1) Which of the following did the framers of the Constitution conceive of as the center of policymaking in America? c 2) The foremost attraction for the job of serving in Congress is A) a salary four times the income of the typical American family. c 3) Which of the following is NOT one of the perquisites which go with the job of being a member of Congress? A) a salary of over $150,000 b 4) ________ privileges refer to the free use of the mails enjoyed by Congress. A) Franking a 5) The most prominent characteristic of a Congresspersonʹs job is A) prestige. b 6) A myth about members of Congress is that they A) generally are educated and come from high-status occupations. d 7) The United States House of Representatives has ________ members. A) 638 c 8) The United States Senate has ________ members. A) 50 b 9) How many senators are elected from each state? A) one b 10) Which of the following is TRUE about the minimum age requirements for members of Congress set forth in the Constitution? A) One must be at least 21 years of age to serve in the House of Representatives. b 11) The members of the Senate closely reflect the nation in terms of A) race. e 12) The income and occupations of members of Congress A) typically reflect the pluralistic nature of American society. c 13) African Americans constitute ________ of the United States Senate. A) less than 10 percent a 14) In terms of religion, most members of Congress are A) Catholic. c 15) The most common prior occupation for members of Congress is A) business. b 16) Relative to the total population, the most underrepresented group in Congress is A) African Americans. c 17) Overall, members of Congress can ________ of the American people. A) possibly claim substantive representation, but not descriptive representation a 18) Millionaire Senator Edward Kennedy sponsoring a bill to help the poor and disadvantaged would be an example of A) descriptive representation. b 19) Incumbents are those A) already holding office. a 20) In most congressional elections, challengers A) outspend an incumbent. d 21) The single most important advantage to someone trying to get elected to Congress is A) being an incumbent. a 22) Comparison between members of the House and Senate concerning the impact of incumbency on their reelection chances shows that one of the reasons that senators have a smaller advantage is because they A) have become over-specialized as policymakers. b 23) Reasons that incumbent senators have greater competition than incumbent members of the House include all of the following EXCEPT A) an entire state is more diverse than a congressional district, providing more of a base for c 24) Which of these candidates would most likely get elected? A) a representative running for reelection a 25) Compared to members of the House, senators are A) more likely to have personal contact with their constituents. b 26) Studies have shown that presidential ________ in an election have little effect on the success of the party's candidates for the House and Senate. A) coattails a 27) Which of the following is NOT one of the three primary activities that members of Congress engage in to increase the probability of their reelection? A) advertising d 28) An example of casework by a member of Congress is A) writing a newsletter to send out to constituents. b 29) The pork barrel and casework are examples of A) opportunities for credit-claiming by members of
Congress. a 30) An especially important asset for incumbents running for reelection is their A) service to constituents. a 31) The ________ is the list of federal projects, grants, and contracts available to cities, businesses, colleges, and institutions which members of Congress seek to locate in their district to promote the interests of their constituency. A) casework b 32) Federal grants and contracts that members of Congress try to obtain for their constituents are collectively referred to as A) the pork barrel. a 33) Members of Congress engage in each of the following activities that increase the probability of their reelections EXCEPT A) advertising. b 34) What accounts for the success of congressional candidates? A) their highly representative policy positions d 35) Which of the following is NOT true about incumbents? A) They usually win elections. d 36) Which of the following statements about those who challenge incumbent members of the House is TRUE? A) They are usually not well-known. a 37) In the House races of 2004, the typical incumbent outspent the typical challenger by A) 2 to 1. d 38) Which of the following statements about money in Congressional elections is FALSE? A) It costs more money to elect a president than to elect a member of Congress. a 39) The role of party identification in votersʹ choices in congressional campaigns is A) extremely important, and increasingly so. b 40) Party loyalty at the voting booth is A) stronger than it was a generation ago. c 41) House incumbents typically receive A) about the same amount of contributions from PACs as challengers. d 42) On average, most of the money raised by a candidate for Congress comes from A) political parties. b 43) A single Political Action Committee A) has no limit on the amount of money it can spend on a candidate. b 44) When Political Action Committees contribute money to members of Congress they are usually seeking A) access to policymakers. a 45) Which of the following statements about the role of money in congressional elections is FALSE? A) Outspending your opponent by a large margin is no guarantee of success. c 46) All of the following may increase the likelihood that an incumbent is defeated EXCEPT A) national political ʺtidal waves.ʺ c 47) After each federal census, A) the office of the Speaker of the House changes hands. c 48) Occasionally, a major political tidal wave rolls across the country and throws large numbers of incumbents of a given party out of office. When did this last occur? A) 1994 a 49) Which of the following statements about Congress is FALSE? A) Congress is a collection of generalists trying to make policy on specialized topics. e 50) Nebraskaʹs legislature is the only one in the United States that is NOT A) elected by the voters. c 51) Bicameralism means that a legislative body is one A) with two houses, providing checks and balances on policymaking. a 52) To be sent to the president, a bill must be passed by A) the House. d 53) The House ________ Committee reviews most bills coming from other committees before they go on to the full House, thus performing a traffic cop function. A) Appropriations c 54) Articles of impeachment must be passed by A) either the House or the Senate. d 55) House seats are up for election every A) two years. a 56) A Senate seat is up for election every A) two years. c 57) Which of the following is TRUE about the Senate as compared to the House? A) more centralized with stronger leadership d 58) According to the Constitution, revenue bills must originate in the
