A bureaucracy is units within a government created to accomplish specific goals and tasks by the legislative branch. Many bereaucracy’s are not defined or have many regulations including not having a clear chain of command, making it hard to direct a certain budget.

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1. A bureaucracy is units within a government created to accomplish specific goals and tasks by the legislative branch. Many bereaucracy’s are not defined or have many regulations including not having a clear chain of command, making it hard to direct a certain budget. Many of these bureaucracy’s have more freedom than those in other countries, do to that fact that our federal budget is higher than most (Learning 2019). There are four types of bereaucracy’s, cabinet departments, independent executive agencies, regulatory agencies, and government corporations. We as people deal with these departments every single day. For example, the State Department of Motor Vehicles, insurance companies, and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, now known as Amtrak are all part of bereaucracy’s. Specifically, Amtrak as been around for many years and was created with the decline of passengers on railroads within the 1950’s and 1960’s. Rail service has been intertwined with the government as it is a federally chartered corporation. The head of Amtrak is directly appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. These corporations are designed to be more interpersonal, depleting political affiliations, but leaving these corporations under strict laws and policies. For example, “Due to their rigid rules and procedures, bureaucracies are often slow to respond to unexpected situations and slow to adapt to changing social conditions. In addition, when left with no latitude to deviate from the rules, frustrated employees can become defensive and indifferent to the needs of the people who deal with them” (Longley). Implementing these strict rules does create a “box” for the business and the people within, but it does keep interpersonal relationships and reduces political influence. Amtrak is an example of that and was created by congress with the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970. The board is made up of 10 members, one being a “designee” and the President of Amtrak being a non voting member (Federal Railroad Administartion 2022).

2. There are four broad forms of bureaucracy: cabinet departments, government companies, regulatory commissions, and independent agencies (Independence Hall Association, n.d.). The majority of bureaucracies are within the President’s jurisdiction to control; however, a few are directly controlled by Congress. Although most federal agencies are controlled by the executive branch, all federal agencies may be created, arranged, and terminated by Congress (Independence Hall Association, n.d.). Every Cabinet department has a secretary in charge, with the exception of the Justice Department, which is led by the Attorney General (Independence Hall Association, n.d.). Every department head is a member of the President’s Cabinet and oversees setting the department’s policies and organization structure (Independence Hall Association, n.d.).

Specifically, Lloyd J. Austin III is the Secretary of Defense. His responsibilities include managing the Department of Defense (DoD) and serving as the main adviser and decision-maker for defense policy. Due to its vast budgets, the DoD is a department that is frequently criticized by the public. Besides being publicly reviewed, the DoD has a checks and balances system constitutionally embedded into it. The Legislative and Executive Branches are responsible for different aspects of defense, according to the Constitution. While the President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and is ultimately responsible for the nation’s defense, Congress alone has the authority to declare war or authorize money for the military (United States Department of Defense, n.d.).

Like mentioned previously, the Legislative Branch oversees the DoD’s responsibilities as an Executive Department. According to Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power to not only declare war, but also to organize and sustain armies, and establish regulations for the land and naval forces (United States Department of Defense, n.d.). The Constitution’s need for checks and balances and the separation of powers in the DoD is to prevent military dictatorship. It is further demonstrated by the requirement that the Secretary of Defense be a civilian (United States Department of Defense, n.d.).

The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and is chosen by the President with Senate approval. The Secretary must comply with the law and be a civilian who has not served in the military for at least ten years (United States Department of Defense, n.d.). Each branch of Government has their own checks on the Department of Defense and all other bureaucracy departments, as well as each other. The American Founding Fathers established this system of checks and balances through the U.S. Constitution. As James Madison said in Federalist #47, “The accumulation of all powers legislative, executive and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny (1788).”

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