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CLEP American Government practice questions

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Question 1Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

After the president vetoes a bill, what vote is required in each chamber of Congress to enact the bill over the veto?

  1. A unanimous vote of both chambers
  2. Three-fifths of the full membership of each chamber
  3. A simple majority of the members present
  4. Two-thirds of the members voting in each chamber Correct answer.

Explanation

Article I, Section 7 requires that a vetoed bill be repassed by two-thirds of the members voting in each house before it can become law. This supermajority requirement makes it difficult for Congress to override a president's objections.

Question 2Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The doctrine of judicial review, announced in Marbury v. Madison, holds that federal courts may

  1. appoint special prosecutors to investigate the executive branch
  2. issue advisory opinions to Congress on pending bills
  3. strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution Correct answer.
  4. hear any case appealed to them regardless of jurisdiction

Explanation

Judicial review is the power of courts to set aside legislative or executive acts that violate the Constitution. Chief Justice Marshall grounded the power in the courts' obligation to treat the Constitution as supreme law that binds legislatures as well as judges.

Question 3Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Which position presides over the House of Representatives and stands second in the line of presidential succession, after the vice president?

  1. Majority whip
  2. President pro tempore of the Senate
  3. Speaker of the House Correct answer.
  4. Secretary of State

Explanation

The Speaker is chosen by the House membership and presides over its proceedings. The Presidential Succession Act places the Speaker first among congressional officers in the line after the vice president.

Question 4Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

How do the heads of the fifteen executive departments normally take office?

  1. They are elected by the public in midterm elections
  2. They are selected by the civil service on the basis of examinations
  3. They are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate Correct answer.
  4. They are chosen by the Senate majority leader

Explanation

Department secretaries are presidential appointees who must win Senate confirmation, which gives the Senate a check on cabinet appointments. They serve at the president's pleasure and may be removed without further Senate action.

Question 5Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Where does most of the detailed drafting and revising of legislation occur in Congress?

  1. In each chamber's rules office
  2. In standing committees and their subcommittees Correct answer.
  3. In joint sessions of the full House and Senate
  4. In the party caucuses

Explanation

Standing committees, organized by policy area, review bills, hold hearings, and mark up legislation before it reaches the floor. Because they screen thousands of measures each term, committees are often called the workshops of Congress.

Question 6Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The president's pardon power extends to which of the following?

  1. Federal offenses other than impeachment Correct answer.
  2. Convictions entered by state courts
  3. Civil disputes between private parties
  4. Impeachment cases after Senate conviction

Explanation

Article II gives the president power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. The power reaches federal crimes only; state convictions are handled by governors or state boards.

Question 7Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Before a nominee to a federal district court can take office, the nomination must be

  1. ratified by a majority of state governors
  2. approved by the House Judiciary Committee
  3. approved by the Supreme Court in a secret ballot
  4. confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate Correct answer.

Explanation

Article II gives the president power to appoint judges with the advice and consent of the Senate. Confirmation requires only a simple majority, though committee practice and floor scheduling shape the timing.

Question 8Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Congress most directly shapes the behavior of executive agencies through which power?

  1. Interpreting agency rules in court
  2. Appointing the agencies' senior career staff
  3. Appropriating funds and holding oversight hearings Correct answer.
  4. Issuing executive orders to agency heads

Explanation

The power of the purse lets Congress fund, restrict, or cut off programs, and committees reinforce that leverage with hearings and investigations. Together these tools supply Congress's main check on bureaucratic discretion.

Question 9Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

A presidential executive order carries legal force primarily because it

  1. directs federal agencies under authority delegated by statute or the Constitution Correct answer.
  2. must be approved by the Supreme Court before it takes effect
  3. amends the Constitution once it is published in the Federal Register
  4. is passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president

Explanation

An executive order is a directive to executive branch officials that must rest on constitutional or statutory authority and may not contradict a statute. Courts can invalidate orders that exceed that authority.

