Federal Bureaucracy
SSCG 15
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“If there is a way to
delay in important
decision, the good
bureaucracy, public
or private, will find it”
”A civil servant is
sometimes like a
broken cannon - it won't
work and you can't fire
it.” ~ George S. Patton
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Bureaucracy's chief
characteristics are
continuity, predictability,
standard operating
procedures, and the
inevitable "red tape.“
Our bureaucratic agencies
reflect how our political
system has tried to identify
our most important national
goals and how policies are
implemented.
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A spoil system is an
informal practice where
a political party, after
winning an election,
gives government jobs
to its voters as a reward
for working toward
victory, and as an
incentive to keep
working for the party.
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The Pendleton Act of
1883 established the United
States Civil Service
Commission, which placed
most federal government
employees on the merit
system and marked the end
of the so-called spoils
system.
The act provided for some
government jobs to be filled
on the basis of competitive
exams.
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People who work for government
agencies, from high-level
managers and executives to
clerical staff, are called
bureaucrats.
The terms bureaucrat and
bureaucracy have negative
connotations. They bring to mind
long, difficult forms; standing in
long lines; and encounters with
inflexible and unsympathetic
clerks. The simplest requests are
tangled in red tape, the
paperwork that slows down
accomplishment of an otherwise
simple task.
Bureaucracy is necessary for big
governmental agencies to
operate.
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The federal bureaucracy is the
departments and agencies of the
federal government – mostly the
executive branch.
The executive branch of the
federal government includes the
Executive Office of the President
and the United States federal
executive departments
The majority of the independent
agencies of the United States
government are also classified as
executive agencies (they are
independent in that they are not
subordinated under a Cabinet
position).
There are a small number of
independent agencies that are not
considered part of the executive
branch, such as the Library of
Congress and Congressional
Budget Office, which are
administered directly by Congress
and thus are legislative branch
agencies.
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There are 6 characteristics
to a bureaucracy, according
to Max Weber: (1.) a formal
hierarchy; (2.) management
by rules; (3.) organization
by functional specialty; (4.)
an “up-focused” or “infocused” mission; (5.)
purposely impersonal; and
(6.) employment based on
technical qualifications.
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The federal
bureaucracy performs
three primary tasks in
government:
implementation,
administration, and
regulation.
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Agencies fall into four
general types:
Cabinet departments,
regulatory
commissions,
independent
agencies, and
government
corporations.
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The 15 Cabinet departments are
major administrative units that
have responsibility for
conducting broad areas of
government operation.
These positions account for
60% of the federal workforce.
Departments vary in prestige,
power, size, and access to the
president.
Common attributes: each is
headed by a secretary (except
Justice that is headed by the
Attorney General); secretaries
are assisted by deputies and
undersecretaries; departments
are subdivided into functional
units (legal services, budgets,
public relations, and so on).
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Executive Departments
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Commerce (DOC)
Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of Education (ED)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Labor (DOL)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of the Treasury
Department of Transportation (DOT)
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The Department of
Agriculture was created
to help farmers to
improve their incomes
and expand their
markets.
It develops
conservation plans and
provides credit to
farmers and protects
the nations food supply.
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Department of Commerce is
to promote and protect the
industrial and commercial
segments of the American
economy.
Three agencies carry out
Constitutional directives:
Bureau of Census, Patent
and Trademark Office, and
National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
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The Department of
Defense protects the
nations security.
Through the Joint
Chiefs of Staff – the
leaders of the Army,
Navy, Marines, and Air
Force - it oversees the
armed forces.
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The Department of
Education was created
to to coordinate federal
assistance programs
for public and private
schools.
Why? Because an
educated and informed
population is an
essential feature in a
democratic
government.
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The Department of
Energy plans energy
policy and researches
and develops energy
technology.
It sprang from the
energy crisis of the
1970s.
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The Department of
Health and Human
Services directs
programs concerned
with the health and
social services of the
American people.
It manages Medicare
and Medicaid, the
Public Health Service,
and the Food and Drug
Association.
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The Department of
Homeland Security has the
primary responsibilities of
protecting the territory of the
U.S. from terrorist attacks
and responding to natural
disasters.
Its stated goal is to prepare
for, prevent, and respond to
domestic emergencies,
particularly terrorism.
It absorbed the Immigration
and Naturalization Service
and assumed its duties.
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The Department of
Housing and Urban
Development was
created to preserve the
nation’s communities
and ensure Americans
of equal housing
opportunities.
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The Department of Justice
is to oversee the nation’s
legal affairs. It has the
Attorney General to oversee
it.
Well known offices are the
FBI, U.S. Marshalls Service,
and the DEA.
