Deck 8: The Executive Branch: Bureaucracy in a Democracy

Question 1

"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)collective action problem
D)agency representation
E)implementation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What are the actual offices, tasks, and principles of organization employed to coordinate the work of personnel called?

A)polity
B)regime
C)delegacy
D)bureaucracy
E)republican government

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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

A)lex republica.
B)effectuation.
C)calcification.
D)implementation.
E)codification.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

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

A)even against tremendous antibureaucratic sentiment among the citizenry.
B)for no apparent reason at all.
C)for political reasons, such as to avoid blame for failing to respond to a threat.
D)because of the history principle.
E)in response to petitions from foreign governments.

Question 5

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

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

Question 6

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)are read aloud to the U.S.House and Senate.
D)must be accepted by a referendum of affected industries and agencies.
E)have the force of law.

Question 7

What is a bureaucracy?

A)the place where bureaus are made
B)the loose network of presidential staffers and political consultants that sets the course of the nation
C)all the people who work for the government
D)the partnership between congressional committees, agencies, and organized interests
E)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 8

A quasi-legislative administrative process that produces regulations by government agencies is

A)rule making.
B)effectuation.
C)adjudication.
D)implementation.
E)stare decisis.

Question 9

When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specified that the congressional mandate to provide clean drinking water would be interpreted as meaning 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)discretionary effectuation.
D)administrative adjudication.
E)veto authority.

Question 10

According to National Election Studies opinion polls from 1964 to 2008, 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."
E)2002, in response to the slow government cleanup and rebuilding of the World Trade Center.

Question 11

In the process of administrative adjudication, executive agencies act essentially like a(n)

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

Question 12

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

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

Question 13

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

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

Question 14

As bureaucracies develop, these organizations often approximate the shape of a

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

Question 15

"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)coalitional drift
D)agency loss
E)the rationality principle

Question 16

The primary task of bureaucracy is

A)systems analysis.
B)coordination.
C)implementation.
D)public relations.
E)maximization.

Question 17

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

A)It makes for the efficient implementation of policy and allows a credible commitment to the long-term existence of a policy.
B)It takes the power to implement policy from the hands of corrupt politicians and places it in the hands of bureaucrats.
C)It increases the responsiveness of the government to the wishes of the people.
D)It removes politics from the policy-making process, putting apolitical bureaucrats in charge instead of politicians.
E)The workforce of government employees provides a powerful political force for expanding government spending.

Question 18

What is the key to effective bureaucracy?

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

Question 19

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 evil.
D)administrative adjudication.
E)executive legislation.

Question 20

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

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

Question 21

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

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

Question 22

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)field offices dealing directly with those they serve.
C)New York to be near the nation's financial sector.
D)the central states to support agricultural initiatives.
E)overseas embassies to promote foreign trade.

Question 23

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

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

Question 24

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)Agency for Internal Security
D)Department of Defense
E)Departments of Justice and Homeland Security

Question 25

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

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

Question 26

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

A)Transportation Administration
B)Interstate Commerce Commission
C)Railroad Trust and Oversight Authority
D)Industry Safety and Accountability Board
E)National Institute for Standards and Technology

Question 27

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

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

Question 28

Some bureaucracies are intended to promote, serve, or represent a particular interest.What is the general term for this type of department or bureau?

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

Question 29

What does the suggestion that clientele agencies provide functional representation mean?

A)Clients hold clientele agencies accountable if the agencies fail to represent them properly.
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.
E)Clients vote for members of the clientele agency to ensure they adequately represent the clients' interests.

Question 30

The primary task of the State Department is

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

Question 31

Which two agencies take center stage among agencies 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
E)the State Department and Department of International Affairs

Question 32

Amtrak is an example of which type of bureaucratic structure?

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

Question 33

The primary political problem with the U.S.military is

A)incompetence.
B)pork-barrel legislation.
C)maintenance of civilian control.
D)undue interference with the democratic process.
E)declining marksmanship in the American population.