Question 10Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

How can a filibuster in the Senate be brought to an end?

  1. By a presidential proclamation ordering debate to close
  2. By a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives
  3. By a three-fifths vote of the full Senate for cloture Correct answer.
  4. By a ruling of the presiding officer acting alone

Explanation

Senate Rule XXII allows sixteen senators to move for cloture, which requires three-fifths of the full Senate, ordinarily sixty votes, to end debate. Once cloture is invoked, debate is limited to thirty additional hours before a final vote.

Question 11Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

When the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill, how are the differences usually resolved?

  1. By a joint committee of the whole
  2. By the president, who chooses one version
  3. By a conference committee drawn from both chambers Correct answer.
  4. By a national referendum

Explanation

A conference committee of House and Senate conferees negotiates a compromise, which is reported back to each chamber for an up-or-down vote. Each chamber must adopt the conference report before the measure goes to the president.

Question 12Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

In the federal impeachment process, the House of Representatives holds which role?

  1. It tries the charges and votes on removal from office
  2. It sets the criminal penalty after a conviction
  3. It has the sole power to impeach, or bring charges Correct answer.
  4. It selects the chief justice to preside over the trial

Explanation

The House has the sole power of impeachment and acts much like a grand jury, bringing charges by majority vote. The Senate then tries the case, with the chief justice presiding when the president is accused.

Question 13Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

When the Supreme Court grants a writ of certiorari, the Court has

  1. agreed to review the decision of a lower court Correct answer.
  2. ordered a new trial in the court of original jurisdiction
  3. declined to exercise jurisdiction over the case
  4. affirmed the lower court's judgment without issuing an opinion

Explanation

Certiorari is a discretionary order calling up the record of a lower court for review, and four justices must vote to grant it. A denial leaves the lower court's judgment standing without any expression of views on the merits.

Question 14Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

In the study of the federal bureaucracy, an iron triangle describes the mutually supportive relationship among

  1. an executive agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group Correct answer.
  2. the Supreme Court, the Justice Department, and state courts
  3. the Senate, the House, and the president
  4. the cabinet, the mass media, and the political parties

Explanation

An iron triangle pairs a bureaucratic agency, the congressional subcommittee that funds and oversees it, and the interest group that benefits from its programs. Each supplies something the others need, which makes the arrangement resistant to outside change.

Question 15Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Independent regulatory commissions such as the Federal Trade Commission are structurally distinct from cabinet departments because they

  1. are run by multimember boards serving staggered terms Correct answer.
  2. are funded entirely by private industry rather than by appropriations
  3. report directly to Congress rather than existing under statute
  4. are exempt from judicial review of their decisions

Explanation

Congress creates these commissions with multimember boards whose staggered terms and removal protection limit direct presidential control. The insulation is meant to keep economic and safety regulation somewhat removed from partisan politics.

Question 16Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

How do executive agreements differ from treaties?

  1. They are ratified by the House of Representatives
  2. They do not require Senate ratification Correct answer.
  3. They are permanent and cannot be terminated
  4. They require a two-thirds vote of the Senate

Explanation

The president makes executive agreements on his own authority or under prior statutory or treaty authorization, without the two-thirds Senate consent needed for treaties. Such agreements are politically binding but are easier for later presidents to modify or end.

Question 17Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Drawing congressional district lines to give one party or group an advantage is known as

  1. apportionment
  2. logrolling
  3. cloture
  4. gerrymandering Correct answer.

Explanation

Gerrymandering is the manipulation of district boundaries, often by packing opponents into a few districts or cracking them across many, in order to shape electoral outcomes. Apportionment, by contrast, is the allocation of House seats among the states after a census.

Question 18Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The doctrine of stare decisis directs judges to

  1. follow precedent in deciding similar later cases Correct answer.
  2. disregard earlier rulings whenever those rulings seem unwise
  3. issue rulings without any written explanation
  4. defer to Congress on every constitutional question

Explanation

Stare decisis, meaning let the decision stand, gives weight to prior rulings so that the law remains predictable and consistent. Courts may still overrule precedent, but they ordinarily demand a strong justification for doing so.

