NOTES FROM NOVEMBER 25, 2008

*sorry these are so late I was out of town :)*
**I apologize for any misspelled words**

Most of the bureaucrats who work for the fed. govt are hired under the requirements of the civil service overseen since 1978 by:

• the office of personnel mng. which administers civil service laws, rules and regulations. The OPM administers written exams for the competitive service which includes about 2/3 of all appointed officials.
• the Merit Systems Protection Board protect the integrity of the federal merit system and the rights of federal employees. The board hears charges of wrongdoing and employee appeals against agency actions and orders disciplinary actions against agency executes or employees.
• The civil service was created to reduce patronage in the awarding of fed jobs. Jobs are filled on the basis of merit in accordance with the Pendleton Act and workers cannot be fired for political reasons.
• Most civil servants work outside of was as service need to be accessible to people across the country.

Presidents can appoint fewer than 1% of all executive branch employees though the ones they appoint fill the top policymaking positions:

• Presidents feel that they have insufficient control over the executive branch.
• On the surface it might seem that increasing the # of political appt would make the bureaucracy more responsive to the president. (Not always the case.)
• Pluralism can pull agencies in different directions.
• Bureaucratic policy does move in the direction set by the White House though the progress may not be attained quickly.
• Presidential appts to bureaucratic leadership positions may also broaden apportunity for advancement of traditionally under-represented groups. Clinton was particularly successful in making his administration resemble the broader population.

Administrative policy making: formal process

1. The latitude that Congress gives agencies to make the policy in the spirit of their legislative mandate is called administrative discretion.
2. Critics of bureaucracy freq. complain that agencies are "out of control" and a "power unto themselves" But these claims are often exaggerated.
3. when agencies do something that congress doesn't like it can rein them in with additional legislation.
4. Congress can also use the power of the purse or control over an agencies budget to express its preference.
5. Informal contacts between legislators and administrators lead to compromise and concensus in agency policy making.

The policymaking discretion that congress gives to agencies is usually exercised through role making. These administrative procedures result in the issurance of regulations. This is a source of agency's power.

Since they are authorized by Congressional statutes, regulations have the force of law.

When agencies issue regulations they are 1st published as proposals so that all interested parties have an opportunity to comment.

Reg. are controversial becuase they force people and businesses to act in certain prescribed ways, often against their own self interest.

Congress oversees the bureaucracy in a # of ways:

1. Duplication
2. Authorization and Appropriation
3. hearings
4. rewriting legislation to make it more detailed

Agencies are also checked by the Pres. through:

1. appointments
2. executive orders
3. budget building
4. reorganization