Federal Bureaucratic Process The Clinton Tapes

Question: Discuss Barbara Sinclair's argument that Congress is increasingly characterized by "unorthodox lawmaking." Describe the efforts of President Reagan, President Carter, and President Clinton to reform and/or reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy. Answer: Introduction In the opinion of many experts including Barbara Sinclair, the current legislative process that is being practiced by the congress in the house and the senate is vastly different then the process described in the US government textbooks[1]. The process according to the written documents the lawmaking process should be fixed but it is becoming more and more flexible and varied [2]. The definition of the process is not only being rearranged but the new system can not conform to any single definition as the process is fluid and changes depending on situations. Drug bill, regulatory overhaul and the national service legislation are three bills where the legislative process to form them were vastly different from one another as well as the definition of the process. Discussion The main reason behind the conformation of the legislative process of the congress has been adaptive to the situation and it is seen that the congress is becoming more and more goal orientated. The institution is liable to adapt to any process to suit their goals and the result is given priority to ensure the process is successful no matter how different it is from the standard definition. These different and adaptive moves are so different from the contemporary legislative practices that they should be dubbed unorthodox lawmaking [3]. Sinclair uncovers it that the new and more innovative processes are becoming more and more popular and more frequently used in comparison with the orthodox process also. According to the legislative process it is up to the committees to put forth the proposal for a bill but the use of task forces that circumvent the committees is one of the processes that are unconventional. There are also post committee adjustments to the bills that are often changed significantly from the version that are passed by the committee. These tools to change the legislative process are based on the fact that new situation and the adjustment of the process to meet the new requirements are facilitated by the change in procedure. It is clear from the flexibility of the new process that the congress used the process to overcome the barriers that might be circumvented[4]. This is possibly due to a result of opposition of the democrats but the majority in the house allowed the institution to go through with it. From the many examples of unorthodox lawmaking it is clear that the process might be innovative and modern but the risks associated in the process are present no matter what one might think[5]. The congress at the end of the day is a committee government and too much change and innovation in the process that is mostly used to overrule the committees might result in the quality and the consideration of the laws dropping. Conclusion Therefore, in the light of the examples and the need for change in the legislative process it can be clearly said that the unorthodox lawmaking is definitely becoming a defining characteristic of the congress[6]. Introduction The federal bureaucracy is the role of the departments of the federal government that is a convoluted process to make the process unnecessarily complex. President Reagan, carter and Clinton all supported the fact that the change is necessary in the procedures and operations of the federal government to ensure that the wastage of the government in that regard is minimum. Role of Reagan In the civil service, the role of President Ronald Reagan was decidedly anti government. In 1981, his inaugural speech declared that the government is not the solution but the part of the problem. He tried amending that by reducing the size of federal bureaucracy that threatened the job securities of many federal employees[7]. He was opinionated about the waste of government resources by the bureaucratic process so he was all for the reduction of the size by putting more responsibility in the hands of the states and streamlining the operations of the existing departments of the federal governments[8]. He encouraged deregulation and the overhaul of the current procedures to eliminate the number of programs and reduce the bureaucratic process. Most of this occurred during his first term as president and in his second term he became much less vocal about the issue[9]. In the end, Reagan failed to make a significant change in the procedures but his efforts were in the right direction and the result of the trend is still being reaped. Role of Carter The role of president carter is definitely marked as a failure for his failed attempt of stabilising the country after the Vietnam situation. However, his role in the simplification of the federal procedures and the increasing concern for the well being of the majority of the populace is commendable [10]. He stated that the government has become too distant from the people and the need for lawyers and mediators needed for a common man to attract the interest of the government to his problems must be amended if the government is to care for the people. Role of Clinton In the case of bill Clinton the role of federal bureaucracy is seen as the too big to be functional and accountable. He followed Reagans example by trying to reduce the number of employees and making target specific department, which were more focused in their efforts. President Clinton in his term as president eliminated 200,000 federal jobs to reduce the cost of the government[11]. He focused on the importance of the improvement of the private sector while making the government more influential in certain regards of control and accountability. According to him, the role of the government is to provide the citizen with the security and social service that uses the collective resources of the government to achieve the goal. Conclusion In the case of all three presidents they determined the federal bureaucratic process to be more effective and connected to the needs of the people by simplification of the departments and reduction of the complexity of the process. References Branch, Taylor..The Clinton Tapes. New York, N.Y.: Simon Schuster. 2009 Goldman, Sheldon..Picking Federal Judges. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1997 Lynn, Laurence E and David deF Whitman..The President As Policymaker. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 1981 Martin, Bradford D..The Other Eighties. New York: Hill and Wang. 2011 Scarborough, Joe..The Right Path. New York: Random House. 2013. [1] Barbara Sinclair,.Unorthodox Lawmaking. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. 1997 [2] Joshua D Clinton. "Congress, Lawmaking, And The Fair Labor Standards Act, 1971-2000".American Journal Of Political Science(2011),56 (2): 355-372. [3] Tim Feddersen. "Institutions, Rules, And The Lawmaking Process".Congress The Presidency (1999).26 (1): 89-95. [4] Barbara Sinclair. "Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes In The U.S. Congress".The Social Science Journal (2000)37 (1): 151-152. [5] Steven S Smith, Jason M Roberts, and Ryan J Vander Wielen.. The American Congress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2006 [6] The Lawmaking Congress. Duke University School of Law. 1993 [7] Joe Scarborough. The Right Path. New York: Random House. 2013 [8] Sheldon. Goldman.Picking Federal Judges. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1997 [9] Bradford D. Martin. The Other Eighties. New York: Hill and Wang. 2011 [10] Laurence E Lynn and David deF Whitman.. The President As Policymaker. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 1981 [11] Taylor Branch. The Clinton Tapes. New York, N.Y.: Simon Schuster. 2009 Clinton, Joshua D. "Congress, Lawmaking, And The Fair Labor Standards Act, 1971-2000".American Journal Of Political Science56 (2): 355-372.2011 .doi:10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00547.x. Feddersen, Tim.. "Institutions, Rules, And The Lawmaking Process".Congress The Presidency (1999). doi:10.1080/07343469909507794. Sinclair, Barbara..Unorthodox Lawmaking. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. 1997 Sinclair, Barbara.. "Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes In The U.S. Congress".The Social Science Journal(2000) doi:10.1016/s0362-3319(99)00054-3. Smith, Steven S, Jason M Roberts, and Ryan J Vander Wielen..The American Congress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2006 The Lawmaking Congress. Duke University School of Law. 1993Describe the efforts of President Reagan, President Carter, and President Clinton to reform and/or reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy