Deck 12: Legislatures

Question 1

In the United States,it is common for one party to control Congress and the other party to hold the presidency.This possibility __________.

A)lowers the chances that the government will shut down
B)reduces the chances of rapid and foolish policy changes
C)makes it more likely for moderate candidates to get elected
D)increases the chances that sweeping policy overhauls will be made

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In a parliamentary system,the cabinet changes __________.

A)every four to six years
B)every two to four years
C)whenever a new prime minister is chosen
D)when the majority party loses an election or a no-confidence vote

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which statement explains why feudalism is considered an early example of "balance of power" thinking?

A)Feudal systems were roughly as powerful as authoritarian ones.
B)Feudalism made room for influence by various sectors of society.
C)Feudalism allowed for better cooperation among enemy countries.
D)Power was given exclusively to parliaments that were democratically elected.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In a parliamentary system,voters directly elect __________.

A)the prime minister only
B)members of parliament only
C)members of parliament and the prime minister
D)members of parliament and the ministerial cabinet

Question 5

What is one area in which the American separation of powers is especially unusual?

A)It is rare for the president to hold veto power over the legislature.
B)It is rare for the legislative and executive branches to overlap so much.
C)It is rare for the legislature to have the power to impeach the president.
D)It is rare for the legislature and executive branches to check each other so strongly.

Question 6

Which statement describes how the executive relates to the legislature in a parliamentary system?

A)The executive is appointed by the legislature.
B)The executive is almost entirely subservient to the legislature.
C)The executive is almost entirely independent of the legislature.
D)The executive is largely irrelevant to the activities of the legislature.

Question 7

Which of these is a typical feature of the parliamentary system?

A)an absence of executive-legislative deadlock
B)a limited number of political parties in the legislature
C)a division of government that helps prevent rapid policy changes
D)direct and frequent accountability of the executive to the electorate

Question 8

As political institutions become more modern,they tend to __________.

A)respond less to special interests
B)crumble under labyrinthine bureaucracy
C)become more specialized,complex,and differentiated
D)establish a militaristic nature to better control the population

Question 9

Which of these systems demonstrates the clearest separation of power between the executive and legislative branches?

A)aristocratic
B)monarchical
C)parliamentary
D)presidential

Question 10

French philosopher Montesquieu would be most likely to favor which of these types of government?

A)a monarch operating within a decentralized feudal system
B)an absolutist state with total power in the hands of a single individual
C)a parliamentary system subject to the will of powerful courts in the judicial branch
D)a representative system with clear separation of powers between different branches

Question 11

A history of __________ in a country makes it especially difficult for democracy to take root.

A)absolutism
B)feudalism
C)parliamentarianism
D)suffrage

Question 12

A European cabinet would be called __________ in the United States.

A)a ministry
B)a political party
C)an administration
D)a Congressional committee

Question 13

By the seventeenth century,the British Parliament considered itself supreme in the area of __________.

A)taxation
B)warfare
C)social welfare policy
D)constitutional doctrine

Question 14

Which institutional lesson did the feudal experience reinforce?

A)Efficient government requires a clear separation of secular and religious authority.
B)Any system based on aristocratic nobility is incapable of protecting citizens from harm.
C)Emphasizing centralization of political authority leads to increasingly radical public policies.
D)A separation of powers is good for government,whereas a concentration of power leads to corruption.

Question 15

The British Parliament can be traced back to assemblies of nobles that monarchs called to __________.

A)squash peasant revolts
B)ratify the Magna Carta
C)levy taxes to fund wars
D)represent the common people

Question 16

The fusion of power in a parliamentary system is intended to ___________.

A)give the executive branch absolute control over the bureaucracy
B)ensure that the executive is responsible to the legislative branch
C)generate a consensus-based approach among competing political parties
D)make the legislative branch highly dependent upon the executive branch

Question 17

The separation of powers is intended to __________.

A)ensure executive subordination to the legislative branch
B)promote stability through a process of institutional coordination
C)maximize the influence of political parties over the legislative process
D)create checks that prevent the government from becoming too powerful

Question 18

A feudal system is one in which power __________.

A)rests within parliament
B)is dispersed among layers
C)cannot be wielded effectively
D)bows to the will of an outside authority

Question 19

John Locke believed that the __________ wields the foundational power of any government.

