Sean Hu

AP US Government and Politics

Due: March 15, 2016
I.

Chapter 13 Outline
Origin and Structure of the Federal Bureaucracy
i.
Bureaucracy is a system of organization and control that is
based on three principles: hierarchical authority, job
specialization, and formalized rules
ii.
Hierarchical authority refers to a chain of command whereby
the officials and units at the top of a bureaucracy have
authority over those in the middle, who in turn control those
at the bottom
iii.
Job specialization refers to explicitly defined duties for each
job position and to a precise division of labor within the
organization
iv.
Formalized rules are the established procedures and
regulations by which a bureaucracy conducts its operations
B. Types of Federal Agencies
i.
Cabinet (executive) departments are the leading
administrative units
1. Some notable ones include the Department of
States, Department of Defense, Department of
Education, etc.
2. Healthcare exhausts the most money with the
Defense Department coming in second
ii.
Independent agencies resemble cabinet departments but
typically have a narrower area of responsibility
1. An example would be NASA or CIA
iii.
Regulatory agencies are created when Congress recognizes
the need for ongoing regulation of a particular economic
activity
1. Example would be EPA, the Environmental
Protection Agency; they have the jurisdiction to fine
industries that violate their regulations
iv.
Government corporations are similar to private corporation
in that they charge clients for their services and are
governed by a board of directors
v.
Presidential commissions provide advice to the president
1. Examples include the Commission on Civil Rights
and the Commission on Fine Arts
C. Federal Employment
i.
Patronage system was used by Andrew Jackson, more
commonly known as the spoils system of putting your
friends in power
1. Was corrupt and often involved the mass
replacement of governmental positions
ii.
This was replaced by the merit system which was an
examination to determine those who were capable of having
governmental jobs

1.

II.

III.

IV.

Neutral competence was the reasoning for the merit

system whereby each individual in who was offered
the job was given equal opportunity and is
competent to hold it
The Budgetary Process
i.
The budgetary process is the process through which annual
federal spending and revenue decisions are made
B. The President and Agency Budgets
i.
OMB looks over the budget submitted by independent
agencies and create a budget plan for the president to sign
ii.
The OMB usually represents the presidency in this case
C. Congress and the Agency Budgets
i.
It goes to the Congress and they have constitutional
authority over government spending and its priorities are
never exactly the same as the presidents
ii.
They go to House and Senate budget committees
iii.
To be passed, they must go to a full Congress vote after
which it is subject to presidential veto
iv.
In October, the fiscal year takes effect
Policy and Power in the Bureaucracy
i.
Policy implementation is the carrying out of decisions made
by Congress, the president, and the courts
ii.
Rulemaking determines how a law will work in practice; the
chief way administrative agencies exercise control over
policy
B. The Agency Point of View
i.
Agency point of view is that although bureaucrats are
responsive to both presidents and congress, they are even
more responsive to the needs of the agency in which they
work
C. Sources of Bureaucratic Power
i.
They get their power from the power of expertise where
members of these agencies have specialty in the area that
other branches cannot handle
ii.
The power of clientele groups refers to the sense that they
benefit directly from the agencys programs and therefore
the clientele groups help lobby
iii.
Their friends in high places such as with the president or
cabinet members may also get them power
Democracy and Bureaucratic Accountability
i.
Bureaucratic accountability refers to the degree to which
bureaucrats are held accountable for the power they
exercise
B. Accountability through the President
i.
Presidents periodically have launched broad initiatives
aimed at making the bureaucracy more responsive
1. National Performance Review initiated by Clinton
was such an example
ii.
They have recognized the bureaucracy in such a way so it is

more streamlined and that usually improves their

performance
iii.
The president appoints these positions and have great
influence
iv.
The Office of Management and Budget looks at these
agencies and create budget and regulations for them to
follow
C. Accountability through Congress
i.
The General Accountability Office (GAO) handles the job of
oversight for these agencies as the Congress may not have
the expertise and must delegate this role out
1. Enabling provisions give administrators the authority
to implement the law
2. Sunset provisions are restrictive devices that set
specific dates when all or part of a law will expire
unless extended
ii.
Members of Congress usually want the programs they
create to last, most legislation does not include a sunset
provision as a result
D. Accountability through the Courts
i.
The bureaucracy derives its authority from acts of Congress
and an injured party can bring suit against an agency on the
grounds that it has failed to carry out a law properly
ii.
Courts tend to support administrators if their actions are at
least somewhat consistent with the law they are
administering
E. Accountability within the Bureaucracy itself
i.
The Senior Executive Service (SES) was established and
represents a compromise between a president-led
bureaucracy and an expert one
ii.
Administrative law judges handle cases where individuals
who believe that he or she was unfairly disadvantaged by a
bureaucrats decision
iii.
Whistle-blowing is the act of reporting instances of official
mismanagement
iv.
Demographic representativeness is only a partial answer but
its supposed to represent the demographics of the country