Unit 2: Interactions Among the Branches of Government (Executive Branch Test Review)

  1. Qualifications for the president and vice-president?

  • President/Vice President: must be 35 years old, 14 years of residency in U.S., native born citizen

  1. What are the formal vs. informal powers of the president?

  • Formal Powers (IN the Constitution): enforce laws, nominate/appoint officials (Supreme Court, federal judges & ambassadors), veto/pocket veto/pass bills, recommend legislation, make treaties, Commander in Chief, grant pardons/reprieves, &  give State of the Union Address

  • Informal Powers (NOT IN the Constitution): executive agreements, executive orders, signing statements, bargaining and persuasion, & executive privilege

  1. Roles of the President (identify the five and responsibilities of each)

  • Commander in Chief: responsible for key military decisions and safety of U.S. citizens, “nuclear football”, power limits by the War Powers Resolution

  • Chief Executive: enforces laws, oversees federal bureaucracy, appoints cabinet members/heads of agencies, prepares budget

  • Chief Diplomat: deals with U.S. foreign policy, treaties, executive agreements, appointing & receiving ambassadors

  • Chief Legislator: can give State of the Union Address, approve/veto/pocket veto legislation

  • Party Leader: grants pardons/reprieves, judicial appointments, bargaining and persuasion, speeches, helps others get elected

  1. What amendments have impacted the presidency (12, 20, 23, 22, 25)?

  • 12th Amendment: electors vote for President & Vice President (placed President and VP as running team together)

  • 20th Amendment: change in inauguration (March to January)

  • 23rd Amendment: electors to the DC (residents of DC can vote for the President, 3 electoral votes)

  • 22nd Amendment: limits president’s tenure to two terms or ten years

  • 25th Amendment: Presidential vacancy and disability (succession) - VP, Speaker, President pro tempore, cabinet heads

  1. What powers are given to the vice-president?

  • President of the Senate

  • Break ties in Senate

  • Presidential succession (President pro tempore)

  • Advise President

  1. What is the purpose of the War Powers Resolution?

  • Restricts the power of the president to maintain troops in combat for more than 60 days without congressional authorization (limits presidents power to start wars)

  1. What are checks to the executive branch by the legislative and judicial?

  • Legislative to executive: impeach presidents, override vetoes

  • Judicial to executive: judicial review over executive orders

  1. Federal Bureaucracy - Explain the following parts of the bureaucracy and who chooses these positions.

    1. Executive Office of the President: closest advisors, coordinates independent agencies and presidential duties (chosen by presidential appointment)

    2. Executive Departments/Cabinet:

  • 15 Executive Departments are headed by secretaries (except the Department of Justice, headed by the Attorney General) They oversee specific areas of government

  • President nominates secretaries, Senate confirms them

  • Cabinet has 15 department secretaries Appointed by president, confirmed by Senate

  1. Independent Agencies: presidentially controlled, narrow responsibility, created by Congress as separate agencies (ex. NASA, CIA)

  • Appointed by the president, some need Senate approval

  1. Regulatory Commissions/Agencies: law enforcement and “watchdog” capacity; focus of interest groups; independent of President; leaders have staggered terms that go beyond a Presidential terms (ex. Federal Reserve System)

  • Appointed by president, approval by Senate

  1. Government Corporations: hybrid between government agency & private company; charge money for services (ex. USPS, Amtrak)

  • Appointed by president, approved  by Senate

  1. How is the bureaucracy held accountable? What can Congress do?

  • The bureaucracy is held accountable through Congress, the president, the courts, and the public

  • Congress can hold oversight hearings, increase, cut, or deny funding, and pass new laws to change how agencies operate

  1. Explain the terms

    1. Spoils system/patronage: filling of administrative positions as a reward for support, rather than merit, started by President Andrew Jackson, makes the bureucracuy more unbiased/neutral

    2. Civil Service Act/Merit system: 

  • an act of Congress that created the 1st US Civil Service Commission to draw up and enforce rules on hiring, promotion and tenure of office within then civil service

  • a system of hiring and promotion based on competitive testing results, education and other qualifications rather than politics and personal connections (based on expertise and experience)

  1. Hatch Act: Non-partisan (no party affiliation) on the job

  1. What are the main arguments in the Federalist #70?

  • Energy is the leading characteristic for a government because it helps leaders act quickly and efficiently

  • Multiple leaders in an executive branch cause mischief and conflict to the republic

  • Legislative and judicial branches should be numerous because they enforce laws and carry out the interests of the people (slow and deliberate)

  • The executive branch must be single so it can carry out quick and efficient policies

  1. What are iron triangles? How do they work?

  • Iron triangles coordinated and mutually beneficial activities of the bureaucracy, Congress, and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals

  • Interest groups target agencies to press their agendas

  • Agencies must provide information to Congress and get funded by Congress

  • Members of Congress get funded by interest groups for carrying out what they wan