1 / 9

The Fourth Branch of Government: The Bureaucracy

The Fourth Branch of Government: The Bureaucracy. Relationships Growth & Development Limits & Oversight Public & Private Sectors. Iron Triangles. Formerly tight alliance of small # of key policy stakeholders Agencies want funds & authority

guang
Download Presentation

The Fourth Branch of Government: The Bureaucracy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Fourth Branch of Government: The Bureaucracy Relationships Growth & Development Limits & Oversight Public & Private Sectors

  2. Iron Triangles • Formerly tight alliance of small # of key policy stakeholders • Agencies want funds & authority • Congress wants votes & campaign $; restraint on agencies • Interests want policy implementation • Less common, now issue networks Interest Group Policy Issue Department and/or Agency Congressional Committee

  3. Issue Networks Department of Education National School Board Association • Issue networks evolved out of iron triangles due to: • Overlapping agencies & congressional committees • Competing interests & # of interests • Includes think tanks, media, scholars, business, public (debate issues) National Education Association Educational Testing Service Education Commission of the States Education:NCLB Many more State Departments of Education Rethinking Schools House Committee on Education & Workforce Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions

  4. Growth & Development • Little mention of bureaucracy in Constitution • “Appoint officials”, “seek opinion of departments” • “Executive departments” • Congress & president initially battled for power • Civil War & industrialization led to growth • Primarily service oriented (laissez-faire) • Not regulatory (constitutional?) Railways transformed economy – caused creation of Department of Commerce & Interstate Commerce Commission

  5. Growth of bureaucracy & party power led to the spoils or patronage system Cleveland replacement of 40,000 postal workers Pendleton Act (1883) began movement to merit system (civil service) Part of breakdown of party machines/power Patronage & Political Parties

  6. Modern Day Bureaucracy From regulating the airwaves to approving prescription drugs, today’s bureaucracy wields power (ask Howard) • New Deal & WWII broadened powers • More regulation (industry) • Wider program scope (economic & social problems) • Currently, discretionary authority granted by Congress • Devise & enforce regulations “independently” • Run grant-in-aid programs • Pay subsidies

  7. Powerful but Limited • Vast power & area of concerns, but restrained by Congress & public • Hearings, inspect records, confidential personal files, open agency meetings, etc. • Causes slow, cumbersome system (red tape) • Citizens desire slow system? • Serve multiple interests, open, fair, safe, etc. FOI - Acts to limit power of bureaucracy & serves to protect representative democracy at all levels

  8. Congressional Oversight Power struggles often exist between departments, agencies, & Congress • Existence & purpose established by Congress • Funding authorized by congressional committees (authorization legislation) • Spending must be formally appropriated by Congress • Conduct investigations, reviews, hearings, etc.

  9. Public-Private Sector Mobility“The Revolving Door” • Can a bureaucratic official ethically move into private business linked to interests of former agency or from private business to related government bureaucratic position? • Find out what the firm Blank Rome does in Washington & determine if Tom Ridge’s relationship with the firm was acceptable practice. (emblem linked to site, photo linked to background article)

More Related