Pearson Longman PoliticalScience

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Pearson LongmanPoliticalScience

• Shea, Green, and Smith
• Living Democracy, Second Edition
• Chapter 9
• Bureaucracy

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Government and Natural Disasters

• In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans
  and the Gulf Coast.
• FEMAs response was highly criticized.

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Pathways of Action Arsenic Standards for
Drinking Water

• Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) authorized the EPA
  to set purity standards.
• National Academy of Sciences wanted to mandate
  arsenic levels of only 3 ppb (down from 50 ppb).
  Affected industries and communities complained
  that the new standards would be too costly.

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Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy Organizations with a hierarchical
structure and specific responsibilities, which
operate on management principles intended to
enhance efficiency and effectiveness

• Four types of organizational entities
• Departments
• Independent agencies
• Independent regulatory commissions
• Government corporations

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The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy

• The Expansion of Federal Civil Employment

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The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy

• The First Departments
• Department of State
• Department of War
• Department of Justice
• Department of the Treasury

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The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy
The New Deal and its Aftermath

• Social Security, 1935
• Works Progress Administration, Civilian
  Conservation Corps
• Agricultural Adjustment Act, 1933

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The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy
The New Deal and its Aftermath
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The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy
Changes Since the 1960s

• Department of Energy
• Department of Veteran Affairs (formerly the
  Veterans Administration)
• Department of Homeland Security, which absorbed
  the
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Coast Guard
• Secret Service
• Is the department too big to be effective?

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Departments

• State (1789)
• Treasury (1789)
• Defense (1947 from War Department,1789, andNavy
  Department, 1798)
• Justice (1789)
• Interior (1849)
• Agriculture (1889)
• Commerce (1913)
• Labor (1913)

• Health and Human Services (1979, Health,
  Education, and Welfare, 1953 Education split,
  1979)
• Housing and Urban Development (1965)
• Transportation (1966)
• Energy (1977)
• Education (1979)
• Veterans Affairs (1989)
• Homeland Security (2002)

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Departments
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Departments and Independent Agencies
Political Appointees in the Bureaucracy

• Work directly for president
• Confirmation process
• Inexperience of Michael Brown and subsequent
  problems might lead to more positions coming
  under scrutiny by Senate
• Appointments can be used by presidents as
  rewards, and to signal agendas

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Departments and Independent Agencies
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The Image of the Bureaucracy

• Percentage of Americans rating the performance of
  the above agencies as excellent or good

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The Image of the Bureaucracy

• Do federal agencies receive blame unfairly for
  falling short of perfection?

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The Advantages of Bureaucracy

• Bureaucracies are created and evolve as a means
  to undertake the purposes and responsibilities of
  organizations. They provide
• Standardization
• Expertise and Competence
• Accountability
• Coordination

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The Nature of Bureaucracy
Patronage or Spoils System
Successful political candidates and parties
reward supporters with government positions,
while firing those from the opposing party.

• Used by governments until late 1800s
• Led to high turnover in government officials,
  abuse of influence
• Garfields assassination led to overhaul
• Civil service system, created by Pendleton Act,
  1883

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The Nature of Bureaucracy

• Civil Service System
• Pendleton Act, 1883
• Hatch Act

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Problems of Government Bureaucracy

• No Child Left Behind (2002)
• Government Accountability Office reported in
  2004 that the law had been poorly
  implemented.
• States complained that the U.S. Department
  of Education failed to provide appropriate
  guidelines.

• Transportation Security Administration (2001)
• Created after the 9/11 attacks
• Agency was plagued with problems of theft
  and poorly- conducted background checks
  of employees.

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Reform of the Bureaucracy

• Decentralization
• More power to regional offices
• States could be given more authority
• This approach based on the assumption that
  smaller agencies can be more effective,
  closer to their work
• Downside is the potential for
  inconsistencies

• Privatization
• Potentially better for saving money
• Arguably more efficient, less expensive
• Downside is that there would be no
  oversight, and that private companies would
  be more susceptible to outside influence

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Lobbying Pathway and Policymaking
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The Bureaucracy and Legislation

• The Iron Triangle

Interest groups
Bureaucratic leaders and experts
Congress members
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The Bureaucracy and Information

• Bureaucrats provide information for Congress to
  use in crafting and approving statutes

Committee proceedings or requests for reports and
documents to be supplied by government agencies
Formal method
Legislative staffers or members of Congress
contact agency officials with questions
Informal method
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Regulations
Legal rules created by government agencies based
on authority delegated by the legislation

• General statutory language can become the basis
  for the bureaucracys development of its own
  precise rules, a form of agency-created law
  called regulations, which govern the topics under
  a particular agencys jurisdiction.
• Statutes also specify the procedures that
  agencies must use in developing regulations.

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Quasi-Judicial Processes

• Bureaucracy affects policy through hearing
  processes that look similar to courts duties in
  examining evidence and issuing decisions.
• Hearings can be either formal or informal.

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Oversight and Accountability

• All three branches of government have the power
  to subject the bureaucracy to oversight and
  accountability.