Federal Bureaucracy Notes

The Federal Bureaucracy

  • Definition: "In any bureaucracy, paperwork increases as you spend more and more time reporting on the less and less you are doing."

Three Functions of Federal Bureaucracy

  • Implementation: Carry out and execute laws of Congress and executive orders of the President.
    • Example: FBI arrests criminals.
  • Regulation: Issue rules and regulations that clarify laws impacting the public and businesses.
    • Example: EPA sets and enforces clean air standards.
  • Administration: Routine work to carry out laws or provide public services.
    • Example: SSA issues Social Security checks to beneficiaries.

Organization of Bureaucracy

  1. Chain of command and organization.
  2. Job specialization.
  3. Formalized rules & procedures.
  • Hierarchy example: Secretary →\rightarrow Assistant Secretary →\rightarrow Undersecretary →\rightarrow Civil Service Peon →\rightarrow Chief of Staff →\rightarrow Special Assistant Pol. Appointee →\rightarrow Peon

Benefits of Bureaucracy

  • Hierarchy helps people work together.
  • Specialization and division of labor promotes efficiency.
  • Continuous and standardized operating procedures streamline work.
  • May reduce conflict.

Downsides of Bureaucracy

  • Unelected policy makers.
  • Rules & red tape.
  • "Iron Cage".
  • Redundancy of work.

Who/What Is It?

  • Bureaucrats are responsible for day-to-day operations of the Federal Government.
  • 2.2 million civilians are employed by the Federal Government (largest US employer).
  • 1.3 million active military personnel plus millions who work for contractors/vendors and depend on the US government for business.

The United States Federal Bureaucracy

  • Divided among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches.
    • Legislative: Congress, General Accounting Office, Library of Congress, Government Printing Office, Congressional Budget Office, US Botanic Gardens, Copyright & Royalty Tribunal, etc.
    • Executive: President, White House Office, National Security Council, Office of Management & Budget, Office of National Drug Control Policy, The Council of Economic Advisors, Office of Policy Development, Council of Environmental Quality, Office of US Trade Representative, Office of Science and Tech. Policy, Office of Administration, Vice President, The Cabinet (15 Departments), Major Independent Agencies (nearly 150).
    • Judicial: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, District Courts, Court of International Trade, Territorial Courts, Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, Court of Veterans Appeals, etc.

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

  • White House Office/Staff = all the important personal & political staff.
    • Personal loyalty is key; not confirmed by the Senate.
    • Most of the President’s policies are developed, managed, & communicated by them.
    • Most important advisors.
    • Also known as the West Wing.
  • Includes OMB (Office of Management & Budget), NSC (National Security Council), and CEA (Council of Economic Advisors).

4 Types of Bureaucracies

  1. Cabinet Departments
    • The 15 cabinet departments headed by a cabinet secretary appointed by the president and approved by the Senate.
    • Each department is an "expert" in a specific policy area.
    • Each department has its own budget.
    • The Department of Homeland Security, created in 2002, is the newest department.
  2. Independent Executive Agencies
    • Established by Congress with separate status outside the executive branch.
    • Given a specific mandate and generally perform a service function, not a regulatory one.
    • Examples: Social Security Administration, CIA, NASA, EPA.
  3. Independent Regulatory Commissions
    • IRCs exist to regulate a specific economic activity or interest such as the Federal Communications Commission (public air waves) or Federal Reserve Board (banking system, money supply).
    • IRCs operate independently from Congress and the President.
    • Once appointed and seated, members cannot be removed without cause.
  4. Government Corporations
    • Government-owned businesses created by Congress.
    • May or may not be profitable but serve a public need.
    • Examples: U.S. Postal Service, Amtrak, Tennessee Valley Authority, Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Executive Departments

  • The 15 primary Cabinet Positions.
  • Do most of the work of the Executive Branch.
  • Over time have grown larger & new departments added by Congress.
  • 3 departments were created by the first Congress.
  • Headed by Secretaries (with 1 exception).
  • Appointed with Senate confirmation based on party, geography, qualifications, gender, etc. (i.e., political).

Main Executive Departments to Know

  • Department of State: Foreign Affairs.
  • Department of Defense: Military.
  • Department of Justice (Attorney General): Prosecution, enforcement of Federal laws, legal advice, FBI, DEA, ATF.
  • Department of Treasury: Money for the US government, Finance, Deficit – bonds.
  • Department of Homeland Security: Customs, Immigration, Border protection, FEMA, Coast Guard, Secret Service.

