The Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

bureaucracy

Answer 1

large, complex organization of appointed officials

Question 2

federal bureaucracy includes…

Answer 2

all those working for federal bureaucracy (most for Department of Defense and Postal Service)

Question 3

hierarchical authority

Answer 3

a chain of command in which authority follows from the top down

Question 4

job specialization

Answer 4

each employee has defined duties and responsibilities

Question 5

formal rules

Answer 5

all employees must follow established procedures and regulations

Question 6

the spoils system

Answer 6

• elite group of upper-class white males = initial bureaucracy
• “to the victor belong the spoils” - Andrew Jackson awarded posts to party loyalists

Question 7

Pendleton Act (1883)

Answer 7

• created federal civil service

- civil service system: workers selected according to merit, not party loyalty

Question 8

Office of Personnel Management

Answer 8

• administers civil service laws and regulation

- in charge of hiring of roost federal agencies

Question 9

govt employees count for what percentage of all jobs?

Answer 9

3% (number for federal has remained constant since 1950 but state and local has increased)

Question 10

block grants and impact

Answer 10

contributed to widening gap between number of federal and state employees by shifting resources from federal govt to state and local

Question 11

federal mandates and impact

Answer 11

shifted more responsibility to states, causing increase in number of public employees

Question 12

Treasury Department

Answer 12

printing of currency (all departments led by secretary)

Question 13

independent regulatory agencies

Answer 13

• created to protect the public by regulating key sectors of the economy
• led by small commissions appointed by president and confirmed by Senate (cannot be removed)

Question 14

best-knonw agencies

Answer 14

Interstate Commerce Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and the Federal Reserve Board

Question 15

Federal Reserve Board

Answer 15

• set monetary policy
• great independence; removes policy from politics
• able to use own expertise to develop monetary policies without interference from parties and interest groups

Question 16

monetary policy

Answer 16

includes setting bank interest rates, controlling inflation, regulating the money supply, and adjusting bank reserve requirements

Question 17

govt corporations

Answer 17

provide a service that could be provided by the private sector

Question 18

best known corporations

Answer 18

Tennessee Valley Authority, Amtrak, and U.S. Postal Service

Question 19

independent executive agencies

Answer 19

non-cabinet departments

Question 20

best known IEAs

Answer 20

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Govt Services Admin.

Question 21

implementation

Answer 21

• translation of policy goals into rules and standard operating procedures
• receive general mandates from Congress, so admin. discretion to set specific guidelines for given problem or situation

Question 22

Why would implementation break down?

Answer 22

conflicting goals, faulty program design, lack of financial resources, and fragmentation of responsibilities

Question 23

regulation

Answer 23

use of govt authority to control or change practices in the private sector

Question 24

Munn v. Illinois (1877)

Answer 24

upheld right of govt to regulate business

Question 25

How did Reagan and W. Bush see regulation?

Answer 25

lifted it (ex- 1984, Congress disbanded the Civil Aeronautics Board)

Question 26

presidential appointments and the bureaucracy

Answer 26

presidents have power to appoint senior agency heads and subheads (enables him to exercise influence over agency)

Question 27

executive order

Answer 27

• directive, order, or regulation issues by president

- based on constitutional or statutory authority and have force of law

Question 28

economic powers of president as related to the bureaucracy

Answer 28

• may use OMB to cut/add to agency’s budget

- Congress = sole power to appropriate fund to agency

Question 29

system of divided supervision

Answer 29

• both president and Congress exercise authority over federal bureaucracy
• creates checks and balances while encouraging agencies to play one branch of govt against the other

Question 30

oversight

Answer 30

Congress has responsibility to exercise legislation over bureaucracy

Question 31

Congress’s methods to oversee bureaucracy

Answer 31

• exercising budgetary control by setting aside funds for each agency
• holding hearings and conducting investigations
• reorganizing an agency
• setting new guidelines for an agency
• spreading out responsibilities in order to prevent any one agency from becoming too powerful

Question 32

iron triangles

Answer 32

• an alliance among an admin agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee (provide services, info, and policy)
• very powerful, so “subgovernment”

Question 33

issue networks

Answer 33

• includes policy experts, media pundits, congressional staffs, and interest groups who regularly debate an issue
• president often replaces agency with issue network which agrees with his view