20 Questions

2. The Legislative Branch-Congress
I. Congress is made up of Two Houses-
Bicameral (most states follow this
model)
A. The House of Representatives-based
on population, every state gets at least 1
B. The Senate-Two Senators per state
C. the two houses act to check and
balance each other since both must
pass identical bills

3. Questions
How many seats are currently in the
1.
House of Representatives?
a) 435
b) 142
c) 186
d) 100

4. The Legislative Branch-Congress
II. Elections are every two years
A. a term is the length of time between
elections
1. whole House of Representatives is
up for election every two years
2. one-third of the Senate is up every
two years, it is a continuous body since
it always has returning members

5. Questions
Every two years, how many Senate
2.
seats are up for election on a normal
election?
a) 25
b) 33
c) 60
d) 100

6. Questions
Why do members of the Senate serve six
3.
years, whereas members of the house
only serve two?
a) It costs more to run for the Senate than for the
House
b) The job of senator takes longer to learn than
that of representative
c) Senators should not be as concerned with the
pressures of election campaigns, so that they
can focus on the “big picture” of government
d) Senators need time to train their bigger staffs

7. Questions
When all of Congress comes together
4.
to hear POTUS (President of the US)
give the SOTU (State of the Union) how
many legislators are there?
a.100
b. 435
c. 485
d. 535

8. Questions
What is the usual outcome of off-year
5.
elections?
a) The Democratic party wins
b) The Republican party wins
c) The President’s party increases its number
of seats
d) The President’s party decreases its number
of seats

9. The Legislative Branch-Congress
III. Expressed Powers
A. Power to tax
B. Power to regulate commerce
1. interstate trade and foreign trade
C. Currency Power
D. Bankruptcy

10. Questions
Which of the two houses is most
6.
“reactive” and “responsive” to the
popular mood? Or in other words which
body is the least deliberative?
a) The House
b) The Senate

11. Questions
Which of the following is a qualification
7.
for election to the Senate?
a) Citizenship for at least nine years
b) 25 years of age
c) Inhabitant of a nearby state
d) Possession of great wealth

12. The Legislative Branch-Congress
E. Foreign Relations
1. War Power-declaration
2. raise and support a military
3. deals with foreign states, shares this
duty with the president

13. Questions
When must the congressional elections
8.
be held?
a) The first Tuesday of every second
November
b) The second day of January in odd years
c) The Tuesday after the first Monday of
November in even-numbered years
d) The Tuesday after the first Monday of
November in odd-numbered years

14. Questions
Which of the following is NOT a
9.
qualification for House members?
a) Being a citizen for at least seven years
b) Being 25 years old
c) Being an inhabitant of the State from which
he or she is chosen
d) Only constitutional qualifications should be
considered when a home representative
first takes a seat in the house

15. Questions
10. Which
branch of the national
government declares war?
a) The Legislative Branch
b) The President
c) The Executive Branch
d) The House of Representatives

16. The Legislative Branch-Congress
F. Additional powers
1. naturalization-citizenship
2. post office
3. copyrights and patents
4. weights and measures
5. power over territories
6. judicial powers-power to create
federal courts

17. Questions
11. The powers of the Legislative Branch
are outlined in which article of the
Constitution?
a) Article I
b) Article II
c) Article III
d) Article IV

18. Questions
the adoption of the 17th
12. Before
amendment in 1913, who chose
senators?
a) State governors
b) State legislatures
c) State supreme courts
d) The people of the state

19. Questions
Why is the Senate called the upper
13.
house?
a) It always meets on the second floor of the
Capitol
b) It is descendant from the house of lords and
the senators are considered nobility
c) The job of senator is easier than that of
representative
d) It has stricter qualifications than the House,
more prestige, a longer term of office, and has
been a stepping stone to higher political office

20. The Legislative Branch-Congress
IV. Implied Powers
A. In Art.1 it says Congress has the
power “to make all laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying into
execution the foregoing (expressed)
powers”-sometimes called “the elastic
clause” or necessary and proper clause
1. battle between liberal and strict
constructionists

21. Questions
14. _________ ____ means that all seats
in a legislative body are never up for
election at the same time (the senate is
one of these)
15. A(n)___-_____ election is an election
held between presidential elections

22. Questions
16. TheCongress meets in The _________
which sits up on a hill, the highest point
in Washington, DC.
17. When a congressman or senator leaves
office, who gets to pick his or her
replacement?

23. The Legislative Branch-Congress
V. Non legislative Powers
A. Constitutional Amendments-2/3 vote
in each house or national convention
B. Electoral Duties
C. Impeachment
1. the House votes impeachment (to
bring to trial)
2. the Senate conducts the trial

24. Questions
18. There are _____Congressional districts
in the US, with____in Pennsylvania and
____Congressional representatives
from Pennsylvania .
a) 435, 21, 19
b) 535, 19, 21
c) 270, 19, 19
d) 435, 19, 19

25. Questions
19. Which
of the following powers does the
Congress not possess?
a) Regulate taxes
b) Regulate interstate conflicts
c) Nominate supreme court justices
d) Naturalization laws

26. The Legislative Branch-Congress
D. Executive Powers
1. Senate must confirm all major
appointments made by the President
2. the Senate confirms all treaties made
by the president

27. The Legislative Branch-Congress
E. Investigatory Powers related to
legislative powers
1. gather information
2. oversee the executive branch
3. focus public attention on an issue
4. expose questionable activities of
public officials

28. Questions
20. Whatis the process of impeachment of
the President by the Congress?
a) A 2/3rds vote is held in the congress and
the president undergoes a criminal trial by
the supreme court
b) A special election is held by which the
president is judged by the people
c) The Congress votes to impeach, and the
senate holds a trial to convict
d) The Senate must vote unanimously to
impeach the president without a trial