chapter 8

C

HAPTER

8

T

HE

F

EDERAL

B

UREAUCRACY

C HAPTER 8: L EARNING O BJECTIVES

 Understand the critical role that the bureaucracy plays in the implementation of federal policy

 Identify the bureaucracy as part of the executive branch of government organized hierarchically with standard operating procedures for doing business

Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning


 Explain “delegated authority” and describe the conditions under which such authority is granted

 Describe the oversight function of

Congress over the bureaucracy

 Understand why Congress has provided some bureaucratic units with administrative judicatory authority



 Describe how the federal bureaucracy has evolved over time, including substantial growth spurts as a result of the New Deal and Great Society programs and the Cold War



 Explain methods for attempting to control or reduce the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy through privatization, devolution, deregulation, and accountability



 Define the different types of agencies in the federal bureaucracy including cabinet departments, independent agencies, regulatory agencies, government corporations and the

Executive Office of the President

 Appreciate the large scope of the federal workforce and the civil service rules governing federal employment



……: N

OW & T HEN


N OW

…

 The “Reagan Revolution” aimed to reduce the burden of government.

 Reagan found that he often needed to increase the size of government to accomplish many of his policy objectives.

 He left office in 1989 with a much larger bureaucracy than the one he had inherited in 1981.


T HEN

…

 Thomas Jefferson talked the talk of cutting the bureaucracy, but failed to walk the walk of containing its growth.

 In his campaign, Jefferson stressed the need for “frugality” when it came to federal spending.

 When he left office in 1809, however, the federal bureaucracy was much larger than the one he had inherited in 1801.


W HAT I S B UREAUCRACY ?

 Often refers to overgrown government, excessive rules and paperwork, or a burdensome process

 Despite negative connotations, it is necessary for any government

 Laws must be enforced, programs must be administered, and regulations must be implemented


W HAT I S B UREAUCRACY ?

 Citizens are more likely to come into direct contact with the bureaucracy than any other part of government

 The bureaucracy comes to symbolize what government is

 Visit to an unemployment office

 Check from the Social Security

Administration

 Department of Motor Vehicles


People wait in line to speak to a clerk at a

U.S. Social Security office.


2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

MAX WEBER’S SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF

EFFECTIVE BUREAUCRACIES

1.

Organized based on specialization, expertise, and division of labor

Hierarchical —chain of command

Standard operating procedures

Good record keeping —paper trail

Air of professionalism

Merit-based hiring and promotions


Y OUR P ERSPECTIVE

…

ON A MERICAN

G OVERNMENT

 You, Your Parents, and the Dreaded

FAFSA (Free Application for Student

Aid) Form:

 What do you think about FAFSA? Is it too cumbersome or tedious?

 Is the federal government transforming a simple process into one that is too complex to be effective?


Y OUR P ERSPECTIVE

…

ON A MERICAN

G OVERNMENT

 Do you believe this form of “red tape” is necessary to ensure that colleges and universities can make fair decisions about financial aid for the nation’s college students?


A MERICAN G OVERNMENT . . . IN

P OPULAR P ERSPECTIVE :

 MIXED VIEWS ON BUREAUCRACY

 Americans exhibited mixed feelings about federal government expansion in response to economic problems during the recessionary period of 2007 –09

 Over 8-in-10 either disapproved of government’s expanded role or wanted it to retract once the recession was over


W HAT D OES THE F EDERAL

B UREAUCRACY D O ?

 Most of the federal bureaucracy is contained within the executive branch

 Executive power — to carry out, administer, and enforce specific laws

 Primarily a presidential responsibility

 The president uses the bureaucracy to exercise executive authority


P OLICY I MPLEMENTATION

 The process of carrying out a law requires translating the legislation into action

 Begin by developing regulations – rules guiding employees in carrying out the program or service

 The rules are published in the Federal

Registe r and enforceable by law


B UREAUCRATIC L EGISLATION

 When laws are vague, agencies have administrative discretion —

 Considerable freedom in deciding how to implement the law

 Delegated congressional power —

 The agency has power to make laws

(administrative law) — power that is supposed to rest with Congress alone


C HECK T HE L IST

 SENATOR PROXMIRE’S TOP TEN

GOLDEN FLEECE AWARDS

 In 1975, U.S. Senator William Proxmire

(D-WI) began taking aim at wasteful pork-barrel spending in the federal bureaucracy

 The “Golden Fleece Awards” target bureaucratic agencies spending money on wasteful programs


P ROXMIRE

’

S T OP T EN


C ONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT

 Congress’s monitoring of bureaucratic agency performance — accountability

 Options : Conduct investigations

 Reduce or eliminate the budget

 Refuse to confirm appointments

 Eliminate the agency, or establish a new agency and shift resources and powers to it


B UREAUCRATIC A DJUDICATION

 Determining the rights and duties of particular parties within the scope of an agency’s rules or regulations

 Most adjudication takes place in the court system

 However, Congress has placed judicial power in some bureaucratic agencies

 Example: EEOC


T HE D EVELOPMENT OF THE F EDERAL

B UREAUCRACY

 During Washington’s presidency

Congress created just three departments

 Department of State —foreign affairs





Department of Treasury —fiscal affairs

Department of War —military affairs

 Later authorized hiring an attorney general and a postmaster general

 Approximately 50 federal employees



B UREAUCRACY

 Mid-1800s: Congress created the

Department of the Interior

 1862: Department of Agriculture

 1870: Department of Justice

 1884: Bureau of Labor

 1888: Commerce Agency

 Early 1900s: Given Cabinet status



B UREAUCRACY

 FDR’s New Deal created a myriad of new federal agencies:

 Examples:

 Social Security Administration

 Securities and Exchange Commission

 Civilian Conservation Corps



B UREAUCRACY

 1940 —federal government accounted for 10% of the gross domestic product

 1975 —22%

 $9.5 billion spent on federal programs

 1975 —$332 billion

 About 700,000 federal employees

 1975 —2.2 million



B UREAUCRACY

 Two factors fueling the massive growth

1.

