Chapter 7 GoPo Key Concepts

Bureaucracy

“To Rule by Desk” - The vast hierarchal organization of executive branch employees.

Compliance Monitoring

Making sure the firms and companies that are subject to industry regulations are following standards and provisions.

Iron Triangle

The relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.

Issue Networks

Including committee staffers, academics, advocates, leaders of think tanks, interest groups, and/or the media that are sometimes at odds with one another on matters unrelated to the issue they are addressing.

Patronage

A practice of rewarding loyal party leaders with federal jobs.

Spoils System

The process of giving people positions in the bureaucracy based on their aid to a president's campaign.

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

Prevented the constant reward to loyal party members.

Merit System

A system that included competitive, written exams for many federal job applicants to ensure proper experience.

Civil Service Commission

A bipartisan group created by the Pendleton Civil Service Act to oversee the process of the merit system and prevent officers from requiring federal employees contribute to political campaigns.

Civil Service Reform Act (1978)

Altered how a bureaucrat is dismissed, limited preferences for veterans in hopes of balancing the genders in the federal employment, and put upper-level appointments back into the president’s hands.

Office of Personnel Management

Ran the merit system and coordinates the federal application process for jobs and hiring. Their goals include promoting the ideals of public service, finding the best people for federal jobs, and preserving merit system principals.

National Performance Review

The review was organized to identify problems and offer solutions and ideas for government savings.

Congressional Oversight

A check on the bureaucracy in which Congress committees hold oversight hearings to address agency action. It can be a way for Congress to compete with the President for influence of the bureaucracy.

Power of The Purse

Congress’ power of determining the financial state of and agency and its success by allocating money.

Authorization of Spending

A prerequisite for an agency to spend public funds. It is a measure passed by a committee and states the maximum amount of money the agency can spend on certain programs.

Appropriations

Funds set aside for a certain purpose.

Legislative Veto

A requirement that certain agency decisions must wait for a defined period of either 30 or 90 days.

Whistleblower Protection Act (1989)

Prohibits a federal agency from retaliating or threatening an employee for disclosing acts that they believe were illegal or dishonest.

Federal Register

Prints the record of how a regulations started, how it developed, and how it landed in its final form.

Delegated Discretionary Authority

The power to interpret legislation and create rules given to the bureaucracy by Congress.

Sunshine Act (1976)

Requires most federal agencies to hold their meetings in publicly accessible places.

Freedom of Information Act (1966)

Gives the public the right to request access to records or information.

Rule Making Authority

Given to government agencies (the bureaucracy) by the legislature (Congress) to create detailed regulations that implement and enforce broad laws, essentially filling in the operational gaps with rules that carry the force of law.