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Bureaucracy--Bureaucratic Structures--Empowering/Constraining Factors--Bureaucratic Policymaking

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Bureaucracy—Structure• I. Constitutional Position of the Bureaucracy

• A. Created by Congress—powers of Congress over bureaucracy:• 1. Approve budgets• 2. Organize• 3. Confirm appointments• 4. Legislative oversight• 5. Legislative “veto” (Chadha v. INS, 1983)

• B. Responsible to President—powers of President overbureaucracy:

• 1. Sets enforcement priorities (“faithful execution” of laws)• a. Executive Orders (SNL)

• 2. Presents budget to Congress• a. “central legislative clearance”

• 3. Appoints bureaucratic leaders• C. Therefore, bureaucracy has TWO masters

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Bureaucracy—Structure• II. Types of Agencies

• A. Departments (“Department of…”)• 1. Largest and most prestigious bureaucratic agencies• 2. Structure: Pyramidal, with unitary leaders

• a. Heads of departments are members of President’s cabinet• b. Heads are called “Secretary of…” except for Department of Justice

(called “Attorney General”)• 3. Functions: Various, depending on the department

• a. national maintenance• b. clientele services• c. income redistribution

• 4. Personnel: Career civil servants, with president’s politicalappointees at the top• a. Civil servants can sometimes hinder a president’s plans• b. No longer a “spoils system”

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Secretary of…

Bureaucracy—Structure• II. Types of Agencies (cont.)

• B. Independent Executive Agencies• 1. Features are like departments• 2. Key differences—more specialized mission and less prestige

(leaders are not part of the president’s cabinet)• a. Examples: NASA, EPA, etc.

• C. Independent Regulatory Commissions• 1. Structure: board with plural leadership• 2. Functions: regulating the private sector

• a. Powers• i. Rule-making• ii. Rule adjudication• iii. Rule enforcement (“The FCC won’t let me be…”)

• 3. Personnel: Career civil servants and fixed-term politicalappointees (terms are staggered, to limit presidential influence)

• D. Government Corporations: sell services for income

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Bureaucracy—Structure• III. Trends in the Federal Bureaucracy over time—growth

• A. Employees• 1. Kind of…

• B. Budget• C. Regulations

POLITICS OF BUREAUCRACY• I. Political Character of Agency Goals:

• A. Mission Goals• B. Survival Goals— “bureaucratic inertia”

• 1. Reagan and the Department of Education• C. Priority of Survival over Mission Goals

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Bureaucracy—Empowering/Constraining• I. Factors the Empower the Bureaucracy

• A. Expertise• 1. Principal-Agent relationship• 2. Leads to “administrative discretion”

• B. Clientele Support• II. Factors that Constrain the Bureaucracy

• A. Congressional Oversight• 1. “Police Patrol”: committee hearings• 2. “Fire Alarm”: special investigations, casework

• a. “Whistleblowers”• B. Presidential Priorities (Obama and national defense)• C. Competing Agencies (cellphones on planes)

• 1. Obama example• D. Adversely Affected Interest Groups (corn, cows, and turkeys)• E. Federal Courts

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Bureaucracy—Policy-Making• I. Subgovernments (Iron Triangles) vs. Issue Networks

• A. Subgovernments (Iron Triangles)• 1. Context

• a. Narrow Policy Range• b. Operational anonymity (no one is really paying attention)• c. Many, MANY subgovernments in operation• d. RESULT: no perceived losers, little conflict. Everybody gets what they

want• AGENCY CAPTURE

• 2. The Iron Triangle in Operation—Consequences• a. Who is NOT in that picture?• b. Creates insulated pockets of policy-making• c. Shapes policy towards those who are “connected” (interest groups)• d. Obstructs comprehensive policy-making (the federal budget??)

• B. Issue Networks—more recent, updated policy-making model• 1. More publicity, less insulation• 2. More and competing participants• 3. More conflictual process

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