1 EVALUATING When the Senate and House of
Representatives pass similar but not identical bills on the
same subject, what must occur before the bill goes to the
president? Why did the Founders make this provision a
part of the lawmaking process?
2 DETERMINING MEANING What does the term bicameral
mean, and how does it apply to the structure of the
federal government?
3 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE What key function can
members of the House of Representatives perform that
the delegates from the District of Columbia cannot? What
would need to occur before this situation could change?
4 ANALYZING CHANGE In what ways has the structure of
Congress remained the same as when the First Congress
convened? In what ways has it changed?
6 DETERMINING CENTRAL IDEAS The majority party
chooses both the majority leader and the Speaker. What
are some ways that these positions differ?
6 IDENTIFYING CAUSES At what point in the legislative
process does a bill go on the House calendar? Why is this
process in place?
7 ANALYZING CHANGE Why is the Rules Committee
considered one of the most powerful committees? How
has its role changed over the years?
8 COMPARING AND CONTRASTING How are the roles of
the vice president in the Senate and the Speaker of the
House similar? How are they different? Have their roles
changed over the years?
9 UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT Why do small states have
equal power with large states in the Senate? Why did the
Founders organize the Senate in this way?
10 EXPLAINING CAUSE AND EFFECT Why do major bills
often require 60 votes to pass the Senate instead of a
simple majority of 517 Why has this procedure in the
Senate proven unpopular with contemporary voters?
11 ANALYZING CHANGE How has the Senate changed the
rules for approving all presidential appointments except
Supreme Court nominees? Why did it Institute this change?
12 DETERMINING CENTRAL IDEAS What role do
congressional committees play in the legislative process?
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Suppose the Senate is composed
of 70 Democrats and 30 Republicans. How many members of
each party would you expect to be on a ten-member Senate
standing committee? When might this not be the case?
14 ANALYZING CHANGE How has the role of committee
chairpersons changed since the 1970s?
15 DETERMINING CENTRAL IDEAS What are the two types
of congressional staff and their duties? How does the
work that each performs differ?
16 ANALYZING CENTRAL IDEAS Suppose lawmakers
wanted a report on how funds appropriated for the Head
Start program were being spent. What legislative support
agency should the lawmakers consult?
History-Social Science Analysis
Use the political cartoon to answer the following questions.
CLOTURE
17 EVALUATING How do you know that the speaker is not
talking about a presidential appointee for a cabinet position?
18 EXPLAINING CAUSE AND EFFECT What will happen if rain comes from the cloud