POLS101 exam 3

under federal law, PACs can contribute up to ___ per candidate for federal office a primary election

$5,000

"mark up" of a bill means that

-a president has crossed out sections of the bill that he or she finds personally objectionable -a bill has been approved after floor debate has finished -witnesses at committee hearings suggest modifications of the bill -the house speaker and senate majority leader have written a bill in a way that they favor none of these are correct

a basic reason for the existence of so many interst groups in the united states is

-the american tradition of free association -the extent of diverse interests in american society -america's federal system of government -the seperation of powers in american government all of these are correct

in which of the following legislative sessions did democrats have the majority in the house of representatives

2009-2010

approximately __percent of senate incumbents win reelection

84

nearly ___ percent of all PAC contributions go to the incumbents

85

approximately ___ percent of house incumbents win reelection

92

by and large, partisanship is

a huge source of bother cohesion and division within congress

the term iron triangle refers to

a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyist who are concerned with promoting a particular interest

which of the following is not a typical interest group function

addressing a broad and diverse range of public issues

an informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem is

an issue network

in the 1830s, the frenchman alexis de tocqueville wrote that the "principle of ___" was nowhere more evident than in America

association

most members of congress

concerned with national issues, but even more concerned with local ones

the framers of the constitution saw that ___ as the preeminent component of the federal government

congress

the lawmaking function in the constitution was granted to the:

congress

congressional staffers spend most of their time on

constituency service and public relations

theodore lowi's theory of interest-group liberalism

deals with the tendency of officials to support the policy demands of the interest group or groups that have a special stake in a policy

in the 1970s, roll-call votes

generally did not pit most republicans against most democrats

in contrast with the speaker of the house, senate majority leader

is not the presiding officer of his/her chamber

a main difference between iron triangles and issue networks is that

issue networks involve a stable group of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists, while iron triangles exclude lobbyists in an attempt to reach impartial decisions

__ wrote that "liberty is to faction what air is to fire"

james madison

which of the following is one of the three major functions of congress's policymaking role

lawmaking

in the dynamics of an iron triangle, what benefit do interest groups provide to friendly government agencies

lobbying support for agency programs

the trading of votes between members of congress so that each gets the legislation he or she wants is called

logrolling

bills are formally introduced in congress by

members of congress only

roughly how many american workers currently belong to unions

one in eight

the theory that society's interests are most likely effectively represented through group action is

pluralist theory

legislation whose tangible benefits are targeted solely at a particular legislator's constituency is often criticized as

pork

congressmen are focused on local issues and the concerns of their constituents. Funding secured by congressmen for their districts is called:

pork-barrel spending

grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to

pressure from constituents

effective inside lobbying is based upon

providing useful and persuasive information to key officials

the process of house seats being realocated according to population every 10 years is

reapportionment

which of the following statements is true about congressional members over the last three decades

republicans have become more conservative

james madison's solution to the problem of factions (special interests) has, in the modern policy process, actually contributed to the problem by

resulting in a fragmentation of authority among policymakers, thereby providing groups more opportunities to get their way

senators are generally less likely to take directions from their leaders than house makers because

senators think of themselves as being equals and are only willing to be led by persuasion

the second-most powerful federal official (after the president) is often said to be the

speaker of the house

the supreme court ruling in citzens united v federal election commission ultimately led to the creation of

super PACs

why have issue networks become more prevalent

the increasing complexity of policy problems

a flaw in pluralism theory is the fact that

the interest group system is unrepresentative, because some interests are far better organized and more powerful than others

which of the following statements would not be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups

the opinion of the majority should always prevail, in a policy dispute, over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority

what is the biggest reason that congress does not vigorously pursue its oversight function

the sheer magnitude of the task

the citizens of ___ are most actively involved in interest groups and community causes

the united states

citizens' interest groups are distinguished from economic interest groups by the fact that

their members receive no direct economic benefit from attainment of the group's goals

political scientist theodore lowi has questioned pluralist theory by suggesting that

there is no concept of the public interest in a system that gives special interests the ability to determine the policies affecting them

to override a presidential veto, congress must vote at a minimum by a

two-thirds majority in each chamber

in acknowledging the dilemma inherent in group activity, james madison

worried that government would be overly dominated groups, but recognized that a free society is obliged to permit the advocacy of self-interest

under federal law, PACs can contribute up to ___ per candidate for federal office for a primary election and general election combined

$10,000