Aim for FiveUS Government

Concept application

An executive order meets the power of the purse

  • Unit 2
  • 3 points
  • About 20 minutes

You read a short scenario about politics and explain how a political institution, behavior or process from the course is at work in it. On the exam: Question 1 of 4 in the free-response section (1 hour 40 minutes for all four, 50% of your score).

The question and its sources

Read the scenario and answer parts A, B, and C.

Scenario

A bill to change how federal agencies hire cybersecurity specialists failed to pass Congress. A few months later, the president signed an executive order directing federal agencies to drop the college-degree requirement for most cybersecurity positions and to hire applicants who pass a skills test instead.

The House of Representatives, controlled by the party opposed to the president, responded. Its version of the annual spending bill for the Office of Personnel Management included a provision stating that none of the funds in the bill may be used to carry out the executive order. Critics in the House argued that the order went beyond what federal hiring law allows.

The president's press secretary announced that the president would veto any spending bill that included the provision.

Source: Hypothetical scenario

Suggested time: 20 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Describe the power the president used in the scenario.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (b)

1 point

In the context of the scenario, explain how the House's action is a check on the president's power.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (c)

1 point

In the context of the scenario, explain how the president's threatened veto could affect whether the House's provision becomes law.

0 / 2,500 characters

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