General Questions chapters 10-12 legislative branch

1.	Most measures introduced in the House die at which of these steps? (1 pt)
	• [A] committee (correct answer) • [B] quorum • [C] Rules Committee • [D] floor vote
2.	The lawmaking fuction of Congress is central to democracy because (1 pt)
	• [A] it enables representatives to do the daily work of government • [B] legislative powres are necessary to check the power of the President • [C] it frees members of Congress from the pressures of public opinion • [D] it is the means by which the public will becomes public policy (correct answer)
3.	Seats in the House of Representatives are gerrymandered among the States on the basis of their populations (1 pt)
	• True • False (Correct answer)
4.	After each census, which of the following determines the number of seats each State should have in the House of Representatives? (1 pt)
	• [A] the Census Bureau • [B] a special House committee (correct answer) • [C] Congress • [D] the President
5.	On the first day of each new term, the House (1 pt)
	• [A] has a short, routine day • [B] elects a Speaker to preside (correct answer) • [C] has few members to swear in • [D] writes new rules of procedure
6.	Before the 17th Amendment was adopted, senatores were chosen by (1 pt)
	• [A] the people • [B] special State conventions • [C] the State legislatures (correct answer) • [D] select House committees
7.	House members are elected to serve (1 pt)
	• [A] two-year terms (correct answer) • [B] four-year terms • [C] three-year terms • [D] six-year terms
8.	When the Senate's Republican caucus wants party members to vote for a bill, the person that determines how may votes can be counted on is the (1 pt)
	• [A] senior senator • [B] floor leader • [C] policy-committee chairperson • [D] whip (correct answer)
9.	The power to * provides a way of bringing charges against the President for any high crimes and misdemeanors committed while in office (1 pt)
	• [A] bankruptcy • [B] Necessary and Proper Clause (correct answer) • [C] copyright • [D] direct tax • [E] eminent domain • [F] indirect tax • [G] legal tender • [H] liberal constructionist • [I] patent • [J] strict constructionist
10.	Either house of Congress may respond to charges of price-gouging in the cable TV industry by using its (1 pt)
	• [A] investigative powers • [B] judicial powers (correct answer) • [C] lawmaking power • [D] oversight power
11.	Which of the following is NOT true of the HOuse of Representatives (1 pt)
	• [A] it has 435 members • [B] the total number of seats in the House is fixed by the Consititution (correct answer) • [C] each member represents one congressional district • [D] every state is represented by at least one member
12.	Because the Necessary and Proper Clause has allowed Congress to stretch its powers, it is often called the * Clause (1 pt)
	• [A] Elastic (correct answer) • [B] States' Rights • [C] Jeffersonian • [D] Anti-Federalist
13.	a grant for the exclusive right to make, use, or sell new or improved inventions (1 pt)
	• [A] bankruptcy • [B] commerce power • [C] copyright • [D] direct tax • [E] eminent domain • [F] indirect tax • [G] legal tender • [H] liberal constructionist • [I] patent (correct answer) • [J] strict constructionist
14.	At the beginning of each new term, the Senate (1 pt)
	• [A] elects a presiding officer (correct answer) • [B] elects a clerk and a chaplain • [C] adopts rules and procedures • [D] has few organizational tasks
15.	Which statement about the Senate is True? (1 pt)
	• [A] it has two members from each state (correct answer) • [B] its members are chosen by state legislatures • [C] each member represents on congressional district • [D] seats are apportioned among the states according to their populations
16.	How and when bills reach the floor of the House is decided by the (1 pt)
	• [A] Ways and Means Committee • [B] Appropriations Committee • [C] Rules Committee (correct answer) • [D] Judiciary Committee
17.	The standing committees to which House bills are first sent may not (1 pt)
	• [A] refer bills to subcommittees • [B] amend or rewrite bills • [C] schedule bills for debate (correct answer) • [D] refuse to report out bills
18.	Members of Congress fill of the following roles EXCEPT that of (1 pt)
	• [A] legislator • [B] cabinet member (correct answer) • [C] committee member • [D] servant to contituents
19.	With just a fraction of its seats up for election at any one time, the Senate is the sole * in COngress. (1 pt)
	• [A] apportioned • [B] at-large • [C] continuous body (correct answer) • [D] gerrymandered • [E] reapportion • [F] session • [G] single-member district • [H] special session • [I] term
20.	Which of the following is NOT a constitutional method by which COngress may acquire property? (1 pt)
	• [A] taking private property without just compensation (correct answer) • [B] purchasing private property • [C] accepting private property as a gift • [D] acquiring land from foreign states in treaties
21.	The number of Senate seats held by each state is (1 pt)
	• [A] set by the Census Bureau • [B] based on State populations • [C] the same as the number of House seats • [D] fixed by the Constitution (correct answer)
22.	In Congress, screening bills for floor consideration is a major duty of (1 pt)
	• [A] committee members (correct answer) • [B] constituent representatives • [C] constituent servants • [D] politicians
23.	The powers of Congress are affected by all of the following EXCEPT (1 pt)
	• [A] what the Constitution expressly says Congress may do • [B] what the Constitution says only the States may do • [C] what the States' constitutions say Congress may do (correct answer) • [D] what the Constititution is silent about
24.	Each session of Congress lasts two years (1 pt)
	• True (correct answer) • False
25.	What power allows Congress to take private property for such uses as a military base, a national park, or a post office? (1 pt)
	• [A] the commerce power • [B] the power of eminent domain (correct answer) • [C] the power to tax • [D] the borrowing power
26.	Unlike the House, the Senate has a legislative process with (1 pt)
	• [A] few limits on debate (correct answer) • [B] no roll-call voting • [C] strict limits on debate • [D] no voice voting
