Congress has three important powers over the bureaucracy. The first power stems from the fact that no agency may exist without congressional approval. Congress has the ability to eliminate uncooperative agencies that do not function according to its rules. The second power is the power of the purse strings.
Who has an issue with the bureaucracies making laws?
Bureaucrats put government policy into practice, and therefore the federal bureaucracy has a large impact on policymaking. In order to get their policies passed, the president and Congress must work with the bureaucracy.
Who controls the bureaucracy quizlet?
In theory, the president controls the bureaucracy. The Constitution is clear on this issue: “the executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States.” The president is the bureaucrat in chief.
What is the job of the bureaucracy quizlet?
What is the main function of the bureaucracy? The federal bureaucracy performs three primary tasks in government: implementation, administration, and regulation. When Congress passes a law, it sets down guidelines to carry out the new policies. Actually putting these policies into practice is known as implementation.
What power does Congress have over the bureaucracy?
Both Congress and the president exercise direct oversight over the bureaucracy by holding hearings, making appointments, and setting budget allowances. Citizens exercise their oversight powers through their use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and by voting.
How does bureaucracy testify before Congress?
Testifying Before Congress : As part of their oversight to ensure laws are properly executed, bureaucratic departments/agencies have a responsibility to congress. Through a sunset clause, congress can evaluate a bureaucracy’s performance by creating an expiration date for the program or policy.
What are the 17 government corporations?
Appendix. Federal Government Corporations
- Commodity Credit Corporation. (15 U.S.C. 714)
- Export-Import Bank. (12 U.S.C. 635)
- Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
- Federal Financing Bank.
- Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR)
- Financing Corporation.
- Government National Mortgage Corporation.
What are government bureaucracies expected to achieve?
The federal bureaucracy performs three primary tasks in government: implementation, administration, and regulation. When Congress passes a law, it sets down guidelines to carry out the new policies. The bureaucracy often has some flexibility, known as administrative discretion, in actual implementation.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracies?
What Are the Advantages of Bureaucracy?
- Creativity thrives within a bureaucracy.
- Job security is provided.
- It discourages favoritism.
- A bureaucracy centralizes power.
- It encourages specialization.
- Best practices are created.
- It creates predictability.
- It provides a foundation for scalability.
What are the 3 features of a bureaucracy?
What is a bureaucracy? This is a system of organization and control that is based on three principles: hierarchical authority, job specialization, and formalized rules.
What is the biggest downside to holding a patronage position in the federal bureaucracy? hybrids of political appointments and civil service positions. Which of the following statements about career civil servants in senior executive service positions is FALSE?
What is the Weber’s least cost theory?
Theory was created to determine the location of manufacturing plants. The location could be different based on if the final product weighed more or less than the raw materials. According to the theory, plants will be located to maximize profits and minimize costs.
Why is Weber’s Least Cost Theory important?
Leaning heavily on work developed by the relatively unknown Wilhelm Launhardt, Alfred Weber formulated a least cost theory of industrial location which tries to explain and predict the locational pattern of the industry at a macro-scale. It emphasizes that firms seek a site of minimum transport and labor cost.
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No matter which party controls the presidency or the Congress, the bureaucracy has continued to grow. In fact, one of the most conservative presidents in recent memory, George W. Bush, expanded the bureaucracy considerably in the wake of 9/11. An entirely new federal department, the Department of Homeland Security, was created to deal with domestic terror threats.
Like the media, the bureaucracy is often referred to as the Fourth Branch of government. In reality it is a part of the executive branch. The heads of the various departments—the secretary of state or defense or the attorney general—are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Early on in our democracy, the bureaucracy was often used for patronage—the supporters of whatever politician was in power were appointed cushy federal jobs in exchange for their support. This largely changed as a result of widespread corruption and incompetence during the late 1800’s.
Although they don’t create policy per se, federal agencies do have policy making capability. Since the Great Depression and World War II, federal agencies have implemented scores of public policies on issues ranging from business, education, general welfare and public safety.
So What Exactly Are the Powers of the Bureaucracy?
The federal bureaucracy has wide-ranging powers over American citizens and businesses. Some complain about this, maintaining that since bureaucrats are unelected, they shouldn’t wield such vast power over the day-to-day affairs of Americans. The bureaucracy controls how most tax dollars are spent, too.
The two primary powers of the bureaucracy are rule making and rule adjudication. Although the Congress writes laws, these laws don’t have comprehensive instructions on how to carry them out—this task is left to bureaucrats, and gives them substantial leeway to interpret laws as they see fit (as well as how the president directs them through memoranda and executive orders).
