Deck 2: Reintroducing the Policy Process Into Studying Congress

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a goal of committee members?

A) Deliver benefits to constituents
B) Make good public policy
C) Raise money for re-election
D) Gain power within the chamber

Answer 1

C

Question 2

When it comes to decision-making-there is the power to set the agenda and the power to decide. Describe each and explain which is more powerful and why.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Give one example of how congressional scholars are reintegrating policy into their research. What are the benefits of such research?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Identify and describe the three reasons why policy was dropped from the study of Congress.

Question 5

List and define the stages of the policy process.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a determinant of how much discretion bureaucrats have when implementing legislation?

A) Party-control of Congress
B) Conflict between members of Congress and bureaucrats
C) High costs for writing detailed legislation
D) Conflict between the House and Senate

Question 7

Policy independent models require that scholars need only to ____________ in order to understand policy making in Congress.

A) understand policy differences
B) know the president's position on the issue
C) consider who was pivotal for deciding a policy's ultimate fate
D) know the majority party

Question 8

The process by which congressional incumbents who win reelection and then coop their opponents' issues in the subsequent Congress is _________.

A) mimicking
B) flip-flopping
C) issue validating
D) issue uptaking

Question 9

Over time, filibustering in the Senate has ________.

A) increased
B) decreased
C) been increasingly utilized by the Republican Party only
D) not varied across policy areas

Question 10

Which two categories most divide the political parties?

A) social issues and government spending
B) race and the size of government
C) government expansion and competition for power
D) federal budget and religious freedoms

Question 11

The policy process stage in which law is translated into working policy is known as __________.

A) passage
B) implementation
C) problem definition
D) evaluation

Question 12

Based on voting models such as Poole and Rosenthal's NOMINATE scores, which of the following is true?

A) Republicans are the only ones to become more partisan.
B) If legislators aligned themselves along a consistent and reliable ideological continuum, roll call outcomes can be predicted consistently.
C) Party polarization is media driven.
D) Ideology cannot predict roll call votes.

Question 13

The policy process stage in which a phenomenon is labeled as a problem requiring government action is____________.

A) problem definition
B) agenda setting
C) implementation
D) formulation

Question 14

Which model of representation requires that representatives base their decisions on their constituents' preferences?

A) Dedicated party model
B) Responsible party model
C) Trustee model
D) Instructed delegate model

Question 15

Explain why ignoring both the policy content of legislation and the initial policy stages (problem definition and agenda setting) are detrimental to congressional studies. Provide examples from the chapter.