AP GOV...
The Web site healthcare.gov was launched on October 1, 2013, to help citizens purchase health insurance for themselves in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. Within two hours of launch the site crashed. Once it was restored, problems continued, leading to difficulty for users. The following year, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sibelius was called to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss the issue. The committee held this hearing as part of which of the following functions? A) Oversight B) Impeachment C)Budget testimony D) Committee markup
A) Oversight
"If, therefore, the legislature pass any laws, inconsistent with the sense the judges put upon the constitution, they will declare it void; and therefore in this respect their power is superior to that of the legislature." - Brutus 15 Which of the following cases is most related to the quote? A)Marbury v. Madison (1803) B) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) C)McDonald v. Chicago (2010) D)United States v. Lopez (1995)
A)Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Based on the data, which of the following is the most likely consequence for the legislative process in Congress? A) A decrease in party-line voting on important legislation introduced in the House B) An increase in gridlock and failure to compromise on legislation C) Greater cooperation between Congress and the president on nominations D)More competitive races for House seats in the general election
B) An increase in gridlock and failure to compromise on legislation
Which of the following accurately compares the powers of Congress and the president? A)Congress Has Greater Control- The bureaucracy President Has Greater Control- Fiscal policy B) Congress Has Greater Control- Budgetary policy President has Greater Control- Cabinet appointments C) Congress Has Greater Control- Judicial appointments President Has Greater Control- Foreign policy D) Congress Has Greater Control- Military leadership President Has Greater Control- foreign treaties
B) Congress Has Greater Control- Budgetary policy President has Greater Control- Cabinet appointments
Which of the following is an example of Congress using its implied powers? A) Congress requesting that the Supreme Court review the constitutionality of a state gun-control law B) Congress passing occupational safety regulations for the private sector
B) Congress passing occupational safety regulations for the private sector
The data in the table illustrate which of the following about United States constitutional government? A)The president can declare war, but Congress can vote to block funding for wars B) Gerrymandering has intensified partisan divisions in Congress. C)Cloture procedures make it increasingly difficult to filibuster bills in the Senate. D)Presidential foreign policy can be checked through the legislative power of Congress.
B) Gerrymandering has intensified partisan divisions in Congress.
Which of the following is likely to occur as a result of new legislation regarding automobile safety? A) Mandatory spending will be required in all future federal budgeting for the program. B) The Department of Transportation will be given discretionary authority to create auto regulations. C) States will be empowered to begin automobile manufacturing. D)The Supreme Court will be asked to review the legislation annually.
B) The Department of Transportation will be given discretionary authority to create auto regulations.
A person claiming that the House can pass legislation with a simple majority, but the Senate is unlikely to pass legislation unless a bill has the support of a 60-vote supermajority is most likely to cite which of the following institutional differences as the cause of this trend? A) Party leadership in the House is highly formalized, while leadership in the Senate is much more informal. B) The House has strict limits on debate, while the Senate allows unlimited debate. C) Members of the House often represent a much narrower constituency than senators do. D)The House has fewer legislative committees than the Senate does.
B) The House has strict limits on debate, while the Senate allows unlimited debate.
Which of the following scenarios best demonstrates a president avoiding a check from the judicial branch? A) The president signs a bill that reduces the budget of the Department of Justice in response to the department's failure to prosecute white-collar criminals B) The president claims that certain detainees are enemy combatants and thus do not possess the same constitutional protections that the Supreme Court has upheld for the interrogation of criminal suspects. C)The president vetoes legislation that would constrain the ability of the executive branch to conduct domestic surveillance as it relates to terrorism. D)The president issues an executive order declaring that all people who were brought to the United States illegally as children can apply for a deferment rather than face deportation.
B) The president claims that certain detainees are enemy combatants and thus do not possess the same constitutional protections that the Supreme Court has upheld for the interrogation of criminal suspects.
In 2012, after negotiations on a bill in Congress failed, President Obama issued an executive order that protected from deportation individuals illegally brought to the United States as children by their parents. The president took this action because A) the executive order would require Congress to bring a bill regarding illegal immigration to the floor for a vote B) disagreement between congressional leaders and the president on the issue meant that a compromise on a bill was not likely C) the president was reacting to a Supreme Court decision that required him to do something to protect these individuals D) the Constitution clearly gives the president control over the legal status of immigrants in the United States
B) disagreement between congressional leaders and the president on the issue meant that a compromise on a bill was not likely
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of checks on the legislative branch and checks on the executive branch? A) Check on Legislative Branch- The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review Check on Executive Branch- Congress can remove members or the president's cabinet B) Check on Legislative Branch-States may nullify federal laws that violate state constitution Check on Executive Branch- The supreme Court can declare presidential actions unconstitutiona r a case arises C) Check on Legislative Branch- The president may veto bills passed by Congress Check on Executive Branch- The senate must confirm judicial nominees
C) Check on Legislative Branch- The president may veto bills passed by Congress Check on Executive Branch- The senate must confirm judicial nominees
On July 9, 2018, after the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, President Trump, a Republican, nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Many Democrats in the Senate feared that the appointment of Kavanaugh would swing the Court in a more ideologically conservative direction and attempted to block his nomination. After a heated Senate confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh was eventually confirmed by a 50-48 vote in the Senate. The scenario best highlights which of the following statements about court appointees? A) Judicial appointees tend to make controversial statements on important policy issues during their confirmation hearings to get confirmed. B)The merit system for hiring members of the bureaucracy extends to the vetting process for nominations to the Supreme Court C) Life tenure for appointed justices alongside the power of judicial review increases the stakes in the confirmation process for nominees to the Supreme Court.
