The Federal Bureaucracy

1. The Federal Bureaucracy Chapter 15

2. What is a bureaucracy?

3. Bureaucracy is an administrative system in which agencies staffed largely by non-elected officials perform specific tasks in accordance with standard procedures.

4. Three Features of the U.S. Bureaucracy • 1. Hierarchical authority – like a pyramid. • 2. Job specialization – specific divisions of labor • 3. Formalized rules – follows regulations & procedures.

5. See Chart page 338.

6. The Fifteen Cabinet Departments • The Cabinet is the informal advisory body brought together by the president to serve his needs. • It is NOT specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but helps the president to execute the laws and carry out his Constitutional obligations.

7. The Original Four Departments • Department of State • Department of the Treasury • Department of Defense (called the War Department) • Department of Justice (called the office of the Attorney General)

8. Department of State • Issues passports, visas, travel warnings • Provides information on emergencies outside the U.S. • Advises the President on foreign policy • Negotiates foreign policy • Represents the U.S. at the United Nations.

9. Department of the Treasury • Collects taxes • Borrows money for the government • Coins and prints money • Enforces alcohol, tobacco, and firearms laws.

10. Department of Defense – national security (Pentagon: Joint Chiefs, Army, Navy, Air force, Marines) • Department of Justice – • enforces federal law • gives legal advice to the president • runs the U.S. court system and federal prisons

11. Department of theInterior – manages public lands, national parks, wildlife refuges, hydroelectric power plants, Native American affairs, mining, and natural resources. • Department of Agriculture – inspects food, manages school lunch and food stamp programs, helps farmers, manages national forests, promotes U.S. ag products overseas.

12. Department of Commerce – international trade, economic growth, census, protects ocean and coastal resources, manages patents and trademarks (NOAA, NHC) • Department of Labor – enforces work laws, promotes job training & childcare

13. Department of Health & Human Services – healthcare programs, prevention & control of diseases, medicare & medicaid, enforces food & drug laws (CDC, FDA) • Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) – low income housing, home financing, fair housing

14. Department of Transportation – oversees highways, mass transit, air travel, railroads, pipelines, maritime laws • Department of Energy – oversees energy technology, nuclear weapons research, hydroelectric power, operates energy facilities, regulates nuclear power plants

15. Department of Education – distributes federal money to public schools, oversees educational research • Department of Veterans Affairs – oversees benefits, pensions, and medical programs for veterans; maintains military cemeteries (VA hospitals)

16. Department of Homeland Security • Created in 2002 in response to attacks of 9/11/2001. • Mission is to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce the U.S.’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize damage from attacks. • Also responds to natural disasters • Customs Service, ICE, Secret Service, FEMA, Coast Guard