Chapter 7: The Bureaucracy

Question 1

Bureaucracy

Answer 1

The vast, hierarchal organization of executive branch employees that help administer laws Congress has passed. The bureaucracy focuses on specific areas of interest or policy.
- 3 million are executive branch employees. Most work in white-collar

Question 2

3 basic principles of a bureaucracy

Answer 2

1. Those at the top have authority over those below
2. Each worker has defined duties and responsibilities; a division of labor among workers
3. Regulations must be followed

Question 3

Bureaucracy characteristics

Answer 3

• Administration of government through departments
• Consists of unelected, highly trained individuals
• Task specialization

Question 4

Functions of the federal bureaucracy

Answer 4

• Implementation: Carry out the laws of Congress, executive orders of the president, and the courts
• Administration: Routine administrative work, provides services
• Regulation: Issues rules and regulations that impact the public

Question 5

How can policy implementation fail?

Answer 5

• Faulty program design
• Lack of clarity in the laws
• Lack of staff
• Lack of resources
  **Implementation works when goals are clear

Question 6

Regulators

Answer 6

• Establish and enforce guidelines
• First regulatory agency was created by Congress in 1887: Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) that regulated railroads

Question 7

Structure of the bureaucracy

Answer 7

• Cabinet departments
• Executive office of the president
• Independent executive agencies
• Independent regulatory commissions
• Government corporations

Question 8

Cabinet departments

Answer 8

• 15 departments headed by a cabinet head appointed by the president and approved by the Senate
• Each department experts in specific policy area
• Each department has its own budget
• Department of Homeland Security is the newest department

Question 9

Executive office of the president

Answer 9

• Office of Management and Budget
• National Security Council
• Council of Economic Advisors

Question 10

Independent Executive Agencies

Answer 10

• Established by Congress with separate status outside of the executive branch
• Given a specific mandate and generally perform a service function, not a regulatory one
• NASA, CIA, EPA, etc.

Question 11

Independent Regulatory Commissions

Answer 11

• IRCs exist to regulate specific economic activities or interests
• IRCs operate independently from Congress and the president
• Once appointed and seated, members cannot be removed without cause

Question 12

Iron triangle

Answer 12

A concept that committees in Congress, federal departments and agencies, and think tanks and interests groups all work together to develop and conserve their own power, and expand their political influence

Question 13

Compliance monitoring

Answer 13

Ensuring that firms and companies that are subject to industry regulations follow those standards and provisions

Question 14

Issue networks

Answer 14

Network that consists of people in interest groups, on congressional staffs, in bureaucratic agencies, in universities, and in the media who regularly debate an issue

Question 15

Merit system

Answer 15

A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage

Question 16

Patronage

Answer 16

The practice involving rewarding loyal political party leaders with federal jobs, usually practiced by the president

Question 17

Spoils system

Answer 17

The practice of appointing regional and local postmakers in the many executive branch offices across the nation, expecting loyalty in return

Question 18

Civil Service Commission

Answer 18

A commission created by the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) that allows for oversight of the merit system and prevents officials from requiring federal employees to contribute to political campaigns

Question 19

Civil Service Reform Act (1978)

Answer 19

An act that altered the way a bureaucrat is dismissed, limited preferences for veterans to balance the genders in federal employment, and put upper-level appointments back in the president’s hands

Question 20

National Performance Review (NPR)

Answer 20

The Clinton-Gore Administration’s initiative to reform the way the federal government works

Question 21

Office of Personnel Management

Answer 21

The system that runs the merit system and coordinates the federal application process

Question 22

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

Answer 22

An act aimed at preventing the constant reward of federal jobs to loyal party members, and instead focusing in on a candidate’s skill and performance

Question 23

Delegated discretionary authority

Answer 23

The power of the bureaucracy to interpret legislation and create rules from Congress

Question 24

Rule-making authority

Answer 24

A bureaucratic agency’s ability to make rules that affect how programs operate, and to force states and corporations to obey these rules as if they were laws

Question 25

Administrative Procedures Act (1946)

Answer 25

Law that guides bureaucratic agencies in developing procedures, while ensuring citizens and industries affected by policy can have input into shaping it
- Ex: Public meetings

Question 26

3 ways the bureaucracy implements the law

Answer 26

1. Creating agencies to pay subsidies to groups, such as farmers or social security groups
2. Creating a system to distribute federal dollars to the states, such as grant programs
3. Giving many federal offices the ability to devise and enforce regulations for various industries or issues, such as the FCC defining what is indecent for TV

Question 27

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Answer 27

Independent regulatory agency responsible with administering and enforcing the federal campaign finance law

Question 28

Code of Federal Regulations

Answer 28

The codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies

Question 29

Department of Education

Answer 29

Federal executive division responsible for carrying out government education programs and policies

Question 30

Department of Homeland Security

Answer 30

Federal agency responsible for protecting the USA against foreign attacks

Question 31

Department of Transportation

Answer 31

Federal agency responsible for policy development and planning for all forms of transportation

Question 32

Department of Veteran Affairs

Answer 32

Federal agency responsible for managing programs for veterans of the armed forces

Question 33

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Answer 33

Federal agency responsible for administering the government’s environmental legislation

Question 34

Federal Register

Answer 34

An official document that lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies

Question 35

Notice-and-comment opportunity

Answer 35

A step in the rule-making process in which proposed rules are published in the Federal Register and made available for debate by the general public

Question 36

Checks on the bureaucracy

Answer 36

• Congress can create federal agencies, define their roles, and set their budget
• Presidents can appoint leaders and ensure the organization executes its responsibilities

Question 37

Congressional oversight of the bureaucracy

Answer 37

• House and Senate committees hold congressional oversight hearings to address agency action, inaction, or their relationship with the committee
• Power of the purse gives Congress the power to determine how much funding these organizations receive

Question 38

Presidential oversight of the bureaucracy

Answer 38

• The president exerts authority and influence to ensure their ideology is delivered in policy, through the OIRA
• Presidents have used both formal and informal powers to make the bureaucracy work for the executive agenda

Question 39

Appropriations

Answer 39

Funds set aside for a specific purpose

Question 40

Authorization of spending

Answer 40

Legislative permission to begin or continue a government program or agency

Question 41

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)

Answer 41

Federal agency that reviews any regulations that have significant effects on society to see if they comply with the president’s agenda

Question 42

Committee clearance

Answer 42

Congressional committees have the authority to approve and review certain agency actions in advance

Question 43

Tension between the president and the bureaucracy

Answer 43

• Differing beliefs of the executive departments can create friction when a position or decision must be made
• The president’s goals may not take into account the legality or practicality of actions the bureaucracy can take

Question 44

Whistleblower Protection Act (1989)

Answer 44

Act that prohibits a federal agency from retaliating or threatening an employee for disclosing acts that they believe were dishonest or illegal

Question 45

Legislative veto

Answer 45

A former requirement that certain agency decisions must wait for a defined period of either 30 or 90 days, established by Congress in the 1930s