2.14-2.15 Checking the Bureaucracy

What are the 2 ways Congress can place a check on the Bureaucracy

1. Committee Hearings

   1. Congress can call the heads of bureaucratic agencies to testify and provide reports on their progress in enforcing laws and regulations, and ensure agencies are aligning with the law.

2. Power of the Purse

   1. Congress can alter the amount of funding to bureaucratic agencies based on their success in enforcing laws/regulations (if congress doesn’t think their execution is appropriate). Agencies REQUIRE approval of congress to spend money as well (authorization of spending)

What are the 2 ways the president can place a check on the Bureaucracy?

1. Appointments (formal power)

2. Executive Orders (informal power)

How can the president place a check on the bureaucracy through Appointments?

The president can appoint new heads of agencies if they believe the current leader is not effectively enforcing regulations or carrying out the administration's political agenda. This allows the president to redirect agency focus their party’s goals

How can the president place a check on the bureaucracy through executive orders?

The president can sign an executive order to tell bureaucratic agencies on what and how they should operate.

What is the biggest slow-down of the bureaucracy?

Compliance Monitoring

What is Compliance Monitoring

A process that involves bureaucratic agencies directly following up with specific industries to ensure they are complying with regulations. This slows down bureaucratic efficiency of implementing policy, as it takes lots of time and work to directly follow up with every single industry member.

How can the Judicial Branch place a check on bureaucratic agencies

Individuals of specific industries can appeal to the courts if they think a specific rule or regulation is a clear violation of the constitution. The judicial branch can then interpret the agency’s rules by means of judicial review to check if the agency has overstepped.