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Congress
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1) _________ Congress | Bicameral |
| 2) The Framers of the United States Constitution created a ... | Congress |
| 3) Name one of the two house of Congress | Senate |
| 4) The Framers were __________ ________ with the British system of government | intimately familiar |
| 5) Did the British system have a bicameral legislature? | Yes |
| 6) Name one of the two house in the British system | House of Lords |
| 7) Did the Colonies and States have a legislature? | yes |
| 8) Bicameral or Unicameral | Bicameral |
| 9) The Virginia Plan | made up of The large states in the U.S. |
| 10) The New Jersey Plan | made up of The small states in the U.S. |
| 11) The Connecticut Compromise | a mixer of both Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan. |
| 12) What was the purpose of the C.C. | To resolute the conflict between the small states and the large states. |
| 13) A bicameral legislature provided for two types of ______________ | representation |
| 14) What does the House of Representatives represent? | the interest of the people |
| 15) What does the Senate represent? | the interest of the people |
| 16) Bicameral legislature fragmented power | checking majority interests while protecting minority interests. |
| 17) Bicameral legislature slowed the legislative process | encouraging careful deliberation and compromise |
| 18) House of Representatives | 435 members, two year term, must be at least 25 years old, |
| 19) Senate | 100 members, six-year term, at least 30 years old, |
| 20)Election of the House of Representatives | Are elected by eligible voters; |
| 21)Election of Senators | was originally chosen by the state legislatures, |
| 22) House of Representatives special powers | Initiates revenue bills, brings charges of impeachment against the president, vice president and civil officers of the United States, |
| 23) Senate special powers | Ratifies treaties negotiated by the president, |
| 24) Senate special powers continued (1) | Confirms executive appointments, including cabinet heads, the director of the FBI, and the U.S. attorney general |
| 25) The Connecticut Compromise continued | a Bicameral Legislature |
| 26) House of Representatives continued | an a American citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state from which he or she is elected |
| 27) Senate continued | an American citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state from which he or she is elected |
| 28) Election of the House of Representatives continued | when the constitution was ratified the House of Representatives was the new government's only body directly elected by the people |
| 29)Election of Senators continued | but the 17th amendment mandated that senators be elected by voters in each state |
| 30) House of Representatives special powers continued | and chooses the president when electoral college is deadlock |
| 31)Senate special powers continued (2) | Confirms judicial appointments, including Untied States attorneys, federal judges, and United States Supreme Court justices |
| 32) The Connecticut Compromise Upper House: | Senate, equal representation |
| 33) The Connecticut Compromise Lower House: | House of Representation, represent by population |
| 34)Name other one of the two house in the British system | House of Commons |
| 35) what kind of Congress did the Framers made... | a Bicameral Congress |
| 36) Name the other house name in Congress | House of Representative |
| 37) The Virginia Plan continued | wanted a bicameral legislature based on population |
| 38) The New Jersey Plan continued | wanted a unicameral Congress with each state having equal representation |
| 39) What was the purpose of the C.C. (continued) | by uniting the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan |
| 40)Senate special powers continued (3) | Possesses the sole power to try or judge impeachment cases, |
| 41) True or False: The Constitution does set the exact size of the House of Representatives | False, Cons. doesn't set a exact size for H.R. |
| 42) It does stipulate that its size shall be ___________ or ___________ among the states based on their population | apportioned or distributed |
| 43) The Constitution guarantees that each state will have... | at least 1 representative, regardless of population |
| 44) How many states at least have 1 representative | 7 |
| 45) What happens every ten years | The congress reallocates House seats (after census) |
| 46) as pop. grew in the U.S. . Did the House grew in representation | yes |
| 47) What was the number of House members in 1929 | 435 |
| 48) What act set the permanent size of the House at 435 members | Reapportionment Act of 1929 |
| 49) now what is the average of people that each seat represents | 700,000 |