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great

Society program of the 1960s

 Social and economic improvements

2.

Cold War —U.S. and the Soviet Union, vying against each other for global influence

 Federal budget for defense programs



G LOBAL P ERSPECTIVE :

 ONE ITALIAN WRITER

EXPERIENCES AMERICAN

BUREAUCRACY

 In Ciao, America!: An Italian Discovers the U.S., Italian Beppe Severgnini compares his experiences with the

Italian and U.S. bureaucracies

 A “matador faced with a milk cow.”


G ETTING C ONTROL OF THE G ROWING

B UREAUCRACY

 Privatization : replacing governmentprovided services with the private sector

 Deregulation : eliminating government oversight and regulation

 Devolution : shifting responsibility and power back to the states

 “Reinventing Government : ” improved effectiveness and efficiency


T HE O RGANIZATION OF THE F EDERAL

B UREAUCRACY

 Cabinet Departments

 15 major administrative organizations; vary in size and importance

 Each is headed by a secretary except

Justice (attorney general)

 President nominates; Senate confirms



H ISTORICAL P ERSPECTIVE :

 CONFLICTS WITHIN THE CABINET

 1789 –1793 : U.S. Bank —Jefferson vs.

Hamilton

 1977 –1979 : U.S. response to the

Iranian hostage crisis —Brzezinski v.

Vance

 2003 : militarily intervention in Iraq —

Rumsfeld vs. Powell


I NDEPENDENT A GENCIES

 Not part of any executive cabinet department, but do report directly to the president

 Focus on a narrower scope of issues

 Examples : NASA and the Small

Business Administration

 Agency heads are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate


R EGULATORY A GENCIES

 Implement rules and regulations regarding individual or corporate conduct related to some aspect of the economy

 Not under control of the president

 Run by independent boards or commissions that are not supposed to exert partisan influence

 Examples : ICC, FTC, FCC, SEC, EPA


G OVERNMENT C ORPORATIONS

 Run like private companies even though they serve an important public purpose

 When revenue falls short, the government will often intervene to keep it in business

 Examples : U.S. Postal Service;

AMTRAK; Tennessee Valley Authority


T HE E XECUTIVE O FFICE OF THE

P RESIDENT

 Managed by the Chief of Staff:

 Examples: Communications Office;

Council of Economic Advisors; National

Security Council; Office of Management and Budget; White House Counsel;

Office of Science and Technology;

Office of the U.S. Trade

Representative; etc…


T HE F EDERAL W ORKFORCE

 Currently 2.7 million civilian personnel, excluding 1 million postal workers, and 1.5 million U.S. military personnel

 Political Appointees and Career

Professionals —About 8000 appointees

(usually replaced by a new president)

 7500 Senior Executive Service (SES) career professionals (usually remain employed)


T HE C IVIL S ERVICE

 Majority of the federal workforce

 Theoretically hired based on qualifications, and remain employees beyond the term of a president

 Historically : the federal workforce began with “higher society” employees

 Changed with Andrew Jackson’s “spoils system”—patronage


T HE C IVIL S ERVICE

 1881 —President Garfield’s assassination strengthened the reform movement in federal employment

 Killed by a party worker who didn’t get a job

 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883

 Hatch Act of 1939

 Civil Service Reform Act of 1978


G ETTING A J OB IN THE F EDERAL

G OVERNMENT

 Office of Personnel Management

(OPM): http://www.usajobs.opm.gov

 Bruce Maxwell lists four advantages of federal jobs in his Insider’s Guide to

Finding a Job in Washington :

1.

Nation’s largest employer, numerous jobs

2.

3.

4.

Excellent job security

Good wages and benefits

Excellent pension benefits



Pictured above is the “plum book,” which provides a listing of all job openings in the federal bureaucracy

N OW & T HEN : M AKING THE

C ONNECTION

 The federal bureaucracy has grown dramatically since George

Washington’s administration

 As new presidents seek to advance new policy goals, federal departments and agencies have been created, modified, and expanded


P OLITICS I NTER A CTIVE !

 Czars aplenty in the U.S. Government

 Special bureaucratic leaders —usually enjoy close, working relationships with the president —no Senate confirmation

 Presidents since FDR have made these special “czarist“ appointments

 Obama, in his first 15 months in office set a record number at 38



 Do you think that all high level appointments made by the president should require congressional confirmation before they can serve?

 Should the so-called czars be formally confirmed by the Senate just as are all cabinet-level and many sub-cabinetlevel appointments?



 What accounts for the increased use of czars by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama?

 Has the growth and increased complexity of the federal bureaucracy created an atmosphere wherein presidents need a special advisor to coordinate agencies in a specific problem area?



Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate

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