Chapter 12

Congress in Action

Section 1Congress Organizes

1. Which of the following is a presiding officer?

a. President of the senate

b. Speaker of the House

c. President pro tempore

d. All of the above

2. All of the following are true about the president of the Senate

and the Speaker of the House except

a. Both hold an office mentioned in the constitution

b. Both are elected officials

c. Both are chosen by members of a house of congress

d. Both are allowed to vote under some circumstances

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

a. Show special aptitude for the job

b. Be in the House or Senate longer than anyone else wanting the job

c. Be supported by a majority of members of his or her house

d. Be requested by the President of the United States

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

excepta. The rule results in conflict within the

party.

b. The rule ignores ability.

c. The rule discourages young members of Congress.

d. The rule promotes a “safe” constituency for committee chairpersons.

Section 2Committees in Congress

True or False?

5. A standing committee is a permanent group.

True

True or False?

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

the ethics of House members.

False

True or False?

7. Select committees are set up for a specific purpose for a

limited time.

True

True or False?

8. Conference committees meet to confer over the organization of

their respective houses.

False

9. Why must a conference committee meet on a compromise

bill even if both houses pass similar bills?

a. It is an unwritten custom.

b. The bill must be identical when it goes to the President to sign.

c. It creates something for legislators to do.

d. None of the above.

10. Why are party politics so important in congressional

organization?a. The majority party always holds the

chairmanship and a majority of the seats on each committee.

b. The majority party gets special privileges in office assignments in the Congressional Office Building.

c. The majority party is invited to the White House more often.

d. The majority party elects the president of the Senate.

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

committee isa. Joint committees are permanent;

conference committees are temporaryb. Joint committees originate in the House;

conference committees originate in the Senate

c. Joint committees perform investigative or house keeping duties; conference committees iron out differences in bills from both houses.

d. All of the above.

12. Which of the following describes the main work of the

House Rules Committee?a. It serves as a watchdog over

members’ behavior.

b. It decides if a bill will be taken up by the full House.

c. It establishes the guidelines for appointing members to committees.

d. None of the above.

SECTION 3

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW:

THE HOUSE

13. All of the following are courses of action taken by a committee

regarding a bill except

a. Voting favorably on the bill, but postponing reporting it back to the full House until next term

b. Reporting the bill favorably with a “do Pass” recommendation

c. Refusing to report the bill

d. Reporting the bill in an amended form

14. How can the House Rules Committee kill a bill even after it

has been recommended by a standing committee?

a. By failing to set a time for the appearance of the bill on the floor or “pigeonholing” it

b. By declaring the standing committee out of order

c. By declaring that the committee chairman has not followed the rules

d. By placing the bill on a Sunday on the calendar

SECTION 4

THE BILL IN THE SENATE

True or False?15. The Senate, when

considering a bill, tends to be more formal than the

House.

False

True or False?

16. The Senate is the house that practices filibusters.

True

True or False?

17. Filibusters are practiced by those in the minority on

an issue.

True

True or False?

18. Cloture is a Senate rule for limiting debate.

True

True or False?19. The President’s only

options are to sign or veto a bill passed in both the

House and the Senate.

False

20. Why do many senators hesitate to support cloture motions?a. They fear reprisal from their constituents.b. They hope the filibusterer will talk himself

or herself out of a job.c. They know the president of the Senate

will eventually close debate anyway.d. 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.

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

committee?

a. The President must agree to a compromise version before it goes back to Congress for a vote.

b. The committee can consider only the points that the House and Senate bills disagree on.

c. The resulting compromise bill must be sent to the floors of the houses at least ten days before adjournment of the session.

d. All of the above.

22. Which of the following does the Constitution require?

a. Every resolution passed by either house be sent to the President.

b. All bills passed by both houses be sent to the President.

c. All bills submitted to a conference committee be sent to the President.

d. All of the above.

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

President’s signature?a. The President delegates the signing of

the bill to the Vice-President.

b. The President waits until the Congress is not in session.

c. The President fails to act on it within 10 days of receiving it while Congress is in session.

d. The President leaves the country.

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

those of a

a. factory foreman.

b. traffic cop.

c. congressional chaplain.

d. accounting clerk.

25. The main reason that Congress creates committees is

to

a. divide the workload.

b. educate new members.

c. introduce new bills.

d. create party power bases.

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

by the

a. Ways and Means Committee.

b. Rules Committee.

c. Appropriations Committee.

d. Judiciary Committee.

27. Committee chairpersons usually are chosen

a. by the presiding officers.

b. by the whips.

c. on the basis of ability.

d. on the basis of seniority.

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

with

a. few limits on debate.

b. strict limits on debate.

c. no roll-call voting.

d. no voice voting.

29. Bills are introduced in the Senate by

a. the Rules Committee.

b. individual senators.

c. investigative committees.

d. the majority floor leader.

30. In the Vice President’s absence, the presiding officer of the

Senate is the

a. Dean of the Senate.

b. Majority floor leader.

c. President pro tempore.

d. Speaker of the Senate.

31. The main way to end a filibuster is by

a. a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

b. invoking the Cloture Rule.

c. convening a conference committee.

d. voting the filibusterer out of office.

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

the President may

a. Sign it and attach a veto message.

b. Refuse to sign it and attach a veto message.

c. Sign it after ten days if Congress is in session.

d. Negotiate a compromise bill with Congress.

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

these steps?

a. committee

b. cloture

c. quorum

d. floor vote

34. The president pro tempore

a. is elected by the House and is the leader of its minority party.

b. is replaced, when absent, by the Speaker of the House.

c. serves in the absence of the Vice President of the United States.

d. serves in the absence of the Speaker of the Senate.

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

they

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 compromise bill that both the House and Senate will accept.

36. All of the following options are available to a President who

has just received a bill except

a. sign the bill within 10 days

b. sign the bill after 15 days

c. veto the bill

d. use a pocket veto

37. Majority floor leaders hold considerable power due mainly to

the fact that

a. they are the most popular leaders.

b. presiding officers choose them.

c. the majority party has more seats than the other party has.

d. they are assisted by a powerful whip.

38. The purpose of a filibuster is to

a. invoke the rule of cloture.

b. prevent quorum calls.

c. speed up action on a bill.

d. prevent action on a bill.

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

a. usually passed by both house of Congress.

b. never passed by both house of Congress.

c. always passed with amendments.d. sometimes passed with

amendments.

LIGHTNING ROUND

A provision attached to an important bill

rider

A majority of the full membership of either

house

quorum

A_________enables members to force a bill that has been in

committee for 30 days onto the floor for consideration

discharge petition

The elected presiding officer of the House and the acknowledged

leader of its majority party

Speaker of the House

The tradition that majority party members with the longest service

records become committee chairpersons

seniority rule