AP US Government : Congress

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP US Government

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Example Questions

Example Question #6 : Congressional Procedures

A discharge petition is __________.

Possible Answers:

a movement organized by those in opposition to a political figure, designed to remove that person from office

a process by which the House can remove a Bill that has stalled in a specific House committee and bring it to the attention of the full House

related to the power of Congress to remove Supreme Court Justices from office if they are deemed to be unfit for service

related to expediting the removal of American military forces from their involvement in prolonged or stagnated foreign wars

a process by which Congress can oversee and overrule a decision made by the Supreme Court

Correct answer:

a process by which the House can remove a Bill that has stalled in a specific House committee and bring it to the attention of the full House

Explanation:

A discharge petition is a means by which the House can vote to remove a Bill from a committee and bring it to the House Floor for discussion. It requires an absolute majority to be utilized, and so is rarely done successfully.

Example Question #1 : Congressional Procedures

What is the name given to the ability of a Member of Congress to mail a letter to a member of his or her constituency free of charge?

Possible Answers:

Gossamer Rights

Huey Doctrine

Gerrymandering

Franking Privilege

Cloture Rule

Correct answer:

Franking Privilege

Explanation:

The ability of a Member of Congress to mail a letter to a member of their constituency, without having to pay for the service, is called Franking Privilege. It is designed, at least in theory, to encourage increased interaction between a representative and those that they represent.

Example Question #2 : Congressional Procedures

Roll calling in Congress, to determine if the minimum number of representatives are present in order to pass or discuss a resolution, is called a __________.

Possible Answers:

Cloture Rule

Sequential Referral

Closed Poll

Teller Vote

Quorum Call

Correct answer:

Quorum Call

Explanation:

A Quorum is the minimum number of representatives required to be present in a government body in order to carry official business. A Quorum Call then is a roll call designed to see if the minimum number of representatives are present.

Example Question #3 : Congressional Procedures

The Cloture Rule is designed to __________.

Possible Answers:

veto a congressional action

encourage the use of the filibuster

overrule a Presidential veto

undermine a Judicial ruling

bring a Congressional debate to a quick end

Correct answer:

bring a Congressional debate to a quick end

Explanation:

The Cloture Rule is designed to combat the occasional use of a filibuster in Congress. A filibuster is when one individual speaks indefinitely, but according to congressional procedure, with the intention of preventing Congress from debating or passing a bill. The Cloture Rule stated that, with a two-thirds majority (now three-fifths) vote of Congress, a filibuster can be ended and the debate quickly terminated.

Example Question #4 : Congressional Procedures

To be sent to the president, a bill must be passed by _____________.

Possible Answers:

the Senate

a majority vote of congress

an agreement of senior members of congress

the House

both the House and the Senate

Correct answer:

both the House and the Senate

Explanation:

The constitution of the United States explicitly lays out bill procedure. A bill is first introduced into the House. Once it is approved there, it goes to the Senate. Then a committee of members from both the House and the Senate meet to hammer out differences in the bill before it is sent to the President to be signed or vetoed.

Example Question #11 : Congressional Procedures

According to the Constitution, revenue bills must originate in the __________.

Possible Answers:

Senate

Congressional Budget Office

House and Senate

Office of the Internal Revenue Service

House of Representatives

Correct answer:

House of Representatives

Explanation:

The constitution stipulates that budget bills are produced in the House of Representatives. The Congressional Budget Office advises and produces statistics for Congress and the Internal Revenue Service is in charge of collecting taxes.

Example Question #61 : Congress

After a President is impeached, the ___________ must vote to remove the President from office, and the motion must pass by a ___________ vote. 

Possible Answers:

House . . . 

House . . . 

Senate . . . 

Senate . . . 

Senate . . . 

Correct answer:

Senate . . . 

Explanation:

The Senate must vote to remove the President from office by a  vote. Remember that impeachment is a two-step process. First the House draws up "Articles of Impeachment"--essentially a discussion of what the President did wrong and why he deserves to be impeached. The Article(s) must pass by a simple majority vote.

