The American Bureaucracy

What is the Bureaucracy? A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials in which authority is divided among several managers Complex because authority is divided among several managers, no one person can make all decisions. Term comes from French word “bureau” meaning a government worker’s desk and “cracy” meaning a form of government Approximately 4 million government workers in federal bureaucracy, about 1/3 of whom work in armed forces or defense agencies

Organization of the Bureaucracy Federal government organized be departments (called that to distinguish them from the cabinet) Agencies/administrations = government bodies headed by a single administrator, have similar status to the cabinet (EPA, FDA) Commissions = agencies that regulate certain aspects of the private sector (SEC, FCC) Corporations = agencies headed by a board of directors, chairman (FDIC, USPS, AMTRAK)

Primary Functions of a Bureaucracy Recognizable division of labor skilled workers each have a specialized function so that productivity is increased Allocation of function- each task is assigned and defined Allocation of responsibility- each task is understood by the worker, can’t be changed without approval of the supervisor Workers make their careers synonymous with the organization because the bureaucracy provides for benefits

Distinctiveness of the American Bureaucracy Political authority over the bureaucracy is shared by president and Congress Federal agencies share functions with related state and local government agencies (only some deal directly with citizens ex. IRS) Adversary culture leads to closer scrutiny and makes court challenges more likely Ex. Everything the EPA does gets challenged Scope of Bureaucracy 1. Little public ownership of industry in the U.S. 2. High degree of regulation of private industries in the U.S.

What justifies a Bureaucracy? Constitutional basis found in Article II of the Constitution in reference to the creation of executive departments Bureaucracies developed as a result of custom, traditions, and precedents

Early Bureaucracy 1 st Congress (1789) introduced a bill to create the Department of State Argued over who would control its employees Pres nominates/Senate confirms Only Pres can remove – important to have control over subordinates But Congress appropriates the money, makes the laws, and can investigate the administration Early appointments were bitter struggle between Ideology Character Competence

The Growth of the Bureaucracy Officials affect how laws are interpreted, tone and effectiveness of administration, party strength Patronage in nineteenth and early twentieth centuries rewarded supporters, induced congressional support, built party organizations *later brought calls for reform Civil War= bureaucratic growth; it showed the administrative weakness of federal government and increased demands for civil service reform Post-Civil War period saw industrialization, emergence of a national economy – power of national government to regulate interstate commerce became necessary and controversial

Bureaucracy: A Service Role : new agencies primarily performed service roles (research, gather stats, dispense land and benefits) Why? Valued limited government, states’ rights Feared concentrated power Laissez-faire philosophy (promote, don’t regulate) Supreme Court held that the Constitution only gave executive agencies power to apply laws passed by Congress (not create their own regulatory power) **Constitution gave Congress power to regulate commerce Wars led to reduced restrictions on administrators and an enduring increase in executive branch personnel

A Change in Role… Why? Public attitudes WWII- increase necessity for taxes for military preparedness Depression- government should take an active role in social problems Change in constitutional interpretation Supreme Court upheld laws that granted discretion to administrative agencies Heavy use of income taxes supported war effort and a large bureaucracy 9/11 attacks could also affect bureaucracy as profoundly as WWII and the Depression New cabinet agency (Department of Homeland Security) was created Consolidation of intelligence-gathering activities under National Intelligence Director