Chapter 13: The Bureaucracy Flashcards
Bureaucracy
the vast network of agencies that makes up the government’s executive branch
Who works in the bureaucracy?
civil servants and political appointees who implement congressional or presidential decisions
Civil servants
professionals who work for the government at the local or federal level
employees of bureaucratic agencies who work for the government in permanent positions
Political appointees
people selected by an elected leader, such as the president, to hold a government position. hold short-term, usually senior positions
Why is the bureaucracy also known as the administrative state?
it refers to the role bureaucrats play in administering government policies
Who is nominally in charge of the bureaucracy?
the president (although they generally share this power with Congress members)
Why are bureaucratic activities inherently political and often conflictual?
ordinary citizens, elected officials, and bureaucrats themselves often disagree about aspects of these activities, and they work to influence bureaucratic actions to suit their policy goals
Bureaucrats have their own ideas about government policy, and they often push back against presidential or congressional directives. How does this influence what government does?
we should expect bureaucrats to do things that increase their control over government policy
What is the task of the bureaucracy?
to develop and implement policies established by congressional acts or presidential decisions
Do bureaucrats more commonly receive general or specific directions?
legislation often provides only general guidelines for meeting governmental goals. bureaucrats thus have considerable latitude to develop particular policies and programs
How can members of Congress and the president intervene with bureaucratic procedures?
only by enacting a new bill that sets out a new process
Regulation
a rule that allows the government to exercise control over individuals and corporations by allowing or restricting certain behaviors
Where do bureaucrats gain the authority to write regulations?
from acts passed by Congress, either through the statute that initially set up their agency or through subsequent laws
Notice-and-comment procedure
a process used by federal agencies to create most federal rules and regulations
How does notice-and-comment procedure work?
proposed rules are published in the Federal Register and made available for debate by the general public. the agency then issues a final regulation that incorporates changes based on the comments
Federal Register
an official journal that includes rules, proposed rules, and other types of government documents
What are some downsides of the notice-and-comment procedure?
-it is VERY time-consuming
-it is highly political. Congress members and the president usually have strong opinions about how new regulations should look—and even when they don’t, they may still get involved on behalf of a constituent or an interest group
Why do bureaucrats take account of the pressures from elected officials?
- the bureaucrats’ policy-making power may derive from a statute that members of Congress could overturn
- bureaucrats need congressional support to get larger budgets and to expand their agency’s mission
Federal regulations affect most aspects of everyday life. Why are they often controversial?
because they involve trade-offs between incompatible goals, as well as decisions made under uncertain circumstances
True or false: once regulations are in place, changing or repealing them is a lengthy process that often requires Congress to pass new laws
True
True or false: bureaucrats are an important source of new government policies
True. Bureaucrats are not just policy implementers: they have significant influence on what government does and does not do
Ex. Department of Defense
After Congress passes legislation and the president signs it, the transition from ___ to ___ begins
legislation ; regulation
bureaucrats interpret the passed law and design appropriate regulations. other bureaucrats disseminate regulations and monitor compliance
State capacity
the knowledge, personnel, and institutions that government needs to effectively implement policies
Bureaucrats are experts in their policy area. While having an expert bureaucracy seems like an obvious good idea, it creates a new problem for elected officials. What is this?
bureaucrats can bring expertise to their policy choices only if elected officials stop ordering bureaucrats around and instead allow them to act as they think best
Problem of control
the difficulty that elected officials and their staff face when they try to interpret or influence bureaucratic actions
Principal-agent game
the interaction between a “principal” (the president and Congress), who needs something done, and an “agent” (bureaucrats) who must carry out the principal’s orders
What is the conundrum for the principal in the principal-agent game?
giving the agent very specific orders prevents the agent from acting based on expertise, but if the principal gives the agent the freedom to make decisions based on expertise, the principal has less control over the agent’s actions, and the agent could even use their freedom to pursue goals that have nothing to do with their assigned task
How can the principal-agent game be framed in terms of citizens?
citizens may demand that elected officials control the bureaucracy—to reduce waste and inefficiency, or prevent bureaucrats from overly intruding into American society
Regulatory capture
a situation in which bureaucrats favor the interests of the groups or corporations they are supposed to regulate at the expense of the general public
What is one mechanism for regulatory capture?
when short-term political appointees come from (and will return to) the very industries they are supposed to regulate, a phenomenon known as the revolving door
Our system places experts in positions of power, but the ultimate power is in the hands of elected officials and their appointees. How come?
bureaucrats are not immune to bias!
many enter the bureaucracy with their own ideas about what government should do, and they make decisions in line with those goals. even if they wanted to remain impartial, they would still face a government in which many other people with their own policy goals would attempt to influence them
True or false: the federal government often takes on problems that have no known solution—and may be unsolvable
True. Under these conditions, failing to meet a deadline says more about the feasibility of the goal than about a lack of bureaucratic expertise
One consequence of the problem of control is the complexity of bureaucratic organizations and procedures. How come?
despite bureaucrats’ policy expertise, their decisions often appear to take too much time, rely on arbitrary judgements of what is important, and have unintended consequences
Red tape
excessive or unnecessarily complex regulations imposed by the bureaucracy
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
rules that lower-level bureaucrats must follow, regardless of whether they actually apply, when implementing policies
Why are red tape and SOPs sometimes inevitable?
