| Period | Congressional status | Change in total outlays | Change in nondefense outlays | Change in defense outlays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1988 | divided | −0.4 | −1.3 | 0.9 |
| 1975–1976 | divided | 2.7 | 3.0 | −0.3 |
| 1977–1980 | undivided | 0.3 | 0.6 | −0.3 |
| 1964–1968 | undivided | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| 1969–1974 | divided | −1.8 | 2.1 | −3.9 |
Economist Steve H. Hanke has shown that divided US Congresses—which occur when one party holds the majority in the House of Representatives and another holds the majority in the Senate—tend to accompany reductions in total federal outlays (spending) relative to gross domestic product (GDP), which Hanke interprets to reflect decreases in government size. Hanke calculated the percentage point change in total outlays (encompassing nondefense and defense outlays) for consecutive US Congresses. Hanke has pointed to his calculations as evidence that a divided Congress may be a “necessary but not sufficient condition” for a decrease in government size to occur.
","stem_html":"Which choice best describes data from the table that support the underlined claim?
","rationale_html":"Choice D is the best answer. The claim is that divided Congresses are necessary but insufficient—that is, we need divide Congresses, but they are not enough—to decrease government size, as measured by total federal outlays. This choice accurately expresses the supporting data from the “change in total outlays” part of the graph. Within the data set, divided Congresses sometimes decreased total outlays, but undivided ones never did.
Choice A is incorrect. The claim is only about government size, as measured by total federal outlays—defense and nondefense outlays aren’t relevant. Choice B is incorrect. The claim is only about government size as measured by total federal outlays—nondefense outlays aren’t relevant. Choice C is incorrect. The claim is only about government size as measured by total federal outlays—specific information about defense or nondefense outlays isn’t relevant.
","correct_answer":["D"],"has_media":false,"has_mathml":false,"has_table":true,"source_created_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.369000+00:00","source_updated_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.369000+00:00","options":[{"label":"A","content_html":"The periods of undivided Congresses were associated with increases in nondefense outlays, whereas all the periods of divided Congresses except one were associated with reductions in defense outlays.
","ord":0},{"label":"B","content_html":"All the periods of divided Congresses were associated with reductions in total outlays, although two periods were also associated with increases in nondefense outlays.
","ord":1},{"label":"C","content_html":"The periods of undivided Congresses were associated with increases in total outlays, whereas all the periods of divided Congresses were associated with reductions in either nondefense outlays or defense outlays.
","ord":2},{"label":"D","content_html":"All the periods of divided Congresses except one were associated with reductions in total outlays, whereas the periods of undivided Congresses were associated with increases in total outlays.
","ord":3}],"attribution":{"source_id":"cb_question_bank","source_name":"College Board digital SAT question bank (community dump)","rights_holder":"College Board","canonical_url":"https://satsuitequestionbank.collegeboard.org/","retrieved_from":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdn522/sat-question-bank/main/data/cb-digital-questions.json","attribution":"SAT practice questions © College Board, from the official SAT Suite Question Bank. Retrieved via the community dump at github.com/mdn522/sat-question-bank.","disclaimer":"SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, does not sponsor, and does not endorse this project.","license":"College Board copyright; source repository carries no licence. Local use only.","redistributable":false,"item_count":2017}}