A)police
B)court system
C)bureaucracy
D)legislative branch

Question 20

In the United Kingdom,Question Hour __________.

A)exemplifies the direct accountability of the government to the people
B)illustrates how democratic accountability is dependent on partisan advantage
C)demonstrates how the executive branch is responsive to the legislative branch
D)shows how the executive branch has oversight over both the courts and the legislature

Question 21

Deadlock is less likely to occur in a parliamentary system than a presidential system because __________.

A)parliamentary rules require movement on legislative proposals
B)the chief of government and the parliament are integrally connected
C)members of parliament have a different constituency than the executive
D)parliamentary committees sort out differences before legislation comes up to vote

Question 22

In which of these areas is the role of the legislature the least significant?

A)passing laws
B)writing bills
C)supporting constituents
D)holding oversight hearings

Question 23

What is the main idea behind "pork barrel" politics?

A)Legislators seek to spend government money in their home district to help ensure reelection.
B)Legislators who spend an inordinate amount of the taxpayers' money will most likely lose the next election.
C)The law-making process is less corrupt when representatives can secure limited benefits for their constituents.
D)Interest groups from agricultural areas have greater influence in upper houses of legislatures than in lower houses.

Question 24

Compared to the U.S.Senate,the British House of Lords __________.

A)is more responsive to the public
B)has far more power over the content of legislation
C)only occasionally checks the actions of the lower house
D)is an important and frequent check against the power of the lower house

Question 25

China's National People's Congress uses a __________ parliament.

A)bicameral
B)presidential
C)two-tiered
D)unicameral

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of an ombudsman-like action that a Congressional representative could take on behalf of a particular constituent?

A)vote against the closure of a military base in the constituent's city
B)take out a full-page campaign ad in the constituent's hometown newspaper
C)thank the constituent for a letter of support regarding the issue of climate change
D)check on the status of the constituent's application for Social Security Disability benefits

Question 27

Most of the power in modern legislatures is exercised by __________.

A)the cabinet
B)committees
C)interest groups
D)the bureaucracy

Question 28

Which statement explains why legislative committees are less important in the United Kingdom than in the United States?

A)Committees in the United Kingdom only meet twice a year to rubber stamp all bills.
B)A bill only has to pass one of two houses in the United Kingdom in order to become a law.
C)There are far fewer legislative committees in the United Kingdom than in the United States.
D)The fusion of powers in the United Kingdom means that committees almost never criticize or reject bills presented by the cabinet.

Question 29

The great compromise incorporated into the U.S.Constitution illustrates the __________.

A)reason for the separation of powers
B)dynamic that led to a bicameral legislature
C)unique,coequal role carved out for the judicial branch
D)logic behind making the upper house of the legislature weaker

Question 30

In nearly every democratic system,a legislator's reelection depends largely on __________.

A)party strength
B)policy expertise
C)ideological purity
D)constituency services

Question 31

What distinguishes the U.S.Congress from most of the world's other bicameral parliaments?

A)It is a bicameral legislature in a unitary system.
B)The lower house is more powerful than the upper house.
C)The upper house is more powerful than the lower house.
D)The two chambers have equal power over the legislative process.

Question 32

Members of the British House of Lords spend most of their time __________.

A)crafting new legislation
B)participating in ministerial debates
C)approving or rejecting legislation from the lower house
D)debating broad issues and catching errors in legislation passed by the lower house

Question 33

South Africa once had a three-chambered parliament based on different __________.

A)class statuses
B)party memberships
C)races
D)religions

Question 34

In recent decades,New Zealanders,Danes,and Swedes concluded that their __________ served no purpose and abolished them.

A)upper houses
B)bureaucracies
C)electoral colleges
D)constitutional monarchies

Question 35

Standing committees in the U.S.Congress are always __________.

A)ad hoc
B)bipartisan in make-up
C)focused on domestic issues
D)dominated by junior-level staffers

Question 36

What is one difference between China's and Great Britain's parliamentary systems?

A)China's parliament is bicameral,whereas Britain's is unicameral.
B)Great Britain's parliament is unitary,whereas China's is Communist.
C)Great Britain's parliament is bicameral,whereas China's is unicameral.
D)China's parliament is three-chambered,whereas Britain's is bicameral.

Question 37

Suppose that a legislator from one party supported the earmark project of a legislator from a different party in exchange for support of her own earmark project.This is an example of _____.

