AP GOV UNIT 2 - PART 2 TEST BANK

Congressional oversight refers to the power of Congress to

exercise some control over executive agencies

To influence policy making by the federal courts, the president may do all of the following EXCEPT

fire and replace federal judges

Which of the following scenarios would be considered congressional oversight?

Congress calls several high-level officials of the Department of Homeland Security to testify on cross-agency communication after September 11th

Which of the following statements explains how Congress can use its power of the purse to restrict presidential power?

Congress can deny requests for funds to executive agencies during the budget process

Every year, the Seafair Air Show performance takes place in Seattle, Washington. To protect guests attending the festival, Congress passed a law designating the area a safety zone. In response, the Department of Homeland Security created a regulation requiring the Coast Guard to enforce the boundaries of the safety zone from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The action taken by the Department of Homeland Security is an example of which of the following?

A guideline issued by the federal bureaucracy, providing specific details about how a policy will be implemented

In 1963, Congress passed the Clean Air Act to control air pollution on a national level. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency set standards to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants in the United States. The action taken by the Environmental Protection Agency is an example of which of the following?

A guideline issued by the federal bureaucracy, which provide specific details about how a policy will be implemented

In 1975, Congress passed the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, which gave the Department of Transportation the power to regulate the transport of potentially hazardous materials, including radioactive materials. In response, the Department of Transportation set regulations on vehicles transporting hazardous materials, such as requiring additional labels on shipment trucks that warn other vehicles that there is hazardous material in the truck. The action taken by the Department of Transportation is an example of which of the following?

A guideline issued by the federal bureaucracy, which provide specific details about how a policy will be implemented

Precedents are best defined as which of the following?

A legal decision that establishes a rule for similar cases going forward

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the powers of the judicial branch and the powers of the legislative branch?

A. interpreting the constitution and establishing inferior courts

All of the following are true about the relationship between regulatory agencies and the industries they regulate EXCEPT:

Agencies usually make decisions without consulting the regulated industry.

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the two court cases? marbury v madison and baker v carr

B. led to more power for the supreme court to check the other branches. led to the "one person, one vote" judicial doctrine

Which of the following is true of the relationship between Congress and executive agencies?

Because the agencies have bureaucratic expertise, Congress delegates "rule-making authority" to them.

Which of the following statements describes why the federal bureaucracy is given discretionary authority to implement public policy?

Bureaucrats are experts and are able to make the best choices on how to implement policy

Which of the following best explains how the president can limit the Court's power by appointing a new Supreme Court justice?

By choosing justices who change the ideological leanings of the court

Which of the following best explains why cabinet secretaries might not aggressively pursue the president's policy agenda?

Cabinet secretaries may develop strong loyalty to their departments.

Based on the information in the infographic, which of the following statements accurately describes the effect the Burger Court had on existing precedents?

It made slightly more conservative changes to precedent than liberal changes

Which of the following is a primary function of the Senate Judiciary Committee?

Conducting hearings on judicial appointments made by the president

The number of justices on the United States Supreme Court is set by

Congress

Which of the following may the judicial branch do to limit the power of the president?

Declare an executive order unconstitutional

Based on the data shown in the table, which of the following statements is true?

Federal employees are more likely than private sector employees to have master's degrees

Which of the following is the best example of an issue network?

Government and private groups opposed to a proposal to run a pipeline through Native American land

Which of the following is a consequence of the merit system in the bureaucracy?

Greater professionalism in the bureaucracy

Members of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure are concerned over increased accidents on national highways. Which of the following is an action the committee can take to address the problem?

Holding a hearing and subpoenaing high-level officials of the Department of Transportation

Which of the following is an example of congressional oversight?

Holding hearings for review of an executive agency's activities

Which of the following statements describes judicial activism?

Judges ought to freely strike down laws that are inconsistent with their understanding of the Constitution.

Which of the following statements best explains how judicial activism influences decisions made by individual justices when deciding cases heard by the Court?

Justices are influenced by the social effects the decision might have on the public

"That inflexible and uniform adherence to the rights of the Constitution, and of individuals, which we perceive to be indispensable in the courts of justice, can certainly not be expected from judges who hold their offices by a temporary commission. Periodical appointments, however regulated, or by whomsoever made, would, in some way or other, be fatal to their necessary independence." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Which of the following government policies would the author most likely support?

Life terms, pending good behavior, for Supreme Court justices

"There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Supporters of Hamilton's view that acts contrary to the Constitution are invalid could point to which of the following cases?

Marbury v Madison

Which of the following United States Supreme Court cases established the principle of judicial review?

Marbury v Madison

In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court ruled that President Nixon was not exempt from a court order that required him to release White House tapes. It upheld the right of the Court to "say what the law is," as Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote in the Court's majority opinion. Which prior Supreme Court case could be cited as a precedent for the majority decision in United States v. Nixon (1974)?

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

n Gonzalez v. Raich (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that the commerce clause gave Congress the authority to ban the use of marijuana, despite conflicting state law. In the Court's majority opinion, Associate Justice John Paul Stevens argued that local use of marijuana affected the supply and demand of the national marijuana market. Which prior Supreme Court case could be cited as a precedent for the majority decision in Gonzalez v. Raich (2005)?

