American Government

Exam 2: Congress, the Presidency, and the Bureaucracy

Name: Joshua Ballenger

This is exam is made up of 40 multiple-choice questions and two essay response questions.
Each multiple-choice question is worth 2 points, and each essay response is worth 10 points.
Please email this exam to johns@sccsc.edu on or before Wednesday, October 7th by 11:59pm.
Late exams will not be accepted.

1. Congress is a ________ legislature with ________ members.

a. unicameral; 342 c. bicameral; 100
b. bicameral; 535 d. bicameral; 275

2. A senator or representative running for reelection is called the

a. constituent. c. trustee.
b incumbent. d. delegate.
.

3. Most members of the House attempt to stay on good terms with the Speaker of the House
because the Speaker
a. has the authority to call all party unity votes.
b. possesses the power of recognition.
c. approves all requests for logrolling.
d. makes all decisions regarding how leadership PACs will distribute their funds.

4. Compared to the rest of American history, recent congresses have been ________ polarized
and ________ productive in terms of passing laws.
a. less; equally c. more; less
b. less; less d. more; more

5. The framers gave the power to introduce “money bills” to the House of Representatives but not
the Senate because they believed that
a. the Senate was too small in size to make good decisions about taxing and
spending.
b. the chamber closest to the people should exercise greater authority over taxing
and spending.
c. every state should not have equal influence over taxing and spending decisions.
d. taxing and spending were not important issues and the Senate should focus its
attention on the country’s most pressing problems.

6. A ________ veto occurs when Congress adjourns during a 10-day period after presenting the
president with a bill on which he or she takes no action.
a. procrastination c. silent
b. pocket d. line-item
7. How can Congress override a president’s veto?
a. a two-thirds vote in either chamber
b. a two-thirds vote in both chambers
c. a simple majority vote in both chambers
d. According to the U.S. Constitution, a president’s veto cannot be overridden.

8. A filibuster allows members of the Senate to

a. refer a bill to multiple committees.
b. avoid a conference committee.
c. prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor.
d. add amendments to any bill at any time.

9. The Senate and House Appropriations committees are important because

a. they determine the number of seats on each congressional committee.
b. they are placed in charge of redistricting after every census.
c. they decide how much funding various programs will receive and how the money
will be spent.
d. they determine what conduct is ethically appropriate for elected representatives
and what the penalties associated with inappropriate conduct will be.

10. The jurisdiction of standing committees

a. is related to a specific geographic region.
b. is defined by the subject matter of legislation, which often parallels the major
cabinet departments or agencies.
c. is determined by the different political parties.
d. often overlaps with the jurisdiction of select committees.

11. Who has the MOST real power in the Senate?

a. the president of the Senate c. the Senate president pro tempore
b. the majority and minority leaders d. the chair of the Rules Committee

12. How is the Speaker of the House determined?

a. The vice president of the United States is also Speaker of the House.
b. The representative with the longest tenure in the House is the Speaker of the
House.
c. The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker.
d. The president selects the Speaker of the House from the majority party in the
House.

13. The term “pork barrel” refers to

a. any piece of legislation that changes the number of agricultural subsidies
provided to farmers by the federal government.
b. the collective set of law that regulates America’s meat exports.
 c. bills that grant a special privilege to a person named in the bill.
d. appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not
needed but that are created so that local representatives can win reelection in
their home districts.

14. ________ powers are specifically established by the language of the Constitution.
a. Expressed c. Implied
b. Delegated d. Inherent

15. The president’s delegated powers come from

a. the Constitution. c. the president’s party.
b. Congress. d. the Supreme Court.

16. When a president “recognizes” a country, it means that the United States
a. formally rejects the legitimacy of that country’s government and territorial claims.
b. will deploy military personnel within that country.
c. will impose economic sanctions on that country.
d. acknowledges the legitimacy of that country’s government and territorial
claims.

17. In order to get around the need for Senate approval of treaties, many contemporary presidents
have made use of ________ in foreign affairs.
a. signing statements c. executive agreements
b. international protocols d. executive immunity

18. What is the general tendency of a president’s popularity?

a. Presidents usually begin with moderate ratings that move drastically up or down,
depending on their success.
b. Presidents usually start out popular and decline over the next four years.
c. Presidents usually maintain the public approval ratings they had when entering
office, unless there is an economic recession or international crisis.
d. Presidents usually begin very unpopular and increase their popularity significantly
as their terms in office continue.

19. President Clinton was unusual among modern presidents because he left the White House
a. less popular than when he entered.
b. more popular than when he entered.
c. without issuing a single signing statement.
d. without issuing a single executive order.

20. When presidents use popular appeals in an attempt to create a mass base of support that will
allow them to accomplish their goals, it is referred to as
a. “going rogue.” c. “selling out.”
 b. “going public.” d. “propagandizing the public.”

21. During the nineteenth century, ________ was America’s dominant institution of government.
a. the presidency c. Congress
b. the Supreme Court d. the executive bureaucracy

22. The main political value of the vice president is to

a. bring the president votes in the election from a group or region that would not
otherwise be a likely source of support.
b. draw negative attention away from the president during times of crisis.
c. bridge the gap between the White House and Congress.
d. promote bipartisanship with members of the opposing political party.

