6 week test questions

1.     The first direct tax on the Colonists was the

a.      Tea Act

b.     Stamp Act

c.      First Act

d.     Coercive Act

2.     In Retaliation for the “Boston Tea Party” Parliament passed the

a.      Intolerable Act

b.     Stamp Act

c.      Wright Amendment

d.     Coercive Act

e.      Both A&D

3.     Which of the following documents was not used by the Founders to write the Constitution?

a.      Magna Carta

b.     English Bill of Rights

c.      John Locke’s Natural Law

d.     Federalist Papers

e.      Maybury vs. Madison

4.     __________ is the Governmental Power that is divided between the Sates and National Government.

5.     Which of the following is not a purpose of Government?

a.      Maintain Social Order

b.     Provide Public Service

c.      Provide National Security

d.     Maintain an Economy

e.      Provide Health Care

6.     What are the three branches of Government?

7.     What are the three sections of the Constitution?

8.     The Idea that Government can only exist with the consent of the governed is called.

a.      Ordered Government

b.     Civil Liberties

c.      Popular Sovereignty

d.     A Delegate

9.     The reason the American Colonists became angry and resentful towards England was

a.      Harsh taxes and trade restrictions

b.     A lack of military protection

c.      An English boycott of American Goods

d.     British attempt to destroy their Government

10.  Which of the following is not an example of the checks and balance system?

a.      The Senate approving the President’s nominee for the Supreme Court

b.     The Supreme Court declares a law passed by Congress Unconstitutional

c.      The President vetoes a bill

d.     The President makes an Executive Order

11.  The Public good id defined as…

a.      A policy that is good for the nation as a whole

b.     Something provided by the Government that cannot be provided by society

c.      Something in which any member of society can share

d.     A choice that Government makes in response to an issue

12.  One type of linkage institution is

a.      An interest group

b.     A Political party

c.      The Media

d.     Elections

e.      All of the above

13.  The fundamental element of the Democratic Theory is

a.      Majority Rules

b.     Equality

c.      Government Efficiency

d.     Access to Information

e.      Power to the People

14.  An________ is an agreement prohibiting trade.

15.  The Declaration of Independence

a.      Explains the British North American Colonists efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement of their grievances.

b.     List the American Colonists charges against King George III

c.      Declare that all bonds between the Colonial America and Britain are dissolved

d.     All of the Above

Government 101: How a Bill Becomes Law

Government 101: How a Bill Becomes Law

A. Legislation is Introduced

- Any member can introduce a piece of legislation

House

- Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper.

Senate

- Members must gain recognition of the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senator objects, the introduction of the bill is postponed until the next day.

• The bill is assigned a number. (e.g. HR 1 or S 1)
• The bill is labeled with the sponsor's name.
• The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) and copies are made.
• Senate bills can be jointly sponsored.
• Members can cosponsor the piece of Legislation.

B. Committee Action

- The bill is referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. Most often, the actual referral decision is made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees. Bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. Failure to act on a bill is equivalent to killing it. Bills in the House can only be released from committee without a proper committee vote by a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House membership (218 members). Committee Steps:

1. Comments about the bill's merit are requested by government agencies.
2. Bill can be assigned to subcommittee by Chairman.
3. Hearings may be held.
4. Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee.
5. Finally there is a vote by the full committee - the bill is "ordered to be reported."
6. A committee will hold a "mark-up" session during which it will make revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.
7. After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar.
8. In the House, most bills go to the Rules committee before reaching the floor. The committee adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House. A "closed rule" sets strict time limits on debate and forbids the introduction of amendments. These rules can have a major impact on whether the bill passes. The rules committee can be bypassed in three ways: 1) members can move rules to be suspended (requires 2/3 vote)2) a discharge petition can be filed 3) the House can use a Calendar Wednesday procedure.

