Policy and the branches of government | AP US Government and Politics | Khan Academy

Summary

The federal bureaucracy, sometimes called the “fourth branch,” has more than two million employees who implement laws. Agencies have discretion in how they carry out policy, but their size and independence can make them difficult to oversee.

The video uses the 2014 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) scandal to explain how the other branches of government can hold the bureaucracy accountable. A whistleblower reported that VA officials falsified electronic records to make patient wait times appear shorter. Officials had an incentive to meet wait-time targets because bonuses were tied to them. In reality, average waits exceeded 100 days, and dozens of veterans died while awaiting delayed appointments.

Actions Taken by Each Branch

• Executive branch

  • The VA conducted internal investigations under Secretary Eric Shinseki.
  • The department used its rulemaking authority to abandon an unrealistic wait-time target that had created a harmful incentive.
  • President Barack Obama could have fired Shinseki, but Shinseki resigned.
  • Obama used his nomination power to appoint Bob McDonald as the new VA secretary.
  • The administration introduced additional measures, including:
    • An independent accountability review board.
    • A board of physicians to advise the secretary.
    • A plan to upgrade the electronic health-record system.
    • Protections for whistleblowers.

• Congress

  • Used its oversight power to hold hearings and subpoena Shinseki to testify.
  • Passed reforms and used its power of the purse to fund a $16 billion plan to hire more doctors and nurses, improve facilities, and let veterans seek care from private doctors when needed.
  • Included measures to make it easier to hold VA officials accountable for misconduct.
  • Confirmed the president’s nominee for VA secretary.

• Judicial branch

  • Considered whether it was constitutional to fire civil servants who had not been appointed without giving them a chance to appeal.
  • The courts ruled that the process was unconstitutional.
  • In response, Congress passed a new bill in 2017 establishing a grievance process for civil servants, which President Donald Trump signed.

Results and Broader Lesson

The reforms had mixed results. A 2015 New York Times report said only three people had been fired in response to the scandal, despite Bob McDonald’s public statement that 60 employees had been fired.

In 2019, Government Accountability Office health-care director Deborah Draper told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that wait times and scheduling had improved, but the VA still did not accurately record patient wait times. Veterans might wait as long as 70 days despite shorter reported delays. On the other hand, the VA completed one million more appointments in 2018 than in 2017.

The case illustrates how executive oversight, congressional investigation and funding, and judicial review can all constrain and correct bureaucratic agencies. It also shows that formal reforms may improve services without fully resolving problems with accountability or measurement.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Presenter/narrator: The video’s narrator; the metadata identifies the presenter as Kim Kutz Elliott.
• Unnamed whistleblower: Reported the VA’s falsification of wait-time records.
• Eric Shinseki: VA secretary during the scandal.
• Barack Obama: President at the time; took executive actions and nominated a replacement VA secretary.
• Bob McDonald: Shinseki’s successor as VA secretary.
• Deborah Draper: Government Accountability Office health-care director who testified in 2019.
• Sources and institutions cited: The New York Times, the Government Accountability Office, the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the federal court system, Congress, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.