Deck 14: The Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

Before 1883,how were government jobs awarded?

A) Jobs were awarded based on applicants' expertise.
B) Jobs were awarded through a lottery system.
C) Jobs were awarded based on applicants' performance on entrance exams.
D) Jobs were awarded based on applicants' loyalty to the party in power.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Under the Hatch Act as amended,federal employees are prohibited from __________.

A) adjudicating legal disputes
B) exercising administrative discretion
C) running for partisan office
D) running voter registration drives

Answer 2

C

Question 3

__________ is the approach to regulation in which the government tells business how to meet certain goals,makes sure these directions are followed,and punishes those who do not follow the orders.

A) The spoils system
B) Command-and-control policy
C) The shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later system
D) The incentive system

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The civil service system was introduced with the passage of what law?

A) the Hatch Act
B) the Pendleton Act
C) the Administrative Procedures Act
D) the Freedom of Information Act

Question 5

Which of the following federal bureaucracies employs the most people?

A) the Department of Homeland Security
B) the Department of Defense
C) the Social Security Administration
D) the U.S. Postal Service

Question 6

Which of the following is a part of the federal bureaucracy?

A) the Department of Defense
B) the U.S. House of Representatives
C) the U.S. Supreme Court
D) the Democratic Party

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of Max Weber's merit principle?

A) evaluating political candidates based on personal characteristics
B) evaluating political candidates based on work experience
C) hiring bureaucrats based on their ability to do the job
D) evaluating a policy proposal based on its benefits

Question 8

A(n)__________ regulates industries using marketlike strategies such as rewards.

A) patronage system
B) iron triangle
C) executive order
D) incentive system

Question 9

Max Weber identified which of the following as a characteristic of bureaucracy?

A) inefficiency
B) transparency
C) consensus making
D) task specialization

Question 10

__________ refers to the authority of administrators in the federal bureaucracy to make choices concerning the best way to implement policies.

A) Adjudication
B) Discretion
C) Division of labor
D) Executive control

Question 11

Under the spoils system,who was awarded jobs in the federal bureaucracy?

A) those who scored highest on aptitude tests
B) those who did not affiliate with a political party
C) those who previously served in the military
D) those who helped candidates win election

Question 12

Cabinet secretaries are chosen by __________ and confirmed by __________.

A) the president; the Senate
B) the president; the House of Representatives
C) the president; the Supreme Court
D) the Senate; the president

Question 13

Which of the following is a means of enforcing a bureaucratic regulation?

A) sending inspectors to evaluate compliance
B) charging higher taxes to those not in compliance
C) deploying the armed forces to force compliance
D) sending members of Congress to assess the need for new legislation

Question 14

Which of the following is a function of the federal bureaucracy?

A) issuing executive orders
B) issuing executive agreements
C) implementing laws passed by Congress
D) implementing state statutes

Question 15

What is implementation?

A) the process of translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program
B) a set of procedures executive branch agencies must follow when issuing rules
C) the process by which government agencies settle legal disputes
D) a set of rules enforcing government agreements with private contractors

Question 16

Who are the three main players in an iron triangle?

A) Congress, the president, and the courts
B) businesses, interest groups, and political action committees
C) politicians, candidates, and bureaucrats
D) bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional subcommittees

Question 17

Which cabinet department did Congress create shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

A) the Department of Intelligence
B) the Department of Internal Affairs
C) the Department of Homeland Security
D) the Department of Anti-Terrorism

Question 18

Which of these statements about the bureaucracy is most accurate?

A) Americans generally like bureaucrats.
B) The number of federal bureaucrats is increasing rapidly.
C) Most federal bureaucrats work in Washington, D.C.
D) Bureaucracies are inefficient.

Question 19

Which of the following grants bureaucracies the authority to issue regulations?

A) the General Accounting Office
B) Congress
C) the president
D) the Internal Revenue Service

Question 20

Those who believe that regulations on business and industry are too numerous and too complex are most likely to favor the policy of __________.

A) incentive systems
B) command-and-control systems
C) executive orders
D) deregulation

Question 21

The first step in obtaining a civil service job is likely to be __________.

A) taking a test
B) helping on a political campaign
C) donating to campaign coffers
D) networking with civil service workers

Question 22

Congress and the president share which of the following powers over agencies and departments in the federal bureaucracy?

A) the power to influence budgets
B) the power to issue executive orders
C) the power to sign executive agreements
D) the power to hold oversight hearings

Question 23

Which of the following statements best describes the president's influence over agency budgets?

A) The president has final say over all department budgets, but has no control of the budgets of independent agencies.
B) The president proposes agency budgets, but depends on Congress for appropriations of federal money.
C) The president has sole authority to determine executive administrative budgets.
D) The president has no authority in the budgeting process.