C. Floor Action

1. Legislation is placed on the Calendar
   House: Bills are placed on one of four House Calendars. They are usually placed on the calendars in the order of which they are reported yet they don't usually come to floor in this order - some bills never reach the floor at all. The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader decide what will reach the floor and when. (Legislation can also be brought to the floor by a discharge petition.)
   Senate: Legislation is placed on the Legislative Calendar. There is also an Executive calendar to deal with treaties and nominations. Scheduling of legislation is the job of the Majority Leader. Bills can be brought to the floor whenever a majority of the Senate chooses.
   
2. Debate
   House: Debate is limited by the rules formulated in the Rules Committee. The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill but cannot technically pass it. Debate is guided by the Sponsoring Committee and time is divided equally between proponents and opponents. The Committee decides how much time to allot to each person. Amendments must be germane to the subject of a bill - no riders are allowed. The bill is reported back to the House (to itself) and is voted on. A quorum call is a vote to make sure that there are enough members present (218) to have a final vote. If there is not a quorum, the House will adjourn or will send the Sergeant at Arms out to round up missing members.
   Senate: debate is unlimited unless cloture is invoked. Members can speak as long as they want and amendments need not be germane - riders are often offered. Entire bills can therefore be offered as amendments to other bills. Unless cloture is invoked, Senators can use a filibuster to defeat a measure by "talking it to death."
   
3. Vote - the bill is voted on. If passed, it is then sent to the other chamber unless that chamber already has a similar measure under consideration. If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies. If the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the President. If the House and Senate pass different bills they are sent to Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to a Conference Committee.

D. Conference Committee

1. Members from each house form a conference committee and meet to work out the differences. The committee is usually made up of senior members who are appointed by the presiding officers of the committee that originally dealt with the bill. The representatives from each house work to maintain their version of the bill.
2. If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report, which is submitted to each chamber.
3. The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate.

E. The President

- the bill is sent to the President for review.

1. A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session.
2. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become law ("Pocket Veto.")
3. If the President vetoes the bill it is sent back to Congress with a note listing his/her reasons. The chamber that originated the legislation can attempt to override the veto by a vote of two-thirds of those present. If the veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law.

F. The Bill Becomes A Law

- once a bill is signed by the President or his veto is overridden by both houses it becomes a law and is assigned an official number.

Information from votesmart.org 

How a Bill becomes a Law

They say that there are two things that you never want to know how their made. Hot Dogs and Laws

Federalism Notes

Federalism Notes

A federal system allows both national and state governments to derive power from the people.

Article Four of the Constitution

•        1. Full Faith and Credit (respect contracts and judicial orders entered into in another state)

•        2. Privileges and Immunities (same rights state to state as provided by the national government)

•        3. Interstate Compacts

State Powers
Under the Constitution

•        Article 1

–       Allows states to determine time, place, and manner of elections for House and Senate representatives

•        Article II

–       Requires that each state appoint electors to vote for president

•        Article IV

–       Privileges and immunities clause

–       Republican form of government

–       Protection against invasion

•        Tenth Amendment

–       States’ powers described here

–       Reserve or police powers

Concurrent Powers

•        Concurrent powers

–       Authority possessed by both state and national governments and exercised concurrently (at the same time)

•        Power to tax

•        Right to borrow money

•        Establish courts

•        Make and enforce laws to carry out these powers

Denied Powers

•        States cannot

–       Enter into treaties

–       Coin money

–       Impair obligation of contracts

–       Cannot enter into compacts with other states without congressional approval

•        Congress cannot

•        Favor one state over another in regulating commerce

•        Cannot lay duties on items exported from any state (No State Tariffs)

ARTICLE SIX OF THE CONSTITUTION

•        1. ALL NATIONAL DEBTS WILL BE HONORED

•        2. SUPREMECY CLAUSE {constitution is supreme law of the land    and national laws pre-empt state laws}

THE KEY 3 COURT CASES

•        1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)

•        2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

•        3. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

•        Federalist John Marshall expands the power of the Federal Judiciary and the Federal Government

AMENDMENTS ADD TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS POWERS

•        14^TH Amendment. (Due Process)

•        16^th Amendment …….(Tax)

•        17^th Amendment …….(Senators)

•        24^th Amendment…….(No Poll Tax)