The Legislative Branch Quiz

What or who gives Congress its powers? 

• the Supreme Court, which has oversight and rules on all laws 

• Congress, which makes laws and creates its own powers 

• Article I of the Constitution, which spells out the role of Congress 

• the president, who is in charge of telling Congress what to do 

Select the two correct answers. 

How can constituents propose ideas for federal laws? 

• by adding their proposed laws to their election ballots 

• by bringing up their ideas in a town hall meeting 

• by introducing a bill in a session of Congress 

• by discussing their ideas with their congresspersons 

How and why is the elastic clause the basis for Congress’s implied powers? 

• The elastic clause gives Congress the power to make all “necessary and proper” laws because the framers wanted Congress to have the power needed to face situations they could not foresee. 

• The elastic clause gives Congress the power to make all “necessary and proper” laws, but only in areas that the framers specifically enumerated in the Constitution. 

• The elastic clause gives Congress the power to make all “necessary and proper” laws because the framers did not trust a poor, uneducated electorate to understand lawmaking. 

• The elastic clause and the statement about “necessary and proper” laws were written by the framers so that there would be no question as to what Congress can and cannot do. 

What is one purpose of congressional committees? 

• to listen to new ideas from constituents 

• to ensure that proposed laws are well written 

• to make sure elections for Congress are fair 

• . to investigate and recommend proposed laws 

Select the two correct answers. 

The House of Representatives has the nickname “the People’s House.” What reasons most likely explain why the House has this nickname? 

• The Constitution gives representatives a shorter term of service than senators so that the House will be 

  more responsive to current issues. 

• The Constitution allows constituents to remove a representative by majority vote within the first six 

  months of that representative’s term. 

• The Constitution calls for representatives to serve fewer people than senators, so they can address the 

  needs of individual constituents. 

• The Constitution limits the number of terms a representative can serve, so people can frequently choose 

  new representation. 

What can happen after the president vetoes a bill approved by Congress? 

• The president can ban the bill from being introduced into either chamber of Congress ever again.

• The two chambers of Congress can override the president's veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers. 

• The bill is dead in both chambers of Congress but can be sent to the states for approval by their legislatures. 

• The Supreme Court can rule that the veto is unconstitutional and that the bill should become law. 

A US senator is sponsoring a bill to protect an endangered species of turtle. The bill has been narrowly approved by the Senate. A similar bill has been approved by the House of Representatives by a greater margin than the Senate bill. 

What is the next step that will lead to one version of the two bills being signed into law? 

• Both bills will go to the president, who will choose the one he or she thinks is better and sign that one into law. 

• The Senate bill will become law, because the Senate is the more powerful of the two congressional chambers. 

• The Senate bill and the House bill will go to a joint committee of lawmakers, who will work out a compromise bill.

• The House bill will become law, because it won a higher percentage of votes than the Senate bill. 

Imani wants to be US representative for a district in Pennsylvania. She is 34 years old and was born in Chicago, Illinois. When she graduated from college at 22, she moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for her first job and is now a legal resident of Pennsylvania. 

Would Imani qualify to run for Congress to represent a district in Pennsylvania, and why? 

• yes, because she is over 25, is a US citizen, and is a legal resident of Pennsylvania 

• no, because she is under 30 and went to school in another state 

• no, because she is under 35 and was born in another state 

• yes, because she is over 30, is a US citizen, and has a Pennsylvania college degree 

Although a member of the executive branch, the vice president has lawmaking powers because part of the position is being__________ of _________. In this position, the vice president _________when there is a ________.

• leader

  the Senate

  casts a vote

  tie

• chief justice

  speaker

  Congress

  starts debate

  filibuster

• leader

  House of Representative

  expresses an opinion

  tie

• speaker

  Congress

  Starts a debate

  ties

_________ powers are suggested and are constantly being ______ because lawmakers disagree on what is ________.

• Implied

  debated

  necessary to do the job

• Explicit

  refused

  written in the Constitution

• Inherent

  debated

  fine with the president .

• Implied

  refused

  written in the Constitution