AG Ch 9, 10, 11, 12
Under current law, an individual must register as a lobbyist if he or she spends at least what percent of his or her time lobbying?
20%
Presidents are now limited to two terms by what amendment?
22nd
How many members are there in the U.S. House of Representatives?
435
In the Senate, how many votes are necessary to invoke cloture and end debate on a bill?
67
Which of the following statements best describes bureaucracy?
A bureaucracy is a large organization, structured hierarchically, that carries out specific functions.
What is an example of pork-barrel legislation?
A highway bill
Why do elections based on a plurality system discourage new parties from forming?
A plurality system discourages patronage and reduces voter interest in joining a party.
How can Congress pass a bill over a presidential veto?
A two-thirds vote in the House and a majority in the Senate
Which of the following best describes the American electoral system?
A winner-take-all, or plurality, system
As commander-in-chief, the president has which of the following roles?
Acts as the ultimate decision maker in military matters
An iron triangle is a strong coalition comprised of what?
An agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group
In order to actually fund programs established by authorization bills, Congress must pass which of the following?
An appropriations bill
A bill can be introduced in Congress by whom?
Any member of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)
The creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) led to the federal government doing what?
Assuming complete control of the railroads
The division of Congress into two separate bodies is known as which of the following?
Bicameralism
According to public opinion research, the president's use of the "bully pulpit" tends to do which of these?
Bolster existing public views
Who are the dominant players in the lobbying market?
Business organizations
There are 15 major service organizations of the federal government which include Treasury, Agriculture, Education, and more. What kind of departments are these?
Cabinet
A person appointed to a government position after passing an examination is probably joining what?
Competitive service
What kind of committee is most likely to deal with a bill near the end of its legislative process?
Conference
An important foreign policy power given to Congress includes which of the following?
Declaring war
From 1832 to 1856, which two parties dominated American politics and presidential elections?
Democrats and Whigs
How is the Speaker of the House chosen?
Elected by whichever party has a majority
What is the implication of the plurality electoral system in the United States?
Every party must be a broad-based coalition.
A president can issue a pardon in which of the following circumstances?
For all offenses against the United States, except impeachment
George Washington limited himself to two terms, and no president served more until whom?
Franklin Roosevelt
When a district is drawn in a bizarre or unusual shape to assist a candidate, it is called what?
Gerrymandered
All taxing and spending bills must originate where?
In the House of Representatives
The civil service system was created to do which of the following?
Increase presidential control over the bureaucracy
In recent years, what grassroots lobbying strategy do interest groups frequently use?
Insider
Which of the following is a type of alliance described by Hugh Heclo that consists of people in Washington-based interest groups, on congressional staffs, in universities and think tanks, and in the mass media, who regularly debate a particular government policy?
Issue network
What is one consequence of pork-barrel legislation?
It decreases public trust in Congress.
Which of the following statements about a president's serving more than two terms is correct?
It has been done by only one president.
Which of the following is true of the Office of Management and Budget?
It helps the president prepare the annual budget.
Which of the following is true of executive privilege?
It involves the ability of the president and executive branch officials to withhold certain information from Congress and the courts.
Which of the following is true of the Freedom of Information Act?
It requires federal agencies to disclose information on file about an individual to that individual upon his or her request.
Which of the following best describes realignment?
It takes place when a substantial group of voters switches party allegiance.
Which of the following describes the formation of the modern Republican Party?
It was formed from a coalition of antislavery factions.
Which of the following individuals is constitutionally qualified to be president?
James, 37 years old, born in Texas of Mexican parents
What is pork barrel legislation?
Legislation that commemorates but does not involve action
The public is most likely to be interested in grassroots strategies for what type of policy?
Likely to affect many people and highly salient
A person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of an interest group is known as what?
Lobbyist
What is the basis for hiring decisions made under the civil service system?
Merit
One of the most convincing explanations for the persistence of the two-party system in the United States lies in its use of which of the following?
