The Federal Bureaucracy

The 4 million people who run the Government

Discuss the similarities and differences between the Cabinet,

EOP, Independent Agencies, Government Corporations

Similarities

• Each Part was created by Congress

• Congress Controls the Purse Strings

• All workers hired through OPM

• Career Bureaucrats• Political

Appointments

• Serves the publics by providing valuable services (Social Security)

• Regulations (EPA)• Divided Loyalties

between President, Congress, Special Interest Groups

Cabinet

• Headed by Secretaries (except Justice)

• Appointed by Pres• 2/3 Senate• Serve Length of

President’s term• Fired by President• Tend to be loyal to

their own agency

• www.whitehouse.gov

Executive Office of the President

• Chosen by the President

• Serve the White House Only

• Leaders are loyal to the President

Independent Regulatory Agencies

• Designed to be Independent of the President– Why?– Leaders Serve fixed terms– Write Rules in the Federal Register– FCC– EPA– FDA

Government Corporations

• Part Government/ Part Corporation

• Can control their own funding

• Government subsidizes losses

• Provide Public Services

• Postal Service• Amtrack• NPR/PBS

Identify and Define REGO

• Clinton/Gore plan to scale back the size of the Bureaucracy

• Gore headed the NPR National Performance Review

• Most Successful Attempt to limit the size of Government

• The Plan• Make Government

Run more like a business

• Cut outdated/unnecessary programs

Major Changes

• Privatization (Devolution)

• Customer Service• Social Security

worked longer hours• Tax forms online• Update Telephone

service

• Rewritten Regulations in Register to Laymen’s Terms

• Got rid of obsolete rules

• Rewards for Efficiency ($400 hammer)

Success!

• The most successful reform

• Only President to act on Campaign promise of limited government

• Couldn’t have been done with GOP Congress

• Smoke and mirrors? Government not really cut/services devoluted to private companies

Spoils System vs. Merit System

• Spoils System– President Rewards

supporters with jobs

– Job not based on merit but Service

– Bad for employees

– Presidents couldn’t meet all demands (Assassination of President Garfield)

• Merit System– Created by the

Pendleton Act

– Eliminated spoils system

– OPM

– Civil Service Exam

– Whistleblower Act• Tattletale on boss with

legal support

Hatch Act

• Keeps Federal Employees from participating in politics– Could not run for federal office– Cannot campaign on the “Clock”– Less restrictive under Clinton

Hatch Act Rules

• Bureaucrats CAN”T– Run for Public office

– Fund raise during work

– Discourage subordinates from Political Activity

• Bureaucrats Can– Vote and assist with

Registration

– Contribute to campaigns

– Campaign off duty

– Hold office in their political party

Criticisms of the Bureaucracy

• Red Tape– Too many rigid procedures- ie – all hiring

through the OPM– Too many policies– Too many forms to fill out, Lines to wait

Problems

• Inefficiency– No profit motive– Duplication of Services

• Perfomance of similar services

• Federalism/ programs at all 3 levels

Problems

• Bureacracy is a lawmaker– Regulations with weight of law– Too big/ privatization– Corruption

• Iron Triangles

Iron Triangle

• Relationship between Exec/Legislative/ and Special Interest Groups

• Contributes to positives and negatives

• Exchange of Knowledge

• High Prices/Government spending

• Examples Agriculture/ Defense (Military industrial complex)

Transparency in Government

• Freedom of Information Act– Makes most public

records accessible to citizens

– Very expensive

• Whistleblower Act– Report wrong doing by

bosses

– Created the Office of Special Counsel

– FBI Crime lab/sloppy chemical testing

– IRS promotion of creating leins