In actuality, bureaus are a subset of cabinet departments and are similar in organization and function to administrative offices. The main kinds of federal executive agencies are: cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, government corporations, and independent executive agencies. There are fifteen cabinet departments in total, each charged with managing a specific realm of policy and each (besides the Department of Justice) led by a secretary selected personally by the President and approved by the Senate. Independent regulatory commissions oversee sectors of the economy that are most pertinent to the public interest, assembling and then enforcing rules to ensure fair practice. Government corporations handle issues that could also be managed by the private sector but are administered by the government instead. Currently, the biggest government corporation is the Post Office. Independent executive agencies are all those other government agencies that do not fit into any of the other three categories, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The President holds the ultimate position of authority over nearly every single bureaucratic agency, in keeping with the Constitution’s charge that the President must “take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed.” However, the President merely oversees bureaucrats on a general level, while the true work of creating agencies, writing policies, and allocating funds is done by Congress. Meanwhile, potential bureaucrats are tested, assessed, and ultimately hired by the Office of Personnel Management (OBM), which is headed by a director chosen personally by the President. The OBM classifies its bureaucrats according to the General Schedule (GS) rating system, which tallies test scores and work experiences to assign each individual a rating (from one to eighteen). Only the most highly qualified bureaucrats (those who earn a GS rating of sixteen or above) are considered to be part of the Senior Executive Service. These senior executives are highly prized within the bureaucratic realm and are often moved amongst different agencies by the President, in order to maximize optimal performance.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs leads the Department of Veterans Affairs, which deals with caring for and supporting military veterans as well as maintaining military cemeteries. The Veterans Health Administration is the organization within the Department charged with providing healthcare for veterans.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) used to be an independent agency, though not of Cabinet-rank. FEMA was brought under the control of the Department of Homeland Security when it was created on March 1, 2003.

The Hatch Act of 1939 was created to prevent employees of the executive branch from participating in campaigns and political activities.

The Hatch Act of 1939 was issued in response to allegations of corruption and electioneering brought against certain Democrat members of the Executive Branch. It was alleged, and later largely proven, that many lower employees of the executive branch had undertaken actions to help the party carry certain swing states in the election of 1938, among other things. The Hatch Act of 1939 ruled that employees of the Executive Branch cannot engage in partisan political activities, with the exception of the president and certain other high-profile figures.

Since its creation in 1913, the Federal Reserve is tasked with regulating the money supply in the United States, among other responsibilities. It serves as the central bank of the United States and its primary duty is to prevent financial panics and maintain the stability of the financial system. Its record could probably be interpreted as long periods of success with the occasional massive catastrophes, but most economic experts agree that this is much better than the far more frequent financial panics that occurred in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The correct answer is “iron triangle.” An iron triangle is, well, a triangle including an interest group, congress, and the bureaucracy. Essentially the interest group (or, oftentimes a regulated industry represented by an interest group) sinks money and time into lobbying Congress to vote or act a certain way. Specifically, whichever Congress members are on the (sub)committee that oversees the bureaucracy responsible for regulating the industry. Thus, by lobbying Congress, who then pressures the bureaucracy, the regulated industry manages to create policy that meets their preferences. In more concrete terms, pretend that the regulated industry is McDoogans. Pretend further that the Committee on Fat Foods is responsible for overseeing the agency which regulates McDoogans. Well, McDoogans (or an interest group acting on behalf of, or in the interests of McDoogans) spends time, money, and effort to lobby the Committee on Fat Foods. The Committee on Fat Foods responds by pressuring the agency monitoring McDoogans to create policy favorable to McDoogans!

This is an interesting question. Basically, while bureaucrats aren’t elected, and thus you’d think that they can’t make policy, that would be incorrect! Congress oftentimes passes very general laws (that is laws that leave quite a few questions unanswered) and leaves the specifics to the bureaucracies. Bureaucrats fill in the blanks through a process called “rule-making,” which is far beyond the scope of your course (there are entire law courses devoted to it!). Regardless, bureaucracies are involved in policy making.

This should have been a relatively simple question, due to the answer choices. If you recall from American History (or, in reality, the brief introduction you got in American Government), the Jacksonian presidency heralded a new era in American Politics—that of increased democracy, in more than one way. In terms of this question, Jackson ushered in the “spoils system,” in which Jackson’s supporters gained various bureaucratic appointments because they supported him. “To the victor goes the spoils” in politics.