Unseen federal bureaucrats regulate much of daily life in the United States, from the production of the materials in the cars we drive, to the contents of the hot dogs we eat, to the quality of the water we drink. Easy to criticize and difficult to understand, the complicated federal bureaucracy is surrounded by contradications and misperceptions. Bureaucrats, Politics, and the Environment is based on in-depth survey research culled from employees at two bureaucratic agencies: the Office of Water of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the New Mexico Environment Department. By examining what these personnel think about politics, the environment, their budgets, and the other institutions and agencies with which they interact, this work illuminates the actions of the bureaucracy and gives it a human face.