Question description
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.
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
ter, 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
