Dr Simon Boucher ~ bouches@tcd.ie

The FederalBureaucracy

Government and Politics of the USAWeek 2 HT:

Required reading…• McKay chap 11

• Singh chap 11

Additional resources…• James Q Wilson- Bureaucracy, What Government

Agencies Do and Why They Do It (LEN 353 N91)

• David Osborne and Ted Gaebler- Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector (ARTS 353 N37)

Readings on the Federal Bureaucracy

Agenda

• Constitutional basis • Purpose• Scale, management, recruitment• Public attitudes towards the Federal Bureaucracy• Accountability• Iron triangles and issue networks• Reform of the Federal Bureaucracy

Separation of power in US Federal Govt

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

FederalBureaucracy

• Federal / state bureaucracy never specifically mentioned in the Constitution, however several articles relevant:

– Article 1: Congress creates agencies, assigns funds and responsibilities

– Article 2: President directs agencies and selects leaders

– Article 3: Judiciary adjudicates claims against agencies

• Each branch exercises considerable control over the federal bureaucracy, but none is the indisputable master

Constitutional Basis

A little bit of everything…

• Executive: Executes the law

• Legislative: Writes regulations

• Judicial: Adjudicates regulatory disputes

…Organises American government

Purpose of the Federal Bureaucracy

• Departments led by secretaries, appointed by President and confirmed by the Senate– Secretaries develop

departmental policy and administrate operations

– Secretaries of “executive” departments attend cabinet

• Department have own culture, interests and constituencies

• Departments vary widely in size– DoD = 3m between civil servants and military– DoE = 5,000 civil servants

• Departments are complex; exhibit strong internal competition

• Most work done at regional / local levels

Management of Federal Bureaucracy

• Comprises the “Executive Office of the President” plus 15 executive departments

• Other than the EOP, all components are created by legislation

• The Federal Bureaucracy is largest employer in the US: – Over 4 million employees – Over 1,000 civilian agencies– Over 50 “independent establishments” and government

corporations– Additional services outsourced to private sector providers

• Ongoing departmental rationalisation and addition over time

Scale of US Federal Bureaucracy

The Federal Bureaucracy has been created piecemeal over 200 years- there is no “master plan”

Department Created 2007 Budget Employees

State 1789 $9.96 Bn 30,266

Treasury 1789 $11.10 Bn 115,897

Defense 1947 $375.20 Bn 3,000,000

Justice 1870 $23.40 Bn 112,557

Interior 1849 $10.70 Bn 71,436

Agriculture 1889 $77.60 Bn 109,832

Commerce 1903 $6.20 Bn 36,000

Labor 1913 $59.70 Bn 17,347

Health and Human Services 1953 $543.20 Bn 67,000

Housing and Urban Development 1965 $46.20 Bn 10,600

Transportation 1966 $58.00 Bn 58,622

Energy 1977 $21.50 Bn 116,100

Education 1979 $62.80 Bn 4,487

Veterans Affairs 1989 $73.20 Bn 235,000

Homeland Security 2003 $44.6 Bn 208,000

2007 Totals: $1,459.32 Bn 4,193,144

Scale of US Federal Bureaucracy

• 15,000 “job skills” in the bureaucracy: from typists to nuclear physicists

• Key distinction between:– Competitive service– Excepted service- including

Senior Executive Service and political appointees

• Increasingly white collar; state and local levels employ most lower grade staff

• Good jobs, but low prestige

Recruitment to the Federal Bureaucracy

What do YOU think of the civil service?

• Inefficient?• Expensive?• Wasteful?• Overpaid?• Simply corrupt?...

Americans feel the same way!

Popular Views of Public Bureaucracy

Why is the federal bureaucracy so unpopular?Can it really be that bad??

Popular Views of Public Bureaucracy

They steal your money…

… They don’t do anything

• US government is not comparatively inefficient• US government is not comparatively big

Why are US Bureaucrats so Unpopular?

• US political culture / tradition• Great expectations• US Congress’ committee system• Openness of the US system• Proliferation of centres of power

BUT

Is the US public service particularly unaccountable?

• Traditional political theory assumes administrators have little independence or discretion

• However all bureaucrats do have certain powers– Information asymmetry– Clientelism

• US bureaucrats have additional power– Enjoy comparative autonomy from the centre– Iron triangles

Accountability of Services

• President appoints secretary and top administrators• President decides budget• EOP considerable involvement in politically

sensitive services• However politicians often want insulation from tough

decisions services have to make• Services can develop “symbiotic relationships”

with clients

Independence of Services

How independent are “independent services”?

Specialinterest

Congressionalsub committee

Administrativebureau

Iron Triangles

Concept: iron triangles dominant actors in US politics?

Critique:Less prominent in redistributive domestic policies and some regulatory policies

Issue Networks (Hugh Heclo)

GOVT PROGRAMME

lobby

lobby

Interest

Interest

Interest

Interest

Interest

Interest

lobby

lobby

lobby

lobby

lobby

Interest

• All political actors, including officials, seek to maximise self interest (public choice theory)

• Therefore officials naturally seek to maximise budgets, win status, influence, etc

• The “principal-agent” challenge: how can officials’ performance be measured and behaviour be constantly overseen?

• Privatise public services• Alter officials’ incentives

Solving Bureaucratic Problems

Understanding the Problem Potential Solutions

• Easy answers: – Reduce and reorganise the bureaucracy– Eliminate waste and fraud

• Real issues:– Address complexity– Reduce autonomy & increase oversight

• Challenges:– Congress rejects measures that alter its system– Committees want to preserve their power & autonomy– Executive branch reluctant to privatise

• Other options:– Seize control of the executive through appointments– “Reinvent government”

The Challenge of Reform

Next Week…

US Political PartiesMcKay chap 5

Singh chap 5

LGS chap 11

Guest speaker- Liv Gibbons (DNC)Come prepared!