The Federal Bureaucracy

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The Federal Bureaucracy

• AP Government
• Unit 7

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Parts of the Executive BranchAKAThe Bureaucracy
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The Federal Bureaucracy

• The bureaucracy is the mechanism that carries out
  the day to day business of government.
• The bureaucracy was created to carry out a broad
  range of tasks, to provide necessary services,
  and to act as experts in particular areas of
  policy.
• The bureaucracy has grown ever larger to number
  2.8 million civilian employees
• AKAthe Fourth Branch

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The Bureaucrats

• Who They Are and How They Got There
• Most demographically representative part of
  government.
• Diversity of jobs mirrors the private sector.

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The Weberian Model of Bureaucracy

• Max Webers theory was that the political process
  is controlled by political elites in the
  bureaucracy
• These bureaucrats use the following model to make
  government more efficient and run like a
  well-organized machine with lots of working
  parts.
• Hierarchical authority structure
• Task specialization
• Operate on merit principle
• Behave with impersonality

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The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy

• The federal bureaucracy consists of the
• EOP
• Cabinet departments
• Independent agencies
• Government corporations
• Includes Independent Executive Agencies
• Independent regulatory commissions

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Executive Office of the PresidentThe EOP

• The Executive Office of the President is not a
  single office or department, but a collection of
  agencies that are all directly responsible for
  helping the president to deal with Congress and
  manage the larger executive branch.

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Parts of the EOPThe White House Staff

• White House staffers are usually
• Former campaigners, trusted workers
• Hired and fired at will of president
• The most powerful White House Staffer is the
  Chief of Staff
• Informally, the Chief of Staff is often one of
  the President's closest political advisers, and
  also often a close personal friend.
• Often nicknamed "the gatekeeper."
• Is responsible for overseeing the actions of
  other members of White House staff, managing the
  president's timetable, and controlling outsiders'
  access to the president.

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Executive Office of the PresidencyEOP Agencies

• The EOP Agencies are agencies that report
  directly to President
• Most important agency-
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
• Other important EOP agencies
• National Security Advisors (NSA)
• Council of Economic Advisors
• EOP agency heads are hired and fired at will
• Congress is not involved with their approval

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Executive Departments AKA The Cabinet

• Department heads advise the President on policy
  issues and help execute those policies.
• Not mentioned in the Constitution
• Created first by George Washington
• Cabinet secretaries are appointed by the
  president and need Senate approval
• The president controls the Cabinet
• They are considered yes men and women!
• Dont disagree (in public at least!)

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Executive Departments AKA The Cabinet

• 14 Cabinet Departments
• 13 Cabinet departments are headed by a secretary
• The Department of Justice is headed by Attorney
  General
• Each has its own budget, staff and policy areas
• Some Republicans (and Libertarians) have been
  trying to eliminate several departments including
  Education and Energy

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The Cabinet Departments

• Agriculture
• Commerce
• Defense
• Education
• Energy State
• Heath and Human Services
• Homeland Security

• Housing and Urban Development
• Interior
• Justice
• Labor
• State
• Transportation
• Treasury
• Veterans Affairs

http//www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html
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Independent Agenciesand Commissions

• The independent agencies and commissions are
  government offices that report to the President
  but have a more independence (AKAQuasi-
  Independent)
• FDIC, Postal Service, CIA, SEC, EPA
• They make regulations to help implement laws
• Do not report to the president for instructions
• Deal with own issues and staff independently
• President appoints agency heads for fixed terms
• Agency heads must be approved by Congress
• Can be removed only for just cause

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Independent Regulatory Agencies (IRAs)

• Independent regulatory agencies are independent
  of the executive departments.
• Meant to impose and enforce regulation free of
  political influence, and help carry out policy or
  provide special services.
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• IRAs are run by a board rather than one person.
• So even though the President appoints the board
  members, the members serve terms longer than a
  single Presidential term
• The board members are also appointed at different
  times, so while it is likely that a President
  will appoint to all agencies/commissions, they
  would be unable to stack the Boards or
  Commissions.

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The Independent Regulatory Agencies

• Responsible for some sector of the economy making
  rules and judging disputes to protect the public
  interest
• Example Food and Drug Administration and
  Interstate Commerce Commission
• Headed by a commission of 5-10 people.
• Rule making is an important function watched by
  interest groups and citizens alike.
• Concern over capture of the agencies by
  Congress or the President (want to remain
  independent!)

