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Unit 3 Chapter 13: The Bureaucracy
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Learning Objectives What is “bureaucracy” & in what ways is the American bureaucracy distinctive? What is “discretionary authority” & why do some bureaucrats have lots of it? How does Congress exert control over the bureaucracy? What happened to make the bureaucracy a “fourth branch” of American national government? What are the actual size & scope of the federal bureaucracy? What should be done to improve bureaucratic performance? Is “red tape” bad?
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Bureaucracy: a large, complex organization composed of appointed officials
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Max Weber’s 5 Characteristics of Bureaucracy
Division of labor Complex work broken down into simple jobs Hierarchy of Authority Accepted chain of command to direct every individual’s effort toward the accomplishment of the organizational goals Framework of Rules Effort directed & coordinated by rules Maintenance of Files & Records Professionalism Merit System v. Spoils System
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US Bureaucracy: Distinctiveness
Political authority shared among several institutions (not the case in a parliamentary system) Federal government agencies share functions with state/local governments Our adversary culture (long history of groups fighting for personal rights) has led to the public’s close scrutiny of the government
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US Bureaucracy: Roles Rulemaking: process of deciding what the laws passed by Congress actually mean Adjudication: process designed to establish whether a rule has been violated within a part of the bureaucracy Lobbying: identifying the problems & limitations of existing laws & programs, then recommending changes to the president & congressional committees
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US Bureaucracy: Growth
Started small 1800s & 1900s: positions given based on patronage – Congress was dominant branch, so bureaucrats appointed based on Congress’ preferences : Civil War caused rapid growth of the bureaucracy, especially in service agencies, but still embraced laissez-faire 1900s: increase in scope of the bureaucracy due to Great Depression & WWII 2000s: 9/11 led to creation of Department of Homeland Security (new cabinet agency) in 2002
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Spoils v. Merit Systems Spoils System: “It’s who you know, not what you know.” Also called “political patronage” President Jackson Merit System: “It’s what you know, not who you know.” Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883: federal law; states that positions within the federal government should be awarded based on merit, not political affiliation
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Administrative Agencies: Cabinet
Inner Cabinet State Justice Treasury Defense Constituency Departments Agriculture Interior Commerce Labor Education Veteran’s Affairs Clearing House Departments Energy Transportation Health & Human Services Housing & Urban Development
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Organization of Homeland Security Agencies prior to 9/11
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Executive Office Personnel
Office of Management & Budget National Security Council US Trade Representative Council of Economic Advisors Domestic Policy Council Other offices
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Independent Regulatory Agencies
Origins in 1880s with Interstate Commerce Commission Quasi-legislative, quasi-executive, quasi-judicial Members appointed for terms; president can’t remove them Examples: Federal Reserve Board Securities & Exchange Commission Federal Trade Commission Federal Election Commission Federal Aviation Administration
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The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills
Discusses elitism & presidential appointments Patterns of circulation among Government Corporations Law Firms Civic Establishment Military Fixers “Billion Dollar Universities”
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The Power Elite’s Themes
Members of the elite: possess class identity: recognizing themselves separate & superior to the rest of society have interchangeability: they move within/between the 3 institutional structures & hold interlocking directorates exhibit cooptation/socialization: socialization of prospective new members is done based on how well they "clone" themselves socially after such elites
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Federal Bureaucracy Today
Number of federal employees stable since ~1960 But an estimated 13 million people now work indirectly for federal government Discretionary authority
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Federal Bureaucracy Today
Recruitment & retention Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Competitive service Excepted service Not hired by OPM Some are nonpartisan in nature Some are appointed (3%) Buddy system Firing a bureaucrat Agency’s point of view The 3 types of excepted appointments: authorized presidential appointments, “Schedule C” appointments, noncareer executive assignments; these are the patronage jobs available to a president & his administration A name-request job is one that is filled by a person whom an agency has already identified
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Federal Bureaucracy Today
Constraints Administrative Procedure Act Growth of the bureaucracy Freedom of Information Act National Environmental Policy Act Privacy Act Open Meeting Law Effects of Constraints Government acts slowly Government can act inconsistently Easier to block than take action) Lower-ranking employees reluctant to make decisions Red tape
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Why So Many Constraints?
The people (& enacted by Congress, Courts, White House, interest groups) Agency Allies Iron triangle (client politics): close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, & an interest group Issue networks Issue networks consist of people in Washington DC-based interest groups, on congressional staffs, in universities, in think tanks, & in mass media, who regularly debate government policy on a certain subject; networks are contentious, split along political, ideological, & economic lines
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Congressional Oversight
No federal agency exists without congressional approval No money can be spent unless 1st authorized by Congress; funds must also be appropriated Appropriations committee & legislative committees Legislative veto Congressional investigations
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