Deck 16: Domestic Policy

Question 1

The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v.Board of Education (1954)ruled that separate educational facilities for black and white students were __________.

A) inherently unequal
B) acceptable if funding was equitable
C) equal under the law
D) constitutionally protected

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following pieces of legislation is designed to ensure that most people have health insurance?

A) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
B) the Social Security Act
C) the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act
D) the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included provisions to __________.

A) eliminate jobs in the financial sector
B) close underperforming schools
C) provide additional education funding to the states
D) refinance the national debt by cutting the salaries and benefits of federal workers

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which president helped to create the modern welfare state in the United States?

A) Dwight Eisenhower
B) Franklin Roosevelt
C) Jimmy Carter
D) Ronald Reagan

Question 5

Which of these was part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal?

A) The federal government took a laissez-faire approach when dealing with economic matters.
B) The federal government created Social Security and Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
C) The states assumed new responsibilities for the management of national economic matters.
D) The federal government devolved responsibility for solving the economic crisis to the states.

Question 6

What decade marked a clear change in the federal government's role in domestic policy making with the creation of the modern welfare state and the first entitlement program?

A) the 1910s
B) the 1930s
C) the 1950s
D) the 1970s

Question 7

Which stage in the policy-making process is government recognition that a problem is worthy of consideration for governmental action?

A) agenda setting
B) agenda adoption
C) policy formation
D) policy implementation

Question 8

What political movement led to reforms in child labor laws in the United States?

A) Capitalism
B) Progressivism
C) Socialism
D) Creationism

Question 9

Which of the following policies was recently enacted in order to help ensure that students are not saddled with too much student loan debt?

A) mandatory tuition waivers for all students maintaining a 3.8 GPA or better
B) requirements that all colleges and universities that accept federal funds must create programs that allow undergraduate students to complete their degree in three years
C) guaranteed employment for the first three years after graduation
D) a cap on repayments at 10 percent of income with the entire balance forgiven after 20 years

Question 10

In 2002,which U.S.state was the first to pass legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

A) Alabama
B) South Dakota
C) New Mexico
D) California

Question 11

Which decade is referred to as the "environmental decade"?

A) 1960s
B) 1970s
C) 1980s
D) 1990s

Question 12

Which of the following provides one explanation for why Medicare costs have risen in recent years?

A) People live longer today than they did in the past.
B) People rely on their own private insurance to supplement Medicare.
C) Most people on Medicare also receive Medicaid benefits.
D) Doctors charge less for many services than they did in the past.

Question 13

Which of the following categories has the lowest level of health care expenditures?

A) hospital care
B) physician/clinical services
C) home health care
D) prescription drugs

Question 14

Which of these was a consequence of the Race to the Top initiative?

A) States have begun to adopt performance-based teacher evaluations.
B) The unemployment rate has steadily declined.
C) The federal government has left the financial markets to regulate themselves.
D) Several new banks have emerged.

Question 15

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act primarily aims to __________.

A) establish a government-run health insurance program to cover everyone who lacks health insurance
B) reduce the number of uninsured individuals
C) increase the number of doctors who specialize rather than enter general practice
D) protect patients from Medicare fraud

Question 16

Medicare is aimed at what group of people?

A) children and college students
B) business owners and their employees
C) seniors and the disabled
D) the poor and the infirm

Question 17

The Framers of the Constitution created a decentralized policy-making process with powers shared by Congress,the president,the courts,and the __________.

A) political parties
B) interest groups
C) states
D) business interests

Question 18

Who was John Dewey?

A) a reformer who advocated for energy policy and pushed the White House to reduce its carbon footprint
B) a reformer who advocated for lower taxes and higher spending to stimulate the economy
C) a philanthropist who established a system for cataloging insects
D) an education reformer who advocated for experiential education

Question 19

Approximately what percentage of Americans believes that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will make things better for people who do not already have health insurance?

A) 5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 30 percent
D) 60 percent

Question 20

In which of the following areas is health care spending in the United States greatest?

