Deck 14: The Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

The National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts are examples of

A)independent administrative agencies.
B)private,nonprofit corporations.
C)foundations.
D)independent regulatory commissions.
E)executive regulatory agencies.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

On what legal/constitutional basis do such agencies as the Postal Service and the Department of Interior exist?

A)They have been established by Congress through the legislative process.
B)They have been established by the president by executive order.
C)They have been established by the Constitution in Article I,Section 2.
D)They have been established by the Congress by executive order.
E)They have been established by the Constitution in Article 2,Section 3.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Department of Homeland Security

A)was created during the Clinton administration.
B)is an independent regulatory agency.
C)combined many existing agencies under one major department.
D)was created during the Reagan administration.
E)is a government corporation.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following officials may NOT be removed by the president?

A)Secretary of state
B)FCC commissioner
C)Head of the EPA
D)Attorney general
E)Secretary of defense

Question 5

The CIA and NASA are examples of which of the following?

A)Cabinet-level executive departments
B)Independent executive agencies
C)Government corporations
D)Independent regulatory commissions
E)Executive regulatory agencies

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of a cabinet-level executive department?

A)Federal Trade Commission
B)Postal Service
C)National Institutes of Health
D)Department of Justice
E)Environmental Protection Agency

Question 7

Which of the following tools might the president use in an effort to gain control over policymaking in an agency such as the EPA or OSHA?

A)The president could reduce the agency's budget.
B)The president could appoint his own people to top-level positions in the agency.
C)The president could eliminate the agency.
D)The president could call on Congress for legislation.
E)The president could ignore the agency.

Question 8

Agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security,the Department of Defense,and the Environmental Protection Agency are part of which branch of government?

A)They are part of the executive branch.
B)They are part of the legislative branch.
C)They are part of the judicial branch.
D)They are independent,not part of any branch.
E)They are spread out among all of the branches.

Question 9

The Securities and Exchange Commission regulates which of the following?

A)Sales of stocks and bonds
B)Law enforcement and prison facilities
C)Electric power transmission
D)Prosecution of federal crimes
E)Filing of patents

Question 10

The Hatch Act deals with which of the following?

A)The active participation of federal employees in political activities
B)Giving veterans a hiring preference
C)Protecting whistleblowers from reprisal
D)Allowing federal employees to join unions
E)Regulating veterans' hospitals

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT part of the inner cabinet?

A)Attorney General
B)Secretary of the Treasury
C)Secretary of Defense
D)Secretary of State
E)Secretary of Health and Human Services

Question 12

Which of the following cabinet-level executive departments has the largest civilian work force?

A)Department of Defense
B)Department of Health and Human Services
C)Department of Veterans' Affairs
D)State Department
E)Department of the Interior

Question 13

The FTC,FCC,and SEC are all examples of which of the following?

A)Cabinet-level executive departments
B)Independent executive agencies
C)Government corporations
D)Independent regulatory commissions
E)Executive regulatory agencies

Question 14

The Postal Service and AMTRAK are examples of which of the following?

A)Cabinet-level executive departments
B)Independent executive agencies
C)Government corporations
D)Independent regulatory commissions
E)Executive regulatory commissions

Question 15

Which of the following is

A)The attorney general is appointed by the vice president.
B)The attorney general is confirmed by the House.
C)The vice president may dismiss the attorney general at any time.
D)The attorney general serves a fixed term of office.
E)The attorney general is confirmed by the Senate.

Question 16

Which of the following is a quasi-governmental company?

A)The FCC
B)The Post Office
C)The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
D)The FTC
E)OSHA

Question 17

Which of the following organizations has the authority to regulate advertising?

A)EPA
B)OSHA
C)FCC
D)FTC
E)SEC

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a step in the rulemaking process?

A)An agency gives advance notice that it is considering issuing a rule in a particular policy area.
B)The agency gives interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed rule.
C)The Justice Department reviews the rule to see that it conforms to the Voting Rights Act.
D)The rule is published in the Code of Federal Regulations.
E)The president signs the rule into law.

Question 19

Which of the following presidents presided over one of the largest expansions of the federal bureaucracy?

