Chapter 11: The Presidency, Chapter 13: The Federal Courts, Chapter 12: Bureaucracy, Chapter 10: Congress
In 2016, constituents notified Congress of a sudden 500% price hike in EpiPens (which are used to treat severe allergic reactions). In response, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee launched an inquiry and held hearings on the issue. The committee's response was an example of ______ oversight.
"Fire Alarm"
If the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a regularly scheduled hearing to receive updates on the implementation of health care laws by the Department of Health and Human Services, it would be an example of ________ oversight.
"Police patrol"
___________ bureaucrats regularly interact with the public.
"Street-level"
Approximately ___ of the ______ bills introduced in a typical congressional session die in the committee.
85%; 10,000
Which of the following is the most likely to involve administrative law?
A case in which John Smith alleges a regulation promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency is invalid
Which of the following would the Supreme Court likely refuse to hear because of "mootness"
A case involving a student suing a state-run university for discrimination in the admissions process after the student was first rejected but then later admitted to the university
In the federal court system, each circuit court of appeals has...
A range of permanent judgeships depending on the workload of the circuit
Of the following, which is the most important factor in bureaucracies' ability to implement laws effectively?
Administrative capacity
A person, agency, or interest group not directly a party to a case but with an interest in its outcome may file a(n) ________ brief.
Amicus Curiae
The annexation of Texas happened as a result of...
An executive order
The president can influence the federal judicial process in several ways, including...
Appointing federal judges and issuing pardons and amnesties.
One of the major tools of bureaucratic control presidents posses is the...
Appointment power over political appointees atop the career civil service
Before the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, government appointments were made...
Appointments were made to political supporters as part of a spoils system
The process of allocating congressional seats among the states is called...
Apportionment
Most programs and agencies are subject to some oversight every year during the course of hearings on...
Appropriations
The term pork barrel refers to...
Appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts
The complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles that organize all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel is...
Bureaucracy
In 2014, a Department of Veterans Affairs audit and FBI investigation of the Veterans Health Administration found that over 120,000 military veterans were left waiting or never got appointments for health care. The scandal is an example of...
Bureaucratic failure
The president has the power to appoint which of the following positions?
Cabinet secretaries
The Senior Executive Service provides an opportunity for...
Career civil servants and sometimes individuals from outside of the government to pursue managerial positions in the bureaucracy
When Democrats gather in the House to elect their House leaders every two years, this is called a...
Caucus
Impeachment offenses are...
Charged by the House and tried in the Senate, with the Chief Justice presiding and a two-thirds vote needed for conviction.
The Executive Office of the President includes all of the following EXCEPT the...
Chief of Staff
A provision by the House Rules committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate is called a...
Closed rule
In _________, legislators rewrite bills to reflect changes discussed during hearings.
Committee markup
In 2019, the Supreme Court made which rule on gerrymandering?
Common Cause?
Suppose that a majority piece of legislation is being considered by Congress. The House and the Senate have passed similar versions of the bill, but important differences remain. Which committee would be in charge of working out a compromise between the two chambers?
Conference committee
During the nineteenth century, ______ was America's dominant institution of government.
Congress
The size of the U.S. Supreme Court is set by...
Congress
As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress ________ implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program to the Small Business Administration.
Delegated
Executive agreements are part of a president's _____ powers.
Diplomatic
Trial courts in the federal judicial system are called...
District courts
Privatization is a way to...
Downsize government in that the workers provide good and services are no longer counted as government bureaucracy
Which of the following illustrates a member of Congress acting as a delegate?
During a town hall, constituents of Senator Ted Cruz (TX) urge him to vote in favor of an upcoming tax cut, which he does
An emergency declaration relating to foreign threats allows the president to...
Embargo trade, seize foreign assets, and prohibit transactions with whatever foreign nations are involved
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 set up new agencies and processes to...
Ensure that the recruitment and promotion of civil servants remained merit based
The merit system...
Ensures that civil service jobs are awarded to individuals who are qualified for the job and protects them from political interference after they are hired
When the president grants a pardon to someone convicted of a federal crime, this is an example of using one of their ______ powers.
Expressed
______ powers are specifically established by the language of the Constitution.
Expressed
Because the number or justices on the Supreme Court is established in the Constitution, Congress would have to pass an amendment to change the Court's size.
False
The majority of cases are heard by federal courts
False
The number of justices who should be on the Supreme Court is specified by the Constitution.
False
Imagine that all Republican members of Congress in the House vote to pass a bill to cut taxes. This action is known as a...
