| Review Questions for Unit CE 9 in Fasttrack Civics - Making an Impact
on Public
Policy Questions about the role of individuals and interest groups in setting public policy: 1. Tell two ways individuals can influence public policy through direct participation in politics. 2. Tell two ways individuals can influence elected lawmakers by expressing their opinions about issues. 3. Why is joining an interest group often a more effective way to influence public policy and laws than simply working on your own? 4. Give the name of two interest groups active in U.S. politics today. 5. Why do political leaders pay more attention to interest groups with large numbers of members? 6. To have real impact, interest groups should identify and study issues they are concerned about. Once they have done that, they should ____________ elected officials to see things their way. (Answer choices: harass, lobby, threaten.) 7. Interest groups that want to build a solid influence with lawmakers usually make it a point to give political _____________ to candidates who support their views. (Answer choices: bribes, contributions, posters.) 8. What does the word "lobbying" mean? Questions about the role of the media in shaping public policy: 9. What could a newspaper or TV station reporter do to encourage elected officials to consider new laws to deal with the problem of drunk driving? 10. A newspaper that publishes letters to the editor on all sides of public issues is showing how the media give a _____________ where opposing viewpoints can be heard by the public. (Answer choices: forum, lottery, transmission.)  11. The newspaper clip above shows the media is doing a good job of holding public officials ________________ for their actions and mistakes. (Answer choices: hostage, accountable, safe.) Questions about the impact of world events on local policymaking: 12. International issues can force local governments to make policy decisions about protecting public health because ____________ can spread across national borders. (Answer choices: clouds, diseases, TV signals.) 13. The migration of wildlife across large areas of land may require local governments to take action to help protect the ___________. (Answer choices: highways, environment, Internet.) 14. Many local governments have developed policies to deal with the threat of __________ since the events of September 11, 2001. (Answer choices: storms, terrorism, frost.) 15. The growth of the global economy may require local governments to develop new economic ___________ policies to encourage local business growth. (Answer choices: development, price, reporting.) Copyright 2007, 2015 by David Burns All rights reserved www.fasttrackteaching.com/civics |