Congress and Legislative Process Worksheet

Which of the following statements describes how a bill becomes a law?

• A bill must pass the Senate by a majority vote and then the House by a 2/3 vote before being signed into law by the president.

• A bill must pass both chambers of Congress by a simple majority vote and then get signed into law by the president.

• A bill must pass the House of Representatives by a 2/3 vote, get signed by the president, and then pass the Senate with another 2/3 vote before becoming law.

• A bill must be approved by the Supreme Court before being signed into law by the leaders of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

What does Senate staggered terms refer to?

• A third of all Senators are up for reelection every two years

• Each state gets representation in the Senate every other year

• The House and Senate alternate who gets to create bills each year

• The two senators from each state take turns voting in Congress

Which type of committee has bills referred to it for consideration for the first time and continues from one Congress to the next?

• Standing Committee

• Joint Committee

• Conference Committee

• Select/Special Committee

Which of the following is NOT a power of Congress?

• Declaring war

• Coining money

• Appointing ambassadors

• Establishing the federal courts

How do members of Congress determine whether the laws they’ve created and the money they’ve appropriated are achieving intended results?

• Hiring lobbyists

• Conducting oversight

• Judicial review

• They can’t—only the president has this function

To even have a vote in the Senate on a bill, 60 Senators must agree. This refers to…

• Logrolling

• Placing a hold

• Markup

• A motion of cloture

Who actually conducts the impeachment trial? (Impeachment has already occurred.)

• House

• Senate

The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district is known as _______.

• gerrymandering

• redistricting

• apportionment

• reapportionment