Structure of Congress

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AP Government and Politics › Structure of Congress

Questions 1 - 10
1

Which of the following is the constitutionally mandated President of the Senate?

Vice President of the United States of America

Majority Leader

Minority Leader

Majority Whip

Explanation

This question is slightly tricky. The correct answer is the Vice President of the United States of America. The Constitution mandates that the VP serve as the President of the Senate. Substantively speaking, the President of the Senate has relatively little power—the only time that the President may vote is in the event of a straight tie (50/50 split). Although this does happen, it’s not an incredibly common occurrence (Joe Biden—the VP/President of the Senate under Obama—for example, has not cast a single tie-breaking vote to date). That being said, the President of the Senate is responsible for Congressional procedure in the Senate, and a cunning Senate President can accomplish much using only the rules of procedure (for a fantastic, if somewhat inflated, example of this, watch House of Cards Season 2, Episode 3—it’s actually based off of a real event!).

2

What is the leader of the House of called?

The Speaker of the House

The Majority Leader

The Majority Whip

The Gendarme

Explanation

The leader of the House of Representatives is called the Speaker of the House. The most infamous Speaker of the House was Speaker Joe Cannon. He wielded nearly unlimited power in the House and generally stirred up so much trouble that the member of the House eventually revolted against his rules and instituted new procedural rules that greatly curbed the powers of the Speaker. Regardless, the Speaker is still the most powerful position within the House.

3

Unanimous Consent Agreements are more prevalent in the ____________.

Senate

House

Supreme Court

All of these answers are correct.

Explanation

UCAs are only important in the Senate. Neither the House nor the Supreme Court have anything to do with UCAs. Because the Senate does not have a Rules Committee, technically, bills are just free-for-alls when it comes to rules of consideration. That said, in order to prevent the Senate from devolving into a madhouse, the Senate operates under UCAs (Unanimous Consent Agreements) which establish rules of consideration for each bill.

4

A(n) __________ is a type of committee which is created to achieve a particular purpose, and exists only until that purpose is achieved.

Ad hoc/Select committee

Standing committee

Conference committee

Joint committee

Explanation

An ad hoc or select committee is a temporary committee which is created to achieve a certain goal; after the committee achieves that goal, it (normally) automatically disbands. Ad hoc is Latin for “to this,” and generally means something created, formed, or mentioned for a particular, specific, purpose (as here).

5

A __________ is a type of committee which is created for the sole purpose of reconciling differences between House and Senate versions of the same Bill.

Conference committee

Standing committee

Ad hoc/Select committee

Joint committee

Explanation

A conference committee is a joint committee (meaning, with members of both chambers) created in order for the House and Senate to fully reconcile any differences among versions of the bill. Why is this necessary? Remember: both the Senate and the House must pass the exact same version of a bill—thus a Bill that is heavily amended in the Senate after passage in the House must return to the House for a vote on the Senate amendments (or vice versa).

6

The Senate has a Rules Committee.

False, only the House has a rules committee

True, the Senate, and not the house, has a rules committee

True, both the House and Senate have rules committees

False, neither the Senate nor the House has a rules committee

Explanation

Questions dealing with procedural differences between the Senate and the House tend to be a little more difficult; they are both foreign and somewhat dull. But regardless, the answer to this question is false for the simple reason that only the House has a Rules Committee. While the Senate is the “upper” chamber, and more powerful in a few different ways, it is less strict than the House when it comes to procedure. This is reflected in the fact that it lacks a Rules Committee.

7

What is the difference between candidate- and party-centered politics?

Candidate-centered politics put forward individuals as political entrepreneurs whereas party-centered politics emphasize political party unity and national issues

Candidate-centered politics emphasize political party unity and national issues whereas party-centered politics put forward individuals as political entrepreneurs

The constitution specifically forbids party-centered politics, whereas it calls for candidate-centered politics

The constitution specifically forbids candidate-centered politics, whereas it calls for party-centered politics

Explanation

This is a relatively easy question, provided that you know (or remember) what candidate- and party-centered politics are. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct answer, and that is indeed the case here: candidate-centered politics emphasize the role of the individual politician—in other words, the candidate seeks to run on the message of, ‘what can I do for you?’ Party-centered politics, however, emphasize the role of a particular politician’s party more so than his individuality—that is, the candidate seeks to run on the message of, ‘what can my party do for you?’

The other two answers involving the constitution are wrong for the simple reasons that political parties are not even mentioned in the Constitution (thus, it would be impossible for a party-centered politics to be anywhere in the Constitution).

8

Who serves as the head of the House of Representatives?

The Speaker

The Vice President

The President Pro-Tempore

The Majority Whip

The Minority Whip

Explanation

The Speaker of the House serves as the leader of the House of Representatives. Whichever member of Congress that serves as the Speaker runs the congressional meetings and votes that take place.

9

Who serves as the head of the Senate?

The Vice President

The Speaker

The president Pro-Tempore

The Majority Whip

The Minority Whip

Explanation

The Vice President, despite not being a senator, serves as the President of the Senate. In their absence, the president pro-tempore takes over to run the Senate.

10

Which description refers solely to the United States Senate?

Tries impeached officials

Initiates articles of impeachment

Contains four hundred and thirty-five members

Initiates revenue bills

Members have two-year terms

Explanation

Only the Senate can try impeached government officials. The rest of the choices apply to the House of Representatives. The House initiates impeachment procedures and all revenue bills. The Senate has one hundred members with six-year terms.

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