 Large, complex organization comprised of appointed officials  Barely mentioned in the Constitution, yet over 17 million people work directly or indirectly for the government.  million civilians work for the federal government  Number of federal employees has remained relatively stable since WWII  Number of state and local employees has grown tremendously

 Max Weber  Rational and organized way to organize society  Power of bureaucrats stems from discretionary authority.  Identified six characteristics of a bureaucracy

 Hierarchical authority structure  Task specialization  division of labor  Extensive rules  well-established formal rules  Clear goals  unifies organization  Merit principle  hiring and promotion based on merit not patronage  Impersonality  job performance is judged by productivity

 Divided supervision  Congress can create, fund and abolish federal agencies, but executive branch in charge of implementing programs  Close public scrutiny  Emphasis on individual rights and preservation of rights against government abuse  Regulation rather than public ownership  compared to many Western European nations

 Cabinet Departments  Independent Regulatory Agencies (ICC, FTC, NLRB, FRB, SEC)  Government Corporations (TVA, Amtrak, CPB, Postal Service)  Independent Executive Agencies (GSA, NSF, NASA)

 Created 1789 when Congress created State Department   white, upper-class, elite  1829  Jackson’s spoils system  1877 Munn v. Illinois (business regulation)  1881  Pendelton Act  Office of Personnel Management  The Merit Systems Protection Board

 Initial goal of service until early 20 th century; then added regulation in 1930s and WWII  Hatch Act 1939 limited civil servants’ roles in politics  Hatch Act requirements relaxed in 1993; civil servants can be active in party politics, but still may not run for office

 Popular to reduce the size of bureaucracy through devolution (1996 Welfare Reform Act) or privatization (weapons systems)  2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act  Director of National Intelligence (15 agencies)  National Counterterrorism Center

 Implementation  (source of policymaking power)  providing services  Regulation  Grant of power from Congress  Agencies outline guidelines  Application and enforcement of guidelines

 Key question: Is the bureaucracy out of control or under control of the branches of government?  The Power of Expertise  source of info for other branches  The Power of Clientele Groups  put pressure on Congress and the president to support agencies from which they benefit  The Power of Friends in High Places  symbiotic relationship between president, Congress and bureaucracy

 Iron triangles-a small and informal, but relatively stable group of congressional subcommittee members, bureaucrats and interest groups who seek to promote policies beneficial to a particular interest  Also known as subgovernments; relationships so strong real decision-making takes place at this level  Lobbyists provide information to executive agency and congressional subcommittees and support election bids. The subcommittee members pass favorable legislation and approve higher budgets for that agency; the agency then give subcommittees information, and develop rules and implementation strategies favorable to the lobbyists.

 Issue networks-an informal and temporary network of people in interest groups, congressional staffs, academia and the mass media who regularly debate an issue.  Replacing iron triangles as an explanation of policy-making process.  Contain groups on multiple sides of the issue, so not a mutually beneficial relationship.

 Duplication (drug policy  Customs, FBI, DEA, Defense)  Authorization and Appropriation  Power of the purse  Hearings (oversight)  Rewriting legislation

 Appointments  Executive Orders  Economic Powers (through OMB)  Reorganization

 Courts can determine if an agency is implementing a law correctly if a party brings suit  Supreme Court usually supports administrators  Massachusetts v. EPA (2008)  court ruled that EPA was responsible for issuing emissions standards under Clean Air Act and that it couldn’t indefinitely delay regulating

 Whistle-Blowing-the act of reporting instances of official mismanagement  Whistle Blower Protection Act  Richard Clarke 2004, Bush Administration  Demographic representativeness  more so than Congress, but not very representative at the managerial and professional level

 “red tape”  endless regulations  Conflict  agencies working at cross purposes  Duplication  two different agencies doing the same thing  Unchecked growth  agency has no incentive to limit its own growth  Waste  limited incentive to same money  Lack of accountability  difficulty in firing bureaucrats

 1993 National Performance Review  Gore  reduce red tape, put customers first, empower administrators, cut government back to basic services  2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act

 Limit appointments to 6-12 years (retest or rehire)  Make it easier to fire a bureaucrat  Rotate professionals between agencies and from outside  Reward employee initiatives and fewer rules  Emphasize customer satisfaction