Filibuster
Congress has assigned federal court jurisdictions on the basis of...
Geography
Since 1950, compared with the entire workforce, the number of federal employees has
Gradually declined
Presidential spouses are an important resource for the president in order to carry out the duty of..
Head of state
The president is America's presence on the global stage, representing America at official ceremonies and functions. In this role we would say that in the United States, the president is the...
Head of state
The office of the presidency was established by Article ___ of the Constitution.
II
Which of the following best illustrates an example of a "policy czar"?
In 2014, President Obama chose Ron Klain to serve as the Obama Administration's Ebola response coordinator
Why is Marbury v. Madison (1803) an important case?
In this case, the justices authorized the Supreme Court to exercise judicial review over laws passed by Congress.
Cases ________ are NOT part of the original jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In which more than $1 million is at stake
The Freedom of Information Act is designed to...
Increase bureaucratic transparency and oversight of the executive branch
Holding the political office for which one is running is known as...
Incumbency
When President Lincoln raised an army after the fall of Fort Sumter despite having no clear legal authority to do so, it illustrated the...
Inherent powers of the presidency
Which best characterizes the use of oversight powers in Congress in recent years?
It has an increasingly partisan tone
Which of the following statements about the impeachment process is most accurate?
It is a political exercise
What is a government corporation?
It is an agency that performs and charges for services usually provided by the private sector
The Office of Management and Budget is important because...
Its personnel assist with overseeing regulatory proposals and preparing the national budget
If the Supreme Court were to decide to review a case that alleges President Trump's antiterrorism initiative violated a citizen's civil liberties, the case likely would be an example of...
Judicial review of executive power
The Supreme Court explains its decisions in terms of...
Law and precedent
What is the most common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress?
Lawyer
Senators' longer terms of office, and larger, more heterogeneous constituencies make them more...
Likely to consider new ideas and better able to act as the agents for groups and interests organized on a statewide or national basis
One of the most important ways Congress can check presidential control of the bureaucracy is by...
Limiting the president's ability to remove agency officials
The Office of Management and Budget is an important instrument of presidential control because it reviews...
Most rules promulgated by federal agencies and helps the president put together the federal budget submitted annually to Congress
In general, presidents...
Must state the constitutional or statutory basis for their use of executive orders
The first female Speaker of the House was...
Nancy Pelosi
The ______ is the name given to the group of designated cabinet officials and other military, diplomatic, and intelligence officials who meet regularly with the president to give advice on national security matters.
National Security Council
The powers of Congress have declined dramatically in which of the following areas over the last 50 years?
National defense and the federal budget
Congress designed inspectors generals to be...
Nonpartisan, independent organizations which investigate bureaucratic activities
Emily Green seeks to file a class action lawsuit in federal court alleging that, as taxpayers, she and other citizens are concerned about the government's failure to protect the environment. The lawsuit would likely....
Not be heard by the court because Emily lacks standing
One way the majority leader and minority leader in the Senate exert power is through control...
Of the calendar
A bill that deals with such a diverse set of unrelated issues as environmental issues, tax issues, and criminal justice issues is likely to be a(n)...
Omnibus appropriations bill
The written explanation of the Supreme Court's decision in a particular case is known as the...
Opinion
In ______, an attorney for each side appears before the Supreme Court to present her client's position and answer the justices' questions.
Oral argument
Joint committees are...
Permanent, but do not have the power to present legislation
In court cases the ________ is the party that brings charges and the ________ is the party accused of a violation of the law.
Plaintiff; defendant
Prior cases whose principles are used by judges to decide current cases are called...
Precedents
A pocket veto is used by the...
President
How has going public evolved over time?
Presidents have found it easier to go directly to the people, especially with the advent of the internet
While the Constitution does not specify that presidents have the power to remove those they appointed to office from their positions...
Presidents have long claimed that the power is implied by those expressed powers they have in the Constitution
What is the general tendency of a president's approval rating?
Presidents usually start out popular and decline over the next four years
If the federal government decided to hire Google to provide email services to all of its employees rather than maintaining its own, in-house email services, this would be an example of...
Privatization
Conference committees...
Reconcile differences between a bill passed by the House and Senate
________ occurs when an agency, rather than acting in the public interest, becomes too favorable toward the organized interests or corporations it is supposed to be regulating.
Regulatory capture
A presidential emergency declaration..
Remains in force for only one year unless it is renewed by the president.
Environmental impact statements are...
Reports demonstrating that a proposed rule or agency action will not have an unacceptably large negative impact on the human or physical environment
Which of the following statements best describes the representation of women and minorities in the U.S. Congress?
