American Democracy Now, 2nd Edition (Harrison)

Chapter 11: Congress

Multiple Choice Quiz

1
For the founders, the key branch of the new government they created was
A)the presidency.
B)Congress.
C)the Supreme Court.
D)the state governments.
2
The Senate was designed to be which of the following?
A)the legislature closest to the people
B)the more deliberative legislative body
C)the legislature with the power to originate revenue bills
D)the legislature with more frequent elections
3
Which of the following is true about the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution?
A)It allowed for popular election of U.S. senators.
B)It allowed for popular election of U.S. representatives.
C)It provided for the election of U.S. senators by state legislatures.
D)It provided for the election of U.S. representatives by state legislatures.
4
Which of the following is a possible reason why congressional incumbents win nearly all of their reelection campaigns?
A)franking
B)campaign contributions
C)easier media access
D)All these answers are correct.
5
Which of the following is true about reapportionment?
A)It is the redrawing of congressional districts based on the data of the most recent census.
B)It is the reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives based on the data of the most recent census.
C)It frequently reinforces the strength of congressional incumbents.
D)It eliminates the need for gerrymandering.
6
Which of the following is NOT true about majority-minority districts?
A)The Supreme Court considers them generally unconstitutional.
B)They can be a way to increase minority congressional representation.
C)They can be a way to limit minority congressional representation.
D)None have been intentionally created in the United States.
7
Many of the powers granted to Congress were intended to do which of the following?
A)expand the power of the president
B)limit the power of the president
C)neither expand nor limit the power of the president
D)both expand and limit the power of the president
8
Which of the following is NOT an enumerated judicial power of Congress?
A)punishing illegal acts on the high seas
B)punishing counterfeiters
C)changing the number of justices on the Supreme Court
D)establishing the federal court system
9
Congress determined that it had the power to regulate stem cell research, based on
A)the necessary and proper clause.
B)its enumerated regulatory powers.
C)its enumerated administrative powers.
D)None of these answers is correct.
10
The model of representation in which a member of the House or Senate follows his or her conscience when deciding issue positions is called the
A)instructed delegate model.
B)trustee model.
C)constituency model.
D)independent model.
11
A designation within a spending bill that provides for a specific expenditure within a representative's district is called
A)pork.
B)an earmark.
C)casework.
D)logrolling.
12
Providing representation to a constituent or group of constituents in the form of personal aid is called
A)pork.
B)an earmark.
C)casework.
D)logrolling.
13
Which state receives the most pork per capita from Congress?
A)Alaska
B)Hawaii
C)California
D)New York
14
What is viewed as the primary drawback of congressional members' service as ombudspeople?
A)favoring certain constituents over others
B)potential corruption
C)distraction from the responsibilities of legislating
D)It is not part of congressional duties.
15
Which of the following is NOT part of congressional oversight of the presidency?
A)hearings regarding implementation of law or policy
B)confirmation hearings on presidential appointees
C)budgetary allocations
D)hearings regarding the constitutionality of executive orders
16
Congressional determination of what policy issues the legislature should consider is called
A)oversight.
B)agenda setting.
C)logrolling.
D)managing social conflict.
17
What is NOT one of the differences between the House of Representatives and the Senate?
A)The Senate allows for a filibuster, while the House does not.
B)Power in the House is concentrated in the leaders and committee chairs, while in the Senate it is more evenly distributed.
C)The House alone ratifies treaties and confirms presidential appointments.
D)In the House, the Rules Committee schedules debate on the floor and establishes rules for amendments, while the Senate relies on unanimous consent agreements to determine rules for debate and amendments.
18
Which of the following is the correct order of the five steps a bill must generally pass through to become a law?
A)introduction; House and Senate approval; committee review; reconciliation; presidential approval
B)committee review; introduction; House and Senate approval; reconciliation; presidential approval
C)introduction; committee review; House and Senate approval; reconciliation; presidential approval
D)introduction; committee review; presidential approval; House and Senate approval; reconciliation
19
Chairs for congressional committees are generally chosen based on
A)region.
B)seniority.
C)popularity.
D)standing.
20
The reciprocal trading votes between members of Congress by which a member agrees to vote a certain way on one piece of legislation in exchange for a colleague's vote on another piece of legislation is referred to as
A)earmarking.
B)filibustering.
C)cloture.
D)logrolling.
21
When a president allows a bill to die by not signing it for ten days while Congress is adjourned, it is called a
A)filibuster.
B)logroll.
C)pocket veto.
D)cloture.
22
A meeting of all of the members of the political party in one chamber, during which chamber leaders are elected, committee assignment appointments are approved, and committee chairpersons are elected, is a
A)reconciliation.
B)convention.
C)leadership committee.
D)caucus.
23
Which of the following is/are among the external pressures that operate to influence the vote of a member of Congress?
A)the member's party
B)interest groups
C)constituents
D)All these answers are correct.
24
Which of the following is true about party breakdowns in the House and Senate?
A)The Senate tends to stay more balanced between the parties, while the House has more large swings in representation between the parties.
B)The House tends to stay more balanced, while the Senate has more large swings in representation between the parties.
C)Both houses tend to stay relatively balanced between the parties.
D)Both houses are susceptible to large swings in representation between the parties.
25
In comparison to the make-up of the general population, members of Congress
A)are wealthier than the population as a whole.
B)are a greater percentage female than the population as a whole.
C)are a greater percentage African American than the population as a whole.
D)None of these answers is correct.
Harrison: American Democracy Now, 2nd Edition
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