AP Gov: Chapter 13

Question 1

Bureaucracy

Answer 1

A large organization that is structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions.

Question 2

Public v. Private Bureaucracy

Answer 2

• Large corporations & university can be a bureaucracy

Private: Board of directors, ex. Microsoft
Public: Don’t have a single set of leaders, serve citizens

• Funding & staffing from Congress.
• Government bureaucracy are not intended to make profit.

Question 3

Weberian Model

Answer 3

Developed by German Max Weber

Saw bureaucracy as rational, hierarchical organization in which decisions bases on logical reasoning.

Question 4

Acquisitive Model

Answer 4

Views top-level bureaucrats as seeking to expand the size of their budgets & staff to gain greater power
- Public want to do good but also expand their mission

Question 5

Monopolistic Model

Answer 5

Compares bureaucracies to monopolistic business firms. Lack of competition in either circumstance leads to inefficient & costly operations.
- Economists

Question 6

Administrative Agency

Answer 6

A federal, state, or local gov unit established to perform specific function. Created & authorized by legislative bodies to administer & enforce specific laws.

Question 7

Size of Bureaucracy

Answer 7

• Millions of gov employees, grown a lot since the past
• Indirect & direct services

Question 8

Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy

Answer 8

• Executive branch: cabinet dept., independent executive agencies, independent regulatory agencies, gov corporations.

Question 9

Cabinet Departments

Answer 9

15
State, treasury, defense, justice, interior, agriculture, commerce, labor, health & human services, homeland security, housing & urban development, education, energy, transportation, veteran affairs.

Question 10

Line Organization

Answer 10

Federal gov, an administrative unit that is directly accountable to the president.
- Gov functions (print money, secure the border, etc.)

Secretary in charge of each dept.
president can appoint or fire it’s members

Question 11

Independent Executive Agencies

Answer 11

A federal agency that is not part of a cabinet dept. but reports directly to the president.
- Congress decides it’s location in the bureaucracy.

Question 12

Independent Regulatory Agencies

Answer 12

An agency outside the major executive dept. charged with making & implementing rules & regulations.
- Rules to benefit all & not require Congressional legislation
- Ex. ICC, FCC, NRC

Question 13

The purpose & nature of regulatory agencies

Answer 13

To implement and interpret laws, with the nature of their work involving rule making, enforcement through fines or investigations, & oversight of compliance.

Question 14

Agency Capture

Answer 14

Act by which an industry being regulated by a gov agency gains direct or indirect control over agency personnel & decision makers.

Question 15

Deregulation & Regulation

Answer 15

Regulation is the government’s use of authority to control or change a private sector practice.

Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing those government rules & restrictions on businesses & industries.

Question 16

Government Corporations

Answer 16

An agency of gov that administered a quasi-business enterprise. These corporations are used when activities are primarily commercial.
- Private & gov (U.S. Postal)

Question 17

Challenges to the Bureaucracy

Answer 17

Own mission/goals

• Excessive rules
• Competing goals
• Cozy relationships between agencies, interest groups, & Congress.

Question 18

Reorganizing to stop Terrorism

Answer 18

• Took many efforts post 9/11
• DHS, FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), Custom & Borders, etc.
• Integrate different agencies together

Question 19

Dealing with Natural Disasters

Answer 19

• Bush after Katrina was criticized for not helping.
• FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency)
• Agencies & levels of gov needed to work together.

Question 20

Political Appointees

Answer 20

• Politicians, business, prominent people
• President must consider their intelligence, political views, characteristics
• Ambassadorships as reward individuals campaign work
• Nominee under go FBI investigation & Senate confirmation

Question 21

The Aristocracy of the Federal Government

Answer 21

• Powers often exaggerated
• 2 year term on average
• Some don’t carry out orders quickly because they know they will be gone soon.

Question 22

The Difficulty of Firing Civil Servants

Answer 22

• Appeal dismissals.
• Can’t have much influence anyway or drastic changes.

