WHAT IS THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY?| 327
ulations should look—and even when they don’t, they may still get involved on
behalf of a constituent or interest group. Bureaucrats take account of these pres-
sures for two reasons. First, the bureaucrats’ policy-making power may derive
from a statute that members of Congress could overturn if they disapprove of
bureaucrats’ actions. Second, bureaucrats need congressional support to get
larger budgets and more important tasks for their agency, and to prevent bud-
get cuts. Thus, despite bureaucrats’ power to implement policies, their agencies’
budgets, appointed leaders, and overall missions are subject to elected offi cials’
oversight.
Federal regulations aff ect every aspect of everyday life. They infl uence the gas
mileage of cars sold in the United States, the materials used to build roads, and
the price of gasoline. They determine the amounts that doctors can charge senior
citizens for medical procedures; the hours that medical residents can work; and
the criteria used to determine who gets a heart, lung, or kidney transplant. Reg-
ulations set the eligibility criteria for student loans, limit how the military can
recruit on college campuses, determine who can get a home mortgage and what
their interest rate will be, and describe what constitutes equal funding for men’s
and women’s college sports teams. Regulations also shape contribution limits
and spending decisions in political campaigns.
Regulations are often controversial because they involve trade-off s between
incompatible goals as well as decisions made under uncertain circumstances. For
example, the FDA drug approval process prioritizes the goal of preventing harm-
ful drugs from coming to market.^6 As a result, patients sometimes cannot get
access to experimental treatments because FDA approval has not been granted,
even when those treatments are the patients’ only remaining option.^7 Advocates
FEDERAL REGULATIONS INFLUENCE
many aspects of everyday life
that would not seem likely to be
affected by government action.
The increase in the number of
women’s intercollegiate athletic
teams is partly due to regulations
that require equal funding for
men’s and women’s teams.