A)logrolling
B)bipartisanship
C)insider trading
D)the fusion of powers

Question 38

In contrast with most Western European leaders,U.S.presidents __________.

A)have more direct legislative power
B)are more responsive to the legislature
C)act independently of the legislature
D)spend more time lobbying the legislature

Question 39

Which of these does the most to educate citizens about important issues facing the United States?

A)media coverage of filibusters
B)televised Congressional hearings
C)committee mark-up of proposed bills
D)press conferences held by party leaders

Question 40

In democratic systems,major pieces of legislation are usually drafted by __________.

A)lower-level judges
B)political action committees
C)executive branch bureaucrats
D)the leaders of the majority party

Question 41

In European parliamentary systems,party discipline tends to be strong and legislators usually obey party whips.

Question 42

European parliaments tend to be more efficient than the U.S.Congress.

Question 43

Most parliaments in the world today are unicameral.

Question 44

What is the role of committees in the legislative process?

A)Committees diminish the opportunity for interest group input,making government less democratic.
B)Committees reduce the number of problematic bills considered for debate,making government more efficient.
C)Committees increase the opportunities for presidents to shape the legislative agenda,making legislatures less relevant.
D)Committees marginalize the input of executives on the content of laws,increasing the initiative of the legislative branch.

Question 45

Congressional committee chairs are most powerful when the majority party is fragmented.

Question 46

The filibuster is an example of __________.

A)how the minority party can block legislation
B)the threat to marginalized groups in a bicameral system
C)the strength of a parliamentary system over a presidential system
D)how pork barrel spending makes everyone worse off in the long run

Question 47

Which statement explains why the lack of expertise is a structural disadvantage for the U.S.Congress?

A)It leads to poorly written laws that are often struck down by the courts.
B)It gives a large amount of power to junior-level members of standing committees.
C)It leads legislators to rely on experts in the executive branch for information and advice.
D)It forces legislators to spend most of their time gathering information instead of debating ideas.

Question 48

The U.S.government is based on the fusion of powers.

Question 49

The French Estates General,with three houses (for nobles,clerics,and commoners),was the first successful example of parliamentary checks and balances.

Question 50

U.S.Senate rules allow a member to conduct a __________ to block legislation.

A)filibuster
B)stalemate
C)discretional delay
D)no-confidence vote

Question 51

The practice of _________ is one way for representatives to get around the ban on earmarks in the U.S.Congress.

A)logrolling
B)federalism
C)ombudsmanship
D)coalition making

Question 52

During the Age of Enlightenment,French philosopher René Descartes declared that liberty could be secured only if government was divided into four distinct branches,with the ability to check and balance each other.

Question 53

Cabinet and government,terms used interchangeably,are what Americans call an "administration."

Question 54

Britain's House of Lords was reformed in 1999 to keep life peers and exclude most hereditary peers.

Question 55

Which statement best explains why budget deficits are common in advanced democracies?

A)The checks and balances system makes compromise on budgets necessary.
B)Legislatures allows the executive branch to take the lead in writing the budget.
C)Legislators approve spending in excess of revenues to benefit their constituents.
D)The voting public tends to discount the negative impact of a large national debt.

Question 56

Which statement explains how a legislator's representation of constituents is psychological?

A)Most of what representatives do concerns ideas rather than practical realities.
B)Representatives need to feel they are representing the interests of the people.
C)The people need to feel like they are being adequately represented regardless of the reality.
D)Representatives need to get inside the heads of their constituents to understand what they want.

Question 57

Which statement describes the relationship between legislative careerism and democracy?

A)The longer politicians serve in office,the less influence special interest groups will have.
B)The longer politicians serve in office,the greater the level of citizens' engagement with politics.
C)The longer politicians serve in office,the less likely the probability of divided government.
D)The longer politicians serve in office,the less responsive public policy will be to the needs of citizens.

Question 58

In U.S.House races,__________ almost always win.

A)challengers
B)extremists
C)incumbents
D)moderates

Question 59

Most work on bills under consideration by the legislature is done by the staff members of party leaders.

Question 60

Which of the following is one effect of Congress's fragmentation into committees and subcommittees?

A)It delays elections.
B)It delays agreement.
C)It consolidates power in the executive branch.
D)It makes it more difficult for constituents to reach their representatives.