Chapter 14 - The Federal Bureaucracy
Three elements of implementation
1. Creation of a new agency or assignment of a new responsibility to an old agency 2. Translation of policy goals into operational rules and development of guidelines for the program 3. Coordination of resources and personnel to achieve the intended goals
What percentage of the total U.S. workforce does the federal government civilian employment account for?
1.2 percent of the entire American workforce
Voting Rights Act of 1965
1965; invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks; as more blacks became politically active and elected black representatives, it rboguth jobs, contracts, and facilities and services for the black community, encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the wealth and education gap
How many state and local employees are there? How about civilian federal government employees (excluding postal)? And active duty military federal government employees?
20 million state and local, 2.1 million civilian at the federal level, 1.3 million active duty military at the federal level.
Characteristics of Federal Nonpostal Civillian Employees: Age
25% 18-39, 25% 40-49, 25% 50-56, 25% 57+. (Average age is 47)
Characteristics of Federal Nonpostal Civillian Employees: Education
25% no college, 24% some college, 51% college graduates
What percent of federal civilian workers does the Department of Defense employ?
34 percent, plus more than 1.3 million people in uniform.
Characteristics of Federal Nonpostal Civillian Employees: Gender
43% female, 57% male
About how many Independent Executive Agencies are listed in the current United States Government Manual?
45 to 50
About how many U.S. postal workers are there?
562,000
What percent of federal civilian workers does the Department of Justice employ?
6 percent
Characteristics of Federal Nonpostal Civillian Employees: Race
64% white, 36% minorities (including African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics).
What percent of federal civilian workers does the Department of Homeland Security? Employ
9 percent
Bureaucracy, however, is simply
A way of organizing people to perform work. General Motors, a college or university, the U.S. Army, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Roman Catholic Church are all bureaucracies.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Created by Dwight Eisenhower. A federal agency dedicated to space exploration.
National Labor Relations Board - NLRB
Created to insure fairness in labor-managment relations and mediate employers' desputes with unions.
What five executive departments have the greatest number of employees?
Defense (military functions), Veteran Affairs, Homeland Security, Justice, and Treasury.
Pendleton Civil Service Act
Passed in 1883, it created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.
The merit principle is intended to
Produce and administration of people with talent and skill.
Federal Trade Commission - FTC
Responsible for regulating business practices and controlling monopolistic behavior, and now involved in policing the accuracy of advertising.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The arm of the Justice Department that investigates violations of federal law, gathers crime statistics, runs a comprehensive crime laboratory, and helps train local law enforcement officers.
Administrative discretion
The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case.
Independent Executive Agencies
The government agencies not accounted for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, and government corporations. Administrators are typically appointed by the president and serve at the president's pleasure. NASA is an example.
General Services Administration (GSA)
The government's landlord, which handles buildings, supplies, and purchasing.
Government of strangers
The new official is nominated by the president are most valued for their transience. The average assistant Secretary or undersecretary lasts less than two years. Few top officials stay long enough to know their own subordinates well, much less people in other agencies.
What has been the change in state and local government numbers, in recent years?
The number of public employees more than doubled in a 40-year period starting in 1965 (while the number of federal employees remained constant).
Office of Personal Management (OPM)
The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.
Besides the Department of Defense, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice, all other functions of government are handled by
The remaining third of federal employees.
Merit principle
entrance and promotion are awarded on the basis of demonstrated abilities rather than who you know
Task specialization
A basic characteristic of bureaucracy - a clear division of labor in which every individual has a specialized job.
Hatch Act
A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics while on duty or for employees in sensitive positions at any time.
independent regulatory commission
A government agency with responsibility for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy and for judging disputes over these rules.
Government corporations
A government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be provided by the private sector and typically charges for its services. The U.S. Postal Service is an example.
Patronage
A hiring and promotion system based on political factors rather than on merit or competence. Until a little more than a century ago, a person got a job with the government through the patronage system.
Federal civilian employee
A non-elected and non-military public sector employee.
street-level bureaucrats
A phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion. Examples would include police officers, welfare workers, and lower-court judges.
Plum Book
A publication rear lists top federal jobs (that is, "plums") available for direct presidential appointment, often with Senate confirmation. There are about 500 of these top policymaking posts (mostly cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and bureau chiefs) and about 2,500 lesser positions.
GS (General Schedule) rating
A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.
Each Independent regulatory commission is governed by
A small number of commissioners, usually 5 to 10 members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for fixed terms.
Civil Service
A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service.
Spoils System
A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends. (Andrew Jackson was known for his spoils system.)