List of Executive Departments & Order of Presidential Succession:

  1. State (1789)
  2. Treasury (1789)
  3. Defense (1789)
  4. Interior (1849)
  5. Justice (1870)
  6. Agriculture (1889)
  7. Commerce (1903)
  8. Labor (1913)
  9. Health and Human Services (1953)
  10. Housing and Urban Development (1965)
  11. Transportation (1967)
  12. Energy (1977)
  13. Education (1979)
  14. Veterans Affairs (1988)
  15. Homeland Security (2002)

Size of Executive Departments

  • The federal government has 2.3 million full-time employees.
  • Executive branch civil employment, by agency, 2023:
    • Department of Defense - Military: 775.1K
    • Veterans Affairs: 433.7K
    • Homeland Security: 212K
    • Justice: 114.6K
    • Treasury: 98.7K
    • Agriculture: 88K
    • Health and Human Services: 81.3K
    • Interior: 63K
    • Social Security Administration: 58.8K
    • Transportation: 54.2K
    • Commerce: 41.3K
    • State: 29.9K
    • Corps of Engineers - Civil Works: 24.9K
    • National Aeronautics and Space Administration: 17.8K
    • Energy: 15.7K
  • Excludes United States Postal Service. Defense are civilian employees only.

Budget of Executive Departments

  • Health and Human Services
  • Defense
  • Labor
  • Agriculture
  • Veterans Affairs
  • Interior
  • Transportation
  • Justice
  • Education
  • Housing and Urban Development
  • Homeland Security
  • Energy
  • Treasury
  • State
  • Commerce

Independent Executive Agencies

  • Located outside a Department (approximately 150 of them).
  • Don’t fit in, or Congress created them to be nonpartisan or independent from the executive for a reason.
  • Often provide services.
  • Examples: NASA, SSA, CIA, NSA.

Government Corporation

  • Carry out business activities.
  • Set up like a private corporation.
  • Federal Gov. sole stock owner.
  • Examples: Amtrak, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), United States Postal Service.

Independent Regulatory Commissions (IRCs) & Regulations

  • Congress delegates authority to the executive branch.
  • IRCs have discretionary, quasi-legislative (rule-making) and quasi-judicial powers (fines, penalties) to regulate private companies in some sectors.
  • Commissioners, appointed by the President + Senate confirmed, (some commissions have bipartisan boards) but the President can’t remove them solely for political reasons.
  • Issues: revolving door, agency capture, gridlock, independence - political & corporate.
  • Examples: SEC, FCC, EPA, FEC, FDA, Fed.

Regulatory & Rule-Making Process

  1. Congress writes and passes a bill.
  2. The president signs it into law.
  3. Act is put into the US Code.
  4. Communicate the law; does law need regulations (to add clarity/enforcement)?
  5. Commission/Agency proposes regulation.
  6. Publish in Federal Register.
  7. Public comment period.
  8. Public hearings.
  9. New rule/ regulation adopted.
  10. Publish in Code of Federal Regulations database.
  11. Commission/ Agency implements rules and enforces regulations.

Iron Triangle

  • Relationships impact how laws & regulations are made.
    • Interest Group: Electoral support →\rightarrow Congress: Friendly legislation & oversight.
    • Congress: Funding & political support →\rightarrow Bureaucracy: Policy choices & execution.
    • Bureaucracy: Congressional support, via lobby, low regulation, special favors →\rightarrow Interest Group.

Checks on Bureaucracy

  • President can:
    • Appoint/remove agency heads.
    • Reorganize bureaucracy.
    • Issue executive orders.
    • Reduce or increase budgets within Congressional appropriations limits.
  • Congress can:
    • Create/abolish agencies & depts.
    • Change functions via legislation.
    • Cut, reduce, or increase programs/ funding.
    • Hold committee hearings.
    • Investigate activities (committees/GAO).
    • Influence or deny confirmation of appointments.
  • Federal Courts can:
    • Rule whether bureaucracy acted within Federal law and Constitution (judicial review).
    • Hear cases from individuals affected by government actions.

The Civil Service

  • Less than 3% of the Executive Branch is appointed; the rest are civil service or military.
  • Andrew Jackson & the “spoils system”.
    • Election winners get jobs, losers leave govt – a form of patronage.
  • Pendleton Act of 1883 - Assassination leads to the merit system for civil service hires.

Civil Service Cont.

  • The Hatch Act (1939)
    • Prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while they are working in an official capacity.
    • Civil servants may not run for political office or use their office/titles when engaging in political activity.
    • Applies to political appointees too.

Growth in Govt. Employees

  • Local government, state government, and federal government employees over time.
  • Why have state & local government employees grown more than federal employees?

Quotes

  • "Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.” - Donald Rumsfeld
  • “Any change is resisted because bureaucrats have a vested interest in the chaos in which they exist.” - Richard Nixon

Military Industrial Complex

  • Since 1945, the rise of the military-industrial complex involving ships, missiles, bombs, infrastructure, bombers, bullets, energy, health care etc.