AP Gov: Congress Test

• What are the 4 kinds of committees?

  standing, joint, select/special, conference
• Standing committee

  A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area
• Joint committee

  includes members from both houses of Congress; permanent panel that has control over matters of joint interest
• Special/Select Committee

  A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose
• pork barreling

  federal projects intended to benefit a particular district or state
• Gerrymandering

  the manipulation of the redistricting process for political gain; gives an advantage to a particular group
• Franking

  the ability for members of Congress to send out mail free without postage
• Casework

  work that elected officials do to help individual constituents with problems they are having with the federal gov
• Logrolling

  when 2 or more members of Congress agree in advance to support each other's bills
• Incumbency

  The current holder of an office or position
• Constituents

  citizens whom a legislator has been elected to represent
• Divided Government

  A government in which one party controls the white house and another party controls one or both houses of Congress
• Impeachment

  A formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity→ OUTCOME: may include the removal of that official from office
• Who is the president of the Senate?

  VP of USA; votes only in the case of a tie; not a member of the senate
• What does the President Pro Tempore do?

  presides over senate in VP absence; 3rd in line of presidential succession; selected by majority party and usually a senior senator
• What does the Senate majority leader do?

  elected by majority party; chief representative of their party in the senate
• What does the Senate minority leader do?

   chief representative of their party in the senate
• Senate Majority and Minority Whip

  Whip party members into line when voting on partisan issues; keep close communication with party members; prepare summaries of bills
• Speaker of the house

  elected by house; normally from majority party, 2nd in line for presidency
• House Majority Leader

  2nd most powerful position in the house
• House Minority Leader

  chief representative for their party for the HOR
• House Majority and Minority Whip

  Whip party members into line when voting on partisan issues; keep close communication with party members; prepare summaries of bills
• What are the 3 theories of representation?

  Delegate, trustee, politicos
• Explain the Delegate theory.

  Elected officials should vote in line with the majority opinion of their constituents, even if they personally disagree with it.
• Explain the Trustee theory.

  Elected officials should act based on their own judgment and not necessarily in line with the majority opinion of their constituents. They should use their own expertise and knowledge to make decisions that they believe are in the best interest of their constituents, even if the majority of constituents disagree
• Explain the politicos theory

  Elected officials should act as both delegates and trustees depending on the issue. They should vote in line with the majority opinion of their constituents on issues that are of particular concern to their constituents and use their own judgment on other issues.
• List 3 incumbency advantages

  media access, franking privilege, experience and knowledge
• Incumbency advantage: media access

  Incumbents often have better access to the media than challengers because the media tends to focus more on current officeholders and their actions. This gives them more opportunities to get their message out. Additionally, incumbents often have established relationships with media outlets giving them more coverage.
• Incumbency advantage: Franking privilege 


  the ability for members of Congress to send out mail for free without postage; allows them to communicate with voters in a personal and cost-effective way
• Incumbency advantage: Experience + Knowledge

  Have more experience and knowledge on the issues than their challengers; voters may see them as more capable
• 3 ways to negatively impact the chance of reelection

  involved in a scandal, redistricting, reverse coattails
• subcommittee

  formed to investegate specific topics within the standing committee (Ex. Livestock + Poultry is a sub committee of agriculture)
• cloture

  a procedure for ending debate and taking a vote; the only formal procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster (60 votes required)
• filibuster

  a strategy unique to the senate; opponent of a piece of legislation tries to talk it to death, based on the tradition of ultimate debate
• Hold

  a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor; stops the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed
• pocket veto

  A veto taking place when congress adjourns within 10 days of having submitted a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing or vetoing it.
• markup

  when committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor in either house for a vote
• Conference Committee

  temporary joint committee; formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms; appointed members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill; negotiate a compromise bill that is acceptable to both the House and Senate
• Line item veto

  The power of an executive to veto individual lines or items within a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire bill
• What 2 things do you generally need to be able to win a congressional election?

  major political party affiliation; money