question

The portion of the federal budget that is spent on previously enacted programs, such as Social Security, that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut, is called__.

answer

uncontrollable spending

question

A reason the operations of government differ from those of private business is that__.

answer

the government's goal is the public good, whereas one of the primary goals of a business is to make a profit

question

Companies that are not under the direct jurisdiction of the federal government are part of the__.

answer

private sector

question

Why would federal agencies require federal employees to fill out detailed paperwork on the work they have completed during the day?

answer

It keeps people accountable for the work they do.

question

Congress can hold the bureaucracy accountable through__.

answer

investigating bureaucratic activities

question

Which independent regulatory commission is charged with regulating stock markets?

answer

Securities Product Safety Commission

question

There are several types of federal employees. A member of the cabinet is considered a__.

answer

presidential appointee

question

The executive branch is headed by the president and is composed of independent agencies, __, and __.

answer

regulatory commissions; government agencies

question

After a law is passed and regulations are made and implemented, what is the final step in making public policy?

answer

Running the program

question

What is the primary source of federal revenues?

answer

Income taxes

question

Which agency in the federal bureaucracy established a color-coded security system that assesses the likelihood of another terrorist attack?

answer

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

question

The 15 __employ more than 70 percent of all federal civil servants and spend 93 percent of all federal dollars.

answer

cabinet departments

question

If you want a permanent federal position, you will have to take a civil service exam. The use of civil service exams as a means of selecting the best employee to perform a federal job is an example of the__.

answer

merit system

question

The president's power to choose his own cabinet is limited by the fact that members of the cabinet must__.

answer

be confirmed by a majority in the Senate

question

__committees can check a bureaucracy's power by confirming or rejecting nominees in top bureaucratic positions.

answer

Congressional

question

Which of the following was one of the expectations of the Framers regarding the bureaucracy?

answer

Federal departments and agencies would be relatively small.

question

Legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization is called__.

answer

oversight

question

In order to qualify for federal student aid funding, students and their families must answer as many as 153 questions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), many of which have no effect on their student aid packages. Overly complicated government paperwork and documentation requirements of this sort are often referred to as__.

answer

red tape

question

Which of the following statements describes the kind of direction that Congress gives federal agencies when passing a new law?

answer

Congress gives agencies administrative discretion in implementing the law.

question

The federal regulations written by executive branch departments and agencies are designed to do what?

answer

Convert laws into actions

question

The president of the debate club must decide what to do with the $200 left in the club's budget at the end of the semester. What action would maximize the amount of funding the club will receive from the student government the following year?

answer

Spend the $200 to deplete the entire budget.

question

An example of a government corporation is__.

answer

Amtrak

question

Which of the following is an example of how the size and responsiveness of the federal bureaucracy led to a negative outcome?

answer

The federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina

question

Which department is a regulatory commission that monitors television and radio?

answer

Federal Communications Commission

question

Which bureaucratic principle is evident when the resident director of a dormitory tells all the resident assistants to drop what they are doing and clean up the quad before a group of prospective students arrives on campus?

answer

Hierarchy, because lower-level employees are subject to control and direction by higher-level employees

question

__makes small-scale adjustments in an existing program.

answer

Incremental policy

question

The attorney general of the United States is the head of the__.

answer

Department of Justice

question

The basis for the federal bureaucracy can be found__.

answer

in Articles I and II of the US Constitution

question

The 15 major administrative units of the executive branch that have responsibility for broad areas of government operations are called__.

answer

---government corporations ---independent executive agencies ---independent regulatory commissions

question

In the context of the federal bureaucracy, the patronage system refers to a system of__.

answer

---filling the bureaucracy based on criteria of professional qualifications ---establishing a system of congressional oversight through the possibility of impeachment ---filling the bureaucracy based on the results of direct popular election for department heads ---requiring congressional approval for presidential appointees

question

The most recently formed department in the federal bureaucracy is the Department of__.

answer

---Health and Human Services ---Veterans Affairs ---Public Affairs

question

The president can reorganize the bureaucracy through__ approval of the budget for federal agencies.

answer

---the president's

question

The rationale for the civil service rests on the__.

answer

desire to create a nonpartisan government service, and promotion on the basis of merit

question

The administration hoped that the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 would help overcome problems of __ involved in providing for security.

answer

fragmentation

question

The spoils system was perhaps more overt than at any other time in the history of the U.S. federal government under the administration of__.

answer

Andrew Jackson

question

The Hatch Act (1939) made it illegal to fire federal employees for__ reasons.

answer

political

question

Interest groups monitor agencies that__.

