THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY

FOURTH BRANCH OF GOVERNMENTThe executive bureaucracy is sometimes called the Fourth Branch of Government. What does that designation imply about the federal bureaucracy?

It implies that the bureaucracy is important

and has independent power.

BUREAUCRACY The bureaucracy is

important. The federal government has 2.7 million civilian employees who administer a budget of $3.5 trillion.

At least to some degree, the bureaucracy has independent power.Does the cartoonist have a

negative or positive view of government workers?

TWO BOSSESThe bureaucracy has two bosses. Who are they?

Does having two bosses necessarily mean that the bureaucracy is held more accountable?

The two bosses are Congress and the president.

Bureaucracy is not necessarily more

accountable because it can play one boss off against the other.

BUREAUCRACY AND DEMOCRACYA challenge of democracy is to make the bureaucracy accountable to the people.

ORGANIZATION OF THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY

HAPHAZARD ORGANIZATIONAL SCHEME The Constitution is silent as to the executive

bureaucracy.

Congress has created the various departments and agencies of the executive branch through the legislative process.

CABINET DEPARTMENTSThe cabinet departments are the major administrative units of the federal government that have responsibility for the conduct of a wide range of government operations.

Can you name some?

State, Defense, Treasury, Justice, Agriculture, Homeland

Security, Transportation, Education, etc.

SIZE OF DEPARTMENTSThe largest departments in terms of personnel are Defense and Veterans' Affairs. In 2008, the Department of Defense had 682,000 civilian employees; the Department of Veterans' Affairs employed 265,000 workers. In contrast, 4,210 employees worked for the Department of Education, the smallest department.

DEPARTMENTS HAVE SUBUNITSThe Department of Homeland Security includes Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Secret Service, and Citizenship and Immigration Service.

DEPARTMENT HEADSWhat are the heads of the cabinet departments called (with one exception)? What is the exception?

Who is pictured and what does the photo caption writer think

of her?

Agency heads are called secretaries except for the head

of the Department of Justice who is the attorney general.

POLITICAL APPOINTEESThe president appoints the heads of the cabinet departments and their chief assistants, who are called undersecretaries, deputy under-secretaries, and assistant secretaries, pending Senate confirmation.

Who is this guy?

Eric Holder, the attorney general

PERMANENT GOVERNMENT Does Mr. Holder have

a term of office? When, at the latest,

would he be expected to leave his position?

People who are not political appointees are part of the permanent government. What does that phrase mean?

CONFIRMATION PROCESSAlthough the Senate confirms most presidential appointments, the approval process has grown increasingly time-consuming. The average time between presidential nomination and Senate confirmation for executive branch appointees has increased to nine months for individuals nominated by President George W. Bush. More than 170 nominees remained unconfirmed two years after President Obama took office.

THE CABINETThe heads of the cabinet departments are all part of the president's cabinet, which is a body that includes the executive department heads and other senior officials chosen by the president, such as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

INDEPENDENT EXECUTIVE AGENCIESCongress and the president have created a number of executive branch agencies that are not part of any of the 15 cabinet-level departments, hence the designation independent executive agencies. EPA Peace Corps NASA CIA SBA SSA

Environmental Protection Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

STRUCTUREIndependent executive agencies are headed by individual administrators (NASA administrator, director of the CIA, etc.). They are appointed by the president, pending confirmation by the Senate. The heads of independent executive agencies report directly to the president and serve at the president's pleasure.

POLITICAL PECKING ORDERWhat sort of agency would you prefer to be? Cabinet level

department? An agency that is

part of a cabinet level department?

An independent executive agency?

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2

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FEMAFEMA was originally an independent executive agency and was considered well run. In 2003, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security and made FEMA part of it. FEMA was still in organizational disarray when Katrina struck.

HECK OF A JOB, BROWNIEAfter Jame Lee Witt, Clinton’s FEMA director, resigned, President George W. Bush appointed Michael Brown. Brown had no experience in emergency preparedness.

GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONSGovernment corporations are organizationally similar to private corporations except that the government owns them rather than stockholders. Their organizational rationale is that an agency that makes a product or provides a service should be run by methods similar to those used in the private sector. U.S. Postal Service AMTRAK FDIC

What is AMTRAK? What is FDIC?

AMTRAK is a passenger rail service.

FDIC insures bank deposits against loss

or theft.

US POSTAL SERVICEWhy is the U.S. Postal Service facing a financial crisis? What can it do to address the crisis? Should Congress subsidize post offices in rural areas with general tax revenues? Should people living in out-of-the-way places pay more for postal service?

AMTRAKShould Congress subsidize AMTRAK out of general tax revenues or allow it to go out of business?

