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Rule-making authority
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Constitutional authority of the bureaucracy to create binding federal regulations
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Discretionary authority
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Constitutional authority of the bureaucracy to resolve disputes that arise under federal regulations via administrative adjudication
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Delegation
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The act of assigning one's duty or responsibility to another person or entity (e.g., when Congress assigns its rule-making authority to the bureaucracy)
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Enabling legislation
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A law or a provision within a law that authorizes the bureaucracy to take a specific action (e.g., to make regulations to guide the implementation of a federal statute).
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Power of the purse
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Informal term referring to the ability of Congress to influence the bureaucracy through the budget process.