Question 23

History of the Federal Civil Servants

Answer 23

• 1789, no career public servants
• Federalists
• Jefferson fired & replaced with his own party officials
  
  • Developed into professional public servants
  • Became self-maintaining, long-term element in government

Question 24

Spoils system

Answer 24

The awarding of government jobs to political supporters & friends.

• Became the standard method of filling federal positions
• Turn over of staff when a new president was elected
• Jackson fired many people

Question 25

Merit System

Answer 25

The selection, retention, & promotion of government employees on the basis of competitive examinations.

Question 26

Civil Service Reform Act (1883)

Answer 26

An act that established the principle of employment on the basis of merit & created the Civil Service Commission to administer the personnel service. - Limits placed on spoils system through this Act.

Question 27

Civil Service Commission (1883)

Answer 27

The initial central personnel agency of the national government. - Covered federal employees - Effected all levels of government

Question 28

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

Answer 28

Abolished the Civil Service Commission & created new agencies to administer the federal personnel system. -The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) - Recruit, interview, & test potential government workers & determine who should be hired. - The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) - Evaluates charges of wrong doing, hears employees appeals of agency decisions, & can order corrective actions against agencies & employees.

Question 29

Government in the Sunshine Act (1976)

Answer 29

A law that requires all committee - directed federal agencies to conduct their businesses regularly in public session. - Meeting open to public.

Question 30

Freedom of Information Act

Answer 30

Required federal government agencies, with certain exceptions, to disclose to individuals, on their request, any information about them contained in gov files. - Disclosure. - Reversed during 9/11

Question 31

Sunset Legislation

Answer 31

Laws requiring that existing programs be reviewed regularly for their effectiveness & be terminated unless specifically extended as a result of these reviews. - If Congress does not review/renew, it is terminated.

Question 32

Privatization

Answer 32

The process of transferring ownership, control, & management of public assets, services, or enterprises from the government to private entities. The requirement of government services with services by provided by private firms.

Question 33

Incentives for Efficiency & Productivity

Answer 33

- State government schemes to run operations more efficiently & capably - Focus on maximize the efficiency & productivity of government workers by providing incentives for improved performance. - How to reward employees

Question 34

Government Performance & Results Act

Answer 34

A law that requires federal agencies to set clear goals, measure their performance against those goals, & publicly report their progress. - Bonus pay

Question 35

Whistleblower

Answer 35

Someone who brings to public attention gross government inefficiency or an illegal action. Laws protecting Whistle-blower: - Merit Systems Protection Board - Whistle-Blower Protection Act Ex. - 2006, Garcetti v. Ceballos - Obama persecuted whistle-blowers under the Espionage Act of 1917.

Question 36

Enabling Legislation

Answer 36

A statute enacted by Congress that authorizes the creation of an administrate agency & specifies the name, purpose, composition, functions, & powers of the agency being created. - Federal Trade Comission by the Federal Trade Comission Act (1914) - Agency makes regulations, unelected policymaker

Question 37

Rule Making/Waiting Period

Answer 37

- Some parties persuade agency to withdrawal proposed regulations. - Published in federal register, 60-day waiting period, can be asked to overturn the regulation. - Public-interest groups became more involved in regulation making. - Hope to prevent courtroom battles

Question 38

Iron Triangles

Answer 38

The 3 way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats, & interest groups to make or preserve policies that benefit their respective interest. - Federal Dept. or agency, Congress or substantive committees, interest groups & lobbyists.

Question 39

Issue Networks

Answer 39

A group of individuals or organizations - which may consist of legislative staff members, interest group leaders, bureaucrats, the media, scholars, & other experts - that supports a particular policy position on a given issue. - Government getting bigger makes the iron triangle harder. - Media, president influence, influential policies.

Question 40

How Congress controls the Bureaucracy

Answer 40

- Oversight (hearings, investigations, GAO audits) - The "power of the purse" (funding/cutting budgets) - Legislation (creating/modifying agencies, laws like CRA) - Confirmation power (Senate approves top officials)

Question 41

Negotiated Rule making Act of 1990

Answer 41

Authorizes an agency to establish a negotiated rule making committee to develop & negotiate a proposed agency rule.