| 50) Why is it Reapportionment important | because it increases/decreases both the number of the seats a state has in the H.R. and number of electoral votes a state has in th electoral college |
| 51) As a state's representatives increase/decrease... | so does its potential influence. |
| 52) In 1842, congress stipulated that all seats in H.R. would be filled from... | single-member districts |
| 53) Does the Cons define/discuss districts | No, its all @ the states |
| 54) The ____ ___ assigned each state legislature the responsibility of drawing boundary lines of its districts | 1842 law |
| 55) Gerrymandering | the legislature process by which the majority party in each state legislature redraws districts to ensure the maximum number of seats for its candidate |
| 56) The following consequences of Gerrymandering | It protects incumbents and discourage challengers. It strengthens the majority party while weakening the opposition party It increase/decreases minority representation |
| 57) Wesberry v. Sanders | set forth the principle of "one person, one vote" in drawing districts. The case triggered widespread redistricting that grave cities and suburbs greater representation in Congress. (rural v. urban) |
| 58) Supreme Court decisions have placed the following limitation... | Districts must be equally populated. Districts must be compact. Lines Must be contiguous. |
| 59) Supreme Court decisions have placed the following limitation continued... | Redistricting cannot dilute minority voting strength. Districts lines cannot be drawn based solely on race. However, race can be one variety of factors that are considered |
| 60) Supreme Court decisions have not eliminated ... | gerrymandering for partisan political purposes |
| 61) During the last 50 years, __________ has been the single most important factor in determining the outcome of elections. | incumbency |
| 62) What percent of House incumbents seeking reelection win. | over 90 percent |
| 63) What percent of Senate incumbents seeking reelection win. | over 75 percent |
| 64) Incumbents are usually able to... | raise more campaign contribution than their challengers |
| 65) PACs contribute more money to... | incumbents than to their challengers |
| 66) Incumbents outspend challengers by... | A ratio of more than 2 to 1 |
| 67) Incumbents are usually... | better know to the voters than their challengers |
| 68) Incumbents have opportunities... | to participate in highly visible activities that are covered by local newspapers and local televisions stations |
| 69) There is a close link between ___________ _______ and __________ | constituent service (person represented in our district) and reelection |
| 70) Members of Congress are able to win supporters by... | performing caseworks for their constituents |
| 71) And by... | bring home money and jobs ("pork") for their districts |
| 72) Casework consists of helping individual constituents, | often by cutting through bureaucratic red tape |
| 73) Pork is legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts and helps representatives earn a reputation for service to their districts | Incumbents often sit on committees that enable them to earmark/designate specific projects for their districts |
| 74) The franking privilege | refers to right of members of Congress to mail newsletter to their constituents at the government's expense (NO NEWCOMERS) |
| 75) Within recent years, members of Congress have extended... | the franking privilege to include e-mails and recorded phone calls. |
| 76) Members of House often represent districts that have been deliberately _____________ to include voting blocs that support incumbents | gerrymandered |
| 77) Gerrymandered districts discourage Who? and How? | strong challengers from trying to compete with incumbents |
| 78)Congress contains a large number of experienced leaders, | thus enabling it to maintain continuity of leadership and policy |
| 79) The continuity discourages... | radical change while encouraging close relations with interest groups |
| 80) Because incumbents benefit the most from existing campaign finance laws | they have no incentive to reform them. |
| 81) How many bills are introduced each year? | 5,000 |
| 82) Only 125, or about ___ _______, of these bills are made into law | 2.5 percent |
| 83) MOST IMPORTANT QUOTE TO REMEMBER!!!! | " The bicameral Congress and its complex committee system present a formidable series of legislative obstacles that defeat most bills." |
| 84) The legislative process is lengthy, deliberate, fragmented, and characterized by .... | negotiation and compromise |
| 85) Who can write a bill? | anyone |
| 86) Most bill are not written by _______ __ ________ | Members of Congress |
| 87) Big part of executive branch | they originated most bills (pres. propose mini-bills) |
| 88) interest groups can ... | draft bills |
