Bureaucracy Quest

Which of the following is likely to occur as a result of new legislation regarding automobile safety?

• The Supreme Court will be asked to review the legislation annually.
• States will be empowered to begin automobile manufacturing.
• The Department of Transportation will be given discretionary authority to create auto regulations.
• Mandatory spending will be required in all future federal budgeting for the program.

Which of the following is an example of the executive branch implementing a public policy passed by Congress?

• The Department of Health and Human Services determines eligibility requirements for government assistance.
• As chief diplomat, the president negotiates a treaty that is then ratified by the Senate.
• A Federal Trade Commission official is asked to testify before Congress about the agency’s activities.
• Congress passes a law reorganizing the structure of the federal bureaucracy.

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a formal check on the power of the bureaucracy?

• A lobbyist representing the National Rifle Association refusing to meet with employees from the Department of Homeland Security
• The secretary of defense being called to testify before a congressional committee
• The White House chief of staff being formally censured by the president for publicly speaking out against the president’s policy goals
• A federal judge being impeached for making legal decisions based on bribes

The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) urges its members to take action in support of what they term "animal friendly" legislation through their website. In addition to providing information about important issues that legislators may vote on, the nonprofit organization also describes the best ways to contact a legislator and tips on how best to interact with lawmakers. Which of the following is being illustrated in the scenario?

• Interest groups sometimes form around a narrow set of issues with the goal of impacting policy making.
• Interest groups lacking funding can overcome the free-rider problem by proposing legislation on their website.
• Interest groups work to mobilize citizens and members of Congress to form an iron triangle.
• Interest groups post messages on social media to request donations from members.

Name the 3 parts to an iron triangle

• executive, legislative, and judicial

• elitist, participatory, and pluralist

• Congressional Committee, Bureaucracy, and Judicial Branch

• Congressional committee, Bureaucracy, and Interest group

A fundamental source of power for the federal bureaucracy lies in its

• role in moving legislation out of subcommittees
• role in mediating interstate conflicts
• ability to convince Congress to fund most projects it supports
• ability to mobilize public opinion in support of legislative initiatives
• ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a general mandate from Congress

Cabinet departments differ from independent regulatory agencies in which of the following ways?

• The President can use an executive order to create a cabinet department but not to create an independent regulatory agency.
• The President can dismiss cabinet officers, but not commissioners of independent regulatory agencies.
• The President seeks appointees who reflect administration views in making cabinet appointments but not in making appointments to independent regulatory agencies.
• Through the appropriations process, Congress can exert control over the cabinet departments but not over independent regulatory agencies.
• The courts can overrule regulations issued by cabinet departments, but not those issued by independent regulatory agencies.

One of the formal tools used by Congress for oversight of the bureaucracy is

• the line-item veto
• authorization of spending
• impoundment bills
• private bills
• senatorial courtesy

What is the title of the head of the Department of Justice?

• Secretary of law

• Secretary of Justice

• Attorney General

Categorize the bureaucratic agency

• Federal Reserve

• Govt. Corporation

• USPS

• IRC or IRA

• Office of VP

• EOP

• Labor

• Cabinet Dept

• EPA

• IEA