The executive departments and independent agencies

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to E on limits on handing lawmaking to the executive (the excerpts are exact; card E is made up). Card A, "A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935)". Who made it: Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, for a unanimous Court. When: 1935. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether Congress could let the President approve "codes of fair competition" for any trade. Excerpt: "Congress cannot delegate legislative power to the President to exercise an unfettered discretion to make whatever laws he thinks may be needed or advisable for the rehabilitation and expansion of trade or industry." Card B, "Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan (1935), the Court's opinion". Who made it: Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, for the Court. When: 1935. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether a section letting the President ban some interstate oil shipments gave him any standard for when to do it. Excerpt 1: "Undoubtedly legislation must often be adapted to complex conditions involving a host of details with which the national Legislature cannot deal directly." Excerpt 2: "The Constitution has never been regarded as denying to the Congress the necessary resources of flexibility and practicality, which will enable it to perform its function in laying down policies and establishing standards, while leaving to selected instrumentalities the making of subordinate rules within prescribed limits and the determination of facts to which the policy as declared by the legislature is to apply." Card C, "Justice Cardozo, dissenting in Panama Refining (1935)". Who made it: Justice Benjamin Cardozo, the lone dissenter. When: 1935. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to explain why he would have upheld the oil section. Excerpt: "Discretion is not unconfined and vagrant. It is canalized within banks that keep it from overflowing." Card D, "Whitman v. American Trucking Associations (2001)". Who made it: Justice Antonin Scalia, for the Court. When: 2001. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether a clean-air law gave the EPA too much lawmaking power. Excerpt: "In the history of the Court we have found the requisite 'intelligible principle' lacking in only two statutes, one of which provided literally no guidance for the exercise of discretion, and the other of which conferred authority to regulate the entire economy on the basis of no more precise a standard than stimulating the economy by assuring 'fair competition.'" Card E, "Two made-up laws". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Law P: The made-up Work Standards Act lets the Secretary of Labor approve "work rules that are good for industry" in every trade in the country. Law Q: The made-up Fish Stocks Act tells the Secretary of Commerce to set catch limits for coastal fishing "at the level needed to keep each fish stock from collapsing."

2. 1.

   In Panama Refining the majority and Cardozo split. Esme reads cards B and C. Where do they actually disagree?

   • Cardozo would let Congress hand lawmaking over whole, while the majority would let it hand over nothing at all
   • Both accept that Congress must set limits; they differ only on whether this law's own words set any
   • The majority bars all delegation to the President, while Cardozo would allow it only to independent agencies
   • They agree this law set limits and differ only on whether courts may review a delegation at all
3. 2.

   Card D names two failed statutes, which cards A and B concern. Milo asks what they share. Which account is strongest?

   • Each failed because the power went to the President, so a grant of the same power to an agency such as the EPA would have passed
   • Each failed because Congress left the President to find facts, which card B says Congress may never leave to others
   • Each failed because its scope was too large, and size alone is enough to invalidate a delegation of lawmaking power to the executive
   • Each lacked a real standard, one giving no guidance and the other only "fair competition"; neither failed for naming the President

4. Use this

   Cards A to D on who decides what a statute means (the excerpts are exact; card D is made up). Card A, "The Administrative Procedure Act, section 706". Who made it: Congress. When: 1946, in force today. For whom: courts, agencies and the public. Why: to say what courts do when they review agency action. Excerpt: "To the extent necessary to decision and when presented, the reviewing court shall decide all relevant questions of law, interpret constitutional and statutory provisions, and determine the meaning or applicability of the terms of an agency action." Card B, "Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024), the Court's opinion". Who made it: Chief Justice John Roberts, for the Court. When: 2024. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether courts must defer to an agency's reading of an unclear law. Excerpt 1: "Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, as the APA requires. Careful attention to the judgment of the Executive Branch may help inform that inquiry. And when a particular statute delegates authority to an agency consistent with constitutional limits, courts must respect the delegation, while ensuring that the agency acts within it." Excerpt 2: "But courts need not and under the APA may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous." Card C, "Justice Kagan, dissenting". Who made it: Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting. When: 2024. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to object to the Court's rule. Excerpt: "In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue—no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden—involving the meaning of regulatory law." Card D, "A made-up dispute". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The made-up Safe Food Act tells the Secretary of Health to "regulate the safe handling of food sold to the public" and to decide "what temperatures are safe" for stored food. The Secretary issues a rule covering pet food and setting 38 degrees as the top storage temperature for it. A pet-food maker sues.

