The Federal Bureaucracy

Learning Objective:  Students will understand the role of the federal bureaucracy in our government and our lives.

Success Criteria: Students can DEFINE and EXPLAIN the roles of both civil service workers and political appointees in the federal bureaucracy.

As part of our study of the Presidency we going to take a look at the federal bureaucracy which is run by the President as the Executive Leader of the government.

The federal bureaucracy is in charge of carrying out the laws that Congress (our Legislative Branch) creates.  This includes everything from making sure the air we breathe and water we drink is reasonably clean to making sure food stamps are paid out every month for those living in poverty.  We hardly notice the federal bureaucracy, that is until it stops working properly.

The test will ask you to explain the difference between a civil service worker and a political appointee.  For a PROFICIENT answer you will need to explain that while both work for the federal bureaucracy and help execute the laws passed by Congress under the President's direction, civil service workers are hired based on merit (i.e. their skill, knowledge and overall ability to do the job) whereas political appointees are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate.  They are given their high level jobs generally due to their support of the President and not necessarily because they are capable of the job to which they were appointed.