This chamber is more diverse in terms of membership.
House
100
List 3 enumerated/expressed powers of Congress.
Many answers exist, some include...
- declare war, levy taxes, regulate interstate/foreign commerce, create post offices
100
The population count taken every ten years.
Census
100
Describe the role of committees in the lawmaking process.
Many possible answers exist, some correct responses include:
- rewrite legislative language
- call on experts, citizens to testify regarding a bill
- debate bills
- review bills
100
How were US Senators chosen before ratification of the 17th Amendment?
State legislatures chose US Senators before the 17th Amendments was ratified
200
This chamber is considered more prestigious.
Senate
200
This chamber is responsible for confirming presidential appointments.
Senate
200
The process whereby the national government divides up how many seats a state will receive in the House of Representatives.
Apportionment
(Reapportionment is also acceptable since this process is REdone every 10 years)
200
What is the purpose of a conference committee?
Since a bill must be identical in their language before going to the president, the conference committee takes the House and Senate versions and creates a COMPROMISE version of the bill that must then be sent back to each chamber for a vote before the bill has a chance to reach the president
200
This word describes the process whereby a Senator attempts to prevent a bill from being debated.
Two possible answers:
- filibuster (or even a filibuster threat)
- hold (sometimes anonymous motion that prevents a bill from reaching the floor for debate/consideration)
300
This chamber is in charge of INITIATING any bills that require the raising of revenue.
House
300
This power of Congress verifies that regulatory agencies are following through with their mission and goals.
Oversight
300
How do most states perform redistricting?
State legislatures create the districts, while the governor approves them.
300
What 2 factors usually determines who the leader of the committee will be?
Main factors include:
- member of majority political party of given chamber of Congress
- length of service in committee--SENIORITY
- LOYALTY to their political party
300
This privilege allows Congressman to contact their constituents about all the great things they are doing for them in Washington without costing the Congressman a dime.
Franking Privilege
400
This chamber has so many rules.
House
400
This clause allows in the Constitution allows Congress to do more things than what is actually enumerated in the document.
Two possible answers:
- Necessary & Proper Clause
- Interstate Commerce Clause
400
Why do many states gerrymander their congressional districts?
To give their own political party an advantage in winning future congressional elections in as many districts as possible
400
List the most powerful person in both the House and the US Senate.
House: Speaker of the House (written in the Constitution)
Senate: Majority Leader (not written in the Constitution)
400
This procedure Senators must use to end a filibuster or filibuster threat.
Cloture
500
This chamber has the ability to include non-germane additions to legislation during floor debate.
Senate
500
Describe the two steps of the impeachment process.
1. House uses a simple majority to vote for impeachment.
AND
2. Senate must have a 2/3 majority to convict an official.
500
List three rules that states must utilize when they create new Congressional districts.
These are the main rules:
- districts must be contiguous
- districts must be relatively equal in population size
- districts must be compact
- race can't be the main factor for creating districts
500
Why is the House Ways and Means Committee such a powerful committee?
Ways and means deals with setting tax rates, thus determining how much revenue the US government will collect.
Consider the cause/effect of this committee...depending on how Congress sets the tax rates, this determines how much money Congress can spend in a given year--a big part of politics!
500
How does a discharge petition work?
The whole House can override the committee’s decision to kill a bill by passing a discharge petition if a simple majority of Representatives wich to bring a the bill out of the committee for a floor vote.
*Note: Discharge petitions are not that common because they anger the members of the committee that initially killed the bill--leading to intra-party conflicts