- The Executive Departments and Agencies
- The main parts of the federal bureaucracy in the executive branch are the cabinet, independent agencies, commissions, and corporations.
- The Cabinet
- Most bureaucrats work in one of the 14 executive departments. The heads of the departments make up the President's cabinet. This is the group that advises the President. You studied these departments in Chapter 14.
- Agencies, Commissions, and Corporations
- Until the 1800s, most of the Federal Government's work was done through the cabinet departments. Since that time, Congress has started many independent agencies. Independent agencies are agencies that work apart from the cabinet departments. Today, there are more than 200.
- Agencies work outside the departments for several reasons. Sone agencies do not fit well inside any department. Others need protection from department politics. And some must stay apart because of the kind of work they do.
- Three main kinds of independent agencies exist today. Most are independent executive agencies. The biggest of these are organized much like the cabinet departments. The Peace Corps is an ecample of a large independent executive agency. Most of the agencies, though, are small. They have small budgets and small staffs. Yet the work they do is impotant. An example is the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee.
- A second kind of agency is the independent regulatory commission. These commissions regulate, or police, parts of the economy. Their job is to make sure managers and workers obey laws for their type of business. An example is the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Government corporations make up the third kind of independent agency. Created by Congress, these agencies carry out certain businesslike activites. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is in the banking business. Its job is to make sure peole can get back money they keep in a bank.