A) Internal Revenue Service. c 59) Nominees to the United States Supreme Court must be confirmed by A) the Senate. a 60) According to the Constitution, once impeached, federal officials are then tried in the A) Supreme Court. c 61) The House Rules Committee A) has its members appointed by the House majority leader. d 62) The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power to A) initiate all revenue bills. a 63) One of the key differences between the House and Senate is that the House A) has weaker leadership. c 64) One of the key differences between the House and Senate is that the Senate A) is more centralized. b 65) The real differences between the House and the Senate lie in their A) ideology. c 66) The filibuster A) is unique to the Senate. a 67) ________ members present and voting can halt a filibuster by voting for cloture. A) Sixty a 68) The filibuster is a technique used in the A) House to delay legislation until a full House can convene. b 69) To cut off debate and end a filibuster is known as A) franking. c 70) To end a filibuster requires ________ members present and voting to cut off debate. A) 50 b 71) Which of the following congressional offices is mandated by the Constitution? A) Speaker of the House a 72) Which of the following does the Speaker NOT play a role in? A) making committee assignments c 73) The ________ is next in line after the vice president to succeed a president who resigns, dies in office, or is impeached. A) Senate majority leader d 74) The minority whip A) assists the majority leader in party-line votes. d 75) Which of the following statements about the majority leader of the House of Representatives is FALSE? A) The majority leader exercises substantial control over which bills get assigned to which committees. a 76) The ________ has the job of presiding over the Senate, breaking ties when necessary. A) majority leader d 77) The most powerful person in the Senate is the A) majority leader. a 78) Most important congressional activity is done A) on legislatorsʹ visits to their home
districts. b 79) Most of the business of Congress takes place A) in congressional districts. c 80) A ________ committee is one appointed for a limited, specific purpose, such as that set up to investigate the Watergate scandal. A) standing b 81) Appropriations, Judiciary, and Armed Forces are all examples of ________ committees. A) standing a 82) When the House and the Senate pass different versions of the same bill A) the House bill is changed to conform with the Senate bill. c 83) Legislative ________ is the process of monitoring the bureaucracy and its administration of policy. A) franking d 84) When members of Congress hold a hearing to question a cabinet member on how a law is being carried out, they are engaging in A) agenda-setting. c 85) Which of the following statements about congressional committees is FALSE? A) Unless a committee gives a bill a favorable report it almost never can be considered by e 86) The seniority system gave a decisive edge to House members from ________ districts. A) Republican d 87) House and Senate committees A) all have an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. b 88) Members of Congress seek committees that will help them achieve each of the following goals EXCEPT A) reelection. c 89) Traditionally, Congressional committee chairpersons have been chosen through A) the seniority system. a 90) Members of Congress who informally band together in groups to promote and protect mutual interests (e.g., mushroom growers) form what are called A) subcommittees. c 91) Caucuses in Congress A) press committees to hold hearings. d 92) Congressional reforms of the 1970s A)
professionalized the operation of Congress and made it much more efficient. b 93) Republican congressional reforms in the 1990s included all of the following EXCEPT A) committee chairs were
allowed to choose the chairs of subcommittees on their d 94) Which of the following is responsible for responding to congressional requests for information and providing non-partisan studies? A) Congressional Research Service a 95) Committee staff is responsible for all of the following EXCEPT A) providing services to constituents. a 96) Which of the following offices is responsible for making economic projections about the performance of the economy, the costs of proposed policies, and the economic effects of taxing and spending alternatives? A) Congressional Research Service b 97) Only ________ can formally submit a bill for congressional consideration. A) members of the House c 98) Most bills formally submitted for consideration in Congress A) are passed and signed into law. d 99) Basically, Congress is a(n) ________ decision-making body. A) reactive and cumbersome a 100) The presidentʹs most common method of attempting to influence Congress is to A) call up wavering members. c 101) Presidential leadership of Congress in promoting the chief executiveʹs programs is A) dominant, with a heavy hand usually convincing wavering members. c 102) The parties in Congress are most cohesive A) on
foreign policy issues. b 103) The English politician and philosopher Edmund Burke favored the concept of legislators as ________, using their best judgment to make policy in the interests of the people. A) constituent robots b 104) Some prefer the concept of legislators as ________, mirroring the preferences of their constituents. A) trustees c 105) The best way constituents can influence congressional voting on legislation is to A) sign
petitions. d 106) On a typical issue, the primary determinant of a congressional memberʹs vote is A) constituent preferences as indicated by extensive polling. c 107) Legislators who use their best judgment to make policy in the interests of the people are called A) trustees. a 108) Most members of Congress would be considered A) trustees. c 109) Constituencies influence policy mostly by A) the initial choice of the representative. a 110) Which of the following statements about constituency influence is FALSE? A) It is difficult even for well-intentioned legislators to know what people want. b 111) In the relationship between lobbyists and members of Congress, A) members of Congress can ignore and embarrass lobbyists. a 112) If Congress has increased the scope of government it is because A) members typically suffer from Potomac fever. c |