Big Government: A Congressman's Best Friend
Fiorina, Morris P.
Big Government: A Congressman's Best Friend by Morris P. Fiorina In this article I will set out atheory of the Washington establishment( s). The theory is quite plausible from a common sense...
...George to do battle with the dragon...
...Ceteris paribus, the more the government attempts to do for people, the more extensive a bureaucracy it creates...
...The congressman may have instigated the proposal for the project in the first place, issued regular progress reports, and ultimately announced the award through his office...
...While not malevolent, bureaucracies make mistakes in their dealings with the citizenry, both of commission and omission, and normal attempts at rkdress often meet with unresponsiveness and inflexibility and sometimes seeming incorrigibility...
...News of favors to constituents gets around and is no doubt embellished in the process...
...The typical bureaucrat can be expected to seek to expand his agency in terms of personnel, budget, and mission...
...Today, creative congressmen can cadge LEAA money for the local police, urban renewal ‘and housing money for local politicians, and educational program grants for the local education bureaucracy...
...Even committee chairmen, let alone a rankandfile congressman, may have a difficult time claiming credit for a piece of major legislation...
...Before plunging in let me bring out in the open the basic axiom on which the theory rests: the self-interest axiom...
...Or they may be seeking relief from the costs imposed by bureaucratic regulations-on working conditions, racial and sexual quotas, market restrictions, and numerous other subjects...
...Moreover, there is a kind of natural selection process at work in the electoral arena...
...While less exciting, casework and pork-barreling are both safe and profitable...
...The legislation is drafted in very general terms, so some agency, existing or newly established, must translate a vague policy mandate into a functioning program, a process that necessitates the promulgation of numerous rules and regulations and, incidentally, the trampling of numerous toes...
...Consider the rise in such contacts upon passage of the Social Security Act, work relief projects, and other New Deal programs...
...In 1930 the federal bureaucracy was small and rather distant from the everyday concerns of Americans...
...Moreover, the bureaucracy must keep coming back to Congress to have its old programs reauthorized zpd new ones added...
...Rather, he is a nonpartisan power, someone whose phone calls snap an office to attention...
...This ideology provides a philosophical justification for what congressmen do while acting in their own self-interest...
...New federal projects bring jobs, shiny new facilities, and general economic prosperity, or so people believe...
...Over and above the $57,000 salary plus “perks” and outside money,.the office of congressman carries with it prestige, excitement, and power...
...Fewer and fewer congressmen suffer electoral defeat...
...Thus, when a congressman calls about some minor bureaucratic decision or regulation, the bureaucracy considers his accommodation a small price to pay for the goodwill its cooperation will produce, particularly if he h‘as any connection to the substantive committee or the appropriations subcommittee to which it reports...
...What about the bureaucrats...
...They may be seeking positive actions-eligibilty for various benefits and awards of government grants...
...This sounds cynical, but remember that “profiles in courage” are sufficiently rare that their occurrence inspires books and articles...
...On average, those congressmen who are not primarily interested in reelection will not achieve reelection as often as those who are interested...
...From the standpoint of capturing voters, the congressman’s lawmaking activities differ in two important respects from his pork barrel and casework activities...
...Casework is even less controversial...
...Naturally the critical consideration in taking a position for the record is the maximization of approval in the home district...
...What do we, the voters who support the Washington system, strive for...
...Generally these committees make perfunctory cuts...
...They are the alpha and the omega...
...This is not to say that human beings seek only to amass tangible wealth, but rather to say that‘human beings seek to achieve their own endstangible and intangible-rather than the ends of their fellow men...
...The most extreme case of which I am aware came when the House committee took away the entire budget of the Division of Labor Standards in 1947 (some of the budget was restored elsewhere in the appropriations process...
...No congressman can seriously claim that he was responsible for the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the ABM, or the ’ 1972 Revenue Sharing Act...
...The average constituent may have trouble translating his congressman’s vote on some civil rights issue into a change in his own personal welfare...
...The .conscientious congressman can stimulate applications for federal assistance (the sheer number of programs makes it difficult for local officials to stay current with the possibilities), put in a good word during consideration, and announce favorable decisions amid great fanfare...
