President's Role in Bureacracy

Weingast and Moran discuss the legislature's role in controlling bureaucratic behavior. They assume that Congress has effective sanctions and rewards, so most control and influence goes unnoticed. But what about the President? Does he have power over bureaucratic behavior? In times of party-dominated Congress and White House, I say yes. For instance, President George W Bush signed a new $388 billion spending bill into law yesterday. Niskanen concludes that most of the top bureaucrat's utility is derived from his bureau's budget. The larger the budget, the more the utility. Bush's influence is felt in this budget legislation. The President submits a budget to Congress, and his influence is felt. The Department of Education received $1.4 billion more than last year. This reflects Bush's committment to increasing funding for education and his "No Child Left Behind" program. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency received a drop of 3.3% in their funding. Considering Bush's record, this is no surprise (the EPA actually got 3.8% more than Bush wanted). Just considering this brief empirical evidence, it appears the President influences Congress' budget, and therefore influences bureaucracies and their behavior. Obviously, this is easier to see when the President and Congress are dominated by the same party, but I think it is undeniable to see the President's influence on a bureau's budget.