Bureaucracy And The President (1530 Words)

Write an essay answering ALL parts of the long-answer essay question and all parts of two of short-essay questions. Be sure to carefully read the question, make sure you directly address the question and don't stray off topic. Also, please keep your essay organized and clearly indicate which question you are answering so the reader may follow your points. If you use ideas or data from the text you must use citations in order to avoid failure due to plagiarism. Please don’t use direct quotations from the text. I want you to explain concepts in your own words.

Main essay:
1) Describe the relationship between the bureaucracy and the president (and his staff), the bureaucracy and Congress and the bureaucracy and the federal courts. Be sure to discuss the ways each exerts control over the bureaucracy and name any ways the bureaucracy has been able to push back to retain control/autonomy.


Short answer:
2) Describe the arguments for and against government deregulation. You may need to use different government agencies/regulated industries to illustrate your arguments both on the pro and con sides.

3) Describe three factors that help bureaucracies perform well in disaster situations. Provide examples.

Books:
1. Wilson, James Q. 1991. Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do And Why They Do It New York: Basic Books.

2. Gormley, William T. and Steven J. Balla. 2012. Bureaucracy and Democracy: Accountability and Performance Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press.

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Bureaucracy and the president
Under the American presidential system, bureaucracy falls under the control of the Congress, the President and the Courts.
This is different compared to the British parliamentary system under which the bureaucracy falls completely under the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
This is so because, the Prime Minister is the main executive and his officials are also members of the Parliament.
Thus, due to the nature of separation of powers in the American system, the bureaucracy does not have a single or ‘principal’ master.
This translates into bureaucracy being accountable to different bodies—executive, legislative and judicial. Nonetheless, this separation of powers also gives the bureaucracy the leverage, though limited to, “maneuver among its political masters.” (Wilson, p.237)

Wilson captures the multi-dimensional relationship between the Congress and the bureaucracy as: as a principal-agent relationship, fire-fighter and the architect of the bureaucracy.
(Wilson, 236) Congress exercises a strong control over the Bureaucracy. The relationship between the Congress and agencies has been termed as a principal-agent relationship.
But, Wilson adds that the bureaucracy is not exclusively under the control of the Congress. Congress has also been termed as the main architect of the bureaucracy.
Since Congress is a “lawmaking and investigatory body;” this provides it immense control over the bureaucracy.
The Congress enacts legislation, with the Presidential approval, that establishes and defines the role of the executive agencies....