| 89) people may be able to draft or write bills but only members of Congress can ... | Introduce a bill. They do so, by dropping a bill into the "hopper", a box hanging on the edge of the clerk's desk |
| 90) Does the House and Senate have parallel process | Yes |
| 91) Bills are assigned a number and then sent to an appropriate committee | The bill is usually referred by the committee chair to a subcommittee for study, hearings, revisions, and approval |
| 92) why most bills die in committees? | because they were pigeonholed or buried |
| 93) If a majority of the House wishes to consider a bill that has been pigeonholed... | the bill can blasted out of the committee with a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House members |
| 94) Bills approved by subcommittee are then returned to the full committee.. | where members can mark up or add items to the bill |
| 95) __________ can reject the bill or send it to the House or Senate floor with a positive recommendation | Committees |
| 96) HOR Floor Action (part 1) | The House Rules Committee gives the bill a rule, placing it on the legislative calendar, allowing a specified time for debate, and determining if any amendments will be allowed |
| 97) HOR Floor Action (part 2) | The bill is debated and a vote is ultimately taken by the full House |
| 98) Senate Floor Action (part 1) | Unlike the House, Senate procedures permit members to speak on the floor as long as they wish A filibuster is a way of delaying or preventing action on a bill by using long speeches and unlimited debate to "talk a bill to death." |
| 99) Senate Floor Action (part 2) | 60-vote majority so they can invoke cloture to end a filibuster and then pass their bill |
| 100) the __________ _________ is comprised of members from the original House and Senate committees | Conference committee |
| 101) Where the conference committee bill is returned to? | Chamber vote |
| 102) Members of Congress cast votes that reflect the preference of the ... | majority constituents |
| 103) In the trustee model | member of Congress use their best judgment to make policy in the people |
| 104) In the politico model | members of Congress act as delegates or trustee depending on the issue |
| 105) Oversee | monitor, watch the Executive Branch |
| 106) Oversight | refers to congressional review of the activities of an executive agency |
| 107) special oversight (Senate) | confirming cabinet heads and presidential appointments to the federal courts |
| 108) Methods of congressional oversight include: | Setting guidelines for new agencies Holding hearings and conducting investigations Using budget control Reorganizing an agency Evaluating An agency's programs |
| 109) The constitutional division of power | Congress has the power to declare war. The Senate has the power to ratify treaties |
| 110) The Powers Resolution | passed in 1970s designed to ensure that Congress had a greater voice in presidential decisions committing military forces to hostile situations overseas. |
| 111) Legislative role | to make laws |
| 112) Representative role | be the voice of the ppl (constituents) |
| 113) Constituent role | help constituents work w/ fed gov |
| 114) Oversight role | oversees the executive branch/federal agencies for wrongdoing |
| 115) House Rules Committee | determines rules/ time limits for debate of bill on the floor |
| 116) Ways and Means Committee | considers tax bills. (tax bills must start in the HOR, be passed and then go to the Senate) |
| 117) Appropriate Committee | determine funding for the federal agencies and programs |
| 118) Filibustering (Senate) | is easier than cloture |
| 119) Only ## senators needed to filibuster | 40 |
| 120) ## for cloture | 60 |
| 121) Are evenly split between Dems and Reps | Yes we are |
| 122) #/# majority for bill's passage is way hard | 2/3 |
| 123) ________ is set up that way | Congress |
| 124) What was viewed by the Framers as possibly tyrannical | Quick Action by Congress |
| 125) Personal and Political Background | Not representative of American people |
| 126) Average member of Congress is... | white males in mid-50s |
| 127) Most are ... | Married with children |
| 128) Most are ... | members of Christian church |
| 129) Most are ... | lawyer |
| 130) Others have ... | business, education, agriculture, journalism, professional politics backgroud |
| 131) Who wins Elections? | Incumbents |
| 132) Incumbents | Those already holding office |
| 133) Delegates: Representational View | Voting what the constituents want: Civil rights Social Welfare Messages from voters is clear NOT foreign policy |
| 134) Partisan: Organizational View | Party line Peers Republic Study Committee Democratic Study Group |
| 135) Trustees: Attitudinal View | Holders of the public trust Ideology of elected official *House more in tune with public Senators more extreme |