Bureaucracy Test

Signing Statement

A written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law. Usually, such statements point out sections of the law that the president deems unconstitutional.

Executive agreement

an agreement between the president and the leader of another country

Balanced ticket

the selection of a running mate who brings diversity of ideology, geographic region, age, gender, race, or ethnicity to the slate

Cabinet

Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.

Executive Office of the President

Agencies that perform staff services for the president but are not part of the White House

White House Office

The personal office of the president, which tends to presidential political needs and manages the media.

Chief of Staff

the person who oversees the operations of all White House staff and controls access to the president

Press Secretary

the president's spokesperson to the media

White House Council

the president's lawyer

National Security Council

a committee in the executive branch of government that advises the president on foreign and military and national security

National Security Adviser

director of the National Security Council staff

Office of Management and Budget

An office that prepares the president's budget and also advises presidents on proposals from departments and agencies and helps review their proposed regulations.

Expressed powers

powers directly stated in the constitution

Take Care Clause

The constitutional requirement that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws

Inherent Powers

Powers the Constitution is presumed to have delegated to the National Government because it is the government of a sovereign state within the world community

Statutory Powers

powers explicitly granted to presidents by congressional action

Executive Order

A rule issued by the president that has the force of law

Emergency powers

broad powers exercised by the president during times of national crisis

Executive privilege

The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.

Honeymoon period

the time following an election when a president's popularity is high and congressional relations are likely to be productive

Approval Ratings

The percentage of survey respondents who say that they "approve" or "strongly approve" of the way the president is doing his job.

rally around the flag effect

a spike in presidential popularity during international crises

Imperial presidency

President is seen as emperor taking strong actions without consulting Congress or seeking its approval

Works Progress Administration

New Deal agency that helped create jobs for those that needed them. It created around 9 million jobs working on bridges, roads, and buildings.

Watergate

during the Nixon administration, a scandal involving burglaries and the subsequent cover-up by high-level administration officials

Impeachment

Charges against a president approved by a majority of the House of Representatives

Articles of Impeachment

charges against the president during an impeachment

Rule of Propinquity

power is wielded by people who are in the room when a decision is made

Succession:

President, VP, Speaker of House, President Pro Tempore of Senate, Sec of State, Sec of Treasury, Sec of Defense, Attorney General...

Bureaucrats

people employed in a government executive branch unit to implement public policy; public administrators; public servants

Bureaucracy

a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Bureaucratic Structure

a large organization with the following features: a division of labor, specialization of job tasks, hiring systems based on worker competency, hierarchy with a vertical chain of command, and standard operating procedures

Red Tape

complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done

Patronage System

a personnel system in which the chief executive officer can appoint whomever he or she wants to top bureaucratic positions, without the need for open competition for applicants; those hired through patronage typically serve at the pleasure of the CEO who hired them

Plum Book

A list of good-paying (sweet) jobs that the new president can fill by appointment (agency directors and other VIPs)

Senior Executive Service

Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible, mobile corps of senior career executives who work closely with presidential appointees to manage government.

Merit-based civil service

A personnel system in which bureaucrats are hired on the basis of the principles of competence, equal opportunity (open competition), and political neutrality; once hired, these public servants have job protection.

Civil Servants

bureaucrats hired through a merit-based personnel system and who have job protection

Representative Bureaucracy

a bureaucracy in which the people serving resemble the larger population whom they serve in demographic characteristics such as race, age, ethnicity, sex, religion, and economic status

shadow bureaucrats

people hired and paid by private for-profit and nonprofit organizations that implement public policy through a government contract

Contracting-out

hiring a private organization to deliver a public program or service

Department

Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in Federal hierarchy.

Independent Administrative Agency

an executive branch unit created by Congress and the president that is responsible for a narrowly defined function and whose structure is intended to protect it from partisan politics

Independent Regulatory Commission

A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.

Government Corporation

a business owned and operated by the federal government

Politics-Administration Dichotomy

the concept that elected government officials, who are accountable to the voters, create and approve public policy, and then competent, politically neutral bureaucrats implement the public policy

Authorization Law

a law that provides the plan of action to address a given societal concern and identifies the executive branch unit that will put the plan into effect

Appropriation Law

a law that gives bureaucracies and other government entities the legal authority to spend money

Administrative Discretion

The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case.

Administrative Rule-Making

The process by which an independent commission or agency fills in the details of a vague law by formulating, proposing, and approving rules, regulations, and standards that will be enforced to implement the policy.

Administrative Adjudication

the process by which agencies resolve disputes over the implementation of their administrative rules

Sunshine Laws

Law requiring agency meetings and decision-making process to be open to the public. One way of making agencies more accountable to Congress and the public.

Sunset Clause

a clause in legislation that sets an expiration date for an authorized program or policy unless Congress reauthorizes it

Conflict of Interest

Situation in which a person or organization may benefit from undue influence due to involvement in outside activities, relationships, or investments that conflict with or have an impact on the employment relationship or its outcomes.

Whistleblower

an employee who exposes unethical or illegal conduct within the federal government or one of its contractors

Inspectors General

political appointees who work within a government agency to ensure the integrity of public service by investigating allegations of misconduct by bureaucrats

Judiciary

Authorizes enlargement of bureaucracy

Pendleton Act

reform measure that established the principle of federal employment on the basis of open, competitive exams and created the Civil Service Commission

Hatch Act

A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics.

Name Request Jobs

a job that is filled by a person whom an agency has already identified

Competitive Service

Appointment of officials based on selection criteria devised by the employing agency and OPM

Whistleblower Protection Act

A law passed in 1989 which created an Office of Special Counsel to investigate complaints from bureaucrats claiming they were punished after reporting to Congress about waste, fraud, or abuse in their agencies.

Administrative Procedure Act

federal law that establishes the operating rules for administrative agencies

Freedom of Information Act

Gives all citizens the right to inspect all records of federal agencies except those containing military, intelligence, or trade secrets; increases accountability of bureaucracy

Iron Triangle

A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group

Chadha Case

A Supreme Court case voiding the legislative veto in the War Powers Act

Legislative Veto

The authority of Congress to block a presidential action after it has taken place. The Supreme Court has held that Congress does not have this power

Power of the Purse

Constitutional power given to Congress to raise and spend money

Social Security Act

created a tax on workers and employers. That money provided monthly pensions for retired people.

Fiscal Policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

Privacy Act 1974

a law that gives citizens access to the government's files on them

Widely Distributed Policies

costs and benefits of a policy that spread to many, most, or all citizens

Narrowly Concentrated Policies

limited to a relatively small number of citizens or to some specific group

Majoritian Politics

a policy in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays

Interest Group Politics

Political activity in which benefits are conferred on a distinct group and costs on another distinct group

Client Politics

concentrated costs and benefits

policy entrepreneurs

people who invest their political "capital" in an issue

entrepreneurial politics

a policy in which almost everyone benefits and a small group pays

Federal entitlements

federal program that guarantees a specific level of benefits to people who meet the requirements set by law