The Bureaucracy Flashcards
Administrative Procedure Act
A 1946 law requiring federal agencies to give notice, solicit comments, and sometimes hold public hearings before adopting new rules.
annual authorization
The practice of a legislative committee determining the amount an agency can spend on a yearly basis.
appropriation
Money formally set aside for a specific use; issued by the House Appropriations Committee.
authorization legislation
Legislation stating the maximum amount of money an agency may spend on a given program.
buddy system
A job description, in a middle-/upper-level bureaucracy, by an agency which is tailor-made for a specific person.
bureaucracy
A large organization composed of appointed officers in which authority is divided among several managers.
bureaucratic culture
An informal understanding among fellow employees of an agency as to how they are supposed to act.
committee clearance
A request made by congressional committees to review certain agency decisions. Seldom ignored by agencies.
competitive service
Civil servants appointed on the basis of a written exam by the Office of Personnel Management/meeting certain selection criteria.
conflict
A bureaucratic pathology in which some agencies seem to be working at cross-purposes to other agencies.
discretionary authority
The ability of a bureaucracy to choose courses of action and make policies not spelled out by law.
duplication
A bureaucratic pathology in which two or more government agencies seem to be doing the same thing.
Freedom of Information Act
A law giving citizens the right to inspect all government records except those sensitive or classified.
imperialism
A bureaucratic pathology in which agencies tend to grow without regard to the benefits their programs confer or the costs they require.
iron triangle
The exclusive policy-making network composed of a government agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.
issue network
Members of Washington-based interest groups, congressional staffers, university faculty, experts participating in think tanks, and representatives of the mass media who regularly debate government policy on a certain subject.
laissez-faire
A belief in a freely competitive economy, without government intervention.
legislative veto
The authority of Congress to block a presidential action after it has taken effect. The Supreme Court has ruled that congress does not have this power.
name-request job
A job in the federal bureaucracy that is filled by a person whom an agency has already identified.
National Environmental Policy Act
A law requiring agencies to issue an environmental impact statement before undertaking any major action affecting the environment.
noncareer executive assignments
A form of patronage under the excepted service given to high-ranking president-program advocating bureaucrats.
Open Meeting Law
A law requiring agency meetings to be open to the public, unless certain specified matters are being discussed.
oversight
Congressional supervision of the bureaucracy.
patronage
Bureaucratic appointments made on the basis of political considerations.
Pendleton Act
A law which began the process of transferring federal jobs from patronage to the merit system.
Privacy Act
A law requiring government files about individuals to be kept confidential.
red tape
A bureaucratic pathology in which complex rules and procedures must be followed to get things done.
Schedule C job
A form of patronage under the excepted service for a position of “confidential or policy-determining” character below the level of the cabinet and subcabinet.
Senior Executive Service
A special classification for high-level civil servants which can be hired, fired, and transferred more easily than ordinary civil servants, giving flexibility in hiring. Are guaranteed a job somewhere in the government.
spoils system
Another phrase for political patronage, that is, the practice of giving the fruits of a party’s victory to loyal members of that party.
trust fund
Money outside the regular government budget.
waste
A bureaucratic pathology in which an agency spends more than is necessary to buy something.
Whistleblower Protection Act
A law protecting bureaucrats claiming to be punished after reporting to Congress about waste, fraud, or abuse in their agencies.
