1. Bureaucracy

2. Example
“The Dog Rules”

3. Congress
We bought a dog and Tiffany (Congress) makes some laws about care of the dog
Dog needs to be walked each day
Dog needs to be fed
Dog poop needs to be cleaned up

4. President (Tom)
Job is to make sure laws passed by congress (Tiffany) are carried out so he delegates authority.

5. Delegation of Authority to agencies (Bureaucracy)
Quinn
Walk the dog
Chase
Clean up the poop
Reid
Feed the dog

6. Questions? Quinn Chase Reid How far do I have to walk the dog?
How often?
Chase
Where do I put the poop?
How often do I have to clean up the poop?
Reid
Where do I get the food?
Who pays for the food?

7. Who puts constraints on the bureaucracy?
Tiffany Rules (Congress)
Tom’s Rules (Executive Orders)
Courts Rules (Supreme Court Rulings)
People (What the public demands)

8. Quinn
Wants to hire someone to walk the dog

9. Constraints on Quinn
Must give everybody a chance to apply for the job (can’t just hire your friend) (People demand)
Can only pay what Tiffany will allow (Appropriated funds)
Must have a public meeting so everybody knows the hiring practices are fair (Courts rule)
Can only hire people who are not prejudice toward cats (Tiff likes cats) (Congress)
Must walk at least ½ mile but not more than ¾ mile (Executive order)
Must provide for feet when below zero

17. Reid’s constraints He is allotted $50 per month for food
He has to check all stores for the best buy before he can purchase any dog food.
He must purchase dog food that meets a minimum standard of nutrition

19. Chase’s Constraints Must bag all poop
Can hire someone to clean up poop but same hiring practices are required.
Must clean up poop left in the street if poop occurs on the walk. (Public demands)
Must provide for dog to poop where it won’t harm the grass (Environmental impact)
Can only pay $50 per month for poop removal
Must clean up poop every Wednesday and Sunday

23. Bureaucracy
A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials.
FBI, IRS, Department of Education , State Department, Department of Health and Human Services,
The list goes on, and on, and on, and on.
Federal agencies

24. As new departments are created so are new bureaucracies.
After the Civil War the Pension Office was started. People needed to be hired.
Department of Agriculture was created in 1862

25. American Bureaucracy
Political authority over the Bureaucracy is shared among several institutions.
Both President and Congress has Constitutional powers over the Bureaucracy
Most federal agencies share functions with related agencies at the state and local level.
Today’s bureaucracy is largely the product of two events, the Great Depression (New Deal) and World War II
About 2 Million people
Another 13 million indirectly working (hired contractors, state agencies, etc.

26. Power of Bureaucracy Discretionary Authority
The ability the choose courses of action and make policies that are not spelled out by law.
The more discretionary authority, the more powerful the bureaucracy.
Congress has delegated authority to regulatory agencies in three areas.
Paying subsidies (farmers, veterans, etc)
Transferring Money from federal govt. to state govt. (Grant in aide program)
Devising and enforcing regulations (Safety features for cars (Highway Safety Admin.) drugs that will be allowed to be sold (Food and Drug Administration), etc.

27. Constraints
Can’t hire, fire, build or sell without going through procedures set down in law.
How much money it pays its members is established by law, not the market.

28. Administrative Procedure Act
Before adopting a new rule or policy, an agency must give notice, solicit comments and often times hold hearings.
Freedom of Information Act
Citizens have the right to inspect all government records.
National Environmental Policy Act
Before undertaking any major action affecting the environment the agency must issue an environmental impact statement

29. Privacy Act Open Meeting Law
Government files about individuals, such as tax records, must be kept secret.
Open Meeting Law
Every part of every agency meeting must be open to the public unless certain matters (military, trade secrets) are being discussed.

30. Another constraint is that Congress often times gives the job to multiple agencies.
Stopping drugs trafficking is the task of the Custom’s service, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Admin., the Boarder Patrol, and the Defense Department.

31. Effect of these constraints
Government acts slowly
Sometimes the government acts inconsistently
It is easier to block action that to take action
Lower ranking employees will be reluctant to make decisions on their own.
Citizens will complain of “red tape”
Bureaucratic delay or confusion

32. Why so many constraints?
Every bit of red tape is put in place by Congress, the White House, the courts, or the agency itself.
Environmental groups want to protect the environment so laws are passed.
The agencies then must follow those laws (impact statement)
People want a “fair chance” to get a government contract so laws are passed that only allow contracts to be issued after procedures are followed.

33. Iron Triangle
Relationship between an agency, committee and an interest group
Example: Department of Agriculture works closely with farm organizations and Congressional agriculture committees
Not as prominent as in the past.

34. Congressional oversight
No agency can exist without congressional approval.
No money can be spent unless it has been authorized by congress.
Even money that has been authorized must be appropriated (money set aside for a specific use)
Billie working for National Parks Service

35. Sometimes individual members of Congress may call an agency head on behalf of a constituent.
Congressional Investigation

36. Five major problems with a Bureaucracy
Red Tape
Complex rules and procedures that must be followed in order to get something done.
Conflict
Some agencies seem to be working at cross purposed with other agencies
Duplication
Occurs when different federal agencies seem to be doing the same thing
Customs Services and Drug Enforcement

37. Imperialism
The tendency of agencies to grow without regard to the benefits that their programs confer or costs that they entail
Waste
Spending more than is necessary to buy some product or service.