Executive Office of the President

& the Federal Bureaucracy

Quick Recap…

• How many branches are there in US government?• Who has “power” in each branch?• Which branch has the most power?• Which branch is the largest?

Executive Office of the President(EOP)

Established in 1939, the EOP has grown rapidly because…

- Presidents add new agencies to it

- Presidents want experts nearby to advise them about issues

- Located throughout DC area

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

Office of Management and Budget [OMB]- the largest EOP agency- prepares the national budget that the President sends to Congress each year

National Security Council [NSC]- advises the President on security matters- helps coordinate the nation’s military and foreign policy- Situation Room

Council of Economic Advisors- helps the President formulate the nation’s economic policy

Executive Office of the President

The White House Office:

- staff performs whatever duties are need by the President

- gathers information and provides advice on key issues

- ensures that Executive Departments and Agencies carry out directives from the President

- present the President’s views to the outside world

Chief of Staff

Denis McDonough

Press Secretary

John Earnest

The Federal Bureaucracy

The Roots of Bureaucracy

Foreign Affairs (State), War (Defense), Treasury first departments

Growth in early 1800s with Post Office

Patronage and the spoils system become common

Civil War spawns another expansion

Pendleton Act is beginning of civil service system

-Also known as merit system

Creation of independent regulatory commissions

Twentieth-Century Bureaucracy

Growing number of cabinet departments

Need for a larger government to support wars

New Deal and Great Society

Growth of the Bureaucracy

Modern Bureaucracy

More than 2.7 million employees

Most (90%) are selected based on merit

Also have high-level appointees

Wide variety of skills represented

Less diverse than American population

Scattered throughout D.C. and regional offices

Growth of outside contractors

Civilian Employment

September 2009Graphic Presentation of Federal Civilian EmploymentDistribution of Federal Civilian Employment by Branch

Executive Branch (98%) - 2,773,878Judicial Branch (1.0%) - 33,754Legislative Branch (1.0%) - 30,859

The Federal Bureaucracy TODAY

• The New Deal DOUBLED the size of the federal work force, and continued to expand during the Cold War years (once created, agencies rarely go away)

• Currently close to 3 million people work for the federal government

• 2,200 presidential appointments (jobs are often obtained through patronage)

• 15 executive departments, headed by presidential appointees

• 180 independent agencies, boards, and commissions whose heads are presidential appointeesExamples: EPA Environmental Protection Agency

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

CIA Central Intelligence Agency

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

The Peace Corps

• The are a number of government corporations directly serving the public

Examples: FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance CorporationUSPS United States Postal ServiceTVA Tennessee Valley Administration

Formal Organization

Cabinet departments handle broad, lasting issues

Headed by secretaries

Government corporations act like businesses

Independent executive agencies handle services

-Narrower than Cabinet department, independent

Designed to be free from partisan pressure

Agency Accountability Often unclear who agencies should be accountable to

Civil servants are not directly accountable to American people

Presidents try to make the right appointments

Can also shape policy through executive orders

Congress can use oversight powers and funding

Police patrol v. fire alarm oversight

Judiciary can review regulations

Federal Bureaucracy

PROSCONS

How the Bureaucracy Works

Congress creates agencies

Main job is implementation of laws

Policy made in iron triangles or issue networks

Increasing use of interagency councils

An Iron Triangle

The Influence of Client Groups• Federal agencies have “client groups” that try to influence decisions

• The close cooperation between congressional committees, client groups, and a federal agency or department is referred to as…

“IRON TRIANGLES”

Congressional committeesEx: Armed Services Committee

Interest Group or OrganizationThe American Legion

Executive DepartmentEx: Dept of Veterans’ Affairs

How the Bureaucracy Influences Public Policy

• Carries out policy decisions made by the President and Congress

• Often determines what the law means by the rules and regulations it issues

• Shapes public policy by helping Congress draft new laws or by providing ideas for new legislation

• Supplies advice and information to top decision-makers