Please note:  This page is not intended to take the place of the lecture and reading assignments but as a study aid.  This was prepared for my own personal use but feel free to print it out and use it if you want to.  I would appreciate hearing from you on updating any missing information or misinformation so I can update it.  If we all work together we might create a site for this class and instructor that we can use in the future.  I have not attempted to include every detail but a general idea to help with remembering the information.  E-mail me at  Tee .

2-25-1999

II.  American Executive

The writers of the Constitution created the presidency of the US w/out any model.  They did not want a king therefore they created a way in the Constitution to balance the executive powers.

Roles of the President --

Chief of State --  ceremonial head of the government whose duties are symbolic in nature such as decorating war heroes, dedicating parks and post offices, receiving visiting chiefs of state at the White House, going on official state visits to other countries, representing the nation at times of national mourning, such as the Oklahoma Bombing.  UK-- Prime Minister, with chief of state being the Queen

          Commander in Chief of the armed forces -- The role of the president as supreme commander of the military forces of the
          US and of the state nat'l guard units when they are called into federal service.  Ex.  Truman's decision to use the atomic
          bomb in '45 & troops to Korea in '50.

          Chief Diplomat --  the power to recognize foreign governments, to make treaties (with the advice and consent of the
          Senate), and to make special agreements with other heads of state that do not require congressional approval.  In
          addition, the president nominates ambassadors and dominates American foreign policy.
                 Treaties must be ratified by Congress and are binding on all succeeding administrations while executive agreements
                  have to be approved with each new president.

          Chief Legislator of the US -- the role of the president in influencing the making of laws.

          Party Leader --  chooses the national committee chairperson & can try to discipline party members who fail to support
          presidential policies.  One wayof exerting power within the party is by patronage or appointing individuals to govt. or public
          jobs.

Salary -- $200,000 yr.
The imperial presidency - Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon (both of them enjoyed the power of the position)

Presidential Power
    Ex.  Only the president has the power to order the use of nuclear weapons.
            When you see the president on TV, the gentleman standing close by him with the briefcase (known as the "football")
            contains the codes necessary to order a nuclearattack.

Inherrent powers -- Apower of the president derived from the loosely worded statement in the Constitution that "the exective power shall be vested in a president" and that the president should "take care that the laws be faithfully executed"; defined through practice rather than through constitutional or statutory law.
                An example of this are those emergency powers invoked by the president during wartime.  Franklin Roosevelt
                used inherent powers to relocate the Japanese living in the US during WWII.

Constitutional Power -- in class was called his basic powers;  A power vested in the president by Article II of the Constiitution.

Statutory Power -- A power created for the president through laws or statutes established by Congress.

3-4-99
Current Events -- IRS accounting procedures are not up to date and are being investigated by the GAO (General Accounting Office under Congress).
Uganda -- 8 of the 14 hostages were killed.
Country with the best Commandos -- Israel, then Germany, and next the US.

Hierarchy Chart from Class of Presidents staff and Cabinets

White House Office -- personal office of the president, which includes most of the key personal and political advisers to the president and include those of legal counsel, secretary, press secretary and appointments secretary.

Chief of Staff -- person named to direct the white House Office and advise the president; position was established by Eisenhower and supposed to relieve the president of administration duties and has some authority over other organizations.

Office of Political Affairs -- track Congressional bills, Ex. from class was that this office is similar to the TV show "Spin City" in duties without the comedy.

President's Cabinet -- An advisory group selected by the president to aid in making decisions.  The cabinet presently numbers 13  department secretaries and the attorney general.  Depending on the president, the cabinet may be highly influential or relatively insignificant in its advisory role.

Kitchen Cabinet -- coined during Andrew Jackson's administration and refers to the location where some of the meetings were held over coffee or a snack, etc...  At the present time - informal advisers to the president.

1.  Dept. of Agriculture -- Provides assistance to farmers and ranchers; conducts research to improve agricultural activity and to prevent plant disease; works to protect forests from fires and disease; responsible for ensuring the quality of our food and water supplies.
         Agencies under this dept.    Soil Conservation Service
                                                  Agricultural Research Service
                                                  Food and Safety Inspection Service
                                                  Federal Crop Insurance Corp.
                                                  Farmers Home Administration

2.  Department of Commerce -- Grants patents and trademarks; conducts a national census; monitors the weather; protects the interests of business; prepare social and economic statistics for public and private sector.
          Agencies under this dept.   Bureau of the Census
                                                  Bureau of Economic Analysis
                                                  Minority Business Development Agency
                                                  Patent and Trademark Office
                                                  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
                                                  US Travel and Tourism Administration

Current Events -- Clinton visiting Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, (Central America) viewing hurricane damages.
China obtaining multiple warhead technology from one of our facilities in Mexico