When federal agencies create rules, they often have public hearings to allow for citizens’ input. When there is a violation of bureaucratic rules, by a citizen or business, the bureaucracy has the final say.
What Controls Are There on the Federal Bureaucracy?
The president has control over agencies’ budgets, as does the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB. The president can strip an agency of its power by failing to allocate it any funds. Courts can limit bureaucratic power through their rulings, and Congress can rewrite laws affecting how agencies are run, and what their missions are.
What Does the Bureaucracy Look Like?
There are two events that make the bureaucracy grow—wars and economic declines. During these times, the government allocates more funding and expands programs. Once an agency is created or given money, however, and programs are created, they are very hard to dismantle. This why bureaucracies grow even when the president is an advocate of smaller government.
Since the bureaucracy deals with so much, including maintenance of the highways and distribution of Social Security checks, it employs millions—roughly three million—people around the country. Some areas of the country have high numbers of federal employees, particularly Virginia and Maryland, which abut the federal capitol.
These days, bureaucracies aren’t really depositories for big donors. (Ambassadors’ posts are another story). Most bureaucrats are hired using the results of exams such as the Civil Service Exam and the Foreign Service Exam, and are highly trained and competent.
As mentioned, the bureaucracy is mostly part of the executive branch. Executive branch departments include the fifteen departments (cabinet-level posts) such as the Department of State, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). One recent major program, Obamacare, comes under the purview of HHS.
There are also independent agencies with very specific tasks. These include the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates product safety and issues recalls; the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates air, land and water quality; the Federal Reserve (or, “the Fed”), which sets interest rates and regulates national banking and US bond markets; and NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which conducts space research.
Just because these agencies are not in the executive branch does not make them less important or powerful. In fact, with his ability to set interest rates, the Fed chairman has sometimes been referred to as the real most powerful man in the world.
Iron Triangles
A concept you will hear in AP® US Government & Politics is iron triangle. Iron triangles are relationships between federal agencies, the congressional committees that oversee them, and interest groups. These three institutions interact frequently and tend to influence each other’s decisions. Since interest groups can provide money and grassroots support to politicians, committees tend to give interests groups’ opinions considerable sway in the policy making process.
Bureaucrats like to make nice with legislators, too, as the legislatures could easily cut the agency’s budget in future years. Both agencies and legislators benefit from the specialized research and other information the issue groups can provide. And—when they retire from government—interest groups provide bureaucrats and politicians with cushy, lucrative jobs in the private sector.
OK—now why don’t we take a look at a sample free-response question from a past AP® US Government & Politics exam?
A Sample AP® US Government & Politics Free-Response (FRQ) Question
The federal bureaucracy as part of the executive branch exercises substantial independence in implementing governmental policies and programs. Most workers in the federal bureaucracy are civil-service employees who are organized under a merit system. Define one key characteristic of the merit system.
For each of the following, describe one factor that contributes to bureaucratic independence.
1. The structure of the federal bureaucracy
2. The complexity of public policy problems
For each of the following, explain one Constitutional provision that it can use to check the bureaucracy.
1. Congress
2. The courts
3. Interest groups
This seems like a long, involved question, but the answers are actually quite straightforward and short. For (a), we can simply note that a characteristic of the merit system is that bureaucrats are hired based on their score on an exam, such as the Civil Service Exam or the Foreign Service Exam.
For (b), we’ll note that the structure of the federal bureaucracy favors its independence since it is so vast—and dispersed across the country—that it is difficult for the other parts of the government to exert direct influence on every single employee. Thus, each agency typically has more control over its employees than Congress or the president does. The complexity of public policy problems gives agencies relative autonomy because they specialize in these issues, so Congress and the president are reliant on their advice and information to make decisions. Thus, the bureaucracy, in a way, can write its own ticket.
For (c), you have simple answers to give for each of the questions. Congress can check the bureaucracy by cutting or eliminating its budget. The courts can check the bureaucracy by invalidating their actions, if they are viewed as unconstitutional. And finally, interest groups can check the bureaucracy by clogging the pipeline of information that they deliver, or by lobbying Congress to stop the bureaucracy from doing something, or to order the bureaucracy to do something.
The Wrap Up
Remember how vast the bureaucracy is and how much influence it has on the day-to-day operation of government. Keep in mind that the bureaucracy is always growing, even under small-government presidents, and that it grows particularly during wartime and economic crises. And remember that it is very hard to shrink the size of the bureaucracy—once you give a benefit, it’s hard to take it away.
You should also try to remember the names of a few executive branch agencies (State) and a few independent agencies (NASA) and be able to say what they do in a nutshell. This will help you if you encounter an FRQ about the bureaucracy on the AP® US Government & Politics exam. Good luck.
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