THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Is the bureaucracy essential to good government?

The Federal Bureaucracy

What is the structure and purpose of the federal bureaucracy?

WHAT IS BUREAUCRACY?Definition: is a large, complex administrative structure that handles the

everyday business of an organization.

These are the departments and agencies that are part of the executive branch that carries out laws passed by Congress.

The people who work for these organizations are called bureaucrats.

The federal bureaucracy is organized into departments, agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and advisory committees.

Nearly 3 millions civilians work for the federal government.Federal agencies are located in more than 440,00 buildings scattered across

the nation and world.

WHAT IS BUREAUCRACY?While it is not mentioned in the Constitution, Article II does give

the president the power to “require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments”

Beyond this the Constitution is silent on the organization of the executive branch.

The federal bureaucracy is composed of three broad groups of agencies: (1) the Executive Office of the President, (2) the 15 Cabinet departments, (3) and a large number of independent

agencies.

Executive Office of the President

What agencies and advisors are part of the Executive Office of the President and

what are their functions?

Executive Office of the President

• The Executive Office of the President is an umbrella agency composed of several sub-agencies staffed by the President’s closest advisors and assistants.

• This includes the White House, Office of the Vice President, Council of Economic Advisors, Council on Environmental Quality, National Security Council, Office of Administration, Office of Management and Budget, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Office of the United States Trade Representatives.

The White House

• This is where most of the President’s key personal and political aids work.

• They work in the West Wing of the White House.• Over 500 people now serve in The White House• The White House chief of staff directs all of the operations

within The White House and is considered among the most

influential presidential aides.

West Wing of The White House

National Security Council

• They meet with the President to advise him in all domestic, foreign, and military matters that relate to the nation’s security.

• The President chairs the Council. Its other members include the Vice President and the secretaries of state, treasury, and defense. The Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also regularly attend the meetings.

Office of Management and Budget

• It is the largest and, after The White House, the most influential unit in the Executive Office.

• The OMB is headed by a director who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

• The OMB’s major task is the preparation of the federal budget, which the President must submit to Congress every year.

The Cabinet Departments

What is the cabinet and what does it do?

The Cabinet Departments

• 15 cabinet departments are a major part of federal bureaucracy.

• Each department is headed by a secretary, except for the Department of Justice, whose work is directed by the attorney general.• These department heads serve in the President’s

Cabinet.• Each department head is the primary link between

presidential policy and his/her own department

The Cabinet Departments

DEPARTMENT OF STATE• Created in 1789• Responsible for the overall foreign

policy of the United States• Protects the rights of United States

citizens traveling abroad• Staff embassies, or offices of

ambassadors in foreign countries• Issues passports• Represents the U.S. at the United

Nations• Negotiates agreements with foreign

countries• Represents the United States abroad

and in international organizations.

John Kerry

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY• Created in 1789• Manages the monetary

resources of the United States

• Oversees the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

• Collects federal taxes• Borrows money• Pays the government’s bills• Prints money

Jack Lew

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE• Created in 1789• First called the Department of

War• Conducts military intelligence• Carries out military research,

engineering, builds bases, and naval yards

• Protects the nation’s security– Joint Chiefs of Staff– Leaders of Army, Navy,

Marines and Air Force

Ashton Carter

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE• Created in in 1789• Founded as the Office of the Attorney

General; renamed in 1870• Prosecutes those accused of violating

federal law• Provides legal advice to the President• Represents the United States in court• Operates federal prisons• Supervises U.S attorneys and

marshals• Well known agencies:

• FBI• US Marshall Service• Drug Enforcement Agencies

(DEA)Loretta Lynch

Department of Interior

• Created in 1849• Manages public lands, wildlife

refuges, and national parks• Operates hydroelectric power

plants• Helps Native Americans manage

their affairs• Protects fish, wildlife, and natural

resources

Department of Agriculture

Sally Jewell

• Created in 1889• Assists farmers and ranchers• Administers food stamp and school

lunch programs• Inspects food and ensures quality

standards• Manages national forests• Fights animals and plant diseases

Tom Vilsack

Department of Commerce

• Created in 1903• Promotes international trade,

economic growth, and technological development

• Conducts Census• Maintains official weights and patents• Three agencies carry out

constitutional directives:1. The Bureau of the Census2. The Patent and Trademark

Office3. The National Institute of

Standards and Technology

Department of Labor

Penny Pritzker

• Created in 1913• Charged with protecting American

workers• Ensures safe working conditions• Safeguards a minimum wage and

maximum working hours • Administers unemployment

insurance and workers’ compensation programs

• Keeps track of prices, unemployment, and labor information

Thomas Perez

Department of Health and Human Services

• Created in 1953• Founded as the Department of

Health, Education, and Welfare• Manages the federal Medicare and

Medicaid programs• Helps senior citizens and less

fortunate Americans through the Social Security Administration

• Public Health Service– Implements a national health

policy– Conducts medical research– Ensures the safety of food and

drugs

Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Created in 1965 • Operates home-financing for the

elderly and low-income families• Operates public housing programs• Enforces fair housing laws• Makes grants for improvements to

streets, sewers, and parks

Julián CastroSylvia Mathews Burwell

Department of Transportation

• Created in 1967• Administers programs to promote

and regulate highways, mass transit, railroads, waterways, air travel, and oil and gas pipelines– Federal Aviation Administration

• Air Travel– Federal Railroad Administration

• Nation’s Railroads– Federal Highway Administration

• Nation’s Highways– Federal Transit Administration

• Nation’s Mass transit

Department of Energy

• Created in 1977• Promotes production of renewable

energy, fossil fuels, and nuclear energy

• Transmits and sells hydroelectric power

• Conducts nuclear weapons research and production

• Regulates interstate gas and electricity sales

Anthony Foxx Ernest Moniz

Department of Education

• Created in 1979• Coordinates federal assistance

programs for public and private schools

• Ensures equal access to education

• Conducts educational research• Develops educational goals

Department of Veterans Affairs

• Created in 1989• Formerly known as the Veterans

Administration• Administers benefits, pensions,

and medical programs for veterans of the armed forces

• Oversees military cemeteries

Arne Duncan Robert McDonald

Department of Homeland Security• Created in 2002• Terrorist attacks of 9/11/01 led to the

creation of this department• Controls the Coast Guard, the Border

Patrol, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Customs Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency

• Analyzes information collected from the FBI and CIA

• Ensures border and transportation security

• Develops emergency preparedness and response programs

• Safeguards national infrastructure and information systems

Jeh Johnson

Independent Agencies

What are the roles and structures of the independent agencies?

Independent Agencies

• The federal bureaucracy also contains over 150 independent agencies– President appoints the heads of these agencies, some are

just as large as cabinet departments– Example: NASA

• Most independent agencies have few employees, small budgets, and little publicity– Example: American Battle Monuments Commission

Independent Agencies

• Some independent agencies perform services for the executive branch– The General Services Administration (GSA)– Central Intelligent Agency (CIA)

• Other independent agencies directly serve the public– United States Postal Service– The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Independent Regulatory Commissions

• Independent from all three branches of the national government• Purpose:

– There are 12 agencies today, each created to regulate-monitor, police-important aspects of the nation’s economy.

– They are given their power by Congress.– These agencies exercise their powers when they make rules and

regulations that have the force of law.– They implement and spell out the details of the laws that Congress has

directed these bodies to enforce– Example: SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission

• Creates the rules for borrowing money, issuing stock and bonds- Example: FCC: Federal Communications Commission

• Creates the rules for radio, television, wire, cable, satellite