Government at Work: The Bureaucracy

Chapter 15

The Federal Bureaucracy

Section One

A bureaucracy is a large, complex structure that handles

the everyday business of an organization.

It is founded on three principles.

First, a bureaucracy has a hierarchical structure—a few top officials and units have authority over a large group of managers,

who, in turn, supervise many more workers.

Second, each bureaucrat, or person who works for the

organization, has a specific job.

Third, a bureaucracy operates under a set of formalized rules.

The federal bureaucracy is all the agencies, people, and

procedures through which the Federal Government operates.

The President is its chief administrator.

His administration consists of the government’s many

agencies and administrators.

The executive branch is composed of three groups of

agencies: the Executive Office of the President, the 15 Cabinet

departments, and many independent agencies.

The units of the bureaucracy go by multiple names.

Departments are units of Cabinet rank.

Agencies and administrations have near-Cabinet status and

are each overseen by an administrator.

Commissions regulate business activities and may advise on or

investigate other concerns.

Authorities and corporations conduct business-like activities under a board and a manager.

Each administrative organization is made up of one

of two types of units.

Staff agencies provide support for other workers, while line

agencies perform an organization’s tasks.

End

Section One

The Executive Office of the President

Section Two

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) is a complex

organization of agencies staffed by most of the President’s

closest advisors and assistants.

The White House Office is the “nerve center” of the EOP.

It includes the President’s chief of staff, who directs White

House operations, and other key members of the President’s

inner circle.

As part of the EOP, the National Security Council advises the President in all matters that

relate to the nation’s safety.

The President chairs the council.

The EOP’s largest unit is the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), which prepares the federal budget.

A budget gives a detailed estimate of the money to be received and spent by the

Federal Government during the coming fiscal year.

A fiscal year is the 12-month period used by a government or

business for financial management.

The Federal Government’s fiscal year begins on October 1.

The EOP also includes other agencies such as the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which oversees federal efforts

to fight drugs.

Three of the nation’s leading economists make up the

Council of Economic Advisers.

Still other units of the EOP deal directly with domestic affairs, or matters confined with the United

States.

End

Section Two

The Executive Departments

Section Three

Much of the Federal Government’s work is carried

out by the 15 executive departments, the traditional

units of federal administration that are often called the Cabinet

departments.

The Cabinet is an informal advisory board convened by the President to serve his needs; it is made up of the heads of each executive department and other

top officials.

Each department head is called a secretary, except for the head

of the Department of Justice, who is the attorney general.

These heads act as the primary links between the President and

the subunits within their departments.

The President chooses each department head, but these

appointments must be confirmed by the Senate.

Today, the executive departments vary in terms of

visibility, importance, and size.

The Department of State is the oldest and most prestigious

department.

The Department of Defense is the largest.

The Department of Health and Human Services has the largest budget, and the Department of

Homeland Security is the newest.

The other departments are those of the Treasury, Justice,

the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Housing and

Urban Development, Transportation, Energy,

Education, and Veterans Affairs.

End

Section Three

Independent Agencies

Section Four

Since the 1880s, Congress has created many independent agencies, or agencies that

operate outside the executive departments.

These agencies exist for a number of reasons.

Some agencies do not fit well in any department.

Some need protection from department politics.

Others must be independent because of the nature of their

functions.

Three main types of independent agencies exist

today.

Most are independent executive agencies.

These are organized much like executive departments, with

subunits and a single head, but do not have Cabinet status.

Independent agencies that regulate parts of the economy

are independent regulatory commissions.

Uniquely, they exist outside of presidential control, and are quasi-legislative and quasi-

judicial.

This means that Congress has given them certain legislative-like and judicial-like powers.

Legislatively, they may make rules detailing laws that

Congress has asked them to enforce; these rules carry the

force of law.

Judicially, they may decide disputes in the fields in which

Congress has given them policing authority.

Some independent agencies are known as government

corporations.

These agencies, such as the U.S. Postal Service, carry out certain business-like activities.

End

Section Four

The Civil Service

Section Five

The civil service is a group of public employees who perform

the government’s administrative work outside the military.

Some of the early Presidents gave government jobs to their

supporters or friends—a practice called patronage.

The practice of giving government jobs, as well as favors, as political rewards is

called the spoils system.

The spoils system resulted in inefficiency and corruption.

Attempts to reform it began in 1881 after a disappointed office-seeker killed President James

Garfield.

Congress soon passed the Civil Service Act of 1883, also called

the Pendleton Act, which laid the foundation for the present federal civil service system.

Its main purpose was to make merit the only basis for hiring

federal workers.

Today most federal employees are hired through a competitive

process.

They are also paid and promoted based on written

evaluations from their superiors.

The Office of Personnel Management, an independent agency, tests and hires most

federal workers.

It keeps registers, or lists of qualified applicants.

Another independent agency, the Merit Systems Protection

Board, enforces the merit principle in the federal

bureaucracy.

It is bipartisan, or made up of members from both parties.

Civil servants must follow certain rules.

Several laws and regulations place restrictions on their

political activities.

For example, while civil servants may be active

members of a political party, they may not run in elections for

that party.

End

Section Five

End

Chapter 15