UNITED STATES
BUREAUCRACY
How it gets done…or not…
WHAT DO WE
KNOW ABOUT IT?
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Forms, forms, forms
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Rules & Regulations
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Long lines
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Rudeness

Inefficiency
BUREAUCRACY DEFINED

A hierarchical authority structure that
uses task specialization, operates on the
merit principle, and behaves with
impersonality.

Bureaucracies govern modern states.
DEFINITION/PURPOSE



Characteristics: chain of
command (hierarchical),
specialized (division of
labor), rules, merit
and equal treatment of
clients
Aim: interpret/enforce
laws, an orderly system
of providing services to
the public.
Governmental response
to social concerns.
TERMS TO UNDERSTAND


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Spoils system:
rewarding party loyalists
& friends (Jackson)
Patronage: successful
candidates rewarding
supporters with jobs &
favors
Civil Service: hiring &
promotion based on
competency (merit)
1883 Pendleton Act
POWERS

Legislative:
interpretation &
enforcement with
minimal oversight or
review.

Judicial: settling rule
violations (rule
adjudication)
OVERSIGHT

Theoretically

In practice

Iron Triangles and
Issue Networks
IRON TRIANGLES

Legislative committees and sub-committees
specializing in specific policy areas

Bureaucratic agencies: Federal bodies responsible
for interpretation and enforcement of
legislation/executive orders

Clientele groups: special interest groups, lobbyists
and Political Action Committees (PACs, political arms
of clientele groups)
IRON TRIANGLES

Objective: develop policies that are mutually
beneficial to the participating parties

Actors




Interest Group
Legislative Committee or Subcommittee
Bureaucratic Agency
Attributes



Autonomous
Operate by consensus
Limited Membership
THE MIGHTY TRIANGLE
ISSUE NETWORKS

Purpose:
influence
congressional legislation
and agency
interpretation and
enforcement

Come together, act and
disband

Similar to “iron triangles”
but may include broader,
looser, temporary
membership (i.e.:
media, lawyers,
academics, policy
experts, members of
congress, bureaucrats).
It is less structured and
fluid or temporary.
THE PROCESS
(budget year: Oct. 1-Sept. 30)

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Feb-Dec: Agency requests reviewed by Office of
Management and Budget and sent to the
President for consideration
Dec: Budget finalized
Feb: Budget sent to Congress
Mar-Sept: Congress reviews and marks up while
passing spending/revenue bills*
Sept: President acts on budget proposal
Oct: New fiscal year begins
Oct-Sept: Bureaucracy executes budget
Oct-Nov: Budget expenditures finalized
FOLLOWING THE MONEY...

Pork Busters
Citizens Against Government Waste
Heritage Foundation
The Examiner
The Sunlight Foundation
Americans for Prosperity
The Club for Growth
SURPLUS
DEFICIT
$1,000,000,000,000
PROTECTIONS AND
INFORMATION




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1939 Hatch Act: limits political activity of civil
servants on the job (campaigning, soliciting etc.)
1946 Administrative Procedures Act: open
hearings on and access to regulations
1966 Freedom of Information Act: access to
copies of public records
1974 Privacy Act: access to personal files
1976 Open Meeting Law (Brown Act in CA)
Public bodies must meet openly (“Sunshine laws”)
Federal Register
REFORM APPROACHES

Reorganization
including deregulation

Responsibility transfer
from Federal to State
county, city (devolution)

Privatization of
governmental programs
and services

Combo plate
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
THE BUREAUCRACY





Definition
Purpose
Characteristics
In action
Budget development