Chapter 15 Abstract What is the Bureaucracy? Bureaucracy - large, complex organization of appointed officials.

Divided among several managers Many of the problems we blame on bureaucracy are in fact the result of Congress, courts, and president actions Distinctiveness of the American Bureaucracy - Political authority over the bureaucracy is not in one set of hands, but shared between Congress and the president - Most of the agencies of the federal government share their functions with related agencies in state and local government - Institutions and traditions of American life have contributed to importance in definition and expansion of personal rights, and defense of rights and claims through lawsuits as well as political action - Bureaucracy regulates private enterprise, as opposed to elsewhere where government owns enterprise Growth of the Bureaucracy - Constitution only allows president to appoint, with consent of Senate - Patronage cause lots of problems, led to reforms (Pendleton Act, Hatch Act) - Civil War created huge increase in bureaucracy, because of rapid industrialization afterwards, because of greater need for competent employees. - Much of the federal Bureaucracy was devoted to service not regulation, hit was meant to preserve and promote laissez-faire. - In times of emergency (wartime), president and bureaucracy have gained more power; number of federal employees rises, but does not fall after wartime - WWII and Great depression greatly increased size of the bureaucracy The Federal Bureaucracy Today - There are approximately 3 people earning their living indirectly from the federal government for every one earning it directly - Power depends on extend appointed officials have discretionary authority, ability to choose course of actions/policies not dictated in advanced by previous laws - The power of the bur has increased substantially in 3 areas: - paying subsidies to particular group (farmers, veterans, scientists, schools, hospitals), -transfer money from federal to state/local govs, -regulations for societal/economic sectors - Four factors explain behavior of officials decisions: -how they are recruited/rewarded,

-personality- socioeconomic background, -political attitude, nature of jobs, -outside constraints on agency- superiors, legislators, interests, media Recruitment and Retention Competitive Service appointed only after they have passed a written examination administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Competitive Service has decentralized for 3 reasons: - OPM system cumbersome and irrelevant, - Professionally trained employees needed (lawyers, biologists, physicists, nurses, etc) -Civil rights forced racial compilation to be similar to that of US Pendleton Act 1883 - government jobs based on merit, not patronage. Name-request job - filled by a person an agency has identified, deciding in advanced. Buddy system- circumvent elaborate search for appointee when agency knows who it wants to hire, a way of hiring someone known to be capable Difficult to fire a bureaucrat unless superior invests time/effort into attempt Strategies to force out civil servants - deny promotions, undesirable transfers, assign meaningless work Civil Service Reform Act 1978: -Pres/Cabinet more flexibility in recruiting, assigning, paying high-level positions -Creates Senior Executive Service (SES): 8,000 top federal managers to be hired, fired, transferred more easily, cash bonuses -Didnt do much, few fired/transferred Personal Attributes -Shapes the way burs use their power -Cross section of American society- education, sex, race, origins -Higher ranking levels: typical middle-aged white male, college degree, advantaged father -Unrepresentative of average American- different views/attitudes towards government -Few have extreme policy positions Do Bureaucrats Sabotage Their Political Bosses? -Hard to fire- sabotage actions by superiors? -Civil servants usually liberal, conservative leaders show this worry -Most carry out superiors policies if they disagree -David Stockman, director of OMB, cuts in gov spending as his boss, President Reagan wanted -Loyal to superiors who cooperate with them -Obstruction: leak stories to Congress/media, help interest groups, procedural reasons why policy wont work Whistle Blower Protection Act: created 1989. Created Office of Special Counsel to investigate complaints that they were punished after reporting info to Congress

Congressional Oversight -No agency can exist without congressional approval, Congress can influence, even determine completely the behavior of the agency Authorization legislation: permission to begin or continue government program/agency, originates in committee, max money agency may spend Authorization does not necessarily mean Appropriation, money that has been authorized need not be actually set aside by the appropriations committee Congressional Investigations: -Power inferred from power to legislate in constitution- not specifically mentioned -Supreme Court has upheld, but cant be to expose personal affairs of individuals -Issue subpoena -Congress can vote to send to jail or refer to a court