The Federal Bureaucracy (Essay 18)

     The federal bureaucracy as part of the executive branch exercises substantial independence in implementing governmental policies and programs. Most workers in the federal bureaucracy are civil-service employees who are organized under a merit system.
     The merit system is the action of electing government officials based off of merit and ability to perform the job well, unlike the spoils system which is based primarily off of connections within the government. The structure of the federal bureaucracy is very disjoint. With the president at the top of the pyramid-like structure, because of separation of powers, each part of the bureaucracy has separate powers, which contributes to bureaucratic independence.
     The complexity of public policy problems deals with a large portion of different problems. Since these problems vary from lawsuits to natural issues, they are handled by many different people with expertise in all areas. This complexity also contributes to bureaucratic independence.
     Congress uses its power of appointment to check the bureaucracy. They can either reward or punish the bureaucracy through appointments or lack thereof, which is a way to curb its power. The courts use judicial review, to declare something constitutional or unconstitutional, which also checks the bureaucracy. Interest groups employ litigation to threaten and check the bureaucracy also.

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