Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

Executive Office of the President The employees of the Executive Office of the President (EOP) help the president by preparing reports, helping to write bills, and checking the work of various agencies.

White House Staff The people of the White House Office work directly for the president. The most powerful member of the White House staff is the Chief of Staff. The White House Staff screens the flow of information and people to the president.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepares the federal budget and monitors government spending. The federal budget lays out the administration’s plans and goals for the coming year.

The National Security Council The National Security Council helps the president coordinate the military and foreign policy. It includes the vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group made up of the top commander of each of the armed services. The NSC supervises the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Office of Homeland Security George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security to deal with terrorist activities. It includes members of the cabinet and of agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Border Patrol.

Council of Economic Advisers The three members of the Council of Economic Advisers advise the president about complex economic matters, such as employment, tax policy, inflation, and trade. http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/

Cabinet The cabinet is a group of advisers that includes the heads of the 14 top-level executive departments. The head of the Department of Justice is called the attorney general. The other department heads are called secretaries. http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html

The Federal Bureaucracy The executive branch is shaped like a pyramid. Directly below the president are the cabinet secretaries and their departments. At the next level are hundreds of agencies. Together, the agencies and employees of the executive branch are known as the federal bureaucracy. The workers are called bureaucrats, or civil servants. The President The Cabinet Agencies

Independent agencies Independent agencies are not part of the cabinet, but they are not independent of the president. The three types are: executive agencies, regulatory commissions, and government corporations.

Executive Agencies Executive agencies deal with certain specialized areas. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is one example.

Government Corporations Government corporations are like private businesses, except that the government owns and runs them. Like businesses, they charge for their services, but they are not supposed to make a profit. The United States Postal Service is a government corporation.

Regulatory Commissions Unlike other independent agencies, regulatory commissions do not report to the president. The president appoints members, but only Congress can remove them through impeachment. Regulatory commissions protect the public by making and enforcing rules for certain industries. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Political Appointees Top department jobs generally go to political appointees—people whom the president has chosen because they have ability or were supporters of the president’s election campaign. Their employment usually ends when the president leaves office.

Spoils System Before 1883 government jobs went to people as a reward for their political support. Abuses of this spoils system led Congress to pass the Pendleton Act, also known as the Civil Service Reform Act of 1883. This law limited the number of jobs the president could give to friends and backers. It also created the civil service system.

Merit System The civil service system is a merit system. Government officials hire new workers from lists of people who have passed the test or otherwise met civil service standards.