254 PART ThRee • InsTITuTIons oF AmeRIcAn GoveRnmenT
form of government control over the rapidly growing business and industrial sector. This
new form of organization, the indepen dent regulatory agency, was supposed to make
technical, nonpolitical decisions about rates, profits, and rules that would be for the ben-
efit of all and that did not require congressional legislation. In the years that followed the
creation of the ICC, other agencies were formed to regulate communication (the Federal
Communications Commission) and nuclear power (the Nuclear Regulatory Commission).
(The ICC was abolished in 1995.)The Purpose and nature of Regulatory Agencies. In practice, regulatory agencies
are administered independently of all three branches of government. They were set up
because Congress felt it was unable to handle the complexities and technicalities requiredTABle 11–2: executive departments
Department and
year established
Principal Functions
selected subagencies
state (1789)
(12,854 employees)Negotiates treaties, develops foreign policy,
protects citizens abroad.Passport Services Office, Bureau of Diplomatic
Security, Foreign Service, Bureau of Human Rights
and Humanitarian Affairs, Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Treasury (1789)
(104,100 employees)Pays all federal bills, borrows money,
collects federal taxes, mints coins and
prints paper currency, supervises national
banks.Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Mint.interior (1849)
(69,702 employees)Supervises federally owned lands and
parks, supervises Native American affairs.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park
Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land
Management.
Justice (1870)a
(116,323 employees)Furnishes legal advice to the president,
enforces federal criminal laws, supervises
federal prisons.Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement
Administration, Bureau of Prisons.agriculture (1889)
(91,278 employees)Provides assistance to farmers and
ranchers, conducts agricultural research,
works to protect forests.Soil Conservation Service, Agricultural Research
Service, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Federal
Crop Insurance Corporation, Commodity Credit
Corporation, Forest Service.Commerce (1913)b
(44,996 employees)Grants patents and trademarks, conducts
a national census, monitors the weather,
protects the interests of businesses.Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Economic Analysis,
Patent and Trademark Office, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.Labor (1913)b
(16,816 employees)Administers federal labor laws, promotes
the interests of workers.Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Standards
Administration, Employment and Training
Administration.
Defense (1947)c
(761,533 employees)Manages the armed forces (army, navy,
air force, and marines), operates military
bases, is responsible for civil defense.National Security Agency; Joint Chiefs of Staff;
Departments of the Air Force, Navy, Army; Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency; Defense
Intelligence Agency; the service academies.aFormed from the Office of the Attorney General (created in 1789).
bFormed from the Department of Commerce and Labor (created in 1903).
cFormed from the Department of War (created in 1789) and the Department of the Navy (created in 1798).Copyright 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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