Bureaucracy is the real government because it can create, organize, and disband the other federal agencies through the powers of the Congress and the president. For example, bureaucracy does not only execute the wishes of government officials but also pass vital legislation that regulates the US economy since they act as watchdogs for the operations of industries and businesses. This task is accomplished by the regulatory agencies, which is part of the bureaucracy. For instance, such legislation controls the stock market, brokers, and federal investment activities in close association with the Federal Reserve board that governs the US monetary policies (Ushistory.org, 2018).
Additionally, the work of the bureaucrats does not only involve following orders but also the implementation of policies made by the Congress. They are further responsible for the transfer of finances from the federal government to the state and local governments to be used for city developments and supporting educational programs. This further involves the determination of the various types of scientific research to be carried out in the country in addition to the general control of the media. Hence, the federal bureaucracy is the government owing to its diverse roles in policy making as regards scientific research, undercover intelligence and other forest burn legislations in the US.
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Structure, functions, and nature of the federal bureaucracy and the judicial system
The structure of the US federal bureaucracy encompasses the cabinet, government corporations, independent agencies and regulatory commissions. All the cabinet departments depend on bureaucratic staffs for proper functioning. For example, all the 14 secretaries of the respective cabinet departments and the attorney general as the head of the department that direct all government policies and overseeing the general operation of the cabinet. Even the FBI as part of the justice department serves various government functions with respect to the recommendations of the department of homeland security.
Furthermore, the Congress is obliged to controlling the operations of the NASA, which serves very crucial purposes that far surpass those of the department of defense (Ushistory.org, 2018). More specifically, this function is solely left on the hands of the independent agencies, which are not classified under any of the government departments. Finally, the federal bureaucracy pays subsidies to various departments including agriculture, veterans, scientists and social amenities like universities and hospitals.
The judicial system of the United States is well organized with all the judicial power vested in the Supreme Court in accordance with Article III, Section 1 of the federal constitution. The responsibility of creating and dismantling the court systems lies with the Congress based on the guidelines of checks and balances (Ushistory.org, 2018). Again, constitutional courts are also formed under the article mentioned above to enable judges to preside over important judicial cases. The president nominates such judges through the consent of the Senate. The judicial system also consists of the legislative courts that majorly hear territorial cases and the appointment of judges is the task of the president. However, the Senate must confirm such appointments, and the judges are usually given specific term periods under which they serve. The federal courts also consist of judicial circuits, which are further divided into 12 geographic sections with different states (Ushistory.org, 2018). The judicial system also consists of the district courts and the courts of appeal. The former has the original jurisdiction to most cases concerning federal questions. Conversely, the courts of appeals usually hear cases from district courts as regards patents, contracts and financial complaints from the respective circuits.
How the judiciary can serve to curb some of the power of the bureaucracy
The judiciary controls the bureaucratic powers by authorizing the Congress to oversee the actions of the federal bureaucracy in terms of controlling funding and approval of presidential expenditures. Therefore, the bureaucratic agencies must submit budgeting reports and proposed operations of the next fiscal year to the Congress. Furthermore, the Congress, through the Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits, evaluates and investigates the services provided by the bureaucratic officials to enhance nonpartisan information delivery across all state governments (Ushistory.org, 2018). Additionally, the president oversees how the federal bureaucracy executes its functions mainly through the appointment of the 15 departmental heads of the cabinet.
The concept of the "iron triangle," and how it influences policymaking
The iron triangle explains the various parties, groups and certain committees that perform the specific tasks of the government. It encompasses congressional committees, agency bureaucrats and interest groups (Ushistory.org, 2018). The iron triangle ensures that it works closely with various lobbyist groups that have the intentions of interfering with their planned operations in the country. Therefore, such groups become influential in the government’s actions as regards the provision of statistics to various agencies and their perspectives must be heard in the process of making public decisions (Ushistory.org, 2018). Therefore, lobbyists and bureaucrats in consultation with the congressional committees enhance the passage of legislation that protects the interests of all Americans. For instance, the American Association for Retired People, the House Subcommittee on Aging, and the Social Security Administration all form part of the iron triangle and directly influence government’s decisions as regards making policies targeting social security (Ushistory.org, 2018). Nonetheless, I have realized that the government operations and the judicial powers are neither solely vested on the president nor the attorney general but equally distributed to the federal bureaucracy as well.
References
Ushistory.org. (2018). The Bureaucracy: The Real Government. American Government Online Textbook . Accessed on August 15, 2018, from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8.asp
Ushistory.org. (2018). The Organization of the Bureaucracy. American Government Online Textbook . Accessed on August 15, 2018, from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8b.asp
