Deck 7: The Executive Branch

Question 1

The United States Post Office and the rail service Amtrak, along with other independent agencies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which provides banking deposit insurance, are different from other federal agencies in that they:

A) have tended to have large operating deficits in recent years.
B) are "government corporations," agencies run more like private businesses, performing and charging for market services.
C) have broad powers to provide public services that are, in all cases, too expensive or too socially and economically important to be left to private initiatives.
D) are completely free of presidential control or influence.

Answer 1

are "government corporations," agencies run more like private businesses, performing and charging for market services.

Question 2

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), housed within the Department of Justice, is an example of:

A) a specialized, or bureau-level agency of a cabinet department.
B) a regulatory agency.
C) an independent agency.
D) an independent cabinet department.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Many Americans use the term bureaucracy when referring to government actions they do not like, but use administration when referring to government actions they do like.Even so, bureaucracy is often essential to good governance because:

A) governments cannot complete tasks without the stamping of many pieces of paper.
B) it provides clear channels for needed communication between congressional committees, government workers, and organized interests.
C) it provides time-tested ways to get people to work in a coordinated fashion and accomplish goals more efficiently and effectively than would otherwise be possible.
D) without a clear chain of command, even the smartest and most talented people have trouble getting work done.

Answer 3

it provides time-tested ways to get people to work in a coordinated fashion and accomplish goals more efficiently and effectively than would otherwise be possible.

Question 4

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

A) Congress.gov
B) The Congressional Record
C) The Federal Register
D) The U.S.Regulatory Code

Question 5

In the process of administrative adjudication, agencies act most like a:

A) legislature.
B) dictatorship.
C) court.
D) police agency.

Question 6

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

A) Ministry of propaganda
B) Grassroots agency
C) Interest group agency
D) Clientele agency

Question 7

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

A) oversight.
B) administrative adjudication.
C) rulemaking.
D) administrative law review.

Question 8

A governmental agency set up by Congress to exist outside of a cabinet department is called:

A) a quasi-governmental organization.
B) an independent regulatory commission
C) an independent agency.
D) a clientele agency.

Question 9

Bureaucracy makes modern government possible because:

A) modern government mainly requires the shuffling of millions of pieces of paper, which requires organizing and coordinating workers.
B) it takes the power to implement policy from the hands of corrupt politicians and places it in the hands of skilled professionals.
C) it allows a means of efficiently delivering or providing public goods and services, as well as a way for officials to make credible, long-term policy commitments.
D) it removes politics from the policy-planning, rule-making, and implementation process.

Question 10

After the financial crisis of 2008-2009, Congress responded by passing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.In doing so, Congress mandated tougher regulation on larger banks, but left the rulemaking needed for implementation to agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the main regulator of the securities industry.How would you expect the SEC to have carried out its rulemaking mandate here?

A) Through administrative adjudication at the agency, after complaints from financial institutions, with some disputes being forwarded to federal courts
B) By crafting rules and regulations to send to Congress for verification, as outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act
C) Through the rule-making process, as outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act
D) By consulting with top securities firms and industry leaders and then lobbying Congress for rules that the industry favored, as required under the Administrative Procedure Act

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) oversight.
B) adjudication.
C) interpretation.
D) regulation.

Question 12

Which of the following is a constraint that federal bureaucrats face to a greater degree than the people working for the bureaucracies of large businesses or corporations?

A) A need to have revenue exceed spending and debts, as a main goal
B) A much greater degree of public scrutiny
C) Much stricter regulations on unionizing, or collective bargaining
D) Swift management reaction to complaints about service provision

Question 13

What term refers to the offices, tasks, and principles that large organizations, including governments, employ to coordinate their work?

A) Administration
B) Bureaucracy
C) Civil service
D) Chain of command

Question 14

The U.S.Department of Agriculture's Extension Services, with its local "extension agents" who consult with farmers to promote farm productivity, provides a familiar example of:

A) the devolution of government service, from the national to the local level, in order to shrink government.
B) how many of the personnel in clientele agencies' field offices or operations deal directly with clientele.
C) the way that Congress provides jobs through "pork barrel" spending for particular district or state constituencies.
D) how clientele agencies come to lobby for policy change at the local or grassroots level.

Question 15

In the United States, the head of a cabinet department is usually called a:

A) general.
B) minister.
C) secretary.
D) chief administrator.

Question 16

After the rules for a federal public agency are approved and published, they:

A) supersede prior Supreme Court decisions.
B) establish minimum standards for state-level regulation.
C) must be sent through both houses of Congress and signed into law by presidents to take effect.
D) have the force of law.

