Bureaucracy

Main Points* Bureaucracy is an inevitable result of complexity and scale.

* Bureaucrats often take an “agency point of view” by promoting their agency’s programs and power.

* Agencies are subject to oversight by the three branches; however, bureaucrats exercise large amounts of power.

The Nature of the Bureaucracy•Bureaucracy: a large organization that is structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions- often used to refer to the departments and agencies of the federal government

• All bureaucracies follow 3 general rules:1. Hierarchical authority—similar to a pyramid2. Job specialization—each worker has defined duties/responsibilities 3. Formal rules– rules/regulations must be followed

• Government Bureaucracy Main Jobs: Implementation & Regulation- Implementation: take public policies and turn them into rules and operating procedures- Regulation: Make & Enforce rules on the private sector

Intelligence Agency Bureaucracy

Constitutionality of the Bureaucracy

* Vaguely refers to a government bureaucracy

* Article II, Section 2 says: only that the president may need to consult with “the principal officer in each of the executive departments.”

* Executive administers the bureaucracy, but Congress regulates agencies

Bureaucracies as Mini-Governments?Quasi- Legislative:

- Congress gives agencies power to make rules/regulations

Quasi-Executive:- Have power to enforce regulations/rules

Quasi-Judicial:- develop investigative and punishment procedures to use against people who break rules and regulation

Possible Controversies:- Accountability to American people?- Influences on agencies?

Criticisms of the Bureaucracy • “red tape” – the web of government rules, regulations, and

paperwork – makes government so overwhelming to citizens that many people try to avoid any contact

• conflict – agencies that often work at cross purposes with one another

• duplication – a situation in which two agencies appear to be doing the same thing

• unchecked growth – the tendency of agencies to grow unnecessarily and for costs to escalate proportionately

• waste – spending more on products and/or services than is necessary.

• lack of accountability – the difficulty in firing or demoting an incompetent bureaucrat

The Christmas Day Bomber (2009)…A Breakdown in the Intelligence Bureaucracy

1. Why did the intelligence bureaucracy fail to “connect the dots” regarding the Christmas Day Bomber?2. How did Obama respond to the attempted Christmas day terrorist attack?3. How would you fix problems in our intelligence bureaucracy?

The History of the Federal Bureaucracy

History of Federal ServiceEarly Days:

- jobs usually given to people of like political beliefs and patronage- Andrew Jackson is known for using a spoils system “to the winner go the spoils”

- Those who helped Jackson win, received jobs

Turning Point:- 1881; President Garfield killed b/c of a disgruntled office seeker Charles Guiteau- 1883; Pendleton Act created introduced merit system, Civil Service Commission enforced the law

More Changes*The Hatch Act (1939): prevents bureaucrats from engaging in “political activities” while on duty- Can’t run for public office- Can’t become an officer in a political party- Can’t be a delegate to a party convention

Law is eventually altered!

* What legal argument could you make challenging the Hatch Act’s provisions?

History (cont.)

Changes:- Civil Service Reform Act (1978) abolished Civil Service Commission, created:(1) Office of Personnel Management (OPM): determines who should be hired (human resources department)

(2) Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB):oversees promotions, employee rights, hears employee appeals of wrongdoing

Hatch Act Revisited* Hatch Act overhauled in 1993

- Bureaucrats can participate in politics:

- hold a political party leadership position

- involve themselves in party fundraising

- raise money for a candidate

- Bureaucrats still cannot be a candidate in an election

Procedural Due Process

“no person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

- 5th & 14th Amendments

* A tenured government employee technically “owns” their job:- Example a teacher!

* Loudermill Rights:- from a 1985 Supreme Court case- public-sector employees can have a property interest in their employment

How to Fire a Federal Bureaucrat? (pg. 383)

1. The employee must be given written notice at least 30 days in advance that he/she is to be fired or demoted for incompetence or misconduct.

2. The written notice must contain a statement of reasons, including specific examples of unacceptable performance.

3. The employee has the right to an attorney and to reply, orally or in writing, to the charges.

4. The employee has the right to appeal any adverse action to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), a 3-person, bipartisan body appointed by the president and with the consent of the Senate.

