AP Government Chapter 4.3 Reading Check

The Constitution never dictated the formal structure of Congress; this was up to the:

• committees

• voters

• political parties

• interest groups

The Speaker of the House is the:

• leader of the party in the minority

• figure head of the House

• only position that is described in the Constitution

• House majority leader

Making money and friends is the purpose of the:

• House majority leader

• Speaker of the House

• political action committees

• appropriations committee

The House majority whip is responsible for:

• collecting information on how members of the party are going to vote

• chairing a committee

• helping to solicit donations

• making sure representatives attend each session of the House

The Senate majority leader is selected by the party in the majority and is the:

• leader of the Senate

• most powerful position in the Senate

• president pro tempore of the Senate

• deciding vote in a tie

The committee chair has the authority to:

• require committee members to vote on every bill

• set the agenda in committee

• set the agenda for Congress

• break ties on votes

In Congress, the standing committees are created to:

• focus public attention on special issues and are temporary

• merge the House and Senate versions of the same legislation.

• get most of the work done in Congress and are created based on expertise

• investigate scandals or deal with crisis situations

The       is responsible for gaining public attention for certain issues, generating information for Congress, and helping party leaders speed up the legislation process on certain bills:

• joint committee

• select committee

• conference committee

• standing committee

             are responsible for helping to write legislation.

• Committee members

• Congressional staff members

• Constituents

• Pollsters

Unwritten expectations of how committee members behave are called:

• committee rules.

• standing rules

• norms of behavior

• rules of behavior