Fourth Branch of Government

Fourth Branch

Fourth Branch of Government

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Fourth Branch of Government

The United States government consists of three separate branches of government each playing an important role. The executive branch consists of the president who was the power to veto laws created by the legislation or propose laws. The judicial branch has the authority to strike down any laws created by the legislation and approved by the president. When the three branches of government work together to create laws what is sometimes considered the fourth branch of government, the bureaucracy, is responsible for administering the law. The Fourth Branch is a silent entity doing the work it requires to ensure policies become a part of law but should never be considered an equal part of the government.

The so called Fourth Branch of government is the bureaucracy which uses publically funded agencies to administer policies created by the government. The powers exercised by the Fourth branch of government are granted by congress. Congress is the legislative branch. If the bureaucracy or Fourth Branch of the government is given equal power it would in fact just increase the influence and power of Congress. Secondly the bureaucracy is afforded the power to create administrate polices that could counter the true and original intent of the law.

The rise of the fourth branch could also minimize Congress’s lawmaking authority when they change or adapt the legislations this branch has created. Instead of the laws congress intended being established, faceless bureaucrats craft the laws. The three branches of government were created to ensure the government functioned on behalf of the people and that no one branch of the government were to be oppressive. If the Fourth Branch was created this would no longer be the case and instead rulemaking would become the sole responsibility of the bureaucracy.

Currently the ‘Fourth Branch’ of government is autonomous. The autonomy was magnified when the Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that agencies are entitled to heavy deference in their interpretations of laws (Turley, 2013). These public entities are now afforded the right to have deference on how the law is administered which denies this once right of Congress. Despite this ruling the power of judiciary is being to diminish under the weight of the authority of the bureaucracy. This is noticeable in the administrative courts emerging to handle judicial issues. Instead of a common law process ensuring due process rights these regulatory processes that are one sided and in favor of the federal agency.

One the flip side of the argument some believe it is necessary to oversea and implement the laws created by the three branches of government. The bureaucracy is needed to support and administers the law voted on for the people (Amy, 2005). If there were no agencies to administer these policies they would never become law. People that support the bureaucracy find it is better than having more federal agencies to control the actions of the people. They create the general rules and policies that result in an effective running society. Without a bureaucracy there would be administration of the laws.

Despite this support the truth is the bureaucracy should never become an equal fourth part of the government even though the bureaucracy is already just about as powerful as the other branches. The bureaucracy is needed but there has to be a better approach to treating people as a number and major waste by agencies given the power to decide how a law or public policy will be administered in society. The bureaucracy is a necessary part of the government but it should never be treated as the fourth branch of the government. Three branches are all that is needed to uphold a democratic process.

References

Amy, D. (2005). The Case for Bureaucracy. Retrieved February 11, 2014 from

http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=20&print=1

Turley, J. (2013). The rise of the fourth branch of government. Retrieved February 11, 201 from

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