At that point, the Articles are kicked over to the Senate which essentially puts the President on trial over the substance of the Articles. Afterwards, the Senate must vote to remove the President from office, and the measure must pass by a  vote. 

All of the other answers are incorrect because they either involve the wrong chamber, or the wrong fraction, or both.

Example Question #13 : Congressional Procedures

Which of the following statements is false?

Possible Answers:

The Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction is fixed in the Constitution

The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction

Congress can, in the absence of a constitutional amendment, expand or restrict the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction

The Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction can be removed by Congress

Congress can, in the absence of a constitutional amendment, expand or restrict the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction

Correct answer:

Congress can, in the absence of a constitutional amendment, expand or restrict the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction

Explanation:

This question is relatively straightforward, although it requires knowledge of the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction. An easy way to keep the two apart is to look at the roots and/or cognates of the two words: the root of “original,” for example, means “the beginning, or source”; the root of “appellate” is “appeal,” a technical term in law to mean the application to a higher court to reverse a lower. Thus, “original” jurisdiction must mean that the case BEGAN in that court; the questions are those of fact (e.g. did Viola Davis kill her husband in “How to Get Away with Murder”). “Appellate” jurisdiction, then, must mean that one of the parties (the losing party) disagrees with the decision of the lower court, and seeks to have it reversed—thus they appeal to a higher court. Appellate courts generally deal with questions of law, rather than those of fact. In other words, appellate courts (generally) do NOT deal with “did Viola Davis kill her husband”—the lower court does. They do, however, answer questions such as “did the lower court apply the applicable law correctly,” etc.

Now, the Supreme Court is odd in the sense that it has both original AND appellate jurisdiction; that is, it can act as both a trial court AND a court of appeals (to put it yet another way, it can answer questions of fact AND questions of law). That said, the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction is fixed in the Constitution (Remember Marbury v. Madison? That is, essentially, the reason Marbury lost). So, can Congress expand or restrict the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction willy-nilly? No. That requires a constitutional amendment (remember: the only way to change the constitution is with an amendment).

The Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction, however, is subject to the whim of Congress—Congress can add to or subtract from (or even remove) the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction simply by passing a bill (provided the President signs it, of course).

Example Question #12 : Congressional Procedures

The “filibuster” is a parliamentary tool that can be used ___________.

Possible Answers:

By the President

In the House of Representatives only

In the House and the Senate

In the Senate only

In state legislatures only

Correct answer:

In the Senate only

Explanation:

The filibuster is often called “talking a bill to death,” and it is available only to senators (at the Congressional level—several states do have the filibuster). Essentially, once a senator obtains the floor (is recognized and allowed to speak), he may then speak as long as he wants, as the Senate rules provide for “unlimited debate.”

 Here’s the fun part: the “debate” need not actually be about the bill at hand. Take, for example, Strom Thurmond, a senator from South Carolina who (although now deceased) still holds the record for the longest filibuster in the history of the country: 24 hours and 18 minutes. Thurmond was filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and during his time on the floor, read from the bible, the phone book, and a recipe or two.

The House of Representatives does not allow for unlimited debate (in fact, the House Rules require limited debate), thus there is no filibuster in the House. The President doesn’t filibuster because his part in the legislative process is to either sign the bill into law or veto it.

Example Question #15 : Congressional Procedures

What is “cloture”?

Possible Answers:

A  vote that allows the Senate to forcibly end a filibuster

The process by which the Speaker of the House chooses her successor

The ability of the Majority Leader in the House to force a vote

None of the answers are correct

A parliamentary procedure in the House that forces the president to act

Correct answer:

A  vote that allows the Senate to forcibly end a filibuster

Explanation:

Cloture is the rule that provides for the forcible end of a filibuster, so long as  of the Senate  vote to end it. Given that the filibuster is only available in the Senate, all of the other answers must be incorrect.

As a somewhat interesting technical note, it is devastatingly difficult to end a filibuster; most bills pass (really either chamber) by a bare majority, so getting  on board for a cloture vote is often quite hard.

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