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Committees
Rules and Functions
Elections and Parties
Making a Law
Grab Bag
100

This Senate 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 lower level leadership position.

What is the whip system?

200

This is a grouping of members of Congress that usually forms voting blocs to accelerate the passage of legislation.

What is a caucus?

200
The term used for the relationship between the federal bureaucracy, congressional committees, and lobbyists.
What is an iron triangle?
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
The largest portion of the federal budget is made up of this
What are entitlements?
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

The method of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee.

What is a discharge petition?

400

What are additions to legislation that generally have no connection to the legislation? Most popular in the Senate and generally would not pass on their own merit?

What are riders?

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 official constitutional 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
The amount the government spends in excess of its revenues
What is a budget deficit?