AP Government Jeopardy –
Congress
Whose
house?
“House” Committees
work
What
they do
Leaders
&
groups
Election Mis-cellany
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
400
400
400
400
400
400
400
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
Final Jeopardy! Question
Congress
Incumbency
Effect
U.S. Senate
House of the U.S.
Congress that approves
presidential
appointments of
ambassadors, executive
department heads, and
federal judges – as well
as trying a president in
the impeachment
process
Whose
house? 100
Seventeenth Amendment
(1913)
Provided for direct
election of senators,
previously chosen by
state legislatures
Whose
house? 200
Six years
Term of office for
Senators
Whose
house? 300
U.S. House of
Representatives
House of the U.S.
Congress responsible
for originating all
revenue bills – as well
as bringing
impeachment charges
against the president
Whose
house? 400
Two years
Term of office for
Representatives
(Congressmen/women)
Whose
house? 500
Delegate model of
representation
Member of Congress
votes based on
constituents views
regardless of his/her
own viewpoint
“House”
work 100
Trustee model of
representation
Member of Congress
listens to constituents
but forms his/her own
views for which he/she
votes
“House”
work 200
Committee system in
Congress
Where most of the work
of Congress is done;
permits specialization
“House”
work 300
Cloture
Procedure to cut off
filibuster (and debate) in
the Senate, requires a
3/5 vote
“House”
work 400
Logrolling
Supporting another
member’s legislation in
return for his/her
support of your
legislation; a tactic
often used to obtain
pork barrel projects
“House”
work 500
Standing Committee
A permanent committee
maintained from session
to session of Congress;
deals with a specific
subject area such as
agriculture, energy, etc.
Committees 100
Rules Committee
House committee that
determines if a bill will
be brought to the full
House, sets rule for
debate and voting on the
bill
Committees 200
Conference committee
Temporary committee
of members of both
houses created to
resolve differences in
House and Senate
versions of a bill – aim
to create a compromise
bill that both houses
will accept
Committees 300
Joint committee
A committee consisting
of members of both the
Senate and the House
Committees 400
Select committee
Temporary committee
appointed for a specific
purpose, such as to
investigate a particular
issue, incident, or
scandal
Committees 500
Constituent casework
Helping voters in their
district solve problems
involving the bureaucracy,
most often delegated to
Congressional staff
What they
do 100
Pork barrel legislation
Legislation that provides
funding for projects in a
senator’s or
representative’s home
district or state
What they
do 200
Oversight
Congressional function of
reviewing and
investigating activities of
the executive branch
What they
do 300
Rider
Amendment to a bill that
has no connection to the
subject matter of the bill; a
tactic used to get
legislation passed that
would not otherwise
become law
What they
do 400
Ways and Means
Committee
House committee in which
all revenue bills originate
What they
do 500
Seniority system
Member of the majority
party who has served the
longest on that committee
generally becomes the
committee chair
Please note – this is the
second most important
criterion after party
identification
Leaders &
Groups
100
Speaker of the House
Presiding officer and most
powerful member of the
House of Representatives;
elected by members of
his/her party in the House;
assigns bills to
committees, makes
committee assignments,
and chooses committee
chairpersons
Leaders &
Groups
200
Senate majority leader
Most powerful member of
the Senate; makes
committee assignments for
his/her party
Leaders &
Groups
300
Minority leader
In both houses, this is the
individual who makes
committee assignments for
the minority party
Leaders &
Groups
400
Congressional Caucus
Congressional working
groups that are not official
committees; generally
consist of members who
share a common goal or
identity (i.e., women,
African Americans)
Leaders &
Groups
500
Reapportionment
Redistribution of
Congressional seats
among states every ten
years; occurs after the
census determines changes
in population
Elections
100
Congressional redistricting
State legislatures
redrawing congressional
districts after each census;
districts must be
contiguous and must
represent equal
populations
Elections
200
Gerrymandering
Drawing congressional
districts to favor one
political party or group
over another
Elections
300
Incumbency effect
Tendency of those already
holding office to win
reelection; applies to
nearly all seats in the
House and Senate
Elections
400
Baker v. Carr (1862)
Supreme Court ruling that
a state’s congressional
districts had to be equal in
population (called the
“one man, one vote” rule)
Elections
500
Article I
Article that creates a
bicameral legislature and lists
its primary functions
Mis-cell-any
100
Filibuster
An attempt to keep debate
open to stall a vote or bill
with the goal of blocking
the bill entirely
Mis-cell-any
200
Legislative veto
Nullification of an
executive branch action by
a vote of one or both
houses of Congress
Declared unconstitutional
in 1983 by the Supreme
Court
Mis-cell-any
300
Congressional checks on
the Executive branch
Impeachment, “advice and
consent” (approval
powers), ability to
override presidential
vetoes
Mis-cell-any
400
Congressional checks on
the Legislative branch
Ability to restructure the
federal court system,
approval of appointments
for federal judges, ability
to negate Supreme Court
decisions by proposing
constitutional amendments
Mis-cell-any
500
• Name three reasons for the
incumbency effect
FINAL
JEOPARDY
• More campaign experience
• Name recognition
• More opportunities for news media
• Fundraising advantages
• Franking privilege
• Claim credit for casework and pork barrel
FINAL
JEOPARDY