Question 19Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The Pendleton Act of 1883 shifted much of the federal workforce toward

  1. the patronage system
  2. a merit system based on competitive examinations Correct answer.
  3. appointment of all clerks by the president
  4. collective bargaining with labor unions

Explanation

Enacted after a president was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker, the law created the Civil Service Commission and placed covered federal jobs under competitive testing. It began the long transition from patronage to a professional, merit-based bureaucracy.

Question 20Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the president to

  1. consult the Joint Chiefs of Staff before vetoing defense legislation
  2. secure Supreme Court approval before ordering military action
  3. report to Congress within forty-eight hours and withdraw forces after sixty days Correct answer.
  4. obtain a formal declaration of war from Congress before any troops are deployed abroad

Explanation

The resolution requires notification within two days of introducing forces into hostilities and withdrawal within sixty days, plus a thirty-day period for removal, absent a declaration of war or specific authorization. Its constitutionality has been much debated, and presidents have disputed its binding force.

Question 21Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Which of these cases would fall within the Supreme Court's original rather than its appellate jurisdiction?

  1. A suit between citizens of different states
  2. A suit between two states over a boundary dispute Correct answer.
  3. An appeal from a state supreme court on a federal question
  4. A prosecution for violating a federal drug statute

Explanation

Article III gives the Court original jurisdiction in cases affecting ambassadors and other public ministers and in cases in which a state is a party. Congress has also given district courts concurrent jurisdiction over some state-party suits, but such cases begin in court rather than arriving on appeal.

Question 22Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

A brief filed by an amicus curiae is submitted by

  1. Congress requesting an advisory opinion on a pending statute
  2. a group that is not a party but has an interest in the outcome Correct answer.
  3. a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion
  4. a party asking the Court to rehear a decided case

Explanation

Amicus curiae means friend of the court, and such briefs offer information, perspective, or legal argument from outsiders such as interest groups, states, or the solicitor general. Justices consult them at their discretion when deciding whether to grant review and how to rule.

Question 23Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Under the Administrative Procedure Act, an agency issuing a substantive rule generally must

  1. submit the completed rule to the Supreme Court for review
  2. receive the president's written approval for each individual rule
  3. obtain a two-thirds vote of approval in both chambers of Congress
  4. publish a proposed rule and invite public comment before adopting it Correct answer.

Explanation

Notice-and-comment rulemaking requires publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register, a period for public comment, and a concise statement of basis and purpose in the final rule. Courts set aside rules adopted without the required procedure.

Question 24Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

If the office of the vice president becomes vacant, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment provides that

  1. the president nominates a successor who must be confirmed by majorities of both houses Correct answer.
  2. a special national election is held within ninety days
  3. the Speaker of the House becomes vice president automatically
  4. the president pro tempore of the Senate assumes the office

Explanation

Section 2 of the amendment requires the president to nominate a vice president, who takes office upon confirmation by a majority of both the House and the Senate. The procedure was used when Gerald Ford and later Nelson Rockefeller filled vacancies.

Question 25Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

In INS v. Chadha (1983), the Supreme Court held that Congress could not use which device to control administrative action?

  1. Committee subpoenas
  2. The filibuster
  3. Earmarked appropriations
  4. The legislative veto Correct answer.

Explanation

The Court concluded that a one-house veto of an agency decision was legislative in character and therefore had to satisfy the Constitution's requirements of bicameralism and presentment to the president. The ruling invalidated legislative veto provisions in hundreds of statutes.

Question 26Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The president's cabinet is best described as

  1. a panel of federal judges who review the legality of executive orders
  2. a set of state governors who coordinate federal programs with the White House
  3. a body of members of Congress who draft the administration's legislative program
  4. a group of department heads and other senior officials who advise the president Correct answer.