What percent of federal civilian workers does the Department of Veteran Affairs employ?
About 17 percent
Bureaucracy
According to Max Weber, a hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality.
Humphrey's Executor v United States
After FDR fired a man named Humphrey from the Federal Trade Commission, Humphrey took the matter to court but died shortly afterward. When the executors of his estate sued for back pay, the Court held that presidents could not fire members of regulatory agencies without just cause. This is why it is much harder to fire members of regulatory commissions than it is Cabinet members or White House Staff. "Just cause" has never been defined clearly, an no member of a regulatory commission has been fired since.
Why implantation fails - lack of authority
Agencies may also lack the authority necessary to meet their responsibilities. Example: The FDA, which has responsibility for protecting the public from prescription drugs that have dangerous side effects, does no testing of its own and must rely entirely on the test results submitted by manufacturers. Yet it lacks the subpoena power to obtain documents when it suspects that drug companies are withholding data about adverse drug reactions or misrepresent- ing test results. It often lacks access even to company documents used as evidence in private product-liability cases. Similarly, the Department of Agriculture lacks authority to close meat processing plants-even those with serious violations of food safety standards.
Senior Executive Service
An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers at the top of the civil service system. GS 16-18, they are the "cream of the crop" of the federal employees. These executives earn high salaries, and the president may move them from agency to another as leadership needs change.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
An independent agency created after World War II to coordinate American intelligence activities abroad. It became involved in intrigue, conspiracy, and meddling as well.
How is the director of the OPM chosen?
Appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Why some implementations fail - lack of resources (NOTE: More info on page 422. This is a good page to look over!!!)
As big as a bureaucracy may seem in the aggregate, it frequently lacks the staff—along with the necessary staff training, funding, supplies, and equipment—to carry out the tasks it has been assigned. Examples: • U.S. troops in the war in Iraq had insufficient numbers of body armor and armored Humvees and trucks to protect them against roadside bombs. • Although 80 percent of the nation's drug supply and half of its medical devices and food are imported, the Food and Drug Administration lacks the personnel and computer systems to identify, much less inspect, the plants producing these items. • Because of a lack of personnel, the Social Security Administration takes well over a year to process claims for Disability Insurance.
Information about the "reinvent government" movement (Privatization Section)
At the heart of this endeavor were efforts to decentralize authority within agencies to provide more room for innovation and to provide performance incentives for government bureaucracies through market competition with private contractors, which could bid to provide government services. Since that time, private contractors have become a virtual fourth branch of the national government, which spends nearly half a trillion dollars a year on them. The war in Iraq, an increased emphasis on domestic security, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina all gave this trend a further impetus.
standard operating procedures
Better known as SOPs, these procedures for everyday decision making enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations. Uniformity promotes fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.
As a whole, the permanent bureaucracy is more
Broadly representative of the American people than are legislators, judges, or presidential appointees in the executive branch.
Impersonality
Bureaucratic element of impersonal approach that puts rules ahead of personal whim so clients and workers are all treated the same way. From this impersonal approach comes the commonplace image of that "Faceless Bureaucrat."
The White House wants
Bureaucratic responsiveness to its policies. (Nonetheless, evidence indicates that bureaucratic resistance to change does not pose a substantial obstacle to presidents' achieving their goals and that career civil servants are more effective than political appointees at managing agencies.)
Why implementations fail - administrators' dispositions
Bureaucrats operate not only within the confines of routines, but often with considerable discretion to behave independently. Ultimately, the way bureaucrats use discretion depends on their dispositions toward the policies and rules they administer. Some of these and rules may conflict with their views or their personal or organizational interes asked to execute orders with which they do not agree, slippage is likely to occur between policy decisions and performance. A great deal of mischief may occur as well. Example: On one occasion, President Nixon ordered Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird to bomb a Palestine Liberation Organization hideaway, a move Laird opposed. As Laird later said, "We had bad weather for forty-eight hours. The Secretary of Defense can always find a reason not to do something." The president's order was stalled for days and eventually rescinded.
Why some implementations fail - lack of clarity (conflicting goals)
Bureaucrats receive not only unclear orders but also contradictory ones. Example: The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was supposed to keep out illegal immigrants but let in necessary agricultural workers, to carefully screen foreigners seeking to enter the country but facilitate the entry of foreign tourists, and to find and expel undocumented aliens but not break up families, impose hardships, violate civil rights, or deprive employers of low-paid workers. However, "No organization can accomplish all of these goals well, especially when advocates of each have the power to mount newspaper and congressional investigations of the agency's 'failures.'"
