BUREAUCRACY AND PUBLIC POLICYWhat is bureaucracy? job specialization: division of labor

hierarchy: chain of command, networks of authority/communication

systems of rules: predictable systematic, equitable, efficient

impersonality: power=institutional not personal, patronage in reverse, equity –> what you know not who you know

Blau and Meyer: “formally defined organizations designed to maximize administrative efficiency.”

Strengths: Orderly and predictable government, equitable treatment of individuals, expertise = f(professionalism); Reward merit and provide incentives for excellence

Weaknesses: rigidity, harsh treatment of citizens, slow and inefficient, making the simple complex, political biases leading to inequities

BUREAUCRACY AND PUBLIC POLICY, continued

Separation of powers and the national government’s bureaucracy executive branch: 2.7M civilian employees

legislative branch: 40K employeesjudicial branch: 11K employees

Traditional purpose of bureaucracy in a democracy:make law a realitypolicy making vs. implementationpolicy making vs. administration

The question remains, what is and should be the division between politics and policy versus implementation and administration?

Different cultures and different political systems compose different answers.

Politics and Policy vs. Administration?

• Where is the dividing line?• In reality, bureaucrats participate in the political process:

-by necessity-important political relationships with Congress, President, and courts-must convince Congress and President that they are faithful agents-must cultivate constituencies and clientele groups as well

• A Partial List of Functions: Regulatory: rules, reg-neg --> formal and informalClientele, or Constituency ServicePublic CorporationsHousekeepingImplementation and administration

• Interactions among bureaucracy, Congress, President, and clientele produce public policy: there is no bright line between policy, politics, and administration

Foundations of the Federal BureaucracyFoundations of the Federal Bureaucracy• Questions of administration received little attention at the

Constitutional Convention and in the Constitution

• Congress established three departments– Treasury– Foreign Affairs (renamed State)– War– also authorized the hiring of an attorney general to give the president

and department heads legal advice

• Earliest Congresses were wary of delegating too much power to the executive but realized the impracticality of delegating too little.

• The control problem persists for Congress and the President, and the problem becomes acute as government grows

The Development of the Federal BureaucracyThe Development of the Federal Bureaucracy• Congress gave president shared power to appoint but sole power to remove

• The congressional dilemma of delegation– Primary solutions: power of the purse, and more

• The presidential dilemma of delegation– solution: selection criteria; punishments; rewards

• Stage 1: Washington: small, personal, informal• Stage 2: Jackson: growing country, complex tasks, large scale patronage,

rotation in office, anti-expert, development of more systematic bureaucracy!• Stage 3: Development of Civil Service Pendleton Act (1883)

– Response to Garfield assassination– Competitive exams, tenure following probation, no required political

contributions, Civil Service Commission, President extends coverage– “The Union Army retreated at Bull Run because they heard there was an announced

opening of three positions at the Federal Customs Office.” (19th century political joke.)

An Expanding Government

• After Civil War the scope of federal government began to expand as both the economy and the country continued to expand

• More dramatic increases during the New Deal period– most common reasons for growth of bureaucracy:

• to handle large-scale administrative tasks• to exploit expertise• to avoid blame for unpopular decisions• to make credible commitments to stable policy• to deal with crises demanding swift, coordinated action

The Cabinet and Cabinet AgenciesThe Cabinet and Cabinet Agencies• Initially: Treasury, State (Foreign Affairs), War, and Attorney General

– 1792: Post Office (created 1775; “demoted” to USPS in 1972– 1798: Navy– 1849: Department of the Interior– 1879: Department of Justice – Clientele agencies: Agriculture (1889), Labor (1903), Commerce and

Labor (1903) Commerce (1913) and Labor (1913)– 1947 DOD (War and Navy)– 1953 HEW HHS (1979) and Education (1979)– 1996 HUD – 1966 DOT – 1976 DOE – 1988 Veterans’ Affairs – 2002 Homeland Security – Others current members: UN Ambassador, White House Chief of Staff,

Chair of Council of Economic Advisors, EPA Administrator, OMB Director, U.S. Trade Representative

– Problems of Overlap. Foreign affairs: State, DOD, Commerce, Labor, …

Non-Cabinet AgenciesNon-Cabinet Agencies• These (more than 100) agencies are generally categorized as:

– independent executive agencies – regulatory agencies and commissions– government corporations

• Why not cabinet level status?– symbolism; less need for access; little policy-making; historical

accident; pressure from clientele; …

• Independent executive agencies– Peace Corps, NASA, EPA, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency,

and Selective Service System all report directly to president. • keep important defense-related activities under predominantly

civilian control

Non-Cabinet Agencies (continued)Non-Cabinet Agencies (continued)

• Regulatory Agencies Commissions– designed to maintain their independence from the president and the

executive departments– example: Federal Reserve, FTC, FCC, etc.

• their independence insulates the president and Congress from the fallout of unpopular decisions

• Write regulations and guidelines, as well as enforce and adjudicate• Some are “independent,” but not all

• Independent government corporations– U.S. Postal Service, Tennessee Valley Authority, Amtrak

• Indirect administration– state governments– hired contractors– role of contracts and grants

Congressional Control of the BureaucracyCongressional Control of the Bureaucracy

• Primary Methods of Congressional Control– Creation and elimination of agencies– Annual appropriations process

• Congress has a variety of other means: – hearings and investigations where agencies testify– mandatory reports on programs provided to Congress– legislative vetoes on agency policy proposals– committee and conference reports that provide instruction

to agencies– inspectors general who investigate agencies for Congress– the General Accounting Office, which audits programs and

agencies and reports their performance to Congress– time limit on delegations of authority (sunset laws)

Congressional Control of Agency Rule-Making Congressional Control of Agency Rule-Making

• Congress normally regulates by delegating broad grants of authority to regulatory agencies and letting them fill in the details by making rules with the force of law

• When an agency wants to make a rule, it must– give public notice in the Federal Register – outline the proposed rule – invite written comments from the public – public hearings may be held as well

Presidential Control of the BureaucracyPresidential Control of the Bureaucracy

• President at the top of hierarchy, but control is not automatic– Bureaucracies have conflicted loyalties and interests:

Congress, congressional committees, clientele groups

• Mechanisms for presidential supervision– Office of Management and Budget (OMB)– special authority over agencies involved in diplomacy and

national defense

The Courts and the BureaucracyThe Courts and the Bureaucracy

• The judiciary also shares authority over the bureaucracy– United States inherited the common law principle that the

government, no less than its citizens, is bound by law– judicial review of administrative decisions– Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (APA)

Iron Triangles, Capture, Issue Networks, etc.Iron Triangles, Capture, Issue Networks, etc.

• Iron triangles– narrowly focused subgovernments controlling policy in their domains

—out of sight or oversight of the full Congress, the president, and the public at large

– classic examples: areas of agriculture, water, and public works• Captured Agencies: agencies that depends on support from

clientele groups and supporters in Congress• Issue networks: amorphous, ever-changing sets of politicians, lobbyists,

academic and think-tank experts, and public interest entrepreneurs (ex. Ralph Nader) —rather than the rigid iron triangle

• Other problems– Size and complexity make it more difficult to control agencies as well

as hindering communication within and beyond agency boundaries– Affirmative action and representativeness– Non-responsiveness– Privatization movement– Unionization movement