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