American Government — System of Government · Question 46 of 128
What branch of government controls the federal budget (the 'power of the purse')?
Practice answer: Legislative (Congress)
Why this is the answer
Congress controls federal spending, often called the “power of the purse.” It must approve the federal budget and authorize money to be spent.
On the 2026 citizenship test, a USCIS officer asks up to 20 questions from the official 128-question pool — answering 12 correctly passes.
Study translations and question index
Practice index: 46. This is not the official 2025 syllabus question number. Translation indices share the same practice ID and answer-option order.
Español — practice:46:es
¿Qué rama del gobierno controla el presupuesto federal (el 'poder de la cartera')?
Legislativo (Congreso)
العربية — practice:46:ar
أي سلطة حكومية تتحكم في الميزانية الفيدرالية (سلطة 'التحكم في الأموال')؟
تشريعية (الكونغرس)
Official syllabus and legal sources
M-1778 (09/25) — 2025 USCIS syllabus. Retrieved 2026-10-15. Check current USCIS answers.
- 8 U.S.C. § 1423 — English, history and civics requirements
- 8 C.F.R. § 312.2 — Knowledge of history and government
These laws establish testing requirements; they are not individual legal advice or a citation for every historical answer. Practice questions and study translations are editorial learning aids, not official USCIS translations. Confirm the test version that applies to your filing date.
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