2.3 & 2.4 - Congressional Behavior and the Executive

Which of the following Supreme Court cases involved the principle of “one person, one vote”?

• Baker v. Carr

• Roe v .Wade

• Mapp v. Ohio

• Korematsu v United States

• Gideon v Wainwright

Which of the following statements about gerrymandering is true?

• It has been banned by United States Supreme Court decisions beginning with Baker v.Carr.

• It was used traditionally to maintain urban control of the House of Representatives.

• It can be used by a political party to draw boundary lines to control as many districts as possible.

• It guarantees greater constituency control over elected representatives.

• It ensures liberal control of the House of Representatives.

Which of the following statements about Congress is true?

• Members of Congress only occasionally are interested in and pay attention to constituents.

• The legislative process is frequently lengthy, decentralized, and characterized by compromise and bargaining.

• Lobbyists and political action committees (PAC's) successfully induce most members of Congress to trade their votes for campaign contributions.

• The growth in the size of Congress as an organization is the principal cause of growth in the federal budget deficit.

• Debate in both houses is structured by elaborate rules enacted by leaders of the majority party.

Which of the following situations best illustrates the meaning of divided government in the United States political system?

• The majority of Supreme Court justices are from one party, but the president is from another.

• The majority of governors are from one party, but the president is from another.

• The president and a majority of members of Congress are from one party, but the majority of governors are from another.

• The majority of senators and the majority of representatives are from one party, but the president is from another.

• The majority of Supreme Court justices are from one party, but the majority of senators and representatives are from another.

Which of the following scenarios is an example of the trustee model of representation?

• The NAACP leadership sends representatives to Washington to lobby for changes to the Voting Rights Act.

• Congress passes a bill allocating money to clean up nuclear waste sites after a wave of large-scale peaceful protests.

• A member of Congress votes to close a popular tax loophole based on the belief that the money would be better spent paying down the national debt.

• A presidential candidate advocates using an executive order to increase the minimum wage for federal contractors.

Which of the following statements reflects a pattern in the line graph?

• Nixon had the highest approval ratings of any president in the graph.

• Most presidents exit office with lower approval ratings than when they entered office.

• Most presidents begin their term with approval ratings lower than 50%.

• Eisenhower had the lowest approval ratings of any president in the graph.

Which of the following stages comes first in the policy-making process?

• Agenda setting

• Legitimation

• Program evaluation

• Policy formulation

• Implementation

Which of the following represents a reason that a president might use a signing statement to express displeasure with a bill as opposed to issuing a veto?

• The president may have objections to provisions of a bill but does not want to risk Congress overriding a veto.

• Congress has severely curtailed the power of the president to withhold funds for bills that have been adopted.

• The Supreme Court is hesitant to acknowledge the president’s power to veto legislation.

• The president wants to ensure executive agencies do not spend the money appropriated by Congress.

Which of the following is true of an executive agreement made between a United States President and another head of state?

• It does not require Senate approval, but may require congressional allocation of funds for implementation.

• It does not require congressional funding because the President can use the power of the purse to raise implementation funds.

• It has more legal force than a treaty.

• It is binding on all succeeding Presidents and Congresses.

• It has been used extensively to end armed conflicts.

Which of the following is true of a presidential veto of a piece of legislation?

• It is rarely overridden by Congress.

• It is not binding unless supported by the cabinet.

• It can only be sustained on revenue bills.

• It is automatically reviewed by the United States Supreme Court.

• It is subject to approval by a congressional committee.