American Government CLEP - PETERSEN'S ONLINE PRACTICE TEST 1-3 | Comprehensive Practice Test | study Guide Newest Actual Questions & Answers (A+ Guide Solutions.

American Government CLEP - PETERSEN'S ONLINE PRACTICE TEST 1-3 | Comprehensive Practice Test | study Guide Newest Actual Questions & Answers (A+ Guide Solutions. Quiz_________________? A bill loaded with special projects designed to please home constituents at the expense of the federal taxpayer is known as a. pork barrel legislation. b. courtesy legislation. c. pay-as-you-go legislation. d. germane legislation. e. appropriation legislation. - Answer The correct answer is A. A bill loaded with benefits for home constituents is known as "pork barrel legislation." Quiz_________________? A brief filed by an entity that is not a party to a lawsuit, but claims to have an interest in its outcome, is known as a. a writ of certiorari brief. b. an amicus brief. c. a prosecutor's brief. d. defendant's brief. e. plaintiff's brief. - Answer The correct answer is B. An "amicus brief" is often filed in Supreme Court cases where the implications of a ruling will likely affect many citizens other than those who are parties to the case. For example, civil rights groups often file amicus briefs in civil rights cases to provide the justices with their arguments and relevant information. Quiz_________________? A budget resolution is a a. joint resolution between the United States and foreign allies to impose boycotts on rogue nations. b. resolution put forth by the President that must be approved by state legislatures before it goes into effect. c. resolution adopted by the House of Representatives, but not the Senate, that must be approved by the Cabinet before it is passed into law. d. resolution adopted by the Senate, but not the House or Representatives, that must be approved by the President before it is passed into law. e. concurrent resolution, adopted by both Houses of Congress, that sets forth a Congressional budget plan for the budget year and at least four out-years. - Answer The correct answer is E. A budget resolution is a concurrent resolution, adopted by both Houses of Congress, that sets forth a Congressional budget plan for the budget year and at least four out-years. The plan consists of spending and revenue targets with which subsequent appropriation acts and authorization acts that affect revenues and direct spending are expected to comply. The targets established in the budget resolution are enforced in each House of Congress through procedural mechanisms set out in law and the rules of each House. Quiz_________________? A coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government describes an individual's a. political socialization. b. class consciousness. c. family history. d. political ideology. e. socioeconomic class. - Answer The correct answer is D. A political ideology is an interrelated set of values and beliefs about role of government in society. Quiz_________________? A congressional representative's efforts to help a constituent resolve a problem with the federal bureaucracy is known as a. sponsorship. b. franking. c. caucus. d. casework. e. lobbying. - Answer The correct answer is D. Members of Congress view casework as a useful way to please constituents and win votes. Quiz_________________? A debate on which one of the following issues would be most likely to involve a discussion of the Establishment clause of the Constitution? a. Prayer in public schools b. Abortion c. Gun registration d. Drug enforcement policy e. Rural poverty and its causes - Answer The correct answer is A. The Establishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion" and adds "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The latter clause is known as the Free Exercise clause. Some tension exists between the two clauses due to their potentially conflicting mandates, with some scholars arguing that the original goal of the framers regarding this point has never been known. Quiz_________________? A decision of the Supreme Court a. can never be overturned. b. can be overturned by the President. c. must be a unanimous decision by all the justices. d. must be approved by Congress. e. cannot be appealed to any other court. - Answer The correct answer is E. A decision by the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to any other court. It can, however, be overturned by the Supreme Court if a case is returned to the Court on appeal, ruling out A, B and D are false because they mix the branches of government, which the Constitution explicitly separates. C is also wrong; Supreme Court decisions are based on the majority opinion and are rarely unanimous. Quiz_________________? A larger percentage of the Hispanic immigrants who have arrived in the United States since 1990 identifies with the Democratic party. Among Asian immigrants who arrived during the same time period, a high percentage identifies with the Republican party. Which of the following statements gives the most reasonable explanation for the difference in party identification between Hispanic and Asian immigrants? a. The Democratic party actively recruits Hispanic immigrants but does not actively recruit Asian immigrants. b. While both Asian and Hispanic immigrants experience various types of discrimination, Hispanic immigrants are more likely to experience economic discrimination. c. Many Hispanic immigrants have lived under Communist rule, while most Asian immigrants come from established democracies. d. The President makes more diplomatic missions to Asia than to Latin America in an average year. e. Many Hispanics come from - Answer The correct answer is B. Studies show that while Asian and Hispanic immigrants have to face many of the same hurdles with regard to ethnic-based discrimination in the United States, Asians face less economic discrimination compared with Hispanics. The greater economic difficulty faced by Hispanics, in theory, would cause them to gravitate more toward the Democratic party than the Republican party. Quiz_________________? A party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates are formally chosen and its national platform is adopted a. at the national convention. b. through a vote and direct primaries. c. through a lottery system. d. by state party organizations. e. by members already in government. - Answer The correct answer is A. Although the party national conventions are little more than pep rallies before the presidential campaign, some substantive work is done. In addition to formally selecting the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates, the convention debates and adopts a party platform that contains the party's commonly agreed principles and objectives. Quiz_________________? A representative who obtains a government project or appropriation for his district, yielding specific benefits to himself and the district (such as patronage positions, increased employment, or public spending), is said to be practicing a. carpet bagging. b. soft money tactics. c. pork-barrel politics. d. logrolling. e. Reaganomics. - Answer The correct answer is C. A "pork barrel" spending measure is one that brings a government project or appropriation to a political district, yielding benefits to the district and its political representative. The Reconstruction-era term "carpet bagging" in its modern usage refers to the seeking of political or economic gain in a region by nonresidents of the region. Logrolling refers to the process by which legislators trade votes in order to secure favorable action on projects of interest to them. Reaganomics is the name given to a loose set of conservative economic theories championed by President Ronald Reagan during his term in office, and which remain popular in Republican ideology. Quiz_________________? A temporary panel that works to reconcile different final House and Senate versions of a bill is known as a. a joint committee. b. a quorum. c. a conference committee. d. an executive session. e. a pro-forma session. - Answer The correct answer is C. When there are differing Senate and House versions of legislation, a conference committee will attempt to create a compromise bill. Their final report must be adopted by a majority vote in both bodies before it can be sent to the President to be signed into law or sent back to Congress with a veto. Quiz_________________? According the Supreme Court, something is obscene and is not protected as free speech if it contains which of the following elements? I. It is prurient in nature. II. It is completely devoid of scientific, political, educational, or social value. III. It violates local community standards. a. I only b. II only c. III only d. I and II only e. I, II, and III - Answer The correct answer is E. The First Amendment to the Constitution does not protect speech that can be defined as obscene. The Supreme Court has defined a thing as obscene if it meets all of the criteria listed above. The emphasis on local standards means that obscenity laws may differ from state to state.