DEBT CEILING

1. The debt ceiling was first enacted in 1917 through the _________.

a) Glass-Steagall Act

         b) Second Liberty Bond Act

c) Federal Reserve Act

2. When the debt limit is reached, the Treasury Department can use an accounting maneuver called ________ to avoid defaulting on the government’s obligations.

a) Involuntary conversions

b) Analytical procedures

         c) Extraordinary measures

3. Which Democratic member of the House of Representatives sponsored H.R. 3877 or the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019?

a) Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX)

         b) Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY)

c) Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)

4. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal budget deficit is about $900 billion in 2019, and it will exceed ______ each year beginning in 2022.

a) $950 billion

         b) $1 trillion

c) $1.5 trillion

5. Prior to establishing the debt ceiling, Congress had to approve each issuance of debt in a separate piece of legislation.

         a) True

b) False

REPARATIONS

1. Under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, the U.S. government apologized for Japanese American internment during World War II and provided reparations of $20,000 to each survivor.

         a) True

b) False

2. Aside from the U.S., other nations have also paid money to those who were historically wronged by their actions. Which of the countries below have paid reparations to certain groups of people?

a) Colombia

b) South Africa

c) Peru

         d) All of the above

3. All of the states below, except one, has officially apologized for its involvement in the enslavement of Africans. Which state is the exception?

a) Alabama

         b) South Carolina

c) Virginia

d) Florida

4. In H.R. 40, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) purports to establish a commission to consider __________for slavery.

a) National apology

b) Proposal for reparations

c) Affirmative action programs

         d) Both A and B

e) Both B and C

Green New Deal

1.   The primary climate-change goal of the Green New Deal is to reach net-zero greenhouse emissions in a decade. This means there would be no greenhouse gas emissions at all in 10 years.
a)  True
b)  False

2.    In October 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in a report that in order to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels—and thereby avoid many climate change impacts—the world would have to reach net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide by the year __________.
a)  2030
b)  2050
c)  2070

3.    Who introduced their own version of a “Green New Deal” and in what year?
a)  Hillary Clinton, 1999
b)  Barack Obama, 2010
 c)  Jill Stein, 2012

4.    What is the name of the youth-led organization that advocates for a Green New Deal in Congress?
a)  Youth for Environmental Action
 b)  Sunrise Movement
c)  Champions for Climate

Capitalism v. Socialism

1.  The Laffer Curve is the theory that lower tax rates boost economic growth.
 a)  True
b)  False

2.    In which of the following economic systems are factors of production owned by individuals?
a)  Capitalism
b)  Socialism
c)  Fascism
  d)  Both A and C

3.    Which is not a characteristic of capitalism?
a)  Free-market economy
 b)  Income equality
c)  Supply and demand
d)  Profit motive

4.    The mantra of which economic system is “From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution?”
a)  Communism
 b)  Socialism
c)  Fascism

5.    In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friederich Engels outlined the characteristics of communism, which did not include _________.
a) Abolition of property
b) Abolition of right of inheritance
     c) Abolition of command economy

National Emergency

1.  Which Republican lawmaker originally announced he was against President Trump’s national emergency declaration and then later flip-flopped and cast his vote in support of the president’s declaration?
a) Rep. Mark Meadows (R–NC)
 b) Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
c) Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)

2.    What is the name of the federal law that was passed in 1976 and formalized the emergency powers of U.S. presidents?
a) Immigration and Nationality Act
b) War Powers Resolution
  c) National Emergencies Act

3.    Since the above-named legislation was signed into law, how many national emergencies have been declared by U.S. presidents (as of February 2019)?
a) 59
b) 71
c) 96

4.    Article I, Section 9, Clause 7, of the U.S. Constitution is referred to as what clause?
a)  Separation of Powers Clause
b)  Taxing and Spending Clause
c)  Appropriations Clause

