Transcript Executive Branch – Federal Bureaucracy

Executive Branch – Federal
Bureaucracy
Unit III – Part 5
Definition of Bureaucracy
• Departments, agencies, commissions, and/or
people responsible for the implementation of
government policies
Influence and importance
• Major role in shaping policy
• Administration of policies
• Initiation of many bills enacted into law by
Congress
• Providing of “expert” advice on government
and government policies
• Handling of day to day operations of the
nation’s government
Selection of bureaucrats
• Examples prior to the 20th century
– Under Geo. Washington
• Character, competence, loyalty to the constitution
– Under Andrew Jackson
• Reward for party loyalty – spoils system
• Government jobs in return for support –patronage
• Belief in job rotation and the suitability of anyone for
any position
• Assessment of campaign contributions from appointees
Selection of bureaucrats
– Under Chester Arthur
• Need for efficient, fair, and politically neutral
bureaucracy in a larger and more complex government
• Passage of Pendleton Act (1883)
– Creation of Civil Service Commission
– Use of examinations to determine 10% of government
bureaucrats
» Expansion of percentage of Civil Service employees by
future presidents
• Examples of changes in the bureaucracy in the
20th century
– Under the Progressives
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Interest in nonpartisan government
Need for specific expertise
Extension of Pendleton Act
Establishment of additional gov’t agencies
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Dept of Commerce and Labor
Unites States Forest Reserve
Federal Reserve Commission
Federal Trade Commission
Reactivation of the Interstate Commerce Commission
• Under FDR’s New Deal
– Creation of more independent commissions
• NLRB, FCC, SEC
– Creation of government corporations
• FDIC, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Tennessee
Valley Authority
– Controls on the bureaucracy
• Executive Reorganization Bill (1939)
• Hatch Act (1940)
– Prohibition on electioneering activity by federal employees
• Administrative Procedure Act (vetoed ‘39 – passed ’46)
– Regulations on agencies
– Public hearings to elicit input
– Right to appeal agency decisions in the courts
• During the postwar era
– Modernization of the War now Defense Dept
– Rapid expansion of national and state
bureaucracies
• Management of War on Poverty Programs
• Management of consumer and environmental issues
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Office of Consumer Affairs
Council on Environmental Quality
Environmental Protection Agency
National Highway Safety Administration
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Consumer Product Safety Commission
• During the postwar era
– Passage of agency regulatory measures
• Freedom of Information Act (1966)
– Right of individual citizens to access information
• Privacy Act (1974)
– Limitation on revealing information about someone to others
• Government in the Sunshine Act (1976)
– Open meetings of most regulatory agencies
• Reorganization of the Civil Service System
– Civil Service Reform Act (1978)
• Replacement of Civil Service Commission with two
agencies
– Office of Personnel Management
» Duties
• Recruitment and hiring of federal employees
• Classification of jobs with salaries and benefits
• Practice of sending three qualified people to be
interviewed for a position
• Training of employees
» Membership
• Appointment by the president with Senate approval
• Reorganization of the Civil Service System
– Civil Service Reform Act (1978)
• Replacement of Civil Service Commission with two
agencies
– Merit Systems Protection Board
» Duty
• Protection of merit principle in bureaucracy’s hiring
and promotion policies
– Membership
» Three member board
• Joint appointment by president and Senate
• Current staffing of the bureaucracy
– 70% of employees in white collar positions
– 85% of employees under Civil Service protection
– Critical Concerns
• Job security
• Compensation
– Comparable pay to private sector with 1990 pay raise
Organization of the Bureaucracy
• Executive Departments – Cabinet Level
– Advice to the president in area of expertise
• Creation of Cabinet Department of State (1789)
– Advising on formulation and execution of foreign policy
• Dept of the Treasury (1789)
– Formulation of economic, financial, tax, and fiscal policies
– Manufacturing of coins and currency
• Dept of the Interior (1849)
– Control of public lands and natural resources
• Dept of Justice (1870)
– Advice on legal matters
• Dept of Agriculture (1889)
– Formulation of policies to maintain farm incomes and expand
markets for goods
• Department of Commerce (1913)
– Promotion of trade and technical advancement
• Dept of Labor (1913)
– Formulation of policies promoting the welfare of wageearners
• Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953)
– Currently Dept of Health and Human Services (1979)
– Formulation of policies protecting the health and welfare of
all citizens
• Dept of Housing and Urban Development (1965)
– Formulation of policies concerning housing needs and
community development
• Dept of Transportation(1966)
– Formulation of national transportation policies
• Dept of Energy (1977)
– Formulation of national energy plan
• Dept of Education (1979)
– Formulation and administration of federal assistance to
schools
• Dept of Veterans Affairs (1989)
– Formulation and operation of programs to benefit veterans
and their families
Organization of the Bureaucracy
– Organizational style – managerial orthodoxy
• Hierarchical
– Clear lines of authority and responsibility
– Written rules for standard operating procedures at all levels
• Limitations
– Massive red tape
– Lack of flexibility
– Problems
• Conflict between good advice to pres and needs of dept
• Average term of Cabinet heads – 22 months
• Limited access to the pres with additions to the White House
Staff
• Independent executive agencies
– Executive organizations without Cabinet level
affiliation
– Examples
• NASA, EPA, CIA, General Services Administration
– Organization
• Top administrator
• Hierarchical line of authority under administrator
– Membership
• Appointment by pres without Senate approval
– Accountability
• Congressional restrictions through budget and
oversight
• Independent regulatory agencies
– Creation
• Congressional formed bipartisan agencies without
Cabinet level affiliation
• Administratively independent of the president and
Congress
– Examples
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Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
FCC, NLRB, SEC, FTC
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Federal Maritime Commission
• Independent regulatory agencies
– Duty
• Holding hearings to determine any violations
– Powers
• Executive – administration of programs and
enforcement of laws
• Legislative – enactment of rules and regulations
clarifying laws
• Judicial – final decisions on disputes under authority
– Membership
• Bipartisan board
• Long and staggered terms
• Appointment by the pres with Senate approval
• Independent regulatory agencies
– Accountability
• General congressional guidelines
• Requirements of Administrative Procedures Act
– Problems
• Denial of principle of separation of powers
• Influence of special interest groups
• Vast number of rules and regulations on aspects of the
economy
• Difficulty of removing board members
• Regulatory agencies
– Executive organizations with Cabinet affiliation
– Examples
• FDA, OSHA, IRS, Federal Reserve System
– Duty
• Regulation of economic activity
– Membership
• Appointment by pres without Senate approval
– Accountability
• Congressional restrictions through budget and
oversight
• Public Corporations
– Creation by legislative charters
– Examples
• First Bank of the United States (1791-1836)
• FDIC (1933), TVA (1933), Export-Import Bank (1934)
• United States Postal Service (1970)
– Independent establishment of the executive branch
– Organization
• Board of Directors to create policy
• General manager to implement policy
• Membership
– Appointment by the president with Senate approval
• Accountability
– Budget appropriations by Congress
– Government ownership of stock