Question 34

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)welfare agencies.
B)revenue agencies.
C)clientele agencies.
D)regulatory agencies.
E)government corporations.

Question 35

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

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

Question 36

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)Division of Taxation
E)Federal Reserve

Question 37

The highest level of responsibility for specialized programs like the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the U.S.Forest Service generally rests

A)at the bureau level.
B)at the cabinet level.
C)with the judicial officer.
D)with the general counsel.
E)with the Supreme Court.

Question 38

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

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

Question 39

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(n)

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

Question 40

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

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

Question 41

Which of the following is an example of a welfare agency?

A)Postal Service
B)Department of Welfare
C)Food and Drug Administration
D)Department of Health and Human Services
E)National Animal Welfare Office

Question 42

Policies having to do with taxing and spending are generally referred to as

A)fiscal.
B)welfare.
C)monetary.
D)pecuniary.
E)treasury.

Question 43

The agency that administers the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program is the

A)Department of Agriculture.
B)Social Security Administration.
C)Department of Health and Human Services.
D)Department of Housing and Urban Development.
E)Department of the Interior.

Question 44

The Food Stamp Program, which is only given to individuals who can demonstrate that they meet the needs-based criteria for the program, is an example of a program that is

A)means-tested.
B)needs-certified.
C)indigence-verified.
D)subsistence-confirmed.
E)threshold-compliant.

Question 45

All of the following are tasks of the Treasury Department EXCEPT

A)managing the federal debt.
B)printing currency.
C)administering tax collection.
D)regulating interest rates to influence the supply of money to banks.
E)policing tax collection.

Question 46

Most of the federal regulatory agencies date back to their initial creation in the

A)1890s.
B)1930s.
C)1960s.
D)1980s.
E)1990s.

Question 47

Policies having to do with banks, credit, and currency are generally referred to as

A)fiscal.
B)welfare.
C)monetary.
D)pecuniary.
E)treasury.

Question 48

Programs that require applicants to demonstrate that their total annual cash earnings fall below an officially defined poverty line before they are eligible to receive public assistance are considered to be

A)means-tested.
B)needs-certified.
C)indigence-verified.
D)subsistence-confirmed.
E)poverty-confirmed.

Question 49

During the 1930s, most of the important regulatory programs were delegated to independent commissions with direct responsibility to Congress rather than to the president.This lack of presidential control was the basis of the 1930s reference to these agencies as the

A)administrative zombies.
B)headless fourth branch.
C)scarecrow without a brain.
D)ghosts in the bureaucratic machine.
E)congressional machine.

Question 50

Which agencies influence how much money is in the economy, who has money, who has credit, and what incentives for saving and spending exist?

A)agencies of redistribution
B)agencies for the maintenance of the union
C)clientele agencies
D)regulatory agencies
E)Robin Hood agencies

Question 51

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an example of an agency whose primary mission is to eliminate or restrict certain behaviors, also known as a

A)paternal bureau.
B)regulatory agency.
C)fiscal bureaucracy.
D)rule-making agency.
E)interest agency.

Question 52

Which choice is an example of a government department agency that is both an agency for the maintenance of the Union and a fiscal agency?

A)Treasury Department
B)Federal Reserve System
C)Congressional Budget Office
D)Securities and Exchange Commission
E)Bureau of the Budget

Question 53

A department, bureau, or independent agency whose primary mission is to eliminate or restrict certain behaviors defined as negative (either in themselves or in their consequences) is called a(n)

A)independent commission.
B)social agency.
C)regulatory agency.
D)agency for the maintenance of the union.
E)prohibitive agency.

Question 54

What is the largest federal welfare agency in terms of total budget and number of beneficiaries?

A)the Department of Agriculture
B)the Social Security Administration
C)the Office of Medicare and Medicaid
D)the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
E)the Department of Labor

Question 55

The defense bureaucracy ensures political support among elected officials by allocating military bases, contracts, facilities, and jobs to the various states and districts from which the legislators are elected according to the

A)seeding theorem.
B)fertilizer principle.
C)distributive tendency.
D)law of benefit dispersion.
E)geographic decentralization.

