AnswersAP US Government and PoliticsUnit 2 Free-Response Questions: Prompt 3

Unit 2 Free-Response Questions: Prompt 3 — Unit test Answers

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1
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Refer to the passage below.Quite as important as legislation is vigilant oversight of administration. . . .It is the proper duty of a representative body to look diligently into every affair of government and to talk much about what it sees. It is meant to be the eyes and the voice, and to embody the wisdom and will of its constituents. . . . The informing function of Congress should be preferred even to its legislative function.–Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government (1885)

A
Administering the law is an essential part of Congress’s task.
B
Writing and passing legislation is Congress’s primary purpose.
C
Having oversight of the executive branch is an essential function of Congress.
D
Providing constituents a forum to speak on issues is an important duty of Congress.
2
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The president delivers the annual State of the Union address to Congress. During the speech, the president highlights specific legislative agenda items he would like Congress to pass in the coming year; however, the president is from a different political party than the majority of Congress.

A
The president may have to change legislative priorities if Congress’s bills are unpopular.
B
The president may need to appoint new officials to implement a legislative agenda once Congress passes it.
C
The president may have to compromise with Congress to achieve legislative goals by accepting bills containing elements that he opposes.
D
The president may have to nominate judges who uphold presidential policies in court if he has to implement preferred policies through executive action without the support of Congress.
3

Several media outlets report that a cabinet secretary has authorized the use of department funds for projects that are not part of the department’s legislative mandate.Which of the following is the most likely congressional response to these news reports?

A
Congress appoints a new cabinet secretary to replace the current one.
B
Congress begins impeachment proceedings to remove the cabinet secretary from office.
C
Congress appropriates additional funds to compensate the agency for the lost resources.
D
Congress holds a committee hearing to question the cabinet secretary about the expenses.
4

Refer to the infographic below.Which of the following statements about the functions of Congress is true, based on the infographic?

Question illustration
A
Writing and approving legislation is a rapid and efficient process.
B
A bill that is approved by a committee is guaranteed to become a law.
C
A bill may be killed at many points throughout the lawmaking process.
D
A bill is considered to be a law when the Senate and the House agree on its wording.
5

Refer to the chart below.Which of the following generalizations regarding discretionary delegated authority can be made from the data given?

Question illustration
A
Regulations have impeded the efficacy of federal agencies.
B
Americans have had less access to benefits due to federal regulations.
C
Regulations have created more advantages than expenses for Americans.
D
Federal agencies have approved regulations that undermined their authority.
6

What is the first obstacle that a tax bill for raising revenue must clear before becoming a law?

A
a hearing by the Senate Appropriations Committee
B
a compromise revision by a conference committee
C
a hearing by the House Ways and Means Committee
D
a floor debate by the House Committee of the Whole
7

Which of the following statements describes a way presidents may implement a policy agenda?

A
Presidents may veto bills that do not align with their political objectives.
B
Presidents may try to amend the Constitution to implement their agendas.
C
Presidents may appoint federal judges who will uphold the administration’s policies in court.
D
Presidents may work with congressional leaders to get preferred legislation passed.
8

Refer to the chart.Which of the following accurately compares a power of the Supreme Court and a check on that power by the legislative branch?

Question illustration
A
A
B
B
C
C
D
D
9

Refer to the chart below.Based on the information in the flowchart, which of the following statements best describes how the president can influence the rulemaking process?

Question illustration
A
The president can issue an executive order instead of a rule if the rule does not support the administration’s goals.
B
The president exerts control over rules and regulations by selecting agency leaders who are sympathetic to the president’s goals.
C
The president has little control over the rulemaking process, as the administration must follow the specific dictates in the legislation.
D
The president can use public relations to rally citizens to support or defeat potential rules that may harm the administration’s goals.
10

Congress has passed a law restricting the disposal of certain plastics used in manufacturing. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), having reviewed the new law, acts based on delegated authority to ensure that the new law is followed.

A
The agency will publicize the law to directly affected citizens.
B
The agency will write new regulations and determine penalties.
C
The agency will decide if it is necessary to return the law to Congress for revision.
D
The agency will notify states that they are in charge of how the new law is implemented.
11

Which statement best describes the purpose of judicial review?

A
It limits the types of cases the Supreme Court can hear.
B
It allows the Supreme Court to have original jurisdiction in some cases.
C
It mandates that state courts can overturn federal actions in their jurisdictions.
D
It provides a check on the power of the executive and legislative branches of government.
12

The president nominates a candidate to a cabinet post, but the senators strongly disagree over whether to approve the candidate. One group of senators engages in a filibuster in an effort to prevent the nomination from being confirmed.