27.	Which of the following happens only in the Senate? (1 pt)
	• [A] a debate ends by unanimous consent of the members • [B] the presiding officer requires a member to stick to the subject under debate • [C] a majority of members forces a bill out of committee by discharge petition (correct answer) • [D] a roll-call vote is recorded electronically
28.	In the overall process of lawmaking, Congress does NOT (1 pt)
	• [A] create any bills • [B] introduce many bills (correct answer) • [C] vote on tax bills • [D] participate in conference committees
29.	The purpose of a filibuster is to (1 pt)
	• [A] invoke the rule of cloture • [B] speed up action on a bill • [C] prevent quorum calls • [D] prevent action on a bill (correct answer)
30.	In order to make their work more manageable, the House and the Senate (1 pt)
	• [A] divide the work between them • [B] divide the work among committees (correct answer) • [C] "pigeonhole" most bills • [D] jointly consider each bill
31.	The president of the Senate (1 pt)
	• [A] is elected by the Senate and is the leader of its majority party • [B] is replaced, when absent, by the president pro tempore (correct answer) • [C] serves in place of the VIce President of the US • [D] debates and votes on all measures in the chamber
32.	the government may take private property by * to make room for an interstate highway (1 pt)
	• [A] bankruptcy • [B] commerce power • [C] copyright • [D] direct tax • [E] eminent domain (correct answer) • [F] indirect tax • [G] legal tender • [H] liberal constructionist • [I] patent • [J] strict constructionist
33.	The term "third house of Congress" is sometimes applied to (1 pt)
	• [A] the House Rules Committee • [B] the majority party caucus • [C] standing committees • [D] conference committees (correct answer)
34.	Conference committees act as a "third house of Congress" when they (1 pt)
	• [A] use investigative powers similar to those of the House and Senate • [B] screen, debate, and vote on bills • [C] appoint presiding officers • [D] produce a new bill that replaces differing House and Senate versions (correct answer)
35.	Committee chairpersons usually are chosen (1 pt)
	• [A] by the presiding officers • [B] on the basis of ability • [C] by the whips • [D] on the basis of seniority (correct answer)
36.	Which of the following is NOT true of the members of Congress? (1 pt)
	• [A] many are lawyers • [B] most are politically inexperienced • [C] few rely on their salaries for income • [D] few are women or members of minority groups (correct answer)
37.	The Senate is known as a continuous body, because only a third of its seats are up for election at the same time (1 pt)
	• True (correct answer) • False
38.	All treaties must be approved by a two-thirds vote of (1 pt)
	• [A] the Senate (correct answer) • [B] the House • [C] both Houses of Congress • [D] the Supreme Court
39.	In order to reflect changes in the population of each State, seats in the House of Representatives are (1 pt)
	• [A] added to the House after each census • [B] distributed equally among the States • [C] up for election every two years • [D] reapportioned among the States every 10 years (correct answer)
40.	In the Senate, a filibuster may be ended with a vote that invokes (1 pt)
	• [A] the rule of cloture (correct answer) • [B] the unamious consent rule • [C] the "two-speech" rule • [D] senatorial courtesy
41.	Committee chairpersons may do all of the following EXCEPT (1 pt)
	• [A] choose all members of their committees (correct answer) • [B] decide whether or not to hold public hearings • [C] manage the debate on bills approved by their committees • [D] determine when their committees will meet
42.	The House Rules Committee may do all of the following EXCEPT (1 pt)
	• [A] set conditions for considering a bill • [B] speed up consideration of a bill • [C] prevent consideration of a bill • [D] attach amendments to a bill (correct answer)
43.	Which of the following is NOT a qualification for senators? (1 pt)
	• [A] must live in the State from which elected • [B] must have a degree in law (correct answer) • [C] must have been a citizen for at least nine years • [D] must be at least 30 years old
44.	Which of the following judicial powers does Congress NOT have? (1 pt)
	• [A] the power to create federal courts • [B] the power to override Supreme COurt decisions by majority vote (correct answer) • [C] the power to provide for the punishment of those who violate federal law • [D] the power to define federal crimes
45.	For what reason did the Framers include the Necessary and Proper Clause in the COnstitution? (1 pt)
	• [A] to empower COngress to pass laws needed to carry out the expressed powers (correct answer) • [B] to limit congressional powers to those expressly stated in the Constitution • [C] to define the scope of the inherent powers of Congress • [D] to set forth those powers considered necessary to the States
46.	Congress regulates all commercial interactions between the States and is authorized to do so by the *. (1 pt)
	• [A] bankruptcy • [B] commerce power (correct answer) • [C] copyright • [D] direct tax • [E] eminent domain • [F] indirect tax • [G] legal tender • [H] liberal constructionist • [I] patent • [J] strict constructionist
47.	To enable the nation to pay for its commond defense and general welfare, Congress is given (1 pt)
	• [A] the war powers • [B] foreign relations powers • [C] the currency power • [D] the power to tax (correct answer)
48.	Which of the following options is NOT available to a President who has just received a bill passed by Congress? (1 pt)
	• [A] sign the bill within 10 days • [B] veto the bill • [C] sign the bill after 15 days (correct answer) • [D] use a pocket veto
49.	Majority floor leaders hold considerable power due mainly to the fact that (1 pt)
	• [A] they are the most popular leaders • [B] presiding officers pick them • [C] the majority party has more seats than the other party has (correct answer) • [D] they are assisted by a powerful whip
50.	Congress must meet formally at least twice during each * to carry out the business of lawmaking (1 pt)
	• [A] apportioned • [B] at-large • [C] continuous body • [D] gerrymandered • [E] reapportion • [F] session (correct answer) • [G] single-member district • [H] special session • [I] term