US Congress Essentials

In general, a member of the House of Representatives who wishes to be influential in the House itself would most likely seek a place on which of the following committees?

• Agriculture

• District of Columbia

• Ways and Means

• Conference

Logrolling refers to

• shift of parties from majority to minority status in either house

• trading votes with colleagues

• gerrymandering of House districts

• when a bill goes from subcommittee to committee

Which of the following best describes pork barrel politics?

• Senators from states with agricultural economies promote pig farming.

• Voters in rural areas support different issue positions than do voters in metropolitan areas.

• Members of Congress negotiate bills so that individual districts get money for projects that do not necessarily benefit the nation as a whole.

• Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee refuse to endorse president’s court nominees

During midterm elections

• The president’s party always loses seats

• The president’s party never loses seats

• The president’s party tends to lose seats

• The president’s party tends not to lose seats

Usually the chair of a standing committee will be the member of the committee who is:

• the member nominated by the president

• the senior member of the majority party

• the one selected by the entire chamber

• the one with the greatest vote margin in their district

• the best Jell-O wrestler of the group

On a bill with high visibility, members of Congress are most likely to vote

• According to the chair of their committee

• According to their personal ideology

• In keeping with the desires of their constituents

• According to the pressure of lobbyists

A discharge petition does which of the following

• ends a filibuster

• forces a bill out of committee

• censures a member of Congress

• sends a bill to conference committee

• Sends all committee members running for their gas masks

Conference committees

• Register bills to be introduced on the floor and schedule debate

• Handle proposed legislation that deals with more than one area of policy

• Work out compromises between House and Senate versions of bills

• Deal exclusively with foreign policy

A Senator can often prevent the Senate from voting on the bill being debated on the Senate floor by

• Conducting oversight

• Filibustering

• Introducing another bill

• Log rolling

The more than 400 amendments have offered to the recent H.R. 1, House Appropriations Bill, is an example of

• a discharge petition

• an authorization bill

• a vote of cloture

• an open bill