AP GOV chapter 15: the federal bureaucracy (incomplete)

process that regulation agencies go through

1. grant of power/directions from Congress, 2. regulatory agency develops more guidelines, 2. apply and enforce its rules and guidelines

True or false: most federal bureaucracies work in Washington, D.C.

False, they work all over

What is the "plum book"

List of top federal jobs/plums available for direct presidential appointment often with senate confirmation (500 top policy making posts and 2500 lesser positions)

True or false: Americans like bureaucrats

True

the federal bureaucracy

composed of all agencies, departments, offices, and bureaus in the EXECUTIVE branch. Implement and enforce laws

three things the critics claim the regulatory system does

raises prices, hurts america's competitive position abroad (distorts market forces), and it does not always work well

executive orders

regulations originating from the executive branch. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy

fragmentation at the bureaucracy level

responsibility for a policy is dispersed among several units within the bureaucracy (ex. the issue of nuclear proliferation)

department of homeland security (main idea)

secures and manages US border

______ approves appointments - so they approve these people that work in the _____

senate; bureaucracy

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 agency definition and example

the government not accounted for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, and government corporations. Its administrators are typically appointed by the president and serve at the president's pleasure. NASA is an example

deregulation

the lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer

policy implementation

the stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of a policy for the people whom it affects. Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program

command-and-control policy

the typical system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders

regulation (definition and example of a regulatory agency)

the use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and institutions, ex. FDA or FCC

administrative routines (as applicable to bureaucracies)

they follow standard operating procedures; agencies establish routines that are necessary to complete its tasks

what is the bureaucracy's role in Title IX? Why's it take so long to resolve?

they try to determine is the exact amount of money needs to be spent on boys and girls sports equally, there's a lack of clarity, and male-dominated sports like football and basketball are especially unequal

Patronage

(One of the key inducements used by political machines.) given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.

The cabinet departments

15 members, headed by secretary (or general attorney if it's Department of Justice) and each department manages specific policy areas and has its own budget and staff

For Federal CIVILIAN employees (not including postal workers and these are bureaucrats): average age, education level, gender, race

47 years old, little over half aren't college graduates, 45/55 female/male, 31/69 minorities/white

basics of bureaucracy: _____ branch of government, _____(main job)____, employ ________ _____(elected/unelected)___ people

4th, carry out laws passed by Congress, 2.6 million unelected

Hatch act

A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics

Independent regulatory commissions

A government agency responsible for some sector of the economy, making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest. It also judges disputes over these rules. 5-10 members appointed by president and confirmed by Senate

Bureaucracy

A heirarchial authority structure that uses task specialization, developes rules, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality. Bureaucracies govern modern states. (implement and regulate policy)

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

Civil service

A system of hiring and promotion based on merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service

Senior executive service

An elite cadre of about 9000 federal government managers, established by the civil service reform act of 1978, who are mostly career officials but include some political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation

The federal branch is organized to group agencies into four basic types, which are...

Cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, government corporations, and independent executive agencies

What are the ways to a federal job (bureaucracy)

Civil service through the office of personnel management or through the plum book

Merit principle

Entrance and promotion based on abilities rather than connections

Examples of independent regulatory commissions (at least one)

FRB (federal reserve board), NLRB (the national labor relations board), FCC (the federal communication commission), FTC (the federal trade commission), SEC (the securities and exchange commission)

True or false: bureaucracies are growing bigger each year

False, state and local government employees is expanding but not the number of federal employees (has been shrinking)

True or false: bureaucracies are mired in red tape always

False, they pretty much just organize people and work as a referee

Bureaus

In cabinet departments, each department is done in these and they divide the work into more specialized areas (aka a service, office, administration)

what was the first regulatory agency congress ever created? (set the precedent for regulatory policymaking)

Interstate Commerce Commission (regulated railroads, their prices, and their services to farmers) 1887

