The Executive Branch
By Aubrey Picco and Taylor Nead
The Vice President
The Line of Presidential Succession
The Line of Presidential Succession was established by congress of the presidential act in 1947. It represents who succeeded to the highest office and who is next to succeed to presidency.
Major Responsibilities of the Vice President
The Vice President has many important responsibilities;
- The Vice President is the President of the Senate and can vote to break a tie
- The Vice President helps decide presidential disability
- In case the President is removed from office, resigned or has died the Vice President is who takes the place of the President
How Has The Vice Presidents Influence Changed Over Time?
- The Vice President is more involved in modern politics and diplomacy (The job is whatever the president assigns)
- The Vice President can strengthen the chances of winning, by balancing the presidential ticket
Advisors To The President
Chief of Staff, Press Secretary and the White House Staff Members
Duties
Chief of Staff - oversees the executive office of the President of the United States
Press Secretary - Act as a spokesman for the Unites States Government Administration
White House Staff Members - Assists and advice the President with legal issues that affect the President and the white house
The Presidents Cabinet
Duties of the Presidential Cabinet
- The Presidential Cabinet contains the 15 Secretaries of the Executive Branch Departments who job are to advise the President on issues that are go with their personal/departmental responsibilities. They are responsible for directing the governments individual departments.
Leaders of the Cabinet
- Secretaries of the 15 executive departments
- Vice President
- White House Chief of Staff
- (Foreign trade) Untied States Trade Representative
- (National Budget) Office of Management and Budget
- (Environment) Head of Environmental protection Agency
- (War on Drugs) Official of National Drug Control
- (Foreign Policy) U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
National Security Council
Duties of the National Security Council
- The National Security Council was created in 1947 established to advice the President on military, foreign and domestic policy.
Who Does the National Security Council Consist of?
- The National Security Council is headed by the President National Security Advisors, some other members include;
- The Secretary of State
- The Secretary of the Treasury
- Head of CIA
- The Secretary of Defense
- The Vice President
- The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Executive Departments
The 15 Executive Departments
- Secretary of Agriculture - The assist with helping farmers and the American Farming Industry
- Secretary of Commerce - They help promote economic growth and create jobs
- Secretary of Defense - Military education, training and assistance
- Secretary of Energy - They are in charge of overseeing the production of creating weapons that cause mass destruction (nuclear weapons)
- Secretary of Education - Deal with matters that have to do with education
- Secretary of Homeland Security - Responsible for making sure the United States is safe from terrorist attacks and other disasters
- Secretary of Health and Human Services - Protecting Americans health and providing human services
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - creates programs that assist with the United States housing needs, fair housing opportunities, and help enhance communities
- Secretary of Labor - Setting the standards for hourly wages, unemployment and reemployment services
- Secretary of State - The Presidents advisor for foreign duties and carries out foreign policy for the President
- Secretary of Transportation - Oversees the nations transportation
- Secretary of Treasury - Duties is to promote financial security of the United States, deal with financial issues, help with economic growth
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Providing important services to the United States veterans like health care and some benefits programs
- Secretary of the Interior - Like a human resources manager, responsible for natural resources
- Attorney General (Justice) - Express concerns on legal matters to the President
The Office Management and Budget
- The Office Management and Budget are responsible for assisting the president in preparing the annual federal budget as well as to oversee its administration
Agencies
The Federal Bureaucracy
What is it?
- The Federal Bureaucracy are 500 departments, agencies, administrations, authorities and commission that assist in carrying our duties that are assigned to them through congressional legislation
Agencies within the Cabinet Departments
- secretary of treasury - manage america’s money (IRS)
- secretary of justice - nation’s legal affairs (FBI, DEA)
- secretary of defense - protect america (coast guard, navy, marines)
- secretary of interior - natural resources (forest service, national parks service)
- secretary of energy - research development of of energy technology (federal power marketing)
- secretary of health and human services - protects health of all americans (FDA, CMS)
- secretary of homeland security - protects the homes of all americans (Jeh Johnson (2015))
- secretary of labor - exercises control over the department (Thomas Perez)
Independent Agencies
- FDIC - provides deposit insurance to depositors in US banks
- FEMA - coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the US and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities
- USGS - study landscape of the US
- NASA - america’s space agency
- USPS - independent agency responsible for providing postal service in the US.
- PEACE CORPS - volunteers travel overseas to make real differences in the lives of real people.
Regulatory Commissions
- FED - manages money supply
- FDA - administers federal food purity laws, drug testing and safety, and cosmetics
- CPSC - enforces federal safety standards
- EPA - establishes and enforces pollution standards