FSOT U.S. Government and Politics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which body has the sole power to try impeachments under the U.S. Constitution?
- The House of Representatives
- The Supreme Court
- The Senate (Correct answer)
- A joint session of Congress
Correct answer: The Senate
Article I, Section 3 gives the Senate the sole power to try all impeachments, requiring a two-thirds vote to convict.
Question 2: What is the constitutional requirement for overriding a presidential veto?
- A simple majority in both chambers
- A three-fifths vote in the Senate only
- A two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate (Correct answer)
- A majority vote by all state legislatures
Correct answer: A two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate
Article I, Section 7 requires a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers to override a presidential veto.
Question 3: An 'independent regulatory commission' differs from a traditional executive agency primarily because:
- It reports directly to Congress rather than the President
- Its commissioners serve fixed terms and cannot be removed at will by the President (Correct answer)
- It operates without any congressional oversight
- Its decisions are not subject to judicial review
Correct answer: Its commissioners serve fixed terms and cannot be removed at will by the President
Independent regulatory commissions like the FCC and SEC have commissioners with fixed terms, insulating them from direct presidential removal.
Question 4: Which amendment prohibits the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude?
- 13th Amendment
- 14th Amendment
- 15th Amendment (Correct answer)
- 24th Amendment
Correct answer: 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment (1870) guaranteed that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of race, color, or previous servitude.
Question 5: The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the President to notify Congress within how many hours of deploying armed forces into hostilities?
- 24 hours
- 48 hours (Correct answer)
- 72 hours
- 96 hours
Correct answer: 48 hours
The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing troops to combat.
Question 6: What is 'logrolling' in the context of the U.S. legislative process?
- A filibuster tactic using repeated procedural motions
- Legislators trading votes to pass each other's favored bills (Correct answer)
- The practice of attaching unrelated riders to popular legislation
- Committee chairs delaying floor votes on rival legislation
Correct answer: Legislators trading votes to pass each other's favored bills
Logrolling refers to the practice of legislators exchanging votes, supporting each other's bills to secure passage of their own.
Question 7: The Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution (Article IV) primarily requires that:
- States must honor the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states (Correct answer)
- Federal courts must defer to state court decisions
- Congress must fund all state programs it mandates
- States must treat citizens of other states equally
Correct answer: States must honor the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states
The Full Faith and Credit Clause requires each state to recognize the legal acts and court judgments of other states.
FSOT U.S. Government and Politics 3
Which body has the sole power to try impeachments under the U.S.
Constitution?