C) Life tenure for appointed justices alongside the power of judicial review increases the stakes in the confirmation process for nominees to the Supreme Court.
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a formal check on the power of the bureaucracy? A) A lobbyist representing the National Rifle Association refusing to meet with employees from the Department of Homeland Security B) The White House chief of staff being formally censured by the president for publicly speaking out against the president's policy goals C) The secretary of defense being called to testify before a congressional committee D) A federal judge being impeached for making legal decisions based on bribes
C) The secretary of defense being called to testify before a congressional committee
In the last years presidential primacy, so indispensable to the political order, has turned into presidential supremacy. The constitutional Presidency- as events so apparently disparate as the Indochina War and the Watergate affair showed, has become the imperial Presidency and threatens to be the revolutionary Presidency. ... The imperial Presidency was essentially the creation of foreign policy. A combination of doctrines and emotions -belief in the permanent and universal crisis, fear of communism, faith in the duty and right of the United States to intervene swiftly in every part of the world -had brought about the unprecedented centralization of decisions. Prolonged war in Vietnam strengthened the tendencies toward both centralization and exclusion. So the imperial Presidency grew at the expense of the constitutional order. Like the cowbird, it hatched its own eggs and pushed the others out of the nest. And, as it overwhelmed the traditional separation of powers in foreign affairs, it began to aspire toward an equivalent centralization of power in the domestic polity. -Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Imperial Presidency, 1973 A)While The Federalist 70 views centralization of power in the presidency as dangerous, Schlesinger views it as vital to the presidency's effectiveness. B) Both Schlesinger and The Federalist 70 view centralization of power in the presidency as dangerous. C) While Schlesinger views centralization of power in the presidency as dangerous, The Federalist 70 views it as vital to the presidencv's effectiveness. D)Both Schlesinger and The Federalist 70 view centralization of power in the presidency as vital to the presidency's effectiveness.
C) While Schlesinger views centralization of power in the presidency as dangerous, The Federalist 70 views it as vital to the presidencv's effectiveness.
Lobbyists from the Airlines for America, an advocacy group that represents commercial airlines, work with members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and officials from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to discuss a new policy that addresses issues of airline safety. This scenario best illustrates A) A social movement B) An independent expenditure C) an iron triangle D)a political committee
C) an iron triangle
In The Federalist 78, Alexander Hamilton argued that the federal judiciary "is beyond comparison the weakest of the three departments of power." Which of the following statements represents a reason he gave for this argument? A) The federal government is further from the people and thus less accountable. B) It has the power of the sword and the power of judgment but lacks the power of the purse. C) Each branch must be given the ability to defend its power and check the others. D) It must depend on the executive for enforcement of its decisions
D) It must depend on the executive for enforcement of its decisions
Which of the following is an example of the executive branch implementing a public policy passed by Congress? A) As chief diplomat, the president negotiates a treaty that is then ratified by the Senate. B) Congress passes a law reorganizing the structure of the federal bureaucracy. C) A Federal Trade Commission official is asked to testify before Congress about the agency's activities. D) The Department of Health and Human Services determines eligibility requirements for government assistance.
D) The Department of Health and Human Services determines eligibility requirements for government assistance.
A member of Congress votes in favor of a bill as a result of receiving many letters of support for the bill from constituents. Which form of democratic representation best describes this voting decision? A) Trustee B) Elite C) Pluralist D) Delegate
D) delegate
Based on the data in the chart, which of the following is true? A) The percentage of liberal decisions made by the federal district courts on civil rights and civil liberties cases increased between 1900 and 1928. B)The number of civil rights and civil liberties cases heard by the federal district courts decreased between 1972 and 1992 C)The number of civil rights and civil liberties cases heard by the Supreme Court declined between 1944 and 1952. D)The percentage of liberal decisions made by the Supreme Court on civil rights and civil liberties cases decreased between 1964 and 1996.
D)The percentage of liberal decisions made by the Supreme Court on civil rights and civil liberties cases decreased between 1964 and 1996.
Congress passes a law requiring that all public accommodations provide access for people with disabilities. The United States Supreme Court rules that the law does not apply to the airline industry. Which of the following is the best way for Congress to provide people with disabilities access to the airline industry in light of the Court's ruling? A) Appeal the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals B) Pass a new law that specifies that the airlines must provide access for people with disabilities C) Remove members of the Supreme Court who ruled against the law and have the president appoint new justices D) Override the court with a two-thirds majority in both chambers
Pass a new law that specifies that the airlines must provide access for people with disabilities