis. d. the steering committees that decide party stands on particular bills. e. party leaders in both chambers.
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a
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About ___ percent of all PAC contributions go to the incumbents. a. 10 b. 30 c. 50 d. 70 e. 90
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e
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Through a vote for cloture, the Senate a. confirms presidential appointees. b. ends a filibuster. c. overrides a presidential pocket veto. d. accepts the House version of a bill. e. closes its legislative session for the year.
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b
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A pocket veto differs from a regular presidential veto in that the pocket veto a. applies only to a section of the legislation in question. b. applies only to expenditure legislation. c. occurs when the president decides to veto a bill he had previously signed. d. applies only when the Congress is not in session. e. occurs when the president goes before Congress to announce a veto.
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d
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Congress' inability to consistently provide leadership on broad national issues is due to a. the lack of talented leadership in Congress. b. the fragmented nature of Congress. c. constitutional restrictions on Congress' lawmaking powers. d. the constant threat of a presidential veto. e. opposition from the mass media.
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b
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On broad issues of national significance, Congress is ordinarily most responsive to the initiatives of a. the president. b. special interest groups. c. the party leadership in Congress. d. the committee leadership in Congress. e. bureaucratic agencies.
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a
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In initiating broad legislative proposals, the president enjoys all of the following advantages over Congress except a. the president is more likely to take a national perspective on policy issues. b. the president is granted more authority by the Constitution in the area of lawmaking. c. the president's actions receive more attention from the national media. d. the president has the authority to make policy decisions even when there are conflicting views within the executive branch while congressional leaders cannot impose their views on other members who disagree with them. e. the president has available a larger number of policy experts than does the leadership in Congress.
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b
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In which area has Congress been more likely than the president to exert leadership? a. world affairs b. national economic policy c. policies affecting special interests d. social-welfare policy e. environmental policy
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c
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Most members of Congress are a. concerned with national issues, but even more concerned with local ones. b. controlled by special-interest groups. c. interested only in the work of the subcommittee on which they serve. d. opposed to the seniority system. e. more interested in oversight than in making laws.
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a
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Votes in Congress tend to divide along party lines a. in the case of major presidential initiatives; the president serves as legislative leader not so much for the whole Congress as for members of his or her party. b. in the case where representatives' constituencies are divided on an issue; in such instances, the representative is likely to vote in the same way as a majority of legislators of his or her party. c. in the case of economic issues like tax cuts and unemployment benefits. d. in the case of social welfare issues like health care and social security. e. All of the answers are correct.
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e
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By and large, partisanship is a. irrelevant to the work of Congress. b. the main source of cohesion and division within Congress. c. relevant only in the context of local representation. d. important in lawmaking and representation but not in oversight. e. more important in foreign policy than domestic policy.
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b
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The oversight responsibility of Congress is a. relatively easy to carry out. b. becoming less and less important to the nation. c. more interesting to most legislators than working on new policy issues. d. the task at which legislators spend most of their time. e. None of the answers are correct.
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e
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The biggest obstacle to effective congressional oversight is a. the sheer magnitude of the task. b. its inadequacy as a means to control the bureaucracy. c. its inadequacy as a means to control the power of the president. d. its inadequacy as a way to generate publicity for members of Congress. e. its inadequacy as a means to control the judiciary.
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a
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Congress's strength as a policymaking institution includes its a. ability to represent a wide range of interests. b. capacity for compromise and negotiation. c. responsiveness to local interests. d. All of the answers are correct. e. None of the answers are correct.
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d
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The major function of Congress a. is to enact legislation. b. is to check the president. c. is to appease special interests. d. is to inform the people. e. is to check the Supreme Court.
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a
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Bills are formally introduced in Congress by a. members of Congress only. b. executive agencies. c. interest groups. d. the Supreme Court. e. All of the answers are correct.
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a
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Most of the work on legislation in Congress is done a. by committees and their respective subcommittees. b. on the floors of the House and Senate. c. by conference committees. d. by the president. e. through consultation with bureaucratic agencies.
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a
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The scheduling of bills in the Senate is left up to a. the Senate Scheduling Committee. b. the Senate majority leader. c. each of the Senate committees. d. the Senate historian. e. the Senate parliamentarian.
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b
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News media coverage of Congress and the president is a. about equal in amount. b. heavily tilted to presidential coverage. c. largely focused on Congress and its members. d. typically focused on areas where there is consensus between the two institutions. e. typically focused on areas where the House, as opposed to the Senate, is the leading chamber.
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b
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There are currently ________ voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives and ________ voting members of the U.S. Senate. a. 535; 100 b. 435; 100 c. 150; 31 d. 300; 100 e. 600; 300
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b
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What is the strategy employed in the Senate to prevent a bill from coming to a vote? a. mark-up b. filibuster c. cloture d. pocket veto e. conference committee
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b
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For a bill to pass in either chamber of Congress, a. it must receive the support of a third of its members. b. it must receive the support of a simple majority of its members. c. it must receive the support of two-thirds of its members. d. it must be passed within two weeks of its passage by the other chamber. e. it must be passed within a month of its passage by the other chamber.
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b
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The dominant political institution(s) during most of the nineteenth century was a. the president and the executive branch. b. Congress. c. the Supreme Court. d. the bureaucracy. e. the mass media.
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b
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Defining the conditions and scheduling a bill for floor debate in the House of Representatives is the responsibility of the a. Ways and Means Committee. b. Rules committee. c. Budget Committee. d. Appropriations Committee. e. Judiciary Committee.
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b
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Which of the following statements is true? a. Political parties are unimportant in the organization of the U.S. Congress. b. Party-line voting rarely occurs in Congress. c. Party-line voting has increased in recent years. d. Partisanship makes virtually no difference in the votes cast in Congress. e. None of the answers are correct.
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c
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Since the founding of the United States, the debate over the representative function of Congress has centered on whether a. key decisions should be made by a small number of representatives in committee or by the whole membership in floor debate. b. the primary concern of a representative should be the interests of the nation or of his or her constituency. c. congressional or presidential authority should dominate on broad issues. d. the House or the Senate is more responsive to the public. e. the House or the Senate should take the lead on foreign policy issues.
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b
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The trading of votes between members of Congress so that each gets the legislation he or she wants is a. gerrymandering. b. pandering. c. logrolling. d. pork-barreling. e. cloturing.
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c
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A bill has been approved in the House and Senate, albeit in slightly different versions. The bill now goes to a. the president for her/his veto or signature. b. a conference committee. c. the standing committees in the House and Senate where the bill originated. d. the House Rules committee. e. the Senate Rules committee.
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b
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In the 2006 midterm elections, Republicans lost a significant number of House and Senate seats. These losses were primarily attributable to: a. the normal cycle of midterm elections whereby the president's party loses seats. b. the Republicans' inability to raise as much money as they normally do to support their candidates. c. the ability of Democrats to target their resources on close races. d. widespread public dissatisfaction with policy conditions, particularly the situation in Iraq. e. the fact that many Hollywood celebrities campaigned for Democratic candidates.
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d
