| a. Scandals | ||
| b. Overt partisanship | ||
| c. Lack of public knowledge about Congress | ||
| d. Failed attempts to represent and reconcile diverse interests |
| a. A general referendum of all citizens | ||
| b. State ratifying conventions | ||
| c. Congress | ||
| d. The House of Representatives |
| a. They are undemocratic. | ||
| b. They represent a lack of faith in voters. | ||
| c. They reduce the ability of state legislators to do some aspects of their jobs. | ||
| d. They encourage more candidates to run for office. |
| a. Borrowing money. | ||
| b. Regulating foreign and interstate trade. | ||
| c. Proposing amendments to the Constitution. | ||
| d. Granting pardons. |
| a. 1776 | ||
| b. 1890 | ||
| c. 1922 | ||
| d. 1966 |
| a. Virginia Plan | ||
| b. New Jersey Plan | ||
| c. Connecticut Plan | ||
| d. Great Compromise |
| a. Virginia Plan | ||
| b. New Jersey Plan | ||
| c. New York Plan | ||
| d. Great Compromise |
| a. The Senate | ||
| b. The President | ||
| c. Federal judges | ||
| d. The House of Representatives |
| a. Advocated against ratification of the Constitution. | ||
| b. Advocated for ratification of the Constitution. | ||
| c. Called for rebellion against the British King. | ||
| d. Called for New York to secede from the other states. |
| a. 21; 25 | ||
| b. 25; 30 | ||
| c. 30; 35 | ||
| d. 40; 40 |
| a. Trustee | ||
| b. Delegate | ||
| c. Politico | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. The supremacy clause | ||
| b. The necessary and proper clause | ||
| c. The due process clause | ||
| d. Article II |
| a. Law | ||
| b. Business | ||
| c. Education | ||
| d. Public service |
| a. One third | ||
| b. One half | ||
| c. Two thirds | ||
| d. All of them |
| a. 20 percent | ||
| b. One-third | ||
| c. One-half | ||
| d. Two-thirds |
| a. Catholic | ||
| b. Jewish | ||
| c. Protestant | ||
| d. Unitarian |
| a. Defense | ||
| b. Revenue | ||
| c. Education | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. To limit debate | ||
| b. To allow for more representatives | ||
| c. To slow down the legislative process | ||
| d. To provide one house for each political party |
| a. To draft a replacement for the Articles of Confederation. | ||
| b. To amend the Articles of Confederation. | ||
| c. To discuss surrender to the British Monarchy. | ||
| d. To devolve all power to state governments. |
| a. Compared to the House of Representatives, the Senate has more rules. | ||
| b. Compared to the House of Representatives, the Senate is less flexible. | ||
| c. Compared to the House of Representatives, the Senate's more prestigious individual members have more power to affect outcomes. | ||
| d. Compared to the House of Representatives, the Senate provides less time for debate. |
| a. Constituent | ||
| b. Policy | ||
| c. Political | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. A ban on soft money. | ||
| b. Increased hard money contribution limits. | ||
| c. A ban on candidates from using federal funding for campaigns. | ||
| d. Restrictions on issue advocacy advertising. |
| a. An articulate and resonating message. | ||
| b. Experience on Capitol Hill. | ||
| c. Energy. | ||
| d. The ability to raise money. |
| a. Congress's failure to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. | ||
| b. The controversial confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. | ||
| c. Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. | ||
| d. The unusually large number of open congressional seats that year. |
| a. 100-110 | ||
| b. 50-60 | ||
| c. 10-20 | ||
| d. 85-95 |
| a. Redistricting | ||
| b. Reapportionment | ||
| c. Restructuring | ||
| d. Franking |
| a. 2 years | ||
| b. 6 years | ||
| c. 4 years | ||
| d. 5 years |
| a. 2 years | ||
| b. 6 years | ||
| c. 4 years | ||
| d. 5 years |
| a. Lawyers | ||
| b. Bankers | ||
| c. Retirees | ||
| d. Teachers |
| a. 500,000-900,000 constituents | ||
| b. 30,000-50,000 constituents | ||
| c. 10,000-20,000 constituents | ||
| d. 1,000,000-2,000,000 constituents |
| a. The process is overtly and acceptably political. | ||
| b. American courts have refused to intervene in the process. | ||
| c. Redistricting plans are not required to create districts that are relatively equal in population. | ||
| d. The redistricting process is overly centralized. |
| a. Incumbents are usually older and have more experience than their challengers. | ||
