Deck 7: Negotiating With Congress

Question 1

To influence the content of federal legislation, presidents often must rely on their abilities to persuade __________ that their interests are one and the same.

A) state governors
B) the Supreme Court
C) cabinet members
D) Congress

Answer 1

Congress

Question 2

Senator Carl Hayden's opposition to federal civil rights legislation was based philosophically on __________.

A) states' rights
B) unitary authority
C) executive privilege
D) congressional deference

Answer 2

states' rights

Question 3

Which president epitomizes the persuasive presidency?

A) Bill Clinton
B) Franklin Roosevelt
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Lyndon Johnson

Answer 3

Lyndon Johnson

Question 4

Facing daunting challenges to restarting a stalled policy program, Johnson focused his immediate efforts on influencing __________.

A) the federal courts
B) individual congressional members
C) Southern governors
D) public opinion

Question 5

How did Johnson persuade Hubert Humphrey to cultivate a strong relationship with Republican leaders on the issue of civil rights?

A) psychological tactics
B) direct threats
C) political favors
D) campaign donations

Question 6

Johnson's support for the controversial Central Arizona Water Project illustrates __________.

A) the ability of a member of Congress to trade his or her support for the president's policy for direct political support in a campaign
B) the ability of the president to persuade a member of Congress by endorsing his or her pet project
C) the ability of the president to used media coverage of a political issue to convince a member of Congress to sign on to his or her policy objectives
D) the ability of a member of Congress to use psychological tactics to persuade the president to side with a controversial piece of legislation

Question 7

Which statement best characterizes the Southern Democratic response to Johnson's civil rights legislation?

A) They opposed it, filibustered it, but eventually caved and passed it.
B) They opposed it, amended it, and eventually passed a watered-down version.
C) They initially supported it, then filibustered it, and succeeded in defeating it.
D) They opposed it, then supported it, but then ended up filibustering it.

Question 8

The State of the Union address is required by __________.

A) federal law
B) the Constitution
C) Congress
D) the White House Office

Question 9

What factor affects the number of legislative requests presidents make during the State of the Union address?

A) evaluations of public opinion on the day of the speech
B) assessments of the current foreign policy environment
C) minimum requirements on the number of requests set by federal law
D) expectations of how much he or she can accomplish in Congress

Question 10

The fact that nearly every president since Woodrow Wilson has appeared before Congress to deliver the State of the Union address demonstrates the power of the president to __________.

A) shape the opinion of federal bureaucrats
B) shape the legislative agenda
C) improve relations with congressional opponents
D) dominate executive-legislative relations

Question 11

As president, if you wanted to kill legislation without directly vetoing it, what could you do?

A) Sign the bill but issue a signing statement saying you will not enforce it.
B) Refuse to sign the bill.
C) Go ten days without signing it and hope that Congress adjourns.
D) Use the line-item veto power to alter the content to your liking.

Question 12

One of the primary tools of the minority in the US Senate is the __________.

A) State of the Union
B) pocket veto
C) cloture
D) filibuster

Question 13

The use of presidential vetoes for reasons of policy disagreement illustrates changing __________ related to the veto powers of the presidency.

A) norms
B) rules
C) regulations
D) expectations of formal powers

Question 14

What is illustrated by the contention over the use of the filibuster in the US Senate?

A) the incentives created by partisan behavior and the influence of divided government
B) the incentives created by institutional rules and the influence of norms in political decision making
C) the incentives created by public opinion and the influence of the media on congressional behavior
D) the struggle between the legislative and executive branches and the dominance of the president in legislative relations

Question 15

Cloture is the procedure used to __________.

A) end a filibuster
B) override a pocket veto
C) prevent holds
D) change norms

Question 16

Obama's position relative to Congress was stronger when he became president in 2008 than it was after the 2010 midterm elections because in 2008, __________.

A) Obama's popularity was equal to that of the Republicans who controlled Congress, which forced the parties to compromise to advance the goals of the president
B) Obama governed under a system of divided government, giving the Democrats in the Senate much more power to enact his proposals
C) Obama controlled the White House, and the Republicans who controlled Congress were moderates who supported his landmark legislative proposals
D) Obama's party controlled both houses of Congress, which meant that the legislative branch shared many of the goals of the executive branch

Question 17

If you believe that presidents assert greater influence over foreign policy than they do over domestic policy, you support __________.

A) divided government
B) the theory of the unitary executive
C) the two presidencies thesis
D) the ally principle

Question 18

The two presidencies thesis asserts that presidents have more influence over which type of policy?