Federal Reserve Board - FRB
Charged with governing banks and, even more importantly, regulating the supply of money and thus interest rates
Federal Communications Commission - FCC
Charged with licensing radio and Tv stations and regulating their programming in the public interest as well as with regulating interstate long-stance telephone rates, cable television, and the Internet
Why some implementations fail - lack of clarity
Congress often states broad policy goals and leaves the specifics of the implementation up to the bureaucracies, thereby avoiding the messy details and any problems that may arise from the implementation. Example: Title IX of the Education Act of 1972. Congress directed the Secretary of Education ( then the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare) to publish regulations implementing the law, with "reasonable provisions considering the nature of the particular sports." This was supposed to even the funding for both genders when it came to sports at college and universities, all of which basically received funding from the federal government. However, instead, the 30-page interpolation written by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare basically allowed colleges to only give equality in sports like swimming and golf and declare that male dominated sports like football were "unique," thereby allowing them to spend more on those than they did on women's sports.
How the Cabinet Departments are organized
Each of the 15 cabinet departments is headed by a secretary (except the Department of Justice, which is headed by the attorney general), who has been chosen by the president and approved by the Senate. Undersecretaries, deputy undersecretaries, and assistant secretaries report to the secretary. Each department manages specific policy areas, and each has its own budget and its own staff. Each department has a unique mission and is organized somewhat differently. The real work of a department is done in the bureaus, which divide the work into more specialized areas (a bureau is sometimes called a service, office, administration, or other name).
What five executive departments have the least number of employees?
From the fifth down, State, Labor, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Education.
Three examples of Independent Executive Agencies
General Services Administration (GSA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Bureaucracies are essentially
Implementors of policy. They take congressional, presidential, sometimes even judicial pronouncements and develop procedures and rules for implementing policy goals.
Rules
In a bureaucracy, they allow similar cases to be handled similarly instead of capriciously.
Interest groups and regulatory commissions relationship
Interest groups consider the rule making by independent regulatory commissions (and, of course, their membership) very important. The FCC can deny a multimillion- dollar TV station a license renewal — a power that certainly sparks the interest of the National Association of Broadcasters. The FTC regulates business practices, ranging from credit and loans to mergers — a power that prompts both business and consumers to pay careful attention to its activities and membership. So concerned are interest groups with these regulatory bodies that some critics speak of the "capture" of the regulators by the regulatees. It is common for members of commissions to be recruited from the ranks of the regulated. Sometimes, too, members of commissions or staffs of these agencies move on to jobs in the very indus- tries they were regulating.
Why controlling the exercise of administrative discretion is a difficult task
It is not easy to fire bureaucrats in the civil service, and removing appointed officials may be politically embarrassing to the president, especially if those officials have strong support in Congress and among interest groups. In the private sector, leaders of organizations provide incentives such as pay raises to encourage employees to perform their tasks in a certain way. In the public sector, however, special bonuses are rare, and pay raises tend to be small across the board. Moreover, there is not necessarily room at the top for qualified bureaucrats. Unlike typical private business, a government agency cannot expand just because it is performing a service effectively and efficiently.
Although Plum Book appointees may have the outward signs of power. . .
Many of them find it challenging to exercise real control over what their subordinates do and have difficulty leaving their mark on policy. They soon learn that they are dependent on senior civil servants, who know more, have been there longer, and will outlast them.
Why implantation fails - lack of authority (state and local governments)
Many policies are implemented by state and local governments. The federal gov- ernment may try to influence elementary and secondary education, for example, but it is the state and local governments that provide the actual services. Federal influence over these governments is indirect, at best. Other policies, ranging from safety in the workplace to pollution control, are implemented by thousands of private individu- groups, and businesses." With such implementors, bureaucrats are more likely to request, educate, and negotiate than to issue orders and institute legal proceedings.
Side note: Who are some other people that may not be federal employees, but who may work for the federal government in one way or another?
Many state and local employees work on programs that are federally funded. The federal government also hires many private contractors to provide goods and services ranging from hot meals to weapons systems. (Such people provide services directly to the federal government or to citizens on its behalf.)
About how many federal civilian employees work in foreign countries and American territories?
More than 42,000
Are bureaucracies growing bigger each year?
No, not really. The number of government employees has been increasing, but not the number of *federal* government employees.
Do Americans really dislike bureaucrats?
No, that's a myth. They may dislike bureaucracies, but two-thirds or more of people who have had encounters with a bureaucrat evaluate these encounters positively. Most people who have encountered a bureaucrat describe them as helpful, efficient, fair, courteous, and working to serve their clients' interests.