Question 17

The largest components of the executive branch, ones given their designation by Congress, are cabinet departments.These include ones covering the major areas of administration, such as organization of military and defense efforts (Defense), printing money and collecting revenue (Treasury).But many created since are referred to as clientele agencies, ranging from older ones such as the Agriculture, Labor, and Commerce departments to newer ones such as the Education and Transportation departments.They are described in this fashion because they:

A) do not cover major, basic areas of government, but instead reflect and serve the interests of individual members of Congress and their constituencies.
B) tend not to respond to presidential direction, but to the concerns of particular interest groups and constituencies or "clients "
C) are directed by law to support and foster the interests of a particular clientele, with many having field offices to work with them directly.
D) are authorized by Congress to make rules governing the conduct of clients within particular jurisdictions.

Question 18

Congress gives the power to what type of agency to make rules governing the conduct of people and businesses in certain economic sectors or types of commercial activity?

A) An independent agency
B) An independent regulatory commission
C) A public interest agency
D) A clientele agency

Question 19

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are both:

A) bureaus or subdivisions of the Department of Defense.
B) government corporations, ones that serve some special public purposes or provide services.
C) independent agencies, ones that do not fall under the control of any cabinet department.
D) agencies of external national security that fall under the Department of Defense.

Question 20

The primary task of bureaucracy, whether in government or the private sector, is:

A) systems analysis.
B) coordination.
C) implementation.
D) cost saving.

Question 21

Easton Verde, a young administrator within a bureau of the U.S.Department of the Interior, wants to increase his agency's footprint, and with it its budget, by expanding into new areas of work.Verde wants his agency to do well, and he also wouldn't mind the increase in pay and recognition that might come with a bigger mission.To this end, he has cultivated relationships with a few key members of Congress, and talked to them about his goals for the agency. How unusual would Verde seem to be here, among bureaucrats?

A) Highly unusual, since most bureaucrats are mostly interested in increasing their status or enriching themselves
B) Not at all unusual, since they may have a variety of motivations for wanting to increase agency budgets
C) Unusual, since most bureaucrats only want to increase budget resources that would otherwise go to their rival agencies
D) Not unusual, although most bureaucrats are unlikely to be worried about prestige and salary, given how low government salaries and status tend to be

Question 22

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

A) Devolution
B) Capitalization
C) Outsourcing
D) Agentic shift

Question 23

The administration of fiscal policy is handled by:

A) the Treasury Department.
B) the Federal Reserve System.
C) the Office of Management and Budget.
D) the Internal Revenue Service.

Question 24

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) routine oversight
D) random oversight.

Question 25

Which is the powerful political weapon that congressional committees and subcommittees are well-suited to using as a means of controlling bureaucratic agencies, given their focus on areas roughly parallel to one or more executive departments or agencies?

A) The power to recommend confirmation or rejection of presidential appointees
B) The power of the purse-that is, spending or appropriations power
C) Oversight through committee or subcommittee hearings
D) Oversight through investigations of the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Question 26

The U.S.military has experienced problems with pork barrel politics because:

A) civilians who control the military have forced it on defense agencies.
B) military spending-on contracts and military bases-can become a matter not just of military need but a concern of narrow political and economic interests.
C) the creation of the Department of Defense by merging different agencies created a larger and more complex bureaucracy.
D) recent wars, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq, required higher military spending.

Question 27

Which group helps set monetary policy for the United States by making changes to the interest rate and the money supply?

A) Securities and Exchange Commission
B) Federal Reserve Board
C) Federal Deposit Insurance Commission
D) Consumer Financial Protection Board

Question 28

The policy of reducing the number of rules issued by federal regulatory agencies is known as:

A) deregulation.
B) administrative review.
C) devolution.
D) privatizing.

Question 29

Imagine that Congress passes legislation to severely restrict small, private drone aircraft.In so doing, it sets up a new regulatory agency to implement the law.Members of Congress and the White House fear, however, that some vagueness in the law might lead the agency to stray from its mission.What is the most powerful way they could deal with this issue before the agency begins its work?

A) By appointing and confirming effective and accountable agency appointees
B) By pursuing contracts with private organizations to carry out most of the agency's work
C) By scheduling regular oversight hearings that would begin two years after the agency begins operations, just enough time for the agency to settle into its role
D) By delegating program implementation to state and local governments

Question 30

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) Rulemaking
C) Regulation
D) Micromanagement

Question 31

In 2002, Congress created this internal security agency in order to coordinate the nation's defense against the threat of terrorism.

