416 Chapter 11 | CongressThe structure of Congress
Examine how parties, the committee system, and staffers
enable Congress to function. (Pages 395–404)Summary
Many aspects of Congress are set up to meet the needs of its members.
The norms of universalism and reciprocity still dominate, meaning that
members of Congress share resources more broadly than partisan
politics would dictate.Practice Quiz Questions
- The norm of says that federal highway dollars are
likely to be divided up so that many districts benefit.
a reciprocity
b seniority
c party unity
d universalism
e specialization - Committee leadership, division of seats on committee,
and allocation of committee resources are determined
by.
a the majority party
b the size of the election margin
c unanimous consent
d seniority
e the president pro tempore - The Senate leadership is the House leadership.
a more powerful than
b as powerful as
c less powerful than
d irrelevant to - Party leaders have the power to.
a force members of Congress to vote a particular way
b keep a member of Congress off the ballot in the next election
c force their members to share their campaign money
d exclude a member from a roll call vote
e help their members get favorable committee assignments
Key terms
logrolling (p. 395)
earmarks (p. 395)
seniority (p. 396)
Speaker of the House (p. 398)
Majority Leader (p. 398)
whip system (p. 398)
Minority Leader (p. 398)
president pro tempore (p. 398)
roll call vote (p. 400)party vote (p. 400)
party unity (p. 400)
standing committees (p. 402)
select committees (p. 402)
joint committees (p. 402)
conference committees
(p. 403)
distributive theory (p. 403)
informational theory (p. 403)How a bill becomes a law
Trace the steps in the legislative process.
(Pages 404–412)Summary
Most bills become law in a conventional manner, but major pieces of
legislation generally deviate considerably from this path. The legis-
lative process differs for the House and Senate, sometimes making it
difficult to reconcile differences between bills.Practice Quiz Questions
- Compared with the Senate, the floor process in the House is
very and.
a unstructured; majoritarian
b structured; majoritarian
c unstructured; individualistic
d structured; individualistic
e individualistic; majoritarian - Which of the following is the most important characteristic of
how a bill becomes a law?
a The bill must be passed by a conference committee composed of
House and Senate members.
b The bill must be signed by the Speaker of the House.
c A majority of the majority-party members of the House and
Senate must support the bill.
d The bill must pass the House and Senate in identical form.
e The bill must be introduced by the president or one of his or her
staff members.
Oversight
Describe how Congress ensures that the bureaucracy
implements policies correctly. (Pages 412–413)Summary
After passing bills into law, Congress oversees the bureaucracy
in its implementation of the law, making sure it fits Congress’s
intentions. Although controlling funding is the most powerful
mechanism for this, Congress has a number of other mechanisms
for achieving bureaucratic fidelity. Generally, Congress does not
actively patrol the bureaucracy, but waits until a crisis emerges
to act.Key terms
markup (p. 408)
veto (p. 409)
pocket veto (p. 409)
omnibus legislation (p. 410)
cloture (p. 411)
filibuster (p. 411)hold (p. 411)
reconciliation (p. 411)
closed rules (p. 412)
open rules (p. 412)
modified rules (p. 412)Full_12_APT_64431_ch11_374-417.indd 416 16/11/18 10:31 AM