Do most federal bureaucrats work in Washington D.C.?
No. Fewer than one in seven federal civilian employees work in Washington D.C.
Why some implementations fail — program design
One reason implementation can break down is faulty program design. Example: Congress overwhelmingly passed a bill to guarantee health insurance to millions of Americans when they change or lose their jobs or lose coverage. Yet the law has been ineffective because insurance companies often charge these individuals premiums far higher than standard rates and thus they cannot afford the insurance.
Why Implementation Fails - administrative routine
Routines are essential to bureaucracy. Yet, when not appropriate to a situation, they can become frustrating "red tape" or even potentially dangerous obstacles to action. Example: An October 1983 terrorist attack on their barracks outside Beirut, Lebanon, killed 241 Marines while they slept. A presidential commission appointed to examine the causes of the tragedy concluded that, among other factors, the Marines in the peacekeeping force were "not trained, organized, staffed, or supported to deal effectively with the terrorist threat." In other words, they had not altered their SOPS regarding security, which is basic to any military unit, to meet the unique challenges of a terrorist attack.
Why implementation fails - lack of authority (failure to use authority)
Some agencies not only lack authority but frequently fail to exercise the authority that they have. The Mine Safety and Health Administration can seek to close mines that it deems unsafe and to close repeat offenders, but it rarely does so. In addition, the fines it levies are relatively small and many go uncollected for years. It lacks subpoena power, a basic investigatory tool, and its criminal sanctions are weak.
What is an example of an employee in a "sensitive position: who may not engage in political activities even while off duty?
Someone who works in national security
Do presidents ever seek more control over federal employees?
Sometimes. President George W. Bush proposed to limit job protection for employees in the Department of Homeland Security. After a protracted battle, Congress agreed, although implementation of this change has been slow and opposed by employee unions.
How are people usually hired to a civil service job?
The OPM has elaborate rules about hiring, promotion, working conditions, and firing. To get a civil service job, usually candidates must first take a test. If they pass, their names are sent to agencies when jobs requiring their particular skills become available, For each open position, the OPM will send three names to the agency. Except under unusual circumstances, the agency must hire one of these three individuals
What was a successful example of policy implement ion and why?
The Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was a successful case of implementation by any standard, but not because it was popular with everyone. Southern representatives and Senators were outraged by the bill, and a filibuster had delayed its passage in the Senate. It was successful because its goal was clear (to register large numbers of African American voters), its implementation was straightforward (sending out people to register them), and the authority of the implementors was clear (they had support of the attorney general and even U.S. marshals) and concentrated in the Justice Department, which was disposed to implementing the law vigorously.
If fragmentation is a problem, why not reorganize the government?
The answer lies in hyperpluralism and the decentralization of power. • Congressional committees recognize that they would lose jurisdiction over agencies if these agencies were arged with others. • Interest groups do not want to give up the close relationships they have developed with "their" agencies. • Agencies themselves do not want to be submerged within a broader bureaucratic unit. • Most bureaucratic units have multiple responsibilities, making it difficult to subsume them under one orgaizational umbrella. President Clinton's proposal to merge the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Gustoms Service met with immediate opposition from the agencies and their congressional allies. Pursuing the merger became too costly for the president, who had to focus on higher-priority issues.
Creating a nonpartisan civil service means insulating government workers from
The risk of being fired when a new party comes to power.
Policy implementation
The stage of policy making between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people affected. Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.
What are seven of the "larger noncabinet agencies," from greatest number of employees to least number of employees?
U.S. postal service, Social Security Administration, Corps of Engineers, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Tennessee Valley Authority, General Services Administration.
Government Corporations (Examples)
US Postal Service and Amtrak
What is an example of a successful reorganization of the government/combat of fragmentation?
Under the right conditions, reorganization *is* possible. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush concluded, in the summer of 2002, that the only way to overcome the fragmentation of agencies involved in providing homeland security was to create a new department. Congress created the Department of Homeland Security at the end of 2002, the largest reorganization of the federal government in half a century.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
a federal corporation established in 1933 to construct dams and power plants in the Tennessee Valley region to generate electricity as well as to prevent floods. (The "granddaddy" of government corporations.)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
an independent US government agency responsible for promoting basic nonmedical science and engineering, technology and mathematics, STEM education and outreach.
Charles Guiteau
assassinated President James to make civil service reform a reality. He shot Garfield because he believed that the Republican Party had not fulfilled its promise to give him a government job. Helped bring an end to the spoils system.
After a probationary period. . .
civil servants are protected by the civil service system. While critics have claimed that civil servants are overprotected, sheltering all workers against political firings is a prerequisite for a nonpartisan civil service.
