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Fiorina, Peterson, Johnson, and MayerNew American Democracy, Sixth Edition
Chapter 14The Bureaucracy
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The Role of the Bureaucracy
Laws effective only when a government agency enforces them
Agency: – Basic organizational unit of federal
government, also known as office or bureau
Department: – Organizational unit into which many agencies
of the federal government are grouped
Government corporations: – Independent organization created by Congress
to fulfill functions related to business
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The Role of the Bureaucracy
Administrative Discretion
Power to interpret a legislative mandate
Congress can enact general rules, but cannot anticipate every circumstance, nor can it apply these rules to every individual case.
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The Bureaucracy ProblemImpossibility of tasksDifficulty measuring performanceExpansionary tendenciesSlow to changeRed tapeTaken together these factors create what is known as the bureaucracy problem
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American Bureaucracies: Particularly Political
While most are career civil servants, top positions belong to political appointeesGovernment more responsive to electionsBut, it makes civil service jobs less attractive to bright young people
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Difficult Beginnings
Lack a noble heritageIn other countries, government departments evolved out of the household of the king or emperorAmerican Revolution fought against King George’s bureaucrats
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Mountains of PatronagePatronage
– Jobs, contracts, or favors given to political friends and allies
Spoils System
– A system of government employment in which workers are hired on the basis of party loyalty
– Suited the needs of political parties
– Use the system to enlist campaign workers, supporters, and contributions
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Advantages and Disadvantages of the Spoils SystemPositive: helped immigrants adjust to the realities of urban life in the U.S.
– Irish immigrants good at using politics to get ahead
Negative: contributed to the negative image of American bureaucracies
– View that bureaucrats are wasteful and not credible
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Erosion of the Spoils SystemMugwamps
– A group of civil-service reformers organized in the 1880s who maintained that government officials should be chosen on a merit basis
Pendleton Act (1883)
– Legislation creating the Civil Service Commission
Civil Service
– A system in which government employees are chosen according to their educational qualifications, performance on examinations, and work experience
Hatch Act
– Barred federal employees from political campaigning and solicitation
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Political Appointees TodayEstimated number of top-level agency appointees grew from less than 500 in 1960 to nearly 3,400 in the Bush administration
– No other industrialized democracy gives its leader as much patronage power
A new president more likely enlist many new people with innovative ideas
– Yet these appointees may not know their own organizations very well
– Newly-appointed may not be as critical of president’s plans
In-and-outers: Political appointees who come in, go out, and come back in again with each change in administration
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The President and the Bureaucracy
The president “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”The president must execute the laws– Does so by overseeing the federal
bureaucracy – Cabinet– Appoints members to independent agencies– Acts through the OMB
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The CabinetInner cabinet
– The four original departments (State, Defense, Treasury, and Justice) whose secretaries typically have the closest ties to the president
Major function of the outer cabinet is to provide interest-group access to the executive branch of government
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Independent Regulatory Agencies
Independent regulatory agencies are those that have quasi-judicial regulatory responsibilitiesThey are generally headed by a several-member board or commission appointed by the president and confirmed by the SenateMost independent regulatory agencies were established by Congress in response to public pressure to protect workers and consumers from negligent or abusive business practices
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Independent Regulatory Agencies
Most aggressively pursued their reform mandatesWhen public’s demand for reform fades, who is left? Interest groupsMany agencies find their most interested constituents to be members of the very community they are expected to regulate
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Office of Management and BudgetOriginally the Bureau of the BudgetOMB is an agency responsible for – Development of the president’s budget, – Setting personnel policy, and – Reviewing every piece of proposed legislation that
the executive branch submits.In the past, considered a professional group of techniciansToday more political– Utilized effectively by presidents to control other
agenciesCBO checks the OMB’s power
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Congress and the Bureaucracy
Agencies have many bosses in CongressSenate confirmation– Senatorial courtesy– Recess appointments
Agency reorganizationLegislative detailBudgetary control– Earmark
Legislative oversight
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Iron Triangles and Issue Networks
Iron triangles– Close, stable connection among agencies,
interest groups and congressional committeesIssue networks– Loose, competitive relationships among policy
experts, interest groups, congressional committees, and government agencies
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Elections and the Bureaucracy
Reformers have tried to separate politics from the bureaucracy
Agency autonomy has kept some less politically charged
Electoral pressures have also played a positive role
– May force them to balance competing interests by striking compromises
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Bureaucratic Secrecy
Inside knowledge is power
Secrecy can cover mistakes
Electoral pressures have curtailed the amount of secrecy in American government
Sunshine Law
– A 1976 law requiring that federal government meetings be held in public
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Bureaucratic CoercionDo bureaucracies abuse their powers?
Example: IRS
Today, agencies are held accountable by the public and by Congress
Congressional oversight
– If bureaucratic agencies make life difficult for the voting public, these agencies are more likely to be taken to task by elected officials
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Agency ExpansionAgencies generally try to increase their budgets
Congress may limit such expansion due to cost
The Bush administration has forced some bureaucrats to compete with private companies for their jobs
– Has generated some protest
– Believed agencies were under-funded and understaffed and not able to compete for these reasons
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Administrator Caution
Most federal agencies are more likely to err on the side of caution
Afraid of making a major mistake that gains it too much national attention
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Compromised Capacity
Agencies’ effectiveness may be limited by the compromise nature of the legislation they are supposed to enforce
Example: politics of charter schools