3.  Dept. of Defense -- Manages the armed forces (army, navy, air force, and marines); operates military bases; is responsible for civil defense; provides national security.  Dept. contains the most people and the only one that contains 3 sub secretaries.
          Agencies under this dept.   National Guard
                                                  National Security Agency (NSA)
                                                  Joint Chiefs of Staff
                                                  Depts. of Air Force, Navy, and Army
          Joint Chiefs of Staff --   consists of the 4 generals that head the branches of the service
                                                 Navy - Admiral
                                                Air Force - General
                                                 Army - General
                                               * Marines -- Commandant * during wartime this branch falls under the Navy

4.  Dept. of Energy -- Involved in the conservation of energy and resources; analyzes energy data; conducts research and development of alternate energy sources, market federal power.
          Agencies under this dept.   Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
                                                  Office of Nuclear Energy
                                                  Energy Information Administration
                                                  Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy

5.  Health and Human Services -- Promotes public health; enforces pure food and drug laws; is involved in health related research.  The Surgeon General is the head of this agency;
          Agencies under this dept.   Food and Drug Administration
                                                  Administration for Children and Families
                                                  Health Care Financing Administration
                                                  Public Health Service -- a uniform service
                                                  Center for Disease Control

6.  Housing and Urban Development -- Deals with the nation's housing needs; develops and rehabilitates urban communities; promotes improvement in city streets and parks.  mortgage and insurance programs, rental subsidy, housing anti discrimination
          Agencies under this dept.   Assistant Secretary for Community Planning nd Development
                                                  Government National Mortgage Association
                                                  Federal Housing Commissioner
                                                  Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

7.  Dept. of Interior -- Supervises federally owned lands and parks; operates federal hydroelectric power facilities; supervises Native American affairs; protect the environment and historical places.  appx 500M acres
          Agencies under this dept.   US Fish and Wildlife Service
                                                  National Park Service
                                                  Bureau of Indian Affairs
                                                  Bureau of Land Management
8.  Dept. of Justice -- Furnishes legal advice to the president; enforces federal criminal laws; supervises the federal corrections system (prisons).  Only dept. that the head is not called Secretary but instead is called the Attorney General.  Nations largest law firm, enforce laws in public interest, prevent subversion, drug enforcement, immigration
          Agencies under this dept.   Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
                                                  Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
                                                  Bureau of Prisons
                                                  Immigration and Naturalization Service

9.  Dept. of Labor -- Administers federal labor laws; promotes the interests of workers.  Improve working conditions, wage protection, employment discrimination laws, job training.
          Agencies under this dept.   Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
                                                  Bureau of Labor Statistics
                                                  Employment Standard Administration
                                                  Office of Labor Management Standards
10.  State Dept. -- Negotiates treaties; develops foreign policy; protects citizens abroad.  Embassy, Missions, Consulate
          Agencies under this dept.   Passport Agency
                                                  Bureau of Diplomatic Security
                                                  Foreign Service
                                                  Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
                                                  Bureau of Consular Affairs

11.  Dept. of Transportation -- Finances improvements in mass transit; develops and administers programs for highways, railroads, and aviation; is involved with offshore maritime safety.
          Agencies under this dept.   Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
                                                  Federal Highway Administration
                                                  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
                                                  Federal Transit Administration
                                                 * US Coast Guard *  during war time this falls under Dept. of Defense

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -- this dept. is over the intelligence portion of the Dept. of Defense.  Gathers and analyzes political and military info about foreign countries so that the US can improve its own political & military status; conducts activities outside the US, with the goal of countering the work of intelligence services operated by other nations whose political philosophies are inconsistent with our own.

Current Events -- Congress debating over sending troops to Kosovo, Albania and Yugoslavia trying to negotiate a treaty.  Volatile area & also where conflict occurred starting WWII.
Donna Shalala announced larger lables on over counter drugs and also addition of more information on the labels.
Supreme Court being investigated by the Justice Dept.  Reason:  fewer than 2% of the 428 law clerks are black and less than 25% are female.  Discrimination?
Dept of Transportation -- The FAA has penetrated airport security numerous times and are requesting stricter security.

12.  Treasury Dept -- pays all federal bills; borrows money; collects federal taxes; mints coins and prints paper currency; operates the Secret Service; supervises national banks.  recommend tax policies, advisors on fiscal year
          Agencies under this dept.   Internal Revenu Service(IRS)
                                                  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
                                                  Secret Service
                                                  U.S. Mint
                                                  Customs Service
Talks about eliminating or cutting back the IRS -- Consumption tax - national sales tax and would eliminate personal income tax also called a regressive tax.  Flat Tax - flat rate of 17% to all above the poverty level

13.  Veterans Affairs -- promotes the welfare of veterans of the US armed forces
          Agencies under this dept.   Veterans Health Administration
                                                  Veterans Benefits Administration
                                                  National Cemetary System

