Committees
Rules and Functions
Elections and Parties
Making a Law
Grab Bag
100
This committee handles how much money will be spent in a given year on particular government activities?
What is Appropriations?
100
How often does the number of representatives have to change based on population?
What is every ten years?
100
This is the best predictor in the outcome of a Congressional election.
What is incumbency?
100
Supporting one another's legislation in Congess is known as this
What is logrolling?
100
An example of this would be Congress conducting an investigation to uncover an executive department's wrongdoing.
What is oversight?
200
This committee reconciles differences between the House and Senate version of a bill?
What is a conference committee?
200
Congressional oversight hearings typically take place through this venue
What is committee and subcommittee meetings?
200
Party unity is maintained by this system of influence.
What is the whip system?
200
This type of veto is unconstitutional, but is still used by some state governors.
What is a line-item veto?
200
The minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action.
What is a quorum?
300
This type of committee is a permanent subject-matter committee
What is a standing committee?
300
This body of Congress has unlimited debate.
What is the Senate?
300
Name one advantage of incumbency.
What is increased campaign contributions, services for constituents, franking, etc.
300
A type of legislation that provides funding for local projects that are intended to benefit constituents
What is pork barrel legislation?
300
This is when two different political parties control the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch.
What is a divided government?
400
This type of committee may investigate an issue, but cannot forward a bill to either house of Congress
What is a joint committee?
400
This is the purpose of a filibuster
What is to delay or kill a bill.
400
The right of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents at the government's expense
What are franking privileges?
400
This vote is required to get a bill out that has been pigeonholed in the House of Representatives. This is also the number required for it to pass.
What is 218 votes for a discharge petition?
400
This political issue was addressed in the Supreme Court case Wesberry v. Sanders.
What is malapportionment?
500
Which committee in the House sets conditions for debate and amendments?
What is Rules Committee?
500
This is used in the Senate to end debate on a bill, but it requires 3/5 of the vote.
What is cloture?
500
This person is the head of the Senate.
What is the Vice President?
500
The president failing to sign a bill after Congress's session has ended.
What is a pocket veto?
500
These are two potential causes of party polarization.
What are... • Increasing reliance on ideologically driven activists • Ideologically-driven membership • Gerrymandering • Media effects on politics (e.g., fragmentation of traditional media; consolidation of media ownership; media focus on ideological extremism) • Changing norms in Congress (e.g., lower levels of trust or dislike among members; shorter work week) • Direct primaries – ideological voters in congressional elections • Changing campaign finance rules • Rise of single issue interest groups • Clear issue differences between the parties
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