Chapter 15: Congress and National Security Policies

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Which of these institutions or branches of government tends to take the lead in foreign policy and military action?

A. the president

B. Congress

C. the Supreme Court

D. state governments

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The President Proposes

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. All of the following foreign policy–related powers are granted to the president in the Constitution EXCEPT ______.

A. negotiating treaties

B. declaring war

C. serving as commander in chief of the armed forces

D. receiving ambassadors

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The President Proposes

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. All of the following foreign policy–related powers are granted to Congress in the Constitution EXCEPT ______.

A. declaring war

B. regulating foreign commerce

C. funding the military

D. line-item vetoing

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Congress Reacts

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Which of the following is an example of a structural policy?

A. selecting a specific weapons system

B. deciding on troop levels

C. allocation of military aid to a foreign country

D. the US response to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural Policies

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Which of the following is an example of a strategic policy?

A. declaring war

B. responding to human rights abuses abroad

C. a hostage rescue operation

D. signing a contract with a private supplier

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Strategic Policies

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Which of the following is an example of a crisis policy?

A. a trade bill that impacts domestic industries

B. selecting the location of a military installation

C. the special forces mission to kill Osama Bin Laden

D. selling arms to a foreign government

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Crisis Policies: The War Powers

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. What are BRACs meant to accomplish?

A. military base closures

B. escalation of troop levels

C. transfer of arms to foreign governments

D. easing diplomatic relations

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Military Base Closures

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. What is the nature of “fast-track” trade negotiations (also called trade promotion authority)?

A. Trade pacts negotiated by the president are subject to an up-or-down vote in both houses of Congress within 90 days.

B. Trade agreements that open markets are subject to fewer restrictions than those that seek to implement tariffs and other protectionist measures.

C. Congress has more authority in trade agreements than in other types of international policies.

D. The Senate does not allow filibusters on any trade-related bills.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Fast-Track Trade Negotiations

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Which of the following is an example of “legislative prodding?”

A. declining to approve a treaty negotiated by the president

B. introducing a bill to require congressional review of nuclear agreements with Iran

C. closing multiple military bases through the BRAC procedure

D. bringing a case against the president or other executive officials in the Supreme Court

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Other Policy-Making Powers of Congress

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Which of the following is required by the War Powers Resolution?

A. The Senate must approve executive agreements with a two-thirds vote before they have force of law.

B. A declaration of war is required before any US troops are deployed.

C. The President must consult with Congress before introducing US troops into hostilities.

D. Pentagon funding must be reauthorized by Congress every 6 months.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The War Powers Resolution

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. The last 60 years have seen a growing imbalance in the military versus nonmilitary elements of foreign policy.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structural Policies

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Historically, the United States has long considered itself deeply involved in worldwide conflicts and has engaged in extensive international military involvement.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The War Powers Resolution

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Foreign policy powers are allocated exclusively to the president, with Congress playing almost no significant role.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Constitutional Powers

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. President Trump’s view of free trade agreements is different from traditional GOP orthodoxy.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Views on Trade

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Spending on international affairs and foreign aid through the State Department far outpaces military spending.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Power of the Purse

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Congress can lead public opinion, mobilize political opposition, and thereby constrain the president’s choices.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Congress Reacts

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The Supreme Court has held that executive agreements are unconstitutional because they do not follow the treaty procedures laid out in the Constitution.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Treaties and Executive Agreements

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Hundreds of foreign and defense policy reporting requirements are embedded in the current statutes pertaining to oversight.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Oversight

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Congress often includes legislative restrictions on executive power in foreign affairs in appropriations or authorizations bills.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Other Policy-Making Powers of Congress

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Crisis policies engage decision makers at the highest levels.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crisis Policies: The War Powers

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. War powers are shared by all of the governmental branches.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Constitutional Powers

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. President Trump has proposed the creation of a new military branch: the Space Force.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Changes in Warfare

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Foreign trade falls in line with redistributive policies.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Trade Politics

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Today, a major challenge for defense planners is how to allocate scarce resources among competing security priorities.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Global Threats

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. The use of false data, fake stores, and deepfake videos are considered to be a part of a diverse type of warfare.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Changes in Warfare

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. No-win wars are often against nonstate actors and can go on for years without the traditional endpoint of a treaty between combatants.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Changes in Warfare

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. What is the difference between a treaty and an executive agreement?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Treaties and Executive Agreements

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. What are the major components of national interest?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Types of Foreign and National Security Policies

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Why is congressional oversight during times of war or crisis particularly difficult?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Oversight

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. How does the military–industrial–congressional complex relate to the idea of “two Congresses?”

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Military–Industrial–Congressional Complex

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Why are military bases difficult to close, and how has Congress dealt with this problem?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Military Base Closures

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. What are some of the advantages the president holds in the arena of foreign policy?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The President Proposes

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. When is the president’s foreign policy power strongest, and when is it weakest? Why?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The President Proposes

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. What foreign policy and war powers are Congress granted by the Constitution, and which of these seems to be most significant/important?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Congress Reacts

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. How has the evolving nature of warfare in the modern age changed the way Congress and the president deal with these issues?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Changes in Warfare

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. What is sequestration, and how has the Pentagon dealt with budget cuts from the sequester?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structural Policies

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. What are the major congressional committees that deal with foreign affairs and what are their duties? Does a proliferation of international relations–related committees seem to work effectively?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Who Speaks for Congress?

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. What are the most common tools used by Congress to influence strategic policies related to international affairs and national defense? Which of these seems to be the most effective?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Various

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Explain President Trump’s view on trade politics. What are his strategies?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Views on Trade

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Select an ongoing or historical international conflict, either military or diplomatic. What actions did the president take with regard to this conflict, and what actions did Congress take? Did these branches seem to cooperate in these actions or conflict? Which branch seemed to have the upper hand, and why this could vary at different points in the conflict?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Various

Difficulty Level: Hard