Deck 2: Government Institutions and Policy Actors

Question 1

Agencies that fall under the domain of the executive branch of government include ______.

A) cabinet-level departments, independent regulatory commissions, and independent executive agencies
B) domestic agencies and foreign-affairs agencies
C) courts of appeals and federal district courts
D) legislative and budgetary committees

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Formerly called iron triangles, ______ are informal groupings of interest groups, congressional subcommittees, and an executive agency that are less likely to be influenced by public opinion, since they typically work closely together out of the public eye.

A) independent regulatory commissions
B) issue networks
C) advocacy coalitions
D) filibusters

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Federal ______ grants for community development activities give states and local governments an amount of money to conduct the activities with more flexibility to determine how the money is spent.

A) categorical
B) regulatory
C) block
D) stimulus

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The ______ consists of White House staff and other offices such as the Office of Management and Budget that assist the president in implementing public policy.

A) Department of the Treasury
B) Independent Regulatory Commission
C) National Security Council
D) Executive Office of the President

Question 5

When the U.S. government was formed, which three cabinet-level departments existed?

A) Foreign Affairs, Health, and Commerce
B) Treasury, Foreign Affairs, and Disease
C) War, Defense, and Foreign policy
D) War, Treasury, and Foreign Affairs

Question 6

Since the U.S. Congress is ______, the House of Representatives and the Senate must agree on policy actions before these policies can go forward.

A) complex
B) divided
C) duplicative
D) bicameral

Question 7

Courts utilize ______ as background and foundation in order to make a current decision.

A) precedent
B) decentralization
C) issue networks
D) initial briefs

Question 8

Which reason explains the growth in the size and complexity of government over the past hundred years?

A) The nation's social problems have become highly complex.
B) The government has taken on an expanded role in regulating many areas of our lives.
C) The government's provision of social welfare programs has grown.
D) All of these.

Question 9

______ refers to the checks and balances that our Constitution sets up among the three branches of government.

A) Federalism
B) Separation of powers
C) Policy capacity
D) Cooperative federalism

Question 10

______ refer to informal clusters of organizations and individuals (working in both government and the private sector) that are deeply involved in a certain area of focus and share specialized knowledge, communication patterns, and power structures within that area of focus.

A) Lobbyists
B) Informal actors
C) Issue networks
D) Political insiders

Question 11

______ is our system of government, in which the federal government shares authority with states and local governments in areas of public policy.

A) Federalism
B) Executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government
C) Policy output
D) Market failure

Question 12

Federal ______ grants for community development activities give states and local governments an amount of money to conduct the activities with more flexibility to determine how the money is spent.

A) categorical
B) regulatory
C) block
D) stimulus

Question 13

______ refers to the aggregate sum of individual attitudes and opinion of members of society.

A) Research reports
B) Public opinion
C) Informal actors
D) Agenda setting

Question 14

The trend of decentralization of government in the United States transfers policy authority from ______ to ______.

A) federal to local
B) federal to state
C) state to federal
D) local to federal

Question 15

Government policy actors are defined as ______.

A) units or agencies of government that are involved in the policy-making process
B) congressional agencies that conduct policy analysis
C) the legislative branch of government
D) the executive office, including the president, cabinet, and Fed

Question 16

______ are federal requirements placed upon state governments without any financial support for implementation.

A) Economic public policies
B) Statutes with limitations
C) Unfunded policy outputs
D) Unfunded mandates

Question 17

Interest groups often attempt to influence policy makers and public policy through ______.

A) pluralism
B) access
C) lobbying
D) soft money

Question 18

In the past, the policy-making relationship between states and the federal government was called ______, since there was clear separation of policy responsibility between the two levels.

A) cooperative federalism
B) dual federalism
C) policy federalism
D) bounded federalism

Question 19

In the United States, both the national and state governments have authority to enact laws and policies. This system is known as ______.

A) communism
B) capitalism
C) decentralization
D) federalism

Question 20

The Senate allows its members more freedom to debate policy issues than the House. In some cases, Senators talk for hours in hopes of influencing a bill or blocking its passage. This is called a ______.

A) filibuster
B) precedent
C) debate
D) veto

Question 21

______ refers to the ability of a government to address its problems effectively through public policy. a. Policy analysis
B) Policy capacity
C) Incremental policy development
D) Decentralization

Question 22

Federal cabinet departments and major agencies such as the CIA and EPA are found in which branch of government?

