All about Bills (Mostly)
Who has the power to introduce a bill in Congress?
Any member of Congress
You have to be at least 25 years old
You must have been a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years
You must reside in the state you represent
Qualifications to serve in the House of Representatives
What is the name of a permanent committee in Congress that handles specific policy areas?
Standing committee
What title does the leader of the House of Representatives have?
Speaker of the House
Who has the power to impeach a federal official, and where is the impeachment trial held?
House impeaches; Senate holds the trial
What is it called when the redistricting process is manipulated by state legislatures for political advantage?
Gerrymandering
Division of labor, specialized knowledge, and detailed examination of bills are reasonsfor what in Congress
Committees
Sign it so it becomes law, veto it by refusing to sign it, and do nothing for at least 10 days are what?
Options the president has once Congress passes a bill
What is it called when a member of Congress uses his/her judgment and values to vote on legislation?
Trustee role
What is the name of a temporary committee in Congress usually used to address specific issues or for investigations?
Select committee
What is the position of the top person of the minority party for advocates for that party’s interests?
Minority Leader
In the U.S. Constitution, who has the power to the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States?
Congress as an expressed power
How is redistricting currently done in Michigan?
It is done by an independent commission of 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 5 independents
After a bill is introduced in Congress, what is the next step in the lawmaking process?
It goes to a committee and often subcommittees for review and discussion
Voice vote
Standing vote
Computerized vote
Ways that members of Congress vote on legislation
What is it called when a member of Congress votes on legislation based on the wishes of his/her political party?
Partisan role
What is true of committees regarding political parties
All committees in both chambers must have both Democrats and Republicans.
What is the only leadership position in Congress that is selected by a majority of members of that chamber regardless of political party, even though this position is basically guaranteed to be from the majority party.
Speaker of the House
The power to declare war is an example of which type of power? And who has the power to do this?
Expressed power; Congress (both chambers)
How many times has a president been impeached and how many tie has a president been removed?
Presidents have been impeached 4 times, but no president has ever been removed from office.
How many standing committees does each member of Congress serve on?
Between 2 and 4
What must happen for a bill to go to the President of the United States?
An identical bill must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate
What is it called when a member of Congress votes on legislation based on the wishes of his/her constituents?
Delegate role
What is the name of a temporary committee in Congress used to resolve differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill?
Conference committee
What leadership position in Congress is responsible for keeping track of how each member of their party plans to vote on legislation and for pushing members to vote a certain way on key votes.
Whip
All revenue bills must start here giving it the lead in taxes and spending
House of Representatives
When has redistricting historically been done in the U.S. House of Representatives?
Every 10 years, following the census
Which committee in the House of Representatives must all bills go through before going to the full chamber?
The Rules Committee
What must happen in the Senate to end a filibuster?
60 Senators need to vote for cloture to end the filibuster.
a member of Congress trying to find balance between the delegate, trustee, and partisan roles
politico role
What is the name of a weak committee that includes members of both houses that handles matters of mutual interest?
Joint committee
What is true both in the Constitution and in reality about presiding over the Senate
The Vice President is the President of the Senate in the Constitution, but is rarely there unless to be a tie breaking vote and the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate in his/her absence.
Where in the Constitution are both expressed powers and implied powers listed?
Article 1 Section 8
What is the name of the process by which the boundaries of electoral districts are redrawn?
Redistricting
How many standing committees are there in both the House of Representatives and the Senate?
There are 16 standing committees in the Senate and 20 standing committees in the House of Representatives
How is the President chosen if no candidate has a majority of electoral votes?
The House of Representatives
You must be at least 30 years old
You must have been a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years
You must live in the state you represent.
Qualifications to serve in the Senate
Which type of committee often has subcommittees broken down from these?
Standing committee
How is the President Pro Tempore typically selected?
This is largely an honorary position with no authority, usually given to the member of the majority party who has served in the Senate the longest
Issue copyrights and patents
Establish postal roads to deliver the mail
Establish weights and measures
Expressed powers given to Congress in the Constitution
What is a limitation of the expressed powers granted to Congress?
The powers of Congress are specific and not open-ended; checks and balances prevents too much power
What are the leadership roles on committees for each political party?
The top person on each committee, who is always from the majority party, is the committee chair and the top person from the minority party is called the ranking minority member.