Thursday, 6:10-8 pm Fall 2012 Phillips Hall 411 (Dean s Conference Room) Topics, Readings, and Projects

Transcription

1 Public Administration Federal Regulation of Society Thursday, 6:10-8 pm Fall 2012 Phillips Hall 411 (Dean s Conference Room) C. H. Sterling Dates Topics, Readings, and Projects 30 Aug 1. Introduction: Course topics, case studies, readings and projects. Delineating multiple government roles as owner/provider, protector, client/user; or referee. Obama administration and the revival of an activist federal role... 6 Sep 2. Theories and Contexts of Regulation: What regulation is and why; causal theories and justifications for regulating; from which contexts does regulation emerge, what is a regulatory regime? How it all works. Select project 1 agency. EWR, chaps 1-2; Skrzycki, chap 1. Michael D. Reagan, Regulation in Perspective, chapter 1 in his Regulation (Boston: Little, Brown, 1987) Lori Brainard, Regulation and Deregulation in Theory and Practice, chapter 1 in her Television: The Limits of Deregulation (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2004). Richard Harris and Sidney Milkis, The Politics of Regulatory Change, chapter 2 in their The Politics of Regulatory Change (New York: Oxford, 1996). 13 Sep 3. Early Federal Regulation (to 1930): basis of federal regulation; the railway problem; creation of the ICC; PUC movement and progressive ideal Sunshine regulation; measuring success. Topic choice for project 3 due - Interstate Commerce Commission (1897) - Department of Labor (1913) EWR, chap 3; McCraw, chap1; Skrzycki, chap 2 For a summation of Supreme Court cases on the Commerce Clause, see:

2 PPPA 6076 Page Two 20 Sep 4. Rise of Anti-Trust: Basis of the 1890 and 1914 laws; why necessary; when is bigness bad? Pros, cons of anti-trust as a policy definer. Case study 1: AT&T antitrust cases (1913, 1949, 1974). Project 2 and topic choice for project 4 due - Federal Trade Administration (1914) - DoJ Antitrust Division (1946) McCraw, chaps 2-3-4; EWR, chap 4 Introduction: Breaking Up is Hard to Do, in Sterling, Kasle, Glakas, eds. Decision to Divest (Washington: Communications Press, 1986) 27 Sep 5. Growth of the Administrative State (1930 to 1970): Does economic regulation constitute an inappropriate intrusion of government into business, or of business into government, or neither? What have been the causes/rationales of economic regulation? Stakeholders? Role of Iron triangles Case study 2: Developing air transport regulation. - National Recovery Administration (1933) - Works Progress Administration/CCC (1930s) - National Labor Relations Board (1935) - Civil Aeronautics Board (1938) - Wartime agencies: OPP, OWI etc. ( ) McCraw, chaps 5-6 Introduction and Background, chapter 1 of M. A. Brenner, et al., Airline Deregulation (Westport, CT: Eno Foundation, 1985). 4 Oct 6. Social Regulation: From Iron Triangles to Issue Networks? What are the typical causes of/rationales for social regulation? Stakeholders? Differences from economic regulation? Case study 3: Government as Landlord: Designing and Managing Washington, DC as an Example of Overlapping Agency Roles - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1964) - Environmental Protection Agency (1970) - Occupational Safety and Health Administration (1970) - Consumer Product Safety Commission (1972) Skrzycki, chap 3. Jeffrey Berry, Subgovernments, Issue Networks, and Political Conflict, chapter 9 in Milkis and Harris, eds., Remaking American Politics

3 PPPA 6076 Page Three (Boulder: Westview, 1989) David Vogel, The New Social Regulation in Historical and Comparative Perspective, in T. K. McCraw, ed., Regulation in Perspective: Historical Essays (Cambridge: Harvard, 1981). A History of the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Park, (National Park Service) and information on Commission of Fine Arts, National Capital Planning Commission, etc. 11 Oct 7. Economic and Social Deregulation (since 1975): What are the causes and justifications for deregulation? Stakeholder positions? Case study 4: Three decades of FCC electronic media deregulation: Defining and regulating new technology. McCraw, chap 7 Martha Derthick and Paul Quirk, The Reform Idea, chap 2 in their The Politics of Deregulation (Washington: Brookings, 1985). 18 Oct 8. Government as Landlord: Case study 5: Federal Lands, Dams and the West-- Multiple agencies and competing purposes - General Land Office (1812) Bureau of Land Management (1946) - Forest Service (1905) - National Park Service (1916) - Army Corps of Engineers (1802) - Bureau of Reclamation (1902) - Tennessee Valley Authority (1933) Handouts (suggested readings will be posted) 25 Oct 9. Contemporary Economic Regulation: How it has changed in recent years and why. Project 3 due. Case study 6: Selected Federal Economic Agencies: - Federal Reserve (1913) - Internal Revenue Service (1913) - Office of Management and Budget (1921) - Securities and Exchange Commission (1934) - Council of Economic Advisors (1946) EWR, chaps 5-6

