Politics and the administration 205Activities (later renamed the Internal Security Committee) concerned itself
actively over a period of thirty-seven years with the loyalty of federal govern-
ment employees until its abolition in January 1975. It exemplified the way
Congress, in certain circumstances, is able to exercise considerable influence
on the administrative process.
The separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches
of government in the American system has, however, other more positive
aspects to it. The determination of members of Congress to exercise as much
control as possible over the administration has led to a more open system
of government than anywhere else in the world. In addition to the battery
of investigatory committees and hearings that the Congress brings to bear
directly on the administration, the legislature has also attempted to make
available to the general public as much information as possible on the deci-
sions taken by the executive, and the basis for those decisions.
In 1966 Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act, which as
amended in 1974 opened up government files for public inspection. Any indi-
vidual can ask to see the files held by any government agency on a particular
matter, and the agency must produce the file within ten days or state its rea-
sons for not doing so. The Act covers the whole field of government including
law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and national intelligence agencies
such as the CIA. The agencies and departments can withhold information on
certain limited grounds, such as a threat to national security, but their deci-
sions to refuse information can be challenged in the courts. Approximately
1 million requests for information are received each year under the Act, and
the facility is used extensively by newspapers, businesses and indeed foreign
governments. Opponents of the Act argue that much of the information that
is obtained is used by businesses to gain unfair advantage over competitors,
and that in a number of cases foreign intelligence agents have obtained in-
formation harmful to the national interest. However, the Freedom of Infor-
mation Act remains as a remarkable tribute to the openness of American
democracy.
Presidential control of the administration
To the problem of attempting to coordinate the legislative and executive
policies of the federal government is added the problem that the president
faces in attempting to control his own administration. The fragmented char-
acter of the administrative structure that we have described presents a chal-
lenge of vast proportions to a president attempting to direct the government.
This question of control has received a great deal of attention as the size of
government has grown, and the problem of coordination has escalated. The
report of the Hoover Commission in 1949 put the problem as follows.
Responsibility and accountability are impossible without authority – the
power to direct. The exercise of authority is impossible without a clear