The Federal Bureaucracy

1. The Federal Bureaucracy

2. What is a bureaucracy? • Organization by which things get done in government • Bureaucracies: • Have a hierarchical authority structure • Use task specialization • Develop extensive rules • Operate on the merit of the people • Behave with impersonality

3. Myths and Realities • Americans hate B. (Myth) • They grow bigger each year (Half ‘n Half) • Most work in D.C. (Myth) • Ineffective, inefficient, and mired in red tape (Half ‘n Half)

4. Who They Are and How They Got There • Patronage • Hiring and promotion based upon knowing the right people • “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”-Hayman’s mom • Pendleton Civil Service Act • Created the federal civil service • System based on merit and desire to create a non-partisan gov’t service

5. More… • Merit Principal • Uses entrance exams and promotional ratings to reward qualified applicants • Hatch Act • Prohibits civil service employees from active participation in partisan politics while on duty

6. OPM • Office of Personnel Management • In charge of hiring for most federal agencies • Each civil service job is assigned a GS (General Schedule) rating • Very top of the c.s. is the Senior Executive Service

7. Plum Book • Lists top federal jobs available for direct presidential appointment

8. Organization of B. • Cabinet Departments (Manage specific policy areas) • Independent Regulatory Commissions (Federal Reserve Board, Federal Communications Commission, Social Security Admin.) • Each I.R.C. is responsible for some sector of the economy • Interest groups are closely involved with I.R.C.s

9. More Organization • Government Corporations (Amtrak, Post Office, T.V.A.) • Provide a service that could be provided by the private sector • Charge for a service

10. Still More Organization • Independent Executive Agencies (NASA, General Service Admin., National Science Foundation) • Make up the rest

11. B.’s as Implementers • Policy implementation • Stage of policymaking between establishment of policy and its consequences

12. Some policies fail. Why? • Program Design • Some tasks are impossible • Lack of Clarity • Congress states broad goals while leaving the specifics up to the B.’s • Lack of Resources • Lack of body armor in Iraq • EPA has low staff and cannot enforce laws

13. Making it Fair • SOP’s help make b.’s everyday decisions • May become “red tape” and obstacles to action

14. Privatization • Private contractors used to do the work of the gov’t • Fourth Branch of the Gov’t • Leads to less scrutiny

15. Regulation • Use of gov’t authority to control or change some practice in the private sector • FDA, CPSC, OSHA • Gov’t tells businesses how to reach certain goals, checks on progress, and punishes offenders

16. Trend Towards Deregulation • Regulation: • Raises prices • Hurts America’s competitive position abroad • Doesn’t always work well

17. Understanding B.’s • Presidents try to control B.’s • Appoint heads of agencies • Issue executive orders • Alter agency’s budget • Reorganize the agency

18. More understanding • Congress tries to control B.’s • Influence appointments • Alter budgets • Hold hearings • Rewrite legislation for more detail and clarity

19. The Iron Triangle • Iron Triangles and Issue Networks • Iron Triangles: a mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees • Exist independently of each other • They are tough, but not impossible, to get rid of • Some argue they are being replaced by wider issue networks that focus on more than one policy.

20. Understanding Bureaucracies Figure 15.5

21. Summary • Bureaucrats shape policy as administrators, implementers, and regulators. • Bureaucracy’s primary responsibility is the implementation of public policy. • Federal bureaucracy has not grown but has in fact shrunk of late.