answer

serve or regulate their own members

question

The Federal Reserve Board is an example of a(n)__.

answer

independent regulatory commission

question

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadcast standards and rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to make short selling of stocks illegal are examples of__.

answer

regulations

question

Which system of appointment allowed political parties to reward their supporters by giving them government jobs?

answer

---Partisan system ---Merit System

question

__typically have narrow responsibilities for a specific policy issue (such as the environment) not covered by one of the federal departments.

answer

Independent agencies

question

An iron triangle consists of a federal department or agency, a set of loyal interest groups, and__.

answer

a House and/or Senate committee

question

By the mid-2000s, about__ employees worked indirectly for the bureaucracy under contracts to private firms such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

answer

---7,600 ---760,000

question

The Administrative Procedures Act requires that agencies considering a new rule or policy give public notice in the Federal Register and__ before adopting the new measures.

answer

---bring the measure before a vote of the House of Representatives

question

Federal courts do not usually involve themselves in the__ of bureaucracies.

answer

policy decisions

question

Interest groups, scholars, and other experts that communicate about, debate, and interact regarding issues of interest, and thus influence public policy when the legislature acts on these issues, are commonly referred to as a(n)__.

answer

issue network

question

While iron triangles can exist for decades, __ usually cooperate for a specific cause and then disband.

answer

issue networks

question

The power to grant or withhold budget requests of agencies may be one of__ most potent weapons in controlling the bureaucracy.

answer

the House of Representatives'

question

Which of the following is an example of a redistributive policy?

answer

---Funding for air traffic control

question

The independent agency that oversees and protects the rights of federal employees is the__.

answer

Merit Systems Protection Board

question

The __, which is responsible for regulating the supply of money, is commonly referred to as the Fed.

answer

Federal Reserve System

question

Most bureaucrats have some leeway in their ability to make choices regarding the best way to implement congressional intentions through administrative__.

answer

discretion

question

Most government departments are headed by political appointees known as__.

answer

secretaries

question

The president can reorganize the bureaucracy through __approval of the budget for federal agencies.

answer

Congress's

question

The Veteran's Administration is an example of a(n)__.

answer

independent agency

question

__committees can keep power in check in a bureaucracy by confirming or rejecting nominees in top bureaucratic positions.

answer

Congressional

question

The president has the power to hold agencies accountable through__.

answer

the appointment and removal of agency heads

question

__is the act of converting a policy into action.

answer

Implementation

question

Most regulatory agencies adopt specific __to carry out a policy based on what they believe was the intended purpose of the specific policy at hand.

answer

guidlines

question

The parts of the federal bureaucracy with responsibility for different sectors of the economy, and making and enforcing rules designed to protect the public interest, are the__.

answer

idenpendent regulatory commissions

question

When a victorious president fires current executive branch employees and hires loyalists instead, this is known as__.

answer

the spoils system

question

Regulations and population have accounted for the __of federal bureaucracy in the United States over time.

answer

growth

question

The many quasi-judicial processes within the bureaucracy are subject to oversight through appeals to the__.

answer

Congress

question

When a public citizen requests records from the proceedings of a government agency like the Farm Credit Administration, this is a use of__.

answer

the Freedom of Information Act

question

Although the president and Congress have a significant role in the way the bureaucracy is run,__ also have a role in judging on laws and agency reviews.

answer

---state legislators

question

The fact that each government agency specializes in its own type of specific work is an example of what feature of bureaucracy?

answer

---Red tape ---Chain of command ---Regulation

question

The president can reorganize the bureaucracy through__ approval of the budget for federal agencies

answer

Congress's

question

Since 1962, federal civilian employees have had the right to__.

answer

form unions

question

Some people use the term __to refer to a policy that takes away benefits or money from one group to give to another.

answer

---policy agendas ---distributive policy ---iron triangles

question

Which of the following statements about government regulation in America is accurate?

answer

---The Supreme Court case of Raich v. Gonzales in 1877 first upheld the federal governments right to regulate business. ---The Federal Communications Commission was the first independent regulatory agency.

question

Independent agencies are called this because__.

answer

---their responsibilities are independent of the overall goal of the bureaucracy ---they rely on public sentiment to make decisions for individuals

question

In the context of government, the term bureaucracy generally refers to__.

answer

departments and agencies in the executive branch

question

The merit system uses entrance exams and promotional ratings to produce administrative jobs, which is an example of the fair hiring practices for those under__.

answer

the civil service system

question

In the context of the federal government, government corporations__.

answer

have independent boards and are expected to be run like private companies

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