Deck 8: The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

The __________ was one of the three original executive branch departments in the U.S.government.

A) Department of Agriculture
B) Department of the Treasury
C) Department of the Interior
D) Commerce Department

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Cabinet secretaries are nominated 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

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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

A) Administrative adjudication
B) Administrative discretion
C) Division of labor
D) Executive control

Answer 3

B

Question 4

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.

Question 5

What function is the National Labor Relations board carrying out when it settles disputes between labor and management related to federal labor laws?

A) creating regulations
B) administrative adjudication
C) providing expert advice
D) providing a check on judicial power

Question 6

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 7

__________ are rules created by government agencies that determine how laws are implemented.

A) Laws
B) Patronage
C) Regulations
D) Statutes

Question 8

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

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

Question 9

What is implementation?

A) the process by which a law or policy is put into operation
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 10

The president has the authority to __________.

A) abolish existing programs and agencies
B) investigate agency activities and compel bureaucrats to testify about them
C) make changes in an agency's annual budget proposals
D) refuse to appropriate funds for certain programs

Question 11

Under amendments to the Hatch Act,federal employees are prohibited from __________.

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

Question 12

Which law designates the steps that federal agencies must follow in issuing rules and regulations?

A) the Administrative Procedures Act
B) the Hatch Act
C) the Pendleton Act
D) the Privacy Act

Question 13

__________ are working groups established to facilitate the coordination of policy making and implementation across a host of government agencies.

A) Interagency councils
B) Iron triangles
C) Issue networks
D) Independent regulatory commissions

Question 14

Federal law requires that agencies must take what step before issuing new rules and regulations?

A) They must obtain approval from the president.
B) They must obtain approval from Congress.
C) They must consult with an administrative law judge.
D) They must solicit public comments.

Question 15

The __________ consists of the departments,agencies,and offices within the executive branch that perform the functions of government.

A) administration
B) bureaucracy
C) cabinet
D) civil service

Question 16

One purpose of the Administrative Procedures Act is to __________.

A) ensure opportunities for public participation in the rule-making process
B) give federal agencies greater discretion in the rule-making process
C) streamline bureaucratic activities in the rule-making process
D) give the president greater control over the rule-making process

Question 17

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

A) issuing executive orders
B) issuing executive agreements
C) implementing congressional statutes
D) implementing state laws

Question 18

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 19

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 20

Which of the following is an example of the merit system?

A) the president evaluating a policy proposal based on its merits
B) citizens evaluating political candidates based on candidates' work experience
C) agencies hiring people based on their performance on entrance exams
D) agency officials evaluating a policy proposal based on its merits

Question 21

Which of the following is a presidential role in the federal bureaucracy?

A) confirming federal appointees
B) nominating people for some federal jobs
C) creating or abolishing agencies
D) conducting oversight hearings

Question 22

What is the main purpose served by government corporations?

A) generating profit for the federal government
B) providing services that the private sector lacks a financial incentive to provide
C) breaking up monopolies and promoting free-market principles
D) expanding international trade

Question 23

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 24

Why did President Franklin D.Roosevelt create hundreds of new government agencies?

A) to support Congress in its oversight of the executive and judiciary branches
B) to produce the necessary weapons and ammunition to defend the nation
C) to reform the civil service system
D) to create jobs and to regulate the economy and business practices

Question 25

When did the largest growth in the federal workforce occur?

A) Johnson's Great Society
B) FDR's New Deal
C) the Civil War
D) World War II

Question 26

How did Americans' attitudes about the role of government change as a result of the Great Depression and Roosevelt's New Deal?

A) People became more accepting of the federal government's role in economic policy.
B) People became more cynical about the federal government's role in economic policy.
C) People because more cynical about the federal government's role in social policy.
D) People because more confident in the ability of state governments to handle economic policy.

Question 27

How are Cabinet secretaries similar to independent agency administrators?

A) Both are nominated by the president.
B) Neither can be fired by the president.
C) Both typically remain in office over multiple presidential administrations.
D) Both are part of the federal civil service system.

Question 28

How do government corporations differ from private companies?

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

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of a government corporation?

A) the Food and Drug Administration
B) the Federal Elections Commission
C) the Tennessee Valley Authority
D) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Question 30

Which of the following is currently a major concern about the federal workforce?

A) the decentralization of government offices
B) the large number of workers who will soon be eligible to retire
C) the low turnover rate in many important positions
D) the movement to revive the patronage system

Question 31

What was the purpose of the Hatch Act?

A) to prohibit federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity
B) to authorize greater discretion in bureaucratic decision making
C) to limit congressional control of the federal bureaucracy
D) to award government jobs based on partisan loyalty

Question 32

How do departments differ from independent agencies?

A) Department heads are nominated by the president; agency heads are not.
B) Agencies are typically larger than departments.
C) Department heads are part of the president's Cabinet; agency heads are not.
D) Departments cover a wider range of functions than agencies.