A) hospital care
B) physician and clinical services
C) prescription drugs
D) nursing home care

Question 21

Which of the following demonstrates how policy making is decentralized in the United States?

A) The United States has a unitary form of government.
B) Congressional power often trumps state power.
C) The states have authority over policy making in areas such as education.
D) The federal government is responsible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Question 22

The publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring focused the nation's attention on which of the following?

A) noise pollution from airports near populated areas
B) environmental damage from toxic and hazardous wastes
C) water shortages
D) sinkholes

Question 23

What is the largest source of electrical power in the United States?

A) coal
B) oil
C) natural gas
D) nuclear power

Question 24

Which of the following statements about Social Security is the most accurate?

A) Social Security will eventually be replaced by a private system.
B) Social Security qualification triggers Medicaid participation.
C) Social Security is expected to be financially stable for the next 100 years.
D) Social Security qualification triggers Medicare Part A.

Question 25

Which of the following is an example of federal involvement in K-12 education?

A) Providing diversity awareness training for teachers.
B) Funding pro-education candidates at the state level.
C) Funding school renovation in economically disadvantaged areas.
D) Providing monetary incentives for state compliance with standardized goals.

Question 26

Why was national health insurance not adopted by the United States when it was first considered in the 1930s?

A) liberals' desire for insurance to be provided by private companies
B) strong opposition by the American Medical Association
C) the fact that nearly all Americans already had health insurance
D) the downward trajectory of predicted health care costs

Question 27

Which program is one of the first entitlement programs created under the New Deal?

A) No Child Left Behind
B) Social Security
C) Medicaid
D) Medicare

Question 28

Title IX of the Educational Amendments Acts of 1972 bars schools that receive federal funds from __________.

A) registering students to vote using taxpayer funds
B) offering different sports for men and women
C) discriminating on the basis of sex in admissions, student financial aid, or athletics
D) having men coach women's athletics or having women coach men's athletics

Question 29

Which of the following explains why some people have suggested reducing our use of coal and oil?

A) Oil and coal are targets for terrorists.
B) Oil and coal are less efficient than solar power.
C) Oil and coal create greenhouse gases.
D) Oil and coal extraction is costly.

Question 30

Which of the following is true of gas prices and gas taxes in the United States in comparison to Europe?

A) Both gas prices and gas taxes are higher in the United States than in Europe.
B) Both gas prices and gas taxes are lower in the United States than in Europe.
C) Gas prices are higher in the United States than in Europe, but gas taxes are lower.
D) Gas taxes are higher in the United States than in Europe, but gas prices are lower.

Question 31

Of the following,which contributes the most to climate change?

A) hydroelectric power
B) coal and oil
C) natural gas
D) nuclear power

Question 32

President Theodore Roosevelt embraced which policy area?

A) conservation
B) education
C) military reform
D) civil rights

Question 33

The 1983 A Nation at Risk report showed that U.S.students typically performed __________.

A) better on both math and science tests than students in other countries
B) worse on both math and science tests than students in many other countries
C) better on math tests but worse on science tests compared to students in other countries
D) better on science tests but worse on math tests compared to students in other countries

Question 34

Which of the following took on a stronger policy-making role in the 1930s?

A) Congress
B) the states
C) the Supreme Court
D) the president

Question 35

Which of the following established emissions standards for vehicles?

A) renewable portfolio standards
B) Clean Air Act
C) National Environmental Policy Act
D) Race to the Top

Question 36

All Americans who enroll in Social Security when they retire at age sixty-five are also enrolled in __________.

A) Medicare Part A
B) Medicare Part B
C) Medicare Part C
D) Medicare Part D

Question 37

What is the function of Medicaid?

A) prescription drug plan for Medicare
B) state funding of federal hospitals
C) subsidized medical care for the poor
D) a long-term care supplement for Medicare

Question 38

Which was used as evidence of the need for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?

A) Private insurance companies are adequate for providing health care coverage to most Americans.
B) Uninsured Americans have access to health care because hospitals are required to treat patients with life-threatening conditions.
C) Health care costs have risen substantially over the past few decades.
D) The government generally operates more efficiently than does the private sector.

