The

Bureaucracy
Chapter 15
United States Government and Politics
Mr. Torrence
Bureaucracies and
Government
Part of every large organization Public
and private
Supports the executive branch (primarily)
Consensual appointment
Removable by the President
Responsive to the legislative branch
Appropriations
Oversight
Often affected by the courts
The Modern American
Governmental Bureaucracy
Executive Branch
Cabinet Departments
Executive Office of the President
Independent executive agencies
Independent (Regulatory) Agencies
Others (Judicial and Legislative)
Development and Growth of
the Bureaucracy
Impact of congressional government
Impact of Civil War, Gilded Age and
Railroads
Pendleton Act creates professional
bureaucracy
Progressive era expands bureaucracy
ICC
New Deal, World War II, Great Society
Federal bureaucracy in recent decades has
grown (especially under Democratic
Administrations) a basic misconception
Growth has NOT been in size
Growth has been in power, scope, and
discretion
Congress, not presidents, have largest share
of responsibility for this phenomenon
Development and Growth of
the Bureaucracy
Reasons for Growth of
Bureaucratic Power
Increased public demand for
government regulation and services
Growth of taxing authority
Dramatic increases in military spending
Dramatic increases in domestic spending
Civil rights and civil liberties protections
Biggest reason: Delegation

Especially in last half century
Major reasons
Increased public regulatory demands
Technical complexity of issues
Delegation to whom?
A special case: Independent
agencies
Power Growth by Delegation
Administrative Process
Administrative rulemaking authority
(Regulation = rule)
Devising and enforcing regulations
APA process
The Federal Register
Result is regulations that have force
and effect of law
Presidential Control Over
Bureaucracy
Direct at political level
Plum Book
Less so at career level
SES (in theory)
Civil Service protections
Presidential direction
Depends on circumstances
Constitutional
Statutory
Congressional Control
Over Bureaucracy
Creation and abolition
Program authorization
Appropriations Committee
Legislative committees (oversight;
committee clearance)
Legislative veto (Do not confuse
with line item veto) --
unconstitutional: INS v. Chadha
Bureaucratic
Pathologies
Red Tape and
Standard
Operating
Procedures
S.O.P.-driven
waste
Duplication
Fragmentation

Inter-agency and
Intra-agency
conflicts
Empire building
Institutional vs.
political
considerations
Special Characteristics of the
American Governmental
Bureaucracy
Competing (sometimes conflicting)
sources of political accountability
Constitution fragments powers
(Federalism)
Adversary culture/societal
heterogeneity increase court
challenges
Explaining Bureaucratic Behavior
Recruitment/Retention/Rewards
Personal attributes
Poorly defined/conflicting policy goals
Hierarchical organization
Nature of the work
Constraints imposed by outside actors
Direct superiors; presidents staff; congressional
committees; interest groups; the media; the
courts; other government agencies
It has a life of its own . . . And it lives on . . .
Meanwhile . . . What of the Iron Triangle?
Iron Triangle
And the public interest?
and on . . . and on . . .
and on.
Iron Triangles and Issue
Networks
Iron triangle can impede presidential control
over agencies
Still exists, but often have transmuted into
issue networks
More complex than the triangle
Interest groups, think tanks, grassroots
lobbying, PACs
Results: bureaucracy much less susceptible to
executive or legislative control
and on.
Bottom Line: Our bureaucracies reflect
both our priorities and our demands as
a people.