1) Presidents are generally thought to have advantages over Congress in conducting foreign policy because of the formal and

informal powers of the presidency. a. Identify two formal constitutional powers of the President in making foreign policy. The President of the United States is granted under Article II Section ii of the Constitution the command of the military, serving as the Commander-in-Chief of all American military forces worldwide. He is capable of deploying American troops abroad in order to protect or secure American interests, defining the United States foreign policy through the actions of these units. Section ii also grants the POTUS the power to negotiate and sign treaties with foreign diplomats (although the resulting treaty is contingent on the Senates approval through a two-thirds vote). b. Identify two formal constitutional powers of Congress in making foreign policy. Although the President has the power to command the military as he sees fit, only Congress has the power to declare war on foreign nations under Article I Section viii of the Constitution. Likewise, though the POTUS has the power to negotiate treaties with foreign diplomats, Article II Section ii grants the right to ratify the treaty to Congress, or more specifically, the Senate. c. Identify two informal powers of the President that contribute to the Presidents advantage over Congress in conducting foreign policy. While only Congress has the power to pass legislation concerning foreign affairs, the President has the ability to appeal to the people through the media, employing a bully pulpit to garner public support and pressure Congress into passing legislation favorable to his objectives. The President is also capable of acting as a crisis manager in extenuating circumstances, responding to international crises quickly and decisively. d. Explain how each of the informal powers identified in Part C contributes to the Presidents advantage over Congress in conducting foreign policy. By using his access to the media to create a bully pulpit, the POTUS is capable of manipulating public opinion into accomplishing his will, forcing Congress to come to a single, unified policy a lot sooner. His role as a crisis manager is equally, if not more influential, on foreign policy. In the event of a major catastrophe concerning foreign affairs, there often isnt enough time for Congress to meet and deliberate a piece of legislation. The President is capable of cutting through this, however, and has the power to resolve these crises quickly, decisively, and effectively. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, for instance, required a quick resolution in order to avoid future implications to national security. It is unreasonable to assume that such a resolution can be reached by the 535 members of Congress in time. Rather, such crisis management ultimately falls down to the President, who assumes the nations responsibility in these crises.

2) The United States Congress and the President together have the power to enact federal law. Federal bureaucratic agencies have the responsibility to execute federal law. However, in the carrying out of these laws, federal agencies have policy-making discretion. a. Explain two reasons why Congress gives federal agencies policy-making discretion in executing federal laws. Despite having the responsibility to create policies for a broad variety of subject areas, the vast majority of members in Congress are not experts in every field. Because of this, they are usually unable to create detailed pieces of legislation which anticipate every possible situation resulting from the resultant policies. As such, Congress often leaves it up to the bureaucracy to implement and execute the legislation, for the agencies tasked with this legislation are (hopefully) composed of those who know what they are doing. In addition to not being well versed in a variety of subjects, Congress also lacks the time to clearly dictate every detail for every outcome for every policy it writes. If it were to focus solely on creating such perfect legislation, it would never have the time to get anything done. By relegating the task of implementation and execution to the bureaucracy, Congress lowers the burden on itself and allows itself to focus on creating legislation, increasing the efficiency of the government as a whole. b. Choose one of the bureaucratic agencies listed below. Identify the policy area over which it exercise policy-making discretion AND give one specific example of how it exercises that discretion. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) The Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with implementing and executing policies drafted by Congress which are concerned with protecting the environment and human health. Yet, it has some leeway in how it chooses to implement these policies. While Congress has tasked it with protecting endangered species, for instance, it is ultimately up to the EPA to decide which species are endangered and whether any exceptions exist to these regulations. 3) Both party leadership and committees in Congress play key roles in the legislative process. a. Define two of the following elements of the congressional committee system and explain how each influences the legislative process. Policy Specialization One key motive in assigning a specific Congressperson to a specific committee is so that that legislator develops expertise in a specific policy area and specializes in a specific field of policy. By specializing in a certain field of policy, that Congressperson will then be more effective at creating effective policy in his or her field, resulting in more specific pieces of legislation that leave less room for error or unintentional loopholes.

