CHAPTER NINE
The Bureaucracy

Exercises

Have your say on bureaucratic rules!

Bureaucracies make rules specifying how legislation will be executed. As the chapter suggests, the public has opportunities to comment on these rules. One way to do so is through the web.

1. Find the current bureaucratic rules at Regulations.gov. Under "Search for Open Regulations," scroll down to see just how many departments and agencies have open rules.
2. Using the Comments Due Today link, find out how long rules have typically been open to comment.
3. Read the description (either in HTML or Adobe Acrobat) of the rule and judge whether the public has had sufficient time, given the level of technical information involved, to be able to comment?
4. Again from the main Regulations.gov web page, link to Regulations Published for Comment Today. Read the requirements for people to submit a comment if not done through this electronic method.
   • Some comments require numerous original copies to be sent, or to be delivered in person or by courier. Why would rules differ among bureaucracies concerning how comments on rules should be carried out?
   • How much does having the ability to file comments electronically help the public in affecting or trying to affect rules put in place by an agency or department?
   • Feel free to comment on a current issue any of these bureaucracies is considering.
     

Government statistics and more government statistics

Bureaucratic agencies and departments produce information on the specific areas of government with which they are concerned. For example, the yearly Statistical Abstract of the United States provides an amazing amount of information on nearly anything a student could possibly be interested in (or need for reports). Some of the government-produced statistics and data are available directly from departments at the FedStats web site.

1. What does it mean that we have a government with agencies that provide information to society from sources as varied as the National Eye Institute to the Minerals Management Service?
   
2. Scroll down the list of agencies and departments that have statistical programs.
3. Click on the link for a department or agency that interests you. What does it do? Read the history of the department or agency. How did it get its start? Was it set up to fulfill an essential government function, or in response to a clientele group, or because of changing national needs?
   
4. Again from the FedStats web page, click on a "Key Statistics" link on the right-most column of the web page.
   • What type of statistics does this bureaucracy provide?
     
5. Click on other departments' and agencies' "Key Statistics" links as well.
   • How much public information does our government provide the public and policymakers?
   • What does this say about the key role these bureaucracies fill in American democracy?
     

Can you translate bureaucratese?

1. Go to the Federal Register web site. Click on the link to the current issue of the Federal Register in HTML rather than in PDF so that you can access links to specific rules under consideration. Scroll down to different sections titled "Proposed Rules" or "Rules." Click on a rule or proposed rule that seems particularly interesting, or particularly strange. Does the language used in the rule or proposed rule make any sense?
   
2. Refer to the "Consider the Source: How to Decipher Bureaucratese" feature on page 392 in the text.
   • Are there complicated terms that actually refer to common objects and events?
   • How much passive voice is used in the rules?
   • What type of technical bureaucratic jargon is used?
   • Are any big or ridiculously technical words used to express simple concepts?
     
3. Assess the redundancy in the writing as well as how often nouns are turned into verbs.
   

From the Office of Inspector General…

Besides whistleblowers, another key check on bureaucracies is the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found in most agencies and departments. These inspectors are supposed to provide independent evaluations of how the departments or agencies are carrying out their missions. One OIG that is often in the news is the Office of Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA's OIG provides reports on how the EPA's practices in different areas of environmental protection could be improved, or where mistakes have been made.

1. Visit the Audits, Evaluations & Public Liaison Reports web page (linked by "reports" from the main page).
   • How does the OIG assess the job of the EPA in different areas?
   • Would bureaucracies, given civil servants' loyalty to agency or department goals, be able to provide internal checks on themselves without independent officials such as the OIG assessing how they perform their duties?
   • Do such reports provide important checks within the bureaucracy, or might they undermine the bureaucracy?
     
2. The EPA's OIG provides semiannual reports to Congress that discuss the agency's shortcomings. In these reports, the OIG typically writes a brief letter discussing some problems and provides a highlights section that discusses key shortcomings of the agency. Choose the most recent report.
   • How effective does the OIG's oversight appear to be?
   • Should these reports include more in-depth information, or would that added obligation interfere with the agency's policymaking responsibilities?