A
The Senate can invoke cloture to limit debate and proceed to a floor vote.
B
The Senate can ignore dissent and approve the candidate without a floor vote.
C
The Senate can block all candidates from being recommended until the vote occurs.
D
The Senate can designate a conference committee to negotiate the disagreement.
13

Refer to the image below.Based on the data given, which of the following scenarios is most likely to occur?

Question illustration
A
Members of Congress will be more likely to vote on legislation secretly to avoid criticism from an increasingly polarized constituency.
B
Members of Congress will be less likely to vote on legislation associated with any party in order to avoid criticism from an increasingly polarized constituency.
C
Members of Congress will be less likely to vote on legislation along party lines because meeting the expectations of such a polarized constituency will be impossible.
D
Members of Congress will be more likely to vote on legislation along party lines to meet the expectations of an increasingly polarized constituency than to compromise across the aisle.
14

Refer to the passage.He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.–US Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2

A
By hiring and firing individual civil servants at will, the president maintains control over regulatory enforcement.
B
By selecting heads of agencies, the president can push a set agenda that is passed down to individual bureaucrats.
C
By appointing individual law-enforcement personnel, the president can dictate which laws are enforced and which are ignored.
D
By nominating judges, the president can select individuals who will fulfill the goals of the administration by approving executive actions.
15

Refer to the chart.Which pair of leadership roles differ the most in their responsibilities?

Question illustration
A
A
B
B
C
C
D
D
16

The Supreme Court hears a case challenging a university’s affirmative-action admission policy, which benefits students from ethnic minority groups. The Supreme Court rules in support of the affirmative-action policy, indicating that the university must continue meeting admission quotas for students from ethnic minority groups, even though this right is not explicitly stated in the Constitution.

A
It allows the Supreme Court to broadly interpret the Constitution and apply it to modern times.
B
It requires the Supreme Court to broadly interpret the Constitution in cases regarding education.
C
It allows the Supreme Court to broadly interpret the Constitution and apply it without any checks.
D
It requires the Supreme Court to broadly interpret the Constitution in cases regarding civil liberties.
17

Refer to the graph.What conclusion about presidential power can be drawn from the graph?

Question illustration
A
Presidents have taken a consistent approach to their interpretation of formal presidential powers.
B
Throughout the 20th century, presidents’ reliance on informal powers has significantly decreased.
C
Recent presidents have taken a more expansive view toward presidential power than earlier presidents did.
D
Modern presidents have used executive orders less often due to concern over the ability to bypass Congress.
18

Refer to the image below.Which of the following best describes a conclusion that can be drawn from the data given?

Question illustration
A
Voters are increasingly likely to support candidates whose political behavior is consistently partisan in favor of their preferred party.
B
Candidates from both parties will have similar platforms to balance the increasingly polarized median values of both parties.
C
Voters are increasingly likely to support third-party candidates, as neither party can match the increasingly polarized median values of its constituency.
D
Candidates from both parties will rely more on negative campaigns to meet the expectations of the increasingly polarized median values of both parties.
19

A law professor writes an article for a legal journal. The article opposes judicial review, arguing that the final decision on the constitutionality of a law should rest with the legislature, which represents the people, rather than with the unelected justices of the Supreme Court.

A
The Supreme Court is composed of a balance of political viewpoints, which forces consensus, as opposed to the legislature, whose shifting party composition lacks political consistency.
B
The Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power of judicial review to maintain the balance among governmental branches.
C
Legal decisions made by unelected judges and based on the Constitution provide greater national stability than those based on the changing opinions of the electorate.
D
The lifetime tenure of Supreme Court justices makes them better qualified to decide matters of long-term consequence than elected officials.
20

After a moderate Supreme Court justice retires, a Democratic president near the end of his second term nominates a new justice with a moderate background. The Republican Senate majority leader blocks the nomination until the end of the congressional session. A newly elected Republican president nominates a conservative judge to the position. This nominee is confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate. During the first term, the new justice sides with other conservative justices to render several 5–4 opinions.

A
Justices must take neutral positions and not let their ideology influence court decisions.
B
Justices’ decisions will always match the party ideology of the president who nominated them.
C
A new justice must maintain the balance of ideology and make decisions consistent with the retiring justice’s views.
D
A justice with different ideology from a retiring justice may cause the court to lean a particular direction for decades.

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