THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY

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Chapter 13

• THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY

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The Federal Bureaucracy After 9/11/01

• For much of 1990s, anger at and disrespect for
  the federal government was rampant in the United
  States.
• Perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of this
  was the terrorist bombing of the Federal Center
  in Oklahoma City (April 1995).
• In fact, anti-federal-government anger has a long
  history in the United States.
• However, national crises diminish these feelings,
  as citizens look to the government for aid and
  protection.
• For example, after 9/11, popular trust in the
  government rose from 21 to 64.

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A Comparative View of the American Bureaucracy

• The American bureaucracy is different from
  bureaucracies in other democratic nations.
• Structural influences such as the American
  political culture and the constitutional rules
  of the game have a great deal to do with these
  differences.
• Hostile political culture Americans do not
  trust government and they do not think it can
  accomplish most tasks that are assigned to it.
• Civil Servants have little prestige many of the
  most talented tend to stay away.

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• Incoherent organization the American
  bureaucracy has few clear lines of control,
  responsibility, and accountability
• Divided control bureaucratic agencies have two
  bosses, the President and Congress, who are
  constantly battling for control
• Accessibility individuals and groups can get a
  hearing and a response from bureaucrats without
  necessarily starting at the top

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Transformation of the Bureaucracy

• The Structural Context Executive departments and
  officers are referred to only indirectly in the
  Constitution.

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Transformation of the Bureaucracy

• Administrative history expansion in the size and
  responsibilities of the executive branch
• 19th century changes
• The corporation and the progressives
• The Great Depression
• World War II and its aftermath
• The regulatory state
• Devolution and rollback
• The war on terrorism

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How the Executive Branch Is Organized

• The executive branch is made up several different
  kinds of administrative units.
• Departments are headed by cabinet-level
  secretaries appointed by the President and
  approved by the Senate.
• Bureaus and agencies are subdivisions within
  cabinet departments.
• Independent executive agencies are federal
  agencies that are not included in any of the
  departments and are not corporations or
  regulatory commissions.

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• Government corporations are agencies that operate
  in a market setting and are organized much like a
  business enterprise.
• Quasi-governmental organizations are hybrids of
  public and private organizations.
• Independent regulatory commissions are
  responsible for regulating aspects of the economy
  where it is judged that the free market does not
  work properly to protect the public interest.
• Foundations are units that are separated from the
  rest of government to protect them from political
  interference with science and the arts.

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What Do Bureaucrats Do?

• Execute the law
• Regulate (rule making)
• Adjudicate

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Who Are The Bureaucrats?

• Personnel systems in the executive branch
• Career civil service
• Agency merit services
• Political appointees
• Overall, bureaucrats are very much like other
  Americans with regard to education, regional
  origins, average income, age, political beliefs,
  gender,and ethnicity.

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Political and Governmental Influences on
Bureaucratic Behavior

• The Public
• The President
• Why Presidents are often stymied by the
  bureaucracy
• Tools of Presidential leadership
• Congress
• Legislating agency organization and mission
• Confirming Presidential appointments
• Controlling the agency budget
• Holding oversight hearings
• Interest groups

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Common Criticisms of the Federal Bureaucracy

• The federal bureaucracy is always expanding.
• The federal bureaucracy is ineffective.
• The federal bureaucracy is wasteful and
  inefficient.
• The bureaucracy is mired in red tape.

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Reforming the Federal Bureaucracy

• Scaling back the size of the bureaucracy
• cutting the fat
• privatizing
• Reinventing government
• Protecting against bureaucratic abuses of power
• Increasing popular participation
• Increasing Presidential control