4 PPPA 6076 Page Four 8 Nov 10. Contemporary Social Regulation: How has social regulation changed in recent years and what are the factors behind these changes? Have the processes also changed? GPRA. Case study 7: Federal Health Policy - Public Health Service (1912) - Food and Drug Administration (1930) - National Institutes of Heath (1930) - Medicare/Medicaid (1965) - Obamacare (2009) EWR, chaps Nov 11. Deregulation and Transportation: What is the role of regulation in an era of deregulation? Case study 8: Transport over past quarter century: (A) airline deregulation; (B) troubled tale of Amtrak; (C) interstate highways and urban transportation - Bureau of Federal Roads - Federal Railway Administration - Maritime Admin (1960); Federal Maritime Commission (1961) - Federal Aviation Agency (1958) - Department of Transportation (1967) - National Transportation Safety Board - Amtrak (1970) EWR, chap 11 CBO report on Amtrak s future: m=0#anchor 22 Nov 12. Regulatory Reform: Is there a common theme in this week s readings? Are things getting better or worse how are the ideas, institutions and policies in regulation changing and why? What factors may transform both the nature of regulation and its processes? Case study 9: Defense and National Security - Department of Defense (1947) and predecessors - CIA (1947) - NSA (1952) - NASA (1958) - DARPA (1959)

5 PPPA 6076 Page Five - FEMA (1979) and predecessors - Department of Homeland Security (2003) McCraw, chap 8; Skrzycki, chaps Richard Friedman, chapters 4 and 9 from his The World is Flat (New York: Farrar, 2005) (29 Nov NO CLASS Happy Thanksgiving!) 6 Dec 13. A View from the Field. [guest speaker] and course evaluation 13 Dec Project 4 due [class will NOT meet] Course Readings Marc Allen Eisner, Jeff Worsham, and Evan J. Ringquist, Contemporary Regulatory Policy (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2006, 2 nd ed.). Shown as EWR in course outline. (NOTE: this is not in bookstore or on Amazon, but can still be ordered directly from the publisher, postage free: ) Thomas K. McCraw, Prophets of Regulation (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984). Cindy Skrzycki, The Regulators: Anonymous Power Brokers (Lanhan, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003). Additional readings or URLs, especially those concerning the case studies, will be sent by or through Blackboard. Christopher H. Sterling Associate Dean for Special Projects, CCAS Professor Emeritus of Media and Public Affairs Phillips Hall 212 (note this is NOT the MPA building!)

6 PPPA 6076 Page Six (office hours: I m around much of the time Tu-Fr, but urge you make an appointment as dean stuff will often require that I be away from the office): chriss@gwu.edu (by far, the fastest way to get a response) (fax) (if you are really curious) Written Projects Four short papers will account for 90 percent of the final course grade; my assessment of your class contribution (in terms of active participation) makes up the other 10 percent. You are welcome to pursue either of two options for the three projects: (a) to follow a single type of policy concern (such as health care, national security, or environmental protection), or (b) to explore different policy subject areas for each of the three papers. Submit papers electronically, please, only making hard copies for class of the first project below. 1. Briefing a Federal Agency (10 percent of grade): Briefly outline ONE federal agency in five to seven pages, including: - Origins (and predecessor entities, if any) - Basic purpose and role - Congressional committee oversight - Examples of important decisions - Policy problem areas You may outline one of those listed under nine of the course sessions (above), or suggest a different one just clear it with me first. Please make sufficient copies for the class (and send it to me electronically as well). You will briefly (say 10 minutes) describe and analyze your agency during the class session where it is listed or would otherwise come up. 2. Assessing a Key Regulator (20 percent of grade): Using the McCraw approach as a model, select any past federal regulator or public administrator who has been historically significant in the development of a regulated industry, policy issue, or regulatory organization of your choice. Your response of a dozen pages or so is due class session 4. Please include the following: 1. A brief biographical profile of the person, why you chose him or her, and what the person accomplished;

