The Federal Bureaucracy

Mr. Stroman

US Government

The Bureaucracy

• The thousands of federal government agencies and institutions that implement and administer federal laws and programs

• Three main functions:– Implementation– Administration– Regulation (quasi-legislative and judicial)

Max Weber’s Ideal Characteristics

• Division of labor

• Hierarchy

• Formal rules

• Maintenance of files and records

• Professionalism

Constitutional Basis• Not explicit

• Article II, Section 2 – “all other officers of the United States, whose

appointments are not herein otherwise provided for.”

• Article II, Section 3– “take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and

shall commission the officers of the United States.”

• Most think these give Congress the power to delegate to agencies

Bureaucrats

• 4 MILLION employees!

• Presidents can only appoint 3% of them

• Most chosen by merit, NOT elected

• Not just paper-pushers

Organization of Bureaucratic Agencies

• Specialization

• Pizza What agencies could be involved here?

Types of Bureaucratic Agencies

• Cabinet departments– 14, each headed by Secretaries (except Justice) – Secretaries are appointed by President and

confirmed by Senate– Each has own budget, staff, and is “expert” in

some policy area

Types of Bureaucratic Agencies

• Executive Office of the President– Members appointed by President (NOT

confirmed by Senate)– Often prime policy makers in their fields– Close relationship to the President

Types of Bureaucratic Agencies

• Independent Agencies– Two types:

• Executive- like Cabinet, but narrower focus• Regulatory- outside of major departments and

regulate particular economic interests or activities

Types of Bureaucratic Agencies

• Government Corporations– Established by Congress to perform functions

that could otherwise be performed by private companies

Staff and Line Agencies

• Term for units that make up administrative organizations

• Staff agencies serve in a support capacity• Line agencies actually perform the organization’s

tasks• For example, the National Security Council is a staff

agency, because it supports the President• The Environmental Protection Agency is a line

agency, because it actually does the work of day-to-day enforcement of federal pollution standards