WTP

In 2016, constituents notified Congress of a sudden 500 percent 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"

An individual must be _____ years old to run for a U.S. House seat, and they must be a U.S. citizen for at least ____ years.

25; 7

The number of seats in the House of Representatives has been fixed at ________ since ________.

435; 1929

Which of the following statements best characterizes the relationship between education, income, and voting?

Americans with higher levels of income and education tend to vote more often as Americans with lower levels of income and education.

What article of the Constitution gives presidents the power to pardon individuals?

Article II

The _____ is the informal designation for the heads of the major federal government departments.

Cabinet

The ________ is the informal designation for the heads of the major federal government departments.

Cabinet

________ is responsible for making the laws, but ________ is responsible for putting laws into effect.

Congress; the bureaucracy

Which of the following is least likely to be true about legal precedents?

Constitutional law rarely involves legal arguments over precedent.

Which of the following is the best characterization of digital political participation?

Digital political participation includes activities like visiting a candidate's website or signing an online petition.

Why do Supreme Court justices' dissenting opinions matter?

Dissents can be written to appeal to lawyers to bring similar cases to the Court and can influence the future flow of cases and arguments.

Which component of the bureaucracy is the most responsive to the president?

Executive Office of the President

The three components of presidents' "administrative strategy" have been enhancing the power of the ________, increasing White House control over the federal ________, and expanding the role of ________ and other instruments of direct presidential governance.

Executive Office of the President; bureaucracy; executive orders

________ powers are specifically established by the language of the Constitution.

Expressed

The office of the presidency was established by Article ________ of the Constitution.

II

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.

Under which Act may presidents deploy troops without a specific request from the state legislature or governor?

Insurrection Act of 1807

What role do interest groups play in congressional decision making?

Interest groups provide information about policies to members, can help craft pieces of legislation or provisions, and provide campaign donations to members to aid their reelection efforts.

What is the purpose of the National Security Council?

It assimilates and analyzes data from various government sources and makes recommendations about protecting the country.

The Securities and Exchanges Commission is headed by a multimember board that includes nominees from the president (who cannot be fired by the president), as well as limits on the number of board members from the same party. This type of leadership structure achieves which of the following?

It creates a good deal of independence so that the agency can fulfill its mission with less political interference.

The Hispanic vote was once referred to as "the sleeping giant" because

Latinos vote at low rates relative to the group's size in the population.

Which court case gives the judiciary branch the ability oversee the bureaucracy?

Marbury v. Madison

Who confirms members of the Cabinet, and to whom are they accountable?

Members of the Cabinet must be approved by the Senate to win confirmation, but after this they are not directly accountable to Congress.

What is the importance of congressional oversight?

Oversight can help locate inefficiencies or abuses of power, explore the relationship between what an agency does and what a law intends, and change or abolish a program.

How do political parties help support democracy?

Political parties help regulate the number of people seeking public office, mobilize voters, and help achieve the majorities needed to pass legislation once in office.

What is the general tendency of a president's approval rating?

Presidents usually start out popular and decline over the next four years.

After the president and vice president, which office is next in the line of succession?

Speaker of the House

How is the Speaker of the House determined?

The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker.

Which statement about party identification in the United States is most accurate?

The number of people identifying as independent has increased, though many still tend to vote for the Democratic or Republican Party.

In what way can members of Congress's privilege of being able to send mail free of charge to constituents give them an advantage?

They can use this privilege to advertise their accomplishments to their constituents which helps them gain name recognition and can increase their favorability among constituents.

What is the main point of a political protest?

To bring attention to an issue and confront a government or other official organization

What was notable about the 2018 midterm elections?

Turnout was up significantly and was more akin to turnout in presidential elections.

What makes the White House staff different from the Executive Office of the President (EOP)?

White House staff usually provides advice that is more explicitly political than that coming from the EOP.

During the early periods of American history, suffrage was generally restricted to:

White males over the age of 21.

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

a network of individuals seeking to improve the environment that is made up of elected officials, environmental activists, climate change interest groups

Duverger's law states that

a political system with single-member districts and plurality rule elections will tend to result in a two-party system.

In the context of elections and national conventions, what is a delegate?

a representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency when nominating someone for office

What is the two-party system?

a system in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control

What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?

a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress

The Jeffersonian Republicans (or Antifederalists) were best known for their support of

a weak national government, with the states retaining most powers.

Most cases reach the Supreme Court through

a writ of certiorari.

Of the following, which is the most important factor in bureaucracies' ability to implement laws effectively?

administrative capacity

A loose, informal relationship of public officials, interest groups, and activists who are all concerned with the same policies is called

an issue network.

What is a faction?

any group of people who intensely advocate for their own interest, whether defined by geography, region, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, vocation, or any other characteristic

What term describes the authority to hear appeals of a lower court's decisions?

appellate jurisdiction

The process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states is called

apportionment

Which of the following would NOT be considered an example of digital political participation?

attending a protest outside your state capitol building

In the last few decades, executive orders have

become routine instruments of presidential governance rather than emergency wartime measures.

When a private individual brings a suit against a company for breaking a contract, this is an example of a case involving ________ law.

civil

If a worker sued his employer when he was injured at work, this would be an example of a(n)

civil law case.

A(n) ________ occurs when a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party's election.

closed primary

A benefit that is sought by an interest group and that once achieved cannot be denied to nonmembers is called a

collective good.

Because updating legislation can take many years,

congressional delegation to the bureaucracy can be an attractive option.

