POLS 206 Final Study Terms & Definitions | Political Science

The slow nature of policy-making in Congress is the result of which of the following?

the government's system of checks and balances

What is partisanship?

loyalty to a party that shapes how members see the world, define problems, and determine appropriate solutions

What describes allocative representation?

when members of Congress secure national resources for their local district

What describes symbolic representation?

when members of Congress exemplify the values Americans associate with public life and government without being controversial

What is hyperpartisanship?

when party victory is the most important goal of members of Congress

Which is an example of congressional casework?

helping individual members of their constituency

The ______ makes the laws and the ______ interprets them.

Congress; judicial branch

What is congressional oversight?

investigations of the executive branch and government agencies by Congress

What is meant by advice and consent in relation to the role of Congress?

The Senate must approve certain executive appointments.

What is a bicameral legislature?

a legislative body with two chambers

How many members serve in the Senate?

100

What are the three types of gerrymandering?

partisan, pro-incumbent, racial

What is redistricting?

when states are divided into legislative districts of equal population

In addition to U.S. citizenship and age, the requirements for serving in Congress include residency in the represented state and a bachelor's degree.

False

What is reapportionment?

when House seats are reallocated according to the population

Which of the following describes the seniority system?

when more power is given to the Speaker of the House than committee chairs

Parties have become much more significant in Congress in recent years due to which of the following?

party polarization

Standing Committees

special committees formed to solve disputes in House and Senate versions of a bill

Conference Committee

well-established committees that legislate particular policy areas

Select Committee

a committee appointed to solve a problem not suited for regular committee

Joint Committee

House-Senate committees formed to coordinate activities and expedite legislation

What is the legislative agenda?

the issues that Congress will consider acting upon

What is the nuclear option?

a strategic Senate maneuver that allows a majority to decide to bypass a filibuster

Which of the following is an example of "going rogue"?

voting with the opposition party

Symbolic representation is when a member of Congress attempts to identify with _____.

common constituency values

Publicly recorded votes are known as ______.

roll call

Which of the following is an example of reapportionment?

an assessment of the House of Representatives after each ten-year census

Which government entity approves executive appointments?

Senate

Which of the following duties do Congressional committees perform?

draft legislation

You are a member of Congress. Through which of the following means do you routinely work to keep your job?

satisfying constituents and supporting party positions

What are the two major functions of Congress?

representation and lawmaking

Which of the following is an example of redistricting?

redrawing Congressional boundaries within states to keep them relatively equal in population

Congress now employs nonpartisan staff to provide research and technical assistance since they are reluctant to depend on the executive branch for information.

True

The legislative branch has the power of ______ to ensure that the executive branch and its agencies are enforcing and implementing laws as Congress intended.

congressional oversight

Which type of committee does the majority of work in Congress?

standing committees

The public generally tends to distrust Congress.

True

Projects or grants that are paid for by all taxpayers but enjoyed by only a few are known as ______.

earmarks

The filibuster is a Congressional norm not mentioned in the Constitution.

True

The Constitution calls for the president to serve as the head of government and as the head of state.

True

The high expectations of the American public, coupled with the extensive executive branch that the president has to oversee, make the job of chief executive both ______.

prestigious and difficult

What is the purpose of the Presidential Succession Act of 1947?

providing a chain of command for replacing the president

What is the president's role as head of state?

an apolitical symbolic representative of the country

What is the president's role as head of government?

the leader of a political party and distributor of resources

How many American presidents have been impeached?

3

What is the difference between a treaty and an executive agreement?

A treaty requires 2/3 of the Senate's approval.

Which modern president restored imperial power to the executive branch that was lost after the Watergate scandal and the Clinton impeachment?

George W. Bush

A(n) ______ presidency refers to presidents who do not effectively wield the power of the office.

weak

Scholars divide the presidency into the eras of traditional and modern, or before the ______ and after.

1930s

The Obama administration embraced the Bush administration's philosophy of the unitary executive.

False

What are the inherent powers of the presidency?

the presidential powers implied but not stated explicitly in the Constitution

Presidents use their power of persuasion to get the American public to support their agendas, but it is not particularly helpful in winning the support of members of Congress or the media.

