American Government Modern States CLEP Study Guide

Although the Constitution does not explicitly give Congress the right to enact a military draft, which clause in the Constitution allows Congress to do so? - Answer- Necessary and proper clause Which of the following committee assignments would confer the most power and influence on members of the House of Representatives? - Answer-Ways and Means The power of the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives primarily stems from its authority to - Answer-Limit the time for debate and determine whether amendments to a bill can be considered Which of the following is true of both the House of Representatives and the Senate? - Answer-Both chambers employ a complex system of permanent committees to assist them in carrying out their legislative duties. Among the expressed powers of the federal government enumerated in the Constitution of the United States is the power to - Answer-Regulate interstate trade and commerce A tax levied after one dies is called - Answer-An estate tax. According to the Constitution, Congress may not - Answer-Grant titles of nobility The president has been required to submit a budget to Congress since the passage of the - Answer-Budget and Accounting Act Which of the following is a difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate? - Answer-The Senate has the exclusive power to ratify treaties. If the vice presidency of the United States is vacated, the Constitution stipulates that the president must - Answer-appoint a new vice president with the approval of both houses of Congress The principal source of presidents' political influence is their - Answer-constitutional authority to execute public policies Each of the following is a power of Congress EXCEPT - Answer-recognizing foreign governments The Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution states that the vice president becomes president in all of the following cases except when - Answer-the president travels abroad to negotiate treaties Which of the following ensures that the president and the vice president are of the same party affiliation? - Answer-The Twelfth Amendment Which of the following best explains the consistent growth of the federal bureaucracy over the past hundred years? - Answer-Public demand for, and expectation of, social services Which of the following is clearly a task charged to the Federal Reserve as a regulatory agency? - Answer-Providing financial services to depository institutions, the United States government and foreign institutions, as well as playing a key role in operating the nation's payments system An example of an independent regulatory agency is - Answer-The Federal Reserve Differences between House and Senate versions of a bill are resolved - Answer-in a conference committee The passage of legislation in Congress often depends on mutual accommodations among members. This suggests that, to some extent, congressional behavior is based on - Answer-the principle of reciprocity Which of the following is most likely to weaken party leadership in the Senate? - Answer-The use of filibuster by individual senators The ability of the media to define the importance of particular events and issues is called - Answer-agenda setting Which of the following actions gives the president an advantage over Congress in promoting policy? - Answer-Utilizing the media through the bully pulpit Which of the following best describes the relationship between the media and citizens? - Answer-Citizens tend to seek out media that reinforce rather than challenge existing ideological views. The framers of the original Constitution thought that which of the following would best protect judicial independence? - Answer-Life tenure during good behavior Which of the following was a consequence of the New Deal legislation passed during the Great Depression under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt? - Answer- The federal government became a more important agent of change than in previous presidential administrations. The power of judicial review was established in - Answer-Marbury v. Madison Which of the following is a check on the power of the United States Supreme Court? - Answer-Congress controls the number of justices who may sit on the Court. Which of the following accurately describes a type of opinion that Supreme Court Justices issue