Federalism

The Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides protections for the disabled, is a law where the federal government requires you to do something without giving you money. This is an example of

• state supremacy

• horizontal federalism

• dual federalism

• a federal mandate

Which of the following forms of financial aid from the national government gives the states the broadest discretion in the spending of money?

• Categorical grants in aid

• Unfunded mandates

• Block grants

• Military funding

Of the following, which has been used most to expand the power of the national government?

• The commerce clause of the Constitution

• The habeas corpus clause of the Constitution

• The bill of attainder clause of the Constitution

• The First Amendment

Which of the following clauses in the Constitution justifies the “implied powers doctrine” ?

• The necessary and proper clause

• The privileges and immunities clause

• The contract clause

• The debts and engagements clause

Which of the following best defines the constitutional interpretation of federalism?

• The federal government and the states each have separate and mutually exclusive roles and responsibilities; neither controls the other.

• The states have some powers reserved to them which they may exercise if the Supreme Court permits.

• The federal government and the states have separate but overlapping powers; where these powers conflict the federal government prevails.

• The states may only exercise those powers delegated to them by Congress.

Cooperative federalism (marble cake federalism) can best be described by which of the following statements?

• Different levels of government are involved in common policy areas.

• Government must have cooperation from the people in order to make legislative decisions.

• Local levels of government can make decisions on issues more efficiently than state and national governments can.

• The federal government must make regulations that can be applied across every state in the same way.

The terms “fiscal federalism” and “cooperative federalism” refer to situations in which

• the federal government completely dominates state and local governments

• states are forbidden any activity that has not been specifically approved by the Supreme Court

• state, municipal, and local income taxes are pooled by special agreement and redistributed in accordance with individual need

• federal, state, and local governments work together to complete a project, with the federal government providing much of the project funding

Many scholars argue that categorical grants-in-aid do which of the following?

• Give states far too much power over national monies

• Broaden state power beyond that outlined in the Constitution

• Strengthen the impact of the Tenth Amendment

• Weaken the power of state governors and legislators

The clause in the United States Constitution that states that federal law will prevail in the event of a conflict between federal and state law is known as the

• necessary and proper clause

• supremacy clause

• commerce clause

• full faith and credit clause

The Americans with Disabilities Act was widely unpopular with governors and mayors because it

• required that people with disabilities be given equal access to public facilities

• required that buildings be retrofitted or remodeled to give equal access to people with disabilities

• did not go far enough to establish equal access to public facilities

• required that states and cities pay for federally mandated construction and remodeling