EBR - The Federal Bureaucracy Lesson
The Federal Bureaucracy Lesson
The federal bureaucracy is an organization of federal offices managed by the executive branch of government. The federal bureaucracy is composed of more than 2,000 departments, agencies, commissions, and authorities. There are approximately 2.6 million people who work for the federal bureaucracy. The federal bureaucracy's task is to carry out responsibilities assigned by the legislature and to administer the law.
Max Weber, a German sociologist, was one of the first people in modern times to think seriously about the importance of the bureaucracy. The term "bureau" is a French word and is a reference to a small desk the king's representatives set-up in towns as they traveled across the country on the king's business. So, bureaucracy literally means "government with a small desk."
According to Weber, model bureaucracies have the following characteristics:
- A chain of command is hierarchical. The top bureaucrat has ultimate control of all aspects of the bureaucracy.
- A clear division of labor, where there are specialized jobs
- Clearly written, well-established rules
- A clearly defined set of goals
- Merit-based hiring and promotion
- Job performance is judged by productivity.
The Iron Triangle
Observers of modern American government often point to an iron triangle to best demonstrate who really does the work of the government. The iron triangle consists of interest groups, members of congressional subcommittees, and agency bureaucrats. According to the theory, agencies and departments usually keep close contact with interest group lobbyists who want to influence their actions. Interest groups may provide valuable statistics to government agencies, and they are often motivated to have their point of view heard. Both lobbyists and bureaucrats value contact with congressional subcommittees that shape the laws which govern their interests. Working together, these three groups set most government policies. For example, the American Association for Retired People (interest group), the House Subcommittee on Aging (congressional subcommittee), and the Social Security Administration (executive branch, bureaucracy) all work together to set government policy on Social Security.
The Development of the Bureaucracy
George Washington promised to hire only people "as shall be the best qualified" for government positions. However, most of his employees were Federalists, the party toward which Washington leaned. When the Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson became President, he dismissed many of the Federalists and filled their jobs with members from his party. From Thomas Jefferson's actions, there has been a long-standing tradition of filling government positions through patronage, a system of rewarding friends and political allies in exchange for support.
Andrew Jackson is regarded as the president who entrenched the patronage, or "spoils system". Under the spoils system, a new President brought along leaders and followers that took over the desirable jobs of government workers. Party loyalty became more important than knowledge, talent, or experience.
During the 1800s, more and more employees were obtaining jobs through patronage. It was during this time that the bureaucracy was growing rapidly as new demands were being placed on the government. New agencies were needed to manage the land and its settlement after expansion westward. The Civil War created many new government jobs and departments. After the war, the Industrial Revolution encouraged economic growth, and more government agencies grew to help regulate the expanding economy.
The spoils system became very weak in 1881. President Garfield's assassination in 1881 by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office seeker, led to the passing of the Pendleton Act, which created a merit-based federal civil service. It was meant to replace patronage with the principle of federal employment on the basis of open, competitive exams. At first, only 10% of federal employees were members of the civil service. Today, about 85%-90% are required to take the exam.
The Hatch Act of 1939 was passed to prohibit federal workers from engaging in political activities. Thus, the Civil Service Commission acts as a central agency for recruiting, examining, and appointing government workers. Such an arrangement ensures that there will be a professional and nonpolitical bureaucracy.
Privatization and Deregulation
It is believed that private enterprise could be entrusted with certain responsibilities to make programs less expensive and more efficient. It has been found that local government is most successful when it undertakes privatization.
As a result of deregulation, the role of the federal government is reduced, and a greater freedom is granted to industry in its operation. This brings about a substantial decrease in the federal government's responsibility, which may definitely affect the size of the bureaucracy, though the results may not be beneficial. For instance, the deregulation of the savings industry had resulted in the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s.
Growth in the 20th Century
The largest growth of the bureaucracy in U.S. history came between 1933 and 1945. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal meant bigger government. The need for bigger government came from the many administrative programs he was implementing during World War II in 1941. The needs of the war increased the number of federal agencies and employees even more. During the Roosevelt years, the number of federal employees increased from ½ million to more than 3.5 million.
After World War II ended in 1945, the total number of federal employees dropped significantly. However, the number of employees still remains at a level of between 2.5 and 3 million. Contrary to popular opinion, the federal bureaucracy did not grow in numbers significantly during the last half of the 20th century.
Types of Bureaucracies
Who Are the Bureaucrats?
There are approximately 4 million workers who work for the federal government. Over 1.5 million serve in the military, and about 43% are women and 28% represent minority groups.
What Do Bureaucrats Do?
Bureaucrats carry out the decisions the president or members of Congress make. Anyone who works in the executive branch is there to implement decisions; the work is more complicated than it seems. The power of the bureaucracy depends on how much authority it has.
Congress passes laws but cannot follow through on all the little decisions that have to be made as the laws are implemented. Bureaucrats, then, may make policies and choose actions which are not spelled out in advance by laws.
Approximately 90% of all federal bureaucrats are hired under regulations of the civil service system. Most of them take a written exam and must meet selection criteria, such as training, education, or prior experience. Some agencies require bureaucrats to take special exams, such as postal employees, FBI agents, CIA officers, and doctors in the Public Health Service.
The number of people who work for the federal bureaucracy is greater than most people realize. Their jobs may include CIA work, scientific research, clerical work, forestry service, etc. They are an important part of the process whereby the government fulfills the expectations that Americans have for it today.
IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR OPENSOURCE