Chapter 5

1)
In the Chevron case, the circuit court used judicial review to decide the validity of a bureau’s
interpretation of the law.

In the context of the scenario, the mentioned Chevron case affected the federal bureaucracy by
ruling that agencies could interpret and change their interpretations of the law, thus bolstering
their authority in their discretion.

In the context of the scenario, the rule regarding the federal bureaucracy’s power impacts
separation of powers by granting the Executive Branch the authority to interpret laws and
strengthening their power to enforce them.

2)
Within the bureaucracy, the only department with a rating lower than 50% from both parties is
the Department of Veterans Affairs with Democrats nearing the 50% threshold for the IRS.

In the rating of the Environmental Protection Agency, Republican/Lean Republican respondents

rated the Agency more than 20% worse than Democrat/Lean Democrats. This is likely because
of the messaging and controversy around the Agency and its role in regulating companies.

Both highly rate nonpartisan agencies which provide specific services such as the Postal Service,
the Center for Disease Control, and NASA. The two which both parties agree on (and favorable
towards) are the Department of Defense and the FBI. This shows how both ultimately have the
security of the nation and the benefit of American citizens in mind.

3)
In both National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X Internet Services and
Marbury v. Madison, the court was addressing the power of judicial review and determining its
place in application of the law.

The decision in Marbury led to a different holding than in National Cable because the ruling in
Marbury took powers from Congress whereas the ruling in National Cable reallocated the
power back to the bureaucracy (the blend of congress and executive)

These people can attend FCC rule making hearings, which are open to the public, and give their
opinions, start letter writing campaigns to the board to change its interpretation, and pressure
members of Congress to change the law.
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4) Does the federal bureaucracy operate with sufficient checks and balances or does it have
too much discretionary power to be a fully democratic element of government?

Although some may argue that the federal bureaucracy has too much discretionary
power to be fully democratic, it actually operates under sufficient checks and balances by
dividing power from the legislature while still deriving power from Congress.

The Constitution’s framers knew that Congress would face unimaginable challenges in
the future, so they left the Necessary and Proper Clause in the Constitution- giving Congress the
power to create laws that are necessary and proper to execute their job. This allowed the
creation of the federal bureaucracy through laws and delegation of powers. In this, they gave
smaller agencies the power to specialize in smaller areas to execute the law.

When the country was founded, the framers wanted to establish a separation of powers
among the government, and they were concerned about any one branch being too powerful. In
Federalist 51, the authors acknowledge the concern of a legislature dominating the
government, so they emphasize the importance of dividing the powers among other branches
and keeping them independent of each other. The framers knew that the legislative branch
would have the largest tasks and the most power, so they wanted this delegated out, and this
led to the creation of the bureaucracy to tackle specific governmental tasks.

Critics of the bureaucracy may argue that the federal bureaucracy has grown beyond its
intention and away from Congressional oversight. While it may be true that bureaucracies have
expanded their ability to interpret the laws, they are still well within the disciplinary reach of
Congress. While they may be able to interpret the law, Congress is the one creating these laws,
setting standards for agencies, and hearing testimony from heads of agencies. In addition,
Article II expressly gives the Senate the power of advice and consent: the duty to review
nominees for positions including heads of departments and confirm or reject them. With this
hand on the wheel, Congress still has proper checks and balances on the bureaucracy, and it
has stayed as a democratic institution.