Whose house?

“House” work

Commit-tees

What they do

Leaders &

groups

Election Mis-cell-any

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

200 200 200 200 200 200 200

300 300 300 300 300 300 300

400 400 400 400 400 400 400

500 500 500 500 500 500 500

AP Government Jeopardy – Congress

Final Jeopardy! QuestionCongress

Incumbency Effect

House of the U.S. Congress that approves

presidential appointments of

ambassadors, executive department heads, and federal judges – as well as trying a president in

the impeachment process

U.S. Senate

Whose house? 100

Provided for direct election of senators, previously chosen by

state legislatures

Seventeenth Amendment (1913)

Whose house? 200

Term of office for Senators

Six years

Whose house? 300

U.S. House of Representatives

House of the U.S. Congress responsible

for originating all revenue bills – as well

as bringing impeachment charges against the president

Whose house? 400

Term of office for Representatives

(Congressmen/women)

Two years

Whose house? 500

Member of Congress votes based on

constituents views regardless of his/her

own viewpoint

Delegate model of representation

“House” work 100

Member of Congress listens to constituents but forms his/her own views for which he/she

votes

Trustee model of representation

“House” work 200

Where most of the work of Congress is done;

permits specialization

Committee system in Congress

“House” work 300

Procedure to cut off filibuster (and debate)

in the Senate, requires a 3/5 vote

Cloture

“House” work 400

Supporting another member’s legislation in

return for his/her support of your

legislation; a tactic often used to obtain pork barrel projects

Logrolling

“House” work 500

A permanent committee maintained from session to session of Congress;

deals with a specific subject area such as

agriculture, energy, etc.

Standing Committee

Commit-tees 100

House committee that determines if a bill will be brought to the full House, sets rule for

debate and voting on the bill

Rules Committee

Commit-tees 200

Temporary committee of members of both houses created to

resolve differences in House and Senate

versions of a bill – aim to create a compromise

bill that both houses will accept

Conference committee

Commit-tees 300

A committee consisting of members of both the Senate and the House

Joint committee

Commit-tees 400

Temporary committee appointed for a specific

purpose, such as to investigate a particular

issue, incident, or scandal

Select committee

Commit-tees 500

Constituent caseworkHelping voters in their district solve problems

involving the bureaucracy, most often delegated to

Congressional staff

What they do 100

Pork barrel legislationLegislation that provides funding for projects in a

senator’s or representative’s home

district or state

What they do 200

OversightCongressional function of

reviewing and investigating activities of

the executive branch

What they do 300

RiderAmendment to a bill that has no connection to the

subject matter of the bill; a tactic used to get

legislation passed that would not otherwise

become law

What they do 400

Ways and Means Committee

House committee in which all revenue bills originate

What they do 500

Seniority systemMember of the majority party who has served the longest on that committee

generally becomes the committee chair

Please note – this is the second most important

criterion after party identification

Leaders & Groups100

Speaker of the HousePresiding officer and most powerful member of the

House of Representatives; elected by members of

his/her party in the House; assigns bills to

committees, makes committee assignments, and chooses committee

chairpersons Leaders & Groups200

Senate majority leaderMost powerful member of

the Senate; makes committee assignments

for his/her party

Leaders & Groups300

Minority leaderIn both houses, this is the

individual who makes committee assignments for the minority party

Leaders & Groups400

Congressional CaucusCongressional working

groups that are not official committees; generally

consist of members who share a common goal or

identity (i.e., women, African Americans)

Leaders & Groups500

ReapportionmentRedistribution of

Congressional seats among states every ten years; occurs after the

census determines changes in population

Elections 100

Congressional redistrictingState legislatures

redrawing congressional districts after each census;

districts must be contiguous and must

represent equal populations

Elections 200

GerrymanderingDrawing congressional

districts to favor one political party or group

over another

Elections 300

Incumbency effectTendency of those already

holding office to win reelection; applies to nearly all seats in the

House and Senate

Elections 400

Baker v. Carr (1862)Supreme Court ruling that

a state’s congressional districts had to be equal in

population (called the “one man, one vote” rule)

Elections 500

Article IArticle that creates a

bicameral legislature and lists its primary functions

Mis-cell-any100

FilibusterAn attempt to keep debate open to stall a vote or bill with the goal of blocking

the bill entirely

Mis-cell-any 200

Legislative vetoNullification of an

executive branch action by a vote of one or both houses of Congress

Declared unconstitutional in 1983 by the Supreme

Court

Mis-cell-any 300

Congressional checks on the Executive branch

Impeachment, “advice and consent” (approval powers), ability to

override presidential vetoes

Mis-cell-any 400

Congressional checks on the Legislative branch

Ability to restructure the federal court system,

approval of appointments for federal judges, ability to negate Supreme Court decisions by proposing

constitutional amendments

Mis-cell-any 500

• Name three reasons for the incumbency effect

FINAL JEOPARDY

• More campaign experience• Name recognition

• More opportunities for news media• Fundraising advantages• Franking privilege

• Claim credit for casework and pork barrel

FINAL JEOPARDY