AP Government Bureaucracy

AP Gov

The Bureaucracy

Questions

Now Let's Practice

Multiple Choice

The main job of federal bureaucrats is to...

• implement and regulate government policies
• compete with the private sector for monopoly power
• protect the interests of their constituencies
• advise the president and Cabinet on internal affairs.

Multiple Choice

The MOST substantial control that Congress exerts on the bureaucracy is through its power to

• pass laws.
• decide how much money will be appropriated for agency programs.
• approve an agency's appointees.
• order audits of agency activities.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

• Bureaucrats shape public policy.
• Bureaucrats implement the will of Congress.
• Bureaucrats are not held accountable by federal courts
• Bureaucrats engage in rulemaking.

Multiple Choice

Which cabinet department currently has the largest budget in the United States?

• Defense
• Transportation
• Education
• Veteran's Affairs

Multiple Choice

Which statement best describes how the text of the Constitution addresses the issue of granting regulatory power to bureaucrats?

• It allows transfer of congressional power during a declared war. 
• It is silent on the matter. 
• It allows transfer of congressional power with presidential approval
• It prohibits transfer of congressional power. 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the most important consideration in evaluating the power of a bureaucracy? 

• The number of employees in it. 
• The importance of its functions
• The amount of discretionary authority that its officials have. 
• The extent to which its actions are supported by the public. 

Multiple Choice

An independent regulatory agency is usually governed by

• a single executive appointed by the Senate committee responsible for the agencyʹs oversight.
• members of the Senior Executive Service of the federal civil service
• a small commission, usually with five to ten members, appointed by the president for fixed terms
• a small commission, usually with five to ten members, appointed by the president and subject to presidential firing.

Multiple Choice

The fact that executive orders have been used at an increasing rate indicates which of the following?

• Executive orders speed up the process by which Congress passes legislation
• The power of the president is growing
• The president is using the power of persuasion to maintain party discipline
• Executive orders are a tactic used by the executive branch to challenge legislation the president opposes.

Multiple Choice

An advantage that bureaucrats in federal government have over the President in the policymaking process is that bureaucrats

• control the budgetary process
• have an independence from the President that is guaranteed by the Constitution
• usually have a continuity of service in the executive branch that the President lacks
• have better access to the media than does the President

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was passed to keep political views from impacting the performance of the federal bureaucracy?

• The Hatch Act
• The Budget and Impoundment Act
• The War Powers Act 
• The Judiciary Act

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true of independent regulatory agencies? 

• They tend to have larger budgets than cabinet departments.
• They tend to be freer from presidential control than are cabinet departments.
• They are insulated from contact with interest groups.
• They are directly supervised by cabinet departments.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best predictor of the Department of Education's annual budget?

• The preferences of the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee 
• The budget recommendations of the National Education Association
• The number of children entering kindergarten 
• The size of the previous year's budget 

Multiple Choice

The Office of Management and Budget has the primary responsibility for doing which of the following? 

• Implementing federal unemployment policy 
• Preparing the budget
• Appropriating funds for the budget 
• Approving the budget

Multiple Choice

Which of the following are cabinet departments of the bureaucracy?
I. Veterans Affairs
II. Agriculture
III. White House Counsel
IV. Transportation 

• I and IV only 
• I, II, and III
• I, II, and IV
• III and IV only

Multiple Choice

The spoils system of awarding civil service jobs was replaced by the merit system as a result of the...

• Pendleton Act of 1883
• National Industrial Recovery Act 
• Fair Labor Standards Act of 1961 
• Truman Doctrine

Multiple Choice

A member of the president’s cabinet is said to have “gone native” when that cabinet member... 

• resigns to take a position as a consultant to lobbying groups
• accepts bribes or expensive favors from businesses regulated by his or her department
• places his or her department’s priorities above the president’s
• suggests merging his or her department into another executive department 

Multiple Choice

 Considered as a single group, the Small Business Administration, the Small Business committees in the House and Senate, and small business advocacy groups are an example of...

• an iron triangle
• a conference committee 
• a regulatory agency
• dual federalism

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is FALSE? 

• Bureaucratic power extends to every corner of American economic and social life 
• Bureaucracies are scarcely hinted at in the Constitution
• Nothing better illustrates the complexity of modern government than its massive bureaucracies
• How to manage and control bureaucracies is a central problem of democratic government 

Multiple Choice

Patronage is a hiring and promotion system based on…

• knowing the right people
• civil service exams
• talent and skill
• the Pendleton Act 

Multiple Choice

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..

• independent executive agencies
• independent regulatory agencies
• government corporations
• cabinet departments 

Multiple Choice

An obstacle to the successful implementation of public policy is…

• the failure of Congress to pass authorizing legislation
• the over-specialization of civil service employees 
• unclear policy goals and poorly designed policies
• competition between the private and public sectors

Multiple Choice

Issue networks are…

• An informal and relatively open network of public officials, think tanks, political pundits and lobbyists who have a common interest in a given area and who are brought together by a proposed policy in that area
• the relatively new television stations that specialize in political coverage
• two or more agencies that share regulatory power when a policy or regulation affects more than one regulatory body
• the same as ʺiron trianglesʺ 

Multiple Choice

Congress tries to control the bureaucracy through…

• rewriting laws, controlling budgets and holding hearings 
• the use of executive orders and appointments
• the creation of iron triangles
• dismissing members of the President’s cabinet 

Multiple Choice

Executive orders are issued by…

• independent regulatory agencies

• Congress

• any federal agency or department

• The President

Multiple Choice

Executive orders are issued by…

• independent regulatory agencies

• Congress

• any federal agency or department

• The President