Party Representation on Committees Because party leaders have such a strong influence on which Congressperson is assigned to which committee, parties are capable of influencing the actions which a congressional committee takes. This allows them to pursue their own agendas on certain pieces of legislation being drafted or reviewed by these committees, influencing the resultant piece of policy. b. Identify two ways party leadership in Congress can influence the legislative process and explain how each way influences the process. While unable to directly direct the policy process in Congress, party leadership is capable of influencing the legislative process by exercising its ability to appoint members to congressional committees. By choosing members which it deems loyal to the party and assigning them on specific committees, the party leadership is capable of swaying any new legislation towards the partys ideology. The party leadership is also capable of employing whips to maintain party discipline, using threats and incentives to convince legislators to vote in line with party doctrine. By exercising its will through whips, the party leadership is capable of pushing its own agenda into legislation. 4) Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted, politicians often engage in gerrymandering. a. Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states. The political term reapportionment refers to process of redistributing the number of representatives each state has to the House of Representatives. This occurs every ten years based on the official census, and states gain or lose representatives based on any changes in their populations. States often seek larger amounts of representatives because a larger number of representatives results in a larger representation in the House of Representatives, increasing its influence over the legislative process. b. Define congressional redistricting. Congressional redistricting refers to the process of redrawing district lines for representatives in response to any new population changes, determining which sections of the state receive a distinct representative. This occurs once every ten years based on the official census, which reveals the amount of population change throughout the state. The congressional districts are redrawn to accommodate these changes in an attempt to equally represent everyone in the state. c. Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting. Because redistricting is often conducted by the party in power during each ten-year census, parties usually redistrict with the goal of maintaining power in mind. By establishing districts

such that the majority of people in each district share the same ideology as the party in control, the party ensures its position for the next election while decreasing the ability of the opposing partys constituents to rally and oppose the party in power. District lines can also be redrawn to accommodate the incumbents in power; by drawing district lines to encompass the incumbents supporters while omitting his detractors, the incumbent ensures his or her status as an incumbent for future elections. d. Describe two limits that the United States Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting. Although gerrymandering is a legal method for determining congressional districts, the Supreme Court has placed limits on the objectives of this convoluted redistricting method. Under Baker v. Carr (1962), the SCOTUS ruled that each district must roughly have the same amount of people, such that each citizen in the state is weighted equally no matter which district they reside in. In Miller v. Johnson (1995), the Supreme Court ruled that the 11th District in the State of Georgia created to form an African-American majority was unconstitutional, which set the precedent that gerrymandering to create congressional districts based on race alone is unconstitutional. 5) The graph above shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and the Senate. From this information and your knowledge of United States politics, perform the following tasks. a. Identify two patterns displayed in the graph. Although the percentage of reelection for incumbents is fairly high in both the House and the Senate, the graph for Senate reelection is fairly volatile as opposed to the stable trend outlined in the graph representing House incumbency reelection percentages. In the half-century outlined, the incumbency reelection rate for the House hovers around 90%, almost never dipping below 80%. The reelection percentage for the Senate, however, varies significantly, ranging from a low of around 58% to a high of around 95%. b. Identify two factors that contribute to incumbency advantage. Explain how each factor contributes to incumbency advantage. As an incumbent, a Congressperson has a large advantage when seeking reelection. One of the largest advantages that an incumbent holds over his or her challengers is the ability to claim credit for results produced during his or her tenure in office. In office, a Congressperson is capable of performing casework, essentially helping his or her constituents cut through bureaucracy and get what they want. While an incumbent can take this assistance and use it as evidence that he had helped his constituents reach their goals, a challenger can only make claims about what he or she would do if he or she were in office. Incumbents also have the advantage in raising funds. Since the fundamental goal of every PAC is to gain access to a politician, they often donate to the candidate they feel is strongest. Because incumbent more often than not win elections, the money that PACs donate often go to these incumbents. Since

money is such an integral part of every campaign, funding advertising and transportation (to name a few uses), this larger amount of money serves to secure an incumbents victory. c. Discuss one consequence of incumbency advantage for the United States political process. The largest impact of incumbency on the American political process is the stability it brings to the institution as a whole. Without a drastic change every few years, the representatives in Congress are capable of gaining some expertise, resulting in more experienced political leaders. This ultimately results in a stronger, more capable Congress which is better able to serve the American people by developing effective and coherent policies.