| A | B |
|---|
| appropriation | A legislative grant of money to finance a government program or agency. |
| authorizing legislation | Legislative permission to begin or continue a government program or agency. Authorizations may be annual, multiyear, or permanent. |
| bureaucracy | A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials. |
| committee clearance | The ability of a congressional committee to review and approve certain agency decisions in advance and without passing a law. |
| competitive service | The government offices to which people are appointed on the basis of merit as ascertained by a written examination or by meeting certain selection criteria such as training or educational attainments. |
| discretionary authority | The extent to which appointed bureaucrats can choose courses of action and make policies that are not spelled out in advance by laws. |
| iron triangle | A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group. |
| issue network | A network of people in Washington, DC based in interest groups, on congressional staffs, in universities and think tanks, and in the mass media who regularly discuss and advocate public policies. |
| laissez-faire | An economic theory that government should not regulate or interfere with commerce. |
| legislative veto | The register of a presidential or administrative agency action by a vote of one or both houses of Congress without the consent of the president. In 1983 the Supreme Court declared the practice to be unconstitutional. |
| red tape | Complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done. |
| trust funds | Funds for government programs that are collected and spent outside the regular government budget. |
| patronage | A system in which jobs and promotions are awarded for political reasons rather than for merit or completence. |
| Pendleton Civil Service Act | Passed in 1883, an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage. |
| civil service | A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service. |
| merit principle | The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and promotion ratings to produce administration by people with talent and skill. |
| Hatch Act | A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics while on duty or for employees in sensitive positions at any time. |
| Office of Personal Management | The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process. |
| GS (General Schedule) rating | A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience. |
| Senior Executive Service | An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers at the top of civil service system. |
| government corporation | A government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be delivered by the private sector and typically changes for its services. The U.S. Postal Service is an example. |
| independent executive agency | The government agencies not accounted for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, and government corporations. Administrators are typically appointed by the president and serve at the president's pleasure. NASA is an example. |
| policy implementation | The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequence of the policy for the people affected. Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program. |
| standard operating procedures | Better known as SOPs, these procedures for everyday decision making enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations. Uniformity promotes fairness and makes personnel interchangeable. |
| administrative discretion | The authority of administrative actors to select various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case. |
| street-level bureaucrats | A phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion. |
| regulation | The use of government authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. |
| deregulation | The lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities. |
| executive orders | Regulations originating with the executive branch. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy. |
| iron triangles | Also known as subgovernments, a mutually dependent, mutually advantageous relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees pr subcommittees. Iron triangles dominate some area of domestic policymaking. |
| issue networks | This concepts states that the relationship between congressional committees, executive departments and agencies, and interest groups is more complicated than a triangle. There are many interest groups, the media and academic experts who all compete to have a voice on issues. |
