Deck 8: The Executive Branch: Bureaucracy in a Democracy

Question 1

Politicians delegate little power to bureaucrats.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The Department of Justice is an agency for internal security.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

All government agencies are part of cabinet departments.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The agencies that collect taxes and handle money for the U.S. government are called pecuniary agencies.

Question 5

The bureau level of an executive agency is higher in the federal hierarchy than a cabinet department.

Question 6

Bureaucracy helps solve the problem of credibly committing to the long-term existence of a policy.

Question 7

Bureaucracies can make rules that have the full force of law, just like laws passed by Congress.

Question 8

Bureaucracies touch nearly every aspect of daily life.

Question 9

By definition, only governments have bureaucracies.

Question 10

Bureaucracies take advantage of the division of labor to perform their tasks with greater efficiency.

Question 11

Congress often deliberately delegates the responsibility of lawmaking to an administrative agency.

Question 12

The Department of State is an agency for internal security.

Question 13

The single government agency responsible for all the programs making up the welfare state is the Department of Human Services.

Question 14

The creation of the Department of Homeland Security was the most dramatic reform of the federal bureaucracy since the establishment of the Department of Defense.

Question 15

Bureaucrats typically leave the task of settling disputes to the courts or to Congress.

Question 16

In contrast to their counterparts in private industry, public bureaucrats are required to maintain a far more thorough paper trail.

Question 17

Clientele agencies are designed to serve the broad interests of the country.

Question 18

The first independent regulatory commission was the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Question 19

Policies focused on banks, credit, and currency are called fiscal policies.

Question 20

Due to the power of public unions, far more constraints are imposed on private employees than public bureaucrats.

Question 21

Once an agency has approved regulations to interpret a new law, those regulations remain in place until Congress rewrites the law.

Question 22

As a share of the population, the federal workforce has grown significantly over the last 50 years.

Question 23

Oversight can be carried out by individual members of Congress.

Question 24

Legislators have strong incentives to oppose connections between agencies, interest groups, and committees known as cozy little triangles.

Question 25

Through privatization, government terminates its obligation to provide goods and services.

Question 26

Privatization is a euphemism for termination.

Question 27

The federal service has not been growing any faster than the economy or the rest of society.

Question 28

The 1921 Budget and Accounting Act transferred agenda-setting power over the budget from the president to Congress.

Question 29

The most powerful before-the-fact political weapon is the appointment power.

Question 30

Most of the work of the Internal Revenue Service is automated, so it only has a few hundred employees in the Washington D.C area.

Question 31

Each expansion of the national government into new policies and programs in the twentieth century was accompanied by a parallel restriction on the president's management authority.

Question 32

Police patrol oversight is more efficient than the fire-alarm variety, given costs and the electoral incentives of members of Congress.

Question 33

Tools for controlling bureaucracy before it has taken action are called ex post facto laws.

Question 34

In the modern age, most laws passed by Congress are really instructions to bureaucrats and their agencies.

Question 35

When Congress and the president are at odds, bureaucrats are more likely to evade responsibility for bureaucratic drift.

Question 36

Congress can punish agency drift by reducing the budgets of wayward bureaucrats.

Question 37

Despite attempts to control the growth of bureaucracy, the number of federal employees in the civil service has grown exponentially over the past 30 years.

Question 38

Technically, the Federal Reserve Board is a bureau within the Treasury Department.

Question 39

The only certain way to reduce the size of bureaucracy is to eliminate programs.

Question 40

In August 1996, virtually all of the means-tested public assistance programs were abolished as a national program and were devolved to the states.

Question 41

According to National Election Studies opinion polls from 1964 to 2016, the public belief that there is a lot of waste in government was at its highest point in

A)1968, after the adoption of "Great Society" legislation under Lyndon Johnson.
B)1976, after the Watergate scandal turned public opinion against the presidency.
C)1980, coinciding with the election of Ronald Reagan.
D)1996, prompting Bill Clinton to promise that "the era of big government is over."