...Each of us wishes to receive a maximum of benefits from government for the minimum cost...
...In contrast, the pork barrel and casework are relatively less controversial...
...Overall then, programmatic activities are dangerous, and programmatic accomplishments are difficult to claim credit for...
...Practicing politicians will tell you that word of mouth is still the most effective mode of communication...
...And we should expect, second, that the members would devise and maintain institutional arrangements that facilitate their electoral activities...
...The popular frustration with the permanent government in Washington is partly justified, but to a considerable degree it is misplaced resentment...
...And the sheer size of the operation is taken to be a measure of importance...
...Elements of the electorate benefit from government programs, and all of the electorate is eligible for congressional ombudsman services...
...As with congressmen, the specified goals apply even to those bureaucrats who genuinely believe in their agencies’ missions...
...Traditionally, constituents appeal to their congressmen for myriad favors and services...
...One’s status in Washington is roughly proportional to the importance of the operation one oversees...
...Thus when he casts a vote, introduces a piece of non-trivial legislation, or makes a speech with policy content, he will displease some elements of his district...
...What kinds of legislation are privileged...
...The First Priority What should we expect from a legislative body composed of people whose first priority is their continued tenure in office...
...I do not condemn such behavior nor do I condone it (although I rather sympathize with Thoreau’s comment that “if I knew for a certainty that,a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life...
...The nature of the Washington system is thus quite clear...
...For example, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and the Food Stamps Program had no easy time of it this last Congress...
...But the general, long-term welfare of the United States is no more than an incidental by-product of the system...
...Whatever the problems, the citizen’s congressman is a source of succor...
...Ergo, the more decisions the bureaucracy has the opportunity to make, the more opportunities there are for the congressman to build up credits...
...Bleeding All Over the Capital Every year the federal budget passes through the appropriations committees and subcommittees of Congress...
...On the basic of extensive personal interviews with congressmen, Charles Clapp writes: “Denied a favorable ruling by the bureaucracy on a matter of direct concern to him, puzzled or irked by delays in obtaining a decision, confused by the administrative maze through which he is directed to proceed, or ignorant of whom to write, a constituent may turn to his congressman for help...
...If the district is unaffected by and unconcerned with the matter at hand, the congressman may then take into account the general welfare of the country...
...But the workers hired and supplies purchased in connection with a big feqeral project provide benefits that are widely appreciated...
...At the next stage, aggrieved and/or hopeful constituents petition their congressmen to intervene in the complex (or at least obscure) decision processes of the bureaucracy...
...In sum, everyday decisions by a large and growing federal bureaucracy bestow significant tangible benefits and impose significant tangible costs...
...There are also sewage treatment plants, worker training and retraining programs, health services, and programs for the elderly...
...In every postwar session Congress “considers” thousands of bills and resolutions, many hundreds of which are brought to a record vote (over 500 in each chamber in the 93rd Congress...
...The key to the rise of a semipermanent Washington establishment (and the fall of the non-safe congressional seat) is the following observation: the growth of an activist federal government has stimulated a change in the mix of congressional activities...
...But in addition, the omnibus rivers and harbors bills of the Public Works Committee and public lands bills from the Interior Committee share privileged status...
...Some constituents may applaud the congressman’s civil rights record, but others believe integration is going too fast...
...To elaborate, a basic fact of life in twentiethcentury America is the growth of the federal role and its attendant bureaucracy...
...Many popular articles have been written about the pork barrel, a term originally applied to rivers and harbors legislation but now generalized to cover all manner of federal buildings, sewage treatment plants, urban renewal projects, etc...
...A second activity favored by congressmen consists of efforts to bring home the bacon to their districts...
...That body accords certain classes of legislation “privileged” status: they may come directly to the floor without passing through the Rules Committee, a traditional graveyard for legislation...
...But in order to retain the status, excitement, and power (not to mention more tangible things) of office, the congressman must win reelection every two years...
...Maybe he can’t claim credit for the 1965 Voting Rights Act, but he can take credit for Littletown’s spanking new sewage treatment plant...
...Actually congressmen are in an almost unique position in our system, a position shared only with high-level members of the executive branch...
