Deck 9: The Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

The Executive Office of the President was created for what primary reason?

A)To help the president
B)To ensure that the executive branch had more power than the legislative branch
C)To give Congress more input into executive affairs
D)To aid the president in winning reelection
E)To provide for the national defense

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the most unique feature of President Obama's White House Office?

A)Its bottom-up structure
B)Its top-down structure
C)His hands-off approach
D)His heavy reliance on policy "czars"
E)The absence of a chief of staff

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In what sense are independent regulatory commissions "independent"?

A)They are not paid by the federal government.
B)They take their orders only from federal judges.
C)Their members cannot be removed by the president merely because they disagree with his or her policies.
D)They report directly to the House and Senate leadership.
E)They report to the Supreme Court.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The units of the bureaucracy that are responsible for specialized tasks conducted in offices scattered across the nation and in foreign countries are

A)located only in Washington.
B)departments.
C)bureaus.
D)field services.
E)intelligence agencies.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the organization of the U.S.Department of Justice?

A)It is an independent regulatory agency headed by the chief justice and comprised of the federal courts.
B)It is a cabinet department that is headed by the attorney general and is comprised of various offices,divisions,and bureaus.
C)It is a line agency that is headed by the secretary of justice and comprised of thirteen circuit courts.
D)It is a cabinet department that oversees the various government corporations.
E)It is a staff agency that oversees the administration of justice and homeland security through various regulatory agencies.

Question 6

The agency responsible for administering the civil service is the

A)Federal Reserve Board.
B)National Labor Relations Board.
C)General Services Administration.
D)Office of Personnel Management.
E)Department of Labor.

Question 7

Cabinet officers are responsible for

A)ensuring that neither congressional nor presidential mandates are executed.
B)running the legislative branch.
C)implementing their own agenda despite congressional or presidential initiatives to the contrary.
D)advising the president and implementing policy in a particular area.
E)decreasing the size and influence of their department or agency.

Question 8

Many of the independent regulatory commissions were created by Congress during the 1930s to

A)create jobs.
B)free Congress from the task of legislating on complex aspects of the American economy.
C)free the executive from having to deal with bureaus of minor status.
D)to implement policies emanating from judicial rulings.
E)provide the president with additional agencies to oversee.

Question 9

What kinds of agencies gather information and make it available to the chief executive officer whenever it is needed?

A)Line agencies
B)Staff agencies
C)Government corporations
D)Field services
E)Civil services

Question 10

Which one of the following is a government corporation?

A)Department of Health and Human Services
B)Small Business Administration
C)Internal Revenue Service
D)Federal Communications Commission
E)Amtrak

Question 11

Government corporations generally

A)have broad power to establish regulatory policy and to increase revenue for the government.
B)handle some of the functions that are essential for national security.
C)function much like cabinet departments.
D)provide staff assistance to the president,so that the president can devote time and attention to more pressing matters.
E)are free from excessive interference by the president and Congress but are still subject to general policies established by the legislature.

Question 12

Line agencies are

A)those that only deal with the White House office.
B)those that carry out government policies and provide various types of services.
C)comprised mostly of people selected by the spoils system.
D)agencies that gather information and make it available to the chief executive officer.
E)those agencies that deal only with budgets or national defense issues.

Question 13

How many executive or cabinet departments are there in the U.S.government?

A)Six
B)Fifteen
C)Twenty-five
D)Thirty-eight
E)One hundred and four

Question 14

What is the role of the inner cabinet?

A)Advocating on behalf of Congress
B)Counseling the president
C)Summarizing information for the outer cabinet
D)Information gathering
E)Acting as a liaison between the president and the Supreme Court

Question 15

The institution charged with managing the nation's monetary policy,usually through setting of interest rates,is the

A)General Accounting Office.
B)Federal Reserve Board.
C)National Records Service.
D)Department of the Treasury.
E)Council of Economic Advisors.

Question 16

Who of the following is a member of the inner cabinet?

A)Attorney general
B)Director of the FBI
C)Secretary of energy
D)Secretary of commerce
E)Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Question 17

The largest working subunit of an executive department that performs specific functions is called a(n)

A)bureau.
B)cabinet.
C)agency.
D)department.
E)service.

Question 18

The East Wing refers to the

A)Lincoln bedroom.
B)war room.
C)first lady's office.
D)vice president's office.
E)vice president's residence.

Question 19

Which of the following best explains the president's removal powers?

A)The president has the power to remove executive officials,but this power does not extend to independent regulatory commissions.
B)The president has the power to remove any federal employee.
C)The president has the power to remove independent regulatory commission officials but not other executive officials.
D)The president has the power to remove members of the executive and judicial branches.
E)The president has the power to remove executive officials,including officials at independent regulatory commissions.

Question 20

What is a major function of the president's chief of staff?

