How the Bureaucracy Works Pages

A GENCIES Congress creates any kind of department, agency or commission through its power listed in Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution Laws creating the departments, agencies, corporations or commissions carefully describe their purpose and give them the authority to make numerous policy decisions

A GENCIES Congress does not have the time to involve itself in every detail of every program – Congress sets general guidelines for agency actions and leaves it to the agency to work out the details – Implementation: process by which a law or policy is put into operation

I RON T RIANGLES Iron Triangles: relationships and patterns of interaction that occur among an agency, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees Interaction between federal workers in agencies or departments, interest groups, and relevant congressional subcommittees

I RON T RIANGLES Example from book: – Department of Veterans Affairs – The House Committee on Veteran Affairs – American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars

I RON T RIANGLES

Issue Networks: the loose and informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areas Issue Networks are constantly changing as members with technical expertise or newly interested parties become involved in issue areas

I NTERCONNECTED Interagency councils: working groups created to facilitate coordination of policy making and implementation across a host of governmental agencies Policy Coordinating Committees facilitate interaction among agencies at a subcabinet level

M AKING P OLICY Policy making and implementation take place on both informal and formal levels Many decisions are left to individual government employees on a day-to-day basis What would be an example of decisions being left to individual government employees?

A DMINISTRATIVE D ISCRETION Administrative Discretion: ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional intentions A ton of leeway Exercised through rule making and administrative adjudication

R ULE M AKING Rule making: quasi-legislative administrative process that has the characteristics of a legislative act Regulation: rules that govern the operation of a particular government program that have the force of law Bureaucratic rule makers often act as lawmakers & law enforcers when they make rules or draft regulations to implement various congressional statutes

R ULE M AKING 1946 Administrative Procedures Act established the rule-making procedure Act requires that: – Public notice of the time, place, and nature of the rule-making proceedings be provided in the Federal Register – Interested parties are given the opportunity to submit written arguments and facts – Statutory purpose and basis of the rule be stated

R ULE M AKING Once rules are written, thirty days generally must elapse before they take effect Some agencies are required by law to conduct a formal hearing before issuing rules Page 333

A DMINISTRATIVE A DJUDICATION Administrative Adjudication: quasi-judicial process in which a bureaucratic agency settles disputes between two parties in a manner similar to the way courts resolve disputes If it was a judicial process it would violate the constitutional principle of separation of powers

A DMINISTRATIVE A DJUDICATION Agencies regularly find that people or businesses are not in compliance with federal laws the agencies are charged with enforcing or they are in violation of an agency rule or regulation Administrative adjudication less formal than a trial Judges are employed by agencies and are strictly independent for they can only be removed for gross misconduct

M AKING A GENCIES A CCOUNTABLE Businesses are accountable to customers who buy their goods and their profit is determined by sales Agencies get their funds from taxpayers, but who are they accountable to?

M AKING A GENCIES A CCOUNTABLE Table on Page 335 IRS is perfect example Overhauled as a result

E XECUTIVE C ONTROL As the size and scope of American government, in general, and the executive branch and the bureaucracy, presidents have delegated more and more power to bureaucrats Trying to exercise some control over the bureaucracy has been difficult for presidents

E XECUTIVE C ONTROL Presidential appointments – They have the opportunity to appoint individuals who share their views on a range of policies Presidents can reorganize the bureaucracy – With approval of Congress – Can change an agencies annual budget requests and ignore legislative initiatives that started within the bureaucracy

E XECUTIVE C ONTROL Presidents can shape policy and provide direction to bureaucrats by issuing executive orders – Executive orders: rules or regulations issued by the president that have the effect of law – A president can direct an agency to act, but it can take time for the order to be carried out if they are even get carried out by the agency

C ONGRESSIONAL C ONTROL Constitutionally, Congress possess the authority to create or abolish departments and agencies – They can also transfer agency functions Congress can confirm or reject presidential appoints

C ONGRESSIONAL C ONTROL Congress can exercise investigatory powers – Congress Committee or subcommittee can hold hearings on a particular problem then direct the agency to study the problem or find a remedy Representatives of agencies report to committees on a regular basis to inform members about agency activities and investigations

C ONGRESSIONAL C ONTROL Two types of Congressional Oversight: – Police patrol: proactive – Fire alarm oversight: reactive Based on a complaint filed by a constituent or politically significant actor Power of the Purse – Can fund or doesn’t have to fund an agencies activities

C ONGRESSIONAL C ONTROL Congress added offices to help Congress’ control over bureaucracy’s financial affairs – General Accountability Office Tracks how money is spent but how policies are implemented – Congressional Budget Office Oversight studies, uncovers problems with an agency’s work

J UDICIAL C ONTROL Control is less apparent Judges can directly issue injunctions or orders to an executive agency before a rule is known formally Courts have ruled that agencies must give all affected individuals their due process rights guaranteed by the Constitution

J UDICIAL C ONTROL Supreme Court decisions “based on the costs and benefits of alternative policy choices” Development of specialized courts have altered the relationship bureaucracies have with the Supreme Court Courts of International Trade have expertise on the specialized topics so agencies who deal with International Trade are less likely to defer the expertise back onto the agency