The Federal
Bureaucracy
The Executive Office of the
President, Executive
departments, and Agencies
Bureaucracy
• Bureaucracy: a large administrative structure
that handles the business of a large
organization
• The Executive departments are an example of
our executive bureaucracy
* Each person who works for this type of
organization is a BUREAUCRAT
Our Federal Bureaucracy
• Made up of all of the agencies,
departments, and people that allow our
National Government to get their job
accomplished
• Through the bureaucracy, public policy
gets administered
• The people working within the
bureaucracy are non elected positions
The Bureaucracy
• There are 3 different types of
organizations within the bureaucracy
that you should be aware of
– Executive Departments
– Executive Agencies
– Regulatory Agencies (or Regulatory
Commissions)
– Government Corporations
• Executive Departments: create the
cabinet positions
– The cabinet is the group of people that are
the Presidents’ closest advisors; they
specialize in a policy area and are in
charge of one department
• i.e. Department of Treasury/ Secretary of
Treasury
• 15 Executive Departments
• Each Department is headed by a
SECRETARY
Cabinet Departments
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State
Defense
Treasury
Justice
Interior
Agriculture
Commerce
Labor
• Health and Human
Services
• Housing and Urban
Development
• Transportation
• Energy
• Education
• Veteran Affairs
• Homeland Security
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/07/politics/main4583057.shtml
• Independent Agencies
– THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF
AGENCIES!
– Generally, agencies are the non-cabinet level
organizations
– Examples: NASA, FDA (Food and Drug Admin),
EPA (environmental Protection Agency)
– Regulatory Agencies
• One TYPE of agency, but they are a little more
specific in their responsibility
• Monitor economic activity
• There are 12 of these organizations
• Independent Agencies
– Government Corporations: These organizations
are controlled by the President, but they are
different because they run business-like activities
– Best examples = the POST OFFICE
Executive Branch
President
Executive Agencies
Government
Corporations
Executive Departments
(Cabinet Members)
Independent Regulatory
Agencies (Independent
Regulatory
Commissions)
In Conclusion…
• Why do we have a bureaucracy?
Nominating and Choosing
Members
• President-elect draws up candidates for
heads of departments
• May “leak” names to media to test
public opinion
• Senate holds confirmation hearings
after the President officially appoints
someone to office
What is the Cabinet?
• The cabinet is an informal advisory
brought together by the President to
serve his needs.
• There are now 15 cabinet posts, all
created by past and present presidents
• The most recent is the Department of
Homeland Security, created after
9/11/01
The Cabinet’s Role
• 2 Main Roles: as individuals, they head one of
the executive departments, and as a group
they are an advisor to the President
• Different Presidents have different views of
how much advice they should take from the
cabinet heads
• How much information do you think Barack
Obama has taken from his advisors?
Women and Minorities
in the Cabinet
• Comparatively, there have been more white
males appointed to cabinet members instead of
women and minorities.
• However, we are taking steps in the right
direction by appointing people such as Colin
Powell, Alberto Gonzales, Condi Rice, and
Margaret Spellings to heads of cabinets
Women in Cabinet
• The first woman appointed to a
cabinet position was
–Frances T. Perkins.
• She was appointed by FDR and
served from 1933-1945 as
Secretary of Labor
Independent Agencies
• Independent agencies were created
after 1880- since then, the number of
agencies has grown (150 agencies
today)
• These agencies administer programs
similar to the executive departments
• So, why do we have them?
Independent Agencies
• Why do they exist?
– Some agencies don’t “fit” with any department
– Separating them from the Executive Departments
keeps the agencies’ work away from party politics
• I.e. the Federal Election Commission is an agency
– Their functions are odd or sensitive
– Or- they were made independent agencies on
accident
In Conclusion…
• The three different structures that exist within
the Federal Bureaucracy are the Executive
Office of the President, Executive
Departments, and Executive Agencies
• The Executive Office of the President is
comprised of various offices that support the
president’s and country’s needs
• The Cabinet works to support the president
and to head domestic and foreign
administrative offices within the White House