Pendleton civil service act

Passed in 1883, an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage

Hierarchical authority structure

Power flows from the top down and responsibility flows from the bottom up

Office of personnel management

The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government using elaborate rules in the process; oversees promotions

government corporation definition and two examples

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 US postal service is the largest and Tennessee Valley Authority

incentive system

a more effective and efficient policy than command-and-control; in the incentive system, marketlike strategies are used to manage public policy

iron triangles

a mutually dependent relationship between bureaucracies agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. Iron triangles dominate some areas of domestic policymaking (a.k.a. subgovernments)

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 (police officers, welfare workers, and lower-court judges)

department of veterans affairs (main idea)

administer national cemeteries

presidential methods of exercising control over bureaucracies (since president is elected and bureaucracies aren't)

appoint the right people to head the agency, issue executive orders, alter an agency's budget, reorganize an agency

department of justice (main job, brief history, agencies under them, current day connection/controversy)

attorney general is head instead of secretary - court system established underneath; enforce the laws, safety, and ensure justice / in 1870s was established as department and not just as one person anymore / Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General (very specific agencies) / Ferguson, MO to protect citizens rights

standard operating procedures

better known as SOPs, these procedures are used by bureaucrats to bring uniformity to complex organizations. Uniformity improves fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.

americas two unelected policymaking institutions

courts and the bureaucracy

department of education (main idea)

creates programs to promote literacy

three elements of implementation (done by the bureaucracy)

creation of new agency or assignment of a new responsibility to an old agency, translation of policy goals into operational rules and development of guidelines for the program, coordination of resources and personnel to achieve the intended goals

department of agriculture (mainly what they do, brief history, examples of agencies under them, current day connection/controversy)

credit for the farmers & rural america, preservation of natural resources / starts in early 1800s (1839) during westward movement / Food Safety and Inspection Service, Rural Development Grain Inspection (inspection stuff) / open grants to Missouri to allow them to grow more

department of labor (main jobs, brief history, agencies under them, current connection)

ensure safe working conditions/minimum wage (all job relations-looking, working, retired) / indirect product of first amendment & stems from progressive era / Occupational Safety and Workers Compensation type of agencies / Obama decreased this funding (or maybe increased)

congressional methods of exercising control over bureaucracies (since congress is elected and bureaucracies aren't)

influence the appointment of agency heads, alter an agent's budget, hold hearings (oversight), rewrite the legislation or make it more detailed

department of commerce (main idea)

international trade/census, dealing with all trade

Munn vs Illinois

involved the right of IL to regulate the charges and services of a Chicago warehouse

department of defense (mainly what they do, brief history, examples of agencies under them, current day connection/controversy)

largest department (pentagon), provide military force and national security / kept establishing more like War Department and Coast Guard / Military Departments like Navy, Army, etc. (agencies) / is taxpayers money being wasted in Afghanistan?

department of transportation (main idea)

maintains national highways

department of health and human services (main jobs, brief history, agencies under them, current connection)

manages medicare/medicaid; all health related things / 1980 - mainly to provide welfare type things to people in need / Center for Disease Control / created mpower to end tobacco affiliation and reduce smoking rates

department of interior (biggest job)

manages mining of natural resources/natural parks, infrastructure problems

department of treasury (what they mainly do)

manufactures money/collects tax

why do the best-laid plans sometimes flunk the implementation test?

program design, lack of clarity, lack of resources, administrative routine, administrators' dispositions, and fragmentation

department of housing and urban development (main job, brief history, agencies under, current connection)

provide community block grants; fair and affordable housing and improve communities and fight homelessness / Lyndon B Johnson's program to fight homelessness inspired this / Chief Administrator Officer (provides oversight and directions) / been accused of improper spending and want to get rid of department to save money

department of energy (main idea)

provides transmission of electricity between states

department of state (what they do mainly, brief history, current day connection)

puts president's foreign policy into action, protects citizens traveling abroad, (foreign affairs mostly), deals with immigration, grew after World Wars, ISIS

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 in relation to the bureaucracy

successful case of implementation even though people opposed it; successful because its goal was clear, implementation was straightforward, the authority of its implementors was clear, and it was concentrated in the justice department

issue networks

system overlaying the system of sub governments/iron triangles; more bureaucratic participants are drawn to issues because of intellectual/emotional commitments rather than material (this complicates calculations and decreases predictability in relationships of subgovernments)