Chapter 13
The Federal Bureaucracy
United States
Department of Interior
Bureaucracy
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Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring
to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of
legal rules are socially organized. Four structural concepts are
central to any definition of bureaucracy:
1. a well-defined division of administrative labor among persons and
offices,
2. a personnel system with consistent patterns of recruitment and
stable linear careers,
3. a hierarchy among offices, such that the authority and status are
differentially distributed among actors, and
4. formal and informal networks that connect organizational actors
to one another through flows of information and patterns of
cooperation.
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Examples of everyday bureaucracies include governments, armed
forces, corporations, hospitals, courts, ministries and schools
Bureaucracy in Political Science
• A system of organization and control that is based on
three principles:
1. Hierarchical authority
2. Job Specialization
3. Formalized rules
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Roughly 2.5 million employees in the U.S. are part of
the bureaucracy
History of Bureaucracy
 President Andrew Jackson (1828) opened
government jobs to the common people. He
inaugurated the spoils system, under which party
loyalty—not experience or talent—became the
criterion for a federal job .
 This was the beginning of patronage, and it continued
through the late 19th century
History of Bureaucracy
 Congress passed the Pendleton Act in 1883, which
created a system for hiring federal workers based on
qualifications rather than political allegiance;
employees were also protected from losing their jobs
when the administration changed.
History of Bureaucracy
In 1939, the Hatch Act passed to
prohibit federal workers from
running for office or actively
campaigning for other candidates.
History of Bureaucracy
 1930s: the size of the federal bureaucracy grew
exponentially due to President Franklin
Roosevelt's New Deal agencies.
 Although many were short-lived, others continue
to play a role
 Example: the Social Security Administration
(SSA), the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
History of Bureaucracy
 1960s: President Lyndon expanded the welfare state
with such programs as Medicare, Head Start, the Job
Corps, and the Office of Economic Opportunity
(OEO).
 1970s: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
was created by the Nixon administration, the new
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) in the Labor Department transformed the
workplace for most Americans, and new cabinet
departments were established .
 2002: Department of Homeland Security established.
Forms of Bureaucracy
1.
Cabinet Departments:
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15 currently exist;
major administrative units of the executive;
heads, or secretaries, appointed, approved and part
of presidential cabinet;
each department has responsibility for a general
policy area
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Cabinet Departments
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State,
Treasury,
Defense,
Justice,
Interior,
Agriculture,
Commerce,
Labor,
Health & Human Services,
Homeland Security,
Housing & Urban Development,
Transportation,
Energy,
Education, and
Veterans Affairs.
Forms of Bureaucracy
2. Independent Agencies:
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similar to cabinets in structure but have narrower
responsibilities
Example: Central Intelligence Agency
Forms of Bureaucracy
3. Regulatory Agencies:
• Quasi-legislative
• Quasi-judicial
• Hold hearings
• Make rules
• Resolve disputes
• Independent
• President cannot unilaterally remove leaders
Example: Environmental Protection Agency
Forms of Bureaucracy
4. Government Corporations:
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Similar to private companies because they charge
clients for services and are governed by a board of
directors
Different b/c receive federal funding to help defray
operating expenses
Example: Amtrak
Forms of Bureaucracy
5. Commissions:
• Provide advice to President
• Exist because the need for rulemaking is highly
complex & technical
Examples: FTC, FCC, SEC, FEC, FRB
Environmental Protection
Agency Building
Washington, D.C.
Bureaucracy
• Primary Responsibility is policy
implementation (Rule Application, Rule
Interpretation, and Rule Initiation)
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Administrators tend to look out for their agency’s point
of view.
Often, new regulation has a comment period time
outlined in the U.S. Federal Register
Sources of Power
1. Expertise
2. Special interests, or clientele groups
3. Friends in High Places
Accountability
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To President (can reorganize or change leadership)
To Congress
To public
To Executive Budget
Whistleblowers (individuals can report instances of
mismanagement without repercussions)
Appointees
 +3500 appointed by White House
 Loyalty
 Number of appointments has increased
 Tenure of those appointed has decreased
 Patronage
 Political Favoritism
 Spoils System
 Merit
 Pendleton Act of 1883
Career Civil Service
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Office of Personnel Management
Bipartisan Merit Systems Protection Board
18 level General Schedule (GS) salary structure
Service ratings
Hatch Act of 1939 limits political activities of civil
service