Congress in Action

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Chapter 12
Congress in Action
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Section 1

• Congress Organizes

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1. Which of the following is a presiding officer?

1. President of the senate
2. Speaker of the House
3. President pro tempore
4. All of the above

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2. All of the following are true about the
president of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House except

1. Both hold an office mentioned in the constitution
2. Both are elected officials
3. Both are chosen by members of a house of congress
4. Both are allowed to vote under some circumstances

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3. Which of the following is the main way a
member of the House or Senate is appointed
committee chairperson?

1. Show special aptitude for the job
2. Be in the House or Senate longer than anyone else
   wanting the job
3. Be supported by a majority of members of his or
   her house
4. Be requested by the President of the United States

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4. All of the following are arguments against
the seniority rule except

1. The rule results in conflict within the party.
2. The rule ignores ability.
3. The rule discourages young members of Congress.
4. The rule promotes a safe constituency for
   committee chairpersons.

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Section 2

• Committees in Congress

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True or False?

• 5. A standing committee is a permanent group.

True
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True or False?

• 6. The main job of the House Rules Committee is
  to watch over the ethics of House members.

False
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True or False?

• 7. Select committees are set up for a specific
  purpose for a limited time.

True
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True or False?

• 8. Conference committees meet to confer over the
  organization of their respective houses.

False
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9. Why must a conference committee meet on a
compromise bill even if both houses pass similar
bills?

1. It is an unwritten custom.
2. The bill must be identical when it goes to the
   President to sign.
3. It creates something for legislators to do.
4. None of the above.

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10. Why are party politics so important in
congressional organization?

1. The majority party always holds the chairmanship
   and a majority of the seats on each committee.
2. The majority party gets special privileges in
   office assignments in the Congressional Office
   Building.
3. The majority party is invited to the White House
   more often.
4. The majority party elects the president of the
   Senate.

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11. The main difference between a joint
committee and a conference committee is

1. Joint committees are permanent conference
   committees are temporary
2. Joint committees originate in the House
   conference committees originate in the Senate
3. Joint committees perform investigative or house
   keeping duties conference committees iron out
   differences in bills from both houses.
4. All of the above.

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12. Which of the following describes the main
work of the House Rules Committee?

1. It serves as a watchdog over members behavior.
2. It decides if a bill will be taken up by the full
   House.
3. It establishes the guidelines for appointing
   members to committees.
4. None of the above.

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SECTION 3HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW THE HOUSE
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13. All of the following are courses of action
taken by a committee regarding a bill except

1. Voting favorably on the bill, but postponing
   reporting it back to the full House until next
   term
2. Reporting the bill favorably with a do Pass
   recommendation
3. Refusing to report the bill
4. Reporting the bill in an amended form

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14. How can the House Rules Committee kill a
bill even after it has been recommended by a
standing committee?

1. By failing to set a time for the appearance of
   the bill on the floor or pigeonholing it
2. By declaring the standing committee out of order
3. By declaring that the committee chairman has not
   followed the rules
4. By placing the bill on a Sunday on the calendar

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SECTION 4THE BILL IN THE SENATE
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True or False?

• 15. The Senate, when considering a bill, tends
  to be more formal than the House.

False
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True or False?

• 16. The Senate is the house that practices
  filibusters.

True
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True or False?

• 17. Filibusters are practiced by those in the
  minority on an issue.

True
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True or False?

• 18. Cloture is a Senate rule for limiting debate.

True
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True or False?

• 19. The Presidents only options are to sign or
  veto a bill passed in both the House and the
  Senate.

False
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20. Why do many senators hesitate to support
cloture motions?

1. They fear reprisal from their constituents.
2. They hope the filibusterer will talk himself or
   herself out of a job.
3. They know the president of the Senate will
   eventually close debate anyway.
4. They worry that some day they themselves may want
   to use the filibuster and do not want to
   jeopardize the Senate tradition of free debate.

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21. Which of the following is a rule that
restricts a conference committee?

