Administrative Relationships, political science

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are composed of the legislators (supported by legions of staff, committee assistants, and personal aides) who are charged with introducing bills in the Congress. They also vote on bills that make it through the lengthy and often tortuous committee processes. However, the public policy formation process does not end when Congress passes a bill and the president signs it.

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Instead, bills that become law are then delegated to the wide range of agencies, departments, and quasi-government agencies that are in charge of creating rules and regulations to promulgate the public policy. Think of it this way: When Congress and the president sign a new law, the law usually provides only the broadest contours of a given public policy; it is for civil servants and public policy professionals, who are not elected by the public, to form the rules and regulations that will execute the policy. You can examine the rulemaking process of the federal government by touring the Federal Register, linked in this week’s Learning Resources, where proposed rules can be reviewed by and commented on by the public.

Congress and the president create laws, but not the intricate rules and regulations that provide substance to those laws. Federal agencies and career civil servants have enormous responsibility and power in defining and specifying the scope of new laws. In addition, the intent of Congress and the president is of paramount consideration in creating rules and regulations; civil servants need to be cognizant of the debates, hearings, and findings of Congress. Even after rules and regulations have become finalized concerning a new law, there is often conflict between the executive and civil servants concerning a law’s enforcement. There are differing interpretations of the language of regulations. In short, the passage of a law and the creation of rules and regulations do not end debate and conflict about its enforcement or its intent.

As you review the Learning Resources, pay particular attention to the relationship between elected and/or appointed decision-makers and civil-servant employees within the three branches of government. For international students, reflect upon the relationships between civil servants and elected/appointed officials in your home country.

READINGS

Guess, G. M., & Farnham, P. G. (2011). Cases in public policy analysis (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
- Chapter 7, “Cost-Benefit Analysis: The Case of Environmental Air Quality Standards” (pp. 315–353)
Garrett, R. S., Thurber J. A., Fritschler, A. L., & Rosenbloom, D. H. (2006). Assessing the impact of bureaucracy bashing by electoral campaigns. Public Administration Review, 66(2), 228–240.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Keller, S. A. (2009). Depoliticizing judicial review of agency rulemaking. Washington Law Review, 84(3), 419–489.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Lim, H.-H. (2006). Representative bureaucracy: Rethinking substantive effects and active representation. Public Administration Review, 66(2), 193–204.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Miller, H. T. (2011). Is bureaucracy no longer the technically superior form of organization?Administrative Theory and Praxis, 33(3), 447–452.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Moloney, K. (2007). Comparative bureaucracy: Today as yesterday. Public Administration Review, 67(6), 1083–1086.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Woods, N. D. (2009). Promoting participation? An examination of rulemaking notification and access procedures. Public Administration Review, 69(3), 518–530.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Center for Effective Government. (2014). How to comment on a rule. Retrieved fromhttp://www.foreffectivegov.org/node/4059
The Law, Science & Public Health Law Site. (n.d.). Federal Administrative Procedure Act. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/Courses/study_aids/adlaw/

APA Format 300-400 words