Name: __________________________________________________ November 9, 2010
Evening School of Excellence – Virginia and U.S. Government
Chapter 15: Government at Work: The Bureaucracy
Section 1: The Federal Bureaucracy

What is a Bureaucracy?
o
__________ features distinguish bureaucracies:

Hierarchical authority. Bureaucracies are based on a _______________ structure with a chain of
_______________ running from top to bottom.

Job specialization. Each ____________________, or person who works for the organization, has
certain defined _______________ and responsibilities.

Major Elements of the Federal Bureaucracy
o
The federal bureaucracy is all of the ____________________, people, and procedures through which the
____________________ Government operates.

The ____________________ is the chief administrator of the Federal Government.

In order to _______________ and enforce policy, Congress and the President have created an
____________________--the government’s many administrators and agencies.

The chief organizational _______________ of the federal bureaucracy is its
____________________ into areas of specialization.


The Name Game
o
The name ____________________ is reserved for agencies of the _______________ rank.
o
Outside of department, there is little standardization of _______________ throughout the agencies.
o
Common titles include agency, administration, commission, corporation, and authority.
Staff and Line Agencies
o
Staff Agencies

_______________ agencies serve in a support capacity.

They __________ the chief executive and other administrators by offering _______________
and other assistance in the management of the organization.
o
Line Agencies

__________ agencies perform tasks for which the organization exists.

Congress and the President give the line agencies _______________ to accomplish, and staff
agencies help the line agencies accomplish them.
Section 2: The Executive Office of the President

The Executive Office of the President
o
The Executive Office of the President (the __________) is an umbrella agency of separate agencies.
o
The EOP serves as the President’s _______________ arm, staffed by most of the President’s closest
____________________ and assistants.
o

The EOP was established by _______________ in 1939.
The White House Office and National Security Council
o
The White House Office

The White House Office is comprised of the President’s key ____________________ and
____________________ staff.

Staff positions in the White House Office include chief of _______________, assistants to the
President, _______________ secretary, the counsel to the President, and the President’s
____________________.
o
The National Security Council

The National Security Council (__________) acts to advise the President on all
____________________, foreign, and military matters that relate to the nation’s
____________________.

Members include the Vice President and the secretaries of _______________ and
_______________.

The West Wing of the White House
o
The President’s closest advisors work in the __________ Wing of the White House, near the __________
office.

Additional Agencies
o
Office of Management and Budget (__________)

The OMB’s major task is the preparation of the federal _______________, which the President
must submit to ____________________.
o
Office of National Drug Control Policy

Established in 1989, this agency’s existence dramatizes the nation’s _______________ over
drugs.
o
Council of Economic Advisers

The Council of Economic Advisers consists of __________ of the country’s leading economists,
and acts as the President’s major source of information and advice and the nation’s
_______________.
Section 3: The Executive Departments

Executive Departments
o
The executive departments, often called the _______________ departments, are the traditional units of
federal administration.

Each department is headed by a ____________________, except for the Department of
_______________, whose work is directed by the attorney _______________.

Each department is made up of a number of subunits, both staff and __________.

Today, the executive departments __________ a great deal in terms of visibility, size, and
importance.

The Cabinet
o
The _______________ is an informal advisory body brought together by the President to serve his
_______________.
o
By tradition, the _______________ of the executive departments form the Cabinet.
o
The President _______________ the head of each of the executive departments, which are then subject
to _______________ approval.
o
Cabinet members serve as both __________ of their respective departments and as advisors to the
President.
Section 4: Legislative and Judicial Powers

Why Independent Agencies?
o
The independent agencies are created by _______________ and located outside the executive
departments.
o
Independent agencies have been formed for numerous reasons, including:

being assigned a __________ or function that does not fit well within the existing departmental
structure;

protecting the agency’s ____________________ from the influence of both partisan and
_______________ politics;


being created outside the departmental structure by ____________________.
The Independent Executive Agencies
o
The independent executive agencies include most of the independent agencies.
o
The most important difference between the independent executive agencies and the _____ executive
departments is that they simply do __________ have ____________________ status.
o
Examples of independent executive agencies include __________, the General Services Administration,
and the __________.
o
Some independent executive agencies are far from well-known, such as the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory
Committee.

Independent Regulatory Commissions
o
The independent regulatory commissions stand out among the independent agencies because they are
largely _______________ the reach of presidential direction and _______________.
o
Term _______________ of members and staggering of member appointments keep these commissions
from falling under control of one _______________.
o
The regulatory commissions are _______________-legislative and quasi-judicial, meaning that
_______________ has given them certain legislative-like and judicial-like powers.

The Government Corporations
o
Government corporations are also within the ____________________ branch and subject to the
President’s direction and control.
o
Government corporations were established by _______________ to carry out certain
____________________-like activities.
o
There are now over __________ government corporations, including the U.S. _______________ Service,
Amtrak, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Section 5: The Civil Service

Development of the Civil Service
o
The civil services is that group of _______________ employees who perform the administrative work of
government excluding the _______________ forces.

The use of ____________________--the practice of giving government jobs to supporters and
_______________—was in use throughout most of the nineteenth century.

The Pendleton Act, also known as the Civil Service Act of 1883, laid the foundation of the
present federal civil service _______________, and set _______________ as the basis for hiring
in most civil service positions.

The Civil Service Today
o
The Office of Personnel Management is the _______________ clearinghouse in the federal recruiting,
examining, and _______________ process.
o
The Merit Systems Protection Board ____________________ the merit principle in the federal
bureaucracy.
o
Congress sets the __________ and other job conditions for everyone who works for the Federal
Government, except for _______________ employees.

Political Activities
o
Several laws and a number of __________ regulations place restrictions on the political activities of
federal civil servants:

The _______________ Act of 1939 allows federal workers to __________ in elections, but
forbids them from taking part in ____________________ political activities.

The Federal Employees Political Activities Act of 1993 ____________________ many of the
restrictions of the Hatch Act. It still forbids federal workers from:

running in partisan elections;

engaging in party __________ on government property or while on the job;

collecting political _________________________ from subordinates or the general
public;

using a government position to _______________ an election.