ABSTRACT
The federal bureaucracy is often criticized by the public and by politicians for being too large, inefficient, and unresponsive to taxpayers. Presidents typically begin bureaucratic reform when they enter office (O’Connor and Sabato, 1993). In such a large institution, though, even minor changes are difficult. As social and political interests have changed, administrations have created cabinet-level departments and agencies, most recently the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency (O’Connor and Sabato, 1993). Social and political changes can also eliminate or significantly change the need for existing agencies, for example, the Rural Electrification Administration and the Office of National Dmg Control Policy. In another instance, changes in the tax law affect the tax returns of millions of taxpayers and create needs for change in the bureaucratic agency responsible for implementing tax laws, for example, changing policies and reallocating human and financial resources within the agency. Deregulation of airlines has affected millions of travelers and forced the Federal Aviation Administration to adapt.
