The us executive departments
The day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws is in the hands of the various executive departments, created by Congress to deal with specific areas of national and international affairs. The heads of the 14 departments, chosen by the president and approved by the Senate, form a council of advisers generally known as the presidents "cabinet." In addition to departments, there are a number of staff organizations grouped into the Executive Office of the President. These include the White House staff, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Like in Britain, the ministers are called Secretaries. For example, the State Department 'is headed by the Secretary of State.
5. Match the names of the departments (1-14) below with their responsibilities (a-n).
1. Department of Agriculture; 2. Department of Commerce; 3. Department of Defense (DOD); 4. Department of Education; 5. Department of Energy; 6. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); 7. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); 8. Department of the Interior; 9. Department of Justice; 10. Department of Labor; 11. Department of State; 12. Department of Transportation; 13. Department of the Treasury; 14. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
A. responsible for national policies to do with money, includes: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in charge of collecting taxes; the US Customs, checks goods coming into a country and collects any taxes on them; the US Mint, produces coins; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Secret Service, protects the President.
B. responsible for making sure that national laws are obeyed. It is also in charge of prisons. The Department represents the government in legal cases and gives advice on legal matters to the President. The head of the Department is called the Attorney General.
C. in charge of financial programs to build houses and to help people buy their own homes. It provides insurance for mortgages and helps pay for houses for poor and old people. It also plans the development of cities.
D. establishes policies for the country's schools and is in charge of national programs for education, including financial help.
E. in charge of trade within the country and with other nations. Its divisions include: the Economic Development Administration; the Minority Business Development Agency, which assists and protects interests of ethnic minorities in business; the Patent and Trademark Office, decides which new inventions can be given a patent; the Bureau of the Census, in charge of conducting national census.
F. helps farmers and controls agricultural practices. It is in charge of research into such problems as plant diseases and better ways to use the land. The Department also helps the public through programmes like its approval marks on meat and information concerning food safety.
G. plans and controls the development of the country's sources of energy. It is particularly concerned with ways of saving energy sources and of producing more energy. It does research into the dangers of nuclear energy and also is in charge of the US nuclear weapons program.
H. in charge of military forces. It is the government's largest department and receives the most money The Secretary of Defense is never a military person. His assistants include the military Joint Chiefs of Staff (the leaders of the four main parts of the US military forces, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marines. Their job is to advise the US President on important military matters) and three not in the armed forces, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force.
I. in charge of assistance for Americans who have served in the armed forces and for their families. This includes programmes that help to pay for education and houses, and payments after death or serious injury caused by military service. The Department also runs special hospitals.
J. responsible for protecting the country's environment and in charge of government programmes for Native Americans. Its divisions include: the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Geological Survey, makes detailed US maps and lists of minerals found in the US.
K. in charge of national policy on transport. Its divisions include: the Federal Aviation Administration; the Federal Highway Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the United States Coast Guard (when there is no war).
L. responsible for national laws concerning workers. This includes working conditions, such as safety and the hours worked, as well as the pay workers receive. It is also in charge of job training programmes.
M. responsible for national health programs and the Social Services Administration.
N. advises the president on formulating and executing the foreign policy of the United States.