Runoff Election
A second election to determine a clear winner, following a first election in which no candidate received a majority of the votes.
The chief executive is in charge of
A. interpreting laws.
B. creating legislation.
C. carrying out policies.
D. amending the Constitution.
carrying out policies
Fiscal Year
The 12-month accounting period an organization uses for budgeting, record keeping, and financial reporting. (Runs October 1st to September 30th)
Line of Succesion
The order of successors to the presidency if the president is unable to serve as specified in the Constitution and federal law.
Balanced Budget
A spending plan in which the revenues coming into an organization equals its expenditures.
In order to be president of the United States, one must
A. have a college degree.
B. be a native-born citizen.
C. be younger than 65 years of age.
D. have served as governor or in Congress.
be a native-born citizen.
Reprive
A postponement of punishment for a crime.
Budget Surplus
The amount by which an organization's revenues exceed it expenditures.
Which of these shows the next three successors in the president's line of succession?
A. vice president, chief of staff, chief justice of the Supreme Court
B. president pro tempore of the Senate, vice president, chief of staff
C. vice president, speaker o
C. vice president, speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate
Which of the following must take place in order to impeach the president?
A. A majority of the House vote to accuse the president of wrongdoing.
B. Citizens order a recall election when unhappy with the president.
C. The Supreme Court determines that the
A. A majority of the House vote to accuse the president of wrongdoing.
Pardon
A decree that frees a person from a punishment for a crime.
Federal Deficit
The amount by which the national government's annual expenditures exceed its revenues.
Amnesty
A general pardon usually granted to a group of people.
National Debt
The amount of money a country owes to lenders.
A decree that frees a person from punishment for a crime is called a/an
A. bureaucracy.
B. executive order.
C. reprieve.
D. pardon.
D. pardon.
Cabinet
The heads of the executive departments of the federal government.
Deficit Spending
Government expenditures financed by borrowing rather than by tax revenues.
The part of the Constitution that grants the president flexible powers is called the
A. Due Process Clause.
B. Elastic Clause.
C. Free Exercise Clause.
D. Take Care Clause.
D. Take Care Clause.
One way Andrew Jackson notably expanded presidential power is by
A. being the first to take control over the armed forces.
B. creating the first cabinet and executive departments.
C. vetoing legislation simply because he disagreed with it.
D. establishing
C. vetoing legislation simply because he disagreed with it.
Impoundment
The refusal by a chief executive to spend funds that have been appropriated by the legislature.
Martial Law
Military rule established over a civilian population during a time of emergency.
Executive Order
A rule or regulation issued by a president or governor that has the force of law.
Budget Resolution
An official statement outlining Congress's spending priorities for the annual budget.
Franklin Roosevelt expanded the role of the president by doing all of the following EXCEPT
A. conducting fireside chats.
B. ignoring federal court rulings.
C. promoting New Deal reforms.
D. reaching Americans directly through radio.
B. ignoring federal court rulings.
Bureaucracy
A large, complex organization that functions under uniform rules and procedures.
Budget Cycle
The various steps of the government process, from planning to implementation.
A large, complex organization that functions under uniform rules and procedures is called a(n):
A. behemoth.
B. waste factory.
C. bureaucracy.
D. legislature.
C. bureaucracy.
Which of the following is the best example of the president's role as chief of state?
A. nominating a federal official
B. lighting the national Christmas tree
C. drafting the federal budget and tax policy
D. meeting with the head of a foreign country
B. lighting the national Christmas tree
Continuing Resolution
A joint resolution, passed by Congress and signed by the president, that allows the government to operate at current funding levels for fixed period; required when Congress and the president cannot reach agreement on a new budget.
Pocket Veto
The automatic killing of a bill by refusing to either sign it or veto it; this can occur only in the final days of a congressional session.
Chief of Staff
The head of the White House staff.
Budget Crisis
A situation caused by the failure of Congress and the president to reach agreement on a new budget and that may result in the shout down of government programs.
Which of the following BEST describes how the president has a direct impact on economic policy?
A. He controls the nation's money supply.
B. He has the last say over the federal budget.
C. He sets tax policy without Congress's consent.
D. He appoints memb
D. He appoints members of the Federal Reserve Board.
Adminstration
The president, along with his or her personal staff and adviser; also, a president's time in office.
Tax Freedom Day
The date, calculated each year, when the country has earned enough income to pay its annual tax burden; rising budgets have published this date back over time.
Which of the following BEST describes executive privilege?
A. Salary and social security benefits given to presidents after leaving office.
B. The perks the president has to use luxuries such as private cars and aircrafts.
C. An informal power of the pres
C. An informal power of the president to deny access to White House documents.
Executive Department
An organization within the executive branch that carries out the work of government in a broad area of public policy, such as agriculture or labor.
