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48 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
When creating the congress, the founders of the US strove primarily to create a legislature that could check the power of... |
President |
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What BEST describes the make up of the legislature in the US? |
Bicameral |
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Which branch of government was specifically created to closely represent the people's views? |
House of Representatives |
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Because of the constitutional duties of the Senate, in whcih of the following policy sectors do many members of the Senate specialize? |
US Foreign Policy |
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How offten are house members elected? |
Every 2 years |
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What are the term years of a Senator and a memeber of the House? |
House members serve for 2 yrs and Senators for 6 yrs |
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On average, how many Senate seats are up for election every 2 years? |
33 |
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How many US senators does each state have ? |
Two |
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Which amendment shifted power to elect senators from state legislators to popular elections? |
Ratifictaion if the 17th Amendment |
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In 2012, how much did it cost to make a successful bid for the US Senate? |
$10.5 million |
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What would be the MOST important determinate id a successful congressional campaign? |
Incumbency |
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What factors makes it more likely that incumbents will prevail in congressional elections?
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Franking |
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List 4 facts about reapportionment that are accurate?
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-
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How often does reapportionment and redistricting of seats occur in the House of Representatives?
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Every 10 yrs
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The practice of redrawing electoral boundaries for political advantage is known as?
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Gerrymandering
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Under Supreme Court jurisprudence , when is the drawing of legislative district boundaries for the purpose of benefiting an incumbent, political party, or another group is unconstitutional?
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When it eliminates the minority parts influence statewide.
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The MOST precise way to describe attempts by state legislator to address racial imbalance in the House of Representatives?
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Majority Minority redistricting
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What are the major powers is/are to Congress by the Constitution?
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Economic Powers |
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Because of the elastic clause, Congress exercises what kind of scope of authority?
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Broad
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What are other major powers of congress?
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What are the sources of congressional power and authority?
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Derives power from supreme court decisions |
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What was an important consideration during the shaping of congressional functions?
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Checks and Balances
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Most representatives in congress employ what model (s) in their approach to governance.
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combination of trustee model and instructed delegate model
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Appropriations of funds by congressional legislators for projects in their districts are called?
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Pork barrel projects
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What has been the result of the recent moratorium on pork barrel projects? |
- |
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A special form of representation, personal aid of a constituent or group of constituents is known as |
Casework |
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When a member of congress advocates on behalf of a constituent who has an issue with a bureaucratic agency, he is she is playing the role of |
Ombudsperson |
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What is the process by which the congress "checks" the executive branch to ensure that laws are being administered in keeping with legislators intentions? |
Oversight |
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List 4 tools that congress uses to "check" the executive branch. |
Congressional hearings, confirmation hearings, investigations, and budgetary appropriation |
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In many congressional districts, particularly urban areas, House members constituencies tend to have ______ positions on many issues. |
Unified |
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In regard to prestige , how does the House and Senate compare? |
The Senate is the most perstigus |
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In regard to staff, how does the House and Senate compare? |
The House is bigger than the Senate |
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Identify the correct chronological order of having a legislative bill passed. |
Inro/ Committee review/ House and Senate approval/ Conference committee reconciliation/ presidential approval |
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Permanent committees with a defined legislative jurisdiction are known as |
Standing Committee |
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Advisory committees, like the specially created House Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming that held hearings on the issue of climate change , are examples of what kind of committees? |
Subcommittees |
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Committees that include members of both chambers of congress are known as |
Joint Committee |
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How many House members signatures are needed to execute a discharge petition, where a bill is extracted from committee for full House consideration? |
218 Members of the House |
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In an attempt to block Civil Rights Act of 2957 , former Republican senator form South Carolina Strom Thurmond spoke for over 24 hrs on the Senator floor. This set the record for the Senate's longest ? |
Filibuster |
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Who is the MOST powerful person in the House of Representatives? |
Speaker of the House |
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Which of the following House leaders is responsible for developing party strategy, working with minority party leadership, and encourage unity among majority legislators? |
House majority leaders |
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Which leader acts go between with the leadership and majority party members in the House? |
Majority Whip |
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According to the constitution, who is the President of the Senate ? |
Vice President |
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Who is MOST is powerful person in the Senate ? |
Senate Majority Leader |
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Partisan voting is usually MOST prominent - when ? |
Just prior to elections |
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Using computer driven map making tech, most congressional are configured to ensure a " safe seat". This tends to increase congressional |
Districts |
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The reciprocal practice of trading votes, or ____, is widely used in congress. |
Log rolling |
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What typically wields the MOST influence in the congressional decision making? |
Congressional Constituents |
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What statements about members of congress and those they represent is MOST accurate? |
- |