Question 42

The U.S. Forest Service's ban on road building and development in national forests is an example of

A)oversight.
B)rule making.
C)administrative adjudication.
D)executive legislation.

Question 43

When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specified that the congressional mandate to provide clean drinking water would be interpreted to mean that water could have no more than .01 microgram per liter of arsenic and still be considered safe for drinking, it exercised the power of

A)rule making.
B)bureaucratic oversight.
C)administrative adjudication
D)discretionary effectuation.

Question 44

When executive agencies engage in administrative adjudication, they essentially act like a(n)

A)legislature.
B)court.
C)interest group.
D)police agency.

Question 45

What is a bureaucracy?

A)the loose network of presidential staffers and political consultants that sets the course of the nation
B)all the people who work for the government
C)the partnership between congressional committees, agencies, and organized interests
D)the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel

Question 46

As bureaucracies develop, their organizational system often approximates the shape of a

A)pyramid.
B)square.
C)rectangle.
D)pentagon.

Question 47

What is the key to effective bureaucracy?

A)representative power
B)swift adaptation
C)generalized functions
D)division of labor

Question 48

Which of the following is a constraint that government bureaucrats face to a greater degree than private (business) bureaucrats?

A)Government bureaucrats are subject to much greater public scrutiny.
B)Government bureaucrats may not make Freedom of Information Act requests.
C)Government bureaucrats do not have to conform to the same strict standards for hiring and firing as private bureaucrats do.
D)Government bureaucrats must consider the effects of their decisions on company stock prices.

Question 49

After the rules for a federal public agency are approved, where are they published?

A)Washington Post
B)U.S. Regulatory Code
C)Congressional Record
D)Federal Register

Question 50

A form of implementation in which bureaucrats try to discern and carry out the intention of their political superiors is known as

A)interpretation.
B)adjudication.
C)undersight.
D)elucidation.

Question 51

"Bureaucrats are charged with implementing statutes and policies produced by their 'masters,' the elected politicians in the White House and on Capitol Hill. But the relative permanence enjoyed by the bureaucracy is a form of insulation-servants have discretion and masters are limited in their ability to control them." This statement reflects which of the following concepts?

A)agency loss
B)coalitional drift
C)agency representation
D)collective action problem

Question 52

The efforts of departments and agencies to translate laws into specific bureaucratic routines are called

A)calcification.
B)effectuation.
C)implementation.
D)codification.

Question 53

The application of rules and precedents to specific cases to settle disputes with regulated parties is

A)oversight.
B)rule making.
C)administrative adjudication.
D)civilian law.

Question 54

"When created, bureaucracies assume a status of relative permanence, and future developments are shaped, as the history principle suggests, by these initial conditions." This point of view is most consistent with which of the following concepts?

A)principal-agent problems
B)path dependency
C)agency loss
D)coalitional drift

Question 55

After the rules for a federal public agency are approved, they

A)supersede prior Supreme Court decisions.
B)establish minimum standards for state-level regulation.
C)must be accepted by a referendum of affected industries and agencies.
D)have the force of law.

Question 56

Why do the authors of the text say bureaucracy makes government possible?

A)It provides the efficient implementation of policy and allows a credible commitment to the long-term existence of a policy.
B)It removes the power to implement policy from the hands of corrupt politicians and places it in the hands of bureaucrats.
C)It makes government more responsive to the wishes of the people.
D)It removes politics from the policy-making process, putting apolitical bureaucrats in charge instead of politicians.

Question 57

A quasi-legislative administrative process of writing regulations by government agencies is known as

A)rule making.
B)effectuation.
C)implementation.
D)adjudication.

Question 58

The primary task of bureaucracy is

A)systems analysis.
B)implementation.
C)coordination.
D)maximization.

Question 59

The 2003 creation of the Department of Homeland Security illustrated the principle that bureaucracies are sometimes created

A)even against tremendous antibureaucratic sentiment among the citizenry.
B)for political reasons, such as to avoid blame for failing to respond to a threat.
C)because of the history principle.
D)in response to petitions from foreign governments.

