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AP GOV

REVIEWED! Government in America(Pearson) Chapter 14

American Government: Institutions & Policies

BUREAUCRACY THE FEDERAL

(Wilson) Chapter 15

•  Thegovernmentbureaucracyisanorganiza4onofnon-electedgovernmentofficialswhofulfillthefunc4onsoftheirpar4cularagency–  Jobistocarryouttheresponsibili4es

ofthefederalgovernment•  ImplementlawspassedbyCongress&EOofPresident

•  Developandenforcerulesandregula4ons

•  Administergovernmentprograms–  Thisobjec4veisperformedby:

•  Agencies•  Commissions•  Departments•  Governmentcorpora4ons

THE BUREAUCRACY

•  Bureaucra4cMyths&Reali4es–  Americansdislikebureaucrats

•  Ci4zensandelectedofficialsdislike“faceless”bureaucracies–  Toomuch“redtape”,ineffec4ve,inefficient

•  Butmajorityofci4zensreportfavorableinterac4onswithvariousbureaucra4cagencies

–  Bureaucraciesareincreasing•  Federalbureaucracyisshrinking,butstateandlocalbureaucracieshavegrown

–  BureaucratsworkinD.C.•  Mostworkatthestateorlocallevel

THE BUREAUCRATS

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•  Dis4nc4on:

–  Patronage:systeminwhichhiringandpromo4onsarebaseduponpoli4calfactors

–  Merit:systeminwhichhiringandpromo4onsarebasedskillandtalent

•  Backintheday:Patronagesystem–  Jobnotbaseduponmerit-“spoilssystem”

•  CivilServiceSystem:passexam(s)andpromo4onsarebaseduponmerit/performance–  PendletonAct(1883):createdfederalcivil

service–  HatchAct(1939):prohibitscivilservants

fromengaginginpoli4calac4vi4es–  Meritbasedprofessionalcivilservicehelp

the“effec4venessofthebureaucracybypromo4ngprofessionalism,specializa4on,andneutrality.”

•  Patronagejobshavenotcompletelydisappeared–  Newlyelectedpresidentsfillthousandsof

execu4veposi4ons(Poli4calappointees)•  Civilservantsarerela4velyprotectedfrombeing

firedforpoli4calreasonsando^enoutlastspoli4calappointeesandelectedofficials.

ORGANIZATION OF THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY Fourtypesofbureaucra4cfederalagencies:1)CabinetDepartments2)IndependentRegulatoryCommissions3)GovernmentCorpora4ons4)IndependentExecu4veAgencies

•  CabinetDepartments:–  15differentdepts.–  SecretaryofeachdepartmentisappointedbythePresident–  Bureauswithinthedepartment

•  IndependentRegulatoryCommissions:–  Makeandenforcetherulesinthepublicinterest–  Alphabetsoupofgovernmentagencies:

•  FCC(FederalCommunica4onsCommission)•  SEC(Securi4esandExchangeCommission)

•  GovernmentCorpora4ons:–  Provideservicestoci4zensthatcouldbedealtwithbytheprivatesector–  Examples:

•  TVA:electricitytoruralareas•  U.S.PostalService

•  IndependentExecu4veAgencies:–  Anyagencythatisnotoneoftheabove–  Examples:EPA,NASA,CIA

•  CongresspassesthelawsandBUREAUCRACIES AS IMPLEMENTORS

•  Thebureaucracyimplementthepoliciesbyworkingoutthedetails–  Createanewagencyorassignresponsibilitytoanexis4ngagency–  Developrulesandguidelines–  Coordinateresourcestoensuresuccessfulimplementa4on

•  Discre4onaryauthority:theabilityofanagencytochooseacourseofac4onandsetpolicies

•  Implementa4oncanbedifficult–  Lackofclarity–  Lackofresources

•  Funding•  Personnel

–  Lackofauthority–  Standardopera4ngprocedures–  Fragmenta4on

•  ThePresidentensuresthelawsarefaithfullyexecuted

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“Discre4onaryandrule-makingauthoritytoimplementpolicyaregiventobureaucra4cdepartments,agencies,andcommissions,suchas:”•  DepartmentofHomelandSecurity•  DepartmentofTransporta4on•  DepartmentofVeteransAffairs•  DepartmentofEduca4on•  EnvironmentalProtec4onAgency(EPA)•  FederalElec4onsCommission(FEC)•  Securi4esandExchangeCommission(SEC)

BUREAUCRACIES AS IMPLEMENTORS

•  Movetowardsreinven4ngthegovernmentbeganinthe1980s–  Decentralizeauthority–devolu4on:powershi^fromfedtostates–  Morejobspreviouslydonebypublicemployeestransferredtotheprivate

sector•  Problemsremain

•  Regula4onisoneofthemostimportantjobsandoneofthemostcontroversialrolesofbureaucracies

•  U.S.hasa“freeenterprise”system,butitisregulated–  Backintheday,notthecase-laissezfairecapitalism–  InterstateCommerceCommission(1887):fed.regula4onofrailroadservices–  Tremendousgrowthofregula4ons

•  Enforcementislargelydependentonagencyandbureaucra4cdiscre4on–  Cri4cisms:overlycomplicated,increasedprices,hurtsAmericancompe44on–  Deregula4onandweakenforcementofregula4onshascreatedproblems:

•  Environmentalpollu4on•  Economiccollapseinhousingandfinancialindustries

•  Presidentstrytocontrolthebureaucracy–  Appointagencyheadswhosharetheirpolicy

ideasandideology–  IssueExecu4veOrders–  Budget–  Reorganizingtheagency

•  Congresstriestocontrolthebureaucracy–  Influencetheappointmentsofagencyheads–  Budget(“powerofthepurse”)–  Holdoversightcommiieehearings–  Createmoredetailedlegisla4on

•  Thefederalcourtscanalsoholdthebureaucracyaccountable–  Canrulealaworexecu4veorder

uncons4tu4onal

CONTROLLING THE BUREAUCRACY

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CONTROLLING THE BUREAUCRACY

•  Irontriangleistherela4onshipbetweenaregulatedindustry’sinterestgroup,theregula4ngagency(bureaucracy),andthecommiieesinCongressthatmakepolicyinthatarea

•  Issuenetworksconsistofainformalgroupofinterestgroups,congressionalstaff,themedia,thinktanks,andvariousotherswhoaredrawntoanissueandtrytoshapegovernmentpolicy

•  Bureaucraciesmakepolicy•  Partoftheunelected

policymakingins4tu4ons–  Courts–  Bureaucracy

•  Toomuchgovernment?–  Thefederalbureaucracyhasshrunk• Deregula4onanddevolu4on

–  Widevarietyofsocialandeconomicproblemswelooktowardthebureaucracytosolve

UNDERSTANDING BUREAUCRACIES

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