Independent Agencies Early American History and Civics

Goals  Identify the responsibilities of executive agencies  Identify the purpose of regulatory commissions  Compare government corporations with private corporations.

Independent Agencies  The executive branch can only handle a small part of its’ responsibilities.

Independent Agencies  Other organizations handle these responsibilities

Independent Agencies  Today’s government includes hundreds of independent federal agencies.

Independent Agencies  Three types: Executive departments Regulatory commissions Government corporations

Independent Agencies  An Executive agency is an independent agency responsible for dealing with specialized areas of the government.

Independent Agencies  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an executive agency

Examples  Another example includes the Central Intelligence Agency

Executive Agencies  Another includes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Regulatory Commissions  A regulatory commission is an independent agency that protects the public.

Regulatory Commissions  Each commission has executive, legislative, and judicial powers.

Regulatory commissions  Examples include the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)

Example  One other example includes the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)

Example  Another includes the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Regulatory Commissions  The government keeps the commissions impartial.

Government Corporations  Similar to a private corporation, EXCEPT, the government owns and operates it.

Government Corporations  These corporations operate under the direction of congress BUT are given flexibility.

Government Corporations  Example of a government corporation is the United States Postal Service. (USPS)