A) health
B) foreign
C) economic
D) party

Question 19

Aaron Wildavsky is known for developing __________.

A) blame-game politics theory
B) the two presidencies thesis
C) the theory of the unitary executive
D) the democratic peace thesis

Question 20

What do statistical trends regarding foreign policy and presidential success suggest?

A) Presidents are successful in controlling foreign policy agencies but face stiff opposition by Congress to their foreign policy appropriations requests.
B) Presidents have little success in controlling foreign policy agencies but enjoy a great deal of congressional deference to their foreign policy appropriations requests.
C) Presidents enjoy greater control over foreign policy agencies than domestic policy agencies, and the foreign policy appropriations by Congress better reflect presidential requests than do domestic policy appropriations.
D) Presidents rarely win foreign policy battles with Congress, but they have often seen their domestic policy priorities reflected in domestic agency funding.

Question 21

Which statement regarding party polarization in Congress is accurate?

A) House Democrats are becoming more liberal at a faster rate than House Republicans are becoming more conservative.
B) The smallest difference in Senate polarization occurred between roughly 1933 and 1946.
C) There have been relatively few changes in party polarization in the US Senate over time.
D) The overall trend in party polarization has reflected a steady decrease in the ideological divisions separating the two parties over time.

Question 22

How did his experience with health care reform affect Obama's governing strategy in the aftermath of the ACA's enactment?

A) He stopped trying to use public opinion to increase party discipline and instead focused on using improving relationships with Republicans.
B) He switched his focus from the partisan discipline within his own ranks to trying to deepen relationships with Republican leadership.
C) He worked to both increase discipline within his own party and in that of the opposition.
D) He spent more time maintaining party discipline as a method of advancing his policy agenda and less time forging relationships with Republicans.

Question 23

One of the main opponents to the Affordable Care Act was the __________.

A) Bull Moose Party
B) Tea Party
C) Progressive Party
D) Democratic Party

Question 24

What strategy was deployed by Obama to corral Democratic votes in Congress to pass the Affordable Care Act?

A) He called on liberal Internet bloggers to pressure their representatives to support the act.
B) He threatened to oust opponents of the act from their committee positions in Congress.
C) He pledged to actively campaign against any Democrat in Congress who opposed to the act.
D) He intimated that opponents would be ineligible for financial support from the party.

Question 25

Under the conditions of increased party polarization that exist today, congressional moderates are __________.

A) numerous
B) partisan
C) dominant
D) scarce

Question 26

Which landmark piece of legislation was championed by Barack Obama?

A) No Child Left Behind Act
B) Executive Reorganization Act
C) Affordable Care Act
D) Civil Rights Act

Question 27

Beyond the policy changes it instituted, the ACA is important because of the lessons drawn by __________.

A) the Obama administration about how best to exercise power in policy debates
B) congressional Republicans about how to operate in a unitary government
C) congressional Democrats about what it means to contest executive power
D) partisans about the importance of reaching compromises on policy

Question 28

One of the greatest barriers to the ability of presidents to achieve their policy goals in recent years has been the __________ in Congress.

A) increase in party consensus
B) rise of party polarization
C) decline in ideological differences
D) persistence of unified government

Question 29

The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force illustrated a(n) __________.

A) equal delegation of authority to the president and Congress
B) broad delegation of authority to the executive branch
C) narrow delegation of power to the president
D) vast delegation of power to Congress

Question 30

The __________ is the umbrella term used to refer to the multiple security and intelligence efforts employed by the United States since 9/11.

A) National Security Act
B) Two Presidencies Thesis
C) Authorization for Use of Military Force
D) War on Terror

Question 31

At the time it was passed, the AUMF was widely believed by members of Congress to be a(n) __________.

A) necessary expansion of presidential power
B) abuse of legislative authority
C) narrow delegation of regulatory power
D) superfluous grant of power to the executive

Question 32

The ally principle suggests that politicians delegate authority to __________.

A) friendly states around the world
B) individuals with whom they share ideological convictions
C) members of the opposition if they are from the same state
D) the bureaucracy when they have little expertise on the matter

Question 33

In regard to legislative-executive relations, the Authorization for Use of Military Force can be distinguished from the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act because the AUMF represented a __________.

A) narrower grant of authority to the president due to the complexity of the technical issues surrounding the 9/11 attacks
B) broader grant of authority to the president due to the uncertainty surrounding the 9/11 attacks
C) broader grant of authority to the president due to the president's invocation of the ally principle in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks
D) temporary grant of authority to the president while the FAA brought all rules back into line with existing policies set by the president

Question 34

How did Congress attach strings to the authority it granted in the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2012?

