Executive Branch & the Bureaucracy 

Essential Questions


* What are the formal and informal powers of the Presidency?  
* How does the president use these powers to influence policy?  
* Is the president too powerful or not powerful enough in comparison to the judicial and/or legislative branches?
* What are the specific issues addressed in public policy making?  
* Define the "iron Triangle," does it exist and if so how does it influence policy implementation? 
* Who controls the bureaucracy: The president? Congress? The People?  
* Does a largely permanent professional bureaucracy serve democracy?
* Can the growth of the bureaucracy in America be stopped or even slowed down?
* Does Congress practice effective oversight of the bureaucracy?
* What would America be without bureaucracy?
* How might the level of control over the bureaucracy lend to corruption in the bureaucratic machine?

Vocabulary

Legislative veto
Line-item veto
Impeachment
Impoundment
Bureaucracy

Merit system
Standard operating procedures
White House Staff
Cabinet
Iron Triangle

Issue Network
Revolving door
Executive Office of the President
Independent Agencies
Government Corporations

Regulatory Commissions
Executive orders
Executive agreements
Executive privilege
Take Care Clause

iron triangles
patronage
civil service
merit principle
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
GS (General Scheduling) rating

Senior Executive Service (SES)
independent regulatory commission
government corporations
independent executive agency
policy implementation
administrative discretion
discretionary authority

standard operating procedures
street-level bureaucrats
regulation
deregulation
command-and-control policy
incentive system
executive orders

Lecture & Videos

For this unit, view and take notes from The Executive Branch and Bureaucracy sections.

Activities & Assignments

The Presidency doc

Presidential Roles PDF

Bureaucracy doc
Growth of Bureaucracy doc
Bureaucratic Pathologies doc
Bureaucracy & Branches doc
Unit 5 Review Guide doc