Transcript Bureaucracy Federal Bureaucracy • Largest part of the federal government • Fastest growing part of the federal government • Least subject to democratic control.

Bureaucracy
Federal Bureaucracy
• Largest part of the federal government
• Fastest growing part of the federal
government
• Least subject to democratic control
Overview
• Rationale For
• Organization Of
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Cabinet
Independent Executive Agencies
Independent Regulatory Agencies
Government Corporations
• Staffing
• Procedures
Rationale
• Promote more efficient distribution of
government services
• Look at basic bureaucratic structure
NJCU
COE
CAS
CPS
Sciences
Arts
Natural
Social
Anthro
Soc
IR
Theory
Poli
Amer
Gov
Econ
Psych
Comparative
Government
Rationale
• Efficiency obtained through:
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Hierarchy/Chain of Command
Specialization and Expertise
Impersonal Relations
Standard Operating Procedures
Cabinet Departments
• Cabinet Departments
– 15 Cabinet Departments
Agriculture
Commerce
Education
Energy
Homeland Sec
HUD
Justice
Labor
Transportation
Treasury
Defense
HHS
Interior
State
VA
Cabinet Departments
• Defense is the largest in terms of personnel
(664,524) and budget
• Education is the smallest department
(4,567)
– CNN analysis of FY 2010 Budgets by
Department
– For the full budget, download the pdf file
available here.
Independent Executive Agencies
• IEAs are agencies who report directly to the
president but stand independent of the
federal bureaucracy
e.g.,
– CIA
– EPA
– NASA
Independent Regulatory Agency
• Agency substantially independent of both
the rest of the executive branch and
Congress
• Usually dedicated to regulating a narrow
area of public policy
– e.g., Fed FCC FTC NLRB, EEOC
Government Corporations
• Government owned business designed as a
for-profit enterprise
• e.g., FDIC, TVA, USPS, AmTrak, PBS
Staffing
• Spoils System
– Job appointments given over to executive
branch
– Jobs awarded on the basis of political ties and
fealty
Staffing
• Merit System
– 1883 Pendleton Act
(Civil Service Reform
Act)
• Jobs awarded on basis
of merit/qualifications
• Created Civil Service
Commission to
administer personnel
decisions (hire/pay)
Staffing
–Civil Service Reform Act (1978)
Merit Systems Protection Board
Office of Personnel Mangement
Functions
• Bureaucracies are in some
ways a “mini” government
unto unthemselves
– administrative
• implementation of
legislative and executive
policies
– quasi legislative
• proposed rules
– quasi judicial
• enforcement of rules
Functions
• Bureaucrats can have important role in
shaping public policy
– they can support the president with information
– they can shape presidential options with
information provided
– they can undermine the president with
information and actions
Functions
• “Whistleblower” protection
– Enacted originally in 1989, renewed and
amended since then
– Protects employees who disclose wasteful
spending, discrimination, unsafe working
conditions, illegal activities, etc. at place of
employment, including federal agencies
Functions
• Bureaucrats have a crucial role to play in
development of policy considerations
• Main players in public policy are:
– legislative
– executive
– interest groups involved on issue
Functions
Bureaucrats
Issue Networks
Congressional
committees
Interest Groups
Functions
• “Public” policy becomes less concerned
over issues related to the broad public
• Specific groups affected by the proposed
policy and policy changes dictate public
policy
• Once programs are created, it is very
difficult to remove them
Functions
• In 1887, Congress passed the Tea Act, which
set standards for tea quality coming into the
US
• In 1897, Act amended to create the Board of
Tea Experts, headed by the Federal Tea
Taster, to taste and certify the teas entering
the country
• In 1970, President Nixon proposed
eliminating the Board
• In 1996 Congress passed the Federal Tea
Tasters Repeal Act, eliminating the Board
US Board of Tea Experts meeting
Functions
Angora wool subsidies
– 1954 National Wool Act
– 1960 wool removed from
list of “strategic materials”
– 1989 recommendation to
kill program costing $230
million/year (DOA)
– 1993 Senate passed
recommendation to kill
– 1994 main program killed,
but...
– 2008 program continued in
downscaled form (special
assistance loans to
producers)
Bureaucratic Reform
• Sunset Laws
– Timed phase out of government programs unless have
explicit renewal provision enacted
• Sunshine Laws
– Open bureaucratic proceedings to greater public
scrutiny and access
• Privatization
– Turn government programs over to the private sector
– Greater efficiency of market forces will produce better
service at a cheaper cost to taxpayers