5. 3.

   A critic says card B ends all agency discretion. Tala answers using cards A and B. Which reply is strongest?

   • Right: card B says courts need not defer, and nothing in it lets an agency's judgment help the court at all
   • Card B keeps delegations: where a statute grants authority, courts respect it and check only that the agency stays inside it
   • Right: courts now decide every question an agency touches, because card A gives judges the meaning of all terms in any statute
   • Wrong: card B tells courts to defer to agencies whenever a statute is unclear, which keeps discretion whole
6. 4.

   Jun tests Kagan's charge on card C against card A. Which reply by the majority is strongest?

   • Congress said nothing about courts reviewing agency readings, so the Court relied on history rather than the Act
   • Judges have more expertise than agencies, and card A recognizes that by naming courts as the reviewers of agency action today
   • Card A lets agencies decide questions of law and gives courts only the facts, so the Court is restoring a balance
   • Card A already gives judges the meaning of statutory terms, so the Court only declined an exception for unclear statutes
7. 5.

   Noah applies card B to the pet-food rule on card D. Which question must the court answer, and who decides it?

   • Whether 38 degrees is the best figure; card B asks courts to pick the best number when an Act mentions temperature
   • Whether pet food is "food sold to the public": the court decides; the 38 degrees is the Secretary's choice, checked only for limits
   • Whether the Secretary's reading of "food" is reasonable; card B says courts defer to any reasonable agency reading of a statute
   • The court decides both, because card A gives judges the meaning of every term in an agency's action, including its figures

8. Use this

   Cards A to E on creating an agency and keeping a check on it (the excerpts are exact; cards B and E are summaries or made up). Card A, "President Nixon's message on the EPA plan". Who made it: President Richard Nixon. When: July 9, 1970. For whom: Congress. Why: to send Congress Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970. Excerpt: "I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970, prepared in accordance with chapter 9 of title 5 of the United States Code and providing for an Environmental Protection Agency." Card B, "When the EPA is said to begin". Who made it: the Environmental Protection Agency's history office. When: read in 2026. For whom: the public. Why: to explain the EPA's start date. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Senate confirmed William Ruckelshaus as the EPA's first Administrator on December 2, 1970, which the agency treats as its birth date. The plan had been signed five months earlier. Card C, "INS v. Chadha (1983), the Court's opinion". Who made it: Chief Justice Warren Burger, for the Court. When: 1983. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether one house of Congress could overturn an executive decision under a delegation by law. Excerpt: "Congress must abide by its delegation of authority to the Attorney General until that delegation is legislatively altered or revoked." Card D, "Justice White, dissenting in Chadha". Who made it: Justice Byron White. When: 1983. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to defend the legislative veto. Excerpt 1: "The Reorganization Acts established the chief model for the legislative veto." Excerpt 2: "over the past five decades, the legislative veto has been placed in nearly 200 statutes." Card E, "Plan K". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A President sends Congress Plan K to merge two agencies into a Rivers Service, under a law passed before 1983 saying a plan takes effect in 60 days unless either house passes a resolution against it. The Senate passes such a resolution, 61 to 39. The House takes no vote.

9. 6.

   Pia reads cards A, C and D together. Which statement about the check on a plan like the EPA's do they best support?

