Final Exam Govt 2306

The Constitutional provisions for Presidential vetos, overrides of vetoes by Congress, and impeachment are all examples of:

Checks and Balances

The Constitution includes a system of dividing the authority for specific government functions among different branches of government and two chambers of Congress. This method of division of authority is commonly called:

Separation of Powers

The Constitution divides power in a number of ways. One of these is the division of power between State and Federal levels of government. This is called:

Federalism

What can government legitimately do that private charities, corporations, small businesses, churches, families, community groups, and volunteer organizations can not do?

Use violence to coerce people

Limiting government is important for many reasons, but one very important reason is that limiting government is by the definition of government:

limiting organized violence

Of the following four categories of federal spending, which does the federal government spend the most money on considering the total budget?

Healthcare

When we see a problem and decide to ask government to solve it rather than voluntary action through groups like community associations, charities, or volunteer groups, what tool is government likely to use that the other groups do not have at their disposal?

the police and prison system

Which of the following is a tool unique to government?

Legitimate use of violence

In a representative democracy, such as the one established by the Texas Constitution, members of the legislature are elected to represent

the interests of their constituents.

The Texas legislature is responsible for formally counting the returns for the election of governor and lieutenant governor. This is an example of which one of the legislature's powers?

electoral power

Which type of districts are used in the Texas House and Senate?

single-member districts

Suppose the Texas General Land Office is accused of mishandling funds earmarked for hurricane relief and recovery. Who is responsible for investigating?

the House, Senate, or both chambers jointly, using the legislature's investigative power

In Texas, the governor's State of the State address is an example of the ________ power.

message

Special sessions of the Texas legislature

are called because the legislature is unable to complete all of its required business in the allotted 140 days of its regular sessions.

must begin in the Texas House of Representatives.

Revenue bills

Which of the following rules applies to the filibuster in the Texas Senate?

The senator who has control of the floor must always speak in an audible voice, so that he or she can be heard and understood.

The governor of Texas often uses the State of the State address to do which of the following?

to describe his or her legislative priorities and agenda

If the chair of a committee in the Texas Senate is accused of pigeonholing another senator's bill, what has happened?

The bill was assigned to the chair's standing committee, but the chair killed the bill by setting it aside and not bringing it before the committee for discussion.

If you want to serve in the Texas House, you must be at least _____ years old. If you want to serve in the Texas Senate, you must be at least ______ years old.

21;26

Each member of the Texas Senate represents about ___________ people, while each member of the Texas House represents about_________ people.

940,000; 194,000

As in the U.S. Congress, the purpose of a conference committee in the Texas legislature is to do what?

It is a committee designed to make differing House and Senate versions of the same bill identical.

The power of recognition allows the Texas Speaker of the House to

determine who will get to speak and how long a legislative debate will last.

What happens if the governor takes no action on a bill (neither signing nor vetoing) within 10 days of it arriving on their desk?

It becomes law without the governor's signature.

How is the lieutenant governor selected?

elected by the voters in a statewide election, and serves a 4-year term

The Constitution grants explicit powers to which entity?

the federal government

Which part of Congress was intended to represent the interests of the states?

The Senate

The Senate was intended to represent the interests of which of the following?

the states

Which of the following powers are associated with the executive branch?

Veto bills passed by Congress

Which branch of government has the power to impeach the President and Justices of the Supreme Court?

Legislative

The Senate frequently exercises its power to reject treaties and appointments, leading the president to find new ways to circumvent the process.

False

Over time, more women have been seated in the U.S. Congress. This is significant because

issues that disproportionately affect women as a group are more likely to receive attention.

Which of the following statements about roll-call votes is true?

Roll-call votes are individual recorded votes and are an important tool for creating a record of members of Congress' decisions.

Most constituents pay little attention to Congress, so why do members of Congress still care about their constituents' opinions when they decide how to vote on bills?

Members of Congress are aware that future opponents can draw attention to unpopular votes during a campaign.

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.

The practice of referring a bill to more than one committee for consideration is called

multiple referral.

Which of the following is the best definition of redistricting?

the process of redrawing electoral districts every 10 years

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) helping a constituent in Kentucky with his immigration case is an example of

casework

Which of the following illustrates a member of Congress acting as a delegate?

During a town hall, constituents of Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) urge him to vote in favor of an upcoming tax cut, which he does.

What does it mean for the House to impeach a federal official?

The House charges the federal official with treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Today, Ssenators are elected

through statewide elections.

More than half the elected members of the 118thth Congress (which started in January 2023) were Republicans. Despite this control, it took Republicans 15 rounds of ballots for the House to elect a leader, and that individual (Kevin McCarthy) was subsequently removed from the office nine months later. The office that McCarthy won and was subsequently removed from was the

Speaker of the House.

Partisan polarization has increased in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

True

In most states, who controls the redistricting process?

the state legislature

The filibuster is a procedural tactic used by opponents of a bill to delay or kill it in the Senate.

True

Interest groups play an important role in congressional decision-making by supplying members with information about policies.

True

The head of an executive department is part of the Cabinet.

True

The 15 departments in the executive branch that constitute the majority of the federal bureaucracy and are headed by secretaries are

executive departments.

In 1937, the Committee on Administrative Management claimed that "the president needs help" because

the national government had grown rapidly during the preceding 25 years, but the structures and procedures necessary to manage the burgeoning executive branch had not yet been established.

Which of the following statements about the size of the federal bureaucracy is true?

It has shrunk both in absolute size and relative to the population since the late 1980s.

Bureaucracies enforce laws.

