The Federal Bureaucracy

Libertyville High School

Federal Bureaucracy – What is it?

• Bureaucracy = any large, complex administration handling everyday ops for an entity

• Three features of a bureaucracy

1. Hierarchical authority (“chain of command”)

2. Job specialization3. Formalized rules

Elements of the Federal Bureaucracy

• Made up of all agencies, people and procedures of the Executive Branch• Department – cabinet level (ex. State)• Agency / Administration – major units of

Fed gov’t; about 150 (ex. SSA, NASA)• Commission - independent regulatory

agency, beyond control of President; 12; have legislative, judicial, executive powers (ex. SEC, FCC)

• Corporation / Authority – have business like responsibilities (ex FDIC)

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

• EOP = Closest advisors & assistants to President

• EOP Components• White House Office• National Security Council• Office of Management

and Budget (OMB)• Council of Economic

Advisors• EOP are staff agencies

(exist to support president in exercising his executive powers)

Meeting in OvalOffice

The President’s Cabinet

• Informal advisory body brought together to serve President’s needs

• Made up of Department Heads• Role of Cabinet

White House Cabinet room

Executive Departments

• Fifteen Executive Departments, headed by a Secretary (or Attorney General)

• Each has a broad field of activity• Examples

• Workers are civil servants, not political appointees

• Departments are line agencies (perform tasks for which they were established)

Agencies and Administrations

• Agencies outside the Departments • Why have them?

• Fill job that don’t fit within department scheme (ex. Office of Personnel Management – hires and fires for entire federal government bureaucracy)

• As government has expanded in scope & power, agencies have been created to implement policy

Agencies

• Three main groups• Independent

Executive Agencies• Ex – NASA, GSA

• Independent Regulatory Agencies• Ex – FCC, SEC

• Government Corporations• Ex – FDIC, USPS

The Civil Service

• Civil service are the civilian employees of Federal Gov’t (2.7 million, with 300,000 in DC area alone)

• Pendleton Act of 1883 est. modern Civil Service (before = spoils system, patronage)

• Merit, not connections, determined if person got job