Civil Asset Forfeiture

1.    Equitable sharing refers to a program in which the proceeds of assets seized through civil forfeiture are shared between state and federal law enforcement authorities.
a)   True
b)   False

2.    Which law established the Assets Forfeiture Fund at the Department of Justice and the Equitable Sharing Program?
a)   Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
b)   Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act
c)   Comprehensive Crime Control Act

3.    On March 16, 2017, which lawmakers introduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act, a reform bill designed to protect innocent property owners from federal civil forfeiture? (circle all that apply)
a)   Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI)
b)   Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
c)   Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)

4.    Critics of civil asset forfeiture argue that the practice:
a)   Disadvantages people of color and poor people
b)   Violates people’s constitutional rights
c)   Encourages law agencies to pad their budgets
d)   All of the above

5.    In civil proceedings, the government must prove the property’s connection to alleged criminal activity “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
a)   True
   b)   False

Gun Control Laws

1. According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly _________ people in the U.S. were killed by guns in 2017.
a) 30,000
  b) 40,000
c) 70,000

2. Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world.
a) True
b) False

3. According to the Small Arms Survey 2018, the top three countries with the highest number of guns per civilian are:
a) United States, Serbia, Canada
b) United States, Finland, Lebanon
c) United States, Yemen and Montenegro

4. Firearms are generally classified into what three broad types?
a) Semi-automatics, pistols and rifles
b) Handguns, rifles and shotguns
c) Pistols, handguns and shotguns

5. A semi-automatic firearm fires multiple bullets with the single pull of the trigger while a fully automatic firearm fires one bullet each time the trigger is pulled.
a) True
 b) False

Vaccines

1. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as of December 2017, ______states allowed philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunizations because of personal, moral or other beliefs.
a) 5
b) 13
c) 18

2. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children between birth and age six receive ______ different vaccines, including those for diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, measles and mumps.
a) 6
b) 14
c) 22

3. Children under 5 are especially susceptible to disease because their immune systems have not built up the necessary defenses to fight infection. Thus, CDC recommends immunizing by age 2.
a) True
b) False

4. What year did Dr. Jonas Salk and his team develop a vaccine for polio?
a) 1943
b) 1952
c) 1964

5. Which state passed a law (effective July 1, 2016) that closed the “vaccine exemption loophole” by eliminating personal or religious exemptions for children in that state?
a) California
b) New York
c) Vermont

Troops in Syria

1. The Middle East is home to the three Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Judaism and _______________.

a) Bahá’í

b) Islam

c) Zoroastrian

2. In the first five years of the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, approximately _______________ Syrians were killed, according to the UN Envoy for Syria.

a) 400,000

b) 650,000

c) 1.1 million

3. Bashar al-Assad has ruled Syria as president since 2000.

a) True

b) False

4. _________________ is the capital city of Syria and is sometimes called the “Jasmine City.”

a) Tripoli

b) Damascus

c) Beirut

5. The majority of Syrians belong to which religious group?

a) Druze

b) Shiite Muslim

c) Sunni Muslim

Food Stamps and Work

1. The SNAP program, commonly called food stamps, was first introduced in what year?

a) 1939

b) 1952

c) 1970

2. SNAP cost the federal government ____________ in 2017, according to the USDA.

a) $22.5 billion

b) $44 billion

c) $68 billion

3. Under current SNAP requirements, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) must work or participate in an employment program for at least 20 hours a week to continue to receive benefits for more than ________ over a ____________ period.

a) six weeks/24-month period

b) three months/36-month period

c) four months/48-month period

4. Currently, states may request to waive the time limit in areas with an unemployment rate above 15 percent.

a) True

b) False

5. Which of these items cannot be purchased with SNAP EBT card?

a) Rotisserie chicken from deli

b) Energy drinks

c) Pet food

d) All of the above

Birthright Citizenship

1. Federal regulation of immigration did not begin until ________.
    a)  1875
b)  1939
c)  1955

2. People who are born in the United States are automatically considered “naturalized” citizens of the country.
a)  True
  b)  False