Question 56

Which agency is responsible for adjusting the supply of money to the needs of banks in different regions and for the commerce and industry in each region?

A)Treasury Department
B)Federal Reserve System
C)Internal Revenue Service
D)Securities and Exchange Commission
E)Department of the Interior

Question 57

Rules made by regulatory agencies and commissions are referred to as

A)statutory law.
B)civil ordinances.
C)administrative legislation.
D)bureaucratic adjudication.
E)lex agencia.

Question 58

Most of the important regulatory programs were delegated to independent commissions with direct responsibility to

A)the Federal Reserve.
B)the president.
C)the Supreme Court.
D)the public interest.
E)Congress.

Question 59

In what agency is the administration of fiscal policy primarily performed?

A)the Treasury Department
B)the Federal Reserve System
C)the Office of Management and Budget
D)the Securities and Exchange Commission
E)the Bureau of Appropriations

Question 60

Which federal agency has authority over the credit rates and lending activities of the nation's most important banks?

A)Treasury Department
B)Federal Reserve System
C)Internal Revenue Service
D)Securities and Exchange Commission
E)Department of the Interior

Question 61

Which factor has led to the expansion of the president's capacity as manager-in-chief of the federal bureaucracy?

A)The Supreme Court mandated an expansion of the White House to keep pace with Congressional development.
B)The expansion of Internet media required dozens of new media staffers to maintain relations with news websites and maintain a social media presence.
C)The White House downsized the federal bureaucracy by delegating implementation of programs to state and local governments.
D)The White House needed additional staff to follow through on presidential decisions.
E)Modern presidents spend an ever-increasing share of their time raising campaign funds, so they delegate the task of monitoring agencies to White House staff.

Question 62

Protection from coalitional drift comes at the price of an increased potential for

A)agentic shift.
B)bureaucratic drift.
C)political exposure.
D)administrative evil.
E)free agency.

Question 63

Which term defines congressional efforts to exercise control over the activities of bureaucratic agencies in the executive branch through hearings, investigations, and other techniques?

A)oversight
B)regulation
C)invigilation
D)superintendence
E)macromanagement

Question 64

By implementing the laws and policies passed by elected officials, bureaucrats can be seen as

A)principals of Congress and the presidency.
B)principals of the American people.
C)simple cogs in the machine with little influence on policy.
D)enablers of frequent sweeping change in public policy.
E)agents of Congress and the presidency.

Question 65

Which choice is an example of a powerful before-the-fact political weapon for controlling the bureaucracy?

A)the sunset provision
B)a procedural control
C)the appointment process
D)the appropriations process
E)a congressional hearing

Question 66

A situation in which an entity chooses to rely on another entity to perform a task or service for it but risks not having the task done according to its wishes is sometimes called a(n)

A)principal-agent problem.
B)deadbeat servant problem.
C)master-slave dilemma.
D)owner-contractor dilemma.
E)rogue agency scenario.

Question 67

In 2013, President Obama nominated Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense to lead the Defense Department.There was substantial controversy in the Senate regarding some of Hagel's policy positions, and a number of senators attempted to block Hagel's confirmation as secretary, although he was eventually approved by a vote of 58-41.This attempt to block Hagel's confirmation is an example of which type of control to address the principal-agent problem?

A)a before-the-fact control mechanism
B)a procedural control
C)an after-the-fact control mechanism
D)a control against coalitional drift
E)oversight control

Question 68

Congressional activities such as congressional casework, communications between congressional staff and agency staffs, and the use of public hearings to discuss agency budgets and past decisions are examples of

A)macromanagement.
B)regulation.
C)invigilation.
D)superintendence.
E)oversight.

Question 69

Which of the following is a plausible motivation for explaining the budget-maximizing behavior of bureaucrats?