Explanation

The cabinet is a product of custom rather than constitutional text; it consists of the heads of the fifteen executive departments plus whatever other officials the president chooses to include. Its function is advisory, and presidents vary widely in how much they rely on it.

Question 27Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Congress can override a presidential veto only if

  1. two-thirds of each chamber votes to do so Correct answer.
  2. the Supreme Court rules that the veto was improper
  3. the Senate alone votes by a two-thirds margin
  4. a simple majority of both chambers votes to do so

Explanation

Article I, Section 7 requires a two-thirds vote in each house to enact a bill over the president's objections. Because the threshold is high, overrides are relatively uncommon and usually occur on issues with strong bipartisan support.

Question 28Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Under the Constitution, bills for raising revenue must

  1. begin in the Senate, which also ratifies tax treaties
  2. originate in a conference committee drawn from both chambers
  3. originate in the House of Representatives Correct answer.
  4. be introduced by the president as part of the annual budget

Explanation

The Origination Clause gives the House the first move on revenue bills because the House was designed to be the chamber most directly accountable to the people. The Senate may amend revenue bills once they arrive.

Question 29Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The Supreme Court first asserted the power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional in

  1. McCulloch v. Maryland
  2. Dred Scott v. Sandford
  3. Gibbons v. Ogden
  4. Marbury v. Madison Correct answer.

Explanation

In Marbury v. Madison (1803), Chief Justice Marshall reasoned that a court bound by the Constitution must refuse to enforce a statute that conflicts with it. That holding established judicial review, though the Court struck down no federal law in that case.

Question 30Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Which official heads the Department of Justice?

  1. The attorney general Correct answer.
  2. The director of the Office of Management and Budget
  3. The secretary of the interior
  4. The solicitor general

Explanation

The Department of Justice is the one cabinet department whose head carries a unique title, the attorney general, reflecting its role as the government's chief legal office. The solicitor general is a subordinate in the same department who argues the government's cases before the Supreme Court.

Question 31Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

A justice who agrees with the Court's judgment but disagrees with the reasoning used to reach it may write

  1. a dissenting opinion
  2. a concurring opinion Correct answer.
  3. a majority opinion
  4. a per curiam opinion

Explanation

A concurrence agrees with the outcome while offering different or additional reasoning, which can matter greatly because concurring opinions sometimes become the governing rationale in later cases. A dissent, by contrast, disagrees with the outcome itself.

Question 32Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

A member of Congress who intervenes with a federal agency to speed up a constituent's delayed benefit check is engaged in

  1. logrolling
  2. cloture
  3. oversight hearings
  4. casework Correct answer.

Explanation

Casework is the informal service legislators provide to individual constituents who are having trouble with federal agencies. It builds goodwill and name recognition back home even though it does not change national policy.

Question 33Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Which of the following is an example of a government corporation?

  1. The Office of Management and Budget
  2. The United States Postal Service Correct answer.
  3. The Department of Commerce
  4. The Federal Bureau of Investigation

Explanation

Government corporations are government-owned enterprises that charge for their services and are structured much like private businesses; the Postal Service, Amtrak, and the Tennessee Valley Authority are standard examples. The other listed bodies are a cabinet department, a bureau within the Justice Department, and an office of the Executive Office of the President.

Question 34Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court held that executive privilege

  1. is limited and cannot shield evidence needed in a criminal trial Correct answer.
  2. applies only to communications with foreign governments
  3. protects all presidential communications from disclosure without exception
  4. is a power that belongs to cabinet officers rather than the president

Explanation

The Court recognized a legitimate need for confidential presidential advice but held that a generalized claim of privilege must give way to the specific demands of a criminal trial. The decision thus rejected the idea of an absolute privilege.

Question 35Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Which office assists the president in preparing the annual federal budget and in reviewing agency spending requests?

