Advanced Placement American Government and Politics Unit VI The
Presidency (13) and The Federal Bureaucracy (15) Part 2 The Federal
Bureaucracy
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Large, complex organization of appointed, not elected,
officials bureau French for small desks, referring to the king s
traveling business men who set up small desks in town squares
Bureaucracy = government of small desks The Federal
Bureaucracy
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Max Weber Famous early 20 th century German economist
Bureaucracy well organized, complex machine that is a rational way
for society to organize its business
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The Federal Bureaucracy Max Weber Bureaucracy Characteristics
Hierarchical authority structure chain of command Task
specialization individuals have unique jobs, division of labor
Extensive rules clear policies for the organization to follow Clear
goals clearly defined mission Merit principle hiring and promotion
based on qualities, no jobs for favors Impersonality performance
judged on productivity Is this a good thing or a bad thing? The
Department of Motor Vehicles; a good example of impersonality
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The Growth of The Federal Bureaucracy The Federal Bureaucracy
has only one task to faithfully execute all the laws The Framers
believed that the bureaucracy would be relatively small and left
most of the details up to the president and Congress
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The Spoils System Federal bureaucracy was originally drawn from
an elite group of upper-class white males Proclaiming to the victor
belongs the spoils, Andrew Jackson awarded federal posts to party
loyalists Known as patronage The Growth of The Federal
Bureaucracy
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The Civil Service The Pendleton Act (1883) created the federal
civil service Civil Service system -- workers are selected
according to merit, not party loyalty The 0ffice of Personnel
Management (OPM) Administers civil service laws and regulations Is
in charge of hiring for most federal agencies
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The Growth of The Federal Bureaucracy Effects of Civil Service
Reform Govt. employees are much more competent Creating nonpartisan
civil service means insulating workers from risk of being fired
when new party comes into power; this means its pretty hard to fire
anyone Hatch Act (written 1939; renewed 1993): employees are
prohibited from active participation in partisan politics
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The Growth of The Federal Bureaucracy Why? Society has become
increasingly complex Science and technology (NASA) is an example
Business regulation think -- The Jungle Social welfare Civil War
(veteran pensions) Great Depression income security and social
services to Americans in need Ambitious administrators top agency
officials look for new ways to serve clients, which in turn leads
to new programs, larger staffs, and larger budgets
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The Growth of The Federal Bureaucracy Constraints Typical govt.
bureau cant hire, fire, build, or sell w/o going through statutory
procedures Administrative Procedures Act (1946): agency must give
notice, solicit feedback, hold hearing before adopting new
rule/policy Freedom of Information Act (1966): agency must allow
all citizens to inspect their records National Environmental Policy
Act (1969): agencies must issue environ. impact statements Privacy
Act (1974): keeps citizens records confidential Open Meeting Law
(1976): all parts of all meetings must be open to public Biggest
constraint: Congress rarely gives any single job to any single
agency
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Federal and State Employees The federal bureaucracy includes
all of the agencies, people, and procedures through which the
federal government operates There are approximately 2.7 million
civilian and 1.4 million military federal employees Half of all the
civilian federal employees work for the department of defense and
an additional 28 percent work for the postal service I believe you
have my stapler.
