bureaucracy

Which of the following is likely to occur as a result of new legislation regarding automobile safety?

A

The Supreme Court will be asked to

review the legislation annually.

B

States wilbe empowered to begin

automobile manufacturing.

C

The Department of Transportation will be given discretionary authority to create auto regulations.

D

Mandatory spending will be required in all

c

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 secretary of defense being called to testify before a congressional committee

C

The White House chief of staff being formally censured by the president for publicly speaking out against the president's policy goals

D

A federal judge being impeached for making legal decisions based on bribes

b

Which of the following is an example of the executive branch implementing a public policy passed by Congress?

A

The Department of Health and Human Services determines eligibility requirements for government assistance.

B

As chief diplomat, the president

negotiates a treaty that is then ratified by the Senate.

C

A Federal Trade Commission official is asked to testify before Congress about the agency's activities.

D

Congress passes a law reorganizing the structure of the federal bureaucracy.

a

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 political action committee

an iron triangle

a social movement

an independent expenditure

b

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 Sebelius 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

Committee markup

B

Budget testimony

C

Oversight

D

Impeachment

c

A fundamental source of power for the federal bureaucracy lies in its

role in moving legislation out of subcommittees

A

role in mediating interstate conflicts

B

ability to convince Congress to fund most

projects it supports

C

ability to mobilize public opinion in support of legislative initiatives

D

ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a general mandate from Congress

e

A policy that sets emission standards for automobiles is an example of

A

regulatory policy

B

judicial policy

C

fiscal policy

D

distributive policy

E

monetary policy

a

Cabinet departments differ from independent regulatory agencies in which of the following ways?

A

The President can use an executive order to create a cabinet department but not to create an independent regulatory agency.

B

The President can dismiss cabinet officers, but not commissioners of independent regulatory agencies.

C

The President seeks appointees who reflect administration views in making cabinet appointments but not in making appointments to independent regulatory agencies.

D

Through the appropriations process, Congress can exert control over the cabinet departments but not over independent regulatory agencies.

E

The courts can overrule regulations issued by cabinet departments, but not those issued by independent regulatory agencies.

b

Congress is most likely to exert oversight of the executive bureaucracy in which of the following ways?

A

Directly selecting the head of an executive agency

B

Impeaching the head of an executive agency

C

Using the Court to block implementation of proposed regulations

D

Controlling an executive agency's annual budget

E

Changing the term length of heads of independent regulatory commissions

d

Which of the following is most likely an effect of the trend in the line graph?

A

An increase in accountability of the bureaucracy

B

A decrease in the length of regulatory bills passed by Congress

C

A decrease in congressional oversight as a mechanism to control the bureaucracy

D

An increase in the authority of the House of Representatives over the bureaucracy

c

Which of the following possible actions illustrates a way Congress interacts with the bureaucracy to address the problem shown in the infographic?

A

Congress could raise money through gasoline taxes to address the issues shown in the infographic.

B

Congress could request that an iron triangle be formed to ensure that all bureaucratic solutions are heard prior to taking action.

C

Congress could remove the members of the cabinet who work on issues related to transportation.

D

Congress could have members of the Department of Transportation testify before a committee to discuss the issue and potential solutions.

d

The mission of the Department of Transportation is to ensure the safety and efficiency of the transportation system. The Department of Transportation has accepted public comments regarding the safety of automated vehicles in the United States in order to establish standards and guidelines for this new technology. Which of the following concepts is most related to the scenario?

Exclusive powers

Reserved powers

Delegated discretionary authority

Enumerated legislative authority

c

Which of the following is the best conclusion that can be drawn from the data in the table?

A

Support for the Vietnam War led Congress to hold more hearings to discuss increases in expenditures on the military effort.

B

Public concern over the Vietnam War led Congress to hold more hearings to consider using the power of the purse to influence the conduct of the war.

C

The public reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks led to many hearings to limit federal expenditures to fight terrorism.

D

The number of hearings have increased in the House of Representatives because members have become more dependent on political action committees.

b

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are examples of

cabinet departments

independent agencies

Executive Office bureaus

congressional committees

White House staff agencies

b

Which of the following best explains why cabinet secretaries might not aggressively pursue the president's policy agenda?

Cabinet secretaries are unlikely to be members of the president's party.

Cabinet secretaries may develop strong loyalty to their departments.

Cabinet secretaries are likely to compete with the president in a subsequent election.

Under the Hatch Act, cabinet secretaries are prohibited from campaigning on behalf of the president.

The Freedom of Information Act compels cabinet secretaries to divulge confidential information to the media.

b

Which of the following describes the president's Cabinet?

A

It consists of career civil servants with A decades of experience in government service.

B

Its members have varying levels of influence on presidential decisions.

C

Its members hold office for fixed terms that coincide with the president's.

D

Its members must be selected from among current or former members of Congress.

E

Its members are required to approve.

presidential policy decisions.

b

Which of the following is an example of congressional oversight?

A

Holding hearings for review of an executive agency's activities

B

Assisting constituents with particular problems

C

Reporting campaign contributions to the Federal Election Commission

D

Signing trade agreements with other countries without input from the president

E

Conducting ethics investigations of congressional leadership

a

Which of the following is true of independent regulatory agencies?

They tend to have larger budgets than cabinet departments.

They are directly supervised by cabinet departments.

They provide a product or service directly to the public.

They are insulated from contact with interest groups.

They tend to be freer from presidential control than are cabinet departments.

e