 | Term | Definition |
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Bureaucracy |
the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate effectively the work of their personnel. |
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Implementation |
the efforts of departments and agencies to translate laws into specific bureaucratic routines. |
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Rule making |
a quasi-legislative administrative process that produces regulations by government agencies. |
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Administrative adjudication |
applying rules and precedents to specific cases to settle disputes with regulated parties. |
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Merit system |
a product of civil service reform, in which appointees to positions in public bureaucracies must objectively be deemed qualified for the position. |
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Department |
the largest subunit of the executive branch. The secretaries of the fourteen departments form the Cabinet. |
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Independent agency |
an agency that is not part of a Cabinet department. |
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Government corporation |
a government agency that performs a service normally provided by the private sector. |
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Regulatory agencies |
departments, bureaus or independent agencies whose primary mission is to impose limits, restrictions or other obligations on the conduct of individuals or companies in the private sector. |
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Iron triangle |
the stable, cooperative relationship that often develops among a congressional committee, an administrative agency and one or more supportive interest groups. |
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Fiscal policy |
the use of taxing, monetary and spending powers to manipulate the economy. |
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Federal Reserve System |
a system of twelve Federal Reserve Bands that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policies to fight inflation and deflation. |
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Revenue agencies |
agencies responsible for collecting taxes. Examples include the Internal Revenue Service for income taxes, the U.S. Customs Service for tariffs and other taxes on imported goods, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for collection of taxes on the sales of those particular products. |
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Deregulation |
a policy of reducing or eliminating regulatory restraints on the conduct of individuals or private institutions. |
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Devolution |
a policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level of government, such as from the national government to the state and local governments. |
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Privatization |
removing all or party of a program from the public sector to the private sector. |
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Executive privilege |
power that presidents assert in order to protect the executive branch from Congress and the judiciary. Executive privilege allows presidents to refuse some requests for information from Congress or the judiciary. Justified on the basis of the separation of powers, not the Constitution, executive privilege is subject to limitation by the courts. |
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Oversight |
the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies. |
