STRUCTURE OF THE AMERICAN BUREAUCRACY
I. Bureaucracy:
the agencies, departments, commissions, etc. within the executive branch.
Here's
what they do.
II. Executive Office of the President: White House Office, Office of Management
and Budget, Council of Economic Advisors, National Security Council.
III. Cabinet: The 15 departments and 6
others with "cabinet rank"
A. Sometimes the structure changes due to the creation of a new Cabinet
position like The
Department of Homeland Security.
IV. Independent agencies.
A. Organized much
like Cabinet departments, but lack Cabinet status.
B. Examples: National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Small Business
Administration, Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
V. Independent
regulatory commissions.
A. Created
by Congress to regulate important aspects of the nation’s economy.
B. Generally, the
decisions of these are beyond presidential control, though commissioners are
appointed by the President with Senate consent:
1.
Commissioners serve rather long terms (5-14 years).
2. Only a bare
majority of commissioners can belong to the same party.
3. Terms of
commissioners are staggered.
4. Commissioners
can be fired by the President only for causes that Congress has
specified.
C. Commissions
have quasi-legislative power. They have the authority to make rules and
regulations
(published in the Federal Register) which
have the force of law.
This is known as policy implementation.
D. They also have
quasi-judicial power: They can settle disputes in their fields.
E. Some important
regulatory commissions:
1.
Federal Reserve Board
2. Federal Communications
Commission
3. Federal Election
Commission
4.
National Labor
Relations Board
5.
Securities Exchange
Commission
6. Federal Trade
Commission
Vl. Government corporations.
A. Created by
Congress to carry out various business operations.
B. Examples:
Postal Service, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, Federal Savings and Loan
Insurance Corporation, Tennessee Valley Authority.