FOUNDATIONS AND INSTITUTESFoundations and institutes administer grant programs to local governments, universities, nonprofit institutions, and individuals for research in the natural and social sciences or to promote the arts. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is

a federal agency established to encourage scientific advances and improvements in science education.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a federal agency created to nurture cultural expression and promote appreciation of the arts.

INDEPENDENT REGULATORY COMMISSIONSAn independent regulatory commission is an agency outside the major executive departments that is charged with the regulation of important aspects of the economy. FTC FCC SEC EEOC

Federal Trade CommissionFederal Communications

CommissionSecurities and Exchange

CommissionEqual Opportunity Employment

Commission

INDEPENDENTCongress has attempted to insulate independent regulatory commissions from direct political pressure, especially from the White House. Headed by boards of three to seven

members Appointed by president with Senate

confirmation Serve fixed terms, so the president can’t

remove them No more than bare majority can be from the

same political party

REGULATORYCongress has delegated authority to these agencies to regulate particular segments of the economy in the public interest.

EEOCCongress has empowered the EEOC "to prevent any person from engaging in any unlawful employment practice."

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSIONThe Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is an independent regulatory commission that protects "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products."

PERSONNEL POLICIES

FEDERAL PERSONNELThe size of the federal civilian bureaucracy has grown dramatically since the early days of the nation. In 1800, only about 3,000 persons worked for the U.S. government. That figure grew to 95,000 by 1881 and half a million in 1925. Today, 2.7 million civilian employees are stationed in every state and city in the country and almost every nation in the world.

What attitude does the cartoonist have about

government employees?

Did the decline in the number of federal

employees coincide with a shrinking of the federal

budget?

OMG, NO!

So what’s going on?

TRUE SIZE OF THE BUREAUCRACYPolitical scientist Paul C. Light estimates that the true size of the federal civilian workforce is 14.6 million employees instead of the 2.7 million on the official payroll. Congress and the president are playing a shell game to disguise the size of the federal government. Contract workers State and local government employees

working on federally funded programs Federal grant beneficiaries at colleges and

universities

SPOILS SYSTEMThe method of hiring government employees from among the friends, relatives, and supporters of elected officeholders was known as the spoils system. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the spoils system?

The spoils system is great if you control the spoils because you can hire your friends, relatives, and supporters. From a good policy perspective, it is bad

because many of these people may be unqualified.

PENDLETON ACTWhen a disgruntled office seeker assassinated President James Garfield in 1881, Congress passed and the president signed the Pendleton Act. It created a Civil Service Commission to establish a hiring system based on competitive examinations and protect federal workers from dismissal for political reasons.

HATCH ACTIn 1939, Congress enacted another reform, the Hatch Act, which was a measure designed to restrict the political activities of federal employees to voting and the private expression of views. Who was the Hatch Act designed to protect?

It was designed to protect workers from

being forced to perform political work

for their bosses.

CRITICISMS OF THE CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM

Inflexible Fails to reward merit Fails to punish poor

performance Too difficult to

transfer workers from agency to agency

What does the cartoonist think about government

employees?

SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE (SES)In 1978, Congress and the president responded to complaints against the civil service system by establishing a Senior Executive Service (SES) composed of approximately 8,000 top civil servants who would be eligible for substantial merit bonuses but who could be transferred, demoted, or fired more easily than other federal employees.

COLLECTIVE BARGAININGCongress and the president have given federal employees limited rights to organize. Federal workers have the right to bargain collectively over a limited set of issues but not pay and benefits. Collective bargaining is a negotiation between an employer and a union representing employees over the terms and conditions of employment.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERSIn 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers for participating in a strike organized by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association (PATCO).

DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANSDemocratic administrations have a positive relationship with federal worker unions. Clinton ordered agencies to develop partnership councils with employee unions.

Republican administrations have a hostile relationship with federal worker unions. They favor pay-for-performance and want to make it easier to fire employees for poor performance.

Republican members of Congress want to cut spending by reducing the

pay of federal workers.

RULES AND RULEMAKING

CONGRESS DELEGATES AUTHORITYIndependent regulatory commissions and many agencies in the executive branch have regulatory authority. When Congress passes regulatory legislation, it frequently delegates authority to the bureaucracy to make rules to implement the legislation. A rule is a legally binding regulation. Rulemaking is the regulatory process used

by government agencies to enact legally binding regulations.

CLEAN AIR ACTThe Clean Air Act requires that the EPA adopt rules to protect the public from exposure to contaminants that are known to be hazardous to human health.

EPA AND CLIMATE CHANGEIn 2009, the EPA formally declared that greenhouse gases jeopardize the public health, thus paving the way for the eventual adoption of regulations designed to limit carbon dioxide emissions from refineries, chemical facilities, and power plants.

If Congress won’t address climate change, then the

EPA will.

