The Federal Bureaucracy
Large, complex organization of appointed, not
elected, officials
• “bureau” – French for
small desks, referring to
the king’s traveling
business men who set up
small desks in town
squares
• Bureaucracy = “government of small desks”
The Federal Bureaucracy
Max Weber
• Famous early 20th century German economist
• Bureaucracy – well organized, complex
machine that is a rational way for society to organize its
business.
• Hierarchical authority structure – chain of command
• Task specialization – individuals have unique jobs, division of
labor
• Extensive rules – clear policies for the organization to follow
• Clear goals – clearly defined mission
• Merit principle – hiring and promotion based on
qualities, no jobs for favors
• Impersonality – performance judged on productivity
The Spoils System
• Federal bureaucracy was originally drawn from
an elite group of upper-class white males
• Proclaiming “to the victor belongs the spoils,”
Andrew Jackson awarded federal posts to party
loyalists---patronage
The Civil Service
• The Pendleton Act (1883)
created the federal civil service
• Civil Service system -- workers are selected
according to merit, not party loyalty
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The 0ffice of Personnel Management (OPM)
Administers civil service laws and regulations
Is in charge of hiring for most federal agencies
Effects of Civil Service Reform
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Govt. employees are much more competent
Creating nonpartisan civil service means insulating workers
from risk of being fired when new party comes into power;
this means it’s pretty hard to fire anyone
Hatch Act (1939 and 1993): employees are prohibited from
active participation in partisan politics
• The Growth of The Federal Bureaucracy
• Science and technology
• (NASA) is an example
• Business regulation
• think -- The Jungle
• Social welfare
• Civil War (veteran pensions)
• Great Depression
• income security and social services to Americans
in need
• Ambitious administrators
• top agency officials look for new ways to serve
clients, which in turn leads to new programs, larger
staffs, and larger budgets
Constraints
• Typical govt. bureau can’t hire, fire, build, or sell w/o
going through statutory procedures
• Administrative Procedures Act (1946): agency must
give notice, solicit feedback, hold hearing before
adopting new rule/policy
• Freedom of Information Act (1966): agency must
allow all citizens to inspect their records
• National Environmental Policy Act (1969): agencies
must issue environ. impact statements
• Privacy Act (1974): keeps citizens’ records
confidential
• Open Meeting Law (1976): all parts of all meetings
must be open to public
The federal bureaucracy includes all of the agencies, people, and
procedures through which the federal government operates
• There are approximately 2.7
million civilian and 1.4 million military
federal employees
• Half of all the civilian federal employees work
for the department of defense and an additional 28 percent
work for the postal service
Cabinet Departments
• There are 15 cabinet departments
• Exception of Justice (headed by the Attorney
General), each department is headed by a
secretary
• All 15 heads are chosen by the president and
approved by the Senate
• Treasury Department has authority over the printing
of currency
• Cabinet secretaries often develop a strong loyalty to
their departments
• Cabinet members are often not close presidential
advisors
Independent Regulatory Agencies
• Created to protect the public by regulating key
sectors of the economy
• Best known independent regulatory agencies
• Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
• Federal Reserve Board (FRB)
• Independent regulatory agencies are led by small
commissions appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Senate
• Note commissioners cannot be removed by the
Senate during their terms of office
The Federal Reserve Board
• Federal Reserve Board’s Primary responsibility is to set
monetary policy
• Monetary policy includes setting bank interest
rates, controlling inflation, regulating the money
supply, and adjusting bank reserve requirements
• Federal Reserve Board has great independence
• This freedom removes monetary policy from
politics
• As a result, the Federal Reserve Board is usually
able to use its economic expertise to develop
monetary policies without undue interference
from political parties and interest groups
The Government Corporations
• Government corporations provide a service that
could be provided by the private sector
• Best Known -• Corporation for Public Broadcasting- created
during the Johnson administration
• Tennessee Valley Authority- FDR
• Amtrak
• U.S. Postal Service
Independent Executive Agencies
• Independent Executive Agencies include most of
the non-cabinet departments
• National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Implementation
• Implementation is translation of policy goals into
rules and standard operating procedures
• Break down
• conflicting goals
• faulty program design
• lack financial resources
• fragmentation of responsibilities
• 46 agencies for counterterrorism under the
Office of Homeland Security (2001)
• Congress provides federal agencies with general
mandates
• Discretion to set specific guidelines for a given
problem or situation
Regulation
• Regulation is the use of governmental authority to
control or change practices in the private sector
• Supreme Court first upheld the right of
government to regulate businesses in Munn v.
Illinois (1877)
• Reagan / Bush federal government deregulated or
lifted a number of restrictions
on business
• Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)
Regulation v. Deregulation
• Conservatives say: regulation has become too
burdensome, inhibits business, personal freedom
• Regulation raises prices!
• Regulation hurts our competitiveness overseas!
• Regulation doesn’t always work; gov’t can be
dumb!
• Liberals say: regulation is vital to prevent abuse,
corruption, public fraud
• There is often environmental damage due to
deregulation
Appointments
• Presidents have power to appoint senior agency
heads and subheads
• Enables president to exercise influence over
an agency
• President’s power limited
• Senate has power to approve president’s
appointments
• Agency heads often develop a strong loyalty to
their departments / do not aggressively purse
a president’s policy agenda
Executive Orders
• Directive, order, or regulation issued by president
Economic Powers
• President may use Office of Management and
Budget to cut or add to an agency’s budget
Divided Authority
• Divided supervision in which both president /
Congress exercise authority over the federal
bureaucracy
Oversight
• Congress responsibility to exercise legislative
oversight over the federal bureaucracy
• Oversight methods:
• Budgetary control
• Holding hearings and conducting investigations
• Reorganizing an agency
• Setting new guidelines for an agency
Iron Triangles
• Alliance among an administrative agency, an
interest group, and a congressional committee to
make or preserve policies that benefit their
respective interests
• Each member provides key services,
information, or policy for the others
• Powerful enough to be called sub-governments
• Issue Networks
• Coalition of interest groups and people who join
together to advocate for a specific problem and for
changing a government policy that pertains to that
problem
• Alliances created through an issue network make it
possible for people to join together on their issue to
create change in government policies that pertain to
that issue
Issue Networks
• Members of issue networks usually are political
executives, government officials, public servants,
scholarly analysts, reporters, members of
foundations and White House staff members
• Need for different professions is essential for an
issue network to function, because many types of
expertise are needed to change existing policy