For years the Minerals Management Service (now known Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement), which regulates offshore oil drilling, had the dual role of both
fostering and policing the industry. The agency declared itself industry's partner and often adopted industry-generated standards as federal regulations, waived environmental reviews, and failed to pursue companies for equipment or safety failures. Agency employees also accepted gifts from oil and gas firms and partied with industry officials. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Office of Pipeline Safety are other agencies that critics charge have been captured by those it regulates. A later section of this chapter discusses the bureaucracy's relationship with interest groups in more detail. the Bureau of Ocean
Securities and Exchange Commission - SEC
monitors the stock market and enforces laws regulating the sale of stocks and bonds
hierarchical authority
power flows from the top down and responsibility flows from the bottom up
However, such protection for civil servants may also
protect a few from dismissal for good cause. Firing incompetents is a difficult process and for that reason rare. Employees are entitled to appeal, and these appeals can consume weeks, months, or even years. More than one agency has decided to tolerate incompetents, assigning them trivial or no duties, rather than invest its resources in the task of discharging them. In the case of female, minority, or older workers, appeals can also be based on antidiscrimination statutes, making dismissal potentially even more difficult.
(In regards to the Plum Book) All incoming presidents launch a nationwide talent search for
qualified personnel. Presidents seek individuals who combine executive talent, political skills, and sympathy for policy positions similar to those of the administration. Often, the president tries to ensure some diversity and balance in terms of gender, ethnicity, region, and different interests within the party. Some positions, especially ambassadorships, go to large campaign contributors. A few of these appointees will be civil servants, temporarily elevated to a "political" status; most, however, will be political appointees, "in-and-outers" who stay for a while and then leave.
NOTE: STUDY CHART ON PAGE 417
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Pros of private contractors
• Everyone seems to agree that the government cannot operate without contractors, which provide the surge capacity to handle crises without expanding the permanent bureaucracy. • Contractors may provide specialized skills that the government lacks. • Some government executives favor contractors because they find the federal bureaucracy slow, inflexible, or incompetent. • Using contractors also allows officials to brag about cutting the federal work force while actually expanding the number of people working for the government. • Contracting also almost always leads to less public scrutiny, as government pr grams are hidden behind closed corporate doors. Companies, unlike agencies, are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows the public to gain access to government documents.
Why does Congress not simply give the bureaucracies more resources?
• Some well-organized interests fight against adding resources to particular agencies because they do not wish to be inspected or regulated and prefer an ineffective bureaucracy. Palluters, coal mine owners, and bankers, for example, rarely welcome inspections. • Scarcity of budgetary resources. Pressures to allocate personnel to direct services—for example, to the provision of agricultural expertise to farmers—limit the staff available to implement other policies. In addition, the irresistible urge of policymakers to provide services to the public helps to ensure that the bureaucracies will have more programs than they have resources to adequately implement. • In an age when "big government" is under attack, there are strong political incentives to downsize government bureaucracy.
Why implementations fail - fragmentation
• Sometimes responsibility for a policy is dispersed among several units within the bureaucracy. The federal government has had as many as 96 agencies involved with the issue of nuclear proliferation. Similarly, in the field of welfare, 10 different departments and agencies administer more than 100 federal human services programs. The Department of Health and Human Services has responsibility for basic welfare grants to the states to aid families, the Department of Housing and Urban Development provides housing assistance for the poor, the Department of Agriculture runs the food stamp program, and the Department of Labor administers training programs and provides assistance in obtaining employment. • Fragmentation not only disperses responsibility but also allows agencies to work at cross-purposes. For years, one agency supported tobacco farmers while another discouraged smoking. One agency encourages the redevelopment of inner cities while another helps build highways, making it easier for people to live in the suburbs. One agency helps farmers grow crops more efficiently while another pays them to produce less. As long as Congress refuses to make clear decisions about priorities, bureaucrats will implement contradictory policies.
Why bureaucracies use SOPs (standard operating procedures)
• Standard rules save time. If a Social Security caseworker had to take the time to invent a new rule for every potential client and clear it at higher levels, few clients would be served. Thus, agencies write detailed manuals to cover as many particular situations as officials can anticipate. • In addition, SOPS bring uniformity to complex organizations. Justice is better served when officials apply rules uniformly, as in the implementation of welfare policies that distribute benefits to the needy or in the levying of fines for underpayment taxes. • Uniformity also makes personnel interchangeable. The army, for example, can transfer soldiers to any spot in the world, and they can find out how to do their job by referring to the appropriate manual.