AP Government
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Began with George Washington
◦ He started with three executive departments
 Foreign Affairs
 War
 Treasury
◦ Foreign Affairs was later changed to State and he
added an Attorney General his second term.
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Post Master General was given a Cabinet
position under Jackson.
◦ Westward expansion made this a legitimate move
◦ Jackson used patronage and the Spoils System to
reward his supporters.
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Civil War changed the bureaucracy forever.
◦ It expanded to meet the needs of a country at war
with itself
 Agriculture was added, but it wasn’t official
 Pension was the same way
 The Department of Justice was expanded
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Spoils System got Garfield (not the cat) killed
◦ Pendleton Act resulted
 Switched from the spoils system to the Merit System
 Began to use the Civil Service Exams for employment
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Independent Regulatory Commissions
◦ First was INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
(ICC) – used to regulate railroad rates. This shifted
bureaucratic responsibilities from service oriented
to regulation oriented.
 1913 Commerce & Labor were added
 1914 Federal Trade Commission was added
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Great Depression led FDR to create more
federal agencies (duh!)
WWII brought even more!
Civil Rights added a couple of more.
9/11 added the most recent one –
HOMELAND SECURITY
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A career government employee
Three areas where government employees
DON’T have to pass the civil service exam:
◦ Appointed Policy Making positions
 Secretaries of…
 Undersecretaries
 On these, the President appoints/Senate confirms
◦ Independent Regulatory Commissions
 President Appoints – no Senate Confirmation needed
◦ Low-level, non-policy, patronage positions
 Secretarial assistants to policy makers
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It is shrinking due to budget constraints
Government is hiring outside contractors to
do the work
Formal Organizations of the Government
◦ Agencies fall into one of four categories
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Cabinet Departments
Government Corporations
Independent Agencies
Regulatory Commissions
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Most government corporations charge for
their services:
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U.S. Postal Service
Amtrak
FDIC
TVA
Etc.
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Resemble cabinet departments. These
perform a service:
◦ NASA
◦ EPA
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By not being part of a cabinet department,
they have more freedom to develop
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Created by Congress to be outside the major
departments so they can regulate a specific
economic activity or interest.
◦ Older ones like the SEC and Federal Reserve Board
were created to oversee industries
◦ Newer ones, like OSHA, are more concerned with
how the business sector relates to the public.
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Hatch Act, 1939
◦ Very extreme. Federal employees were prohibited
from making campaign contributions, working for a
political party, or campaigning for a candidate
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Federal Employees Political Activities Act,
1993
◦ Today they’re allowed to be involved politically with
some restrictions. See handout.
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Max Weber had a profound impact on how
bureaucracies SHOULD work:
◦ Model Bureaucracies had 6 Characteristics
Chain of command is from the top down
Division of labor that utilizes specialized skills
Clear lines of authority
A goal that determines structure, authority and rules.
Employees are treated fairly – clients are served
equally
 Productivity where work is evaluated by established
rules
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Congress established these to make sure that
specialization is utilized.
In essence they’re turning over part of their
power.
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To study the implementation of laws developed
by these organizations we need to look at three
models:
◦ IRON TRIANGLE – this has stable relationships and
interaction between the members of the bureaucracy
◦ ISSUE NETWORKS – similar to the Iron Triangle, but in
addition to the same characters, they have everchanging members – lawyers, consultants, academics, PR
specialists, and the courts.
◦ INTERAGENCY COUNCILS – working groups that bring
together representatives of different agencies, depts.,
etc. to coordinate policy making and implementation
 Example: U.S. Interagency on the Homeless worked with 50+
government agencies to coordinate relief for the homeless.
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Policy Coordinating Committees (PCCs) – formed
to further help form interaction between agencies
and depts at the sub-cabinet level
◦ After 9/11, a PCC was formed on Terrorist Financing.
 Worked with representatives from the depts of
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Treasury
State
Defense
Justice
CIA
FBI
 Recommended asking Saudi Arabian government to take
action against terrorist financiers
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Administrative Discretion
◦ The ability of bureaucrats to make choices
concerning the best way to implement
congressional intentions
◦ Two formal procedures for this
 1. Rule Making
 2. Administrative Adjudication
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Rule Making – this is quasi-legislative and it
has the characteristics of a legislative act.
◦ See the handout on How Regulations are Made
◦ Administrative Procedures Act of 1946 set rules for
rule-making procedures
 Public notice of time, place and nature of rule-making
proceedings be provided in the Federal Register.
 Interested parties be given the opportunity to submit
written arguments and facts relevant to the rule
 The statutory purpose and basis of the rule be stated
 Once rules are written, 30 days must elapse before
they take effect.
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Administrative Adjudication – quasi-judicial
process. Board of judges settles disputes over
whether a corporation or person is violating a
rule or regulation
◦ Examples:
 Federal Trade Commission
 EEOC
 Social Security Judges
◦ All of the decisions by these are reviewable by the
Federal Courts if need be
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Congressional Control
◦ Two types of Oversight
 Police patrol – proactive, allowing Congress to set its
own agenda for programs or agencies to review
 Fire Alarm – reactive, involves a Congressional
response to a complaint (most used)
◦ Power of the Purse – to fund or not to fund…that is
the question
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House Appropriations Committee
Government Accounting Office
Congressional Research Office
Congressional Budget Office
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Less apparent than Congressional and
Presidential Control
◦ Federal judges can issue injunctions or orders to
specific Federal Agencies