Term
| Why was the bipartisan Continuity of Government Commission formed? |
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Definition
| To ensure that America’s three branches of national government would be able to function after a catastrophic attack that killed or incapacitated large numbers of the nation’s legislatures, executive branch officials, or judges. |
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| The bipartisan Continuity of Government Commission was formed after ___________ . |
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| Congress has the ultimate power of the purse. |
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| Congress has the power... |
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| To pass a law even though the president vetoes it, to alter how existing laws are administered, and to expand or contract the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. |
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| Congress derives from a Latin term that means ________. |
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| Parliament comes from a Latin term meaning what? |
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| An assembly of party representatives who choose a government and discuss major national issues. |
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| The principal daily work of parliament. |
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| A meeting place of the representatives of local constituencies. |
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| Abilities of Congress members. |
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| Initiate, modify, reject, or approve laws. |
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| Principal work of a congress. |
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Definition
| Representation and action. |
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Term
| Where does most of the principal work of a congress take place? |
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| Congress was designed by the Founders in ways that almost inevitably make it unpopular with voters. |
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| A lawmaking body made up of 2 chambers. |
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| How many members in the House? |
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Term
| What two fundamental problems faced by the House? |
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Definition
| It wants to be big and powerful. |
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Term
| How many members are in the Senate? |
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Term
| Senators were not elected by voters until this century. |
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Term
| What nickname was given to the Senate at the end of the 19th century? |
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Term
| When was the Seventeenth Amendment approved by 3/4 the states? |
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Term
| An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action to the bill. |
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| Debates could be cut off if 2/3 of present senators agreed to a cloture motion. |
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Term
| Rule 22 has been revised to allow __ Senators to cut off a debate. |
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Term
| Between 1950 and 2005 the number of women in the House increased from ____ to _____. |
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| How many Hispanic members are there? |
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| The number of African Americans in the House increased from 2 to ____. |
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Term
| Political districts in which candidates elected to the House win in close elections, typically less than 55% of the vote. |
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Term
| Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more. |
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| An alliance between Republicans and conservative Democrats. |
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| 3 theories about how members of Congress behave: |
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Definition
| Organizational; attitudinal; representational. |
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Term
| The Republican party is more deeply divided than the Republican. False. |
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Term
| The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or the Senate. |
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Term
| The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or in the Senate. |
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Term
| A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what the party members are thinking. |
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Term
| The Speaker is the most important person in the House. |
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Term
| Congress is not a single organization. |
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Term
| A vote in which a majority of Democratic legislatures oppose a majority of Republican legislatures. |
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Term
| If you are a Republican living in a pro-Democratic district (or vice versa) your votes don't make much of a difference. |
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| An association of Congress members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest. |
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| Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area. |
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Term
| How many kinds of committees are there? |
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| Committees on which both senators and representatives serve. |
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| A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill. |
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Term
| The 104th Congress did what to committees? |
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Definition
| Reduced the number of them. |
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Definition
| A written authorization to cast another person's vote. |
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Term
| Do lobbyist benefit from an open or closed floor for speaking in Congress? |
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| A legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern. |
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| A legislative bill that deals only with specific, private, personal, or local matters. |
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Term
| An expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body. |
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| An expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate but not the president. |
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Term
| A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not be signed by the president. |
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| A congressional process whereby a bill may be referred to several committees. |
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Term
| A congressional process by which a Speaker may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting. |
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Term
| A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for thirty days, may petition to have it brought to the floor. |
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Term
| An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor. |
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Term
| An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor. |
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Definition
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| An order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments by not others to be made into a bill on the floor. |
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Term
| The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress. |
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Term
| A roll call in either house of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business is present. |
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| A rule used by the Senate to end or limit a debate. |
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Term
| A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business. |
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| A congressional voting procedure in which members shout “yea” in approval or “nay” in disapproval, permitting members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills. |
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| A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted. |
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Definition
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Term
| A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the “yeas” first and the “nays” second. |
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| A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering “yea” or “nay” to their names. |
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| Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return. |
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| The ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage. |
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