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The Government Corporations

• Similar to Independent Agencies but are more
  Business-like entities
• They provide a service like private companies and
  typically charges for its services.
• Postal Service, Amtrak are examples

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Government Corporations

• Government corporations (e.g., the U.S. Postal
  Service and AMTRAK) are designed to run like
  businesses and hopefully generate a profit

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Independent Executive Agencies

• The agencies that dont fit in anywhere else.
• NASA is an example

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What Roles Do Government Bureaucrats Perform?

• Bureaucrats
• communicate with each other
• maintain paper for accountability
• Enforces/carries out the law
• and implement the objectives of the organization.
  
• Congress has delegated a significant amount of
  authority to the federal bureaucracy by granting
  agencies the power to draft federal regulations
  (rule-making) and to adjudicate conflicts over
  these regulations.

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Changes in the Bureaucracy

• Prior to 1883, bureaucrats were political
  appointeesa result of the spoils system or
  patronage.
• The assassination of President Garfield in 1881
  led to the passage of the Civil Service Act of
  1883, which created a merit system for the hiring
  of federal bureaucrats.

President Garfield
I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts... Arthur is
President now.'"
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How Do Bureaucrats Get Their Jobs Today?

• Most must apply with Office of Personnel
  Management
• The federal office in charge of most of the
  governments hiring.
• Merit System Entrance exams and promotion
  ratings to find people with talent and skill.
• System of hiring and promotion based on merit and
  nonpartisanship

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The TOP Jobs

• Recruitment for the top bureaucratic jobs is from
  the Plum Book
• Published by Congress
• Lists the very top jobs available for
  Presidential appointment.
• Plum jobs use patronage to find applicants
• Ambassadorships, top level officials
• Presidents find capable people to fill the
  positions.

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Bureaucracy Personalities

• The Bureaus and Agencies tend to take on their
  own personalities
• This may be from the type of person who applies a
  job as well as the type of work that is done
  there
• Conservatives dominate the Dept of Defense
• Liberals dominate the social service departments
• Other examples
• Activist bureaus and agencies
• EPA, FDA, Federal Trade Commission
• Traditional bureaus and agencies
• Agriculture, Treasury, and Commerce

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Discretionary Authority

• The real power of the bureaucracy is the ability
  for bureaucrats to choose courses of action and
  make policies that affect all Americans
• This discretionary authority can carry the
  weight of laws for the general public and
  businesses/corporations
• Examples
• Safety features on cars
• Pollution emission standards
• Product standards

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How Presidents Try to Control the Bureaucracy

• Appoint the right people.
• Issue executive orders.
• Tinker with the agencys budget.
• Reorganize an agency.

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The Executive Branch IMPLEMENTS Laws

• What Implementation Means
• It involves the translating the goals and
  objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing
  program for the chief executive.
• In other words.making the law work in the real
  world!
• Creating / assigning an agency the policy
• Turning policy into rules, regulations and forms.
• Coordinating resources to achieve the goals.

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How Congress Tries to Control the Bureaucracy

• Influence presidential appointments.
• Tinker with the agencys budget.
• Hold hearings.
• Rewrite the legislation or make it more detailed.

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The Congressional Connection

• Congress appropriates funds for the bureaus and
  agencies
• Traditionally the Appropriations Committee held
  the majority of this power
• However, the committee has lost some of its power
  due to
• Trust funds operate which operate outside the
  regular government budget to assure citizens
  services and benefits
• Social Security
• Annual Authorizations which gives the whole
  Congress a chance to voice an opinion yearly on
  appropriations for bureaus and agencies
• Recent budget deficits have meant that Congress
  is trying to reduce spending

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Committee Clearance

• A committee clearance is an informal way that
  Congress can still control the bureaucracy
• Congress may obtain the right to void the
  decision of a bureau or agency chief
• This may be political or personal reasons

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Legislative Veto

• A requirement that an executive decision must lie
  before Congress for a specified period before it
  takes effect
• Congress could then review and VETO the decision
  if both Houses agreed
• The Supreme Court was asked to rule on this
  practice in the Chadha case

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INS v. Chadha (1983)

• Mr. Chadha had stayed in the U.S. past his visa
  deadline and was ordered to leave the country.
• The Immigration Service allowed him to stay
  because of complications and extreme hardship
• The House of Representatives suspended the INSs
  deportation ruling using what was called the
  Legislative veto.
• Question of law
• Did Congress which allowed a legislative veto of
  presidential actions, violate the separation of
  powers doctrine?