The Antitrust division deals
with antitrust laws.
The Civil Rights Division
deals with and enforces
civil rights legislation.
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The Department of
Labor is charged with
protecting the U.S.
worker.
It ensures safe working
conditions, safeguards
a minimum wage, and
protects pension rights.
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The Department of State is
responsible for the overall
foreign policy of the United
States. It is run by the
Secretary of State.
It also protects the rights of
U.S. citizens traveling
overseas.
Embassies are offices to
ambassadors in foreign
countries.
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The Department of the
Interior is to protect
public lands and natural
resources throughout
the nation.
They oversee relations
with Native Americans.
The Bureau of Mines
and the National Park
Service are part of this
department.
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The Department of Treasury
manages the monetary
resources of the country.
The Bureau of the Mint
manufactures coins.
The Bureau of Engraving
and Printing produces
paper money.
The Internal Revenue
Service oversees tax
collection and tax laws.
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The Department of
Transportation is split into
different agencies to help
regulate all aspects of
American transportation
needs, policy development,
and planning.
The FFA, the Federal
Railroad Administration, the
Federal Highway
Administration, and the
Federal Transit
Administration make up
these.
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The Department of
Veteran’s Affairs
administers several
hospitals as well as
educational and other
programs to benefit
veterans and their
families.
It was known as the
“Veteran’s
Administration.”
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Independent regulatory
commissions exist to
regulate a specific economic
activity or interest such as
the National Labor Relations
Board or Securities and
Exchange Commission.
They are independent
because once their
membership is appointed by
the president, they cannot
be removed without cause.
They also have staggered
terms of office to ensure that
no one party gets to appoint
all members.
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Independent
executive agencies
have narrower
mandates than a
Cabinet department.
They generally
perform a service
function not a
regulatory one, some
examples include:
CIA,NASA and the
EPA.
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Independent
regulatory agencies
are federal agencies
created by an act of
Congress that are
independent of the
executive departments.
These agencies are
meant to impose and
enforce regulations free
of political influence.
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A government corporation is
a legal entity created by a
government to exercise some
of the powers of the
government.
Some government
corporations may resemble a
not-for-profit corporation as
they have no need or goal of
satisfying the shareholders
with return on their investment
through price increase or
dividends, while other
government corporations are
established as for-profit
businesses.
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A government-owned
corporation, state-owned
enterprise, or government
business enterprise is a
legal entity created by a
government to undertake
commercial activities on
behalf of an owner
government, and are
usually considered to be an
element or part of the state.
GOCs can be fully owned or
partially owned by
Government.
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The term government-linked
company (GLC) is sometimes used
to refer to corporate entities that
may be private or public (listed on a
stock exchange) where an existing
government owns a stake using a
holding company.
There are two main definitions of
GLCs and are dependent on the
proportion of the corporate entity a
government owns.
One definition purports that a
company is classified as a GLC if a
government owns an effective
controlling interest (>50%).
The second definition suggests that
any corporate entity that has a
government as a shareholder is a
GLC.
Differences:
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An Executive Agency is a part of a government
department that is treated as separate in order to
carry out some part of the executive functions
Independent agencies of the United States
government are those that exist outside of the
departments of the executive branch.
(Established through separate statutes passed by
the U.S. Congress, each respective statutory grant
of authority defines the goals the agency must work
towards, as well as what substantive areas, if any, it
may have the power of rulemaking over.)
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On March 1, 1961, Kennedy
officially started the Peace
Corps. Concerned with the
growing tide of revolutionary
sentiment in the Third World,
Kennedy saw the Peace Corps
as a means of countering the
notions of the "Ugly American"
and "Yankee imperialism."
The mission of the Peace
Corps includes three goals,
which are providing technical
assistance, helping people
outside the United States
understand the culture of the
United States, and helping
United States people
understand the culture of other
countries.
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AmeriCorps was created
under President Bill Clinton by
the National and Community
Service Trust Act of 1993.
The work done by these
groups ranges from public
education to environmental
clean-up.
AmeriCorps itself is split into
three main divisions, including
AmeriCorps State and
National, VISTA (Volunteers in
Service to America), and
NCCC (National Civilian
Community Corps). More than
70,000 individuals currently
join AmeriCorps annually,
totaling more than 500,000
past and current members
since 1994.
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The Contract with America
represented the view of many
conservative Republicans on
the issues of shrinking the size
of government, promoting
lower taxes and greater
entrepreneurial activity, and
both tort reform and welfare
reform.
The Contract with America was
introduced six weeks before
the 1994 Congressional
election, the first mid-term
election of President Bill
Clinton's Administration.