...The House will allow a civil rights or defense procurement or environmental bill to languish in the Rules Committee, but it takes special precautions to insure that nothing slows down the approval of dams and irrigation projects...
...Professors Richard Fenno and Aaron Wildavsky have provided extensive documentary and interview evidence of the great respect (and even terror) federal bureaucrats show for the House Appropriations Committee...
...Hence, more safe seats...
...We admire politicians who courageously adopt the aloof role of the disinterested statesman, but we vote for those politicians who follow our wishes and do us favors...
...Some advocate economic equality, others stew Over welfare cheaters...
...Again, Clapp writes: “A person who has a reasonable complaint or query is regarded as providing an opportunity rather than as adding an extra burden to an already busy office...
...Press...
...It is a seat in the cockpit of government...
...As the scope of government expands, more and more citizens find themselves in direct contact with the federal government...
...In a very real sense each congressman is a monopoly supplier of bureaucratic unsticking services for his district...
...Some support foreign aid, while others believe it’s money poured down a rat hole...
...Specifically, a lesser proportion of congressional effort is now going into programmatic activities and a greater proportion into pork-barrel and casework activities...
...We should expect, first, that the normal activities of its members are those calculated to enhance their chances of reelection...
...More and more bureaucrats promulgate more and more regulations and dispense more and more money...
...Consider the millions of additional citizens touched by the veterans’ programs of the postwar period...
...if he is indifferent, he may even lose votes...
...Regularly, voters affiliated with the opposition in other contests lend strong support to the lawmaker whose intervention has helped them in their struggle with the bureaucracy...
...All of Washington prospers...
...In dealing with the bureaucracy, the congressman is not merely one vote of 435...
...Congress is first and foremost a lawmaking body, at least according to constitutional theory...
...For a reelectionoriented congressman the choice is obvious...
...Even following the revelation of his sexual improprieties, Wayne Hays won his Ohio Democratic primary by a two-to+ne margin...
...The pork barrel is full to overflowing...
...Porkbarreling and casework, however, are basically pure profit...
...I only claim that political and economic theories that presume self-interest behavior will prove to be more widely applicable than those that build on more altruistic assumptions...
...This goal suggests maximum government efficiency, on the one hand, but it also suggests mutual exploitation on the other...
...In sum, when considering the benefits of his programmatic activities, the congressman must tote up gains and losses to arrive at a net profit...
...All of this requires more money and more people...
...Morris P. Fiorina teaches political science at California Institute of Technology...
...that ‘ their congressmen intervene in thet internal workings of federal agencies to affect a decision in a favorable way, to reverse an adverse decision, or simply to speed up the glacial bureaucratic process...
...Snipping ribbons at the dedication of a new post office or dam is a much more pleasant pursuit than disposing of a constitutional amendment on abortion...
...Congressmen possess the power to expedite and influence bureaucratic decision...
...Nevertheless, it is still a theory, not proven fact...
...The party affiliation of the individual, even when known to be different from that of the congressman, does not normally act as a deterrent to action...
...as sweet plums to be plucked...
...The cycle closes when the congressman lends a sympathetic ear, piously denounces the evils of bureaucracy, intervenes in the latter’s decisions, and rides a grateful electorate to ever more impressive electoral showings...
...This capability flows directly from congressional control over what bureaucrats value most: higher budgets and new program authorizations...
...Nowadays it is neither small nor distant...
...Even those congressmen genuinely concerned with good public policy must achieve reelection in order to continue their work...
...A specification of their goals is somewhat more controversial...
...I assume that the primary goal of the typical congressman is reelection...
...Similarly, congressmen find it easy to claim credit for federal projects awarded their districts...
...Speeding Up the Process A third major activity takes up perhaps as much time as the other two combined...
...As the years have passed, more and more citizens and groups have found themselves dealing with the federal bureaucracy...
...Some legislators have built their reputations and their majorities on a program of service to all constituents irrespective of party...
...The Snap To Attention Ah, but casework, and the pork barrel...
...But as long as the bureaucracy accommodates congressmen, they will oblige with ever larger budgets and grants of authority...
...The theory is quite plausible from a common sense standpoint, and it is consistent with the specialized literature of academic political science...