A) executive
B) legislative
C) judicial
D) decentralization

Question 23

______ of the federal government are headed by a secretary appointed by the president and have many subsidiary agencies.

A) Policy programs
B) Independent regulatory agencies
C) The three branches
D) Cabinet-level departments

Question 24

Policy gridlock often occurs due to ______.

A) the checks and balances set up by our Constitution
B) high levels of partisanship with strong lobbying
C) the complexity of problems
D) all of these

Question 25

The federal court system plays a vital role in policy making by ______.

A) interpreting the policy decisions made by other agencies of government
B) enforcing the policy decisions made by others
C) developing new laws that fine-tune the policy decisions made by others
D) implementing the policies made by others

Question 26

States demonstrate a wide variety of policy capacities. This refers to the fact that ______.

A) state governments vary greatly in their ability to create good policy
B) there is a wide variety in the amount of federal funds states receive
C) the need for good public policy varies greatly based on the size of state governments
D) in some states, policy gridlock dominates

Question 27

Understanding the system of government is important for students of public policy because

A) it enables us to see the constraints of our form of government on policy making.
B) it enables us to assess constraints on policy development and the opportunities that exist within the system to develop solutions through policy.
C) it enables us to see how the system of government is completely unrelated to policy.
D) it enables us to see how flawed the system actually is.

Question 28

Passage of the ______, discussed extensively in Chapter 2, exemplified the complex interplay of the two houses of Congress, the president, interest groups, and politics in the making of policy.

A) Affordable Health Care Act of 2010
B) Clean Air Act of 1965
C) War Powers Act of 1960
D) Immigration Reform Act of 2013

Question 29

One of the biggest differences between a cabinet-level department (agency) and an independent regulatory commission is that ______.

A) the president may not remove a commissioner of an independent regulatory commission because of policy disagreements
B) independent regulatory commissions are part of the judicial branch
C) an independent regulatory commission does not make policy
D) only cabinet department heads are confirmed by the Senate

Question 30

The case of health care reform exemplifies ______.

A) that the constitutional structure of the U.S. government often makes policy making difficult
B) the complexity caused by categorical grants and unfunded mandates
C) the power of the presidency to overcome incremental reform
D) the use of sanctions and diplomatic maneuvers by government bureaucrats

Question 31

Compared to the past, the public is more accepting of business regulation such as the regulation of market failures. This acceptance has led to ______.

A) growth in the size and power of government
B) increasing polarization of political views
C) changes in the structure of Congress
D) changes in the Constitution

Question 32

Which statement accurately reflects the activity of lobbying by interest groups?

A) Lobbying refers to putting illegal pressure on legislators.
B) Lobbying refers to making contributions to legislators to influence their votes.
C) Lobbying refers to testifying before Congress.
D) Lobbying refers to providing information on policy positions to legislators.

Question 33

Conflict between states and the federal government can be caused by ______, in which the federal government emplaces new rules about government services that must be provided by states, but does not provide funds to cover the new costs that might be incurred.

A) unfunded mandates
B) decentralization
C) block grants
D) financial mandates

Question 34

Which statement summarizes the structure of the federal judiciary? It is made up of______.

A) the Supreme Court, Circuit and Federal District Courts, and various specialty courts
B) the Supreme Court, state courts, and local courts
C) the Supreme Court, the federal district courts, and court authorities that handle simpler, more routine cases
D) the Supreme Court, courts of commerce, and courts of the interior

Question 35

Growth in the size of government has led to ______.

A) an emergence of a large employment sector and a time-consuming policy-making processes
B) a decline in the gross domestic product and increase in poverty rates
C) an increase in reliance on welfare programs
D) a better quality of life for citizens

Question 36

Because of greater decentralization of policy making to the states, it has become more important that states have strong ______ or the ability to make effective and efficient policies.

A) mandates
B) policy capacities
C) division of authority
D) policy instruments

Question 37

An increase in the use of ______ by the federal government led to greater cooperation and decentralization between states and the federal government.

A) unfunded mandates
B) health care subsidies
C) categorical and block grants
D) bicameral strategies for policy development

Question 38

______, or providing information supporting their policy positions to legislators, is a visible role played by interest groups.

A) Incremental policy making
B) Lobbying
C) Issue networks
D) Conducting campaign advertising

Question 39

The Constitution gives each branch of government a different role in policy making in the United States. This sharing of responsibility by our government is known as ______.

A) federalism
B) executive, judicial, and state-level branches
C) separation of powers
D) public policies

Question 40

The United States has made many small, targeted changes to environmental policy, economic policy, and health care policy over time. This is called ______ policy making.