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Importance

• The Court said Yes!
• The Court ruled that the Act violated the
  Constitution
• Chief Justice Burger concluded that even though
  the Act would have enhanced governmental
  efficiency, it violated the "explicit
  constitutional standards" regarding lawmaking and
  congressional authority.
• The legislative veto was declared
  unconstitutional.

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Fun with Bureaucracy 2The Peter Principle

• In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to
  his level of incompetence."
• Formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in his 1968
  book of the same name, the Peter principle
  pertains to the level of competence of the human
  resources in a hierarchical organization.
• The principle explains the upward, downward, and
  lateral movement of personnel within a
  hierarchically organized system of ranks.

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Understanding Bureaucracies

• Iron Triangles and Issue Networks
• An iron triangle is a mutually dependent
  relationship between bureaucratic agencies,
  interest groups, and congressional committees or
  subcommittees.
• Exist independently of each other.
• They are tough, but not impossible, to get rid
  of.
• Some argue iron triangles are being replaced by
  wider issue networks that focus on more policies.

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The Iron Triangle

• An iron triangle describes the cozy
  relationships in US politics between these three
  entities
• the Legislative Branch (especially subcommittees)
  
• the Bureaucracy
• Lobbyists and interest groups

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The Legislative Branch (especially
subcommittees)
Iron Triangle
Lobbyists and Interest groups
The Bureaucracy
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Who Benefits from the Iron Triangle?

• Powerful interest groups
• Members of Congress
• Federal employees
• Consumers are often left out in the cold by this
  arrangement.
• Iron triangles result in the passing of very
  narrow, pork barrel policies also known as
  earmarks that benefit only one small segment of
  the population

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A Divided Government Kills Iron Triangles (or
maybe only maims them!)

• Only when Congress and the White House are both
  controlled by the same party can strong alliances
  between the branches form
• A divided government can stop these alliances
• When the legislative branch and the executive
  branch conflicting political agendas make cozy
  relationships nearly impossible.
• Is that a good thing.or a bad thing??

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The 21st Century Iron TriangleIssue Networks

• The term iron triangle has fallen out of favor
  among political scientists because it was no
  longer an accurate description of changed
  political dynamics.
• The nature of political alliances has also
  changed they are rarely permanent anymore.
• Issue networks is a new term to describe the
  looser and broader coalitions of today
• You rarely find just two competing sides to an
  issue anymore

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Issue Networks

• Agency Officials
• Members of Congress
• Interest Groups
• Lawyers
• Consultants
• Public Relations Experts
• The Courts

• These groups are constantly changing/adapting in
  Issue Networks unlike the Iron Triangle which
  generally stayed static

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INS v. Chadha (1983)

• In one section of the Immigration and Nationality
  Act, Congress authorized either House of Congress
  to invalidate and suspend deportation rulings of
  the United States Attorney General.
• Mr. Chadha had stayed in the U.S. past his visa
  deadline and was ordered to leave the country.
  The House of Representatives suspended the
  Immigration judge's deportation ruling.
• Question of law
• Did Congress which allowed a legislative veto of
  presidential actions, violate the separation of
  powers doctrine?

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Importance

• The Court said Yes!
• The Court ruled that the Act violated the
  Constitution
• Chief Justice Burger concluded that even though
  the Act would have enhanced governmental
  efficiency, it violated the "explicit
  constitutional standards" regarding lawmaking and
  congressional authority.
• The legislative veto was declared
  unconstitutional.

