In which Article of the Constitution will you find the legislative branch?
Articles 1
What is the primary function of Congress?
Work as the legislative branch; create bills
Where does most of the Congress's work take place?
Committee system
What happens to most of the bills introduced into Congress?
10,000 bills introduced in 2 years; 2,000 bills make it through the committee system in a year
What are the three constitutional requirements to be a member of the Senate?
At least 30 years old; citizen of the use for nine years, and be a resident of the state of representation
What are the three constitutional requirements to be a member of the House?
At least 25 years old, citizen of the use for 7 years, and be a resident of the state of representation
Describe a typical member of Congress
middle aged/white male/ well-educated/lawyer-doctor, protestant
What is the elected term length for a Senator? And a house member?
senator: 6 years
House: 2 years
Who is the constitutional presiding officer of the Senate?
Vice President: Biden
What is the most powerful position in the Senate?
Majority leader (harry reid)
What is the most powerful position in the House?
Speaker of the House: the presiding officer of the house of representatives. A very powerful position. Third in line of presidential succession. (currently: John Bohner)
Who is the current Speaker of the House?
John Bolehner
Who is the current President Pro-Tem in the Senate?
Patrick Leahy
Who is the current Senate Majority Leader?
Harry Reid(Demo, Nevada)
Who is the current Senate Minority Leader?
Mitch McConnell
Who is the current House Majority Leader?
Eric Cantor (Rep, virginia)
Who is the current House Minority Leader?
Nancy Pellocy (dem, california)
For Congress to pass a constitutional amendment, it requires what vote of both houses?
2/3
Which house confirms all presidential appointments?
Senate
Who has the constitutional power to declare war?
Congress (Article 1, Section 8)
Who sets the salaries for members of Congress?
themselves
with regards to Congress's organization, what is rule #1 and what is rule #2?
...rule #1: senority
rule #2: majority party
How are congressional committees organized? (By what?)
organized b subject matter with all leaders being members of the majority party
Describe the powers that a committee chairperson has:
controls the committee calendar, agenda, and hearing
pigeonhole: refusing to schedule debate on the bill
The committee process of reviewing a bill on a word by word, line by line basis, and making necessary changes is called what?
marking up a bill
According to parliamentary procedures, the proper language for making a motion is what?
I move to/ for/ that" or "I ask unanimous consent
Normally, after a motion has been seconded, what happens?
vote
In order to win passage of a motion under the rules of the Senate, it requires what?
a vote(simple majority)
What is it called when members of Congress trade votes?
logrolling
Those persons who work for interest groups who try to influence members of Congress are called what?
lobbyist
The relationship between a committee, a bureaucratic agency/ department, and an interest group is referred to what?
iron triangle
if a vote on a bill in Congress is partisan, what does that mean?
issue that divides congress along party liens
What is proper term to describe the citizens that a member of Congress represents?
constituents
What is the difference between the Senior and Junior Senator from a given state?
senior: most time spent at senate
junior: least amount of time as senator
In the Senate, when a member gets and holds the floor by talking continuously, it is called what?
filibuster
A cloture petition requires what vote to succeed?
60% of the senate call to succeed. (60 of 100)
What happens in the House of Representatives if the Rules Committee issues a "closed rule" on a bill coming to the floor?
the issue cannot be amended; it is just as is
When one of the congressional chamber votes to punish one of its own members this is called what?
censure
The single largest source of proposed legislation comes from where?
white house(president)
When the president receives a bill passed by Congress, he has 4 options. What are they?
signing/ vetoing/ not signing to let the bill pass. If the bill is given with less than 10 days till the end of the congressional session, the president lets the bill die on his desk(pocket veto)
Resolving the language difference between the Senate and House versions of the bill occurs where?
conference committees
The term that describes the minimum number of Senators or House members that must be present in their respective chambers before they can officially conduct business is called what?
quorum
The legislative maneuver of adding an amendment to a popular bill so it can pass on the back of that popular bill is called what?
rider
What is the primary function of the census, taken every ten years?
the counting of the population every ten years
What is gerrymandering?
the redrawing of congressional district boundary lines in unusual shapes to give an advantage to a particular political party
What is a discharge petition, used in the House, and why don't senators use it in Senate?
50% plus one can pull it out of being pigeonholes