POL 102 EXAM 2 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SET
A+
✔✔Hierarchy - ✔✔Agencies are structured in levels from cabinet secretaries to division
leaders to frontline workers.
✔✔Expertise - ✔✔Bureaucrats have specialized knowledge needed to implement
complex policies.
✔✔Political Appointees - ✔✔Leaders chosen by the president and confirmed by the
Senate who direct agencies.
✔✔Civil Service Employees - ✔✔Career workers who stay across administrations and
provide long-term expertise.
✔✔Cabinet Departments - ✔✔Large agencies like HHS or Defense, led by
presidentially appointed secretaries.
✔✔Agencies - ✔✔Units within departments that handle specific issue areas, such as
the CDC or FDA.
✔✔Offices/Bureaus - ✔✔Subdivisions inside agencies managing specialized programs.
✔✔Divisions - ✔✔Small units where day-to-day policy work occurs.
✔✔Independent Agencies - ✔✔Agencies outside Cabinet control, like NASA.
✔✔Independent Regulatory Commissions - ✔✔Agencies designed to limit presidential
influence, such as the FTC or Federal Reserve.
✔✔Take Care Clause (bureaucracy) - ✔✔Gives presidents authority to ensure laws are
executed and to direct agencies.
, ✔✔Presidential staffing of the bureaucracy - ✔✔Presidents shape policy through their
appointments to agency leadership.
✔✔Federal Reserve Board / Inflation - ✔✔The Fed uses economic expertise to adjust
interest rates and manage inflation.
✔✔EPA / Ozone Layer / Particulate Matter - ✔✔EPA scientists regulate pollutants and
protect air quality under delegated authority.
✔✔Motor Carrier Safety Administration / Driver Sleep - ✔✔Regulates truck driver hours
to protect public safety.
✔✔Inspections / Enforcement - ✔✔Agencies check compliance (food safety, drugs,
workplaces) and issue penalties.
✔✔Compassion - ✔✔Agencies protect citizens from harm (safe food, clean air, safe
medicine).
✔✔Alleviating Distress - ✔✔Programs like Social Security, SNAP, and Medicare help
those facing hardship.
✔✔Fox in the Chicken Coop - ✔✔Due to slow lawmaking and political conflict, agencies
often face obstacles and inefficiency.
✔✔Bureaucratic Successes / Failures - ✔✔FDA and thalidomide (success); Hurricane
Katrina response (failure).
✔✔Reasons for Delegation: Complexity / Expertise - ✔✔Congress lacks technical
knowledge, so it delegates authority to agencies.
✔✔Reasons for Delegation: "Chicken" Theory - ✔✔Lawmakers avoid blame for
controversial decisions by letting agencies decide.
✔✔Fire Alarm Oversight - ✔✔Congress waits for complaints from citizens or interest
groups, then steps in to supervise agencies.
✔✔Appropriations Hammer / Limitation Riders - ✔✔Congress restricts agency actions
through budget limitations or rules banning certain regulations.
✔✔Marbury v. Madison - ✔✔The 1803 case establishing judicial review, allowing the
Court to decide what the Constitution means.
✔✔Judicial Review - ✔✔The Court's power to strike down unconstitutional state or
federal laws.
A+
✔✔Hierarchy - ✔✔Agencies are structured in levels from cabinet secretaries to division
leaders to frontline workers.
✔✔Expertise - ✔✔Bureaucrats have specialized knowledge needed to implement
complex policies.
✔✔Political Appointees - ✔✔Leaders chosen by the president and confirmed by the
Senate who direct agencies.
✔✔Civil Service Employees - ✔✔Career workers who stay across administrations and
provide long-term expertise.
✔✔Cabinet Departments - ✔✔Large agencies like HHS or Defense, led by
presidentially appointed secretaries.
✔✔Agencies - ✔✔Units within departments that handle specific issue areas, such as
the CDC or FDA.
✔✔Offices/Bureaus - ✔✔Subdivisions inside agencies managing specialized programs.
✔✔Divisions - ✔✔Small units where day-to-day policy work occurs.
✔✔Independent Agencies - ✔✔Agencies outside Cabinet control, like NASA.
✔✔Independent Regulatory Commissions - ✔✔Agencies designed to limit presidential
influence, such as the FTC or Federal Reserve.
✔✔Take Care Clause (bureaucracy) - ✔✔Gives presidents authority to ensure laws are
executed and to direct agencies.
, ✔✔Presidential staffing of the bureaucracy - ✔✔Presidents shape policy through their
appointments to agency leadership.
✔✔Federal Reserve Board / Inflation - ✔✔The Fed uses economic expertise to adjust
interest rates and manage inflation.
✔✔EPA / Ozone Layer / Particulate Matter - ✔✔EPA scientists regulate pollutants and
protect air quality under delegated authority.
✔✔Motor Carrier Safety Administration / Driver Sleep - ✔✔Regulates truck driver hours
to protect public safety.
✔✔Inspections / Enforcement - ✔✔Agencies check compliance (food safety, drugs,
workplaces) and issue penalties.
✔✔Compassion - ✔✔Agencies protect citizens from harm (safe food, clean air, safe
medicine).
✔✔Alleviating Distress - ✔✔Programs like Social Security, SNAP, and Medicare help
those facing hardship.
✔✔Fox in the Chicken Coop - ✔✔Due to slow lawmaking and political conflict, agencies
often face obstacles and inefficiency.
✔✔Bureaucratic Successes / Failures - ✔✔FDA and thalidomide (success); Hurricane
Katrina response (failure).
✔✔Reasons for Delegation: Complexity / Expertise - ✔✔Congress lacks technical
knowledge, so it delegates authority to agencies.
✔✔Reasons for Delegation: "Chicken" Theory - ✔✔Lawmakers avoid blame for
controversial decisions by letting agencies decide.
✔✔Fire Alarm Oversight - ✔✔Congress waits for complaints from citizens or interest
groups, then steps in to supervise agencies.
✔✔Appropriations Hammer / Limitation Riders - ✔✔Congress restricts agency actions
through budget limitations or rules banning certain regulations.
✔✔Marbury v. Madison - ✔✔The 1803 case establishing judicial review, allowing the
Court to decide what the Constitution means.
✔✔Judicial Review - ✔✔The Court's power to strike down unconstitutional state or
federal laws.
