Executive Branch Sructure in the United States

Introduction to Executive Branch Sructure

There are 15 major departments in the executive branch. They employ about 1.6 million civilian employees. In order of establishment the departments are:

Department of State (1789)

Department of the Treasury (1789)

Department of the Interior (1849)

Department of Agriculture (1862)

Department of Justice (1870)

Department of Commerce (1913)

Department of Labor (1913)

Department of Defense (1947)

Department of Housing and Urban Development (1965)

Department of Transportation (1967)

Department of Energy (1977)

Department of Health and Human Services (1979)

Department of Education (1980)

Department of Veterans Affairs (1989)

Department of Homeland Security (2003)

The heads of these departments are members of the Cabinet, a body dating to George Washington’s time. The Cabinet advises the president and supplies requested information.

The Defense Department, with about 750,000 civilian employees and about 1.4 million military personnel, is the largest enterprise in the nation. It employs more people and buys more goods and services than any other business or organization, public or private.

Treasury is another key department. Its Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collects taxes, and other divisions print money and mint coins, collect duties on goods imported from abroad, and regulate alcohol, tobacco, and firearms.

The Department of Health and Human Services is a vast department that deals with some of the most popular domestic programs. These include health-care financing through Medicare and Medicaid, and research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Some executive departments include many important agencies. The Department of Homeland Security, for example, includes agencies such as the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Commerce Department includes entities such as the Bureau of the Census, the International Trade Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Patent and Trademark Office.

There are many well-known executive offices outside traditional Cabinet departments. These quasi-independent entities include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Many regulatory agencies are designed to lie somewhere between the executive and legislative branch-their members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but they operate independently. These include the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Other entities resemble business enterprises. Some are corporations wholly owned by the government-for example, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Others are corporations sponsored by the government but operating partly or wholly in the private sector-for example, the United States Postal Service, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Federal National Mortgage Association, sometimes called Fannie Mae” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Executive Branch Sructure in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Executive Branch Sructure

About U.S. Federal Departments

Federal Departments, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense (including Department of Defense Purpose, Department of Defense Organization, Department of Defense Liaison of Command and Department of Defense Supporting Agencies), Department of Education, Department of Energy

(including Department of Energy Purpose, Department of Energy Organization and Department of Energy Research and Development), Department of Health and Human Services (including Department of Health and Human Services History and Department of Health and Human Services Agencies and Services), Department of Homeland Security (including Department of Homeland Security Organization and Functions, Department of Homeland Security Origins and Department of Homeland Security Supporting Agencies), Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice (including Department of Justice Functions, Department of Justice Structure and Department of Justice Associated Agencies), Department of Labor, Department of National Defence, Department of State (including Department of State Administration and Department of State Bureaus), Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, Department of the Interior (including Department of the Interior Functions and Department of the Interior Principal Agencies), Department of the Navy, Department of the Treasury, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs (including the Department of Veterans Affairs Service Categories, Department of Veterans Affairs Benefits Available and GI Bill of Rights) and Department of War.