POS 2041 Exam 2 Detailed Questions and Answers 2025

The major differences between the House and the Senate include all of the following except this: A. The length of their terms B. The size of the institutions C. The method of determining their constituencies D. Their role in the impeachment process E. Their power in the legislative process - Correct Ans-E. Their power in the legislative process ______ refers to a congressional committee's monitoring of the executive branch and of government agencies to ensure they are acting as Congress intends. A. A congressional witch hunt B. A markup C. Congressional oversight D. Committee interference with executive prerogative E. One of the enumerated powers of Congress - Correct Ans-C. Congressional oversight Which of the following is not one of the checks and balances that Congress can use in relation to the executive branch? A. The power to approve treaties B. The power to approve presidential appointments to the federal courts C. The power to override a presidential veto by a two-thirds majority vote D. The power of impeachment E. The power to declare executive orders unconstitutional - Correct Ans-E. The power to declare executive orders unconstitutional During the constitutional process of removing a president from office, ____________. A. The Senate impeaches and the House removes the president from office B. The two houses convene in joint session for all impeachment votes C. The House impeaches and the Senate removes the president from office D. Representatives of the media are prohibited from entering the legislature's chambers E. Either chamber can impeach, but then the Supreme Court must decide if the president is to be removed from office. - Correct Ans-C. The House impeaches and the Senate removes the president from office The Senate shares with the president the power to _________. A. approve members of the Supreme Court B. declare war C. impeach executive branch officials POS 2041 POS 2041 D. approve constitutional amendments E. Declare laws unconstitutional - Correct Ans-A. approve members of the Supreme Court All of the following powers can be exercised only by the Senate except this one: A. Conducting atrial of a president on impeachment charges B. Approving treating C. Confirming presidential appointments to the Supreme Court D. Declaring war E. Confirming presidential appointments to top positions in the executive branch of government - Correct Ans-D. Declaring war The job of confirming presidential appointments belongs to the _________. A. Judiciary B. Cabinet C. House of Representatives D. Senate E. Congress as a whole - Correct Ans-D. Senate The reallocation of congressional seats among the states every ten years following the census in known as ___________. A. malapportionment B. reapportionment C. Gerrymandering D. Franking E. Redistricting - Correct Ans-B. reapportionment The number of representatives with voting privileges in the House of Representatives ___________. A. is currently set at 435 members B. will expand to 500 members in the future C. changes every ten years following the census D. was frozen by the twenty-sixth amendment E. remained at 325 until 20000 - Correct Ans-A. is currently set at 435 members Many of the efforts by states to create majority minority districts ____________. A. did not produce the desired effect of electing more minority members B. are disliked by both Republicans and Democrats C. have been held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court D. were massively expanded in the 1990s E. have greatly increased the number of minority members of the Senate - Correct Ans E. have greatly increased the number of minority members of the Senate The process of redrawing congressional districts to match population shifts in states with more than one representative is called __________. A. restructuring POS 2041 POS 2041 B. franking the membership C. redistricting D. gerrymandering E. reapportionment - Correct Ans-C. redistricting Redrawing congressional district boundaries to favor a particular group or party is known as ___________. A. reapportionment B. redistricting C. gerrymandering D. franking E. apportionment - Correct Ans-C. gerrymandering Partisan gerrymandering is the process in particular state legislature where by the majority party ___________. A. draws districts to maximize the number of House seats the party can win B. promotes candidates who will most likely vote Republican C. favors candidates who believe in a patriarchy D. tries to keep opposition party from voting E. tries to win an election by getting young people to vote - Correct Ans-A. draws districts to maximize the number of House seats the party can win According to the textbook______________ gerrymandering is highly controversial. A. partisan B. incumbent C. geographic D. racial E. gender-based - Correct Ans-D. racial In general, what has the greatest effect on the midterm 100 seats suffered by the president's party? A. the economy and the president's standing in the world B. How aggressively the supreme court has ruled against or for the president's positions C. whether the president's party controls Congress D. whether or not the president campaigns for reelection E. Lobbyists - Correct Ans-A. the economy and the president's standing in the world ______ are important in Congress because they organize the chambers A. presidents B. senior staff C. parties D. standing committees E. Lobbyists - Correct Ans-C. parties The major source of power for the Senate majority leader is: A. control over the choices of committee chairs POS 2041 POS 2041 B. the strict party discipline expected of members in floor voting C. the ability to put holds on legislation favored by individual members D. the control of filibusters E. influences over the scheduling of legislation for floor consideration - Correct Ans-E. influences over the scheduling of legislation for floor consideration Most of the hard work of considering legislative alternatives and drafting legislation occurs _______________. A. at the discretion of the executive branch B. within congressional standing committees C. only after the supreme court reviews it D. on the floor of both chambers E. strictly among the parties leadership - Correct Ans-B. within congressional standing committees The primary responsibility for gathering information, taking testimony and revising legislation in Congress falls to __________. A. the committee of the whole B. the Rules committee C. the majority party leadership D. the members as a whole meeting on the floor E. standing committees - Correct Ans-E. standing committees Which of the following is the extreme powerful congressional committee that determines when debate on a bill will take place? A. the House Government Reform Committee B. The House Ways & Means Committee C. the House Rules Committee D. the House Apportions committee E. the House Administration committee - Correct Ans-C. the House Rules Committee When different versions of the same bill pass in the House and Senate,_________. A. the chamber that considered the bill originally should take the lead in resolving the differences. B. it dies immediately, and both chambers must start over. C. a conference committee is formed to bridge the gap between the bills. D. the president appoints a mediator to negotiate a compromise. E. it is sent back to each chamber for reconsideration. - Correct Ans-C. a conference committee is formed to bridge the gap between the bills. Most bills introduced in Congress ______. A. die by inaction at the committee stage. B. are voted down on the floor of the House or Senate. C. are bottled up in the House rules committee. D. pass through both the House and Senate. POS 2041 POS 2041 E. pass one chamber but not the other. - Correct Ans-A. die by inaction at the committee stage. It is so difficult for Congress to pass laws because _____. A. a bill can be defeated at many points in the process. B. of the sheer size of the institution. C. of the rivalry that exists between the House and Senate. D. the lack of legislative leadership demonstrated by recent Presidents. E. passing a bill is costly. - Correct Ans-A. a bill can be defeated at many points in the process. In recent years, the filibuster has ______. A. been used much less frequently than in past. B. become more likely to be used by bipartisan groups of opponents of Civil Rights legislation. C. became a tactic regularly used by the minority party to block proposals of the majority party. D. became a tactic regularly used by the majority party to block proposals of the minority party. E. became a much weaker tactic because of recent reforms instituted by the Senate. - Correct Ans-C. became a tactic regularly used by the minority party to block proposals of the majority party. Citizens view Congress with _____. A. increasing approval. B. increasing support for Congress as a whole but with growing disapproval for individual representatives for and senators. C. increasing disapproval. D. approval only during election seasons. E. disapproval only during election seasons. - Correct Ans-C. incr