The Bureaucracy: Career Government Employees, Accountability, and Race Chapter 8

Bureaucratic Organization Cabinet departments Independent regulatory commissions Independent executive agreements Government corporations

Bureaucratic Organization Cabinet departments Major divisions of the executive branch 14 cabinets Each cabinet is further divided into specialized units Example: Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice

Bureaucratic Organization Independent regulatory commissions Government bodies that issue and enforce regulations on specified economic and social interests Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Bureaucratic Organization Independent executive agencies Narrow focus Independent from cabinet departments Engage in research See “Our Voices: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Controversy over Florida and the 2000 Election” Do not regulate No fees for service to the public

Bureaucratic Organization Government corporations Run by the federal government Charge fees for service Keep any generated revenue Compete directly and indirectly with the private sector Examples: U.S. Post Office and Amtrak

The Bureaucrats Patronage system Merit system Bureaucrats: Employees who work in a bureaucracy Politics versus merit Patronage system President Andrew Jackson Merit system President James Garfield Pendleton Act of 1883 Hatch Acts of 1939 and 1993

The Bureaucrats Diversity Civil Rights Act of 1972 Prohibited discriminatory hiring practices More difficult to demonstrate discrimination when it is a result of hiring practices that disproportionately harm racial and ethnic minorities (compared to clearly intentional discriminatory practices) There is increased diversity in the federal bureaucracy; however, this is largely at the lower levels, rather than the upper echelons of the system

Bureaucratic Policymaking and Power Implementation Enforcement Bureaucrats have varying degrees of discretion in their enforcement of laws At times they follow the guidelines that have come from the top; at other times they engage in enforcement as they see fit

Bureaucratic Policymaking and Power Implementation (cont.) Rulemaking Administrative Procedures Act of 1946 Federal Register Administrative adjudication

Bureaucratic Policymaking and Power Sources of bureaucratic power Expertise Alliances Iron triangle Issue networks

The Iron Triangle

Controlling Bureaucracies Executive control over bureaucracies The president cannot exert complete control over the bureaucracy Senior Executive Service Central clearance Whistleblowers Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989

Controlling Bureaucracies Legislative control over bureaucracies Congress creates, alters, or eliminates bureaucratic agencies Congress provides bureaucratic oversight through committee hearings and investigations Government Accountability Office Comptroller general Legislative veto

Controlling Bureaucracies Judicial control over bureaucracies Ruling that bureaucratic actions violate the U.S. Constitution The judicial branch cannot act on its own accord but must wait for aggrieved parties to come forward Equal Access to Justice Act of 1980