1. Unit 6 Review The Bureaucracy & Policymaking (Domestic & Foreign)

4. Hiring Federal Employees Hiring for the bureaucracy used to be based on patronage (who you know) Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883): civil servants (bureaucrats) are hired and promoted by merit not patronage. Hatch Act: employees cannot engage in politics while on the job nor can they run for political office while employed in the bureaucracy

7. President is the Boss President oversees the bureaucracy (and appoints the leadership in each agency) As the boss, he can: (1) Issue an executive order: a direct order for bureaucrats to follow. Carries the weight of law. (2) Alter the agency’s budget (but Congress has ultimate authority over appropriations) (3) Threaten to restructure the agency!

8. Congress (committee) Interest Group Bureaucracy Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Dept of Boeing Defense Creates policy that is mutually beneficial to the people involved

9. Like triangles, but focus on a specific issue that will benefit all, not just a few Usually include: - Interest groups - Congressional staff members - Media - “Think tanks” push for a change in policy within the government bureaucracy

10. Economic Policy (Domestic) Fiscal Policy: Congress & President alter taxes rates & Government spending to achieve economic stability Monetary Policy: Federal Reserve Board manages money supply & sets interest rates for banks to achieve economic stability $$$

11. Social Welfare Policy (Domestic) Entitlements: people who have paid in and meet requirements: Social Security (OASDI) and Medicare includes Old Age, Survivors, & Disability. Unemployment is also an entitlement Means-tested: welfare/public assistance: must be low-income to receive these benefits. Food Stamps, Medicaid, TANF, SSI Welfare Reform Act 1996: shifted responsibility of administering welfare back to the states with the backing of federal block grants. This is an example of devolution.

12. EPA: 1970, administers the Clean Air & Clean Water Acts, regulates pollution level and helps support the Dep’t of Interior in protecting the nation’s natural resources and endangered species Director of the EPA has cabinet-level ranking

13. Foreign Policy Diplomacy: President is Chief Diplomat State Dept: overees embassies. President appoints ambassadors & Senate confirms. President writes treaties, Senate ratifies. Executive agreements: informal treaties that do not require Senate approval Military: Pres is Commander-in-Chief Aided by Joint Chiefs of Staff & National Security Advisor War Powers Act (1973) Dept of Homeland Security Global War on Terror Organizations United Nations, NATO, Word Trade Organization