A) National Security Agency
B) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s Counterterrorism Division
C) The Department of Homeland Security
D) The Department of Internal Security

Question 32

The primary task of the State Department is:

A) issuing passports and visas.
B) diplomacy.
C) internal security.
D) state and local relations.

Question 33

The most important revenue agency in the United States, which also happens to be one of the nation's largest bureaucracies, is the:

A) Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
B) Department of Commerce
C) Office of Management and Budget
D) Securities and Exchange Commission

Question 34

Rules made by regulatory agencies and commissions are referred to as administrative legislation because:

A) they do not have the same effect as congressional legislation but are still important to federal administration.
B) they apply, as law, to people working within federal cabinet departments or agencies.
C) they have the force of law.
D) doing so makes it less likely than presidents will try to get rid of existing rules through executive orders.

Question 35

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

A) fiscal.
B) welfare.
C) monetary.
D) revenue-geared.

Question 36

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 Office of the Director of National Intelligence
D) The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security

Question 37

In the last 75 years, the proportion of people who work in state and local government has gone up, but the proportion of people who work for the federal government has stayed about the same.What trend in American governance does this reflect?

A) Devolution
B) Capitalization
C) Outsourcing
D) Agentic shift

Question 38

In 2018, Congress repealed some parts of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, with backers suggesting it would increase economic growth.In so doing, Congress was engaging in a form of bureaucratic downsizing known as:

A) devolution.
B) deregulation.
C) legislative management authority.
D) performance reviewing.

Question 39

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

A) principals of Congress and the presidency.
B) both principals and agents of the American people.
C) agents only of presidents, who execute laws passed by Congress.
D) agents of Congress and the presidency.

Question 40

In 1921, Congress passed the Budget and Accounting Act, which instituted the practice of having presidents send annual, comprehensive budget proposals to Congress.In so doing, lawmakers changed the presidency, even as they ultimately retained control of the budget, because the practice:

A) allowed presidents to frame policy deliberations, and shape the congressional agenda.
B) gradually gave presidents final control over budgets, stripping the power from Congress.
C) led to systematic efforts, fully controlled by the president and with no congressional input, to change the way government does business.
D) took power away from Congress, and gave it to friends and family of presidents, ones with little experience in government.

Question 41

Opponents of existing policies and agencies face high hurdles when trying to end them, but supporters of existing policies or agencies find maintaining the status quo easier.

Question 42

The key to the effectiveness of bureaucracies lies in their division of labor, which allows for coordination among workers handling specialized jobs or tasks.

Question 43

All government agencies are part of cabinet departments.

Question 44

Clientele agencies are designed to serve the broad interests of the country.

Question 45

The Social Security Administration administers nearly all of the country's social welfare programs.

Question 46

Bureaucracies are only needed by public organization to carry out goals or directives.Large private organizations rarely feature them.

Question 47

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

Question 48

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

Question 49

Beginning in the late 1960s, nearly all new regulatory programs were placed within existing departments and made directly responsible to presidents, instead of being given to independent regulatory commissions.

Question 50

New rules proposed by an agency take effect only after a period of public comment, which takes the form of filing statements and testimony made at hearings.Those giving such input tend to be:

A) affluent and well-connected.
B) largely unpaid activists.
C) people or businesses that will be affected by proposed rules.
D) federal bureaucrats.

Question 51

The Central Intelligence Agency is, like all other external security agencies, an agency of the Defense Department.

Question 52

Congress often deliberately leaves the question of how to enforce a law up to administrative agencies, ones given rule-making and administrative adjudication.

Question 53

The Department of Justice's Criminal Division oversees the work of ______________, who are presidential appointees tasked with handling criminal investigations in federal judicial districts.

A) district attorneys
B) U.S.attorneys
C) lead counsel for federal districts
D) chief district investigators

Question 54

The rule-making authority often delegated to federal agencies by Congress is essentially a lawmaking authority.

Question 55

In 2010, two members of Congress held a colorful press conference, with goats in tow, to announce their intention to try to end federal mohair (a fabric made from goat hair) subsidies.These subsidies, long the target of presidents and members of Congress from both parties, dated from the mid-1950s, when Congress decided to support mohair production as a precaution against wool shortages.The subsidies were cut in 1995, but reemerged a few years later.The efforts of Chaffetz and Weiner to end the estimated $750,000 in subsidies, meanwhile, failed. Why might programs such as the mohair subsidy be so difficult to end?

