Federal Bureaucracy

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FederalBureaucracy

• The gears of the machine

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Federal Bureaucracy-Exec. Branch

• Four million people total
• 2.7 million civilians
• 1.4 million in the military
• No bureaucrat is elected
• They ensure that policies and programs are
  carried out and the people are protected.

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Players in the Bureaucracy

• Cabinet- 14 offices and their Leaders
• Government Corporations-
• Government led businesses that were supposed to
  be self funded
• Amtrak
• Post Office
• Public Broadcast System

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Players continued

• Regulatory Agencies
• Congress passes laws which are vague.
• Regulatory agencies write rules to fill in the
  gaps (quasi-legislative agencies) and enforce
  rules and punish (quasi-judicial agencies)

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Examples of Regulatory Agencies

• Fed. Trade Commission- Prevents fraud in
  marketplace
• Securities Exchange Comm- Controls stock market
• Fed. Communications Comm-Regulates radio, TV,
  wireless
• Food Drug Administration- Regulates production
  of food and drugs--- Protects of the people of
  U.S.
• Occupational Safety Health Adm-Safe work
  environment
• Environ. Protection Agency- Protects air, water,
  animals

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The Iron Triangle

• Interest Groups
• Bureaucratic agency
• Congressional Committee -
• Int. Group puts pressure (people write, etc) on
  the agency to change Congress to pay for
  changes. Int. Groups then help the agency and
  the congressmen in many ways.

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Who controls these Agencies??

• 1. President appoints many officers
• -He has some power over agencies
• Office of Personnel Mgmt- Now Hires based
  on merit, not spoils system
• 2. Congress
• -Approves appointments
• -Can abolish or strip power from agencies
• -Appropriates money for agencies their programs