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A Supreme Court precedent banning prayer in schools could be viewed as interfering with state powers under the Constitution, and as creating law rather than interpreting it. Which of the following may Congress do to limit the Supreme Court's power?

Pass legislation changing the court's jurisdiction

Which of the following is a legitimate course of action for Congress to take to place a restriction on the Supreme Court?

Pass legislation to modify the impact of the decision

Read the passage below and answer the following question. Chris Wallace: "Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?" Donald Trump: "Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states. Trump: "Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination." -Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016 Which of the following statements best explains how a president's ideology can influence presidential nominations to the judiciary?

Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices who are likely to be sympathetic to their views, changing the ideological leanings of the Court

A major reason why the majority of Supreme Court justices have had political experience prior to appointment to the Court is that

Presidents seek to place individuals on the Court whose policy views are similar to their own

Which of the following actions can the states take to limit the Supreme Court's power?

Refuse to implement and enforce a ruling by the Court

A president believes the Court has overstepped its constitutional authority by requiring state legislatures to redraw congressional districts to address partisan gerrymandering. Which of the following could the president do to limit the Supreme Court's power in response?

Refuse to implement the decision

Which of the following scenarios is an example of a bureaucratic agency using its discretionary authority?

The Environmental Protection Agency decides to enforce the Clean Air Act by imposing fines on companies that knowingly exceed certain pollution standards

Which of the following did the Supreme Court establish in Marbury v. Madison ?

The Supreme Court can declare federal legislation invalid if the legislation violates the Constitution.

Which of the following statements accurately describes the selection of the caseload for the United States Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court is free to choose the cases it hears with only a few limitations.

Which of the following scenarios would most likely be considered judicial restraint?

The Supreme Court refuses to hear a case because the justices believe the issue should be solved by the legislative branch.

"There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Which of the following statements best summarizes Hamilton's argument?

The Supreme Court should have the power of judicial review.

"So if a law be in opposition to the constitution; if both the law and the constitution apply to a particular case, so that the court must either decide that case conformably to the law, disregarding the constitution; or conformably to the constitution, disregarding the law; the court must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This is of the very essence of judicial duty. If, then, the courts are to regard the constitution, and the constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the legislature, the constitution, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply." -John Marshall, decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The Supreme Court should judge whether a law is constitutional.

When a lower court decision is appealed to the Supreme Court, which of the following is most likely to occur?

The Supreme Court will not hear the appeal.

Bureaucratic discretionary authority is best defined as which of the following?

The ability of executive departments and agencies to make choices about how to enforce public policy

The framers of the Constitution designed which of the following to be LEAST responsive to public opinion?

The courts

Congress passes a law reducing the amount of violence that children can be exposed to on television. Which of the following actions can the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) take to implement this measure?

Write guidelines about how much violence can be depicted during times children are likely to be watching TV

A fundamental source of power for the federal bureaucracy lies in its

ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a general mandate from Congress

Rules and regulations created by an agency such as the Federal Communications Commission are called

administrative law

One of the formal tools used by Congress for oversight of the bureaucracy is

authorization of spending

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service will spend money appropriated by Congress to maintain wildlife refuges. This action is an example of

bureaucratic implementation of law

Which of the following statements describes a way for the executive branch to influence the Supreme Court?

by appointing new Supreme Court justices

Congress has the constitutional power to control the judicial branch by

determining the size of the Supreme Court

The Environmental Protection Agency issues a fine to a factory that is not complying with federal regulations on the maximum number of pollutants it can release into the atmosphere. This is an example of which of the federal bureaucracy's responsibilities?

enforcement

Which of the following statements best describes the information in the infographic above?

in general, the Warren Court changed precedents to be more liberal and the Burger Court altered precedents to be more conservative

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are examples of

independent agencies

The House Committee on Veterans Affairs, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) work together to achieve policies that benefit veterans. This is an example of which of the following?

iron triangles

Which of the following best explains the principle of stare decisis?

it encourages judges to follow precedent when deciding cases.

Stare decisis is best defined as which of the following?

judges rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases

The idea that judges ought to freely strike down laws that are inconsistent with their understanding of the Constitution is known as

judicial activism

Supreme Court justices were given tenure subject to good behavior by the framers of the Constitution in order to ensure that

justices are free from direct political pressures

The role Congress plays in ensuring that executive branch agencies are carrying out their legislated responsibilities is known as

legislative oversight

In the process and structure of public policymaking, "iron triangles" refer to the

networks of congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that strongly influence the policy process

After a hard-fought election, President Greene appoints a major campaign donor as ambassador to Greece.

patronage

Cabinet members often do not have a dominant influence on presidential decision-making because

presidential goals often conflict with the institutional goals of individual cabinet-level agencies