Presidential Character -- 1960 book written by James Barber - schem analyzing presidents and then classifying them according to their personalitytraits, especially whether they took a positive or negative view of the world and whether they were active or passive in their approach to problems.  1.  Ability to define and clarify issues, and 2.  propose solutions (Communicators:  Reagan and JFK)

Level of Activity                  Active            Passive
Enjoymenet & Attitude       Positive          Negative

Active - Positive -- flexible, high selfesteem and enjoy results:  FDR,  JFK,  Truman, Ford, Carter

Active - Negative -- compulsive, agressive, emphasize keeping and getting power, can be dangerous (worst type):  Wilson, LBJ, Nixon

Passive - Positive-- not active but enjoy the job, compliant and seek affection:  Taft, Harding, Reagan(an 8 - 5 pres)

Passive - Negative -- dutiful but vague and bent on avoiding conflict:  Eisenhower, Coolidge

Vice Presidency

Formal duty is to preside over the Senate -- which is rarely necessary.  Traditionally chosen by presidential nominees to balance the ticket or to reward or appease party factions.  This job is to support the president and jobs vary by what the president has them to do.  By custom, the VP sits in on cabinet meetings.

***Most important role is that of succession to the presidency which was granted to the position by 25th Amendment of the constitution in 1967.  ****

25th Amendment -- establishes procedures for filling vacancies in the two top executive offices and that makes provisions for situations involving presidential disability.

When the Vice Presidency becomes vacant -- the president shallnominate a new VP whoshall takeoffice upon confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of Congress.  If both positions are vacant then the Speaker of the House will act as president,after resigning from Congress.  Next in line is the president pro tempore of the Senate, followed by the cabinet officers in the order of thecreation of their department.

Weberian  model of bureaucracy -- developed by the German sociologist Max Seber, who viewed bureaucracies as rational, hierarchical organizations in which power flows from the top downward and decisions are based on logical reasoning and data analysis.    There are other models in existence.

Most governments of the world have 2 distinct characteristics 1). Hierarchy, and 2). specialization into specific job functions.

Bureaucracies have been around appx. 4,000 years.  In the beginning it was small and consisted of 3 departments -- State, War, and Treasury.  The war dept. changed to Dept of Defense.

Independent Executive Agencies -- A federal agency that is not part of a cabinet depart but reports dirctly to the president.  These are bureaucratic organizations that are not located within a department.
            CIA
            GSA - General Services Administration which purchases and manages all property of govt., oversee spending projects,
                        discover overcharges in govt. programs.
            NSF - National Science Foundation
            SBA - Small Business Administration
            NASA
            EPA

Independent Regulatory Agencies -- An agency outside the major executive departments charged with making and implementing rules and regulations to protect the public interest.  They are legislative in that they make rules that have the force of law.  Executive in that they provide for the enforcement of those fules.  Judicial in that they decide disputes involving the rules they have made.  Agency members are appointed by the pres. with the consent of the Senate.
            Fed - Federal Reserve System Board of Governors
            FTC - Federal Trade Commission
            SEC - Securities and Exchange Commission
            NLRB - Nastional Labor Relations Board
            EEOC -- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
            FEC - Federal Election Commission
            NRC - Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Government Corporation -- they produce revenue for their continued existence, and they require greater flexibility than is permitted for departments and agencies.
            US Postal Service
            FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
            AMTRAK - National Railroad Passenger Corporation
            TVA - Tennessee Valley Authority
            Ex/Im Bank-- Export/ Import Bank of the US

History of the Federal Civil Service --
            Spoils System -- the awarding of govt. jobs to political supporters and friends; generally associated with Andrew
            Jackson.  Appointees were not always qualified and generated corruption and inefficency.

            Merit System -- The selection, retention, and promotion of govt. employees on the basis of competitive examinations.

Pendeleton Act or Civil Service Reform Act -- regulate federal employment personnel policies.  It extablished the principle of employment on the basis of merit and created the Civil Service Commission to administer the personnel service.  Also prohibited dismissal from a position if the person didn't make political campaign contributions.

Civil Service Commission -- The initial central personnel agency of the nat'l govt.; created in 1883 and with us 'till 1978 when Carter abolished it and created the office of personnel management OPM and the merit system protection board MSPB.

Current Events -- Air strikes on Kosovo, killed 10 civilians & wounded 60.  This is a civil war.  Kosovo belongs to Yugoslavia and made up of Albanians who want their independence.  Russian prime minister had planned a visit to the US till bombing started.

The Iron Triangle -- The 3 way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups to make or preserve policiest hat benefit their respective interests.

52%    Entitlement Programs ( SS, Medicare, etc...)
15%    Defense
15%    Discretionary Spending (NASA, Education)
15%    Interest (on money we have borrowed, deficit)
15%    Federal Operations
 5%    Foreign Aid
This adds up to more than 100 -- Unsure if instructor realized this at the time.