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The provision that gives Congress broad powers to legislate beyond its enumerated powers is called the:

Elastic Clause

The creation of bills of attainder, the suspension of habeus corpus, and the creation of ex-post facto laws share which of the following traits?

They are prohibited in the Constitution

The Supreme Court ruling US v Lopez (1995) overturned a law banning firearms in and around schools because:

Congress had overstepped its authority in a matter that should be decided by the States

_________ is unique to the House of Reps

Power to originate revenue bills

Because members of the Senate and the House come to Washington as representatives of states and districts, the federal system infuses _______ into congressional affairs


How often does reapportionment of House seats occur?

Every 10 years

Who is largely responsible for redrawing congressional district lines?

State legislatures

What is one of the results of the Supreme Court decisions allowing districts to be redrawn?

Voting districts may be drawn along racial lines as long as race is not the only criteria used

Senator Barack Obama's attempts to pass legislation and maintain a visible public presence can be described as:

they were not unusual for a first term senator

What is the best predictor of voting behaviors of members of Congress?

Party affiliation

Partisanship has _______ since the 1970s

been on the rise

What are David and Olsen measuring when they track the way a member of Congress votes in terms of his or her party?


How had it been possible for Republicans to control the congressional agenda virtually unopposed from 1995-2006?

Despite their small majority, the GOP had enjoyed unprecedented unity, which enabled them to pass nearly all of their bills during this period

What type of committee, specified in the House and Senate rules, is relatively permanent?

A standing committee

What is the only way a bill that has been killed in committee can reach the floor

Through a discharge petition

T/F: In a Great Compromise, the framers decided to apportion the House of Reps on the basis of equal representation and the Senate on the basis of population


T/F: A senate bill reaches the reconciliation stage through the following process: the bill is introduced, referred to committee, referred to subcommittee, undergoes committee action, goes to rules committee, undergoes floor action and then it is reconciled


The congressional hearings on the management of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina represent which part of the Congress's job?


What list best describes the working conditions in the Senate?

More prestige, minority party plays a larger role, leaders have only a few formal powers, nonhierarchical, members may serve on 2 or more major committees

Congressional committee hearings are:

Often designed to send signals from committee members to the relevant parts of the bureacracy

Which of the following is an example of impeachment?

A majority of the House requests

T/F: The creation of majority-minority districts has increased the number of minority representatives in Congress but may have made Congress less responsive to concerns of minority groups


Give an example of the franking priviledge:

A senator sends materials through the mail at no cost

According to Edmund Burke "Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment, and he betrays you instead of serving you, if he sacrificed it to your opinion" This is an example of which type of representation

Trustee Representation

T/F: Although oversight is a function of Congress, in actuality Congress does very little oversight of the executive branch


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