The Bureaucracy Chapter 7 © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Constitutional Background Background: The American bureaucracy developed in the scheme of separation of powers rather than by explicit constitutional provisions. The bureaucracy is an important fourth branch of government that is often autonomous and has played a very important role in the power struggle between presidents and Congress.

Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Power (P. Woll)  Agencies are responsible for making concrete decisions, carrying out vague policies initiated by Congress and the president  They often determine policies that the legislature and executive recommended, affecting the policymaking process  The bureaucracy is a semi-autonomous branch of government How can we control it when there are no constitutional limits upon it?  The administrative process was incorporated constitutionally under the executive branch  At the time, the concept of administration was simply “the mere execution of executive details”

Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Power (P. Woll)  The system created bureaucratic organization and functions independent of the president  Both Congress and the president have power over the bureaucracy  Congress controls the organization, creation, and destruction of agencies and final approval of high-level presidential appointments  Congress also can set up agencies beyond presidential purview  The president plays a very small role over the bureaucracy  He appoints certain officials with the consent of the Senate

Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Power (P. Woll)  Constitutionally, the president is the Commander in Chief, Chief Diplomat, and Chief Administrator  The president is the only official elected nationally and thus he alone stands as the administration’s representative  The absence of legal authority diminishes presidential power  The rule of law establishes judicial review of administrative decisions  The nature of our constitutional system poses many problems for the development of administrative responsibility  The three branches do not fully exert their authority to regulate the bureaucracy

The Rise of the Bureaucratic State (J. Wilson)  The Constitution is virtually silent on the administrative apparatus  The Founders’ concern was mainly over how heads of departments would be selected  At the time, there was no dispute over the administration falling under executive jurisdiction  Original departments were small and had limited duties but have been growing in size steadily over the years  To measure the bureaucratic problem merely in terms of size is misleading

The Rise of the Bureaucratic State (J. Wilson) Three ways by which the bureaucracy can gain power:  If it becomes too large as to be immune from public control  By placing power over a governmental bureaucracy in private rather than public hands  By placing discretionary authority in the hands of a public agency whereas the exercise of that power is not responsive to the public good Three theories that explain the growth of the bureaucracy  To consume available resources  Personnel are promoted up to that point where their incompetence becomes manifest  They maximize their total budget

The Rise of the Bureaucratic State (J. Wilson)  Bureaucracies perform essential services that the public demands  The military establishment: not all large bureaucracies grow in response to demands for service. Some grow because they are so vast and well-entrenched they can virtually ignore the branches of government  There are bureaucracies devoted to the interests and aspiration of particular interest groups: agriculture, labor, etc. Their original purpose was to gather data.  Wholesale delegation of public power to private interests was declared unconstitutional, but the piecemeal delegation was not

The Rise of the Bureaucratic State (J. Wilson)  The chief clients of federal domestic expenditures are state and local government agencies  The states are the principal client group for grants-in-aid  Bureaucratic clientelism becomes self-perpetuating in the absence of some crisis or scandal  The Madisonian system makes it easy for the delegation of public power to private groups to go unchallenged