True

Presidents typically nominate political appointees who have ties to the president or their political party.

True

Which of the following offices or agencies is the least likely to provide Congress with information that is independent from the executive branch?

Executive Office of the President

If the governor of Texas is impeached and convicted, then he or she

cannot subsequently hold any other state office.

What is the main function of the Texas Department of Insurance?

It regulates the insurance market in Texas under the guidance of an appointed commissioner who serves a two-year term.

Many argue that the power of appointment is the governor of Texas' "most significant executive power." Which of the following accurately describes why that is?

The governor has the ability to make appointments to over 400 multimember state boards or single-member commissioners who direct the operation of various state agencies.

In addition to meeting the age, citizenship, and residency requirements, which of the following would you need most in order to be a viable candidate for governor in Texas?

money, since campaigns have become very expensive

How is executive power in Texas structured?

It is divided among multiple officials, each elected by the people, to ensure that no one person has too much power.

What is the primary task of the Texas secretary of state?

to handle elections and voter registration

Which member of the plural executive is a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board?

the lieutenant governor

Who is the current Lieutenant Governor of the State of Texas?

Dan Patrick

Who is the current Attorney General of the State of Texas?

Ken Paxton

Which of the following does the Texas Railroad Commission actually regulate today?

Oil and gas

Which of these fiduciary duties from the private sector DO NOT have a close equivalent in the Congressional Ethics process? (Choose all that apply)

- Informing Clients

- Record Keeping

- Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

The House of Representatives has a rule that Members may have "No business with the federal government inconsistent with duties" of office. This is closest to which fiduciary duty?

Duty of Loyalty

Because the House of Representatives has 435 Members, it has two groups responsible for enforcing ethics rules. One is the House Committee on Ethics (HCOE) which conducts full investigations and hearings complete with subpoena power. The other conducts preliminary investigations to determine whether a full HCOE investigation is warranted. What group is this?

Office of Congressional Ethics

Which of these penalties can be imposed by the House of Representatives on a Member of the House based on a recommendation from the House Committee on Ethics? (Choose all that apply)

- Fine: Monetary penalty

- Reprimand: Formal rebuke

- Expulsion: Removal from the office

The Senate Ethics Committee is bipartisan in all respects but one. What is that?

The Chair comes from the majority party

The ethical theory that right and wrong are entirely dependent on the culture of the society is:

ethical relativism

In the private sector - the market or voluntary organizations - people in a position of trust with other people's property or lives have responsibilities that are referred to as:

fiduciary

A fiduciary has control of another person's property and in some cases, such as financial advisors or real estate agents, this can result in a financial loss. How are fiduciaries expected to help shield the client from unreasonable losses? (Choose all that apply)

- By acting prudently and diligently (duty of care)

- by properly informing them of risks (Duty to Inform Clients)

The ethical theory that holds that there is no right or wrong and, therefore, no reason to hold oneself or others to any standards is:

ethical nihilism

In the trolley problem, one of the dilemmas involves the different levels of responsibility for two types of ethical "sins". If the person controlling the switch does nothing and the large group dies because he does nothing, this is a sin of __________. If the person controlling the switch chooses to save the large group by pulling the switch, actively causing the death of one person, this is a sin of __________.

omission, commission

Terrorists are an example of

non-state actors.

One major reason that a president might use an executive agreement rather than a treaty is that

an executive agreement is not subject to Senate approval.

When new countries gain access to nuclear weapon capabilities, we refer to this as

proliferation.

In a crisis, which of the following has the greatest foreign policy influence?

the president

Which of the following terms refers to the programs and policies that determine America's relations with other nations and foreign entities?

foreign policy

What is a collective security arrangement?

It is when a group of countries agree to aid one another in dealing with security threats.

How does the balance of control over foreign policy between Congress and the president differ from the intentions of the framers of the Constitution?

The president has far more authority and control now than what the framers intended.

The representation of a government to other foreign governments is called

diplomacy.

Which clause of the Constitution have presidents used to support the unitary executive theory?

Vesting Clause

Which of the following statements about presidential orders is most accurate?

Only a tiny percentage of presidential orders have ever been rescinded by congressional legislation.

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.

Which statement about trends in popularity levels among presidential administrations is accurate?

Virtually all presidents leave office less popular than when they entered.

________ occurs when the president directs administrative agencies to promulgate specific rules and regulations.

Regulatory review

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

Insurrection Act of 1807

Governors of states affected by natural disasters automatically receive federal aid, independent of any determination by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

False

Chief executives of independent agencies are typically subject to confirmation votes in the House of Representatives.

False

When President Biden gave a national television address in October 2023 about the conflict in Gaza, it was an example of the president going public.

True

What makes an executive agreement different from a treaty?

It does not require two-thirds approval by the Senate.

In modern democracies, courts made up of judges and juries

hear the facts on both sides of a case and apply relevant law or constitutional principle to decide which side has the stronger argument.

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 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

One high profile-case in 2023 saw the government charging Sam Bankman-Fried with a variety of offenses related to fraudulent activity at his former company, FTX. In those trials, Bankman-Fried was the

defendant

Once the Supreme Court agrees to accept a case, attorneys on each side of the case prepare written statements, known as _________, that explain why the Court should rule in favor of their client.

briefs

Which of the following is the correct summary of the process by which federal judges are appointed?

They are nominated by the president and then confirmed by the Senate.

What did the framers call the "least dangerous branch" of American government?

the Supreme Court

The written explanation of the Supreme Court's decision in a particular case is known as the

opinion

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

civil law case

Congress has assigned federal court jurisdictions on the basis of

geography