Post on 05-Jan-2016
Bureaucracy
Federal Bureaucracy
• Largest part of the federal government
• Fastest growing part of the federal government
• Least subject to democratic control
Overview
• Rationale For• Organization Of
– Cabinet– Independent Executive Agencies– Independent Regulatory Agencies– Government Corporations
• Staffing• Procedures
Rationale
• Promote more efficient distribution of government services
• Look at basic bureaucratic structure
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Arts Sciences
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ComparativeGovernment
Rationale
• Efficiency obtained through:– Hierarchy/Chain of Command– Specialization and Expertise– Impersonal Relations– Standard Operating Procedures
Cabinet Departments
• Cabinet Departments– 15 Cabinet Departments
Agriculture Commerce Defense
Education Energy HHS
Homeland Sec HUD Interior
Justice Labor State
Transportation Treasury VA
Cabinet Departments
• Defense is the largest in terms of personnel (664,524) and budget
• Education is the smallest department (4,567) – FY 2007 Budgets by Department
Independent Executive Agencies
• IEAs are agencies who report directly to the president but stand independent of the federal bureaucracye.g., – CIA– EPA– NASA
Independent Regulatory Agency
• Agency substantially independent of both the rest of the executive branch and Congress
• Usually dedicated to regulating a narrow area of public policy– e.g., Fed FCC FTC NLRB, EEOC
Government Corporations
• Government owned business designed as a for-profit enterprise
• e.g., FDIC, TVA, USPS, AmTrak, PBS
Staffing
• Spoils System– Job appointments given over to executive
branch– Jobs awarded on the basis of political ties and
fealty
Staffing
• Merit System– 1883 Pendleton Act
(Civil Service Reform Act)
• Jobs awarded on basis of merit/qualifications
• Created Civil Service Commission to administer personnel decisions (hire/pay)
Staffing
Office of Personnel Mangement
Merit Systems Protection Board
–Civil Service Reform Act (1978)
Functions
• Bureaucracies are in some ways a “mini” government unto unthemselves– administrative
• implementation of legislative and executive policies
– quasi legislative• proposed rules
– quasi judicial• enforcement of rules
Functions
• Bureaucrats can have important role in shaping public policy– they can support the president with information– they can shape presidential options with
information provided– they can undermine the president with
information and actions
Functions
• “Whistleblower” protection– Enacted originally in 1989, renewed and
amended since then– Protects employees who disclose wasteful
spending, discrimination, unsafe working conditions, illegal activities, etc. at place of employment, including federal agencies
Functions
• Bureaucrats have a crucial role to play in development of policy considerations
• Main players in public policy are:– legislative– executive– interest groups involved on issue
Functions
Bureaucrats
Congressional committees
Interest Groups
Functions
• “Public” policy becomes less concerned over issues related to the broad public
• Specific groups affected by the proposed policy and policy changes dictate public policy
• Once programs are created, it is very difficult to remove them
Functions
Angora wool subsidies– 1954 National Wool Act– 1960 wool removed from list
of “strategic materials”– 1989 recommendation to kill
program costing $230 million/year (DOA)
– 1993 Senate passed recommendation to kill
– 1994 main program killed, but...
– 2008 program continues in downscaled form (special assistance loans to producers)
Bureaucratic Reform
• Sunset Laws– Timed phase out of government programs unless have
explicit renewal provision enacted
• Sunshine Laws– Open bureaucratic proceedings to greater public
scrutiny and access
• Privatization– Turn government programs over to the private sector– Greater efficiency of market forces will produce better
service at a cheaper cost to taxpayers