A) reluctant
B) incremental
C) complex
D) legitimized

Question 41

______ refers to the capability to develop and implement strong government policies.

Question 42

Define decentralization of policy making. In what ways might decentralization of policy making have negative impact?

Question 43

The U.S. ______ form of government is a system, in which power is divided between national government and the states.

Question 44

One major concern regarding the decentralization of the policy-making role from the federal to the state level includes ______.

A) expected significant loss of federal government jobs
B) questions about states' varying levels of policy capacity and ability to construct policies that solve problems equitably
C) inability of the federal government to implement policies
D) excessive power exercised by the office of the president through the use of executive orders

Question 45

Which of the following statements summarizes major reasons for the growth in government in the past 100 years?

A) As the U.S. territory and role in the world expanded, public attitudes became accepting of government involvement in many facets of life.
B) As more and more public officials have been hired through the years, the government has taken on a growing role in many facets of life.
C) As the need for government welfare programs has grown, taxes have increased and the government has taken on an expanded role in many facets of life.
D) After the Great Depression, many new government programs were created that, today, have grown to enormous sizes, require huge budgets, and employ many federal employees.

Question 46

In U.S. clean air and water programs, the federal government establishes quality standards and provides funds, while the states are responsible for implementation. This is an example of ______ federalism.

A) divided
B) dual
C) cooperative
D) decentralized

Question 47

The best-known agencies of the executive branch are the 15 ______, each managed by a secretary appointed by the president.

Question 48

______ are nongovernmental participants in the policy-making process and include members of the general public and interest groups.

Question 49

______ provide large transfers of federal dollars to the states, to give the states more discretion in how to utilize the funding.

Question 50

Which statement captures the theme of Chapter 2 when it comes to the U.S. government?

A) The federal form of government has begun to assume too much power, leading to a situation of dual federalism and gridlock.
B) The federal form of government distributes power and involves many actors, yet leads to less efficient policy solutions and an inability to address complex issues.
C) The growing globalization has made the federal form of government less relevant, while the current political trends have led to gridlock, a new and challenging situation.
D) New and different threats, such as climate change and terrorism, have led to a situation, in which more federal authority is needed, and states must be willing to yield their historical power.

Question 51

What is the benefit of citizen participation in government processes, and how might it be increased?

Question 52

Discuss the Constitutional structure of the U.S. government and the advantages and disadvantages of this structure in terms of policy making.

Question 53

Define cooperative federalism and policy capacity. Then discuss how cooperative federalism has led to a growing need for policy capacity at the state level.

Question 54

Ideological differences and high levels of partisanship in Congress have produced ______ in regard to changing national immigration policies.

A) decentralization
B) filibuster
C) incremental policy making
D) policy gridlock

Question 55

Summarize the effects of government growth.

Question 56

Restate the meaning of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution in your own words and explain the policy-making tension that it has created between states and the federal government.

Question 57

Lay out the components of the executive branch of the federal government.

Question 58

The United States relies heavily on ______ policy making, which falls somewhere between gridlock and innovation.

Question 59

The founders of the United States established a government structure with numerous checks and balances due to which of the following motives?

A) A desire to prevent too much power being assumed by slave-holding Southern states.
B) To ensure that the new government could not tyrannize the population.
C) The desire to build a strong, deliberative process that would lead to slow implementation of policy and incremental change.
D) A desire to maintain the greatest amount of power in the legislative branch, or Congress, since that branch remains closest to the will of the people.

Question 60

Which statement describes the kinds of policy subject areas for which "issue networks" might be most active?

A) Policies for which public opinion is a very important factor, such as whether same-sex marriage should be allowed.
B) Policies that require high levels of collaboration across state and federal policy actors, such as transportation.
C) Policies that come from sub-governments, or executive branch agencies, such as public school policies.
D) Policies for which public opinion is less relevant, but higher levels of specialized expertise are important, such as regulating health care exchanges.

Question 61

Review the ways that members of the public can influence policy making.

Question 62

Characterize the ways that organized interest groups influence policy. What trends are occurring relative to interest groups and their impact on U.S. policy?

Question 63

Summarize the informal policy actors and the roles they play in policy making.

Question 64

Discuss how the U.S. (a) size and (b) structure of government can make it difficult to enact policies.

Question 65

How is the role of the judiciary in the making of public policy different from that of the executive and legislative branches?

Question 66

Discuss the role of each branch of government in policy making.

Question 67

Examine the reasons that the U.S. government has grown to its current size.

Question 68

Present several arguments for and against decentralization of policy authority to states.

Question 69

What are the major kinds of informal policy actors, and how do they participate in policy making?