UNITED STATES BUREAUCRACY How it gets done…or not…

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT IT? Forms, forms, forms Rules & Regulations Long lines Rudeness Inefficiency

BUREAUCRACY DEFINED A hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality. Bureaucracies govern modern states.

DEFINITION/PURPOSE Characteristics: chain of command (hierarchical), specialized (division of labor), rules, merit and equal treatment of clients Aim: interpret/enforce laws, an orderly system of providing services to the public. Governmental response to social concerns.

TERMS TO UNDERSTAND Spoils system: rewarding party loyalists & friends (Jackson) Patronage: successful candidates rewarding supporters with jobs & favors Civil Service: hiring & promotion based on competency (merit) 1883 Pendleton Act

POWERS Legislative: interpretation & enforcement with minimal oversight or review. Judicial: settling rule violations (rule adjudication)

OVERSIGHT Theoretically In practice Iron Triangles and Issue Networks

IRON TRIANGLES Legislative committees and sub-committees specializing in specific policy areas Bureaucratic agencies: Federal bodies responsible for interpretation and enforcement of legislation/executive orders Clientele groups: special interest groups, lobbyists and Political Action Committees (PACs, political arms of clientele groups)

IRON TRIANGLES Objective: develop policies that are mutually beneficial to the participating parties Actors Interest Group Legislative Committee or Subcommittee Bureaucratic Agency Attributes Autonomous Operate by consensus Limited Membership

THE MIGHTY TRIANGLE

ISSUE NETWORKS Purpose: influence congressional legislation and agency interpretation and enforcement Come together, act and disband Similar to “iron triangles” but may include broader, looser, temporary membership (i.e.: media, lawyers, academics, policy experts, members of congress, bureaucrats). It is less structured and fluid or temporary.

THE PROCESS (budget year: Oct. 1-Sept. 30) Feb-Dec: Agency requests reviewed by Office of Management and Budget and sent to the President for consideration Dec: Budget finalized Feb: Budget sent to Congress Mar-Sept: Congress reviews and marks up while passing spending/revenue bills* Sept: President acts on budget proposal Oct: New fiscal year begins Oct-Sept: Bureaucracy executes budget Oct-Nov: Budget expenditures finalized

FOLLOWING THE MONEY... Pork Busters Citizens Against Government Waste Heritage Foundation The Examiner The Sunlight Foundation Americans for Prosperity The Club for Growth Citizens Against Government Waste Heritage Foundation The Examiner The Sunlight Foundation Americans for Prosperity The Club for Growth

SURPLUS DEFICIT

$1,000,000,000,000

PROTECTIONS AND INFORMATION 1939 Hatch Act: limits political activity of civil servants on the job (campaigning, soliciting etc.) 1946 Administrative Procedures Act: open hearings on and access to regulations 1966 Freedom of Information Act: access to copies of public records 1974 Privacy Act: access to personal files 1976 Open Meeting Law (Brown Act in CA) Public bodies must meet openly (“Sunshine laws”) Federal Register

REFORM APPROACHES Reorganization including deregulation Responsibility transfer from Federal to State county, city (devolution) Privatization of governmental programs and services Combo plate

WHAT DO WE KNOW? THE BUREAUCRACY Definition Purpose Characteristics In action Budget development