How The Bureaucracy Affects Today's Government

How the Bureaucracy Affects Government Today

• It has provided for a small increase in government employees, but a large increase in contracted employees

• Hatch Act of 1939 - Limits how federal employees can participate in the political process (See act here)

  • Only applies to lower level employees

• Federal Employees Political Activities Act of 1993 - Federal employees can run for office in nonpartisan elections and contribute money to campaign in partisan elections

How Bureaucracies are Organized

• Government Corporations - Business established by Congress to perform a function that would otherwise be done by a private business (FDIC, TVA, USPS, Amtrak, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac)

• Independent Executive Agencies - Usually perform services, not regulatory functions (NASA, EPA, CIA, GSA, SBA)

• They are similar to cabinet departments, but their scope is more narrow

Independent Regulatory Agencies

• Federal Reserve Board

• National Labor Relations Board

• Securities and Exchange Commision

Iron Triangles

• Made up of:

  • Agencies

  • Congressional subcommittees

  • Interest groups

• These decision making bodies are integral in policy making

• More specific version “Issue networks”

Firing a Bureaucrat

• Most cannot be easily fired

• Most agencies are dominated by lifetime bureaucrats who have worked for no other agency

• Assures continuity and expertise, but also can foster complacency

Effects of Constraints

• Government moves slowly

• Government Acts inconsistently

• Reluctant decision making

• Red tape

  • Lots of different things that restrain the government from doing things to keep it in check

    • Makes it take much longer

Appropriations Committee

• Very powerful committee

• Expenditure recommendations are approved by this House Committee

Congressional Oversight

• Investigatory Powers

• Power of the Purse

• Appointment of Process

• Enactment of Laws

Police Patrol Oversight

• A method of oversight in which members of Congress constantly monitor the bureaucracy to make sure that laws are implemented

Fire Alarm Oversight

• Members of Congress do not initiate investigations, but wait for adversely affected citizens or interest groups to bring bureaucratic problems to the attention of relevant committees

• Waiting until the last second to attempt to fix

Major Complaints of the Bureaucracy

1. Red Tape

2. Conflict

3. Duplication

   1. DOGE is attempting to combat this

4. Imperialism

   1. Gives a lot of power to people in power that are not elected

5. Waste

6. Lack of Accountability

   1. There is no person who is responsible

7. Corruption

Devolution

• Giving the responsibility to for government programs to the states

Privatization

• The program is not removed, but is provided by a private contractor through a bidding system