False

What is known as the expectations gap in relation to the presidency?

the gulf between what the public wants and what the president can do

The time immediately after an election when the president enjoys popularity and cooperation from Congress is known as the ______.

honeymoon period

Presidents seeking help to get their legislation through Congress can turn to which of the following for help?

a legislative liaison

To which of the following would a president likely turn for advice they can trust regarding their agenda?

the Executive Office of the President

Which organization heads the fifteen departments of the executive branch?

the cabinet

James David Barber argues that some of our best presidents have been active-positives, meaning that they possess

a high energy level and a positive orientation toward life.

To whom are presidents most indebted for their power?

the public

Most of U.S. foreign policy is made via ______.

executive agreements

How does the president manage working with hundreds of members of Congress with varying interests?

legislative liaison

Which event prompted New Deal legislation and the era of the modern presidency?

Great Depression

Similar to the symbolic role of the head of state, the role of the first lady ______.

reflects cultural conflict over the role of women in society

The executive branch for which the president is responsible can be described as extensive.

True

How is the classification of passive-positive president defined?

a president who enjoys being a leader but is not an active policymaker

William is the solicitor general and he is working to petition the Supreme Court on behalf of the president. Through which of the following will he do so?

amicus curiae

Which piece of legislation is credited with transforming the traditional presidency into the modern presidency in the 1930s?

the New Deal

The ______ is the newest cabinet department to be created.

Department of Homeland Security

The president has a ______ view of national interest as opposed to Congress's ______ interests.

broader; particular

According to Barber's classification of presidential personalities, ______ is an example of an active-negative president.

Richard Nixon

In times of national tragedy to which of the following does the American public typically turn to solve their problems?

the president

Which document specifies that the vice president shall succeed the president if he or she dies or is removed from office?

the Constitution

What is the primary difference between the traditional presidency and the modern presidency?

the degree of executive power

Which office is most likely to be at odds with the president?

the cabinet

Bureaucracy is often the only ground upon which politics and ______ meet.

citizens

How do bureaucracies promote accountability?

reliance on rules

Which statement is true regarding bureaucracies?

Bureaucracies help people accomplish enormous tasks.

According to Max Weber, what are the four distinguishing features of a bureaucracy?

hierarchy, specialization, rules, and merit

Bureaucratic decisions are democratic decisions.

False

What does the phrase red tape refer to?

when rules become more important than the objective

The Internal Revenue Service

essential government function

The Department of Education

responding to national needs

Social Security Administration

responding to the demands of clientele groups

Bureaucracy as a Rule Maker

Police officers enforce the laws outlined by the criminal code.

Bureaucracy as a Judge

The National Park Service makes bureaucratic decisions based on their interpretations of the laws.

Bureaucracy as a Administrator

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues violations of their regulations.

The heads of cabinet-level departments are appointed by the vice president.

False

In 2020, approximately how many civilians worked for the federal government in the United States?

3,000,000

What is patronage?

when an elected official uses jobs, contracts, and perks to pay their friends

Who are referred to as birds of passage in the federal bureaucracy?

presidential appointees

Which president started a new agency called the Peace Corps to avoid disapproval from existing bureaucracies?

John Kennedy

Bureaucratese is the official code of federal bureaucracies that is indecipherable to outsiders.

False

When political appointees press for a new but unpopular policy, a bureaucrat's best strategy is to stall.

True

What concept refers to the values and procedures accepted by a bureaucracy?

bureaucratic culture

Whistleblowers are legally protected from retaliation like being fired, demoted, or punished for exposing wrongdoing within their organization.

True

What concept describes when a regulatory agency takes advice from the industry it is supposed to regulate?

agency capture

What mechanism of the federal bureaucracy allows input about policy from members of the public?

citizen advisory councils

What reform requires meetings and other aspects of policy-making decisions to be open to the public?

sunshine laws

How many departments exist in the federal government?

15

If a president has a new or radical idea, how should he or she approach the federal bureaucracy?

The president should create a new agency.

The American public has to rely on whistleblowers for information on what happens in the meetings of policymakers.

False