A)Lyndon Johnson
B)Ronald Reagan
C)Richard Nixon
D)Jimmy Carter
E)Thomas Jefferson

Question 20

Which agency regulates business competition?

A)SEC
B)FTC
C)FDA
D)EPA
E)NASA

Question 21

What is constituency service,and why is it considered in a chapter about the federal bureaucracy?

Question 22

Critics of the Food and Drug Administration FDA)sometimes argue that the agency acts in the interest of the pharmaceutical industry that it should be regulating rather than in the interest of the public.These critics believe that the FDA is

A)an issue network.
B)a captured agency.
C)an iron triangle.
D)a subgovernment.
E)an issue domination.

Question 23

The president has no power to remove members of independent regulatory commissions,such as the FCC.

Question 24

If an interest group draws the attention of Congress to a federal agency's failure to follow regulations,what is this called?

A)Fire-alarm oversight
B)Constituency service
C)Congressional oversight
D)Agency oversight
E)Judicial oversight

Question 25

In a given federal agency,which of the following ensure that no president can completely control the agency?

A)Political appointees
B)Presidential appointees
C)Career civil servants
D)Cabinet heads
E)Congressional appointees

Question 26

What does it mean that an official serves "at the president's pleasure?" Give an example of one such official.

Question 27

Which of the following is

A)They are composed entirely of government employees.
B)They are also called agencies.
C)They are gaining in influence.
D)They bring together the public,Congress,and the executive.
E)They bring together the public,Congress,and the judiciary.

Question 28

Between 1991 and 2001,the number of civilian employees of the federal government decreased,but has risen sharply since.

Question 29

An issue network is a group of political actors that is concerned with some aspect of public policy.

Question 30

The EPA,the Postal Service,and the Justice Department are all cabinet departments.

Question 31

Government corporations,such as the Postal Service,resemble private corporations in that they generate their own revenues.

Question 32

The Constitution describes the organization of the federal bureaucracy in detail.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT

A)They both include the judiciary.
B)Both have a set structure.
C)Both generally include Congress.
D)The executive branch is included in both.
E)Both seek to influence regulation.

Question 34

An iron triangle is a three-sided relationship among government agencies,interest groups,and key members of Congress in which all parties benefit.

Question 35

The rulemaking process begins and ends with public notification.

Question 36

The captured-agencies thesis holds that government agencies frequently fall under the control of the incumbent president.

Question 37

How are government corporations,such as the Postal Service,organized?

Question 38

The Department of Defense employs more civil servants than any other agency.

Question 39

What was the spoils system? Describe the system that replaced it.

Question 40

What is rulemaking? How does a rule differ from a law enacted through the legislative process?

Question 41

What tools do the president and Congress have to influence policymaking in any of the federal agencies?

Question 42

What tools do interest groups have to influence policymaking in any of the federal agencies?

Question 43

The bureaucracy is extremely involved in making policy.Bureaucrats have political perspectives of their own,and the bureaucracy has the power to influence policymaking.Write an essay on the role of bureaucracy in policymaking.Discuss bureaucrats' interest in policy and the tools they have to influence the policymaking process.Use examples to illustrate your points.

Question 44

Read the article about the oil industry in your textbook on page 281.Write an essay outlining your opinion of this topic and include answers to the questions posed at the end of the article.

Question 45

Explain the workings of the U.S.bureaucracy in historical terms.In other words,how has the current system evolved,and in response to what issues? What kinds of changes are currently underway?

Question 46

Compare the workings of the iron triangle and interest networks.What are the main differences between them?

Question 47

Which model best explains bureaucratic policymaking in America: the iron triangle,the subgovernment model,or the issue network approach? Write an essay in which you describe each approach to explaining administrative policymaking.Then discuss which model best describes the policymaking process in the United States.Support your analysis with specific policymaking examples.

Question 48

What are the main points of comparison between the Egyptian and American bureaucracies?

Question 49

Explain the Hatch Act.What is it and what is it designed to do? Is it necessary or fair to limit the political activities of federal employees? Include in your essay the advantages and disadvantages of federal employees engaging in political activities.

Question 50

What is fire-alarm oversight? Give an example.