Bureaucracy – Ch. 13 Key Terms

Bureaucracy Is an efficient and an effective way to organize people to do work. They are found wherever there are large organizations

Three features 1. Hierarchical authority 2. Job specialization 3. Formalized rules

Facts – Federal Bureaucracy Federal bureaucrats are career employees 15 Cabinet-level Departments 60 independent agencies 2000 –Bureaus, divisions and offices 2.8 million workers Diverse group – Rocket scientist to Janitor

Figure 13.2: Federal Government: Money, People, and Regulations Source: Expenditures and employment, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Nos. 483 and 582; regulations: Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1998), tables 6-12, 6-14.

Figure 13.3: Characteristics of Federal Civilian Employees, 1960 and 1999 Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1961, ; Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Nos. 450, 482, 500, 595, 1118.

Discretionary Authority The power to choose courses of action and to make policies that are not spelled out in advance by laws. Examples may include: safety regulations, which drugs should be legal & which corporate mergers shall be allowed

Name-request job The hiring of a person whom an agency has already identified Called the “buddy system” This also occurs in the private sector

Iron Triangles Relationship & pattern of interaction that occur among an agency, interest group & congressional committee or subcommittee Ex. – AARP, the Social Security Administration, & the House subcommittee on aging – all would probably agree on the need for increased SS benefits

Issue networks Not as concrete as “Iron Triangles” More common today Agency officials, members of Congress, lobbyists, think tanks, media and professors

Authorization legislation Part of Congressional oversight States the amount of money that can be spent by a program Usually begins in a legislative committee

Appropriation Money formally set aside for a specific purpose Done by the appropriations committee in the House

Congressional Oversight 1. agency needs congressional approval 2. Congress must authorize money 3. House Appropriations Committee has special power over agencies 4. Investigate agencies by holding hearings

Red Tape The complex rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done “bureaucratic delay or confusion”

Policy making Implementation – the process by which a law or policy is put into operation by the bureaucracy Ex. – law grants money for persons who are handicapped – bureaucrats will decide “handicapped”

Problems with the Bureaucracy Red Tape Conflict Duplication Imperialism Waste

The text defines bureaucracy as “a large complex organization composed of appointed officials.” What does this mean? Can you envision a large, simple organization? Could such an organization accomplish anything consistently?

Executive Branch

Executive Branch of government includes President, VP, cabinet, & Agencies

Executive Office the President (EOP) Umbrella agency- includes – White House office – OMB – Council of Economic Advisers – National Security Council – National Drug Control Policy – Office of Vice President

WHITE HOUSE OFFICE Closest advisors – Staffs organized in 3 ways: – Pyramid structure- Eisenhower, Nixon, & Reagan – Circular structure- Carter – Ad hoc structure-Clinton

Most important of the EOP offices- White House Office INCLUDES- CHIEF OF STAFF, COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT, PRESS SECRETARY, EXPERT ADVISORS

The National Security Council Advises the president on domestic, foreign, and military matters that relate to the nation’s security Members – VP, Sec. Of Defense & State, director of CIA, & Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

National Security Council

Office of Management & Budget OMB Largest office in EOP Major task is to prepare the federal budget – President must submit to Congress in Jan, or Feb.

Office of National Drug Control Policy Prepares an annual national drug control strategy Coordinates the efforts of more than 50 federal agencies fighting the war on drugs

WHO GETS APPOINTED - CABINET PRESIDENT KNOWS FEW PERSONALLY MOST HAVE HAD FEDERAL EXPERIENCE Rivalry often develops between Cabinet and White House staff

Table 12.1: The Cabinet Departments

Journal – Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Power What constitutional powers does Congress have over the bureaucracy? What is the basis for the claim that the President is “Chief Administrator?”

Figure 13.4: Department of Homeland Security as Proposed by George W. Bush, June 6, 2002 Source: Ivo H. Daalder, Statement before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, October 12, 2001.