7 PPPA 6076 Page Seven 2. How that regulator s thoughts, concerns, and actions in his/her own period relate to t those of the present era; 3. Whether the (a) issues and (b) ethical dilemmas that person faced are largely similar to or different from (and more or less relevant) those of today; and 4. How the regulatory context in the relevant field then compares with what exists today. More specifically: have potential policy options widened or narrowed over time? 3. Improving the Policy Process (20 percent of grade): Drawing on, among other sources, Eisner, et al, please review the existing rulemaking process in a federal agency or policy topic of your choice, and think creatively about how best to address and overcome its flaws. You can modify an existing approach, or suggest a wholly new one (including agency reorganization/amalgamation/termination/creation). I m primarily interested in how you conceptualize the problem and design ways to resolve it. Topics for this dozen-page paper are due session 3; final paper is due class session 9. Whatever your approach, please clearly state: 1. The problem(s) you are trying to overcome; 2. Your specific changes or alternatives; 3. Pros and cons to what you suggest; and 4. Challenges your suggested new or revised process would likely encounter. 4. Navigating a Current Rulemaking (40 percent of grade): Please select (a) an NGO (such as a public interest group or (perhaps more likely) a trade association), (b) active in a regulatory issue of your choice, and then (c) select a relevant current (ongoing) rule making proceeding. I need to okay the NGO, the regulatory issue, and the NOI and/or NPRM (preferably the latter) you have selected by session 4; the finished assignment (20 pages or so) is due class session 13. Please prepare a reasoned response, in the form of specific formal comments from the NGO on a current (open) agency NOI or NPRM. The comments should speak as and for, and reflect the goals and interests, of the NGO you select. Please include the following: 1. Briefly, what is the NGO s mission and the context within which it operates? 2. Again briefly, tell how the specific policy matter has developed how the current proceeding fits into (presumably changing) federal policy in this regulatory area; 3. Provide a summation of what the agency is asking (NOI) or proposing (NPRM), centering on those matters of particular concern to your NGO [attaching a copy is useful]; 4. The core of your paper should be on how the chosen policy stance you express and modifications you describe (which may be either disagreement or agreement or a combination of both with what the agency is planning to do) will (a) project and reflect your NGO s mission

8 PPPA 6076 Page Eight and goals, as well as (b) meet broader public policy needs; and 5. Finally, and in your own voice (not that of the NGO), tell me how what your NGO proposes (a) is or is not a likely outcome and (b) why or why not? Course Objectives... After completing PAD 6076, you should better (a) understand how federal regulation has developed in the past and operates today; (b) better interpret and assess good and effective federal policy, and critique poor examples; (c) design (and critique) responses to federal agency NOIs and NPRMs; and (d) evaluate likely outcomes of federal regulatory initiatives from various theoretical as well as practical (political, economic, social) perspectives. Policies in all TSPPPA Courses 1. Incompletes: A student must consult with the instructor to obtain a grade of I (incomplete) no later than the last day of classes in a semester. At that time, the student and instructor will both sign the CCAS contract for incompeletes and submit a copy to the TSPPPA (or MPA/MPP program) director. Please consult the TSPPPA Student Handbook or visit the CCAS website for the college s policy on incompletes. 2. Submission of written work products outside of class: It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the instructor receives each written assignment. Students can submit written work electronically only with the express permission of the instructor. 3. Policy on late work: All assignments must be turned in by the due date in order to receive full credit for that assignment, unless an exception is expressly made by the instructor. Delayed submissions will suffer declining grades depending on how late they appear. 4. Academic honesty: Please consult the policies section of the GW student handbook for the university code of academic integrity. Note especially the definition of plagiarism: intentionally representing the words, ideas, or sequence of ideas of another as one s own in any academic exercise; failure to attribute any of the following: quotations, paraphrases, or borrowed information. All examinations, papers, and other graded work products and assignments are to be completed in conformance with the George Washington University Code of Academic Integrity. 5. Grades: No changes will be made in assignment or course grades other than in cases of clerical error. 6. Accommodating students with disabilities: In order to receive accommodations on the basis of disability, a student must give notice and provide proper documentation to the Office of Disability Support Services, Marvin Center 436, Accommodations will be made based upon the recommendations of the DSS office.