The Legislative Branch-Congress

I. Congress is made up of Two Houses-Bicameral (most states follow this model)A. The House of Representatives-based on population, every state gets at least 1B. The Senate-Two Senators per stateC. the two houses act to check and balance each other since both must pass identical bills

Questions

1. How many seats are currently in the House of Representatives?

a) 435b) 142c) 186d) 100

The Legislative Branch-Congress

II. Elections are every two yearsA. a term is the length of time between elections

1. whole House of Representatives is up for election every two years

2. one-third of the Senate is up every two years, it is a continuous body since it always has returning members

Questions

2. Every two years, how many Senate seats are up for election on a normal election?

a) 25b) 33c) 60d) 100

Questions

3. Why do members of the Senate serve six years, whereas members of the house only serve two?

a) It costs more to run for the Senate than for the House

b) The job of senator takes longer to learn than that of representative

c) Senators should not be as concerned with the pressures of election campaigns, so that they can focus on the “big picture” of government

d) Senators need time to train their bigger staffs

Questions

4. When all of Congress comes together to hear POTUS (President of the US) give the SOTU (State of the Union) how many legislators are there?a.100b. 435c. 485d. 535

Questions

5. What is the usual outcome of off-year elections?

a) The Democratic party winsb) The Republican party winsc) The President’s party increases its number

of seatsd) The President’s party decreases its number

of seats

The Legislative Branch-Congress

III. Expressed Powers A. Power to tax B. Power to regulate commerce

1. interstate trade and foreign tradeC. Currency PowerD. Bankruptcy

Questions

6. Which of the two houses is most “reactive” and “responsive” to the popular mood? Or in other words which body is the least deliberative?

a) The Houseb) The Senate

Questions

7. Which of the following is a qualification for election to the Senate?

a) Citizenship for at least nine yearsb) 25 years of agec) Inhabitant of a nearby stated) Possession of great wealth

The Legislative Branch-Congress

E. Foreign Relations1. War Power-declaration2. raise and support a military 3. deals with foreign states, shares this duty with the president

Questions

8. When must the congressional elections be held?

a) The first Tuesday of every second November

b) The second day of January in odd yearsc) The Tuesday after the first Monday of

November in even-numbered yearsd) The Tuesday after the first Monday of

November in odd-numbered years

Questions

9. Which of the following is NOT a qualification for House members?

a) Being a citizen for at least seven yearsb) Being 25 years oldc) Being an inhabitant of the State from which

he or she is chosend) Only constitutional qualifications should be

considered when a home representative first takes a seat in the house

Questions

10. Which branch of the national government declares war?

a) The Legislative Branchb) The Presidentc) The Executive Branchd) The House of Representatives

The Legislative Branch-Congress

F. Additional powers1. naturalization-citizenship2. post office3. copyrights and patents4. weights and measures5. power over territories6. judicial powers-power to create federal courts

Questions

11. The powers of the Legislative Branch are outlined in which article of the Constitution?

a) Article Ib) Article IIc) Article IIId) Article IV

Questions

12. Before the adoption of the 17th

amendment in 1913, who chose senators?

a) State governorsb) State legislaturesc) State supreme courtsd) The people of the state

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13. Why is the Senate called the upper house?

a) It always meets on the second floor of the Capitol

b) It is descendant from the house of lords and the senators are considered nobility

c) The job of senator is easier than that of representative

d) It has stricter qualifications than the House, more prestige, a longer term of office, and has been a stepping stone to higher political office

The Legislative Branch-Congress

IV. Implied PowersA. In Art.1 it says Congress has the power “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing (expressed) powers”-sometimes called “the elastic clause” or necessary and proper clause

1. battle between liberal and strict constructionists

Questions

14. _________ ____ means that all seats in a legislative body are never up for election at the same time (the senate is one of these)

15. A(n) ___-_____ election is an election held between presidential elections

Questions

16. The Congress meets in The _________ which sits up on a hill, the highest point in Washington, DC.

17. When a congressman or senator leaves office, who gets to pick his or her replacement?

The Legislative Branch-Congress

V. Non legislative PowersA. Constitutional Amendments-2/3 vote in each house or national conventionB. Electoral DutiesC. Impeachment

1. the House votes impeachment (to bring to trial)

2. the Senate conducts the trial

Questions

18. There are _____Congressional districts in the US, with____in Pennsylvania and ____Congressional representatives from Pennsylvania .

a) 435, 21, 19b) 535, 19, 21c) 270, 19, 19d) 435, 19, 19

Questions

19. Which of the following powers does the Congress not possess?

a) Regulate taxesb) Regulate interstate conflictsc) Nominate supreme court justicesd) Naturalization laws

The Legislative Branch-Congress

D. Executive Powers1. Senate must confirm all major appointments made by the President2. the Senate confirms all treaties made by the president

The Legislative Branch-Congress

E. Investigatory Powers related to legislative powers1. gather information2. oversee the executive branch3. focus public attention on an issue4. expose questionable activities of public officials

Questions

20. What is the process of impeachment of the President by the Congress?

a) A 2/3rds vote is held in the congress and the president undergoes a criminal trial by the supreme court

b) A special election is held by which the president is judged by the people

c) The Congress votes to impeach, and the senate holds a trial to convict

d) The Senate must vote unanimously to impeach the president without a trial