The Bureaucracy

Images

• Huge Limestone Buildings

• “Red Tape”

– Endless Lines

– Forms (in triplicate – which, of course, makes no sense on an electronic world)

– Rules (often inconsistent & nonsensical)

– Frustration and lack of recourse

• Staffed by “bureaucrats”

• A Definition

• The Roots and Development of the Federal Bureaucracy

• The Modern Bureaucracy

• Policy Making/Problems Making Policy

• Making Agencies Accountable

OUTLINE

There are many definitions of bureaucracy.

The key elements are:– an hierarchical chain of command (clear lines

of authority from top to bottom)

– division of labor and specialization

– impersonal rules and “merit-based” decision making

“BUREAUCRACY”

The Roots and Development of the Federal Bureaucracy

• Constitutionally ambiguous “branch” of government.

• Neither the President, Congress or Courts have total control. Each has significant and overlapping degree of influence over bureaucratic functions.

Policy Making• When Congress passes a law that creates

any kind of federal agency, department, or commission, it delegates some part of its powers.

• In the law, Congress sets parameters, guidelines, and then leaves it to the agency to work out the details.

• How agencies execute congressional wishes is called “implementation”.

The Roots and Development of the Federal Bureaucracy

• In 1789, George Washington headed a federal bureaucracy of three departments: – State, War, and Treasury.

• The federal government has grown as needs arose. In general, the government grew most during national crises and times of war.– The Civil War– National Efforts to Regulate the Economy

The Civil War

• The Civil War (1861-65) permanently changed the nature of the federal bureaucracy.

• Thousands of employees were added in order to mount the war effort.

• After the Civil War, demands on the government continued to grow. The government needed to pay pensions to veterans and the injured from the war.

Regulating the Economy

• The industrial revolution of the late 1800s brought big business onto the national stage.

• While some people called for a laissez-faire attitude toward the economy, many others decried the development of big railroads, price fixing, monopolies, and unfair business practices and called for the government to regulate the economy.

The New Deal and WWII

• FDR faced high unemployment and weak financial markets during the Great Depression.

• In order to face the economic crisis, FDR created large numbers of federal agencies and many federal programs (AAA, NRA, CCC).

• WWII (like the Civil War and WWI) also caused the national government (and then the state and local governments) to grow significantly.

The growing bureaucracy does not simply reflect the growth of the federal government

The Federal Workforce is Growing.

• Republicans campaign for reductions in the size of the federal government. But…– Clinton 2000 – 1.7 million federal workers– Bush 2002 – 1.85 million federal workers– Bush 2003 – 2.0 million federal worker– Bush 2005 – 2.4 to 2.7 million federal workers

(depending on how you count PTers)

• And of course the cartoonists have had a field day…

Privatization – An “Alternative” to Growth

• 2000, 2002, 2004 Election issue

• Government is really growing! When we “privatize” we may not call them federal workers but we’re paying them with federal dollars.

The Modern Bureaucracy

• Governments exist for the public good, not to generate profit.

• Government leaders are driven by reelection (and thus accountability) goals while businesspeople are out to increase their share prices on Wall Street. Businesses get money from customers, government gets it from taxpayers.

President’s Cabinet

www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html

The Cabinet Departments

• The 15 Cabinet departments are the major administrative units that have responsibility for conducting broad areas of government operation.

• Positions in these departments account for 60% of the federal workforce.

• Departments vary in prestige, power, size, and access to the president...each is headed by a “secretary”.

• The tradition of the Cabinet dates back to the beginnings of the Presidency itself (drawn from Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution).

• One of the principal purposes of the Cabinet is to advise the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of their respective offices.

Who’s a Cabinet Officer?

• The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments -- the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General.

• Under President George W. Bush, Cabinet-level rank also has been accorded to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of National Drug Control Policy; and the U.S. Trade Representative.

Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns

Department of the Interior

Secretary Dirk Kempthorne

Department of Justice Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez

Department of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao

Department of State Secretary Condoleezza Rice

Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings

Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters

Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman

Department of Health & Human Services

Secretary Michael O. Leavitt

Department of the Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson

Department of Housing & Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson

Office of Management and Budget Rob Portman

United States Trade Representative Ambassador Susan Schwab

Environmental Protection Agency Stephen Johnson

Office of National Drug Control Policy John Walters

White HouseChief of Staff

Joshua B. Bolten

The Vice President Richard B. Cheney

Turnover

• Prior to Bush’s second term, 6 cabinet members resigned:– Secretary of State Colin Powell – Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman– Education Secretary Rod Paige– Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham– Attorney General John Ashcroft – Commerce Secretary Don Evans

• Most president see some turnover among their advisors.

• Trivia: Franklin Pierce (1953-1857) was the only President to not have a cabinet member leave during his time in office.

Department of Homeland Security

• Homeland Security Operations Center • Transportation and Security Administration• Customs and Border Protection• Immigration and Customs Enforcement• Federal Emergency Management Agency • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services • U.S. Coast Guard • U.S. Secret Service • Office of National Laboratories • Homeland Security Laboratories • Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects

Agency

Government Corporations

• Government corporations are businesses created by Congress to perform functions that could be performed by private business but aren't usually because they are not profitable.

• These corporations include Amtrak and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Independent Executive Agencies

• Independent executive agencies have narrower mandates than a Cabinet department.

• Some examples include: CIA, NASA and the EPA.

Independent Regulatory Commissions

• 12 IRCs exist to regulate a specific economic activity or interest

• The commissions are independent from Congress and the President. Once appointed and seated members cannot be removed without cause.

• They also have staggered terms of office to ensure that no one party gets to appoint all members.

• EXAMPLES: National Labor Relations Board or Securities and Exchange Commission.

Problems Bureaucrats Face

• Politics and program design

• Imprecise and contradictory goals

• Fragmentation and faulty coordination

• Imprecise measures of success

Reforming the Bureaucracy• Keep Commission, 1905-1909• President’s Commission on Economy &

Efficiency, 1910-1913• Joint Committee on Reorganization, 1921-1924• President’s Committee on Administrative

Management, 1936-37• 1st & 2nd Hoover Commission, 1947-49, 1953-55• Ash Council, 1969-1971• Carter Reorganization Effort, 1977-1979• Grace Commission, 1982-1984• National Performance Review, 1993-1997

Making Agencies AccountableIs the bureaucracy accountable and if so to whom?

The President has the authority to:

• appoint and remove agency heads

• reorganize the bureaucracy

• make changes in budget proposals

• ignore initiatives from the bureaucracy

• issue executive orders

• reduce an agency's budget

Congress has the authority to:• pass legislation that alters an agency's

functions• abolish existing programs• investigate bureaucratic activities• influence presidential appointments• write legislation to limit bureaucratic

discretion

Making Agencies AccountableIs the bureaucracy accountable and if so to whom?

The Judiciary has the power to:

• rule on whether the bureaucracy has acted within the law

• rule on constitutionality

• force respect for the rights of individuals in bureaucratic/administrative hearings

Making Agencies AccountableIs the bureaucracy accountable and if so to whom?

Accountability to Citizens

• Increased opportunities to petition

• Publicly funded intervenors/ombudspersons

• Monitoring programs

• Advisory committees (w/public members)

• Sunshine provisions (announced & open meetings)

• Freedom of information laws