The Organization of the Executive Branch:

How the National Government Works to Enforce the Laws

BureaucracyA bureaucracy is an organization of government departments, agencies, and offices.

The Administration

Collectively the people who help the President to manage the federal bureaucracy are called “the Administration.”

The White House Staff The White House staff

are the President’s top advisors, who provide advice and information about national security, the economy, and other subjects. Members of the White House staff include key advisors, press secretaries, legal experts, speechwriters, office workers, and researchers.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney answers question from the media about the government and it’s plans several times a week.

The Vice Presidency The Vice President’s only

official responsibility is to supervise the Senate and cast deciding votes in the extremely rare event that a tiebreaker is needed.

If the President resigns, dies, or is unable to perform the tasks of the office, the Vice President becomes President.

Ben Franklin suggested that the office might be addressed as “your superfluous excellency” – since it did so very little.

The Vice President Has Become the President on Nine Different Occasions!

John Tyler: Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!

Gerald Ford: Who was never elected!

The Office of Management and Budget

The Office of Management and Budget offers realistic costs of what a President’s policy suggestions might cost.

The National Security Council

The National Security Council provides the President with the best possible advice concerning foreign affairs and the national defense.

Executive Departments of the

Presidency

The Department of Homeland Security

This office was created immediately after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The department coordinates all anti-terrorist efforts from federal agencies including the Coast Guard, the Department of Immigration and Naturalization, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In recent years, concerns over the threats of terrorism have been linked to immigration concerns.

Virtually all of the terrorist suspects in the September 11 attacks and the two suspects in the recent Boston Marathon bombing were in the United States legally.

The President’s Cabinet

Executive Agencies Under Presidential Control

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Government Regulatory

CommissionsThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC)

The United States Postal Service

The Civil Service System

After President James A. Garfield was assassinated by an angry office seeker who was turned down for work, the Congress passed a law called the Pendleton Act. It created the Civil Service System.

Now, government jobs hire candidates on the basis of merit. When applicants apply for work, they are often required to take a test, and only those applicants with the highest scores are employed.

In this manner, a competent and efficient group of people are selected for government work.