2009 FRQ #3

Post date: Apr 05, 2013 5:49:31 PM

3. In the United States Congress, the majority party exerts a substantial influence over lawmaking. However, even

when one party has a numerical majority in each chamber of the United States Congress, there is no guarantee

that legislation supported by that majority party will be passed by both chambers. Rules of each chamber

independently influence the likelihood that legislation will pass in that chamber; legislation passed by one

chamber is not always passed by the other. (2009)

(a) Describe two advantages the majority party in the United States House of Representatives has in lawmaking,

above and beyond the numerical advantage that that majority party enjoys in floor voting.

(b) Describe two differences between House and Senate rules that may make it likely that legislation may pass

in one chamber but not in the other.

(c) Explain how the differences identified in (b) can lead to the passage of a bill in one chamber but not in the

other.