Beruflich Dokumente
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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
MAIN IDEAS
____ 3. Which fact disqualifies a person from representing Utah in the Senate?
a. The candidate was born in Guatemala.
b. The candidate is 43 years old.
c. The candidate lives in Utah but works in Idaho.
d. The candidate has been a citizen for eight years.
____ 4. The fact that all congressional districts in a State must have about the same number of people so that one
person's vote is equal to another's, is due to the
a. Reapportionment Act of 1929.
b. Wesberry v. Sanders ruling.
c. 17th Amendment.
d. Census Bureau.
____ 7. The regular period of time during which Congress conducts its business is called a
a. prorogue.
b. session.
c. special session.
d. congressional meeting.
____ 8. The House may refuse to seat a member-elect only if he or she
a. has engaged in disorderly behavior.
b. has violated the code of ethics passed by the House in 1977.
c. does not meet constitutional standards of age, citizenship, and residency.
d. does not meet informal standards set by two-thirds of the members.
____ 10. Members of Congress fill all of the following roles EXCEPT that of
a. legislator.
b. committee member.
c. Cabinet member.
d. servant to constituents.
____ 17. Before the 17th Amendment was adopted, senators were chosen by
a. the people of each State.
b. the State legislatures.
c. special State conventions.
d. select House committees.
____ 18. Why does the Constitution guarantee that the courts may not prosecute members of Congress for what they
say in the House or Senate in relation to congressional business?
a. Members never criticize one another.
b. Freedom of speech is a vital part of legislative debate.
c. The courts have no jurisdiction in Washington, D.C.
d. Members have the same privileges in their districts.
____ 19. All of the following are differences between the House of Representatives and the Senate EXCEPT
a. size of the membership.
b. length of term.
c. method of election.
d. size of constituency.
____ 20. Supreme Court rulings have been key to broadening the scope of which expressed power?
a. the postal power
b. the power to tax
c. the commerce power
d. eminent domain
____ 23. Since 1789, the expansion of power of the National Government has been caused by all of the following
EXCEPT
a. strict construction of the Constitution.
b. liberal construction of the Constitution.
c. technological advances.
d. economic crises.
____ 24. For what purpose does the Constitution give Congress the power to regulate bankruptcy?
a. to finance projects that current revenues cannot cover
b. to establish uniform procedures for dealing with insolvent debtors
c. to coin money and regulate its value
d. to act on matters affecting the nation's security
____ 25. The Supreme Court ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden expanded the
a. currency power by including paper money as legal tender.
b. power to tax by allowing a tax on incomes.
c. commerce power to include all commercial interactions.
d. power over territories to include the taking of private property.
____ 26. According to the Constitution, who has the sole power to impeach the President?
a. The House of Representatives
b. the Vice President
c. the Supreme Court
d. State courts
____ 27. Which of the following nonlegislative powers may be exercised solely by the Senate?
a. the power to propose constitutional amendments
b. the power to elect a President if the electoral college fails to do so
c. the power to approve or reject major presidential appointments
d. the power to investigate the activities of public officials
____ 28. Which of the following is an example of the investigatory powers of Congress?
a. accepting a treaty made by the President
b. the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations
c. the power to lay and collect taxes
d. gathering information useful in making legislative decisions
____ 29. All the following expressed powers belong to Congress EXCEPT
a. the power to declare war.
b. the power to tax exports.
c. the power to naturalize citizens.
d. the power to raise an army.
____ 30. Under the Constitution, Congress has the sole power to
a. act as the commander in chief.
b. meet with foreign leaders.
c. declare war.
d. none of the above.
____ 36. All of the following war powers are granted to Congress EXCEPT the power to
a. call forth the militia.
b. declare war.
c. raise and support a navy.
d. appoint a commander in chief.
____ 38. 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.
____ 39. When the Senate's Republican caucus wants party members to vote for a bill, the person who determines how
many votes can be counted on is the
a. senior senator.
b. policy-committee chairperson.
c. floor leader.
d. whip.
____ 40. 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 a bill to the Vice President.
b. The President waits until the Congress is not in session.
c. The President fails to act on the bill within 10 days of receiving it while Congress is in
session.
d. The President leaves the country.
____ 42. 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.
____ 44. 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.
____ 45. The House Rules Committee may do all of the following EXCEPT
a. set conditions for considering a bill.
b. speed up consideration of a bill.
c. prevent consideration of a bill.
d. attach amendments to a bill.
____ 47. On the first day of each new term, the House
a. has a short, routine day.
b. has few members to swear in.
c. elects a Speaker to preside.
d. writes all new rules of procedure.