...Whether narrowly self-serving or more publicly oriented, the individual congressman finds reelection to be at least a necessary condition for the achievement of his goals...
...What does the axiom imply when used in the specific context of this article, a context peopled by congressmen, bureaucrats, and voters...
...Consider the untold numbers whom the Great Society and its aftermath brought face to face with the federal government...
...These letters offer great potential for political benefit to the congressman since they affect the Fonstituent personally...
...Taxing and spending bills, for one: the government’s power to raise and spend money must be kept relatively unfettered...
...If the legislator can be of assistance, he may gain a firm ally...
...The importance congressmen attach to the pork barrel is reflected in the rules of the House...
...Congress does not just react to big government-it creates it...
...The bureaucracy needs congressional approval in order to survive, let alone expand...
...According to a Los Angeles Times feature story, Hays’ constituency base was built on a foundation of personal service to consti tuen ts : “They receive help in speeding up bureaucratic action on various kinds of federal assistance-black lung benefits to disabled miners and their families, Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits, and passports...
...Sometimes only information is needed, but often constituents request...
...But on occasion they vent displeasure on an agency and leave it bleeding all over the capital...
...Most constituents do have some vague notion that their congressman is only one of hundreds and their senator one of an even hundred...
...Bureaucracy is the characteristic mode of delivering public goods and services...
...And what of the third element in the equation, us...
...The bureaucracy serves as a convenient lightning rod for public frustration and a convenient whipping boy for congressmen...
...Of course, in recent years the river-damming and streambedstraightening activities of the Army Corps of Engineers have aroused some oppostion among environmentalists...
...Each of us favors an arrangement in which our fellow citizens pay for our benefits...
...I assume that most people most of the time act in their own self-interest...
...On such policy matters the congressman can expect to make friends as well as enemies...
...The constituent who receives aid believes that his congressman and his congressman alone got results...
...Congressmen can affect these decisions...
...If they believe in the efficacy of their programs, they naturally wish to expand them and add new ones...
...Some constituents still tell with pleasure of how Hays stormed clear to the seventh floor of the State Department and into Secretary of State Dean Rusk’s office to demand, successfully, the quick issuance of a passport to an Ohioan...
...As a result, today’s congressmen make relatively fewer enemies and relatively more friends among the people of their districts...
...Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, all generally prefer a richer district to a poorer one...
...The creative pork-barreler need not limit himself to dams and post offices-rather old-fashioned interests...
...This article is excerpted from his book, CongressKeystone of the Waslungton Establishment, to be published in April by Yale Univ...
...First, legislative programs are inherently controversial...
...Politicians have propounded an ideology that maintains that the good of the country on any given issue is simply what is best for a majority of congressional districts...
...Creative Pork-Barreling In addition to greatly increasing casework, let us not forget that the growth of the federal role has also greatly expanded the federal pork barrel...
...The literature provides ample justification for asserting that most bureaucrats wish to protect and nurture their agencies...
...With these brief descriptions of the cast of characters in hand, let us proceed...
...We, the people, help to weed out congressmen whose primary motivation is not reelection...
...Unless his district is homogeneous, a congressman will find his district divided on many major issues...
...The greater the scope of government activity, the greater the demand for his services...
...Some poor, aggrieved constituent becomes enmeshed in the tentacles of an evil bureaucracy and calls upon Congressman St...
...Again, most such decisions are perfunctory , but exceptions are sufficiently frequent that bureaucrats do not forget the hand that feeds them...
...For most of the twentieth century, congressmen have engaged in a mix of three kinds of activities: lawmaking, pork-barreling, and casework...
...A second way in which lawmaking differs from casework and the pork barrel is the difficulty of claiming credit for the former as compared with the latter...
...Congressmen happily reacted by absorbing the opposition and adding environmentalism to the pork barrel: water treatment plants are currently a hot congressional item...
...Congressmen take credit coming and going...
...Congressmen (typically the majority Democra ts) earn electoral credits by establishing various federal programs (the minority Republicans typically earn credits by fighting the good fight...
...Congress is the linchpin of the Washington establishment...
Vol. 9 • March 1977 • No. 1