1. The President must agree to a compromise version
   before it goes back to Congress for a vote.
2. The committee can consider only the points that
   the House and Senate bills disagree on.
3. The resulting compromise bill must be sent to the
   floors of the houses at least ten days before
   adjournment of the session.
4. All of the above.

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22. Which of the following does the Constitution
require?

1. Every resolution passed by either house be sent
   to the President.
2. All bills passed by both houses be sent to the
   President.
3. All bills submitted to a conference committee be
   sent to the President.
4. All of the above.

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23. Which of the following is a way a bill can
become a law without the Presidents signature?

1. The President delegates the signing of the bill
   to the Vice-President.
2. The President waits until the Congress is not in
   session.
3. The President fails to act on it within 10 days
   of receiving it while Congress is in session.
4. The President leaves the country.

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24. The duties of the House Rules Committee are
best described as those of a

1. factory foreman.
2. traffic cop.
3. congressional chaplain.
4. accounting clerk.

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25. The main reason that Congress creates
committees is to

1. divide the workload.
2. educate new members.
3. introduce new bills.
4. create party power bases.

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26. How and when bills reach the floor of the
House is decided by the

1. Ways and Means Committee.
2. Rules Committee.
3. Appropriations Committee.
4. Judiciary Committee.

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27. Committee chairpersons usually are chosen

1. by the presiding officers.
2. by the whips.
3. on the basis of ability.
4. on the basis of seniority.

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28. Unlike the House, the Senate has a
legislative process with

1. few limits on debate.
2. strict limits on debate.
3. no roll-call voting.
4. no voice voting.

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29. Bills are introduced in the Senate by

1. the Rules Committee.
2. individual senators.
3. investigative committees.
4. the majority floor leader.

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30. In the Vice Presidents absence, the
presiding officer of the Senate is the

• Dean of the Senate.
• Majority floor leader.
• President pro tempore.
• d. Speaker of the Senate.

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31. The main way to end a filibuster is by

1. a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
2. invoking the Cloture Rule.
3. convening a conference committee.
4. voting the filibusterer out of office.

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32. In order to prevent a bill passed by
Congress from becoming law, the President may

1. Sign it and attach a veto message.
2. Refuse to sign it and attach a veto message.
3. Sign it after ten days if Congress is in session.
4. Negotiate a compromise bill with Congress.

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33. Most measures introduced in the House die at
which of these steps?

1. committee
2. cloture
3. quorum
4. floor vote

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34. The president pro tempore

1. is elected by the House and is the leader of its
   minority party.
2. is replaced, when absent, by the Speaker of the
   House.
3. serves in the absence of the Vice President of
   the United States.
4. serves in the absence of the Speaker of the
   Senate.

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35. Conference committees act as a third house
of Congress when they

1. use investigative powers similar to those of the
   House and Senate.
2. screen, debate, and vote on bills.
3. appoint presiding officers.
4. produce a compromise bill that both the House and
   Senate will accept.

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36. All of the following options are available
to a President who has just received a bill except

1. sign the bill within 10 days
2. sign the bill after 15 days
3. veto the bill
4. use a pocket veto

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37. Majority floor leaders hold considerable
power due mainly to the fact that

1. they are the most popular leaders.
2. presiding officers choose them.
3. the majority party has more seats than the other
   party has.
4. they are assisted by a powerful whip.

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38. The purpose of a filibuster is to

1. invoke the rule of cloture.
2. prevent quorum calls.
3. speed up action on a bill.
4. prevent action on a bill.

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39. A compromise bill worked on by a conference
committee of House and Senate members is

1. usually passed by both house of Congress.
2. never passed by both house of Congress.
3. always passed with amendments.
4. sometimes passed with amendments.

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LIGHTNING ROUND
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A provision attached to an important bill

• rider

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A majority of the full membership of either house

• quorum

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A_________enables members to force a bill that
has been in committee for 30 days onto the floor
for consideration

• discharge petition

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The elected presiding officer of the House and
the acknowledged leader of its majority party

• Speaker of the House

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The tradition that majority party members with
the longest service records become committee
chairpersons

• seniority rule