AP® United States Government and Politics review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/gov/units/2/2-14)
Unit 2 · Topic 2.14
2.14 Holding the Bureaucracy Accountable
Agencies have a lot of power, so the elected branches work to hold them accountable. Congress uses oversight hearings, investigations and the power of the purse; the president appoints agency leaders and sets priorities; and compliance monitoring checks that rules are followed and money is spent properly. Each tool has limits, which is why accountability is an ongoing challenge.
Key terms
- congressional oversight
- power of the purse
- committee hearings
- compliance monitoring
- presidential appointments
How Congress holds agencies accountable
- Oversight hearings: committees call agency officials to testify and answer questions in public. The threat of a tough hearing changes agency behavior.
- Investigations: committees can request documents and subpoena witnesses when something goes wrong.
- Power of the purse: Congress decides each year how much money agencies get and can attach conditions, cut funding for a program, or forbid spending on a particular activity. This is often its most effective tool.
- Rewriting the law: Congress can change an agency's mission, expand or narrow its authority, or abolish it.
- Confirmation: the Senate confirms the heads of departments and many agencies.
- Overturning rules: under the Congressional Review Act (1996), Congress can pass a resolution to reject a new regulation. The president can veto that resolution, so it usually succeeds only soon after a new president from the other party takes office.
- Watchdogs: the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress's own auditor, studies how agencies spend money and whether programs work. Inspectors general inside agencies investigate waste and fraud and report to Congress.
How the president holds agencies accountable
- Appointments: presidents appoint department and agency heads who share their priorities. For many positions, the president can also remove officials.
- Executive orders and directives: presidents tell agencies what to prioritize and how to enforce laws.
- Budget proposals: through the Office of Management and Budget, the White House shapes each agency's budget request and reviews major regulations before they're issued.
- Reorganization: presidents can propose restructuring agencies, though major changes need Congress.
Compliance monitoring
Compliance monitoring means checking that rules are being followed. Agencies monitor the businesses and state governments they regulate, for example through EPA inspections of factories or audits of how states spend federal grants. In turn, Congress, the GAO and inspectors general monitor whether agencies themselves are following the law and spending money as Congress intended. Monitoring can also make a policy harder to carry out: audits, reports and inspections take time and staff, and when a business or state falls short, the agency must decide whether to push for compliance or ease off.
Why accountability is hard
- Size and expertise: agencies know far more about their technical work than members of Congress or White House staff.
- Iron triangles: committees may protect the agencies they're supposed to oversee because they share goals with them (2.12).
- Competing bosses: Congress and the president may give agencies conflicting instructions, especially under divided government.
- Civil service protections: career employees can't be fired for political reasons, which protects expertise but limits a president's control.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Choosing the right accountability tool
Reports show an agency has spent millions on a program Congress never authorized. Describe two actions Congress could take and explain how each holds the agency accountable.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: First action: hold oversight hearings and an investigation, calling the agency head to testify and requesting documents. This brings the problem into public view and pressures the agency to explain or change course.
- Step 2: Second action: use the power of the purse, by cutting the agency's budget or writing into its next appropriation that no money may be spent on that program. This directly stops the spending.
- Step 3: Each answer should name the tool and explain the effect, not just list it.
Answer: Congress could hold oversight hearings to expose and pressure the agency, and use its power of the purse to forbid funding for the program in the next appropriations bill.
Common mistakes
- Saying the president controls the agencies' budgets. The president proposes; Congress appropriates the money.
- Thinking oversight means only punishment. Hearings also gather information and signal Congress's priorities.
- Forgetting that iron triangles can weaken oversight because committees and agencies share interests.
On the exam
- Concept application questions often ask how Congress or the president could hold an agency accountable in a scenario. Pick a specific tool and explain its effect.
- The power of the purse is the strongest, most widely applicable answer for Congress; appointments are the strongest for the president.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 2.14 Holding the Bureaucracy Accountable. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
| Year | Party control of government | Oversight hearings held by House committees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unified | 120 |
| 2 | Unified | 130 |
| 3 | Divided | 210 |
| 4 | Divided | 240 |
Hypothetical data
Which conclusion is best supported by the table?
Besides holding hearings, which tool gives Congress the most direct control over what a federal agency can do?
A newly elected president replaces the head of a federal agency and directs the new leader to review all the rules the agency adopted under the last administration. This best illustrates
At the request of a House committee, the Government Accountability Office audits how a federal agency spent disaster relief money and reports that millions of dollars went to ineligible applicants. This is an example of
0 of 4 answered