Chapter 7: Congress
Multiple Choice Questions
1) Any legislature with two houses is referred to as
A) Congress.
B) bifurcated.
C) bimodal.
D) bicameral.
E) bipolar.
Answer: D
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
2) According to the Constitution, apportionment and redistricting must occur every
A) two years.
B) four years.
C) six years.
D) eight years.
E) ten years.
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
3) In general, the House ________ than the Senate.
A) has stricter rules
B) has weaker leadership
C) is more personal
D) has emphasized foreign policy more
E) has weaker party loyalty
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
4) The process of allotting seats in the House of Representatives is called
A) redistricting.
B) gerrymandering.
C) proportionality.
D) census.
E) apportionment.
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.2, pgs. 231-236
Skill: Understanding
193
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5) The advantage that MOST helps members of Congress stay in office is
A) redistricting.
B) incumbency.
C) political action committees.
D) being a member of the president’s party.
E) demographics.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.2, pgs. 231-236
Skill: Understanding
6) The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution is
the
A) Speaker of the House.
B) president pro tempore.
C) vice president.
D) sergeant at arms.
E) majority leader.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
7) The official president of the Senate is the _____.
A) majority leader
B) Speaker
C) caucus chair
D) vice president
E) president pro tempore
Answer: D
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
8) Bills can be forced out of committee
A) by a discharge petition signed by a majority of House members.
B) by a vote of cloture.
C) by removing a hold.
D) by the committee chair.
E) by amending a majority of the original bill's provisions.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
194
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9) All bills must be introduced by
A) members of Congress.
B) the president.
C) interest groups.
D) staffers.
E) the president's Cabinet.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.4, pgs. 243-252
Skill: Understanding
10) Individual senators can exercise tremendous power by filibustering
A) unless a majority of the Senate votes to cut her or him off from speaking.
B) unless the party leader tells him or her to stop.
C) unless three-fifths of the senators vote to cut her or him off.
D) unless two-thirds of the senators vote to cut her or him off.
E) unless three-quarters of the senators vote to cut him or her off.
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.4, pgs. 243-252
Skill: Understanding
11) Elected representatives that listen to their constituents’ opinions and then use their best
judgment to make decisions behave as
A) delegates.
B) trustees.
C) politicos.
D) representatives.
E) statesmen.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Understanding
12) When both the presidency and Congress are led by members of the same party, the
government is said to be
A) unified.
B) working together.
C) monolithic.
D) uni-party.
E) single cause.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Understanding
195
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13) The Great Compromise resulted in
A) a two-house legislature.
B) legalization of slavery.
C) an Electoral College based on representation.
D) a weakened executive branch.
E) a single-house legislature.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
14) State legislatures lost their control over the selection of senators when the ________
Amendment was ratified in 1913.
A) Fifteenth
B) Seventeenth
C) Nineteenth
D) Twenty-First
E) Twenty-Third
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
15) Every ________ years, ________ of members of the Senate are up for re-election.
A) two/one-quarter
B) two/one-third
C) six/one-third
D) six/one-half
E) six/three-quarters
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
16) Under the Constitution, senators are elected to ________-year terms.
A) two
B) four
C) six
D) eight
E) ten
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
196
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17) The Constitution stipulates that members of the House of Representatives are elected
directly by the people for ________-year terms.
A) two
B) four
C) six
D) eight
E) twelve
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
18) A proposed law is known officially as a
A) proposal.
B) suggestion.
C) bill.
D) apportion.
E) affidavit.
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
19) The power of the House of Representatives to charge politicians with “Treason, Bribery, or
other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” is known as
A) the authority to indict.
B) impeachment.
C) accusation.
D) removal authority.
E) federal charging.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
20) The House of Representatives and the Senate combined have ________ members with full
voting privileges.
A) 435
B) 475
C) 605
D) 575
E) 535
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
197
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21) A new Congress is seated every ________ years.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) six
E) eight
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.1, pgs. 228-231
Skill: Understanding
22) In general, Congress is ________ than the rest of the United States.
I. more liberal
II. better educated
III. older and whiter
IV. more male and richer
A) I and II
B) I and IV
C) II and III
D) I, II, and III
E) II, III, and IV
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.2, pgs. 231-236
Skill: Understanding
23) Which of the following are advantages of incumbency?
I. Ease in fundraising
II. Casework
III. Franking privilege
IV. Credit claiming
A) I only
B) II and III
C) II, III, and IV
D) I, II, and III
E) I, II, III, and IV
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.2, pgs. 231-236
Skill: Understanding
198
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24) The franking privilege is
A) the ability of a member of Congress to speak bluntly on the floor without fear of public
ridicule.
B) the ability of a member of Congress to speak on television for free during campaign season.
C) the ability of a member of Congress to send mail for free by using their signature instead of a
stamp.
D) another term for redistricting.
E) illegal, as a result of a 1978 Supreme Court decision.
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.2, pgs. 231-236
Skill: Understanding
25) The main organizational vehicle in the House and Senate is
A) the two major political parties.
B) the committee chairs.
C) the two major political parties plus the Independents.
D) the strong party leaders.
