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Checks and Balances Review

Total questions: 13

Worksheet time: 9mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

How can the federal courts check the power of Congress?

a)

defund Congress

b)

strike down laws as unconstitutional

c)

remove members of Congress

d)

overturn any Congressional decision

2.

How does the president have influence over the federal courts? Choose ALL that apply.

a)

appoints judges and justices

b)

can issue pardons for federal crimes

c)

removing judges and justices at will

d)

instructing the bureaucracy not to enforce a judicial ruling

3.

Congress and the president's negotiations over a policy are in deadlock. In which of the following ways could the president respond to this situation? Choose ALL that apply.

a)

issue an executive order to address the policy issue

b)

write a new piece of legislation himself

c)

issue a signing statement

d)

use the bully pulpit to appeal to the American people to put pressure on Congress

4.

The president doesn't agree with all parts of a bill that he just signed into law. What can he do about this? Choose ALL that apply.

a)

issue a line-item veto

b)

direct the bureaucracy not to enforce part of the law

c)

issue a signing statement

d)

nullify the part of the law he disagrees with

5.

The president wants to speak to Congress regarding a national emergency. What would he likely do to get this done?

a)

communicate with Congress through the GAO

b)

call for a second State of the Union Address

c)

address Congress through the media

d)

call a special session of Congress

6.

What can the president do as commander in chief without the approval of Congress?

a)

create a new branch of the military

b)

move troops

c)

declare war

d)

negotiate treaties

7.

How does the president have influence over the federal courts? Choose ALL that apply.

a)

appoints judges and justices

b)

can issue pardons for federal crimes

c)

removing judges and justices at will

d)

instructing the bureaucracy not to enforce a judicial ruling

8.

How can Congress rein in the power of the bureaucracy? Choose ALL that apply.

a)

cut funding for executive departments

b)

write more specific legislation to reduce bureaucratic rule-making

c)

conduct oversight over executive department activities

d)

impeach and remove secretaries of the executive departments

9.

The president appoints a new candidate to SCOTUS. How can the legislative branch check this?

a)

the Senate refuses to confirm the appointment

b)

the House and Senate refuse to confirm the appointment

c)

the House refuses to confirm the appointment

d)

Congress appoints a different SCOTUS candidate instead.

10.

The president proposes a set of initiatives that Congress disagrees with. Which of the following could Congress do to check the president?

a)

Pass a law forbidding the president's initiatives

b)

Impeach and remove the president

c)

Cut budget spending for the president's initiatives

d)

Override his intiatives with a 2/3 vote

11.

The president vetoes a bill. How can Congress respond?

a)

Force him to reconsider the bill

b)

Override the veto with 2/3 majority in both chambers

c)

Declare the president's actions as unconstitutional

d)

Write a new rule into the bill to pass it anyway

12.

How can the federal courts check the power of the executive branch?

a)

remove the president

b)

instruct the bureaucracy not to obey presidential orders

c)

put the president on trial if he commits crimes

d)

strike down executive actions as unconstiutional

13.

How can the president influence the future decisions of SCOTUS justices?

a)

by changing the number of justices on SCOTUS

b)

by appointing justices that share his ideology

c)

by issuing a signing statement before each SCOTUS decision

d)

by sending interest groups to lobby the courts