____ 48. 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.
____ 49. Proposed measures that apply to specific individuals or places are
a. public bills.
b. private bills.
c. concurrent resolutions.
d. riders.
____ 52. Most measures introduced in the House die at which of these steps?
a. committee
b. cloture
c. quorum
d. floor vote
____ 53. 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.
____ 54. Which of the following options is NOT available to a President who has just received a bill passed by
Congress?
a. sign the bill within 10 days
b. sign the bill after 15 days
c. veto the bill
d. use a pocket veto
____ 58. A compromise bill worked on by a conference committee of House and Senate members is
a. usually passed by both houses of Congress.
b. never passed by both houses of Congress.
c. always passed with amendments.
d. sometimes passed with amendments.
____ 59. The term of Congress has remained the same since 1789, but
a. the frequency of special sessions has increased.
b. the length of its sessions has grown.
c. will probably change in the near future.
d. there is no constitutional basis for this.
____ 60. The fact that Alaska has only one seat in the House is a reflection of all of the following EXCEPT
a. its geographic size.
b. the size of its population.
c. its status as a State in the union.
d. the most recent census.
____ 61. When Congress chose not to reapportion following the 1920 census, it
a. amended the Constitution to that effect.
b. lost part of its membership.
c. was following unwritten custom.
d. violated the Constitution.
____ 62. The party in power tends to lose seats in off-year elections because
a. voters want to show support for the President.
b. voters are reacting to the President’s policies.
c. voters are concern about giving one party too much power.
d. both b and c
____ 65. All of the following contributed to the growth of national power EXCEPT
a. wars.
b. economic crises.
c. national emergencies
d. dual federalism
____ 66. The deficit is always _____ than the public debt.
a. larger
b. smaller
c. harder to calculate
d. less subject to governmental limits
____ 67. Based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824, it would be reasonable to assume that Chief
Justice John Marshall favored
a. a strict interpretation of the Constitution.
b. State’s rights.
c. a liberal interpretation of the Constitution.
d. deficit financing.
____ 68. The Framers based their decision to deny the States the currency power on
a. their experiences under the Articles of Confederation.
b. the experiences of the colonial legislatures.
c. the social contract theory.
d. the taxing power of the Federal Government.
____ 69. Sovereignty both _____ the States and _____ the National Government in the area of foreign relations.
a. empowers/empowers
b. restricts/restricts
c. empowers/restricts
d. restricts/empowers
____ 70. If the caseloads of the federal courts should become too heavy, Congress has the power to
a. hear and try cases until the courts are caught up.
b. create new federal courts.
c. transfer some cases to the executive branch.
d. suspend the hearing of cases until a later date.
____ 71. Which of the following groups was LEAST likely to have supported the Necessary and Proper Clause?
a. the Framers
b. the Supreme Court
c. the Federalists
d. the Anti-Federalists
____ 72. The Supreme Court could not have given “sweeping approval to the concept of implied powers” had
a. strict constructionists not prevented States from taxing the Second Bank of the United
States.
b. the Supreme Court not established the power of judicial review in 1803.
c. the Second Bank of the United States lost its charter.
d. all of the above
____ 73. In the event that the Senate must choose a Vice President, it would take how many votes for a candidate to
win?
a. 26
b. 51
c. 218
d. 219
____ 75. One difference between opening day in the House and opening day in the Senate is that
a. new members must be sworn in in the Senate.
b. committee members are appointed in the House.
c. the House must reorganize but not the Senate.
d. the Senate reorganizes, but not the House.
____ 77. In each congressional election, a great deal of attention is paid to which party holds a majority in each
chamber. This is at least partly because
a. the same party is likely to win the presidency.
b. the majority party holds a majority of seats on each standing committee.
c. the Constitution requires each party to hold a majority at least once in every 10-year
period.
d. State legislatures will likely follow suit.
____ 79. Only _____ can propose a measure dealing with raising money.
a. the Senate
b. the House
c. the voters
d. the Speaker
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. D
6. A
7. B
8. C
9. A
10. C
11. B
12. D
13. C
14. C
15. D
16. C
17. B
18. B
19. C
20. C
21. B
22. C
23. A
24. B
25. C
26. A
27. C
28. D
29. B
30. C
31. A
32. A
33. C
34. B
35. A
36. D
37. A
38. B
39. D
40. C
41. B
42. A
43. B
44. C
45. D
46. B
47. C
48. B
49. B
50. C
51. C
52. A
53. D
54. B
55. D
56. B
57. D
58. A
59. B
60. A
61. D
62. D
63. A
64. A
65. D
66. B
67. C
68. A
69. D
70. B
71. D
72. B
73. B
74. C
75. C
76. B
77. B
78. A
79. B
80. A