A)Bureaucrats seek to increase the stock price of the agency.
B)Bureaucrats want to help the agency hire better lobbying firms and make contributions to members of Congress.
C)Many agencies strive to attract budget resources that would otherwise go to their rival agencies.
D)Bureaucrats want to help the department secretary finance his or her campaign for the presidency.
E)Bureaucrats believe in the importance of fulfilling the mission of the bureaucracy and helping people in their community.

Question 70

The 1921 Budget and Accounting Act conferred agenda-setting powers over the budget to the president.This change in power over the budget helped create what is now known as

A)bureaucratic drift.
B)coalitional drift.
C)congressional oversight.
D)the managerial presidency.
E)the distributive tendency.

Question 71

Which term defines the frequent phenomenon of bureaucratic implementation that produces policy more to the liking of the bureaucracy than originally legislated, but not so much as to trigger a political reaction from elected officials?

A)coalitional drift
B)agency freedom
C)administrative relocation
D)administrative retargeting
E)bureaucratic drift

Question 72

Close connections between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and legislative committees are known as cozy little triangles.Which of the following connections is NOT part of this relationship?

A)Interest groups provide election support for legislators.
B)Interest groups lobby legislators for large bureau budgets.
C)Legislators seek input from constituents regarding their preferences for specific bureaus.
D)Legislators provide authority and appropriations for bureaus.
E)Bureaus implement favorable policies for interest groups.

Question 73

The prospect that enacted policy will change because the composition of the enacting coalition is temporary and provisional is called __________ drift.

A)bureaucratic
B)coalitional
C)enactment
D)majority
E)legislative

Question 74

To prevent coalitional drift from threatening carefully fashioned policies, legislators often resort to the costly strategy of

A)severely restricting administrative authority.
B)insulating the bureaucracy from politics and securing sources of revenue.
C)setting a specific date to terminate new programs without reauthorization.
D)establishing citizen review boards, shortening the terms of office for political appointees, and raising new taxes.
E)prohibiting lobbyists from interacting with agency personnel.

Question 75

In the U.S.House of Representatives, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence reviews the performance of the Central Intelligence Agency in helping prevent international terrorism.What is this review known as?

A)grandstanding
B)regulation
C)invigilation
D)superintendence
E)oversight

Question 76

In 2013, it was revealed that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was inappropriately targeting political groups applying for tax-exempt status.Prior to this revelation, the House Ways and Means Committee had been investigating allegations of political discrimination by the IRS against various political groups.This investigation by the House Ways and Means Committee is an example of which type of control to address the principal-agent problem?

A)a before-the-fact control mechanism
B)a procedural control
C)control over the confirmation process of appointees
D)an after-the-fact control mechanism
E)a control against coalitional drift

Question 77

The observation that "you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself" was made by

A)John Adams.
B)James Madison.
C)Benjamin Franklin.
D)Alexander Hamilton.
E)George Washington.

Question 78

A Congress or president that passes a law can be voted out of office in the next election.The newly elected members may wish to change the law passed during the previous session.This is an example of

A)bureaucratic drift.
B)temporal realignment.
C)separation of powers.
D)blame-gaming.
E)coalitional drift.

Question 79

In his classic treatment of bureaucrats, the economist William Niskanen proposed that, for purposes of modeling bureaucratic behavior, a bureau chief or department head should be thought of as a(n)

A)expert in public relations.
B)expert in public accounting.
C)minimizer of his or her budget.
D)maximizer of his or her budget.
E)expert in human relations.

Question 80

The Department of Justice was recently involved in a scandal for secretly obtaining the phone records of reporters from the Associated Press.Which of the following options is available to Congress if it decides to investigate the scandal?

A)The House of Representatives could pass a resolution ordering the Central Intelligence Agency to investigate the Department of Justice.
B)The House Judiciary Committee has the authority to fire employees of the Department of Justice who were involved in the scandal.
C)The House Judiciary Committee could decide to hold public hearings and call individuals from the Department of Justice to defend themselves publicly.
D)Congress can declare the attorney general and president of the United States guilty of espionage and throw them in jail.
E)The House Judiciary Committee can file criminal charges against the attorney general and have the Capitol Police arrest him or her.