POWER OF THE BUREAUCRACY
Implementation and Discretionary authority
Regulate standards
o Issue rules & regulations that impact the public & the private sector must follow
Administrative Law
o Rules and regulations created by an agency that have the effect of law
Helping Congress draft legislation
Providing advice to the White House
Settling disputes
- Carry out laws and executive orders
- Set specific guidelines for Congressional mandates
- Laws from Congress are the bones, Bureaucracy adds the meat
Regulate standards
o Issue rules & regulations that impact the public & the private sector must follow
- Sets clean air standards, requires labels on food, emission standards for cars, etc.
Administrative Law
o Rules and regulations created by an agency that have the effect of law
Helping Congress draft legislation
- Give information and work with industries and interest groups
Providing advice to the White House
- Work with legislatures, sub committees, industries, interest groups, etc
Settling disputes
- function as a go between among different branches and their respective parts as well as industries
Congress & the Bureaucracy
What are the numerous ways in which Congress can exercise “oversight” of the bureaucracy?
What are the limits on congressional influence?
- Creation of agencies - Congress can create, abolish, or transfer powers of agencies
- Advice and consent - Senate must approve and can influence appointments
- Appropriations of agency budgets - determines how much money an agency gets.
- Annual authorization legislation - cannot spend $ without Congressional authorization
- Rewriting legislation - can make laws more or less detailed
- Duplication - give issues to more than 1 agency
- Holding hearings and conducting investigations - can force bureaucrats to testify in Congress to see if they are complying with the congressional ideas
- Reorganization: can be done to contain costs or reduce funds
- Sunset laws - lifespans set for laws
What are the limits on congressional influence?
- Congress may not really want to clamp down on the bureaucracy:
- may bring pork to their home base
- Congress can make broad laws, let nitty-gritty go to agencies
- Agencies bring people with expertise
- Oversight can be time consuming and boring
- Red tape can create jobs and opportunity to help out constituents with red tape
Executive and Bureaucracy
Appointments: top bureaucrats & Cabinet secretaries, can fire as well
Executive Orders: it is a directive, order, or regulation issued by the president (requires Constitutional power or Congressional delegated power
Economic Powers: Proposes agency budgets (approved by Congress), OMB coordinates budget requests
Other Powers: Propose the reorganization, Presidential power of influence
Limits on presidential influence
Senate confirmation needed for top personnel
o President cannot fire vast majority of bureaucrats
o Reorganization and budgets must go through Congress
Executive Orders: it is a directive, order, or regulation issued by the president (requires Constitutional power or Congressional delegated power
Economic Powers: Proposes agency budgets (approved by Congress), OMB coordinates budget requests
Other Powers: Propose the reorganization, Presidential power of influence
Limits on presidential influence
Senate confirmation needed for top personnel
o President cannot fire vast majority of bureaucrats
o Reorganization and budgets must go through Congress
COURTS AND THE BUREAUCRACY
o Court ruling cant limit bureaucratic practices
o Judicial review - can declare bureaucratic actions unconstitutional
o Injunctions against federal agencies (a judicial order that restrains a person/group from beginning or continuing an action threatening or invading the legal right of another)
o Judicial review - can declare bureaucratic actions unconstitutional
o Injunctions against federal agencies (a judicial order that restrains a person/group from beginning or continuing an action threatening or invading the legal right of another)