The Federal Administrative System (Bureaucracy) Chapter 13

Transcription

1 The Federal Administrative System (Bureaucracy) Chapter 13

2 The Undefined Branch The Framers believed that the bureaucracy would be relatively small and left most of the details up to the President and Congress

3 The Federal Bureaucracy Today Originally, the term bureaucracy meant fast, effective, and rational Today, governmental bureaucracies are difficult to manage because of their size, interest group connections, and political history

4 Recruitment and Retention Competitive service: bureaucrats compete for jobs through Office of Personnel Management (OPM) agency that administers civil service laws, rules, and regulations Appointment through combination of political appointment and merit, based on written exam or through selection criteria

5 The Federal Government Expenditures and employment: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Nos. 483 and 582; regulations; Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Miemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics (Washington D.C>: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1998), tables 6-12, Post-2000 data updated by Marc Siegal.

6 Characteristics of Federal Civilian Employees, 1960 and 1999 Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1961, ; Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Nos. 450, 482, 500, 595, 1118.

7 Leading the Bureaucracy

8 How the Federal Government is Organized Bureaucracy A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials Four types of organizational entities: 1. Departments 2. Independent agencies 3. Independent regulatory commissions 4. Government corporations

9 How the Federal Government is Organized: Departments State (1789) Treasury (1789) Defense (1947; formerly the War Department, created in 1789, and the Navy Department, created in 1798) Justice (1789) Interior (1849) Agriculture (1889) Commerce (1913) Labor (1913) Health and Human Services (1953 as Health, Education, and Welfare; reorganized with Education as a separate department in 1979) Housing and Urban Development (1965) Transportation (1966) Energy (1977) Education (1979) Veterans Affairs (1989) Homeland Security (2002)

10 The Federal Departments

11 Carrying Out Policy Most bureaucrats try to carry out policy, even those they disagree with Most civil servants have highly structured jobs that make their personal attitudes irrelevant

12 Federal Government: Money Expenditures and employment: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Nos. 483 and 582; regulations; Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Miemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics (Washington D.C>: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1998), tables 6-12, Post-2000 data updated by Marc Siegal.

13 The Budgetary Process The 2005 Budget showed total outlays of $2.4 trillion, with a deficit of nearly $365 billion

14 The Budgetary Process Uncontrollable Spending The portion of the federal budget that is spent on programs that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut, includes entitlement programs such as Social Security Entitlement Program Programs such as unemployment insurance, disaster relief, or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens Ex.) Social Security costs $700 billion per year

15 Agency Allies Agencies often seek alliances with congressional committees and interest groups (iron triangles) bureaucrats, interest groups, and congressional subcommittee members These alliances are far less common today politics has become too complicated Today, more common are Issue Networks- groups that regularly debate government policy on certain issues

16 Regulating the Civil Service The Hatch Act Federal statute barring federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds

17 Making Regulations The Rule-Making Process All proposed rules must be published in the Federal Register Notice and Comment period Hearings and testimony (optional) Publication and enforcement Judicial review

18 A Few Interesting FDA Rules: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows certain levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods, as long as they don't pose a health risk. For example, chocolate can have up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams, tomato sauce can contain 30 fly eggs per 100 grams, and peanut butter can have 30 insect fragments per 100 grams (3.5 ounces), according to the FDA.

19 Federal Government: Regulations Expenditures and employment: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Nos. 483 and 582; regulations; Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Miemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics (Washington D.C>: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1998), tables 6-12, Post-2000 data updated by Marc Siegal.

20 Global Perceptions

21 Congressional Oversight Congress creates agencies Congress authorizes funds for programs Congressional appropriations provide funds for the agency to spend on its programs Congressional investigations Confirming personnel Terminating agencies Rewriting legislation to extend control

22 Accountability to the President The president has control over the bureaucracy though the powers of Appointment Reorganization Budgeting

23 Bureaucratic Pathologies Red tape: complex, sometimes conflicting rules Conflict: agencies work at cross-purposes Duplication: two or more agencies seem to do the same thing Imperialism: tendency of agencies to grow, irrespective of programs benefits and costs Waste: spending more than is necessary to buy some product or service

24 Reforming the Bureaucracy Most rules and red tape are due to struggles between the president and Congress or to agencies efforts to avoid alienating influential voters Periods of divided government worsen matters, especially in implementing policy