3. The three major rights of a citizen guaranteed under the 14th Amendment are:
a)  Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
b)  Life, liberty and property
c)  Life, liberty and the right to bear arms

4. U.S. citizens are expected to fulfill certain responsibilities, including:
a)  Paying taxes
b)  Registering for the draft
c)  Following the laws of the land
 d)  All of the above

5. Who is the sponsor of H.R.140 (Birthright Citizenship Act of 2017), which was introduced in the House of Representatives on Jan. 3, 2017?
a)  Rep. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
 b)  Rep. Steve King (R-IA)
c)  Rep. Dick Durban (D-IL)

Balanced Budget Amendment

1. Of the three main categories of the United States federal budget, which category does Medicare fall under?
a)  Mandatory spending
b)  Discretionary spending
c)  Interest on debt

2.    Military and defense spending fall under mandatory spending.
a)  True
b)  False

3.    In what year did the last government shutdown occur as a result of disagreement over government spending?
a)  2008
b)  2011
c)  2013

4.    Since________, Congress has never passed more than a third of its regular appropriations bills on time.
a)  1997
b)  2001
c)  2008

5.    According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), annual mandatory spending will increase to about ___% of GDP by 2027.
a) 2.5%
b) 14%
c) 27%

6.    In fiscal year 2017, of all federal outlays, mandatory spending accounted for ___% of all federal outlays while discretionary spending totaled about ___%.
a) 48%, 45%
b) 52%, 41%
c) 63%, 30%

Smoking Age

1. Evidence shows that nicotine dependence is not correlated with younger ages of smoking initiation.
a)  True
b)  False

2. Smoking kills more people than ______.
a)  Alcohol and illegal drugs
b)  Car accidents
c)  Murders and suicides
d)  All of the above combined

3. In 2015, which state was the first to raise the minimum legal sale age for buying tobacco products to 21?
a)  California
 b)  Hawaii
c)  Oregon

4. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the racial/ethnic group that has the highest rate of tobacco use among U.S. middle and high school students is ________.
a)  American Indian/Alaska Native
b)  White
 c)  Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
d)  Black

5. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
a)  True
b)  False

Tech Regulations

1. The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in order to increase political instability in the U.S. and to damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign by bolstering which other candidate(s)?
a)  Donald Trump
b)  Bernie Sanders
c)  Jill Stein
d)  All of the above

2. The Honest Ads Act (S. 1989) was introduced in the Senate to promote regulation of campaign advertisements online. Which of the following senators was not a sponsor of this bill?
a)  Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
c)  Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
d)  Sen. Angus King (I-ME)
b)  Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)

3. The companies that drive a large amount of growth in technology are sometimes referred to as GAFTA, an acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon.
a) True
b) False

4. In March 2018, Cambridge Analytica harvested the sensitive data of __________ Facebook users without their explicit permission.
a) 50 million
b) 87 million
c) 22 billion

Minimum Wage

1.     The federal minimum wage for tipped workers is ____ an hour and hasn’t been raised since 1991.

a)    $2.13

b)    $4.02

c)     $5.45

2.          Who was the first female secretary of labor appointed to a presidential cabinet?

a)   Eleanor Roosevelt

b)   Frances Perkins

c)   Jeannette Rankin

3. In 2017, workers in which country clocked the most hours per week, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development?

a)   Costa Rica

b)   South Korea

c)   Mexico

4. What is the average number of hours worked per week by workers in Germany?

a)   26 hours a week

b)   33 hours a week

c)   40 hours a week

5. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, although workers under age 25 represented only about one-fifth of hourly paid workers, they made up about half of those paid the federal minimum wage or less in 2016.

a)   True

b)   False

Fuel Efficiency Standards

1.     According to the Environmental Protection Agency, diesel gasoline creates about ___% more carbon dioxide per gallon than regular unleaded.