-the complexity of the tasks bureaucrats are given to do
-elected officials’ attempts to mitigate the problem of control (to make sure their constituency is treated fairly and reelects them)
Why has the federal bureaucracy expanded over time?
America’s expansion in size
AND
a combination of citizen demands for enhanced government services and officials’ desires to increase the role of government in society
Spoils system and one consequence of it
politicians dole out government service jobs in return for political support
consequence: employees are hired in reward for political work rather than their qualifications
Federal civil service
a system created by the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Act in which bureaucrats are hired on the basis of merit rather than political connections
today, virtually all full-time, permanent government employees other than senior political appointees have civil service protections
True or false: while the Progressive Era reforms created an independent bureaucracy and state capacity, the New Deal reforms broadened the range of policy areas in which this capacity could be applied
True
Explain the EOP in terms of the principal-agent problem
EOP employees aim to ensure that bureaucrats (agents) act appropriately to implement the president’s (principal’s) policy priorities and preferences
is like a bureaucracy that monitors other bureaucracies
Office of Management and Budget
an office within the EOP which prepares the president’s annual budget proposal to Congress and monitors government spending and the development of new regulations
Independent agencies
government offices or organizations that provide government services but are not part of an executive department
ex. CIA, NASA, Federal Reserve System
Independent regulatory agencies
subset of independent agencies that carry out policy in a narrow area
ex. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
True or false: the division of activities among executive departments and independent agencies does not always have an obvious logic
True
Organizational decisions often reflect elected officials’ attempts to shape agency behavior. How?
organizations that fall within an executive department can be controlled by the president (to some extent) through the president’s appointees. but for independent agencies, the president and Congress have very little control over them outside the nomination and confirmation process
Why does the location of agencies in the structure of the federal government matter?
it determines the amount of political control that other parts of the government can exercise over an agency, as well as who (the president or Congress) gets to exercise this power
Budget maximizers
bureaucrats who seek to increase funding for their agency whether or not that additional spending is worthwhile. HOWEVER, the best explanation for the overall size of the federal government is the size of America itself
Why are bureaucrats NOT to blame for the increasing size of the federal government?
presidential appointees scrutinize budget requests with an eye to cut spending as much as possible, so some agencies were eliminated and many saw their budgets shrink
True or false: although people complain about the efficiency or motivations of federal bureaucrats, surveys show that many bureaucrats are passionate and actually want to do their job right
True
What are benefits and drawbacks of civil service regulations?
good: merit-based hiring, job security, separate politics from policy
bad: cumbersome requirements
Legislation places limits on the political activities that federal employees can undertake. What are some examples?
The Hatch Act (1939): prohibits federal employees from engaging in organized political activities
Federal Employees Political Activities Act (1993): modified Hatch Act. federal employees can now fundraise and serve as an officer of a political party
Turkey farms
agencies where campaign workers and donors are appointed because their lack of expertise won’t actually affect the bureaucracy
Senior Executive Service (SES)
people in top agency positions, usually career bureaucrats. exempt from civil service restrictions (less job security but higher pay)
Bureaucratic drift
bureaucrats’ tendency to implement policies in a way that favors their own objectives rather than following the original intentions of the legislation
How do elected officials reduce (not eliminate) bureaucratic drift while still reaping the benefits of their expertise?
- changing the way agencies are organized and staffed
- using standardized procedures for monitoring agency actions
Why does simply giving very specific directions to an agency not work?
prevents bureaucrats from using their expertise
bureaucrats can just ignore the directives and very little can be done to force compliance since they will still keep their job (civil service protections)
Why could removing civil service protections easily lead to bad policy outcomes?
-bureaucrats’ reluctance to behave as ordered may be a sign that something is wrong with the directive
-mass firing will decimate agencies and make it impossible for them to function at all
-replacement employees still face same resource/legal constraints
-can be fired for simply voicing concerns or being disloyal to president, so no one would want the job
Oversight
congressional efforts to make sure that laws are implemented correctly by the bureaucracy after they have been passed
True or false: members of Congress, the president, and the president’s staff gain advance knowledge of planned bureaucratic actions through the notice-and-comment procedure
True. This delay gives opponents the opportunity to intervene
Police patrol vs fire alarm oversight
police patrol: constant monitoring
-takes a ton of time/money, often finds no wrongdoings
fire alarm: wait until something goes wrong
-much more common
What can the president and Congress do once bureaucratic drift is discovered?
issue legislation or an executive order, move tasks and programs to an agency that is more closely aligned with elected officials’ goals, replace political appointees at an agency, or reorganize agencies
often requires joint action by president and congressional majorities to see any change
(Congress needs two-thirds majority to impose corrections, president can only make threats that cannot be carried out without congressional approval
Addressing bureaucratic drift often requires joint action by president and congressional majorities to see any change. Why?
without presidential support, Congress needs two-thirds majority to impose corrections
president can make threats, but they can only be carried out with congressional approval
What is one of the most significant difficulties in dealing with bureaucratic drift?
disagreement between members of Congress and the president about whether an agency is doing the right thing—regardless of whether the agency is following its original orders
means that agencies have significant freedom as long as they retain support of at least one branch
How can agencies combat elected officials’ attempts to control their behavior?
-by having a reputation for expertise (ex. FDA)
-by appealing to groups that benefit from agency actions