  1. The Government Accountability Office
  2. The Office of Management and Budget Correct answer.
  3. The Federal Reserve Board
  4. The Congressional Budget Office

Explanation

The Office of Management and Budget, part of the Executive Office of the President, assembles the president's budget proposal and clears agency requests and regulations. Its congressional counterparts are the CBO, which analyzes fiscal effects for lawmakers, and the GAO, which audits programs.

Question 36Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

If the president neither signs nor returns a bill and Congress adjourns within ten days of receiving it, the result is

  1. the bill automatically returns to its committee of origin
  2. the Supreme Court is asked to rule on the bill's validity
  3. a pocket veto, and the bill does not become law Correct answer.
  4. the bill takes effect after ten days have elapsed

Explanation

Article I, Section 7 gives the president ten days, Sundays excepted, to act on a bill. If Congress adjourns during that period and thereby prevents the return of the bill, the bill fails, an outcome known as a pocket veto. If Congress stays in session, inaction by the president allows the bill to become law.

Question 37Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Administrative agencies exercise substantial discretion mainly because

  1. the statutes they administer are often broadly worded and leave details to the agency Correct answer.
  2. the Supreme Court reviews each of their rules before it takes effect
  3. the Constitution assigns them independent lawmaking authority
  4. Congress must approve each individual decision an agency makes

Explanation

Congress typically legislates in general terms and relies on agencies to supply the specifics through rules and case-by-case decisions. This gap between statutory language and real-world application is the source of bureaucratic discretion.

Question 38Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The Hatch Act primarily restricts

  1. the president's ability to campaign on behalf of fellow partisans
  2. lobbying by private interest groups that hold federal contracts
  3. campaign spending by political parties in federal elections
  4. partisan political activity by most federal civil service employees Correct answer.

Explanation

Enacted in 1939 and amended later, the Hatch Act bars most executive-branch civil servants from engaging in partisan campaign activity while on duty or in the workplace. The aim is to prevent the civil service from being used as a patronage machine.

Question 39Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Which House committee sets the terms of floor debate for most major bills, including time limits and which amendments may be offered?

  1. The Appropriations Committee
  2. The Rules Committee Correct answer.
  3. The Judiciary Committee
  4. The Ways and Means Committee

Explanation

Through the special rule it grants each bill, the Rules Committee determines how a measure will be debated and amended on the House floor, giving it considerable leverage over the chamber's agenda. The Senate has no comparable committee because its procedures rest on unanimous consent and the cloture rule.

Question 40Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Which agency provides Congress with estimates of the budgetary effects of proposed legislation?

  1. The Office of Management and Budget
  2. The Department of the Treasury
  3. The Congressional Budget Office Correct answer.
  4. The Government Accountability Office

Explanation

The Congressional Budget Office produces cost estimates, or scores, of bills so that lawmakers know how proposed legislation would affect spending and revenues. The OMB performs an analogous function for the president.

Question 41Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

A judge who practices judicial restraint is most likely to

  1. discard precedent in favor of the judge's own policy preferences
  2. uphold a challenged statute when a reasonable interpretation allows it Correct answer.
  3. decide cases on broad constitutional grounds rather than narrow ones
  4. interpret the Constitution according to contemporary social standards

Explanation

Judicial restraint counsels deference to elected lawmakers and favors narrow rulings, so a restrained judge prefers an interpretation that preserves a statute. Judicial activists, by contrast, are more willing to strike down laws and announce broad principles.

Question 42Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Federal district courts may hear a lawsuit between private parties when

  1. both parties consent to have the case tried in federal court
  2. a state court has already declined to hear the dispute
  3. the suit arises under a treaty signed by the United States
  4. the parties are citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 Correct answer.

Explanation

Diversity jurisdiction allows federal courts to hear state-law disputes between citizens of different states above a statutory amount, currently $75,000, in order to reduce fears of local bias. Jurisdiction cannot be created by agreement of the parties.