All of the people living in a congressional district are the ________ of their member of Congress.

constituency

A defendant is charged by the state of Texas with defrauding senior citizens by convincing them to invest in a shell company. This case would involve

criminal law.

Cases in which the government charges an individual with violating a statute enacted to protect public health, safety, morals, or welfare fall under

criminal law.

The House Rules Committee is important because it

decides the order in which bills come up for a vote on the House floor and determines the specific rules that govern the length of debate and opportunity for amendments.

If a legislative body were composed of 15 percent Latinos and 70 percent males in a state whose residents are 35 percent Latino and 50 percent male, the legislative body could be said to lack ________ representation.

descriptive

Trial courts in the federal judicial system are called

district courts.

The four joint committees in Congress are

economic, taxation, library, and printing.

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.

In 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency charged Volkswagen with cheating on emissions tests of its diesel vehicles. This is an example of bureaucratic

enforcement.

The desegregation of the military and the Environmental Protection Agency were established by

executive orders from the president.

In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon claimed ________ when he refused to turn over secret White House tapes to congressional investigators.

executive privilege

One of the main resources and distinguishing characteristics of the federal bureaucracy is

expertise.

When the president grants a pardon to someone convicted of a federal crime, this is an example of using one of their ________ powers.

expressed

In the ________ election, voters select who they want to fill a political office. In the ________ election, voters choose each party's candidate to compete for a political office.

general; primary

The apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party is known as

gerrymandering

Your state has gained four congressional seats in large part due to significant growth of the Latino population. The legislature's proposed maps, however, fail to include any districts that reflect the large Latino population. This would be an example of

gerrymandering.

The Tennessee Valley Authority sells power to residents of the Tennessee Valley area at a profit to support its operations. This is an example of a(n)

government corporation.

The role that the U.S. House of Representatives plays in impeachments can best be compared with that of a

grand jury.

Which of the following is an expressed power of the presidency?

granting pardons

The majority party

has the most seats in either the House of Representative or the Senate, or both.

As a safeguard against political interference, merit-system employees

have legal protection against being fired without show of cause.

A U.S. senator in a competitive state has an important vote on immigration reform coming soon. If she wants to act as a delegate of her constituents, then she would likely

hold town hall meetings with constituents to hear their views on the issue so she can vote in accordance with their wishes.

An individual's psychological attachment to one party or another is called a party

identification.

A senator or representative running for re-election is called the

incumbent

A professor is a member of a professional organization and is mostly interested in the newsletters sent and in participating in conferences. Which benefit is the professor primarily seeking?

informational benefits

Pluralism means

interest groups should be free to compete for governmental influence.

When compared to other nations, the number of government employees in the United States

is not especially high.

Through the exercise of ________, the Supreme Court has held actions or laws of the executive and legislative branches unconstitutional.

judicial review

The power of the courts to review actions of the legislative and executive branches and, if necessary, declare them invalid or unconstitutional is called

judicial review.

What caused protests against racial injustice in 2020?

killings of multiple African Americans by police or while in police custody

Which of the following characteristics constitutes one's socioeconomic status?

level of income, level of education, and prestige of occupation

In Congress, the Speaker of the House is selected by the

majority party.

Which term describes the process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity?

mobilization

One advantage of seniority in Congress is it makes a congressperson

more likely to get leadership in a committee.

Historically, the power of the federal courts was subject to a number of limitations. One such limitation is that courts are "passive" institutions in that they

must wait until a case is brought to them before they can make authoritative decisions.

In a typical tort case,

one individual claims injury caused by another's negligence or bad conduct.

Proposed rules to implement a law are

open to comment by anyone who wishes to weigh in.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a report on the Paycheck Protection Program showing that billions of dollars in loans intended to help small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic had been diverted to fraud, waste, and abuse. This would be an example of the ____________ function of congressional committees.

oversight

Since political parties represent broad coalitions,

parties face tensions and internal conflicts that must be managed for the coalition to hold together to achieve electoral and policy success.

Which of the following are the three most major factors that influence a voter's choice?

partisan loyalty, issues, and the characteristics of candidates

A filibuster allows members of the Senate to

prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor.

A system that allows voters to rank candidates from the most preferred to the least preferred on the ballot is called

ranked-choice voting.

The vast majority of Americans reject which of these as a legitimate form of political participation?

riots

Which of the following groups typically has the highest level of political participation?

senior citizens (65 and older)

The justice on the Supreme Court who presides over the Court's public sessions is known as

the Chief Justice.

Who is an incumbent?

the current officeholder running for re-election

Jamaal was hired to work in the federal government based on his qualifications. This is common in the bureaucracy because it operates under

the merit system.

A signing statement is an announcement

the president makes about their interpretation of a congressional enactment that they are signing into law.

What is cloture?

the process by which three-fifths of the Senate can end a filibuster

What is a party system?

the set of parties that is important at any given time and the issues that divide them and groups from which they draw their support

The clause of the United States Constitution which states that laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or subdivision is the

the supremacy clause.

When filing an appeal, an appellant usually must show

the trial court made a legal error in deciding the case.

Today, senators are elected

through statewide elections.

Steve was in a car accident involving another party who ran a red light. He sustained significant medical injuries and is now suing the other driver. This is an example of a ____________ case.

tort

An individual is charged with possession of narcotics. In which court would the defendant likely first appear?

trial court

The role that the U.S. Senate plays in impeachments can best be compared with that of a

trial jury.

The percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote is known as

turnout.

At any given time in American politics, how many parties have tended to dominate politics?

two

A veto can be overturned by which of the following?

two-thirds vote by 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.

The _____ is the president's constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress.

veto