Vocabulary
House of Reps
Powers of Congress
Senate
MISC
100
What is the process of bankruptcy?
the legal proceeding in which the bankrupt person’s assets are distributed among those to whom a debt is owed.
100
How many people are in the House of Representatives?
435
100
What is the power to impeach?
The House has the sole power to impeach or bring charges against the individual.
There is then a trial in the Senate. A two-thirds vote of the senators present is needed for conviction.
100
How many people are in the Senate?
100
100
What is public debt?
is all of the money borrowed by the government over the years and not yet repaid, plus the accumulated interest on that money.
200
What is the Census?
Why do we have it?
Counts our population and helps to determine how many representatives each state receives.
200
Who is the leader of the House of Representatives?
Speaker of the House
200
How does deficit financing relate to Congress' Borrowing Power?
Deficit financing is the practice of spending more money than received in revenue and borrowing to make up the difference.
The public debt is all of the money borrowed by the government over the years and not yet repaid, plus the accumulated interest on that money.
200
Who is the leader of the Senate?
Vice President
200
What is a filibuster?
a tactic by which a minority of Senators seeks to delay or block Senate action on a measure
300
What is a rider?
a provision attached to an important measure likely to pass
300
How long is a term in the House? How many terms can a person run for?
2 years
no limit
300
What is Congress' Commerce Power?
the power of Congress to regulate interstate and foreign trade—is granted in the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
(1) Congress cannot tax exports.
(2) Congress cannot favor the ports of one State over those of any other
in the regulation of trade.
(3) Congress cannot require that “Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear or
pay Duties in another.”
(4) Congress could not interfere with the slave trade (through 1808).
300
How long is a term in the Senate? How many terms can a person run for?
6 years
no limit
300
What is the difference between a strict constructionist and a liberal constructionist?
Strict=Follow what is written in Constitution
Liberal=Broad interpretations
400
What is Naturalization?
the process by which citizens of one country become citizens of another.
400
What are the formal qualifications to be in the House?
Be at least 25 years old
Have been a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years
Be an inhabitant of the state from which he or she is elected.
400
What are two reasons why Congress might use its investigatory power?
(1) to gather information useful to Congress in the making of some legislation;
(2) to oversee the
operations of various executive branch agencies;
(3) to focus public attention on a particular subject;
(4) to expose the questionable activities of public officials or private
persons;
(5) to promote the particular interests of some members of Congress.
400
What are the formal qualifications of the Senate?
Senators must be at least 30 years old,
have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years
and reside in the state they represent
400
What is gerrymandering?
Why is gerrymandering used?
Gerrymandering involves drawing the borders of districts to favor one political party
Tactics include clustering the opposing party’s voters in a few districts or spreading them out thinly over many districts.
Due to gerrymandering, only a few congressional districts in any election are actually at risk to switch their support from one party to the other.
500
Explain what the difference is in:
-expressed powers
-implied powers
-and inherent powers
The expressed powers are granted to Congress explicitly in the Constitution
The implied powers are granted by reasonable deduction from the expressed powers.
The inherent powers are granted through the Constitution’s creation of a National Government for the United States.
500
This committee has members from both the House and the Senate.
Joint Committee
500
Who has the power to declare war?
Congress
500
Who are these people:
-President Pro Tempore
-Majority Leaders
-Minority Leaders
-Whip
President pro tempore: the elected Senate officer who presides in the Vice President’s absence
majority leader: the floor leader of the majority party in either house
minority leader: the floor leader of the minority party in either house
whip: assistant floor leaders
500
How does a bill become a law?
