5
Civics Test
Court, the president names a new member. However,
the Senate has the power to reject the president’s
choices. This limit on the power of the president is an
example of checks and balances.
16. Who makes federal laws?
++ Congress
++ Senate and House (of Representatives)
++ (U.S. or national) legislature
Congress makes federal laws. A federal law usually
applies to all states and all people in the United States.
Either side of Congress—the Senate or the House of
Representatives—can propose a bill to address an issue.
When the Senate proposes a bill, it sends the bill to a
Senate committee. The Senate committee studies the
issue and the bill. When the House of Representatives
proposes a bill, it sends the bill to a House of
Representatives committee. The committee studies
the bill and sometimes makes changes to it. Then the
bill goes to the full House or Senate for consideration.
When each chamber passes its own version of the
bill, it often goes to a “conference committee.” The
conference committee has members from both the
House and the Senate. This committee discusses the
bill, tries to resolve the differences, and writes a report
with the final version of the bill. Then the committee
sends the final version of the bill back to both houses
for approval. If both houses approve the bill, it is
considered “enrolled.” An enrolled bill goes to the
president to be signed into law. If the president signs
the bill, it becomes a federal law.
17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*
++ the Senate and House (of Representatives)
Congress is divided into two parts—the Senate
and the House of Representatives. Because it has
two “chambers,” the U.S. Congress is known as a
“bicameral” legislature. The system of checks and
balances works in Congress. Specific powers are
assigned to each of these chambers. For example,
only the Senate has the power to reject a treaty signed
by the president or a person the president chooses
to serve on the Supreme Court. Only the House of
Representatives has the power to introduce a bill that
requires Americans to pay taxes.
18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
++ one hundred (100)
There are 100 senators in Congress, two from each
state. All states have equal power in the Senate because
each state has the same number of senators. States
with a very small population have the same number
of senators as states with very large populations. The
Framers of the Constitution made sure that the Senate
would be small. This would keep it more orderly
than the larger House of Representatives. As James
Madison wrote in Federalist Paper #63, the Senate should
be a “temperate and respectable body of citizens” that
operates in a “cool and deliberate” way.
19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
++ six (6)
The Framers of the Constitution wanted senators to
be independent from public opinion. They thought
a fairly long, six-year term would give them this
protection. They also wanted longer Senate terms to
balance the shorter two-year terms of the members
of the House, who would more closely follow public
opinion. The Constitution puts no limit on the number
of terms a senator may serve. Elections for U.S.
senators take place on even-numbered years. Every two
years, one-third of the senators are up for election