1.  At the highest levels, officials are appointed by the President not hired. The president appoints close to 3000 officials, and another 4000 are noncompetitive appointments in the bureaucracy.  Most political appointees stay for an average of only two years. Thus, career civil servants are supervised by political appointees who will not be staying for long and who do not necessarily have the agency’s long-term interests in mind.  Nearly all presidential appointees can be fired, but it is very hard to fire a government employee (civil servant), and they have appeals procedures.

2.  There are two general types of agencies. Staff agencies act as advisors to the president or other officials. Line agencies carry out policies, whether they are regulating, providing services, etc. Most agencies are line agencies.  There are over 1000 agencies in the bureaucracy. They are called many different things but there are only a few basic types: departments, independent executive agencies, regulatory commissions/agencies, and government corporations.

3.  Departments – 15 cabinet-level agencies which have numerous divisions within them and may even have other agencies within them (Examples: the FBI is in the Justice Dept.; FEMA and Coast Guard are in the Dept. of Homeland Security). ◦ Despite the prestige of being in the cabinet, some departments are far less important than others.

5.  Independent agencies/executive agencies: they perform various tasks and exist as stand- alone agencies. ◦ They are independent in the sense that they are outside of cabinet departments. They are not politically independent – the heads of these agencies can be fired by the president. ◦ Examples include NASA and the CIA

6.  Regulatory commissions and agencies: regulate certain activities, usually economic ones ◦ Commissions are generally headed by bipartisan boards of 5 or 7 members who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. ◦ They serve fixed terms (president usually cannot fire them) and serve for longer than four years in order to shield them from political pressure. The more politically sensitive the issue is, the longer the terms. ◦ Regulatory agencies are similar to independent agencies

7.  Examples of regulatory commissions and the terms of commissioners:  Federal Communications Commission: 5 years  Federal Election Commission: 6 years  Federal Trade Commission: 7 years  Federal Reserve Board: 14 years

8.  Government corporations are a hybrid of public (government) and private elements ◦ They are the rarest type of agency ◦ They perform functions similar to a business ◦ They provide their own revenue through user fees; they are not tax-supported (unless needed…)  Examples: ◦ TVA ◦ Amtrak ◦ USPS ◦ Various loan agencies (“Fannie Mae,” “Freddie Mac”)