Representation of women and minorities has increased during the past two decades but is not comparable to their proportions in the general population
The Senate Watergate committee of 1973 is an example of a ______ committee.
Select
In 2015 House of Representatives committee that held hearings to investigate Hillary Clinton's use of private email services during her tenure as secretary of state is an example of a...
Select committee
Cabinet members must be approved by the...
Senate but are not responsible to the Senate or to Congress at large
A U.S. senator has a ___-year term.
Six
Which of the following are set up by Congress to provide the legislative branch with resources and expertise independent of the executive branch?
Staff agencies
A legislative "hold" is a...
Stalling tactic used in the U.S. Senate to delay debate on a bill
If someone tries to bring a lawsuit without having suffered actual damages, the case may be dismissed due to which of the following concerns?
Standing
The Constitution attempts to restrain the president's use of domestic force by...
Stating that a state government must request federal troops before the president can deploy them within that state to provide public order
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the United States Supreme Court held that the District of Columbia's handgun ban was an unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment. In writing the majority opinion, the late Justice Antonin Scalia looked predominantly to the words of the Second Amendment of the Constitution in interpreting its meaning. This judicial philosophy can be described as...
Strict Construction
The "sophomore surge" refers to the...
Tendency for candidates to win a higher percentage of the vote when seeking future terms in office
Race became a major factor in drawing congressional district lines as a result of...
The 1982 amendments to the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Presidential nominations go where for confirmation?
The Senate
Who decides which committee assignments members of the House of Representatives receive?
The Speaker of the House
The development of the internet by ______ is an example of bureaucratic _______.
The U.S. Department of Defense; Innovation
________ is largest employer in the country and the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world.
The U.S. federal government
Which of the following constitutional provisions provides the least groundwork for a federal bureaucracy?
The ability of the president to "receive Ambassadors" from other countries
The framers gave the power to introduce "money bills" to the House of Representatives but not the Senate because they believed that...
The chamber closest to the people should exercise greater authority over taxing and spending
The president's military powers can best be observed in their role as...
The commander in chief
Which of the following best summarizes the legality of executive privilege?
The court has acknowledged that the concept is legal, though the president may not be able to claim it in every case
If a man is arrested because his home was searched by police without a legal warrant, he could argue in court that he had been denied...
The due process of law
A writ of habeas corpus declares that...
The government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.
Congress's tendency in recent years to give executive agencies fewer clear guidelines for implementing laws is a result of..
The greater scope and complexity of the tasks that the federal government has undertaken
The disagreement between President Obama and Congressional Republicans over the design of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau illustrates...
The importance of agency structure, funding, and location for bureaucratic control
In the House of Representatives, what is the relationship between the majority leader and the Speaker of the House?
The majority leader is subordinate to the Speaker of the House
Who elects the minority leads?
The minority party
Once the president has formally nominated an individual for a federal judgeship...
The nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote in the full Senate.
A major risk of the delegate model or representation is that...
The voices of only a few active and informed constituents will be heard because most people do not pay close attention to every issue
Why did the length of time required to develop an administrative rule grow from an average of 15 months to an average of more than 35 months over the last four decades?
There are now new procedures requiring more public notice, more public hearings, more cost-benefit analysis, and stronger legal obligations to prepare "environmental impact statements."
A Subcommittee is helpful for members of Congress because...
They specialize in particular aspects of the committee's work
Medical malpractice suits are good examples of ______ cases.
Tort
The role that the U.S. Senate plays in impeachments can be best compared with that of a ...
Trial jury
All presidents have made an effort to select justices who share their political philosophies.
True
The Supreme Court is the only federal court established by the Constitution.
True
The Supreme Court's power to review acts of Congress is not specifically granted by the Constitution.
True
The essence of the "rule of law" is that "the state" and its officials must be judged by the same laws as the citizenry.
True
What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?
Two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress
The most visible indication of political oversight of the bureaucracy is the...
Use of public hearings before congressional committees and subcommittees
Which of the following statements about the presidential veto is most accurate?
Use of the veto varies considerably across presidential administrations, and vetoes are seldom overridden
Federal employees who report wrongdoing within agencies are often referred to as...
Whistleblowers
The president's group of advisers and analysts is collectively called the...
White House staff
Agencies like the Departments of State, Department of Defense, and Homeland Security...
Work to maintain national security and protect American interests at home and abroad
In modern democracies, courts made up of judges and juries...
hear the facts on both sides of a case and apply relevant law or constitutional principle to decide which side has the stronger argument