a)    5% more

b)    15% more

c)     25% more

2.     Per the EPA, a typical passenger vehicle emits about _____metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, assuming the vehicle has a fuel economy of 22 miles per gallon and drives 11,500 miles a year.

a)    4.6 metric tons

b)    7.5 metric tons

c)     10.2 metric tons

3.     What is the name of the regulations that were enacted by Congress in 1975 to improve the average fuel economy of new cars and light trucks in the U.S.?

a)    Clean Power Plan (CPP)

b)    Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule

c)     Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)

4.     California is the only state permitted to issue emissions standards under the federal Clean Air Act. Other states may choose to follow California’s standards but may not set their own.

a)    True

b)    False

5.     Who is the lead sponsor of the Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 2018, which would block federal agencies from creating loopholes in emissions standards?

a)    Sen. Kamala Harris

b)    Rep. Carolos Curbelo

c)     Rep. Doris Okada Matsui

Supreme Court

1. Inscribed above the 16 marble columns of the U.S. Supreme Court Building’s front entrance are the words_______________________.
a)  Guardians of the Constitution
b)  Equal Justice Under Law
c)   Iura Novit Curia (The Court Knows the Law)

2. The number of justices who sit on the Supreme Court is determined by Congress and is currently set at eight Associate Justices and one Chief Justice.
a) True
b)  False

3. Who was the first female Supreme Court justice?
a)  Sandra Day O’Connor
b)  Ruth Bader Ginsburg
c)  Elena Kagan
d)  Sonia Sotomayor

4. In April 2017, the Republican-led Senate lowered the number of votes needed to end debate on Supreme Court nominations to 51 instead of 60. This is commonly called what?
a)  Quorum call
b)  Filibuster
c)  Nuclear option

5. Which of the following Supreme Court nominees was either rejected by the Senate or withdrew their candidacy?
a)  Robert Bork
b)  Clarence Thomas
c)  Harriet Miers
d)  Both A and C

Bullying Laws

1. The definition of bullying recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes which of the following characteristics?
a)  Intentional aggression
b)  Power imbalance between aggressor and victim
c)  Repetition of the aggression
d)  All of the above

2. What  type of bullying is the most common form of bullying?
a)  Physical
b)  Verbal
c)  Cyber
d)  Sexual

3. How do you recognize someone who bullies?
a)  Size
b)  Gender
c)  Behavior
d)  Age

4. Who are young people most likely to report bullying to?
a)  Teacher
b)  Friend
c)  Family member
d)  Boyfriend or girlfriend

5. Boys are primarily bullied by boys and girls are primarily bullied by girls.
a)  True
b)  False

Digital Privacy

1. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides expanded and new rights for EU individuals such as the right of ________, sometimes called the “right to be forgotten.”

a)    Restriction

b)    Notification

c)     Deletion

2. Facebook’s practice of tracking, collecting and storing users’ internet surfing data (even when they are not logged in) is a violation of European privacy law because Facebook did not have user _____.

a)    Consent

b)    Portability

c)     Opt-in

3. The European Union’s GDPR replaces the _________ of 1995 under which each of the 28 EU member countries operate their own interpretation of this law.

a)    Electronic Communications Privacy Act

b)    Data Protection Directive

c)     Privacy Regulation Proclamation

4. This November, California voters will vote on a ballot measure called the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which gives Californians certain privacy rights, including:

a)    Right to say no to sale of personal information

b)    Right to Know What Personal Information is being collected

c)     Right to know whether personal information is sold or disclosed and to whom

d)    All of the above

Trade War

1. In a trade war, the involved countries often resort to an increased number of protectionist policies. This causes both nations to move toward a position of _____ or self-sufficiency.

a) Absolute advantage

b) Closed economy

c) Autarky

2. Which international organization is now responsible for developing and maintaining the system of international trade rules and dealing with trade disputes?

a) International Monetary Fund

b) World Trade Organization

c) The World Bank

3. What is the name of the ancient network of trade routes that connected the East and West and was established during the Han Dynasty of China?

