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The Power Of The Bureaucracy

Decent Essays

1. Woll views the bureaucracy as the center of governmental power because agencies exercise legislative, judicial, and executive functions, and because of how strongly administration and politics are intertwined. Woll argues that contrary to popular thought, the President and Congress have infrequent control over the administrative process. Agencies make definite decisions that carry out vague policy initiated in Congress or by the President. Agencies also offer expert advice and are receptive to interested pressure groups. Not only do agencies determine the policies that the legislative and executive branches recommend, but the agencies affect the policy-making process through the decisions they make.
2. The bureaucracy is often viewed as the informal fourth branch of government. The United States operates within the framework of a constitutional democracy, which enforces a checks and balances system, as well as a separation of powers. There are no clear constitutional limits to limit the power of the bureaucracy. Although the bureaucracy dominates Congress and exercises powerful influence on the president, it is only occasionally subject to review by the courts. The Constitution has no mention of the bureaucracy, excluding the mention of the establishment of a postal service.
3. The Founding Fathers established the bureaucracy through incorporating the administrative process into the constitutional system under “The Executive Branch”. Although the Constitution does not

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