Question 24

In recent years,privatization of government functions to contractors has __________.

A) increased at the federal level
B) provided services more efficiently at the federal level
C) decreased at the state level
D) received greater public support

Question 25

Which of Max Weber's characteristics of bureaucracy is illustrated by a government agency in which the greatest authority resides with the agency head?

A) administrative discretion
B) the merit principle
C) task specialization
D) hierarchical authority structure

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of an independent executive agency?

A) the General Services Administration
B) the Department of Health and Human Services
C) the Consumer Product Safety Commission
D) the U.S. Postal Service

Question 27

How do government corporations differ from private companies?

A) Government corporations perform activities that private companies cannot.
B) Government corporations need less government oversight than private companies.
C) Government corporations cannot sell stock, whereas private companies can.
D) Government corporations can borrow money, whereas private companies cannot.

Question 28

Current students who are convicted of __________ lose their federal financial aid for a year or more.

A) arson
B) drug offenses
C) robbery
D) any federal crime

Question 29

The heads of independent regulatory commissions are __________.

A) elected
B) part of the president's cabinet
C) selected by the president and confirmed by the Senate
D) allowed to charge for their services

Question 30

How do standard operating procedures influence bureaucratic decision making?

A) They promote uniform application of rules.
B) They promote administrative discretion.
C) They promote close coordination with Congress on implementation decisions.
D) They promote coordination across agencies on implementation decisions.

Question 31

Which of the following agencies is most removed from presidential control?

A) the Department of Defense
B) the Department of Justice
C) the Environmental Protection Agency
D) the Federal Reserve Board

Question 32

What is the purpose of the Hatch Act as amended?

A) to prohibit federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty
B) to promote transparency in the federal bureaucracy during the transition from one president to the next
C) to authorize greater use of discretion in bureaucratic decision making
D) to prohibit awarding government jobs based on partisan loyalty

Question 33

What does a government corporation do?

A) generate significant profit for the federal government
B) provide services that could be provided by the private sector
C) break up monopolies and promote free-market principles
D) expand international trade

Question 34

Implementation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was aided by __________.

A) federal registrars dispatched to Southern counties
B) the support of Southern governors
C) the spoils system
D) the use of incentive systems

Question 35

Which of the following best describes the policies related to firing federal civil servants?

A) The courts can fire civil servants for legal or political reasons.
B) It is often difficult and time consuming to fire a civil servant.
C) Federal civil servants cannot be fired because they have life tenure.
D) The president retains sole authority to hire and fire federal civil servants.

Question 36

What is a goal common to both the Pendleton Act and the Hatch Act?

A) reducing the exercise of administrative discretion
B) reducing the influence of partisan politics on the federal bureaucracy
C) increasing presidential control of the federal bureaucracy
D) streamlining the policy implementation process

Question 37

How did the Pendleton Act reform the system of hiring and firing federal employees?

A) It required hiring and firing decisions to be based on partisan loyalty rather than merit.
B) It required hiring and firing decisions to be based on merit rather than partisan loyalty.
C) It continued to allow hiring on the basis of merit, but made firing federal employees easier.
D) It continued to allow hiring on the basis of partisan loyalty, but made firing federal employees more difficult.

Question 38

Which of the following is a government corporation?

A) the Food and Drug Administration
B) the Federal Elections Commission
C) the U.S. Postal Service
D) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Question 39

What role is the Environmental Protection Agency taking when it sets limits on air pollution from power plants?

A) regulation
B) adjudication
C) oversight
D) deliberation

Question 40

Which of the following is most consistent with the incentive system approach to regulatory policy?

A) requiring a restaurant to serve sugary soft drinks in smaller cups
B) lowering the drinking age and requiring states to implement the new standards
C) reducing federal subsidies to public schools whose students have excessive absences
D) lowering taxes for bourbon distilleries in order to boost the Kentucky economy

Question 41

Which of the following is a primary goal of privatizing government functions?

A) to provide services that the private sector cannot
B) to strengthen government accountability
C) to improve the efficiency of public service delivery
D) to expand the size of the federal bureaucracy

Question 42

Bureaucrats often have considerable discretion in the implementation of federal laws.

Question 43

Regulations are usually created by Congress.

Question 44

The president and Congress share oversight of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 45

Why do its proponents argue that deregulation is good public policy?

A) Deregulation protects consumers by guarding against inflation and price gouging.
B) Deregulation addresses fundamental flaws in the free-market economy.
C) Eliminating costly regulations makes U.S. products more competitive in the world marketplace.
D) Without as many regulations, workers will be less likely to be injured in workplace accidents.