a) Silk Road

b) East West Corridor

c) Persian Royal Road

4. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, trade expansion benefits U.S. families and businesses by:

a) Supporting more jobs in our export sectors

b) Expanding the variety of products available to purchase

c) Encouraging investment and more rapid economic growth

d) All of the above

5. The official name of China’s currency or money is the yuan, which means the people’s currency. The renminbi is a unit of the currency.

a) True

b) False

GUN CONTROL

1. The top three countries with the highest number of armed civilians are:

a)   United States, Yemen, Switzerland

b)   United States, Canada, Iraq

c)   United States, Serbia, Saudi Arabia

2. A semi-automatic firearm fires one bullet each time the trigger is pulled while a fully automatic firearm fires multiple bullets with a single pull of the trigger.

a)    True

b)    False

3. According to the FBI’s “Expanded Homicide Data Table” for 2016, roughly 16,459 murders were committed in the U.S. in 2016. Of these, ___ were committed with firearms.

a)    64%

b)    73%

c)    85%

4. What are the three main types of firearms?

a)    Semi-automatics, pistols and rifles

b)    Pistols, handguns and shotguns

c)    Handguns, rifles and shotguns

5. According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report,” dated Feb. 3, 2016, handguns comprised 62% of all new guns sold to civilians and law enforcement in 2014.

a)    True

b)    False

INTERNET SALES TAX

1. In a November 2017 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated that states and municipalities could gain ___________ in annual revenue if they could require online retailers to collect sales tax.

a)   Between $500 million and $1 billion

b)   Between $1 and $4 billion

c)   Between $8 and $13 billion

2. Forty-six of the 50 states have a statewide sales tax.

a)   True

b)   False

3. During the past three Congresses — including the 113th Congress (2013-2014), 114th Congress (2015-2016) and 115th Congress (2017-2018) — four internet sales tax bills were proposed. Which bill was approved by the Senate but not the House?

a)   Marketplace Fairness Act 

b)   Remote Transactions Parity Act of 2017

c)   Online Sales Simplification Act

d)   No Regulation Without Representation Act

4. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 accounted for _____ of total retail sales.

a)   10.5% 

b)   21%

c)   29.4%

5. The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement was created by the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures in the fall of 1999 to simplify sales tax collection.

a)    True

b)    False

Offshore Drilling

1. The U.S. border is actually _________miles away from the coastline. This area around the country is called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). a) 100 miles b) 200 miles c) 500 miles 2. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States surpassed China in annual gross crude oil imports in 2017. a) True b) False 3. The U.S. produces less than ______% of the world’s total oil reserves, yet we consume ______% of the world’s yearly production. a) 1%, 23% b) 2%, 21% c) 3%, 25% 4. Which oil and gas company was associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico? a) Exxon b) Union Oil c) BP (British Petroleum) 5. The largest oil spill on earth occurred in January 1991 during the Gulf War, when Iraqi forces intentionally released 252 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf. a) True b) False

Welfare and Drug Testing

1. According to Think Progress, the 13 states that drug-tested TANF applicants or recipients in 2016 spent ____________ to find 369 drug users.

a) $1.3 million

b) $10 million

c) $1.1 billion

2. In a continuation of question 1 above, the positive drug test rate out of all applicants ranged from ______% in Arkansas to ______% percent in Utah.

a) .07% in Arkansas, 2.14% in Utah

b) 1.2% in Arkansas, 2.98% in Utah

c) 5.1% in Arkansas, 6.2% in Utah

3. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is the United States’ food stamps program.

a) True

b) False

4. Which state is not one of the 15 states that have passed legislation regarding drug testing for public assistance applicants or recipients?

a) Iowa

b) Utah

c) Michigan

5. In 2009, which state became the first state to enact a drug-testing law for welfare applicants?

a) Texas

b) Arizona

c) Georgia