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Government 2305
Questions, first part of Chapter 12 “Congress” (pages 471-491)
1. What is a constituent?
2. What kind of Congress do we have (unicameral or bicameral), and how many voting members does it
have?
3. Under the original Constitution, how were senators selected?
4. How long is a term for a U. S. representative? senator?
5. What are the general organizational differences between the House and the Senate?
6. What is sociological representation?
7. What is agency representation?
8. Which members of Congress are considered closer to, and more responsive to the needs of,
constituents? Why?
9. Senators are considered more likely than representatives to act as agents of the ‘national interest.’
Why?
10. As of 2012, how many women serve in the U. S. Senate?
11. Who is the current Speaker of the House of Representatives? Of what political party is he?
12. What is the trend for minority and female representation in Congress?
13. About how many people constitute a U. S. Representative’s district?
14. What is the most common occupation of Congressional members before they come into Congress?
15. How well informed are typical constituents about the issues that concern representatives?
16. How do party leaders show that they defer to constituency service in regards to representatives?
17. What is an incumbent?
18. What are the educational requirements of running for a seat in the House or the Senate?
19. In recent years, what percentage of House incumbents seeking re-election won their race?
20. What is the ‘sophomore surge’?
21. How does incumbency affect the number of women in Congress?
22. What are the potential advantages of term limits for House and Senate members? What are the
potential disadvantages?
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23. What areas of the nation have benefitted most from reapportionment in recent years?
24. How does apportionment occur?
25. What is gerrymandering?
26. Why is redistricting controversial?
27. What unusual action did Texas take after the 2000 census?
28. What did the Supreme Court declare in Miller v. Johnson?
29. What is patronage?
30. What is pork-barrel legislation?
31. What are the most common private bills proposed in Congress?
32. What are the many influences on Congressional organization?
33. How is the Speaker of the House selected?
34. What is the relationship between the Speaker of the House and the majority leader in the House?
35. Who has the most real power in the Senate?
36. Who decides which committee assignments members of the House of Representatives receive?
37. The need to divide the labor of legislation is best exemplified in what formal structure of Congress?
38. What is ‘jurisdiction,’ as a term used with standing committees?
39. The House Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over what areas of legislation?
40. What is a select committee?
41. What are the four joint committees in Congress?
42. What are the responsibilities of congressional staff members?
43. The Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office are examples of what
kind of agencies?
44. What is a congressional caucus?
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45. What is a proposed piece of legislation called?
46. Approximately what percentage of proposed bills die in committee?
47. Who determines the time and structure of floor debate on a bill in the House of Representatives?
48. What are ‘closed rule’ and ‘open rule’ deliberations?
49. What is cloture?
50. What is a filibuster?
51. Why will the filibuster likely remain a feature of legislative politics in the U. S.?
52. What are conference committees?
53. How can a president’s veto overridden by Congress?
54. What is a pocket veto?
55. What are some of the major influences on Congress’s legislative agenda?
56. What is ‘astroturf’ lobbying’?
57. In what ways do interest groups influence policymaking?
58. What was the K Street Project?
59. Why does the House have greater party unity than the Senate?
60. What is a party unity vote?
61. What are the resources that congressional party leaders use to secure the unity and cooperation of
their members?
62. What committees do House members typically seek?
63. Why do House members attempt to stay on good terms with the Speaker?
64. What is the ‘whip system’?
65. What is ‘oversight’?
66. What is the Senate’s power of advice and consent?
67. What is an executive agreement, and why might a president choose to make an executive agreement?
68. What role does the House play in the impeachment process?
69. What is Congress’s role in foreign policy?
representation?
70. What are the trustee and delegate model of