Essay Database

The bureaucracy is unusual because although it is a policymaking institution, it is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. Therefore, who is in control of the bureaucracy is a question that has drawn the attention of many observers. Morris Fiorina, Hugh Heclo, and William Bianco are all political scientists or scholars who address this question with their essays on the topic. In Morris Fiorina's essay, entitled "Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy", Fiorina's main point is …

…So in conclusion, there is a lot more oversight going on than it appears at first glance, so the control over the bureaucracy is still there. As Bianco put it, since Congress has this "Fire-Alarm" oversight it does not need to exercise the less effective "Police-Patrol" oversight. Because the Fire-Alarm oversight model creates a greater threat to bureaucrats who might ignore congressional legislation in order to please someone else, it keeps the bureaucracy in check.