| b. Incumbents have a great deal of influence in the redistricting process. | ||
| c. Incumbents possess many advantages that make their reelection likely. | ||
| d. Incumbents usually perform much better in debates against their opponent. |
| a. To hold fundraisers for their reelection campaign | ||
| b. To meet with interest groups | ||
| c. To draft and introduce legislation | ||
| d. To manage their personal office |
| a. Staff | ||
| b. Television advertising | ||
| c. Candidate filing fees | ||
| d. Campaign office expenses |
| a. Incumbents were more vulnerable than ever before in history. | ||
| b. Campaign finance reform laws were a strong deterrent to effective fundraising. | ||
| c. Political parties aggressively recruited wealthy candidates, so they could fund their own campaigns. | ||
| d. For the first time in history, Democrats raised more money than Republicans. |
| a. When there is a significant population shift | ||
| b. When the state legislature enacts the appropriate provisions | ||
| c. Every ten years | ||
| d. After each major presidential election |
| a. When the political party in control draws district lines to enhance its own political fortunes | ||
| b. When the Senate draws lines around racial districts | ||
| c. When referring to Supreme Court decisions regarding redistricting | ||
| d. When the governor of a state changes voting districts to ensure reelection |
| a. Incumbents | ||
| b. Election committees | ||
| c. Redistricting commissions | ||
| d. Campaign committees |
| a. Constituency services involve assisting people in dealing with the bureaucracy. | ||
| b. Constituency services are rarely used today. | ||
| c. Constituency services are more commonly engaged in by senators than representatives. | ||
| d. Constituency services seldom help members of Congress in their reelection bids. |
| a. Most congressional races are closely contested. | ||
| b. Most congressional races are not closely contested. | ||
| c. Most congressional races are less contested than state elections. | ||
| d. Most congressional races are more contested than local elections. |
| a. Speaker of the House. | ||
| b. President of the Senate | ||
| c. Senate President Pro Tempore. | ||
| d. House Majority Leader |
| a. Interest group | ||
| b. Task force | ||
| c. Caucus | ||
| d. Subcommittee |
| a. Political action committees | ||
| b. Interest groups | ||
| c. Campaign committees | ||
| d. None of the above; coordinating donations is prohibited under law |
| a. Standing | ||
| b. Special | ||
| c. Conference | ||
| d. Compromise |
| a. Rules | ||
| b. Ways and Means | ||
| c. Appropriations | ||
| d. Ethics |
| a. A filibuster | ||
| b. Senatorial courtesy | ||
| c. Gerrymandering | ||
| d. Cloture |
| a. Select | ||
| b. Conference | ||
| c. Joint | ||
| d. Special |
| a. By a two-thirds vote in the Senate | ||
| b. By a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate | ||
| c. By a majority vote in the House | ||
| d. By a majority vote in both the House and Senate |
| a. It dies. | ||
| b. It goes back to the House. | ||
| c. It goes to the Senate. | ||
| d. It becomes a law. |
| a. Working out legislative differences between what the president and their constituents would prefer | ||
| b. Appointing and voting on judicial nominees | ||
| c. Passing budget resolutions and providing constituency service | ||
| d. Writing legislation and providing legislative oversight of government agencies |
| a. By criticizing the opposing political party | ||
| b. By making financial contributions to fellow members | ||
| c. By introducing a large number of bills | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. Party affiliation | ||
| b. Level of education | ||
| c. Political philosophy | ||
| d. Committee assignments |
| a. Five percent | ||
| b. Thirty percent | ||
| c. Seventy percent | ||
| d. Ten percent |
| a. When a bill is introduced | ||
| b. When a bill passes the House | ||
| c. When a bill passes the Senate | ||
| d. When a bill is in committee |
| a. Majority Leader | ||
| b. Whip | ||
| c. President Pro Tempore | ||
| d. Speaker of the House |
| a. They usually die by inaction at the committee stage. | ||
| b. They usually pass one chamber but not the other. | ||
| c. They usually are voted down on the floor of the House or Senate. | ||
| d. They usually are bottled up in the House Rules Committee. |
| a. Because they are all incumbents | ||