A) by focusing on congressional earmarks
B) by dealing with only one policy issue
C) by stipulating very specific spending conditions
D) by obtaining a bipartisan majority for its passage

Question 35

Congress is most likely to delegate authority to the executive branch when the __________.

A) members are facing policy decisions on technically complex issues
B) president is ideologically opposed to the congressional majority
C) country is experiencing a time of relative peace and prosperity
D) government is divided rather than unified

Question 36

How does Congress monitor executive use of the powers that it has delegated?

A) ally principle
B) divided government
C) legislative oversight
D) professional vetters

Question 37

Which description best characterizes the vast majority of oversight hearings?

A) chaotic
B) factually inaccurate
C) primarily about foreign policy
D) predictable

Question 38

Why did David Truman describe oversight hearings as a "propaganda channel"?

A) They reflect the dominant ideological positions of the president.
B) They are used exclusively by the executive branch to sway public opinion.
C) They are carefully scripted media events meant to showcase political talking points.
D) They mirror opinions of citizens already captured in public polling done by the media.

Question 39

How did Eisenhower successfully defeat the adoption of the Bricker Amendment?

A) He stayed its implementation through an executive order until public opinion could be swayed to his side.
B) He endorsed competing amendments, used pressure from the White House, and appealed to the public through the press.
C) He vetoed the bill to which the Bricker Amendment was attached and Congress failed to override the veto.
D) He impounded the monies that Congress had appropriated for its implementation, so its provisions were never activated.

Question 40

Ex ante influence is an effect on an outcome achieved __________ the event.

A) before
B) after
C) concurrent with
D) unrelated to

Question 41

Which act increased the president's ex ante powers over appropriations?

A) Executive Reorganization Act
B) Budget and Accounting Act
C) Underwood Tariff Act
D) Administrative Procedures Act

Question 42

The release of the president's budget corresponds with which event?

A) pre-election transition
B) presidential inauguration
C) congressional elections
D) the State of the Union

Question 43

When Congress approves the final budget for the fiscal year, on what do they rely the most for information?

A) staffing projections of the various agencies
B) report of the Congressional Budget Office
C) president's budget proposal
D) majority party's budget recommendations

Question 44

The ability of the president to use the budget to influence the course of federal policy is best illustrated by the __________.

A) War Powers Resolution
B) Defense Emergency Response Fund
C) Congressional Budget Office
D) Administrative Procedures Act

Question 45

President Obama and his Secretary of Education were able to transform the federal government's role in education policy because Congress appropriated a __________.

A) limited sum of money with no conditions
B) large sum of money with few strings attached
C) minimal sum of money with multiple restrictions
D) moderate amount of money with minimal conditions

Question 46

Which of the following provides economic and budget information directly to the legislative branch?

A) Council of Economic Advisors
B) White House Office
C) Executive Office of the President
D) Congressional Budget Office

Question 47

What distinguishes deferrals and rescissions from impoundments?

A) Impoundments are more commonly used.
B) Deferrals and rescissions have taken the place of impoundments.
C) Impoundments require congressional authorization.
D) Deferrals and rescissions are nonpartisan.

Question 48

Why has impoundment authority not been used since the presidency of Richard Nixon?

A) The Supreme Court ruled that it could no longer be used.
B) It was outlawed in the 1974 Budget and Impoundment Act.
C) The Office of Management and Budget passed a rule against it.
D) The Ford administration resorted to impoundment as a matter of routine.

Question 49

Which act illustrates an attempt by Congress to reassert control over the budgetary process?

A) Administrative Procedures Act
B) Budget and Accounting Act
C) Executive Reorganization Act
D) Budget and Impoundment Act

Question 50

Which of the following demonstrates the ongoing desire of presidents in recent years to gain ex post power over the budget?

A) exercise of impoundment powers
B) refusal to use deferrals
C) push for line-item veto authority
D) reliance on the CBO for budget information

Question 51

How does the passage of the Civil Rights Act illustrate the presidential power of persuasion?

Question 52

How does the ongoing contention over the filibuster in the US Senate demonstrate the effects of institutions on American politics?

Question 53

Explain the debt ceiling crisis and analyze the effects of party polarization on efforts to address this problem.

Question 54

Assess the struggle for power between the executive and legislative branches, and describe how this struggle has played out in the appropriations process.

Question 55

What distinguishes ex ante influence over the budget from ex post influence over the budget? How have the mechanisms for exercising those powers affected presidential power?