Question 33

Which statement about the quasi-judicial decisions made by government agencies is accurate?

A) They are strictly advisory.
B) They can be reviewed by federal courts.
C) They are final and cannot be appealed.
D) They limit administrative discretion.

Question 34

Congress's watchdog over executive branch spending is __________.

A) the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
B) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
C) the Department of the Treasury
D) the General Accountability Office (GAO)

Question 35

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

A) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
B) the Department of Health and Human Services
C) the Consumer Product Safety Commission
D) the Tennessee Valley Authority

Question 36

What is a major purpose of an independent regulatory commission?

A) to regulate commerce
B) to increase productivity
C) to oversee the executive branch
D) to perform services

Question 37

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 38

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 39

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

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

Question 40

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

A) Congress has final say over all department budgets, but has no control of the budgets of independent agencies.
B) Congress has final say over the budgets of independent agencies, but has no control of department budgets.
C) Congress has the authority to appropriate money to agencies.
D) Congress influences the initial budget proposal, but depends on the president for appropriations of federal money.

Question 41

Why was the spoils system ultimately replaced by the civil service system?

A) due to growing concerns about a poorly functioning federal bureaucracy
B) due to public pressure to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy
C) due to a Supreme Court decision ruling the spoils system unconstitutional
D) due to congressional demands for greater control over the federal bureaucracy

Question 42

Both Congress and the president are involved in the process of filling high-level positions in the federal bureaucracy.

Question 43

According to Max Weber,ideal bureaucracies are characterized by a chain of command in which authority flows from top to bottom.

Question 44

Regulations are usually created by Congress.

Question 45

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 46

Which of the following contributed to the growth of federal bureaucracy during the twentieth century?

A) the Hatch Act
B) the elimination of the spoils system
C) World War II
D) the Pendleton Act

Question 47

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

Question 48

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)is an example of a government corporation.

Question 49

What factor was influential in driving expansion of the federal bureaucracy in the post-Civil War era?

A) the expansion of voting rights to African American men
B) the elimination of the spoils system
C) a series of poor harvests and agricultural distribution problems
D) the growing incidence of price fixing and other unfair business practices

Question 50

Federal agencies are prohibited from engaging in any quasi-judicial processes.

Question 51

Under what circumstance might a president set up a policy coordinating committee (PSC)?

A) when a cabinet member wants to enlarge his or her sphere of influence
B) when citizens want to intervene in an agency's rule-making procedure
C) when funding is short and two agencies can be merged to create one agency
D) when agencies need to work together to ensure consistent policies

Question 52

Which of the following was a consequence of the spoils,or patronage,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 53

Decisions reached by agencies through administrative adjudication can be reviewed by the federal courts.

Question 54

What has been the effect of requirements that agencies conduct a formal hearing before issuing rules?

A) Criticism of rules is increased because the public is more informed.
B) Public input typically speeds up the process.
C) The courts tend to give greater deference to agency decisions.
D) The president becomes more directly involved in the procedure.

Question 55

Over 3 million people work for the federal government.

Question 56

How are interagency councils similar to policy coordinating committees?

A) Both coordinate the activities of multiple agencies.
B) Both help coordinate the activities of the federal and state governments.
C) Both are housed within the legislative branch.
D) Both have the authority to override the decisions of agency heads.

Question 57

The president and Congress share oversight of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 58

The federal workforce is split evenly between men and women.

Question 59

According to the liberalized Hatch Act,federal employees may make campaign speeches for candidates in partisan elections.

Question 60

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

Question 61

The __________ led to the creation of the civil service system,even though it initially covered only 10 percent of the federal workforce.

Question 62

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

Question 63

One function of __________ is to provide public services that the private sector is unlikely to do.

Question 64

How does Congress exercise control over the federal bureaucracy?

Question 65

How does the president exercise control over the federal bureaucracy?

Question 66

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

Question 67

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

Question 68

__________ often holds oversight hearings to investigate the policies and performance of agencies and departments in the federal bureaucracy.

Question 69

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

Question 70

How does the Administrative Procedures Act (APA)influence rule making by departments and agencies?

Question 71

Discuss the role of bureaucratic agencies in administrative adjudication.

Question 72

According to the __________ Act,federal agencies must solicit public comments before issuing new rules and regulations.

Question 73

What is an issue network?

Question 74

What are independent regulatory commissions? Provide an example.

Question 75

How has the structure of the presidential Cabinet changed since its origin?

Question 76

How did the Hatch Act reinforce reforms initiated under the Pendleton Act? When were these acts passed,and what events precipitated them?

Question 77

The Social Security Administration rendering a decision about whether an individual was wrongly denied disability payments illustrates the __________ function of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 78

In 1789,three executive departments existed under the Articles of Confederation: Foreign Affairs,War,and __________.

Question 79

What are independent executive agencies? Provide an example.

Question 80

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