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Federal and State Employees Federal government employees
currently account for 3 percent of all civilian jobs Number of
federal government employees has remained constant since 1950 The
number for state and local government employees has steadily
increased since 1950 Block grants have contributed to the widening
gap between the number of federal and state employees by shifting
resources from the federal government to state and local government
Federal mandates have also shifted more responsibility to states,
causing an increase in the number of their public employees
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Not So Big by Comparison
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The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Key Functions Cabinet
Departments There are 15 cabinet departments Exception of Justice
(headed by the Attorney General), each department is headed by a
secretary All 15 heads are chosen by the president and approved by
the Senate Treasury Department has authority over the printing of
currency Cabinet secretaries often develop a strong loyalty to
their departments Cabinet members are often not close presidential
advisors
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The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Key Functions
Independent Regulatory Agencies Created to protect the public by
regulating key sectors of the economy Best known independent
regulatory agencies Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Independent regulatory agencies are led
by small commissions appointed by the president and confirmed by
the Senate Note commissioners cannot be removed by the Senate
during their terms of office
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The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Key Functions The
Federal Reserve Board Federal Reserve Boards Primary responsibility
is to set monetary policy Monetary policy includes setting bank
interest rates, controlling inflation, regulating the money supply,
and adjusting bank reserve requirements Federal Reserve Board has
great independence This freedom removes monetary policy from
politics As a result, the Federal Reserve Board is usually able to
use its economic expertise to develop monetary policies without
undue interference from political parties and interest groups
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The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Key Functions The
Government Corporations Government corporations provide a service
that could be provided by the private sector Best Known --
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Tennessee Valley Authority
Amtrak U.S. Postal Service
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The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Key Functions
Independent Executive Agencies Independent Executive Agencies
include most of the non-cabinet departments Examples National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
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Implementation and Regulation Implementation Implementation is
translation of policy goals into rules and standard operating
procedures Break down conflicting goals faulty program design lack
financial resources fragmentation of responsibilities 46 agencies
for counterterrorism == Office of Homeland Security (2001) Congress
provides federal agencies with general mandates Discretion to set
specific guidelines for a given problem or situation
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Regulation Regulation is the use of governmental authority to
control or change practices in the private sector Supreme Court
first upheld the right of government to regulate businesses in Munn
v. Illinois (1877) Reagan / Bush 1 federal government deregulated
or lifted a number of restrictions on business Civil Aeronautics
Board (CAB) Implementation and Regulation
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Regulation v. Deregulation Conservatives say: regulation has
become too burdensome, inhibits business, personal freedom
Regulation raises prices! Regulation hurts our competitiveness
overseas! Regulation doesnt always work; govt can be dumb! Liberals
say: regulation is vital to prevent abuse, corruption, public fraud
There is often environmental damage due to deregulation! Remember
the savings and loan bailout, mid- 1980s? Deregulation caused that!
Remember the financial meltdown of 2009? Deregulation!
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The President and The Bureaucracy Appointments Presidents have
power to appoint senior agency heads and subheads Enables president
to exercise influence over an agency Presidents power limited
Senate has power to approve presidents appointments Agency heads
often develop a strong loyalty to their departments / do not
aggressively purse a presidents policy agenda
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The President and The Bureaucracy Executive Orders Directive,
order, or regulation issued by president Based on constitutional or
statutory authority and have force of law 9066 -- Interment
Economic Powers President may use Office of Management and Budget
to cut or add to an agencys budget REMEMBER -- Congress has the
sole power to appropriate funds to an agency
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Congress and the Bureaucracy Divided Authority Divided
supervision in which both president / Congress exercise authority
over the federal bureaucracy Creates checks and balances while at
the same time often encouraging agencies to play one branch of
government against the other Defense appropriations
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Congress and the Bureaucracy Oversight Congress responsibility
to exercise legislative oversight over the federal bureaucracy
Oversight methods: Budgetary control Holding hearings and
conducting investigations Reorganizing an agency Setting new
guidelines for an agency
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Interest Groups and The Bureaucracy Iron Triangles Alliance
among an administrative agency, an interest group, and a
congressional committee to make or preserve policies that benefit
their respective interests Each member provides key services,
information, or policy for the others So pervasive and powerful
often called subgovernments BUREAUCRACY CONGRESS INTEREST
GROUPS
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Interest Groups and The Bureaucracy Issue Networks Coalition of
interest groups and people who join together to advocate for a
specific problem and for changing a government policy that pertains
to that problem Alliances created through an issue network make it
possible for people to join together on their issue to create
change in government policies that pertain to that issue
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Interest Groups and The Bureaucracy Issue Networks Members of
issue networks usually are political executives, government
officials, public servants, scholarly analysts, reporters, members
of foundations and White House staff members Need for different
professions is essential for an issue network to function, because
many types of expertise are needed to change existing policy