A)Review the budget and legislative proposals of all the federal departments and agencies
B)Prepare the annual Economic Report of the President and recommend adjustments in government spending and taxation
C)Advocate for a specific group of citizens and provide services for that sector of society
D)Oversee the White House Office and control access to the chief executive
E)Coordinate domestic,foreign,and military policies and advise the president

Question 21

The Freedom of Information Act of 1966 illustrates the use of congressional power to

A)protect an individual's freedom of expression from censorship.
B)facilitate oversight of federal agencies.
C)make foreign policy.
D)exercise controls over state government bureaucracies.
E)deregulate sectors of the private economy.

Question 22

The Classification Act of 1949 assigned many federal jobs to a tiered system based on job duties,title,and qualifications.This tiered system is usually referred to as the

A)General Schedule.
B)Government Classification Scheme.
C)Federal Oversight Framework.
D)Professional Order.
E)Selective Service System.

Question 23

A government employee who is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate is called a(n)

A)whistleblower.
B)GS employee.
C)impoundment advisor.
D)political executive.
E)recess appointment.

Question 24

The Pendleton Act established the

A)merit system.
B)spoils system.
C)general schedule system.
D)Senior Executive Service.
E)Selective Service System.

Question 25

Which of the following industries was the subject of the most regulation during the Obama administration?

A)Oil
B)Computer
C)Transportation
D)Financial
E)Agriculture

Question 26

The Office of Management and Budget's responsibilities include all of the following EXCEPT

A)maintaining neutrality.
B)using its technological expertise to aid the interests of the nation.
C)taking control and asserting pressure in budgetary situations.
D)shaping and implementing the president's policies.
E)preparing the president's annual budget proposals.

Question 27

Independent regulatory commissions have been created by Congress to regulate a particular area of the nation's economy.

Question 28

One way the bureaucracy's power is checked by the courts is through

A)judicial review.
B)legislative oversight.
C)impoundment legislation.
D)the Freedom of Information Act.
E)impeachment.

Question 29

Which unit consists of the president,the vice president,the secretaries of state and defense,a member of the White House staff,and the director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness?

A)The National Security Council
B)The Council of Economic Advisers
C)The Office of Management and Budget
D)The White House Office
E)The Department of Homeland Security

Question 30

Which one of the following is an "iron triangle"?

A)Congress,the White House,and the media
B)Congress,the White House,and the Supreme Court
C)A government agency,the White House,and Congress
D)An interest group,political party,and government agency
E)An interest group,government agency,and congressional committee

Question 31

The process of appointing friends and supporters to key political offices was common during the first few decades of the nation's history.This is referred to as the

A)merit system.
B)spoils system.
C)general schedule system.
D)Senior Executive Service.
E)Selective Service System.

Question 32

The U.S.Postal Service is an example of a government corporation.

Question 33

All of the following are parts of the Department of Homeland Security except

A)the Office of Management and Budget.
B)the Coast Guard.
C)the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
D)the Customs Service.
E)the Secret Service.

Question 34

Overbilling of Medicare and Medicaid,selling of defective parts for military equipment, and kickbacks to doctors who prescribed unnecessary medications were all uncovered by

A)judicial review.
B)legislative oversight.
C)budget act controls.
D)the Freedom of Information Act of 1966.
E)whistleblowers.

Question 35

The Federal Reserve System acts as the central bank of the nation.

Question 36

The Department of the Interior is considered more important than the Department of State.

Question 37

Line agencies are those that carry out government policies and provide various types of services.

Question 38

Today,most positions in the federal government are

A)political executives.
B)appointed by the president.
C)Senior Executive Service members.
D)covered by the spoils system.
E)covered by civil service.

Question 39

Rules created by agencies rather than by Congress but which nevertheless carry the same force as congressional laws are normally referred to as

A)regulatory laws.
B)regulatory captures.
C)independent authorizations.
D)administrative laws.
E)statutory laws.

Question 40

Congress exerts control over the bureaucracy through

A)appropriations.
B)executive orders.
C)direct appointments.
D)direct removal.
E)judicial review.

Question 41

Government corporations are subject to greater control by Congress and the president than are departments and agencies.

Question 42

The National Security Council is selected by the House and confirmed by the Senate.

Question 43

The Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Question 44

The Council of Economic Advisers' job is to review the state of the economy and advise the president on ways to deal with economic problems.

Question 45

The media can sometimes act as a restraint on the power of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 46

Political executives are covered by civil service.

Question 47

George W.Bush's White House Office was more structured than Bill Clinton's White House Office.

Question 48

The Constitution explicitly grants the president the power to remove members of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 49

The federal bureaucracy employs more than two million people and administers a budget of more than $4 trillion.

Question 50

The president's cabinet is made up of the heads of fifteen executive departments and other top officials.

Question 51

The number of civilian federal government employees has decreased since the late 1980s.

Question 52

Many of the independent commissions were created by Congress during the New Deal.

Question 53

Because the president is the constitutional head of the executive branch,he or she is responsible for the bureaucracy.

Question 54

Senatorial courtesy is the constitutional provision that allows the Senate to reject any of the president's executive branch appointments.

Question 55

The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act is to discourage whistleblowing in situations where no illegality is involved.