2.13 Discretionary and Rule-Making Authority 

The federal bureaucracy implements federal policies. 

Explain how the federal bureaucracy uses delegated discretionary authority for rule-making and implementation. 

Discretionary and rule-making authority to implement policy are given to bureaucratic agencies, including: 

•  Department of Homeland Security 

•  Department of Transportation 

•  Department of Veterans Affairs 

•  Department of Education

•  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

•  Federal Elections Commission (FEC)

•  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC 

Bureaucratic agencies are given discretionary and rule-making authority to implement policy.

Bureaucrats have discretionary powers because they have some flexibility as they interpret the law and implement public policy. For instance, police officers overlook some offenses during their shifts and welfare caseworkers decide the order and speed with which applicants receive their benefits. Of course, the actions of police officers and caseworkers, like all bureaucrats, are at least theoretically bound by the law. The point is not that bureaucrats are rogue actors but that they have some latitude in making decisions. Remember bureaucrats are those people empowered to carry out the will of the people as defined by public policy