Chapter 13 Congress Questions

Summarize the differences between Congress and a parliament.

1. Why is Congress a decentralized institution and why is Congress inevitably unpopular with voters?

2. Briefly summarize the six phases of the House of Representatives so that you are clear about the rules
changes and the balance of power between the Speaker and committee chairmen. (How Thing Work )

3. Look up the 114th Congress (online)detail the main demographics (make-up) and then compare them
with the 102nd Congress on page 312.
4. What were the reasons why there more new members to the House in the early 1990s?
5. Why have more congressional districts become safer for incumbent reelection?
6. What is gerrymandering? Why is this practice considered to be a controversial practice?
7. Why has Congress become more ideologically partisan since the 1890s?
8. How can members of Congress influence legislation?
9. Name and explain the three primary theories of members behavior? (Representational, Organizational,
and Attitudinal).

10. Why has civility decreased among legislators?

11. What are the powers of the Speaker of the House?
12. Why are the members of each party so polarized today?
13. What are caucuses and why are they important?
14. Define the four different types of committees.
15. How has the committee structure changed in the past 30 years? What has been the effect of these
changes and how does having a large staff create a demand for more staff?
(You may want to research 16 and 17 outside the textbooks).
16. What does the House Ways and Means Committee do?

17. What do that House and Senate Appropriations Committees do?

18. What do the CRS, GAO, and CBO do?

19. Summarize the process of how a bill becomes a law.

20. What are the principal jobs and responsibilities in the party leadership in the Senate?
21. What is a filibuster? How can a filibuster be broken?
22. What do the changes for breaking a filibuster mean for trying to pass a bill in the Senate?

23. Take a look at page (328 or 334 depending on book)using the How things Work briefly discuss the
difference between House and Senate.

24. Look at the Constitution (Its in an appendix in the back of the book or you have your own copy.) Read
through Article I, Sections 1, 3, and 7 and Article II., Section 2. Make a list of the different powers that
the Constitution gives to either the House or Senate.

25. Explain pork barrel legislation and the franking privilege.

26. In general, what type of rules are there to make sure our Congress members are ethical?