2020 Bureaucracy

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  • Topic: Bureaucracy in A.P. Government

Page 3:

  • Definition of Bureaucracy

    • Large, complex organization of appointed officials

    • Origin of the term "bureau" from French meaning small desks

    • Bureaucracy = "government of small desks"

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  • Who are bureaucrats?

    • 1 out of 100 Americans work for government bureaucracy

    • Examples: US Postal Service, Amtrak, CPB, NASA

  • Role of the Federal Bureaucracy in Americans' Daily Lives

    • Delivers mail

    • Maintains parks and forests

    • Administers Social Security and Medicare

    • Produces utility power

    • Provides for national defense

    • Regulates banks and financial markets

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  • Characteristics of Bureaucrats

    • Most demographically representative part of government

    • Diversity of jobs mirrors the private sector

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  • How Bureaucrats Got There

    • Office of Personnel Management: federal office in charge of hiring

    • General Schedule (GS) rating: salary schedule for federal employees

    • Senior Executive Service: elite cadre of federal government managers

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  • The Other Route to Federal Jobs: Recruiting from the Plum Book

    • Lists top jobs available for Presidential appointment

    • Presidents work to find capable people to fill the positions

    • Some jobs are patronage

    • Transience is an important trait

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  • What do bureaucrats do?

    • Discretionary action / Administration: execute laws and policies

    • Implementation: develop procedures and rules for new policies

    • Regulation: check private business activity

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  • Five Types of US Agency

    • Cabinet department

    • Independent agency

    • Regulatory agency

    • Government corporation

    • Presidential commission

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  • The Cabinet Departments

    • Major administrative units responsible for government operations

    • Account for 60% of the federal workforce

    • Vary in prestige, power, size, and access to the president

    • Each headed by a secretary (except Justice, headed by the Attorney General)

    • Each has its own budget and staff

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  • Independent Executive Agencies

    • Have narrower mandates than Cabinet departments

    • Headed by director appointed by the President

    • Perform service functions rather than regulatory ones

    • Examples: CIA, NASA, EPA

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  • Independent Regulatory Commissions

    • Exist to regulate specific economic activities or public interests

    • Examples: National Labor Relations Board, Securities and Exchange Commission, FCC, FAA

    • Commissions are independent from Congress and the President

    • Members have staggered terms of office to ensure balance

Page 18: Government Corporations

  • Government corporations are businesses created by Congress to perform functions that could be performed by private business but aren't usually because they are not profitable.

  • Examples of government corporations include the Postal Service, Amtrak, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Page 19: Criticism of Bureaucracy

  • "Red tape" refers to the maze of government rules, regulations, and paperwork that makes government overwhelming to citizens.

  • Conflict arises when agencies often work toward opposite goals.

  • Duplication occurs when agencies appear to do the same thing.

  • Unchecked growth happens when agencies expand unnecessarily at high costs.

  • Waste occurs when the government spends more than necessary.

  • Lack of accountability makes it difficult to fire an incompetent bureaucrat.

Page 20: Number of Government Employees

  • The total number of government employees is calculated to be 20,000.

  • The federal government has 18,000 employees.

  • The state government has 16,000 employees.

  • The local government has 14,000 employees.

Page 21: Bureaucracies as Implementers

  • Various departments and agencies have responsibility for border security.

  • Examples include the Department of Agriculture, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of State, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Postal Service, Department of Treasury, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, and Department of Justice.

Page 22: Iron Triangles

  • Iron Triangle refers to a three-way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups to make or preserve policies that benefit their respective interests.

Page 23: Iron Triangles

  • Iron Triangles consist of Congress, interest groups, and bureaucracy.

  • Congress provides electoral funding and support, political support, friendly policy legislation choices, and oversight and execution.

  • Interest groups seek low regulation and special favors.

  • Bureaucracy implements legislator policy and interest group goals.

Page 24: How it works?

  • Everyone in the iron triangle has a similar interest.