Question 39

Entitlement programs such as Social Security and Aid to Families with Dependent Children led to which of the following over time?

A) expansion of the federal role in domestic policy
B) help to ensure equality in public school funding
C) help to provide income to low-earning households
D) expansion of financial aid to poor college students

Question 40

The United States consumes __________ percent of the world's oil,while only containing __________ percent of the world's oil reserves.

A) 15; 5
B) 18; 20
C) 20; 2
D) 50; 20

Question 41

Most electricity in the United States is produced from oil and other petroleum products.

Question 42

Which of the following is a criticism of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)?

A) NCLB mandates changes but does not sufficiently fund these changes.
B) The federal government spends more on public education than do the states, yet has little control over the implementation of NCLB.
C) The schools that get higher test scores should also receive more money.
D) Local school districts are exempt from the mandates of NCLB.

Question 43

A crisis can catapult an issue onto the governmental agenda.

Question 44

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave tens of billions of dollars to education programming.

Question 45

Advances in medical technology have led to increases in health care costs.

Question 46

Education policy is primarily under the control of the federal government.

Question 47

Barack Obama signed a law that cut student loan programs by about 30 percent.

Question 48

Republicans have been more likely to support business opportunities for the oil and gas industry,while Democrats have been more supportive of developing alternative energy sources.

Question 49

Medicare provides health care to the elderly and disabled; Medicaid provides health care to the poor.

Question 50

Fracking is a process for developing new water resources and is used in Western states to supplement groundwater supplies.

Question 51

Prior to the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,health care costs and the percentage of uninsured Americans increased dramatically.

Question 52

Coal is the single largest source of energy for electrical production in the United States.

Question 53

More than 25 percent of the energy consumed in the United States today comes from renewable resources,a massive increase from two decades ago.

Question 54

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,all Americans are eligible for Medicare if they do not have other insurance.

Question 55

Indirect federal government aid to higher education includes research grants and financial assistance to students.

Question 56

President Lyndon Johnson emphasized the importance of addressing poverty.

Question 57

Due to safety and environmental concerns,the United States no longer uses nuclear energy to generate electricity.

Question 58

The federal government increased its involvement in education in part because of concerns that that Soviet Union was surpassing the United States in math and science.

Question 59

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is partially funded by an increase in Medicare taxes on those with high incomes.

Question 60

Approximately what percentage of funding for K-12 education comes from the federal government?

A) 3 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 45 percent
D) 85 percent

Question 61

What are the arguments for and against school voucher programs? Evaluate whether you think voucher programs are a good idea.

Question 62

What are the circumstances under which the federal government became involved in education policy due to national security,gender and racial inequality,poverty,and lenient academic standards? Provide examples where appropriate.

Question 63

Education is generally a matter for __________ levels of government.

Question 64

Examine the four main pillars of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).What effect has each of these pillars had on education?

Question 65

Republicans and Democrats are divided over plans to increase drilling for oil in the United States.

Question 66

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 required that bureaucratic agencies complete a(n)__________ when proposing a new project.

Question 67

Gasoline prices vary significantly in the United States and around the world.Why?

Question 68

Compare efforts by the federal and state governments to address climate change.

Question 69

Describe the role of the state,local,and federal governments related to education policy.

Question 70

How is the federal government involved in health care?

Question 71

__________ provides health insurance for the elderly.

Question 72

The __________ was designed to improve the quality of water for swimming and fishing.

Question 73

In 2013,President Barack Obama's budget included $27.2 billion to implement an "all-of-the-above" approach to __________ policy.

Question 74

Welfare is one of many programs that falls under the heading of domestic policy.

Question 75

Medicaid is designed to help the __________.

Question 76

Public __________ refers to an intentional course of action or inaction followed by government in dealing with some problem or matter of concern.

Question 77

Discuss the implementation of public policies.How can implementation change the policy? Give an example.

Question 78

Discuss health care spending in the United States.What contributes to health care costs in the United States?

Question 79

How was education policy affected by the Cold War?

Question 80

What federal environmental laws were passed in the early 1970s?