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Important Bureaucratic Regulatory Acts

1. Privacy Act (1974)
2. Open Meeting Law (1977)
3. Civil Service Reform Act (1978)
4. Whistle Blower Act Protection Act (1989, 93-01)
5. National Performance Review (1993)
6. Federal Employees Political Activities Act (1993)

• Pendleton Act (1883)
• Hatch Act (1939)
• Administrative Procedure Act (1946)
• Freedom of Information Act (1966)
• National Environmental Policy Act (1969)
• Rehabilitation Act (1973)
• Budget Reform Act (1974)

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Pendleton Civil ServiceReform Act (1883)

• This established the United States Civil Service
  Commission which placed most federal employees on
  the merit system and marked the end of the
  so-called spoils system.

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Hatch Act (1939)

• The main provision of the Hatch Act of 1939 is to
  prohibit federal employees (Civil Servants) from
  engaging in partisan political activity.
• Bureaucrats may NOT become involved in political
  campaigns
• Named after Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico, the
  law was officially known as An Act to Prevent
  Pernicious Political Activities.

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Administrative Procedure Act (1946)

• The federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of
  1946 governs the way in which agencies propose
  and establish regulations

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Freedom of Information Act (1966)

• This Act assures the media and private citizens a
  legal right to government information
• Also known as Open Records Laws or Sunshine
  Laws
• The requester does not usually have to give an
  explanation for their request, but if the
  information is not disclosed a valid reason has
  to be given.

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The National Environmental Policy Act (1969)

• Requires federal agencies to integrate
  environmental values into their decision making
  processes by considering the environmental
  impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable
  alternatives to those actions
• The popularity of Rachel Carsons book, Silent
  Spring, was instrumental in the continued support
  of the NEPA

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Rehabilitation Act (1973)

• The Act includes a variety of provisions focused
  on rights, advocacy and protections for
  individuals with disabilities.
• "Handicapped" if he or she
• Has a mental or physical impairment which
  substantially limits one or more of such person's
  major life activities
• Has a record of such impairment or is regarded as
  having such impairment.

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Budget Reform Act of 1974

• A congressional effort to control presidential
  impoundments.
• It requires, among other things, that the
  president spend all appropriated funds. However,
  if Congress is notified of which funds will not
  be spent and, within forty-five days, agrees to
  delete the items, the money can be saved.
• If the president wishes simply to delay spending
  money, Congress must be informed and may refuse
  the delay by passing a resolution requiring
  immediate release of the funds.

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The Privacy Act (1974)

• Protects citizens from obtrusive searches into
  their private lives
• The Privacy Act states in part
• No agency shall disclose any record which is
  contained in a system of records by any means of
  communication to any person, or to another
  agency, except pursuant to a written request by,
  or with the prior written consent of, the
  individual to whom the record pertains....
• There are specific exceptions for the record
  allowing the use of personal records
• The Federal Census
• Department of Labor Statistics
• For routine uses within a U.S. government agency
• For archival purposes "as a record which has
  sufficient historical or other value to warrant
  its continued preservation by the United States
  Government"
• For law enforcement purposes
• For Congressional investigations
• Other administrative purposes (Patriot Act- 2002
  and 2006)

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Federal Open Meeting Law (1977)

• The law opened the doors for the media and
  private citizens to more than 50 federal boards
  and agencies.
• All agencies under the act must announce their
  meetings at least a week in advance.
• Closed session are allowed under specific
  circumstances, but the reason for the closed
  meeting must be certified by the legal officer of
  the agency.

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Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

• Attempted to reform the civil service of the
  federal government
• Addressed incompetent workers, automatic pay
  increases, and the lack of incentive for good
  work
• Was not successful in any of these areas. ?

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The Whistleblowers Protection Act (1989, 1993,
2001)

• The Whistleblowers Protection Act was designed to
  protect people who come forward with a disclosure
  about improper conduct by public bodies or public
  sector employees.
• Thusthe name whistleblower

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National Performance Review 1993

• The National Performance Review was created
  during the Clinton Administration by Vice-
  President Al Gore.
• Often called Reinventing government
• From red tape to results creating a government
  that works better and costs less.
• It encouraged agencies to find more effective
  means of doing government business.
• Mildly effective

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Federal Employees Political Activities Act- 1993

• Allows federal employees to run for public office
  in non-partisan elections or donate funds to
  political campaigns
• They are still prohibited from engaging in
  partisan political activity or soliciting funds
  for partisan candidates
• Created because of fears that the Hatch Act was
  too restrictive

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Read Chapter 8-9!!!