   • The 1983 ruling made the 1970 plan invalid, so the EPA's creation was undone and its first Administrator had to resign
   • The plan needed approval from both houses, which is why the Senate confirmed the Administrator
   • The plan came through a legislative veto that Chadha upheld, since Congress must abide by its delegation until it is revoked
   • The plan came through the Reorganization Acts, the model for the legislative veto, a device the majority's reasoning rejects
10. 7.

    The Senate votes against Plan K on card E. Using cards C and D, Zee asks whether that vote alone stops the plan. What follows?

    • Yes: card A shows the EPA plan reached Congress in July and was acted on in December, so the timing of the vote decides
    • No: the delegation stands until Congress changes it legislatively, and a resolution of only one house is not that
    • Yes, but only if the House also votes against Plan K, since both houses must act together before a plan is stopped
    • Yes: card D shows the veto in nearly 200 statutes, so a one-house resolution has been valid in practice for decades
11. 8.

    Luz asks which statement cards A, B and D support best about who shaped the EPA's start.

    • Congress alone: the Senate confirmed the Administrator, so the President had no part in creating the agency at all
    • The courts: Chadha shows a court, not Congress, decides whether any agency plan takes effect
    • A law of Congress set the route and the Senate confirmed the first head, while the President only proposed the plan
    • The President alone: the plan was sent "in accordance with" title 5 only as a formality that Congress could not use

12. Use this

    Cards A to D on checks on who gets federal jobs (the excerpts are exact; card C is a summary; card D is made up). Card A, "The Federalist No. 76 (1788)". Who made it: Alexander Hamilton, writing as Publius. When: April 1, 1788. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to defend giving the Senate a part in appointments. Excerpt: "the necessity of their concurrence would have a powerful, though, in general, a silent operation. It would be an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the President, and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters from State prejudice, from family connection, from personal attachment, or from a view to popularity." Card B, "The Pendleton Act (1883)". Who made it: Congress. When: January 16, 1883. For whom: federal job seekers and officials. Why: to start hiring by examination. Excerpt 1 (Section 10): "… no recommendation of any person who shall apply for office or place under the provisions of this act which may be given by any Senator or member of the House of Representatives, except as to the character or residence of the applicant, shall be received or considered by any person concerned in making any examination or appointment under this act." Excerpt 2 (Section 1): "The President may remove any commissioner" Card C, "Who the Act covered". Who made it: the National Archives, from the Act's history. When: read in 2026. For whom: students. Why: to say how far the Act reached. Summary in our words, not a quotation: When the Act went into effect, its hiring reforms covered only 10 percent of the government's 132,000 employees, about 13,200 jobs. Over the years its scope has broadened, and today it applies to most of the 2.9 million positions in the federal government. Card D, "A made-up writer". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Dr. Ames argues that Senate confirmation keeps favoritism out of government. For support, Ames cites card A and notes that in one year the Senate confirmed 99 of every 100 civilian nominees whose names reached a vote.

13. 9.

    A student says the Pendleton Act ended patronage. Using cards B and C, Bo judges. What is the best verdict?

    • Shown: the Act barred recommendations from members of Congress, which removes patronage from all federal hiring
    • Shown: the Act now applies to most of 2.9 million positions, so it ended patronage in 1883
    • Weakly supported: it covered only about 10 percent of 132,000 jobs at first, though it barred member recommendations
    • Refuted: the President could remove any commissioner, so the Act changed nothing about who got the covered jobs in 1883
14. 10.

    A writer says cards A and B did the same job. Kira tests the writer. Which objection is strongest?

    • Card A was written in 1788 and card B in 1883, so a writer in 1788 could not have compared the two
    • Card B has the Senate confirm each hire by vote, so it repeats the check on card A for every covered job
    • Card A shows Hamilton opposed any check on appointments, while card B adds the very check that he rejected in 1788
    • Card A: a Senate vote checks the President's picks; card B: examination fills all covered jobs, with no picking