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Gov Ch14V SGuide



Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

1. 

The authority to make laws.
a.
executive power
c.
judicial power
b.
legislative power
d.
executive order
 

2. 

Legislature consisting of two houses.
a.
bicameral legislature
c.
bye house legislature
b.
unicameral legislature
d.
majority and minority leadership
 

3. 

Congressional meeting that consists of two sessions and lasts 2 years
a.
session
c.
Congressional tour
b.
administration
d.
term
 

4. 

The formal opening of each term of Congress. The Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution reset the date at January 3 of each odd-numbered year unless Congress sets another date.
a.
election
c.
roundup
b.
convening
d.
inauguration
 

5. 

Periods of time during which a legislative or judicial body is not in session.
a.
void
c.
recess
b.
interim session
d.
validated session
 

6. 

Unscheduled sessions of Congress ordered by the president
a.
interrogatory session
c.
special term
b.
jam session
d.
special session
 

7. 

Seats in a legislative body are distributed among electoral districts based on state population.
a.
sliced
c.
apportioned
b.
populated
d.
at large seats
 

8. 

A _____ is an official count of a population that also breaks the total into divisions according to age, sex, race, occupation, and other characteristics. It is most often used as a tool to understand demographic changes. The U.S. Constitution requires that it be completed every decade.
a.
head count
c.
divisional count
b.
census
d.
term limit
 

9. 

Occurring every 10 years after the national census, _____ is the redrawing of the lines of a congressional district to take population changes into account. It alters the distribution of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives.
a.
redistricting
c.
rescheduling
b.
reapportionment
d.
reassessing
 

10. 

The geographic area within a state that is served by one representative in Congress.
a.
county
c.
state caucus
b.
congressional district
d.
region
 

11. 

The creation of legislative district boundaries to bring about the greatest partisan or factional advantage. Sometimes the dominant political party in a state legislature will manipulate a district's shape to make itself more powerful against the minority party before elections. The term was coined in 1812 after Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry changed his district's boundaries to secure the most votes possible. The district's resulting shape was said to resemble a  but his detractors christened the electoral creature a salamander districts.
a.
salamandering
c.
Gerrymandering
b.
clustering
d.
partitioning
 

12. 

constituents free of charge. Taxes pay for the service.
a.
casework
c.
free-bee
b.
PAC's
d.
franking
 

13. 

_____ is what an elected official performs when helping members of his or her constituency cut through bureaucratic red tape to get them something they want from the government.
a.
pork barrel
c.
incumbency
b.
casework
d.
cracking
 

14. 

The huge number of federal grants, projects, and contracts open to cities, colleges, institutions, and businesses in a Congress member's constituency. The grants, projects, and contracts are designed to bring money and jobs into the constituency so the Congress member can take credit for them and try to get reelected.
a.
cracking
c.
pork barrel
b.
packing
d.
casework
 

15. 

A privilege set out in the Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech to members while they are conducting congressional business. Protects the freedom of legislative debate.
a.
congressional immunity
c.
compensation
b.
filibustering
d.
policymaking
 

16. 

An official reprimand of a legislator by his or her peers
a.
time out
c.
censure
b.
censor
d.
expulsion
 

17. 

The forced removal of a member of Congress for misconduct.
a.
expulsion
c.
incumbency
b.
censure
d.
reprimand
 

18. 

An official reproach used by Congress for a member guilty of misconduct.
a.
expulsion
c.
censure
b.
immunity
d.
reprimand
 

19. 

The party that holds over half the seats in the legislature.
a.
minority party
c.
presidents party
b.
majority party
d.
superior congressional party
 

20. 

A constitutionally mandated position, the _____ is elected by the majority party. He or she is second in line to succeed the president if the latter were to die or become too ill to work. Has numerous formal duties, including presiding over sessions of the House, playing a major part in making committee assignments, helping to decide which bills go to which committees, and appointing the party's legislative leaders and their staffs. In addition, he serves as his or her party's national spokesperson if his or her party is different from the president's.
a.
Vice President
c.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
b.
President Pro Tem of the Senate
d.
Speaker of the Senate
 

21. 

A closed meeting of the party leaders or other group to select a candidate or decide other matters.
a.
caucus
c.
cloture
b.
filibuster
d.
session
 

22. 

The legal procedure by which government leaders succeed the presidency should the president die, become disabled, or be removed from office
a.
Vice President
c.
presidential tenure
b.
President Pro Tem invocation
d.
presidential succession
 

23. 

A person selected by fellow members to be the leader of the party that holds the most seats in the House or Senate. One elected for the House and one for the Senate.
a.
caucus leader
c.
Minority leader
b.
senior member
d.
Majority leader
 

24. 

Elected by the minority party in the House of Representatives or Senate, his main responsibility is maintaining order and unified opinion within the party. He or she also acts as a sort of cheerleader for the often less successful minority grouping and is the official spokesperson for the party.
a.
party caucus chairperson
c.
Minority leader
b.
Vice President
d.
Majority leader
 

25. 

A _____ is an assistant who helps the House majority and minority leaders and the Senate minority and majority floor leaders. They pass information from the party leadership down to party members and try to make sure that party members show up for important votes and floor debates. They also conduct informal polls on members' views about major legislation and report the results back to the party leaders.
a.
Minority Council
c.
Majority Council
b.
Whips
d.
Administrative Assistant
 

26. 

The _____ acts as leader of the Senate if the vice president is unable to attend. Since this is the case most of the time, the _____ is often the functioning Senate leader. He or she is elected by the other Senate members and is usually the member of the majority party with the longest continuous presence as a senator. The position is mainly a ceremonial one; the majority leader and the minority leader have most of the real power in the Senate.
a.
Speaker of the Senate
c.
President pro tem
b.
Speaker of the House
d.
Majority Whip
 

27. 

A _____ is a relatively permanent group that deals with bills in different areas of government policy. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have their own, and members are not interchangeable. Examples of policy areas include the environment and public works, veterans' affairs, and small business.
a.
sub committee
c.
joint committee
b.
standing committee
d.
conference committee
 

28. 

Divisions of larger committees that deal with a particular part of the committee's policy area.
a.
subcommittee
c.
conference committee
b.
joint committee
d.
standing committee
 

29. 

A _____ is a temporary legislative body that is established for a restricted time period to accomplish a specific goal. Rarely writing original legislation, it breaks up after giving a final report to the chamber that formed it. Examples might be investigating public problems such as poor school lunch quality or increasing juvenile crime.
a.
standing committee
c.
select committee
b.
subcommittee
d.
conference committee
 

30. 

Legislative committees composed of members from both houses of Congress.
a.
Duel House Committee
c.
Standing committee
b.
Joint Committee
d.
Subcommittee
 

31. 

A _____ is formed when both houses of Congress pass the same bill in different forms. The leaders of both parties appoint members from each house to get together and sort out the differences, the goal being to come up with a single bill.
a.
standing committee
c.
joint committee
b.
subcommittee
d.
conference committee
 

32. 

A person hired to manage a lawmaker's office, supervise his or her schedule, and give advice
a.
administrative assistant
c.
committee council
b.
legal council
d.
legislative director
 

33. 

Members of congressional staffs who manage the numerous requests for help from constituents.
a.
administrative assistant
c.
legislative assistant
b.
caseworkers
d.
minority constituent worker
 



 
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