CONGRESS AND EXTERNAL ACTORS

1
CONGRESS AND EXTERNAL ACTORS

• I. The Federal BureaucracyII. The
  PresidentIII. Interest Groups
• IV. The Courts (if time allows)

2
WHY CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT?

• Congress Powers over Bureaucracy
• 1.) Creation/reauthorization/reorganization2.)
  Funding
• Why Does Congress Delegate So Much Power to the
  Bureauracy?1.) lack of technical expertise2.)
  ethical problems in implementation3.)
  shifting responsibility4.) unanticipated/changi
  ng circumstances
• Structure of Federal Bureaucracy
• Effects of Divided Government on Delegation

3
CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT The Big Picture

• The Principal-Agent Problem
• Police Patrol vs. Fire Alarm Oversight
• Congress Equips itself for the 20th Century
  19461.) Administrative Procedures Act (APA)2.)
  Legislative Reorganization Act
• DHS Creation involved minor congressional
  reorganization

4
CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT TECHNIQUES

• 1.) Oversight hearings by standing committees
  (mandatory oversight plans)
• 2.) General oversight committees House Govt.
  Reform and Oversight Cmttee, Senate Homeland
  Security and Govt. Affairs
• 3.) Special investigative committees
• SIDE NOTE Witch hunts, fishing expeditions, or
  genuine oversight? Watkins v. US (1957)

5
CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT TECHNIQUES

• 4.) The regular authorizations/appropriations
  process
• 5.) Legislative Veto (incl. committee veto and
  one-house veto)
• INS v. Chadha (1983)
• --Congressional Review Act of 1996
• 6.) Inspectors General

6
OVERSIGHT TECHNIQUES contd

• 7.) Whistleblowers and Ordinary CitizensFederal
  Funding Accountability and Transparency Act
  (2006) (a.k.a Google the government Act
• 8.) Mandated reports by executive agencies to
  Congress
• 9.) Confirmation process for political
  appointees

7
CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

• Brief history early presidential involvement in
  legislation rare and unwelcome
• Progressive Presidents TR and Wilson
• The institutionalized legislative presidency
  FDR ---use of OMB for legislative functions
• Eisenhower established OCR

8
CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

• Political Scientists Try to Explain/Predict
  Presidential Success with Congress1.) Richard
  Neustadts Presidential Power (1960)
• Power persuasion bargaining
• Evidence? 2.) Samuel Kernells Going Public
  (1986) inspired by early Reagan success

9
CONGRESS and PRESIDENT contd

• 3.) Congress-Centered models (1990s)---success
  determined mainly by party/ideology
• ---approval/popularity among public is not
  correlated with congressional success (examples)
• Applying what weve learned about Congress to
  presidential success
• A.) Importance of majority statusB.)
  Differences between House and SenateC.) Causes
  and consequences of changes in party unity over
  time

10
CONGRESS AND PRESIDENT contd

• LATEST RESEARCH
• 1.) How and why presidential popularity may
  matter after all2.) More sophisticated measures
  of presidential success