Question 46

Which of the following is a drawback of privatization of government functions?

A) Privatization reduces the ability to scrutinize government functions.
B) The bidding process involves too many rules.
C) Privatized services often cost less to deliver.
D) Privatized service delivery is often too slow.

Question 47

What event served as a catalyst for the creation of the Pendleton Act?

A) the growth of the Republican Party in the 1880s
B) the expansion of the federal bureaucracy in the 1880s
C) the assassination of James Garfield in 1881
D) the election of Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876

Question 48

Each independent agency in the executive branch is headed by a cabinet secretary.

Question 49

Government bureaucracies are unelected policymaking institutions.

Question 50

Under what circumstance are bureaucrats most likely to exercise discretion?

A) when an agency is creating environmental regulations
B) when an agency is under congressional investigation
C) when an agency is implementing a vague law
D) when an agency is proposing legislation

Question 51

Which of the following was a consequence of the spoils system?

A) The federal bureaucracy was staffed with people who often lacked expertise.
B) There was low turnover in the federal bureaucracy between presidential administrations.
C) There was little government corruption.
D) Voter turnout was lower.

Question 52

How do command-and-control policies differ from incentive systems?

A) Command-and-control policies use marketlike strategies, whereas incentive systems do not.
B) Command-and-control policies are typically more efficient than incentive systems.
C) Command-and-control policies are typically more equitable than incentive systems.
D) Command-and-control policies typically focus on punishing those who violate the law, whereas incentive systems often include rewards.

Question 53

In general,Americans approve of bureaucrats and the work that they do.

Question 54

A president can fire civil service employees for not belonging to the president's political party.

Question 55

According to Max Weber,bureaucracies are characterized by hierarchical authority structures.

Question 56

Why do Americans tend to think that red tape is more prevalent than it actually is?

A) Americans tend to notice the bureaucracy only when it is inefficient and not when it works well.
B) Americans unwittingly transfer their negative assessments of private bureaucracies (such as businesses and churches) to the public sphere.
C) Americans generally have poor experiences when dealing with bureaucrats.
D) Red is a more inflammatory color than black.

Question 57

Which of the following contributed to the successful implementation of the Voting Rights Act?

A) The policy was widely supported by policymakers and the public.
B) The policy required only minor changes in how states ran their elections.
C) The goals of the policy were clearly stated and there were adequate means to achieve them.
D) The policy was implemented slowly and received nearly unanimous support in Congress.

Question 58

Extensive presidential use of the spoils system lasted through the 1950s.

Question 59

The president has sole authority to create or abolish federal agencies and departments.

Question 60

Bureaucracies only exist in government.

Question 61

President Obama's proposal to stem carbon dioxide emissions through a cap-and-trade system illustrates the use of a(n)__________ in the design of public policies.

Question 62

The lifting of government restrictions on business,industry,and professional activities occurs through a process of __________ that is intended to reduce the number and complexity of government regulations.

Question 63

The federal bureaucracy is part of the __________ branch of government.

Question 64

What are independent executive agencies? Provide an example.

Question 65

One consequence of unclarity in the laws passed by Congress is that government agencies have greater __________ in the implementation of those laws.

Question 66

How does the president exercise control over the federal bureaucracy?

Question 67

One function of __________ is to provide services that are in the public interest but that could be provided by the private sector.

Question 68

The purpose of the __________ was to prohibit federal employees from engaging in partisan political activities.

Question 69

Independent regulatory commissions differ from independent agencies in that they are less subject to presidential control.

Question 70

How does Congress exercise control over the federal bureaucracy?

Question 71

The __________ led to the creation of a merit-based civil service system.

Question 72

__________ may hold hearings to investigate the policies and performance of agencies and departments in the federal bureaucracy.

Question 73

Under __________,most jobs in the federal bureaucracy are awarded on the basis of skills and expertise.

Question 74

To facilitate the everyday administration of government,bureaucracies create and follow __________ procedures,which help to increase efficiency and uniformity of bureaucratic decision making.

Question 75

The Environmental Protection Agency is subject to less oversight than the Federal Reserve Board.

Question 76

Both Congress and the president are involved in appointing individuals to key positions in the federal bureaucracy.

Question 77

After a president nominates an individual to be a cabinet secretary,that appointment must be confirmed by __________.

Question 78

What are independent regulatory commissions? Provide an example. Why are they created so as to be isolated from presidential control?

Question 79

When the U.S. Department of Transportation stipulates how many hours truck drivers can be on the road per week,the department is employing a(n)__________ policy.

Question 80

The president appoints,but cannot easily dismiss,officials who serve on __________.