AP Gov’t UNIT VI
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: CONGRESS
Readings: TEXT CHAPTERS 12 & 14
Testing: Chapter 12 & 14 Quizzes, Unit VI Essay Test, Unit VI Test, AP Legislation Quiz
Assignments: Unit VI Term Cards, Senate Bill, Committee Assignment Request Letter
KEY TERMS TO DEFINE AND REMEMBER: UNIT VI
Directions: Define 30 terms from Chapter 12 & 15 from Chapter 14.
o Each term must be defined on its own note card.
o Each term must appear on 1 side of the card with the corresponding definition on the back.
o No points will be given for terms defined on anything other than note cards.
o No points will be given for Term Cards not in your own handwriting.
o Term Cards will always be due the day of the multiple-choice portion of the unit exam.
o Term Cards are worth 1 point a piece.
o For your own sanity’s sake, do not wait until the night before the exam to define all your terms!
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Chap. 12
17th Amendment
27th Amendment
Advice & consent
Apportionment
Baker v. Carr
Bicameral legislature
Bill
Casework
Caucus
Christmas Tree Bill
Cloture
Commerce Clause
Committee chairs
Conference committees
Cracking
Delegates
Descriptive Representation
Discharge Petition
Earmarks
Elastic Clause
Expressed Powers
Federal Regulation of Lobbying
Act
Filibuster
Franking Privilege
General Accounting Office
(GAO)
Germane rule
Gerrymandering
Gibbons v. Ogden
Holds
House Majority Leader
House Rules Committee
Implied Powers
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Incumbents
Junkets
Legislative oversight
Marked-up bill
McCulloch v. Maryland
Mid-Term Elections
Minority leader
Omnibus Bill
Packing
Pigeonhole
Pork barrel
President Pro Tempore
Ranking Member
Reapportionment
Reciprocity / Logrolling
Redistricting
Resolution
Revenue-Raising Bill
Rider
Safe Seats
Select committees
Senate Majority Leader
Seniority system
Shaw v. Reno
Speaker of the House
Standing committees
Subcommittee
Substantive Representation
Sunbelt
Sunset Legislation
Trustee
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. vs.
Thornton
65. Whips
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Chap. 14
16th Amendment
Appropriations bill
Authorization bill
Balanced Budget Amendment
Budget
Budget & Accounting Act of
1921
Budget resolution
Congressional Budget &
Impoundment Control Act of
1974
Congressional Budget Office
(CBO)
Continuing resolutions
Deficit
Discretionary spending
Excise Taxes
Expenditures
Federal debt
House Ways & Means Committee
Income tax
Incrementalism
Mandatory spending
Progressive Tax
Reconciliation
Revenues
Senate Finance Committee
Social Insurance Taxes
Social Security Trust Fund
Tax expenditures
Tax loopholes
Tax reform
Uncontrollable expenditures
UNIT VI BRIDGE NOTES (better than Spark Notes)

To reflect shifts in population, seats are reapportioned among the states after every decennial census. Since the
1960's, this process has caused a major shift of seats from the Northeast and the Midwest to the Sun Belt states and
the South. Under the Supreme Court's "one person - one vote" rule, no district can be malapportioned. To meet this
judicially mandated standard, state legislatures must redraw district boundary lines after every census. The
redistricting process inevitably involves maneuvering for partisan advantage, or gerrymandering.

The functions of Congress within the political system extend beyond law making to include oversight of administration,
public education, and representation. Because their primary concern is reelection, members of Congress concentrate on
constituency service in terms of pork barreling and casework.
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Committees have the power to block and delay legislation as well as the power to develop and refine bills. The
committee and subcommittee systems tend to decentralize power within Congress. Committee chairmen are still chosen
primarily on the basis of seniority, but they must now be more responsive to their party colleagues because they are
elected to their posts.
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Congress is organized on a partisan basis, and party affiliation is a major predictor of how members will vote. The
political parties in Congress exhibit different policy and ideological orientations on roll call votes. Party leaders in
Congress have limited formal powers and must rely heavily on more informal techniques.
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The lengthy, complex legislative process of Congress requires building majorities at each stage. As a result, proponents
of legislation must often bargain and compromise to secure its passage.
AP RELEASE FRQ’s COVERED IN UNIT VI
1.
1999: Using your knowledge of United States government and politics, identify two budgetary barriers that hinder the
creation of new policy initiatives. Explain why each of the barriers you identified persists. Using your knowledge of United
States politics, identify one nonbudgetary barrier AND explain how this barrier hinders the creation of new policy
initiatives.
2.
1999: Is Congress effective in exercising legislative oversight of the federal bureaucracy? Support your answer by doing
ONE of the following.
A. Explain two specific methods Congress uses to exercise effective oversight of the federal bureaucracy.
OR
B. Give two specific explanations for the failure of Congress to exercise effective oversight of the federal
bureaucracy.
3.
2003: Both party leadership and committees in Congress play key roles in the legislative process.
A. Define two of the following elements of the congressional committee system and explain how each influences the
legislative process.
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Specialization

