chapter 15, va and us government

The Federal Bureaucracy

Think Santa and His Elves

The Federal Bureaucracy•the BUREAUCRACY is a

large, complex administrative structure that handles the everyday business of an organization (in this case, the United States Government)

What is a bureaucracy?•an efficient and EFFECTIVE way to

organize people to do work

•There are three features of the American Bureaucracy

•Hierarchal Authority

•Job Specialization

•Formalized Rules

•Benefits:

•efficiency

•speed

•specialization

•Work done by UNELECTED policy makers

Major Elements of the Federal Bureaucracy

•Nearly all agencies/divisions are located within the EXECUTIVE branch

•This is the MACHINE through which the President exercises his/her power

•Executive branch is composed of

•Executive Office of President

•15 Cabinet Departments

•Large # of Independent Agencies

Name Game•DEPARTMENT is reserved for agencies

of Cabinet rank

•Examples:

•Department of Justice

•Dept. of Interior

•Dept. of Commerce

•Dept. of Defense

•Common titles for other agencies

•Agency

•Administration

•Commission

•Corporation

•Authority

•Often they are refereed to by their titles

• EPA

• IRS

• FBI

• CIA

• FCC

• TVA

Staff and Line Agencies

•Staff Agencies serve as SUPPORT. They AID/HELP the President and other administrators by offering advice and other assistance

•Line Agencies actually perform the TASKS for which the organization exists

Section 2: The Executive Office of

the President

•Some 2.7 million men and women work in the Bush Administration.

•The executive office and the Cabinet are the central unit of this huge executive branch

•Known as the NERVE CENTER of the executive office

•Included in this are the President’s key personnel and political staff

•Examples: Chief of Staff, Press Secretary

White House Office

National Security Council

•Helps the President in areas of FOREIGN affairs

•Members include

•VP, Sec. of State, Sec. of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Director of the CIA

•In the past they have done covert operations, such as Iran-Contra

Office of Homeland Security

•Newest major agency

•Created after 9/11 to keep the President fully aware of all ongoing efforts to protect this country against any and all acts of terrorism

OMB

•Prepared the BUDGET, which the President must submit to Congress in January or February of each year

•The federal budget is an ESTIMATE of receipts and expenditures of the fiscal year

•Each federal agency prepares detailed estimates that they give to the OMB. Usually this amount is reduced

Section 3: The Executive

Departments

Executive Departments•Much of the work of the federal

government is done by the 15 executive departments

•Examples Include

•Dept. of Labor,

•Dept. of Homeland Security

•Dept. of Education

•Etc

•Each department is headed by a Secretary except the DOJ, which is headed by an Attorney General

•Each department head is a primary link between PRESIDENTIAL POLICY and their own department

•UNDERSECRETARIES aid in the process and are appointed by President and confirmed by Senate

•An informal advisory board brought together to serve the President

•It was created through CUSTOM and usage

•Consists of the heads of the 15 departments and each head is subject to confirmation by Senate

The Cabinet

• Influences on Presidential choice

• Party

• Help in Campaigns

• Professional Qualifications

• Geography

• Interest Groups

• Gender

•cont.

•Race

•Management Abilities

•Experience

•Personal characteristics

•The two roles of the Cabinet are

•The individual head of one of the executive departments

•Advise the President

Section 4: Independent

Agencies

•Created by Congress and are located outside of the Departments.

•There are nearly 150 of these

•They do not fit in well within one specific DEPARTMENT

•To protect themselves from the influence of POLITICAL PARTIES and specific POLITICIANS

•By accident - no one thought these issues would ever come up

Why do we have independent agencies?

Independent Executive Agencies

•Examples:

•NASA

•EPA

•PEACE CORPS

•CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION

•They do not have CABINET status

•Some are far from the limelight, for example:

•Citizen’s Stamp Advisory

•American Battle Monuments Commission

•They are beyond the reach of presidential direction and control

•To REGULATE or police important aspects of the nation’s economy

Independent Regulatory Commission

•Headed by a BOARD or commission, made up of 5-7 members appointed by the President with the Senate consent but have terms of great length

•Appointments are staggered

•Examples:

•Interstate Commerce Commission - ICC

•Federal Reserve - The Fed

•Within the executive branch and are subject to the President’s CONTROL and direction

•Created by Congress to carry out certain business-like activities

Government Corporations

•Examples:

•AMTRAK

•TVA

•US Postal Service

•FDIC

Section 5: The Civil Service

•Composed of those civilian employees who preform the administrative work of the government

•Washington favored members of his own party

Beginnings

Spoils System

•Jackson was the father of the SPOILS SYSTEM which is the practice of giving offices and other favors of government to political supporters and friends

•“To the victor goes the spoils”

•Reasons for the spoils system

•Any normal intelligent person can fill offices

•Rotation in office

•Long service can lead to tyranny and inefficiency

Movement to Reform•Pendleton Act

•Garfield was shot by a disappointed office seeker

•laid the foundation of the current system

•hiring for classified workers (upper levels) should be based on merit

Civil Service Today•Office of Personnel Management

OPM -

•An independent agency that is the central CLEARINGHOUSE in the federal recruiting, examining, and hiring process of civil servants (those people who work for the government/bureaucrats)

•What does it do?

•Advertises for employees

•ADMINISTERS EXAMS

•INTERt and are VIEWS CANDIDATES

•list those applicants that pass its test and are qualified for employment

•If there is a job opening the OPM will send that agency the names of the top three persons on its register for that particular type of position

Political Activities•HATCH ACT

•To prevent harmful political activities in the executive branch

•Allows federal workers to vote in elections, but it forbade them to take part in partisan political activity

•Federal Employees Political Activities Act 1993- relaxed the Hatch Act

•Can Vote

•Can help register new voters

•Can contribute money

•Can participate in campaigns

•can hold office in a political party

•CANNOT:

•run in partisan elections

•engage in party work on gov’t property or on the job

•Collect $ for politics from subordinates

•Use government position to influence elections