| A | B |
|---|
| Administrative Procedure Act | A law passed in 1946 requiring federal agencies to give notice, solicit commets, and (sometimes) hold public hearings before adopting any new rules |
| annual authorization | The practice of a legislative committee determining the amount an agency can spend on a yearly basis. The practice is a recent one and curtails the power of the appropriations committees. |
| appropriation | Money formally set aside for a specfic |
| authorization legislation | Legislation that originates in a legislative committee stating the maximum amount of money that an agency may spend on a given program. |
| buddy system | a job description by an agency which is tailor-made for a specific person. These appointments occur in middle- and upper-level positions in the bureaucracy. |
| bureaucracy | a large organization composed of appointedofficers in which authority is divided among several managers. |
| bureaucratic culture | an informal understanding among fellow employees of an agency as to how they are supposed to act. |
| committee clearance | a request made by congressional committees to pass on certain agency decisions. Although usually not binding, it is seldom ignored by agencies |
| competitive service | the set of civil servants appointed on the basis of a written exam administered by the Office of Personal Management or by meeting certain selection criteria |
| duplication | a bureaucratic pathology in which two gov'ts agencies seem to be doing the same thing |
| conflict | a bureaucratic pathologyin which some agencies seem to be working at croosspurposes to other agencies |
| discretionary authority | the ability of a bureaucracy to choose coures of action and make policies not spelled out in advance by laws. |
| Freedom of Information Act | A law passed in 1966 giving citizens the right to inspect all gov't records except those containing military, intelligence, or trade secrets or material revealing private personnel actions. |
| imperialism | A bureaucratic pathology in which agencies tend to grow w/o regard to the benifits their programs confer of the costs they entail |
| iron triangle | the policy-making network composed of a gov't agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group. This network is less common today b/c of the variety of interest groups that exist and the proliferation of congressional subcommittees. |
| issue network | members of Washington-based interest groups. congressional staffers, university faculty, experts participating in think tanks, and representatives of the mass media who regularly debate gov't policy on a certain subject. Such networks are replacing the iron triangles. |
| laissez-faire | a belief in a freely competitive economy that was widely held in the late 19th century |
| legislative veto | Congressional veto of an executive decision during the specified period it must lie before Congress before it can take effect. The veto is effected by either house or both houses. These resolutions do not need the president's signature. |
| name -request job | a job in the federal bureaucracy that is filled by a person whom an agency has already identified. |
| National Enviromental Policy Act | A law passed in 1969 requiring agencies to issue an enviromental impact statement before undertaking any major action affecting the enviroment. |
| noncareer executive assignments | A form of patronage under the expected service given to high-ranking members of the regular competitive service, or to persons brought into civil service ata high level who are advocates of presidentail programs. |
| Open Meeting Law | A law passed in 1976 requiring agency meetings to be open to the public unless certain specified matters are discussed. |
| oversight | Congressional supervision of the bureaucracy |
| patronage | Bureaucratic appointments made oin the basis of politicail considerations. Federal legislation significantly limits such appointments today. |
| Pendleton Act | A law passed in 1883 wehich began the process of transferring federal jobs from patronage to the merit system |
| Privacy Act | A law passed in 1974 requiring gov't filesabout individuals to be kept confidential |
| red tape | A bureaucratic pathology in which complex rules and procedures must be followed to get things done |
| Schedule C Job | A form of patronage under the expected service for a position of "confidentail or policy-determining" character below the cabinet and subcabinet |
| Senior Executive Service | A special classification for high-level civil servants created by the Civil ServiceReform Act of 1978. Members of this service can be hired, fired, and transfered more easily than ordinary civil servants.They are also eligble for cash bonuses and, if removed, are guaranteeed jobs elsewere in the gov't. The purpose of the service is to give the president more flexibility in recruiting, assigning, and paying high-level bureaucrats with policy making responsibilility |
| spoils system | Another phrase for political patronage, that is , the practice of giving the fruits of a party's victory, such as jobs and contracts, to loyal members of that party. |
| trust fund | Money outside the regular gov't budget. These funds are beyond the control of congressional appropriations committees. |
| waste | A bureaucratic pathology in which an agency spends more than is necessary to buy some product or service |
| Whistleblower Protection Act | A law passed in 1989 which created an office of Special Counsel to investigate complaints from bureaucrats claiming they were punished after reporting to Congress about waste, fraud, or abuse in their agencies. |