Question 60

What is the term for the offices, tasks, and principles of organization used to coordinate the work of personnel?

A)polity
B)regime
C)bureaucracy
D)delegacy

Question 61

Specialized programs like the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Forest Service are examples of which level of bureaucracy?

A)bureau
B)cabinet
C)legislative
D)government corporation

Question 62

Congress intends for some bureaucracies to promote, serve, or represent a particular interest. What is the general term for this type of department or bureau?

A)interest group
B)constituent liaison
C)ombudsman
D)clientele agency

Question 63

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is most accurately classified as a(n)

A)cabinet department.
B)independent agency.
C)independent regulatory commission.
D)government corporation.

Question 64

Governmental agencies set up by Congress outside the departmental structure, like the Environmental Protection Agency, are known as

A)cabinet departments.
B)rogue agencies
C)independent regulatory commissions.
D)independent agencies.

Question 65

What is the most important revenue agency in the United States today?

A)Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
B)Department of the Treasury
C)Federal Reserve Bank
D)Federal Reserve

Question 66

In the United States, the head of a cabinet-level department is usually called a

A)general.
B)minister.
C)chief adviser.
D)secretary.

Question 67

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Homeland Security are both examples of which level of bureaucracy?

A)bureau
B)government corporation
C)cabinet department
D)independent agency

Question 68

Which two agencies are most responsible for external national security?

A)the State Department and the FBI
B)the State Department and the Department of Defense
C)the Department of Defense and the FBI
D)the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security

Question 69

The primary task of the State Department is

A)research.
B)diplomacy.
C)state and local relations.
D)military planning.

Question 70

A department or bureau of government whose mission is to promote, serve, or represent a particular political or economic interest is called a(n) __________ agency.

A)welfare
B)revenue
C)clientele
D)interest

Question 71

Most clientele agencies locate a relatively large proportion of their total personnel in

A)Washington, D.C., to be close to the center of national governance.
B)the central states to support agricultural initiatives.
C)New York to be near the nation's financial sector.
D)field offices dealing directly with those they serve.

Question 72

The Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Labor, and Commerce, each designed to serve or represent a particular set of interests, are most accurately classified together as

A)clientele agencies.
B)revenue agencies.
C)regulatory agencies.
D)government corporations.

Question 73

In 1887, Congress established the __________ as the first independent regulatory agency.

A)Interstate Commerce Commission
B)Transportation Administration
C)Railroad Trust and Oversight Authority
D)Industry Safety and Accountability Board

Question 74

One major challenge in defense policy making is

A)Congress viewing the defense budget as pork-barrel legislation.
B)convincing Americans to cooperate with the military draft.
C)military interference with the democratic process.
D)declining marksmanship in the American population.

Question 75

What do clientele agencies do for their clients?

A)Clientele agencies hold members of Congress accountable if their budgets are too small.
B)Clientele agencies learn the interests and needs of their clients and then advocate for them in Washington.
C)Clientele agencies are composed of individuals who match the characteristics of their clients.
D)Clientele agencies serve as trustees and do what they think is right for their clients, regardless of the agency's expressed interests.

Question 76

As long as the United States is not in a state of insurrection, which of the following is tasked with conducting most of the nation's internal security?

A)National Security Service
B)Department of State
C)Department of Defense
D)Departments of Justice and Homeland Security

Question 77

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is not part of a cabinet department, is most accurately classified as a(n)

A)government corporation.
B)multinational corporation.
C)independent regulatory commission.
D)independent agency.

Question 78

Amtrak is an example of which type of bureaucratic structure?

A)cabinet department
B)independent agency
C)independent regulatory commission
D)government corporation

Question 79

A type of government agency that is outside the departmental structure but operates more like a private business that charges for its services is called a

A)cabinet department.
B)independent agency.
C)government corporation.
D)government contractor.

Question 80

An agency with broad discretion to make rules and the expertise and time to promote them is called a(n)

A)cabinet department.
B)independent agency.
C)government corporation.
D)independent regulatory commission.