delve in twelve

Bureaucracy

A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials

Pendelton Act

A law enacted in 1883 that established a bipartisan civil service commission to make appointments to government jobs by means of the merit system.

cabinet

Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.

transportation security administration

Agency under the department of Homeland security that screens, all passengers and baggage at airports

waste

Bureaucratic miss management of money, time, and personnel

red tape

Bureaucratic paperwork

standard operating procedures

Clearly define procedures that bureaucracies operate within

government accountability office

Congressional office authorized to audit and agency, monitor its activities, and hold public hearings about its programs

Freedom of Information Act

Gives media and individual citizens access to previously withheld material and federal bureaucracy files; information may be rededicated to protect national security

clients

Members of groups whose needs are served by government agencies

appropriations

Money budgeted by Congress to fund programs

white house staff

Personnel who run the White House and advise the President. Includes the Chief of Staff and Press Secretary

Administrive law

Regulations that have the force of law, and are drawn up by government bureaucracy to implement congressional statutes

fourth branch

Terms often used to describe the federal bureaucracy because of its power and pervasiveness

delegation

The assignment of new or additional responsibilities to a subordinate

secretary

Title of the heads of the cabinet departments; appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate

bureaucratese

Vague, sprawling language of wordy jargon, used in bureaucratic regulations and documents

sunshine act

adopted in 1977, this act requires that most government meetings be conducted in public and that notice of such meetings must be posted advance

Bureocrat

government official

Statuory Law

law passed by the legislature and signed by the president

west wing

location of the offices, including the president's Oval Office, in the White House

oversight

the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies

press secretary

the individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily basis

east wing

the section of the White House accommodating the First Lady and her staff

merit

to deserve

executive house of the president

white house