A) Most longtime programs, no matter how small, have broad support from the American people.
B) Clientele agencies lobby for their survival, on behalf of the people and industries they serve-such as, in this case, the Department of Agriculture, on mohair producers' behalf.
C) The few who benefit from a program will intensely fight elimination, or fight to reinstate cut programs, while most taxpayers would be unlikely to care, being largely unaffected.
D) Congress prefers an incremental approach to cutting government services, even relatively small ones.

Question 56

In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to end agency rules that protected "net neutrality," which, more specifically, kept U.S.Internet service providers from intentionally slowing or throttling services, or from charging (or charging more) for certain online content, such as video streaming services.The FCC had the power to do this because it:

A) is a regulatory agency with the power to regulate a type of commercial activity or economic sector.
B) is a clientele agency, one that was created to serve and promote the communications industry, including broadcast and Internet services and companies.
C) the president gave the agency the power to do so through an executive order.
D) it was placed, in recent years, within the Commerce Department and made directly responsible to the president, and President Donald Trump was against net neutrality rules.

Question 57

The transparency of the federal bureaucracy has been increased over time by ________________, which granted ordinary citizens the right of access to agency files.

A) administrative adjudication
B) the Freedom of Information Act, adopted in 1966
C) Clinton-era administrative reform
D) Amendments to the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946

Question 58

Administrative adjudication hearings are very different than those of regular courts, in that they normally do not settle disputes.

Question 59

Politicians delegate little power to bureaucrats.

Question 60

In December 2001, a British man with ties to the Al-Qaeda terrorist group was on a flight from Paris to Miami when he tried to set off a bomb, one built into his shoe.Even though his attempt failed, his actions had an immediate effect on air travel in the United States: to board a flight, the U.S.Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a division of the cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS), soon began requiring most passengers to take off their shoes while in a security line, and have them scanned for explosives.The TSA could call in law enforcement to question or detain people who refused screening because the rule had the force of law.Why was this likely the case, from what you have read about how the federal bureaucracy works?

A) After the shoe-bombing attempt, Congress passed a law that required all passengers, from children to the elderly, to take off their shoes while in a security line.
B) Congress granted the DHS and TSA rule-making and regulatory authority in the airline security arena.
C) Presidents worked closely with the TSA to make sure that shoe screenings were mandatory, issuing executive orders to begin the practice and keep it going.
D) The TSA, as a clientele agency, lobbied federal, state, and local elected officials, on the airlines' behalf, to enact shoe-screening requirement laws nationwide.

Question 61

The Department of State is an agency for internal security.

Question 62

The most effective power that Congress may use to control bureaucratic behavior is the power of the purse, or spending power.

Question 63

Federal bureaucrats are generally well insulated from prevailing political winds, and can focus on their missions without concern for what is going on Congress or the White House.

Question 64

Policies focused on banks, credit, and currency are called fiscal policies.

Question 65

The 1921 Budget and Accounting Act transferred agenda-setting power over the budget from the president to Congress.

Question 66

Without sufficient oversight and controls from Congress, bureaucratic agencies are likely to drift away from the preferences of their congressional and White House creators, and toward the preferences of agency leadership.

Question 67

The federal service has not been growing any faster than the economy or the rest of society.

Question 68

Describe how the executive branch of the American system of government is organized.

Question 69

The Department of Justice is an agency for internal security.

Question 70

The congressional standing committee system is ill-suited for oversight of the federal bureaucracy, and fails to use the little oversight power that it has.

Question 71

Privatization always leads to reductions in the cost of government, as well as more efficient delivery or production of public goods and services.

Question 72

Is a federal government bureaucracy necessary? Why or why not?

Question 73

The object of nearly all government privatization, or contracting for the production and delivery of public goods and services, is downsizing of the federal workforce.

Question 74

The story of the modern presidency could be told as largely a series of congressional responses to the plea for managerial help.

Question 75

Police-patrol oversight is more efficient than the fire-alarm variety given costs and the electoral incentives of members of Congress.

Question 76

Despite attempts to control the growth of bureaucracy, the number of federal employees in the civil service has grown exponentially over the past 30 years.

Question 77

Most agencies have a supportive constituency-people and groups that benefit from the agency's programs and will fight to reinstate any cuts in them.

Question 78

When Congress enacts vague legislation, groups and individuals ranging from presidents and agencies to courts and interest groups get involved in its interpretation.

Question 79

If you were hired as a public relations expert by the U.S.government to improve the public image of the American bureaucracy, what specific recommendations would you make?

Question 80

The only certain way to reduce the size of bureaucracy is to eliminate programs.