1. Unit IV: Institutions
Ch. 15: The Bureaucracy

2. Review: Structure of the American Bureaucracy
Executive Branch Agencies:
White House Office: president’s closest assistants, can be hired and fired at will
Executive Office of the President: agencies that report directly to the President, top positions appointed by president and approved by Senate, can be fired at president’s discretion
main agencies: OMB, DNI, CEA, OPM, US Trade Rep
The Cabinet: not in Constitution (authority in Article II, Section 2), heads of 15 executive departments, appointed by President and confirmed by Senate, can be fired at president’s discretion

3. Independent executive agencies: (agencies outside of Cabinet secretaries “jurisdiction” AND outside of president’s control – limited power to remove)
Established by Congress to carry out statutory goals (service rather than regulatory function)
organized much like Cabinet departments, but lack Cabinet status (ex. NASA, SSA, SBA, CIA, NTSB, EPA…)
President appoints members and confirmed by Senate, agency heads serve fixed terms and can only be removed for cause
Government corporations
Created by Congress to carry out various business operations. Directors appointed by President, confirmed by Senate, serve fixed terms.
Not profitable, so private sector won’t do it
Ex: USPS, FDIC, TVA

4. 6. Independent Regulatory Commissions
Created by Congress to regulate important aspects of the nation’s economy.
Generally, the decisions of these are beyond presidential control, though commissioners are appointed by the President with Senate consent
Commissioners serve long terms (5-14 years)
Only a bare majority can belong to the same party
Terms are staggered
Commissioners can be fired by the President only for causes that Congress has specified.
Have quasi-legislative power: rules and regulations (published in the Federal Register) have the force of law (“policy implementation”)
Have quasi-judicial power: can settle disputes in their fields
Some important regulatory commissions: Federal Reserve Board, FCC, FEC, NLRB, SEC, FTC

5. I. Distinctiveness of U.S. Bureaucracy
Political authority over the bureaucracy is shared by the President and Congress
Federal agencies further share responsibility with state and local governments (federalism!)
Adversarial culture of the bureaucracy leads to defense of rights and lawsuits and political action as challenges to bureaucratic decisions

6. II. The Growth of the Bureaucracy
Early controversies:
Presidential appointments were to be confirmed by the Senate, but only removable by the president alone. Congress has the power to fund and investigate.
Development of the civil service system
Up to late 19th century, spoils system used to fill federal jobs
Pendleton Act (1883) created a civil service (exam-based) merit system to fill government jobs. Civil Service Commission (now OPM) administered exams.
Today, over 90% of federal employees are civil service workers
Under 10% of top-level federal jobs are still filled by presidential appointment (political appointees).

7. III. The Federal Bureaucracy Today
Size:
There are about 3mn. Civilian federal employees
Number has been fairly constant since 1950.
Result of more efficiency?
Or, result of more federal money being transferred to state and local governments to administer federal programs?
Power of the bureaucracy:
Discretionary authority: agencies have the power to choose various courses of action when Congress writes broadly-worded laws that allow for bureaucratic interpretation.
Primary areas of delegation:
Subsidies
Grant-in-aid programs
Enforcement of regulation
Other areas: helping draft legislation, advice to the WH, settling disputes
Reasons for growth of power:
National growth, technology, international crises, once created-hard to kill

8. Trend of Federal Civilian Employment 1994 - 2004

11. IV. Influences of Bureaucratic Behavior
Recruitment and retention
Most bureaucrats are appointed by civil service exam (merit-based, administered by OPM)
As system decentralizes agencies hire as needed. The “excepted service” employs more than half federal workers still using OPM standards
Legal exceptions: presidential appointees, Schedule C appointments, NEA jobs
The buddy system: name-request jobs can circumvent process
Firing a bureaucrat: most cannot be fired with the exception of the SES.
Agency’s Point of View
Many bureaucrats have a “loyal” or “agency” point of view
System assures continuity and expertise in policies and procedures among many bureaucrats
Agency managers must cultivate support of subordinates
Day 2

12. Influences… E. Demographic Attributes F. Constraints
Low and mid-level bureaucrats are fairly representative of American people on basis of race, sex, religion…
Upper-level bureaucrats are not: mostly middle-aged, white males with college degrees from advantaged backgrounds
Surveys show bureaucrats tend to be more liberal than general public, especially those who work in “activist” agencies (EPA, FTC…) than those who work in “traditional” agencies (Justice, Defense, Treasury…)
Only 10% live in D.C.
~30% work in a defense agency
Less than 15% work in a welfare agency
Most are white collar workers
Legal:
Administrative Procedure Act (1946)
Freedom of Information Act (1966)
Hatch Act (1939)
National Environmental Policy Act (1969): impact reports
Privacy Act (1974)
Open Meeting Law (1976)
Affirmative action hiring guidelines
Organizational:
Size of agencies make action difficult
Red tape
Lack of monetary incentives to take action

15. V. Controlling the Bureaucracy: Presidential Influences
A. Powers
B. Checks
To appoint top-level bureaucrats
to fire top-level bureaucrats
To propose reorganization of executive branch
To propose or change agency budget requests
OMB oversight (reduce an agencies budget)
Ignore initiatives from the bureaucracy; issue executive orders
Senate confirmation for top- level appointees
President cannot fire vast majority of bureaucrats
Reorganization must go through Congress
Agency budgets must go through Congress
Day 3

16. Congressional Influences
A. Powers
B. Limits
Appropriations of agency budgets
Standing committee oversight, investigations, hearings
GAO
Reorganization
Appointment confirmation
Sunset laws
Congress may not want to check power of the bureaucracy:
Members profit politically from the existence of federal programs within their states/districts
Easier for Congress to pass broadly-worded legislation and have experts in bureaucracy fill in the holes

17. Judicial Influences
A. Powers
Rule on constitutionality of bureaucratic actions, including regulations and enforcement

18. Other Influences Scrutiny of agency behavior
A. Interest Groups
B. Media
Lobbying
Revolving door
Client groups
Iron triangles/issue networks/policy networks (subgovernments):
Congressional committee, relevant agency, related interest groups. (Hugh Heclo)
Scrutiny of agency behavior
Use of “whistle blowers” (Snowden)
Releasing “leaks” from government officials (WikiLeaks).

19. VI. Bureaucratic Pathologies
A. Public Opinion
B. Criticisms
General attitude is negative, but specific attitude is more favorable
Some believe bureaucrats are lazy and ineffective, yet also believe they are too powerful
Viewed as scapegoats by politicians when things go wrong
Red tape
Agency conflicts
Duplication
Waste
Excessive growth (imperialism)
Increase in rules and regulations over last 50 years
Lack of incentives for bureaucrats to increase efficiency and productivity
“permanent government” unresponsive to people
Day 4

20. Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. Published daily.

21. VII. Reforming the Bureaucracy
A. In defense of bureaucracy
B. NPR (Nat’l Performance Review 1993)
Correcting red tape would mean more red tape
Reducing agency conflicts and duplication would require Congress to set priorities
To reduce waste would require more regulations (red tape)
To reduce excessive growth, Congress would have to set priorities (political price)
Some agencies have shrunk, some have been eliminated
Public is inconsistent
Comparatively, US system is efficient
Designed to reinvent government
Emphasizes customer satisfaction by bringing citizens in contact with agencies
Innovation and quality:
Less-centralized management
More employee initiatives
Customer satisfaction