Individual Income Tax
A tax levied on the annual income of an individual or a married couple.
Which of the following is part of the executive branch?
A. circuit courts
B. independent agencies
C. interest groups
D. joint committees
B. independent agencies
The primary duty of the chief of staff is to
A. select nominees for federal judgeship.
B. give guidance and advice to the president.
C. assign legislators to offices in the Capitol building.
D. propose a federal budget for the president to review.
B. give guidance and advice to the president.
Social Insurance Tax
A tax used to fund government assistance to the elderly and to unemployed or disabled workers.
Independent Agency
An organization within the executive branch that does not belong to any executive department and answers directly to the president.
Civil Servant
A civilian employee who works in a government agency.
Corporate Income Tax
A tax paid by businesses on their profits each year.
Which of the following BEST describes executive departments?
A. They consist of the president and his or her personal staff.
B. They serve as liaisons between the president and the legislative branch.
C. They carry out the work of government in broad area
C. They carry out the work of government in broad areas of public policy.
Whistle-Blower
An employee or former employee who exposes wrongdoing within an organization in the hope of stopping it.
Excise Tax
A tax levied on the sale of certain goods and services.
Which of the following is true about independent agencies?
A. They answer directly to the president.
B. They are owned by private businesses.
C. They are an important part of executive departments.
D. They need to be reestablished after every administrati
A. They answer directly to the president.
Privatization
The practice of contracting private companies to do jobs once done by civil servants.
Progressive Tax
Any tax in which the burdens falls more heavily on the rich than the poor.
Civil servants are people who work
A. for a law firm.
B. with an interest group.
C. in a government agency.
D. to impeach the president.
C. in a government agency.
Regressive Tax
Any tax in which the burden falls heavily on the poor than the rich, at least as a percentage of their income.
A bureaucracy is most likely to have power if it
A. is recently established.
B. ignores citizen demands.
C. listens to interest groups.
D. overrides legislative decisions.
C. listens to interest groups.
Mandatory Spending
Government expenditures required by law to be allocated in specific ways.
What effect does privatization have on federal bureaucracy?
A. It helps level off the growth of bureaucracy.
B. It creates more job openings in government bureaucracies.
C. It increases the amount of paperwork related to bureaucracy.
D. It encourages whis
A. It helps level off the growth of bureaucracy.
Entilements
Benefits that must be provided to all eligible people who seek them; examples include Social Security and Medicare.
Employees who expose wrongdoing are called
A. bureaucrats.
B. civil servants.
C. congressional pages.
D. whistle-blowers.
D. whistle-blowers.
Discretionary Spending
Government expenditures that can be raised or lowered as determined by Congress.
Which of the following is NOT a source of bureaucratic power?
A. legislative and budgetary support
B. interest group support
C. citizen demand
D. expertise of privatization
D. expertise of privatization
Earmarks
Specific spending proposals that members of Congress attach to legislation, usually to benefit their home districts or states.
What was the process for federal spending up until 1921?
The House and Senate approved spending bills, which the president could either sign or veto.
What is a federal deficit?
the amount by which the national government's annual expenditures exceed its revenues
What is the result of deficit spending by the federal government?
a rising national debt
Why did President Nixon and Congress clash over the budget process in the 1970s?
Nixon used his power of impoundment to take control of spending away from Congress.
What did the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 achieve?
It gave the legislative and executive branches shared control over budget making.
How long is the federal budget cycle?
18 months
How does the budget cycle begin?
The executive branch prepares a budget proposal.
What needs to happen before the president submits a budget proposal to Congress?
Each department and agency must prepare its own budget request.
The budget resolution passed by Congress provides
a set of guidelines that reflect Congress's spending priorities.
What is the role of the Congressional Budget Office in the budget process?
to compare how the president's budget matches its own estimate of future revenues and expenses
What happens if the president and Congress cannot reach an agreement on the budget by the deadline of October 1?
Congress and the president try to agree upon a continuing resolution to keep the government working.
What is Tax Freedom Day?
the date when taxpayers have earned enough income to pay their annual tax burden
If you were a wealthy taxpayer, which kind of income tax would benefit you the most?
regressive tax
The two main categories of mandatory spending are
entitlements and interest on the national debt.
What is discretionary spending?
budget items that can be raised or lowered as Congress sees fit
One example of an earmark is a set-aside of
$233 million to build a bridge to a sparsely populated island in Alaska.
Many state and local governments' budgets differ from that of the federal government because
entitlements, such as pensions for elderly citizens, services such as education and fire protection, national defense and homeland security.
Unlike the federal government, state and local governments spend most of their funds on
services such as education and fire protection.
Health and welfare services are funded through the budgets of
the federal, state, and local governments.
Which revenue source is collected only by state and local governments and not by the federal government?
property taxes
Which level of government receives the revenue associated with the individual income tax form?
federal