AP U.S. Government and Politics · Free-response skill

Apply a power or check to a scenario

The move. Name the power or check at work in a scenario about the branches, apply it to the facts, and say how another branch could respond.

How to do it

  1. Start each part by naming the exact power, rule or check, such as a veto override, rule-making or an oversight hearing.
  2. Use the numbers and details in the scenario. If a part turns on a vote, compare each count with the share the rule requires.
  3. For a check by another branch, name the branch and its tool. A specific step, such as a hearing or a budget cut, beats a vague one, such as Congress disagreeing.
  4. Answer only what each part asks. One clear, accurate sentence or two per part is enough.

Practice prompt Try it

Fictional scenario. Congress passes a bill that sets safety rules for delivery drones. The president vetoes it, saying the rules cost too much. Every member of Congress then votes on overriding the veto: 300 of the 435 House members vote to override, and 70 of the 100 senators vote to override. The finished law says only that drones must be safe for people on the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration, an agency in the executive branch, then writes the detailed rules, such as how high drones may fly over homes.

Use the scenario to answer each part.

  1. Say whether the drone bill became law, and use the vote counts to show why.
  2. Give one reason the Federal Aviation Administration, and not Congress, writes the detailed drone rules.
  3. Name one tool Congress could use to check the agency after the rules are written.

Write each part, then check yourself against the checklist. Nothing you type here is saved or graded.

Check yourself and see a model answer

Checklist

Our own checklist of what a full answer does, one line per point. Tick each one your response earns.

0 of 4 points

Model answer, annotated

(a) Yes, the bill became law, because Congress overrode the veto. An override needs two-thirds of each chamber: 300 of 435 House members is about 69 percent, more than the 290 needed, and 70 of 100 senators is more than the 67 needed.

  • Point 1 Says plainly that the bill became law.
  • Point 2 Compares each count with two-thirds of its chamber, 290 in the House and 67 in the Senate.

(b) Congress wrote a broad law that says only that drones must be safe, and it left the details to the agency, which has expert staff who know aircraft and can set exact rules such as flight heights.

  • Point 3 Gives two accurate reasons: the law is broad and delegates the details, and the agency has expertise.

(c) Congress could hold an oversight hearing and question agency leaders about the new rules.

  • Point 4 Names a real congressional check on an agency, an oversight hearing.