5. The MSPB must grant the employee a hearing, at which the employee has the right to have an attorney present.

6. The employee has the right to appeal the MSPB decision to the US court of appeals, which can hold new hearings.

The Size of Bureaucracy

Class Activity* With a partner, write up at least 2 Analysis and 2

Evaluation statements for each of the following charts/data

Reminder:* Analysis: Examining something by breaking it down

into smaller parts - Focus on facts not opinions

* Evaluation: Make personal judgments about information

The Bureaucrats

• Growth in Civilian Government Employees (Figure 15.1)

Government Pay & Benefits

• Bureaucrats are assigned a GS (General Service) rating GS 1 to GS 18–Salary/responsibilities increase with each

level–Employees get paid vacations, job security,

health insurance, pension plans, competitive pay

GS Scale as of January 2010

GS

Did You Know……That the average federal government

civilian worker earns $106,579 a year in total compensation (wages plus health insurance, pension, etc.) whereas the average private-sector worker earns $53,289 a year in total compensation…

Bureaucracy Anecdote Directions

* In groups, you will each share your bureaucracy anecdote (see handout):

- After all people have shared, your group will decide which anecdote best exemplifies bureaucracy

* We will then listen to the best anecdote from each group

Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy

The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy

– Cabinet departments

– Independent EXECUTIVE agencies

– Independent REGULATORY agencies

– Government corporations

How Bureaucracies Are Organized* The Cabinet Departments: - 2 Purposes of the Cabinet:

1. Advise President (report directly to him/her)2. Operate a specific policy area of govt. activity

-15 Cabinet departments headed by a secretary - Department of Justice headed by

Attorney General - President can fire dept. heads at

will- Each has its own budget, staff

and policy areas- Created based upon govt. need

How Bureaucracies Are Organized•The Regulatory Agencies–Independent Regulatory Agency: agencies that police/regulate different aspects of the nation’s economy– President appoints leaders, with Senate approval•Usually led by group (commission)•Leaders cannot all be from the same political party

– Have quasi-lawmaking/enforcement/judicial powers– Commissioners = “insulated from politics” do not report directly to the president!• President cannot fire heads of I.R.A’s at will!• Example—The mysterious Federal Reserve (the Fed)

Independent Regulatory Agencies

How Bureaucracies Are Organized• Independent Executive Agencies

– Report directly to President (part of executive branch)

• President can fire heads of I.E.A’s at will

– Similar to Cabinet agencies, but lack the formal designation

– EPA and NASA are examples

• The Government Corporations– Business like – provide services like

private companies and typically charge for their services.

– Postal Service, Amtrak are examples

Selected Government Corporations

Independent Executive Agencies

Hurricane Katrina:

A Bureaucrati

c Nightmare

What is FEMA?* FEMA = Federal Emergency Management

Agency

* FEMA’s Mission: FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Department of Homeland Security Structure

Should FEMA be a Separate Cabinet Agency?

While listening:

1. Why is FEMA & DHS blamed for some of the failures before/during/after Hurricane Katrina?

2. What are the arguments for making FEMA a “cabinet agency”?

3. What are the arguments against making FEMA a “cabinet agency”?

While You Watch the Documentary…Questions:1. Explain how Hurricane Katrina showed the negative consequences of ‘federalism’.

2. Explain how Hurricane Katrina showed the negative consequences of ‘bureaucracy’.

3. Describe how FEMA’s bureaucratic status changed with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security? How did this play a role in the government ’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina?

Concluding Essay:* Write a 1-page memo recommending to the President how the federal government should specifically prevent factors like federalism and bureaucracy from causing another “Katrina”.

- Include examples from Hurricane Katrina- Include evidence from the video- BE SPECIFIC WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS

Bureaucrats as

Policymakers

Bureaucratic Power* Bureaucratic Power = ability to make/influence

public policy

* Because they administer programs, bureaucrats create rules/regulations that turn laws into action Congress provides them “enabling power”

* Example: If a law grants money for people who are “disabled”, the bureaucrats help decide what “disabled” means.

