Who controls the bureaucracy?

What controls do each of the branches of government have

over the bureaucracy?

How are agencies held accountable?

• If an agency becomes too removed from the public, Congress must intervene – IRS in late 1990s

• Many factors control the power of bureaucracy, hard to define “public interest”

• Must be a pseudo-system of checks and balances – Executive, legislative, judicial branch

Executive/President authority to:

• Appoint/remove agency heads/top bcrats• Reorganize bureaucracy (with Congress approval) to

make it more accountable• Make changes in agency’s annual budget proposal• Ignore legislative initiatives originating in the bureaucracy• Initiate/adjust policy that would alter the bureaucracy’s

activities• Issue executive orders—rules/regulations issued by the

President with effect of law– Ie EO 9066: Japanese internment by FDR

• Write legislation to limit bureaucracy’s discretion– Takes time to actually implement orders

Congress authority to:

• Pass legislation altering bureaucracy’s activities• Abolish existing programs• Refuse to appropriate funds for certain programs• Investigate bureaucratic activities and compel

bureaucrats to testify about them (oversight)– i.e., FEMA’s actions after Katrina

• Influence presidential appointments of agency heads and other top officials– Especially Senate

• Write legislation to limit bureaucracy’s discretion

Judiciary authority to:

• Rule on whether bureaucrats have acted within the law and require policy changes to comply with law

• Force bureaucracy to respect rights of individual through hearings and other proceedings

• Rule on the constitutionality of all challenged rules and regulations

Essay question

• Why and in what areas might the public prefer state authority over a central (national) government?

• Due to…

• As a result…

• DRAFT OUTLINE DUE NEXT CLASS.