The Executive Branch

Duty – Carry out the laws of the Nation

Executive Branch – The largest of the branches with millions of employees

President

Considered the leader of the United States

Often considered the most powerful person in the world

CAN NOT run the nation alone

Qualifications for President (and VP)

be 35 

be native born (can not be naturalized)

live in the United States for 14 years

Male

College

Lawyer

Military Experience 

Christian

Have any of these changed?

Obama, Clinton, FDR, Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, Wilson, Taft, Cleveland, John Addams, Van Buren.

Electoral College System elects the President

serves a 4 year term, elected twice maximum (22nd Amendment)

Which president was the direct cause of this amendment?

FDR

 

Constitution – states that the Vice President shall be the President of the Senate

Usually involved with the policies pursued by the President

Serves as Ambassador to other nations

25th Amendment – The Vice President shall replace the President 

Order of Succession

Vice President

Speaker of the House

President Pro-Tempore

Secretary of State

The Constitution gives the president the power to:

Veto

Call Congress into Special Session

Serve as Commander in Chief

Receive Foreign Officials

Make Treaties

Appoint Judges and Top Government Officials

Pardon Convicted Criminals

In the State of the Union address each year, the president informs Congress of important issues facing the nation and proposes new legislative programs.

As Chief Executive, the president is in charge of 14 cabinet departments and more than 3 million government workers.

The president appoints the heads of cabinet departments and large agencies, with Senate approval.

The president may not make laws but can issue executive orders—rules or commands that have the force of law.

The president can appoint federal judges, including Supreme Court justices.

This power is important because the way the Supreme Court interprets laws greatly affects life in the United States.

Most presidents appoint justices who share views similar to their own.

The president may grant pardons, or declarations of forgiveness and freedom from punishment.

The president may issue a reprieve, an order to delay a person’s punishment until a higher court can hear the case.

The president may also grant amnesty, a pardon toward a group of people.

The president directs foreign policy, deciding how the United States will act toward other countries.

As commander in chief, the president is in charge of all branches of the armed forces.

Congress and the president share the power to make war. Only Congress can declare war, but only the president can order soldiers into battle.

Congress has declared war only five times, yet presidents have sent troops into action more than 150 times.

This situation may threaten the system of checks and balances.

After the undeclared Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Act.

This law requires the president to notify Congress immediately when troops are sent into battle. The troops must be brought home after 60 days unless Congress approves a longer stay or declares war.

Only Congress may introduce bills, but the executive branch proposes most legislation.

All presidents have a legislative program that they want Congress to pass.

They make speeches and talk to key members of Congress to build support for their programs.

The president’s staff works on the laws with members of Congress.

As head of state, the president hosts visiting foreign leaders and carries out ceremonial functions, such as giving medals to the country’s heroes.

As the country’s economic leader, the president must plan the federal budget and try to deal with such problems as unemployment, rising prices, and high taxes.

The president is the leader of his or her political party.

The party helps the president get elected. In return, the president gives speeches to raise money and help fellow party members win office.

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.

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.

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 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).

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.

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/

The cabinet is a group of advisers that includes the heads of the 15 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 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 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 deal with certain specialized areas.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is one example.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Administration – term applied to the people that work closest to the President

White House Staff – the people who work directly with the President in the White House Complex (Chief of Staff, Press Secretary)

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – separate office whose job is to prepare the Federal Budget; budget must be approved and/or changed by Congress

National Security Council – Small group whose job is to discuss and advise the President on issues on National security

*Members – President, VP, Sec. Of State, Sec. Of Defense, Chief of Staff

Other Offices – Economic Advisers, Science and Technology, Administration, US Trade Representatives, Policy Development

Executive Departments – There are currently 15 separate cabinet positions and many independent agencies that are under the control of the President

The Cabinet – Each department (15) is made up of a Secretary, supposedly an expert in their field. 

The State Department – Plans the Nations foreign policy, issues Visa’s and passports, sets up Embassies (gov’t offices that are set up to help Americans in foreign nations)

Treasury Department – collects and spends all of the Nation’s money

IRS – Internal Revenue Service – collects US taxes

US Customs – controls the entrance of people and goods into the US

Bureau of Mint, Printing, and Engraving – Makes money 

Secret Service – Protection of the President, investigates counterfeiting

ATF – Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms – enforcement of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms laws

Defense Department – Protects the nation. Each branch of the military (Army, Navy/Marines, Air Force) is led by a civilian. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (made up of the top ranking Officers) advise the President on military affairs.

 

Justice Department – Represents the US in the legal system

 

FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigations – investigated violations of federal laws

INS – Immigration and Naturalization Service – enforces immigration laws and regulations

Interior Department – Manages our nation’s lands and resources 

National Park Service – Manages millions of acres of national parks

Department of Agriculture – helps farmers and consumers of agricultural products

Food and Safety Inspection, Food and Nutrition Service, Soil Conservation, Agricultural Research 

Dept. of Commerce – promotes the economy and business interests of the nation

Census Bureau – counts the people every 10 years

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the nations weather service

Dept. of Labor – protects the interest of laborers and employers in the nation

Occupational Health and Safety Administration – makes sure the work place is safe

Health and Human Services – works for the well being of the public 

Social Security Administration – works for the retired, disabled

Public Health Service – Center for Disease Control

Food and Drug Administration – safe food and drugs 

Housing and Urban Development – deals with special problems faced in urban areas; rebuilding slums, improving neighborhoods

Department of Transportation – manages and oversees the nations transportation networks; National Highway Traffic Safety Ad, FAA, US Coast Guard

Department of Energy – manages the nation’s energy resources and tries to promote wise energy use

Department of Education – offers advise and assistance to states; gives grants and funds projects designed to improve education

Veteran’s Affairs – manages the system of benefits for the veterans of our armed forces; Veteran’s Hospitals

Department of Homeland Security – newest cabinet position that watches over the safety of America

Independent and Regulatory Agencies

Independent Agencies

Special Parts of gov’t were formed to meet special needs

Executive Agencies – there are agencies that are under the direct control of the President

Central Intelligence Agency - CIA – in charge of collecting and interpreting information about foreign nations

National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA – created to develop and administer our space program

Environmental Protection Agency – EPA – enforces environmental protection laws

Regulatory Commissions there groups are given powers to regulate or

control a certain industry or activity

Federal Reserve – controls the nation’s system of banks

Federal Trade Commission – Regulates the affairs of businesses to ensure fair business practices

Securities and Exchange Commission – regulates the activities of the Stock Market

Federal Communications Commission – regulates the telecommunication industries (phones, TV, Computers)

Consumer Product Safety Commission – oversees the safety of products sold to the public

a. National Labor Relations Board – oversees the practices of labor unions and employers

Federal Bureaucracy Bureaucracy – those people that who work

permanently for the gov’t

Red Tape – this refers to the extra hassle and paperwork that is required to get things done in a bureaucracy

Why is it needed? – Although a hassle, the procedures which cause red tape also reduce the number of Decision-Makers in the bureaucracy. This hopefully creates a system which absolutely equal for all involved.

Spoils System – gave gov’t positions as political rewards. This often led to graft and corruption.

Civil Service System – set up a testing procedure to give jobs to the most qualified applicants (Pendleton Act of 1873, establishes a merit system where one is given a job based on qualifications and test scores, not their political connections)