23. The president has the power to appoint which of the following positions?
a. open Senate seats
b. all state Supreme Court justices
c. cabinet secretaries
d. open seats in the House of Representatives

24. The goal of the War Powers Resolution was to

a. compel a congressional declaration of war for every large-scale military
operation.
b. limit the ability of Congress to cut off funding for troops when the president sends
them overseas without congressional approval.
c. limit the power of the president to commit American troops to military action
without authorization from Congress.
d. end the Vietnam War.

25. The last time Congress exercised its constitutional power to declare war was during
a. World War II. c. the Vietnam War.
b. the Korean War. d. the Iraq War.

26. If a president claimed that he possessed the authority to execute acts of Congress according
to his own understanding of the law and the nation’s interests, he would be operating under
the theory of
a. pluralism. c. elite pluralism.
b. the unitary executive. d. absolutism.

27. Which of the following statements about presidential vetoes is MOST accurate?
a. Nearly all presidential vetoes are successfully overridden by Congress.
b. Approximately half of presidential vetoes throughout American history have
been successfully overridden by Congress.
c. Fewer than 10 percent of all presidential vetoes throughout American history
have been successfully overridden by Congress.
 d. A presidential veto has never been successfully overridden by Congress.
28. ________ is the process through which bureaucrats attempt to translate laws into specific rules
and actions.
a. Adjudication c. Deregulation
b. Regulation d. Implementation

29. A bureau charged with putting restrictions and obligations on individuals or corporations in the
private sector is called a ________ agency.
a. redistributive c. fiscal
b. regulatory d. clientele

30. Which of the following is the best description of an iron triangle?

a. the stable relationship between a bureaucratic agency, a clientele group, and a
legislative committee
b. the inability to reform federal rules without help from the House of
Representatives,
the Senate, and the president
c. the domination of a few large companies in the regulation of iron mining and
smelting
d. the breakdown in the separation of powers between Congress, the federal
judiciary,
and the president

31. Which of the following is an example of a revenue agency?

a. Federal Reserve System c. U.S. Customs Service
b. Agricultural Extension Service d. Securities and Exchange Commission

32. ________ occurs when the federal government passes authority to administer a program to
state or local governments.
a. Deregulation c. Privatization
b. Devolution d. Implementation

33. Which of the following statements best describes how recent administrations have approached
the issue of bureaucratic reform?
a. Republican administrations have aimed to make the existing bureaucracy work
more effectively while Democratic administrations have sought to reduce
bureaucracy by contracting out government work to private companies.
b. Democratic administrations have aimed to make the existing bureaucracy work
more effectively while Republican administrations have sought to reduce
bureaucracy by contracting out government work to private companies.
c. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have rejected the idea of
reducing bureaucracy and have aimed to make existing bureaucracy work more
effectively.
 d. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have given up on trying to make
the existing bureaucracy function more effectively and instead sought to reduce
bureaucracy by contracting out government work to private companies.

34. The largest employer in the country and the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world is
a. Amazon. c. Apple.
b. Walmart. d. the U.S. federal government.

35. Which president’s approach to the managerial presidency featured a deep belief in the
importance
of scientific expertise in government service?
a. Barack Obama c. Ronald Reagan
b. George W. Bush d. Bill Clinton

36. During the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, ________ federal agencies
or programs were terminated.
a. 0 c. 156
b. 10 d. 849

37. The concept of oversight refers to the effort made by

a. Congress to make executive agencies accountable for their actions.
b. the president to make Congress accountable for its actions.
c. the courts to make the legislative and executive branches responsible for their
actions.
d. the states to make the federal government responsible for its actions.

38. Privatization is a way to

a. shrink the federal budget by selling government services or property in the
private sector.
b. reduce government costs by relocating government programs to private groups
or corporations.
c. reduce big government by doing without some of the programs it once provided.
d. increase the government’s role by purchasing private companies.

39. The National Park Service is

a. part of the Department of the Interior. c. an independent agency.
b. part of the Department of Agriculture. d. a government corporation.

40. Which one of these has the authority to set interest rates and lending activities for the nation’s
most important banks?
a. the Federal Reserve System
b. the Secretary of the Treasury
c. the Internal Revenue Service
 d. the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Short Essay Section

Listed below are three short essay questions. Choose TWO, and answer each thoroughly. These
questions are worth ten points each, so be diligent in answering all parts of the two questions
you select. You will likely need at least one solid paragraph of 5-8 sentences to demonstrate an
understanding of the question.

1. Describe the process by which a bill becomes a law. What are the major steps in the process? How
often do bills fail, and where in the process do they typically die? What are the main differences in
the legislative process between the two houses of Congress?

2. One way presidents have expanded their power is through employing a strategy of “going public.”
Describe what this strategy entails and what its limitations are. In your answer, be sure to provide
specific examples of how particular presidents have used this strategy.

3. Describe and discuss the different powers of the president. Specifically, define the differences
between the president’s expressed, implied, delegated, and inherent powers and provide an
example of each. What are some of the checks placed upon these powers by the other branches
of government?

MC: 66/80
Short essay: 0/20
Total: 66

Please answer the short essay questions in test corrections.