| b. Because they hold all the leadership positions, including committee chairs | ||
| c. Because they receive higher salaries than minority-party members | ||
| d. Because they have the exclusive right to introduce legislation |
| a. Bills can be defeated at many points in the process. | ||
| b. Passing a bill is costly. | ||
| c. The sheer size of the institution causes many bills to get lost. | ||
| d. Bills have to be approved by party leaders. |
| a. Congressional assistance to agricultural interests | ||
| b. Grants to private lobbying firms and companies | ||
| c. Public works projects and grants to specific districts paid for by general revenues | ||
| d. Legislation that bestows special benefits on members of Congress |
| a. Full sessions of Congress | ||
| b. The legislator's home district | ||
| c. Conference with the president | ||
| d. Committees |
| a. Newspapers | ||
| b. The Internet | ||
| c. Cable television | ||
| d. Local television |
| a. The president's party usually loses seats in Congress. | ||
| b. The president's party usually gains seats in Congress. | ||
| c. They generally reflect voter discontent with the president. | ||
| d. Voter turnout is significantly lower than presidential elections. |
| a. Misinformed | ||
| b. Inadequate | ||
| c. Cynical | ||
| d. Trustworthy |
| a. Immunity | ||
| b. Privacy | ||
| c. Privilege | ||
| d. Referral |
| a. House Judiciary Committee | ||
| b. Senate Judiciary Committee | ||
| c. Senate Ethics Committee | ||
| d. House Rules Committee |
| a. Media consultant | ||
| b. Policy analyst | ||
| c. Press secretary | ||
| d. Chief of staff |
| a. House | ||
| b. Senate | ||
| c. House and Senate | ||
| d. Supreme Court |
| a. Senate President Pro Tempore | ||
| b. Secretary of State | ||
| c. Speaker of the House | ||
| d. White House Chief of Staff |
| a. Results are inconclusive. | ||
| b. Bias in the media is overwhelmingly conservative. | ||
| c. Bias in the media is overwhelmingly liberal. | ||
| d. Bias does not exist. |
| a. Installing "temporary" judges without congressional approval | ||
| b. Not nominating a candidate when the Senate is controlled by the opposing party | ||
| c. Issuing an executive order to appoint the nominee without congressional approval | ||
| d. Not utilizing senatorial courtesy |
| a. The president | ||
| b. Federal judges | ||
| c. Cabinet officials | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. Bicameralism | ||
| b. Oversight | ||
| c. Legislative review | ||
| d. None of the above |
| a. The press needed to improve itself in the name of morality, democracy, and self-preservation. | ||
| b. The increasingly concentrated media ownership system had a negative impact on the quality of the news and information Americans received. | ||
| c. Public broadcasting had been hindered throughout its existence by political pressures and funding shortages. | ||
| d. As the key government agency that oversaw the broadcasting industry, the Federal Communications Commission was poorly managed and in need of significant reform. |
| a. To ensure that the president would not conspire with foreign nations | ||
| b. Because Congress would, collectively, have more military experience than the president | ||
| c. To delay a decision to go to war | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. The year the Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress since 1952 | ||
| b. The year that all Democratic incumbents in Congress were defeated | ||
| c. The year that Republican congressional candidates outspent Democratic candidates for the first time in history | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. The courts have to resolve the issue. | ||
| b. Congress is able to persuade the president to provide the information. | ||
| c. The president and Congress will seek a compromise. | ||
| d. Congress will pass legislation to expand their executive branch oversight authority. |
| a. Challengers are more likely to use them than incumbents. | ||
| b. Studies have shown that they have very little impact on voters' attitudes and decisions. | ||
| c. Voters overwhelmingly dislike them. | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. The power to pardon criminals | ||
| b. The power to set up the lower federal courts | ||
| c. The power to accept or reject presidential nominations to the federal courts | ||
| d. The ability to amend the Constitution |
| a. George Washington | ||
