THE FEDERAL BUREACRACY

1. THE FEDERAL BUREACRACY Examining the “Fourth Branch”

2. Question: • What’s it like at the DMV? • What did the inside of the DMV look like? • What was the job of its employees? • What service did you need? • What rules or procedures did you have to follow? • What was positive and negative about the experience?

3. bureaucracy • literally means “rule by desks” • government by clerks

4. bureaucracy Definition:an administrative system, especially in a government, that divides work into specific categories carried out by special departments of nonelected officials

5. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy • administration of government through departments • consists of unelected often highly trained professionals • task specialization • hierarchical authority

6. Public Perceptionsof Bureaucracies • impersonal • inclined to follow rigid or complex procedures • may stifle effectiveness and innovation • “red tape”

7. The Federal Bureaucracy What is the federal bureaucracy?

8. The Federal Bureaucracy is: • 4 million employees; 2.8 million are civilians or “civil servants” • President only appoints 3% (patronage or political appointments) • 15 cabinet level departments • 200+ independent agencies with 2,000+ bureaus, divisions, branches, etc. • Biggest - Dept. of Defense, U.S. Postal Service, Veterans Administration • Answer Discussion Questions

9. The Federal Bureaucracy What does the federal bureaucracy do?

10. Functions of the Federal Bureaucracy Implementation- carry out laws of Congress, executive orders of the President Administration- routine administrative work; provide services (ex: SSA sends social security checks to beneficiaries) Regulation- issue rules and regulations that impact the public (ex: EPA sets clean air standards) Source:http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/am_gov/chap6/a0606401.asp

11. What Implementation Means • Policies are not self-executing • Laws are usually vague • Bureaucracies work out the details • Implementation is critical • Create new agency or assign new responsibility to existing agency • Translate policy goals into rules and guidelines • Coordinate resources

12. Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test • High expectations  dashed hopes • Program design (e.g., COBRA) • Lack of clarity • Lack of resources • Lack of funding (e.g., Head Start) • Lack of personnel (disability, illegal aliens) • Lack of authority • Administrative routine (SOPs, “red tape”) • Administrators’ dispositions • Fragmentation

13. The Federal Bureaucracy How is the federal bureaucracy organized?

14. The Federal Bureaucracy Consists of • Cabinet Departments • Independent Executive Agencies • Independent Regulatory Commissions • Government Corporations

15. Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy Source: www.edmonds.wednet.edu/mths/ClassActivities/ Brzovic/policeymakersChapters12-16/

16. The Cabinet Departments • The 15 cabinet departments • Each headed by a cabinet secretary appointed by the president and approved by the Senate • Undersecretaries, deputy undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, etc. (hierarchical) • Each department has its own policy area, own budget, own staff • Department of Homeland Security, created in 2002, is newest department

17. Independent Regulatory Commissions • Make and enforce rules • Examples: • Federal Communications Commission (public air waves) • Federal Reserve Board (banking system, money supply) • IRCs operate independently from Congress and the President • Governed by commissioners with fixed terms • Appointed by president confirmed by Senate • Difficult to fire / somewhat insulated from politics • Meant to act in public interest

18. Government Corporations • Government owned businesses created by Congress • Provide services that could be handled by private sector • Charge consumers for services but cheaper • May or may not be profitable, but serve a public need • Ex: U.S. Postal Service, Amtrak, Tennessee Valley Authority, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

19. Independent Executive Agencies • Everything else • Established by Congress with separate status outside the executive branch • Administrators appointed by president • Given a specific mandate and generally perform a service function, not a regulatory one. • Some examples include: Social Security Administration, CIA, NASA, EPA.

20. Who works for the federal government?

21. 97% are career government employees Only 10% live in the D.C. area 30% work for the D.O.D. Less than 15% work for social welfare agencies Most are white collar workers: secretaries, clerks, lawyers, inspectors & engineers Civil employees more diverse demographically than Congress Who are the “Bureaucrats?”

22. Where do Federal Employees Work?

23. What Jobs Do Bureaucrats Do? Source: www.edmonds.wednet.edu/mths/ClassActivities/ Brzovic/policeymakersChapters12-16/

24. Characteristics of federal nonpostal civilian employees

25. Answer in your packet: • What generalizations can you make about the federal work force based upon the statistical information given?

26. Who supervises the federal bureaucracy?

27. The President Supervises the Bureaucracy The President can: • appoint & remove agency heads • reorganize the bureaucracy • issue executive orders • reduce an agency's budget President Bush speaks about his budget priorities for FY 2007

28. Congress Oversees the Bureaucracy Congress can: • create or abolish agencies & departments • cut or reduce funding • investigate agency activities • hold committee hearings • pass legislation that alters an agency's functions • influence or even fail to confirm presidential appointments Former FEMA Chief Michael Brown testifies before House committee investigating Hurricane Katrina

29. Federal Courts Check the Bureaucracy Federal courts can: • through judicial review rule on whether the bureaucracy has acted within the law and the U.S. Constitution • provide due process for individuals affected by a bureaucratic action Supreme Court of the United States

30. The Bureaucracy of Pizza

31. Thinking Critically (to turn in) • Why is the federal bureaucracy often referred to as “the fourth branch?” • Some critics believe that the real power in the federal government lies with the federal bureaucracy. To what extent do you believe this is true?