  • Legislators get funding from interest groups and make laws with the help of the bureaucracy.

  • Interest groups provide valued information to bureaucrats and money to legislators.

  • Bureau chiefs implement legislator policy and interest group goals.

Page 25: Why are they "iron"?

  • Iron Triangles are strong alliances that cannot be broken by the President or Congress.

  • Referred to as "sub governments," all the real decisions are made among these three groups.

  • They might maintain interests that might not be publicly popular.

Page 26: Issue Network

  • Issue Network is a more complicated connection that exists.

  • Iron triangles are too simple, as there are interest groups from opposite sides of an issue who compete.

  • Issue Network is a complex group that includes the media and debates an issue, slowing down policy-making.

  • Policy-making is not as smooth with competing demands from interest groups.

  • The President can appoint an agency head who steers policy but cannot smoothly control policy.

Page 27: Issue Networks

  • Examples of Issue Networks include the American Medical Association, FDA, Cigna, National Organization for Women, and Pfizer.

Page 28: Controlling the Bureaucracy

  • The Intelligence Committee and Intelligence Subcommittee monitor the NSA.

  • The Intelligence Super-Subcommittee monitors the monitors of the NSA.

  • The Senate has control over the bureaucracy.

Page 29: Controlling the Bureaucracy

  • Patronage or "spoils system" involves rewarding supporters with jobs.

  • The Pendleton Act (1883) was created in response to criticism of patronage and introduced merit-based selection for jobs.

  • The Hatch Act (1939) prohibits agency employees from participating in political activities, although it has been softened in recent decades due to 1st Amendment issues.

Page 30: Bureaucracy and the Judicial Branch

  • The Federal Courts may rule any governmental regulation as unconstitutional.

  • Government agencies must follow due process rights guaranteed by the constitution.

  • Injured parties may sue government agencies in court.

Page 31: Bureaucracy and the President

  • The President has the power to hire and fire top-level bureaucrats.

  • The President may propose reorganization after 9-11.

  • The President proposes agency budgets each year and can cut or add to the yearly budget.

  • The President may issue executive orders that bypass Congress and agency discretion.

  • The President may request a Congressional Oversight Hearing.

Page 32: Bureaucracy and Congress

  • Congress has the power of the purse and appropriates budgets.

  • Standing Committees oversee, investigate, and hold hearings on any agency.

  • Congress writes clear and detailed legislation that limits bureaucratic discretion on how to implement new laws.

  • Appointment confirmations require a simple majority.

  • Congress can make laws that privatize government functions, such as prisons.

Page 33: Other influences

  • Other influences on bureaucracy include interest groups, media, and whistleblowers.

Page 34: The Bureaucrats

  • Some bureaucratic myths and realities include the belief that Americans dislike bureaucrats, but they are generally satisfied with them.

  • Bureaucracies are not growing bigger each year in the federal bureaucracy.

  • Most federal bureaucrats do not work in Washington, D.C.

  • Bureaucracies are not inherently ineffective, inefficient, and always mired in red tape.

Page 35: Is the federal bureaucracy growing?

  • The number of government employees has grown since 1965.

  • The real growth has been in the state and local sector, with its millions of teachers, police officers, and other service deliverers.

  • Many state and local employees and programs are supported by federal grants-in-aid.

Page 36: How can the Federal Bureaucracy be reduced?

  • The Federal Bureaucracy can be reduced through termination, budget cuts, deregulation, and devolution.

Page 37: How can the Federal Bureaucracy be reduced?

  • Privatization involves moving all or part of a program from the public sector to the private sector, with the belief that a private company can do the same job for less money.

Page 38: The Bureaucrats

  • Examples of federal civilian employment include the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, U.S. Postal Service, Homeland Security, Social Security Administration, Justice, Corps of Engineers, Treasury, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Interior, Tennessee Valley Authority, Health and Human Services, General Services Administration, Transportation, Commerce, State, Labor, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Education.