E) the subcommittees.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
26) In 2011, Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives. That made the
Democratic Party the ____ party within that legislative body.
A) opposition
B) minority
C) losing
D) lesser
E) weak
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Application
27) The most powerful position in the House of Representatives is called the
A) majority leader.
B) president of the House.
C) Speaker of the House.
D) president pro tempore.
E) party whip.
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
199
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28) Congressional leaders whose major task is to keep party members in line and track votes are
called
A) party whips.
B) majority leaders.
C) minority leaders.
D) sergeants at arms.
E) president pro tempores.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
29) The presiding officer of the Senate who can vote only in the case of a tie is the
A) president pro tempore.
B) vice president of the United States.
C) majority leader.
D) Speaker.
E) head of the majority party's campaign committee.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
30) The president pro tempore is
I. the youngest member of the Senate.
II. fifth in the line of succession to the presidency.
III. largely a ceremonial position.
IV. generally the most senior person of the majority party.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) III and IV
D) II and IV
E) II, III, and IV
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
31) Committees to which proposed bills are referred and that continue from one Congress to the
next are called ________ committees.
A) standing
B) conference
C) ad hoc
D) joint
E) special
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
200
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32) A committee that is established on a temporary basis is called a/an ________ committee.
A) standing
B) ad valorem
C) select
D) pro tempore
E) discharge
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
33) Standing committees can
I. kill bills.
II. amend bills.
III. hurry bills through the process.
IV. reconcile differences in House and Senate versions of bills.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) I and III
D) II, III, and IV
E) I, II, and III
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Analysis
34) The Senate has no real counterpart to the House Committee on
A) Budget.
B) Armed Services.
C) Rules.
D) Veterans Affairs.
E) Appropriations.
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.3, pgs. 236-243
Skill: Understanding
35) Which of the following is a true statement regarding the House rules given to each bill?
A) They originate with every committee in Congress.
B) They determine the limits on floor debate.
C) They rarely specify the type of amendments that can be made to a bill.
D) They affect the composition of House budget bills.
E) They govern debate in both the House and the Senate.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.4, pgs. 243-252
Skill: Understanding
201
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36) There is only one way to end a filibuster. It is called
A) a hold.
B) cloture.
C) a discharge petition.
D) a veto.
E) a pocket veto.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.4, pgs. 243-252
Skill: Understanding
37) Suppose Congress allocated funds to the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out a new,
controversial method of surveillance, and President Barack Obama refused to spend the money.
These actions would be similar to those of President
A) Lyndon B. Johnson.
B) Richard M. Nixon.
C) Gerald R. Ford.
D) Jimmy Carter.
E) Ronald Reagan.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.4, pgs. 243-252
Skill: Application
38) In the context of the legislative process, pork refers to
A) the appropriations for members’ pet projects that can help them be reelected.
B) the vote trading that goes on when members agree to fund each other’s favorite projects.
C) subsidies for the U.S. meat industry.
D) regulations implemented by the Food and Drug Administration concerning the content of hot
dogs.
E) pet programs favored by the president.
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.4, pgs. 243-252
Skill: Understanding
39) If you vote for a candidate whom you believe thinks and acts exactly like you, then you
MOST likely subscribe to which theory of representation?
A) Delegate
B) Trustee
C) Politico
D) Representative
E) Statesman
Answer: A
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Application
202
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40) After 2010, Democratic President Barack Obama faced a Republican-led House of
Representatives. This scenario is an example of
A) coalition government.
B) divided government.
C) adversarialism.
D) unified government.
E) factionalism.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Application
41) Overall, in terms of approval ratings of individual representatives, people
A) have dismal views toward them.
B) like their own member of Congress, but not Congress as a whole.
C) have very positive views of them, often topping 70 percent approval.
D) have lower approval ratings than they do toward Congress as a whole.
E) hold their own members in about equal regard as they do Congress as a whole.
Answer: B
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Understanding
42) A member of Congress will often have trouble voting on an issue such as abortion because
A) few people care about the issues, so a vote may be seen as wasted time.
B) there is a clear majority opinion.
C) members do not know the intricacies of abortion law.
D) state policies vary dramatically.
E) people feel passionately on both sides of the issue, so the member will always upset a large
group of people, not matter how he or she votes.
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Understanding
43) Suppose Senator Smith asks Senator Ushkowitz to support the bill she is introducing to
Congress, promising that if he supports it, she will vote in favor of the bill that he helped write.
This is an example of
A) bribery.
B) pork barreling.
C) reciprocal voting.
D) you-scratch-my-back theory.
E) logrolling.
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Application
203
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44) Which of the following people or groups influences congressional decision making?
I. Constituents
II. Political parties or colleagues
III. Political action committees
IV. Staff
A) I and III
B) II and III
C) I, II, and III
D) II, III, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
Answer: E
Reference: LO 7.5, pgs. 252-258
Skill: Analysis
45) The first president to ever be impeached was
A) Bill Clinton.
B) Richard M. Nixon.
C) Andrew Johnson.
D) James Buchanan.
E) Rutherford B. Hayes.
Answer: C
Reference: LO 7.6, pgs. 259-260
Skill: Understanding
204
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