| b. Abraham Lincoln | ||
| c. Franklin Roosevelt | ||
| d. Ronald Reagan |
| a. Richard Nixon and Andrew Johnson | ||
| b. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton | ||
| c. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton | ||
| d. Lyndon Johnson and Andrew Johnson |
| a. Health research. | ||
| b. Education. | ||
| c. Social Security. | ||
| d. Housing. |
| a. It is too partisan. | ||
| b. The primary concern of most members is getting reelected. | ||
| c. It introduces too many bills. | ||
| d. It does not police the ethical behavior of its members. |
| a. Informal advice to the president. | ||
| b. Denial of funds for military/foreign operations. | ||
| c. Legislation. | ||
| d. Executive agreements. |
| a. House Appropriations Committee | ||
| b. House and Senate Budget Committees | ||
| c. House and Senate Ways and Means Committees | ||
| d. Senate Appropriations Committee |
| a. Tax cuts for the wealthy | ||
| b. Entitlement spending | ||
| c. Defense spending | ||
| d. 9/11 |
| a. Independent Fiscal Office | ||
| b. Office of Management and Budget | ||
| c. Congressional Budget Office | ||
| d. Congressional Research Service |
| a. 9/11 Defense Act | ||
| b. USA Patriot Act | ||
| c. Homeland Security Resolution | ||
| d. Terrorism Prevention Act |
| a. Address the nation's growing unemployment rate | ||
| b. Respond to rapidly deteriorating financial market conditions | ||
| c. Reduce the increasing number of the country's home foreclosures | ||
| d. Provide emergency loans to the nearly bankrupt auto industry |
| a. Increasing the likelihood that the incumbent will win reelection | ||
| b. Increasing the likelihood that people will vote | ||
| c. Decreasing the likelihood that people will vote | ||
| d. None of the above |
| a. Expenditures | ||
| b. Debt | ||
| c. Taxes | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. Members of Congress using their positions to negotiate lucrative private sector jobs and then lobbying former colleagues | ||
| b. When a lobbyist pulls together campaign contributions from individuals and then gets the credit from the candidate for delivering the bundle of money | ||
| c. When members of Congress retire to collect a lump sum pension then decide to run for re-election | ||
| d. When special interest groups are given full privilege access to members of Congress |
| a. Interest on the national debt | ||
| b. Education | ||
| c. Defense | ||
| d. Entitlement programs |
| a. When news coverage became televised in the 1950s | ||
| b. When President Clinton was impeached for lying about his affair with an intern | ||
| c. When Ronald Reagan refused to grant interviews to media outlets that openly criticized him | ||
| d. When the Watergate scandal caused the press to focus more on "watchdog" journalism |
| a. Ideological differences combined with the decentralization of congressional power have made major overhauls of the health care system difficult to achieve. | ||
| b. The House and the Senate usually have different proposals which cannot be reconciled. | ||
| c. The constituencies of most members of Congress do not want health care reform. | ||
| d. Many members do not understand the complexities of the issue. |
| a. Limiting the number of bills a member can introduce | ||
| b. Increasing the transparency and reducing the amount spent on earmarks | ||
| c. Forbidding members from attending campaign fundraisers on legislative session days | ||
| d. Eliminating earmarks in spending bills. |
| a. More than 50 percent were re-elected. | ||
| b. They were all defeated in their primary elections. | ||
| c. Over 60 percent were defeated in the general election. | ||
| d. With a few exceptions, all of them retired from office. |
| a. It has largely been ignored by presidents. | ||
| b. It was enacted under President Truman. | ||
| c. It has been declared unconstitutional. | ||
| d. It gives Congress the power to declare war. |
| a. Senate Democrats | ||
| b. Senate Republicans | ||
| c. House Republicans | ||
| d. House Democrats |
| a. Because Congress is often uninformed about foreign policy | ||
| b. Because Congress tends to be heavily influenced by special interests | ||
| c. Because Congress can leak sensitive information | ||
| d. All of the above |
| a. White House staff | ||
| b. Office of Personnel Management | ||
| c. Office of Management and Budget | ||
| d. Senate Appropriations Committee |