Reciprocity / logrolling

Party representation on committees
B. Identify two ways party leadership in Congress can influence the legislative process, and explain how each way
influences the process.
4.
2006: The United States Congress and the President together have the power to enact federal law. Federal bureaucratic
agencies have the responsibility to execute federal law. However, in the carrying out of these laws, federal agencies have
policy-making discretion.
A. Explain two reasons why Congress gives federal agencies policy-making discretion in executing federal laws.
B. Choose one of the bureaucratic agencies listed below. Identify the policy area over which it exercise policy-making
discretion AND give one specific example of how it exercises that discretion.
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
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Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
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Federal Reserve Board
C. Describe two ways Congress ensures that federal agencies follow legislative intent.
5.
2006: The framers of the United States Constitution created a legislative system that is bicameral. However, it is not just
bicameral; the framers also established two houses of distinctly different character and authority.
A. Discuss two reasons why the framers created a bicameral legislature.
B. Identify one power unique to the House of Representatives and explain why the framers gave the House that
power.
C. Identify one power unique to the Senate and explain why the framers gave the Senate that power.
6.
2007: Conflicts between Congress and the President over war powers have their origin in the United States Constitution.
In 1973 Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in an attempt to clarify the balance of powers between the two
branches of government.
A. Describe the primary constitutional conflict between Congress and the President over the decision to go to war.
B. Describe two provisions of the War Powers resolution that were designed to limit the President’s power over war
making.
C. The War Powers Resolution has received mixed reviews, but Congress has other powers over war making. Other
than the constitutional power you described in A, identify and explain two other formal powers Congress has over
war making.
7.
2008: Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted
politicians often engage in gerrymandering.
A. Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.
B. Define congressional redistricting.
C. Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.
D. Describe two limits that the United States Supreme court has placed on congressional redistricting.
8.
2009: In the United States Congress, the majority party exerts a substantial influence over lawmaking. However, even
when one party has a numerical majority in each chamber of the United States Congress, there is no guarantee that
legislation supported by that majority party will be passed by both chambers. Rules of each chamber independently
influence the likelihood that legislation will pass in that chamber; legislation passed by one chamber is not always passed by
the other.
A. Describe two advantages the majority party in the United States House of Representatives has in lawmaking above
and beyond the numerical advantage that that majority party enjoys in floor voting.
B. Describe two differences between House and Senate rules that may make it likely that legislation may pass in one
chamber but not in the other.
C. Explain how the differences identified in B can lead to the passage of a bill in one chamber but not in the other.
9.
2011: The Constitution of the United States creates a government of separate institutions that share power rather than a
government that delegates power exclusively to a single branch. Frequently, this means that presidents and Congress
struggle with each other.
A. For each of the presidential powers below, explain one way that congressional decision making is affected by that
power.
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Veto power
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Power to issue executive orders
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Power as commander in chief
B. For each of the congressional powers below, explain one way that presidential decision making is affect by that
power.
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Legislative oversight power
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Senate advice and consent power
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Budgetary power
10. 2011: Public opinion polls are a way to link the public with elected officials. Members of Congress often use polls to
understand the views of their constituents, but they may also pay attention to other political considerations.
A. Identify two characteristics of a valid, scientific, public opinion poll.
B. Explain why each of the following enhances the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of
members of Congress.
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Strong public opinion as expressed in polling results
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Competitive re-elections
C. Explain why each of the following limits the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members
of Congress.
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Legislators’ voting records
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Party leadership
11. 2012: Members of Congress are charged with three primary duties – writing laws, overseeing the implementation of laws,
and serving the needs of their constituents.
A. Describe the role of each of the following in lawmaking.
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Senate filibuster
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House Rules Committee
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Conference Committee
B. Describe one method by which Congress exercises oversight of the federal bureaucracy.
C. Explain how casework affects members’ attention to legislation.
12. 2012: Minority Representation In Congress
a. Compare minority representation in 1960 and 2010.
b. Explain how each of the following assisted in the removal of barriers to minority voting.
 Voting Rights Act of 1965
 Twenty-fourth Amendment
c. Identify one barrier that currently impedes minority representation in Congress. Explain why the barrier you
identified inhibits minority representation in Congress.
Homework: Committee Assignment Request Letter
1 short page, typed & addressed to your party leadership
Finding the Info: Google “standing committees of the US Senate” & go to the Wikipedia page to check them out
Pick out 3 real Standing Committees in the Senate you would like to serve on and explain how being appointed to
those committees would meet the following three goals:
 Help your reelection campaign
 Help you gain influence in Congress
 Allow you to work with “your” policy areas
Due Date:
Try Your Hand At Gerrymandering
Our current election system guarantees that there will be minorities in every district who remain unrepresented by
someone with their political views. District lines can be drawn either to shut out minority voices or strengthen
them. This process is called gerrymandering. As this example illustrates, the way in which district lines are drawn
has a great effect on who wins representation in “winner-take-all” elections.
Below is a map of political geography of a typical city. The Democrats (D) are concentrated in the center and
Republicans (R) dominate in the suburbs. Our current “winner-take-all” election system divides such areas up into
districts, each represented by a single elected official. The city pictured must be divided into 4 districts, each
with 6 “neighborhoods” (a cluster of 3 letters).
First, imagine how to draw district lines to create a district plan, which gives Republicans a strong advantage over
Democrats (Hint: the tactic known as “packing,” in which strongly partisan areas are packed into a single district,
should be used here.) Note: “Neighborhoods” (clusters of 3 letters) can’t be divided.
Next, create a district plan where Democrats have the advantage. (Hint: “crack” the Republicans among several
districts.) Note: “Neighborhoods” (clusters of 3 letters) can’t be divided.
Vocab Note: A Safe Seat is one which has a sizable partisan majority and is therefore unlikely to move from one
party in any given election. The goal of gerrymandering is usually to create safe seats.
Map # 1 “Packing” in Gerrymander, USA
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Map # 2 “Cracking” in Gerrymander, USA
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