Question 43Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

When Congress has not enacted regular appropriations bills by the start of a fiscal year, it typically

  1. shuts down all federal courts until a budget is adopted
  2. requires agencies to operate on fee revenue alone
  3. authorizes the president to borrow directly from the Treasury
  4. passes a continuing resolution that funds agencies at existing levels Correct answer.

Explanation

A continuing resolution keeps agencies operating, usually at or near prior-year funding levels, until regular appropriations are passed. Without either an appropriation or a continuing resolution, affected agencies must cease nonessential operations and a shutdown occurs.

Question 44Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Two legislators each agree to vote for the other's favored project. This practice is called

  1. logrolling Correct answer.
  2. franking
  3. gerrymandering
  4. cloture

Explanation

Logrolling is reciprocal vote trading that helps build coalitions for projects that might not pass on their own merits. It is especially common around funding for local projects, sometimes called earmarks.

Question 45Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

A federal court will ordinarily dismiss a case as moot when

  1. events after filing have eliminated the live controversy between the parties Correct answer.
  2. the case raises a political question committed to another branch
  3. the parties are citizens of the same state
  4. the plaintiff lacked any personal stake at the time the suit was filed

Explanation

Mootness arises when the dispute has resolved itself, so that no live controversy remains for the court to decide, as when a challenged policy has already expired. Standing, by contrast, concerns the plaintiff's stake at the outset of the litigation.

Question 46Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The Supreme Court's decision in Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935) established that

  1. agency commissioners must be confirmed by the House as well as the Senate
  2. the president may remove any federal officer at will, including agency commissioners
  3. independent commissions must be headed by sitting cabinet secretaries
  4. Congress may limit the president's removal power over members of independent regulatory commissions Correct answer.

Explanation

The Court held that Congress could protect Federal Trade commissioners from removal except for cause, because such bodies exercise quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions and are meant to be insulated from politics. Purely executive officers remain subject to removal at the president's discretion.

Question 47Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Under the political question doctrine, federal courts generally decline to hear cases that

  1. challenge the constitutionality of a state statute
  2. involve citizens of different states and small sums of money
  3. raise issues the Constitution commits to the elected branches, such as the conduct of foreign affairs Correct answer.
  4. require interpretation of a federal agency's regulation

Explanation

The political question doctrine reflects the separation of powers: where the Constitution entrusts a matter to the president or Congress, courts treat it as nonjusticiable. Classic examples include recognition of foreign governments and the ratification process for constitutional amendments.

Question 48Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

A published decision of a federal court of appeals is binding precedent on

  1. only the parties who litigated that particular case
  2. state courts nationwide on questions of federal law
  3. all federal courts nationwide, including the Supreme Court
  4. the federal district courts located within that circuit Correct answer.

Explanation

Each circuit's rulings bind the district courts within its geographic boundaries, while other circuits treat them as persuasive only. Only the Supreme Court's decisions bind every court on federal questions.

Question 49Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

Under the nondelegation doctrine, when Congress gives an agency rulemaking authority, it must

  1. obtain the Supreme Court's approval of the delegation in advance
  2. limit the delegation to a single year at a time
  3. supply an intelligible principle to guide the agency's exercise of that authority Correct answer.
  4. retain a legislative veto over each rule the agency issues

Explanation

The doctrine holds that Congress may delegate power so long as it lays down an intelligible principle to guide the agency, though the Supreme Court has rarely struck down statutes on this ground. A legislative veto over agency rules is not a permissible substitute because it circumvents bicameralism and presentment.

Question 50Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Federal Courts (30%–35%)

The case-or-controversy requirement of Article III means that federal courts may not

  1. hear cases in which the United States itself is a party
  2. review state court judgments that involve federal questions
  3. issue advisory opinions on the constitutionality of proposed legislation Correct answer.
  4. decide cases brought by plaintiffs seeking money damages

Explanation

Article III confines the federal judiciary to actual disputes between adverse parties, so judges will not answer legal questions in the abstract or advise legislators before a law takes effect. This requirement underlies the doctrines of standing, ripeness, and mootness.