Administrative Discretion In Policy Making

Once a law has been passed by congress or by an executive order, it must be implemented, so that the nation can now be governed by a new set of laws. However, implementing a law once it is passed is often a much more complicated and complex system of bureaucracy that must be "waded through" to actually implement a policy. These include the president's role in policy setting, administrative discretion, as well as fully defining what the law means for the nation and its interests. The president has a large amount of control over the bureaucracy that works to implement policies. Typically, it is the role of the president to set an agenda, or a plan of steps to fully implement a law. This is often completed through the Office of Management and Budget, part of the president's staff, and it up to this agency to monitor the implementation of a policy to make sure not only that it gets completed, but also that it is implemented in the nation's best interest. "However, presidents tend to use the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for most routine oversight. Departments and agencies must get the president's approval before testifying before Congress on pending legislation, making legislative proposals, or answering congressional inquiries about their …show more content…
This aspect of policy making is termed as administrative discretion. Discretion, used by Congress and granted to the bureaucracy, is the way in which most policy comes to fruition. "Authority given by Congress to the federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws" (Magleby, 2015). This discretion can take many forms, as this power is granted to nearly every major agency within the bureaucracy, and as such the power granted may vary. It is this discretion granted to the bureaucracy that allows for policy that is given to the president to implement, actually