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Chapter 9
The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2008
American Government: Continuity and Change9th Editionto accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions
O’Connor and Sabato
The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy A set of complex hierarchical
departments, agencies, commissions, and their staffs that exist to help a chief executive officer carry out his or her duties
Bureaucracies may be private organizations of government.
Origins and Growth of the Federal Bureaucracy
1789 only three departments under the Articles of Confederation Foreign Affairs, War, and Treasury Washington inherited these.
Head of each called a “secretary” Foreign Affairs renamed Department of State
1816 to 1861 size increased and demands increased Post Office expanded as country grew Major source of jobs (spoils system/patronage)
Civil War and the Growth of Government Civil War spawned need for new government
agencies. Department of Agriculture (1862)
Not given Cabinet-level status until 1889 Pension Office (1866) Department of Justice (1870) Spoils system
The firing of public-office holders of a defeated political party and their replacement with loyalists of the newly elected party
Patronage Jobs, grants, or other special favors that are given as
rewards to friends and political allies for their support
From the Spoils System to the Merit System Garfield’s presidency
Besieged by office-seekers (patronage seekers) Wished to reform the system Irony: assassinated by a frustrated job seeker Reaction to Garfield’s death and increasing criticism of the
spoils system was the Civil Service Reform Act in 1883 Also called the Pendleton Act
Reform measure that created the Civil Service Commission to administer a partial merit system
The act classified the federal service by grades to which appointments were made based on the results of a competitive examination.
It made it illegal for federal political appointees to be required to contribute to a particular political party.
Civil service system operated to 1978 New version is the merit system
Regulating the Economy Growth of big business, price fixing, and other unfair
business practices after the Civil War stimulated Congress to create the Interstate Commerce Commission First independent regulatory commission
An agency created by Congress that is generally concerned with a specific aspect of the economy
Theodore Roosevelt Department of Commerce and Labor
Woodrow Wilson Divided it into two separate departments Encouraged Congress to create the Federal Trade
Commission 16th Amendment
Growth of Government in the 20th Century Franklin Roosevelt
Great Depression FDR created hundreds of new government agencies
to regulate business practices and various other areas of the national economy.
WWII Affected the economy Manufacturing of goods related to the war Tax rates increased and never fell again After the war
Demands for services/new money infusion=more government
Civil Rights Movement War on Poverty
The Modern Bureaucracy Who Are Bureaucrats
2.7 million federal workers 1/3 in the U.S. Postal Service
Tests usually for entry-level positions Mid-level to upper ranges of federal positions do not normally
require tests. 10 percent of federal workforce not covered by civil service.
Appointive policy-making positions (cabinet secretaries, for example)- Schedule C
Independent Regulatory Commissioners (appointed by the president) Low-level, non-policy patronage positions
Secretarial assistants to policy makers, for example Many located in Washington, D.C., but many are spread out throughout
the country (decentralized) Graying of the federal workforce Hiring of outside contractors
Formal Organization Cabinet Departments
Major administrative units with responsibility for a broad area of government operations
Indicates a permanent national interest Government Corporations Businesses established by Congress that perform functions that could
be provided by private businesses Example: Amtrak, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Independent Executive Agencies Governmental units that closely resemble a Cabinet department but
have a narrower area of responsibility and are not part of any Cabinet Department
Example: Central Intelligence Agency Independent Regulatory Commissions
Agencies created by Congress to exist outside the major departments to regulate a specific economic activity or interest
Example: Federal Reserve Board
Government Workers and Political Involvement
Hatch Act Law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants
from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns Could not make political contributions, work for a
political party or campaign for a particular candidate
Federal Employees Political Activities Act 1993 liberalization of the Hatch Act Allowed federal employees to run for office in
nonpartisan elections and to contribute money to campaigns in partisan elections
How the Bureaucracy Works
Weber Chain of command Division of labor/specialization Clear lines of authority Goal orientation Impersonality Productivity
How the Bureaucracy Works Implementation
The process by which a law or policy is put into operation by the bureaucracy
Iron triangles Relatively stable relationships and patterns of interaction that
occur among an agency, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees
Issue networks The loose and informal relationships that exist among a large
number of actors who work in broad policy area Interagency Councils: working groups that bring together
representatives of several departments and agencies to facilitate the coordination of policy making and implementation
Increasing complexity of policy domains Interagency councils
Making Policy Administrative discretion
The ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional intentions
Rule making A quasi-legislative administrative process that has the
characteristics of a legislative act Regulations
Rules that govern the operation of a particular government program that have the force of law
1946 Administrative Procedures Act Public notice of time, place and nature of rule-making
proceedings provided in the Federal Register Submission of written arguments Statutory purpose and basis of rule to be stated Once rule is written, 30 days must elapse before it takes effect.
Making Policy
Administrative adjudication A quasi-judicial process in which a
bureaucratic agency settles disputes between two parties in a manner similar to the way courts resolve disputes
Making Agencies Accountable Executive Control
Appointments Executive orders
Rules or regulations issued by the president that have the effect of law
Congressional Control Constitutional powers Power of the purse General Accounting Office, Congressional Research
Service, and Congressional Budget Office Judicial Control