HEALTHCARE REFORMThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the new healthcare reform law, requires various government agencies to adopt hundreds of rules to implement its provision.

IMPLEMENTING HEALTHCARE REFORMThe latest controversy in the culture wars involves the application of federal standards for health insurance policies provided by employers. The issue is whether hospitals and schools affiliated with the Catholic Church should have to include contraceptive services in the insurance policies they provide their employees.

RULEMAKING PROCESS An agency gives notice that it is considering

a rule in a particular policy area. The agency publishes the text of the

proposed rule in the Federal Register and allows a period of time at least 30 days long in which the public can comment on the proposed rule.

Concerned parties, usually interest groups, affected by the proposed rule, submit written comments or offer testimony at public hearings.

When an agency officially adopts a rule, it is published in the Code of Federal Regulations.

OMB AND COST-BENEFIT ANALYSISThe Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires executive branch agencies (but not regulatory commissions) to submit cost-benefit analyses, which are evaluations of a proposed policy or regulation based on a comparison of its expected benefits and anticipated costs.

ROLE OF CONGRESSAgencies must submit all proposed new rules to Congress which has 60 days to overturn them through the legislative process, subject to a presidential veto and a possible override attempt. If Congress does not act within 60 days, the rule goes into effect.

BATTLE OVER REGULATIONSThe U.S. House is battling the administration over the implementation of healthcare reform, financial reform, and the EPA’s efforts to address climate change.

ROLE OF COURTSIndividuals and groups unhappy with agency decisions sometimes turn to the federal courts for relief. Courts hear challenges not just from business groups who believe that federal regulations have gone too far, but also from consumer and environmental groups who argue that regulations are not strict enough.

If healthcare reform stays on the books and a

Romney administration chooses not to implement the measure, lawsuits will

be filed to force implementation.

POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION

ROLE OF THE PRESIDENTWhat tools does the president have for influencing the federal bureaucracy?

PRESIDENTIAL TOOLS The president has the authority to name top

administrators, including department secretaries and undersecretaries, agency heads, and regulatory commissioners.

Except for members of the independent regulatory commissions, presidents also have the power to dismiss their appointees.

The president can use the OMB to evaluate agency performance and screen rules proposed by executive branch agencies.

The president can ask Congress to reorganize the bureaucracy and propose agency budgets to Congress.

ROLE OF CONGRESSWhat tools does Congress have for influencing the federal bureaucracy?

CONGRESSIONAL TOOLSCongress can . . . abolish an agency, reorganize its structure, change its jurisdiction, cut its budget, audit its expenditures, investigate its performance, and overrule its decisions, subject to presidential

veto.

ROLE OF INTEREST GROUPSWhat interest groups care about each of the following? Postal Service? Occupational, Safety, and Health

Administration (OSHA)? EPA?

Groups lobby bureaucratic agencies. They also lobby Congress to pressure the bureaucracy on their behalf. Sometimes groups file lawsuits to block or reverse an agency's decisions.

CAPTURED AGENCYCritics charge that federal agencies often become captured agencies, that is, agencies that work to benefit the economic interests they regulate rather than serving the public interest.

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE (MMS)

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) was the agency that oversaw offshore drilling before the BP oil spill. A report issued in 2008 found that not only had the agency failed to collect all the royalties owed to the government but that agency executives had accepted gifts from the energy industry, including alcohol and drugs. Several officials were also accused of having sexual relations with energy industry representatives.

ROLE OF BUREAUCRATSEach agency has two sets of administrators—a small group of presidential appointees, typically called political appointees, and a larger group of career civil servants. Nineteen presidential appointees and 284 SES managers lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Five presidential appointees and 20 SES managers head the EEOC.

BUREAUCRATIC POWERBureaucrats form alliances with members of Congress and interest groups.

BUREAUCRATIC SKILLSNASA distributed work on the Space Station to 68 prime contractors and 35 major subcontractors in 22 states, including California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Why did NASA take this approach? The goal was to build

support in Congress.

SUBGOVERNMENTSA subgovernment or iron triangle is a cozy, three-sided relationship among government agencies, interest groups, and key members of Congress in which all parties benefit.

ISSUE NETWORKSAn issue network is a group of political actors that is concerned with some aspect of public policy. Issue networks are fluid, with participants moving in and out. They can include technical specialists, members of Congress, journalists, the president, interest groups, bureaucrats, academic experts, and individual political activists.

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED What are the major administrative

structures of the executive branch of American national government?

What is the history of federal employee personnel policies?

What are the steps in the rulemaking process?

What perspectives and political resources does each of the following political actors have in the administrative process: the president, Congress, interest groups, and bureaucrats?

What approaches do political scientists take in explaining the administrative process?