11/25/2013
Chapter 7, Section 2
Executive Departments and Independent
Agencies
Executive Departments
O The 15 executive departments, which are
headed by members of the cabinet, employ
about 60 percent of all federal government
employees
O They are the primary units of both
administration and policymaking in the
executive branch
Executive Departments
O Every department focuses on its own
general area of responsibility, and smaller
agencies within each department focus on
more specific issues
O While the president has the power to
nominate high-level positions in these
departments, the Senate must confirm
these nominations
O Congress also controls the departments’
duties, powers, and budgets
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The Departments Today
O Today, there are 15 executive departments
O Each has important goals and functions
The Departments Today
O The goal of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) is to protect
Americans’ health
O It administers Social Security, Medicare, and
Medicaid
O Agencies within HHS, such as the Food and
Drug Administration, carry out specific tasks
The Departments Today
O The Department of Defense (DOD) is
responsible for protecting the nation
O It encompasses all members of the armed
forces, including those on active duty and in
the National Guard and Reserve, as well as
thousands of civilian employees
O The DOD has the largest budget of any
executive department
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The Departments Today
O The Department of Homeland Security is the
newest executive department, created two
years after the attacks of September 11,
2001
O This department is the result of a
reorganization of agencies responsible for
protecting Americans from further domestic
attacks, including border security, the Coast
Guard, and the Secret Service
Independent Agencies
O Besides the agencies within executive
departments, there are approximately 140
independent agencies, which operate
separately from the executive departments
O Each agency has been created by Congress
to meet a need that legislation cannot, and
ultimately remains under the control of
Congress
Independent Agencies
O Independent executive agencies oversee and
manage a specific aspect of the federal
government
O Similar in power and sometimes in organization
to executive departments, these agencies often
fulfill a president’s strategic vision, as the Peace
Corps did for President John F. Kennedy
O The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) is another example of an
independent executive agency
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Independent Agencies
O Independent regulatory commissions regulate
some aspect of the economy
O They are run by three-to-seven-person boards
whose members are nominated by the president
and confirmed by the Senate
O Boards must be bipartisan, or include members
from both major political parties
O The commissions can create, implement, and
enforce its own laws, although Congress can
override them if necessary
Independent Agencies
O Government corporations are the third type of
independent agency, organized and run like
businesses but partially or fully owned by the federal
government
O They are created when the government recognizes
that a private corporation cannot meet a specific
national need for a sufficient profit
O The U.S. Postal Service and AMTRAK are both
government corporations that were established when
Congress realized that geography was preventing
private mail and rail companies from offering
affordable service to all Americans
Power and Accountability
O The Constitution provides tools for ensuring
the accountability of the federal bureaucracy
O The president and Congress both exercise
checks on the federal bureaucracy
O Over the years, Congress has passed
legislation to check agencies, including
setting guidelines for agency rules and
making information available to the public
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Power and Accountability
O However, sometimes agencies,
congressional committees, and interest
groups form alliances in which each group
benefits from the actions of the others
O These relationships are labeled iron
triangles because outsiders, including the
president, cannot seem to penetrate it
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