Deck 7: The Executive Branch

Question 1

The highest level of responsibility for specialized programs like the Federal Bureau of Investigation 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.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

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

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

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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

Answer 3

D

Question 4

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 5

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 6

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Homeland Security are both examples of the ________ level of bureaucracy.

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

Question 7

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 8

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 9

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

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

Question 10

What is a bureaucracy?

A)the place where bureaus are made
B)the loose network of presidential staffers and political consultants who 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 that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel

Question 11

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 12

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

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

Question 13

The primary task of bureaucracy is

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

Question 14

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 15

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 16

What are the efforts of departments and agencies to translate laws into specific bureaucratic routines called?

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

Question 17

What is the key to effective bureaucracy?

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

Question 18

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 19

Why does bureaucracy make 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 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

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 22

Which type of agencies influence the amount of money in the economy,who has money,who has credit,and the incentives for saving and spending?

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

Question 23

The primary task of the State Department is

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

Question 24

The United States Post Office 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 25

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 26

The primary political problem with the United States military is

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

Question 27

Which two agencies take center stage among agencies for external national security?

A)the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
B)the State Department and the Department of Defense
C)the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
D)the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security
E)the Department of State and the Department of International Affairs

Question 28

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 29

A governmental agency set up by Congress outside the departmental structure altogether is known as a(n)

A)cabinet department.
B)independent agency.
C)shell corporation.
D)independent regulatory commission.
E)rogue agency.

Question 30

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 31

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 32

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 33

What do the authors of the text mean when they suggest clientele agencies provide "functional representation"?

A)Clientele agencies are held accountable by their clients if they 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 that 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 clients' expressed interests.
E)Clients vote for members of the clientele agency to ensure they adequately represent the clients' interests.

Question 34

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 35

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 36

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 37

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 System

Question 38

As long as the United States is not in a state of insurrection,who 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 39

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 40

The bureaucracy ensures political support among elected officials by locating military bases,contracts,facilities,and jobs in 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 41

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 42

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,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 43

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 44

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 45

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

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

Question 46

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

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

Question 47

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 48

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 49

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 50

In his classic treatment of bureaucrats,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 51

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 52

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 53

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

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

Question 54

What is the largest federal welfare agency?

A)Department of Agriculture
B)Social Security Administration
C)Office of Medicare and Medicaid
D)Department of Health and Human Services
E)Department of Labor

Question 55

The food stamp program,which is given only 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 56

Which of the following 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 57

When bureaucratic implementation 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,that phenomenon is known as

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

Question 58

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 59

Where is the administration of fiscal policy primarily performed?

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

Question 60

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 61

Bureaucracies take advantage of the division of labor to perform their tasks with greater efficiency.

Question 62

Bureaucracy helps solve the problem of credibly committing to the long-term existence of a policy.

Question 63

Due to the power of public unions,far more constraints are imposed on private employees than public bureaucrats.

Question 64

An agency that does not actively monitor the businesses it regulates but instead waits for private citizens or interest groups to raise questions about the actions of the businesses can be said to use

A)fire-alarm oversight.
B)police patrol oversight.
C)random sampling.
D)no oversight.
E)last-minute oversight.

Question 65

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 66

Bureaucrats typically leave the task of settling disputes to the courts or to Congress.

Question 67

By definition,bureaucrats work exclusively in government.

Question 68

What is the policy of reducing or eliminating regulatory restraints on the conduct of individuals or private institutions called?

A)deregulation
B)downsizing
C)privatizing
D)devolution
E)reorganizing

Question 69

In contrast to their counterparts in private industry,public bureaucrats are required to maintain a far more thorough paper trail.

Question 70

Bureaucracies can make rules that have the full force of law,just like laws passed by Congress.

Question 71

Which term defines downsizing the federal bureaucracy by delegating the implementation of programs to state and local governments?

A)devolution
B)outsourcing
C)agentic shift
D)capitalization
E)federalism

Question 72

All government agencies are part of cabinet departments.

Question 73

The first independent regulatory commission was the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Question 74

Politicians delegate little power to bureaucrats.

Question 75

The bureau level of the executive agency is higher in the federal hierarchy than a cabinet department.

Question 76

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 could 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.

Question 77

Which term defines a formerly public activity that is picked up under contract by a business outside of government?

A)rightsizing
B)downsizing
C)privatization
D)capitalization
E)profiteering

Question 78

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

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

Question 79

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)macro-management

Question 80

Congress often deliberately delegates to an administrative agency the responsibility of lawmaking.