A policy that sets emission standards for automobiles is an example of

regulatory policy

The difference between an appellate court and a district court is that an appellate court

reviews previous court decisions

When independent regulatory agencies make rules, enforce those rules, and adjudicate disputes arising under those rules, they risk violating the constitutional concept of

separation of powers

In the United States judicial system, when a judge decides a case based on decisions rendered in similar cases in the past, the judge is following the principle of

stare decisis

The Supreme Court's power of judicial review permits the Court to overrule all of the following EXCEPT

the Bill of Rights

Which of the following describes a difficulty the judicial branch faces in the policy implementation process?

the Supreme Court must rely on the other branches of government to enforce its rulings

All of the following make it difficult for presidents to control the actions of federal agencies EXCEPT

the appointment of cabinet heads

"The distinction between a government with limited and unlimited powers is abolished, if those limits do not confine the persons on whom they are imposed, and if acts prohibited and acts allowed, are of equal obligation. It is a proposition too plain to be contested, that the constitution controls any legislative act repugnant to it; or, that the legislature may alter the constitution by an ordinary act. Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The constitution is either a superior, paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative acts, and, like other acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter it." -John Marshall, decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) Which of the following statements is most consistent with Marshall's argument in this passage?

the constitution is above ordinary laws

The doctrine of original intent holds that

the meaning of the Constitution depends on the intention of the framers

Presidents have had the most success in changing the direction of decisions of the federal judiciary by

using the appointment process to select judges with judicial philosophies similar to those of the President

Which of the following may the president do to limit the Supreme Court's power?

Appoint new justices to the Supreme Court

Congress is most likely to exert oversight of the executive bureaucracy in which of the following ways?

Controlling an executive agency's annual budget

Read the passage below and answer the following question. Chris Wallace: "Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?" Donald Trump: "Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states. Trump: "Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination." -Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016 Which of the following statements is most consistent with President Trump's argument in this passage?

He will nominate Supreme Court justices who share his policy preferences in order to achieve his policy goals.

Based on the infographic and your knowledge of the Supreme Court, which of the following statements could be considered an accurate conclusion?

Ideological changes in the Supreme Court can lead to the Court rejecting existing precedents

Which of the following is a way Congress can influence the federal judiciary?

It can change appellate jurisdiction of federal courts.

Which statement accurately summarizes the impact of the Marbury v. Madison (1803) decision?

It increased the power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of acts of Congress, states, and the president.

the doctrine of stare decisis is significant for which of the following reasons?

It is the principle that affirms that courts are bound by prior decisions.

Which of the following statements best explains how stare decisis influences Supreme Court justices?

It makes justices more likely to defer to previous Supreme Court decisions

Which of the following statements best describes judicial restraint?

Judges should limit the exercise of their own power to interpreting the Constitution according to its original intent.

A Supreme Court precedent approving mandatory busing of students to ensure greater racial integration in public schools throughout the South could be viewed as interfering with state powers under the Constitution, and as creating law rather than interpreting it. Which of the following could Congress do to limit the Supreme Court's power in response?

Pass legislation changing the Court's jurisdiction

In 1895, the Supreme Court heard a case about the Income Tax Act of 1894. The Court held that the act was unconstitutional and the federal government did not have the power to tax personal income. Which of the following is an action Congress could have taken to check the Supreme Court's power?

Proposing a constitutional amendment

Read the passage below and answer the following question. Chris Wallace: "Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?" Donald Trump: "Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states. Trump: "Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination." -Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016 Based on his statement in the passage, which of the following policy goals does Trump want to promote through ideological appointments to the Supreme Court?

Reversing the precedent that the right of privacy extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion

Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which gave the federal government the power to monitor and limit emissions of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. In 2003, however, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Clean Air Act does not give it the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The EPA's decision to regulate some emissions but not others is an example of which of the following?

The discretionary authority that individual bureaucrats and agencies have to make choices about how to implement existing laws

"The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution. By a limited Constitution, I understand one which contains certain specified exceptions to the legislative authority . . . . Limitations of this kind can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing." -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, "The Judiciary Department," 1788 Which of the following statements best summarizes Hamilton's argument?

The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and judging whether the laws passed by Congress are constitutional.

Political cartoon depicting Andrew Jackson, who championed granting offices to party supporters, riding a pig. Which of the following best describes the message in the political cartoon?

The patronage system leads to corruption

In 2010, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which gave the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) more power to regulate and enforce securities laws. In response, the Securities and Exchange Commission created the Office of the Whistleblower, which is responsible for gathering information from people who know of a company committing securities fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to decide how much money is awarded to whistleblowers is an example of which of the following?

The power that individual bureaucrats and agencies have to make choices about how to implement existing laws

All of the following serve as checks on the power of the federal courts EXCEPT

The voters can oust federal judges in national elections.

Which of the following is true of most federal judges appointed by the president?

They serve for life on good behavior unless impeached and convicted by Congress.

Which of the following actions can Congress take if the Supreme Court finds a federal law unconstitutional?

Try to amend the Constitution.

In United States v. Morrison (2000), the Supreme Court struck down the part of the Violence Against Women Act that made gender-motivated violence a federal crime, as it was not related to the commerce clause. Which prior Supreme Court case could be used as a precedent for the majority decision in United States v. Morrison (2000)?

United States v. Lopez (1995)