Multiple winners chosen by a proportional representation of votes
Which important agency in the Executive Office of the President studies the organization and operations of the executive branch, devises plans for reorganizing various departments and agencies, develops ways of getting better information about government programs, and reviews proposals that cabinet departments want included in the president's legislative program?
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
A political party is a group of individuals who do which of the following?
Organize to win elections and operate the government
During most of the 19th and 20th centuries, appointments to the civil service were based primarily on what?
Patronage
The free rider problem increases the difficulty of attracting which of the following?
Paying members
The Whistle Blower Protection Act of 1989 is designed to protect whom?
Pendleton Act of 1883
Proportional representation tends to do which of the following?
Perpetuate several political parties
What kind of veto causes a bill to not become a law because the president does not sign the bill within ten days and Congress has adjourned within that time?
Soft money is obtained by whom or what?
Political parties
Which of the following occurs In a proportional representation electoral system?
Political parties win seats in a legislature based on the proportion of the vote they receive.
A written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law is known as which of the following?
Signing statement
If the president should die in office, the vice president is next in line. When there is no vice president, the next successor in line is which of these?
Speaker of the House
An important domestic power of Congress includes which of the following?
Spending and regulating commerce
Which committees are the most important because they are usually the only ones that can report out bills?
Standing
The most important committees in Congress are permanent bodies that possess an expertise resulting from their jurisdiction over certain policy areas. These are known as what kind of committees?
Standing committees
Who brings charges in the impeachment process, and where is the impeachment trial held?
The House of Representatives; the Senate
Executive privilege was limited by the Supreme Court as a consequence of which of the following?
The Watergate scandal
Which of the following is true of a winner-take-all electoral system?
The candidate who gets the most votes wins.
When no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote, which of the following occurs?
The election is decided by the House of Representatives.
What is a major reason that minor parties (or third parties) have difficulties competing and winning in the United States?
The electoral rules make it difficult for third parties to gain access to the ballot in states.
In the absence of the president of the Senate, who presides over the Senate?
The president pro tempore of the Senate
Which of the following statements about a president's veto power is most accurate?
The president's veto is final, and this gives him or her complete control over legislation.
Which of the following best describes signing statements?
They accompany legislation and allow the president to point out sections of the law the president sees as unconstitutional.
What role do interest groups play in educating policymakers about political issues?
They are an important source of political information.
Which of the following is true of executive orders?
They are merely opinions and have no force of law.
What is one way that minor parties can have an influence over politics?
They pull the parties to the extreme.
What was the purpose of the Pendleton Act of 1883?
To reduce patronage by creating a civil service
To encourage more candid disclosure of wrongdoing in federal agencies, what legislation did Congress pass in 1989?
Whistle Blower Protection Act
A filibuster is which of the following?
an attempt to prevent the passage of a bill through the use of unlimited debate
A large, complex organization in which employees have specific job responsibilities and work within a hierarchy of authority is called which of the following?
bureaucracy
A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose is known as which of the following?
conference committee
The system by which legislative seats are awarded to a party in proportion to the vote that party wins in an election is called what type of representation?
proportional
The adoption of which of the following would permit multiple parties to acquire seats in Congress because representation would be based on the percentage of votes that they receive in national elections?
proportional representation
Every organization that benefits other people, even if they are not part of the organization, suffers from what problem?
public good
Generally speaking, groups that work toward a common or national good are considered which of the following?
public interest groups
What term is used to describe the phenomenon when voters adjust their long-term allegiance from one party to another in response to ideological changes?
realignment
Which party won most presidential elections from 1932, during the Great Depression, through the election of 1964, when the turbulent 1960s created the environment for a major political realignment?
republican
A free rider is which of the following?
someone who benefits from the actions of a group without joining it
What kind of committees are more or less permanent bodies with specific legislative responsibilities?
standing
Which of the following is not a political party?
teamster
Cabinet officers are the heads of what?
the major executive departments
The American electoral system can be described as both a single-member plurality system and which of the following?
two-party system