Influencing the Bureaucracy

* Bureaucracy must report to many bosses:

A. Congress:

- Biggest Power = “Purse Strings”—control over an agency’s budget

- can overturn an agency’s decision via new legislation

- can hold hearings to investigate possible agency wrongdoing oversight

Congressional Checks

Influencing the BureaucracyB. President:

- appoints leaders to some agencies

- can issue a formal executive order on an agency

- the OMB (in the President’s EOP) recommends agency budgets

- can reorganize an agency, though only Congress can abolish an agency!

C. Courts:

- agencies can be sued by citizens

- courts can issue injunctions (an order that demands or forbids a particular action)

Presidential Checks

Colorful Activity

* You will be given one branch of govt. (Congress, President, Courts)

* You will need to create a drawing/cartoon/create image that clearly demonstrates how the branch checks the powers of the bureaucracy

* You will present your work…

Influencing the Federal Government• Bureaucracy and Democracy– Iron Triangles and Issue Networks

• Iron Triangles: A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and legislators (subcommittees) that work to influence legislation/policy to benefit their interests

• Exist independently of each other• Each part has similar goals• Tough to remove thus, an IRON Triangle

How an Iron Triangle Works?1. Committee members (Congress) show favor to the

interest groups in hopes of getting votes and campaign contributions- When this occurs, the interest group is said to have "captured" the agency.

2. The bureaucratic agency does the committee's bidding to gain support and budget appropriations

3. Committee members may be reluctant to closely monitor the agency's activities because they rely on the agency to implement policies favored by their constituents

Congressional Subcommittee:

Agricultural SubcommitteeOf the House

Bureaucracy:Tobacco Division of the

Dept. of Agriculture

Interest Group:Tobacco

Manufacturers and Farmers

Appr

ove

budg

et re

ques

tsPro

vide

Info

Campaign Donations

Laws decreasing tobacco tax

Rulings on

tobacco

regulation

Industry Info

Issue Networks* Some argue iron triangles are being replaced by wider

issue networks that focus on more policies

*Issue Networks: loose & informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areas

- comprised of people in interest groups, congressional staffers, advocates from think tanks, academics, and members of the media

- they debate & advocate for policies that promote their respective political philosophies

- Much larger and Currently More Prevalent than Iron Triangles!

Military Industrial ComplexDefinition: describes a network of groups that attempt to organize political support for increased military spending by the national government- each group gains something from the “love triangle” - Consists of: 1. members of the Department of Defense 2. Congressional committees 3. defense companies/contractors

* Possible Policymaking fears?

* The MIC in modern times

The M.I.C. in terms of Jobs

Military Industrial Complex Essay

1. According to Eisenhower, what has made the creation of the M.I.C. possible.

2. How does the M.I.C. compare with an “iron triangle”?

3. What are the pros and cons with the existence of the M.I.C.?

4. How do you feel about the M.I.C.?

Bureaucracy Alternatives & Reforms

Bureaucratic Alternatives* Termination: eliminate programs

- Very drastic, hard to accomplish

* Devolution: downsizing the federal bureaucracy by delegating the implementation of programs to local/state govts.- “Politically safer” than termination- How is this related to the stats on civil servants?

* Privatization: replacing government services with services provided by private firms- Works best at local Level: Trash collection - Leads to fewer govt. workers, though the govt. still funds these private contracts

Modern Bureaucratic Reform (cont.)–Incentives for efficiency and productivity

• Government Performance and Results Act of 1997 • Some argue that bureaucratic inefficiencies are the result of the political decision-making process• Saving costs through e-government

–Helping out the Whistleblowers• Definition: Anonymously bring public attention to govt. inefficiency and/or illegal action• Whistle Blower Protection Act (1989)— retaliation against a bureaucrat who reports an illegal action taken by a superior is illegal• Worries of “Whistleblowers” going to media instead of govt. officials

Modern Bureaucratic Reforms– Sunshine laws: require agencies to conduct many sessions in

public • The 1966 Freedom of Information Act: opened up government

files to citizen requests for information, in particular about themselves• After 9/11, however, the government established a campaign to limit

disclosure of any information that could conceivably be used by terrorists

– Sunset laws: require Congressional review of existing programs to determine their effectiveness; if Congress does not explicitly reauthorize a program, it expires aka “sunsets”

– Ex. The “Bush Tax Cuts” had an expiration date of 12/31/2010