The Executive Branch at Work Guided Reading Activity Section 2

From the President, to the Vice President, to the Cabinet, learn more almost the Executive Branch of the government of the United states of america.

The ability of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the Usa, who too acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the war machine. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written past Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is too function of the Executive Co-operative, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.

The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defence force and the Ecology Protection Bureau, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Commutation Commission.

Including members of the military, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans.

The President | The Vice President
Executive Function of the President | The Cabinet

The President

The President is both the head of state and head of government of the Usa of America, and Commander-in-Main of the armed services.

Under Commodity 2 of the Constitution, the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress. Fifteen executive departments — each led by an appointed member of the President's Cabinet — behave out the day-to-day administration of the federal authorities. They are joined in this by other executive agencies such every bit the CIA and Environmental Protection Agency, the heads of which are not function of the Cabinet, but who are nether the full authority of the President. The President also appoints the heads of more than than 50 contained federal commissions, such equally the Federal Reserve Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission, also equally federal judges, ambassadors, and other federal offices. The Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of the immediate staff to the President, along with entities such as the Office of Direction and Upkeep and the Role of the United States Trade Representative.

The President has the ability either to sign legislation into constabulary or to veto bills enacted by Congress, although Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses. The Executive Branch conducts diplomacy with other nations, and the President has the power to negotiate and sign treaties, which likewise must be ratified past two-thirds of the Senate. The President can issue executive orders, which straight executive officers or clarify and further existing laws. The President as well has unlimited power to extend pardons and clemencies for federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment.

With these powers come several responsibilities, among them a ramble requirement to "from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Although the President may fulfill this requirement in any way he or she chooses, Presidents have traditionally given a State of the Union accost to a joint session of Congress each January (except in countdown years) outlining their agenda for the coming year.

The Constitution lists just three qualifications for the Presidency — the President must be 35 years of age, be a natural born citizen, and must take lived in the United States for at least 14 years. And though millions of Americans vote in a presidential election every 4 years, the President is not, in fact, straight elected past the people. Instead, on the commencement Tuesday in November of every quaternary yr, the people elect the members of the Electoral College. Apportioned by population to the 50 states — 1 for each fellow member of their congressional delegation (with the District of Columbia receiving 3 votes) — these Electors and then cast the votes for President. In that location are currently 538 electors in the Balloter Higher.

President Barack Obama is the 44th President of the U.s.. He is, withal, only the 43rd person ever to serve as President; President Grover Cleveland served two nonconsecutive terms, and thus is recognized as both the 22nd and the 24th President. Today, the President is express to ii four-twelvemonth terms, but until the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1951, a President could serve an unlimited number of terms. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President four times, serving from 1932 until his death in 1945; he is the simply President ever to have served more than ii terms.

By tradition, the President and the First Family unit alive in the White Business firm in Washington, D.C., also the location of the President's Oval Role and the offices of the his senior staff. When the President travels by airplane, his aircraft is designated Air Force One; he may also use a Marine Corps helicopter, known as Marine One while the President is on board. For ground travel, the President uses an armored Presidential limousine.

The Vice President

The main responsibility of the Vice President of the United states is to exist set at a moment'south detect to assume the Presidency if the President is unable to perform his duties. This can be because of the President's decease, resignation, or temporary incapacitation, or if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet judge that the President is no longer able to discharge the duties of the presidency.

The Vice President is elected along with the President by the Electoral College — each elector casts one vote for President and some other for Vice President. Earlier the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, electors simply voted for President, and the person who received the second greatest number of votes became Vice President.

The Vice President as well serves as the President of the Us Senate, where he or she casts the deciding vote in the case of a tie. Except in the case of tiebreaking votes, the Vice President rarely actually presides over the Senate. Instead, the Senate selects one of their own members, usually junior members of the majority political party, to preside over the Senate each day.

Joseph R. Biden is the 47th Vice President of the Us. Of the 45 previous Vice Presidents, nine accept succeeded to the Presidency, and four have been elected to the Presidency in their ain right. The duties of the Vice President, outside of those enumerated in the Constitution, are at the discretion of the current President. Each Vice President approaches the office differently — some take on a specific policy portfolio, others serve simply equally a top adviser to the President.

The Vice President has an office in the West Wing of the White House, too as in the nearby Eisenhower Executive Role Building. Similar the President, he as well maintains an official residence, at the United States Naval Observatory in Northwest Washington, D.C. This peaceful mansion, has been the official home of the Vice President since 1974 — previously, Vice Presidents had lived in their own private residences. The Vice President besides has his own limousine, operated by the United States Secret Service, and flies on the same aircraft the President uses — but when the Vice President is aboard, the craft are referred to as Air Strength Two and Marine Two.

Executive Part of the President

Every day, the President of the United states is faced with scores of decisions, each with of import consequences for America'due south future. To provide the President with the support that he or she needs to govern effectively, the Executive Part of the President (EOP) was created in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The EOP has responsibility for tasks ranging from communicating the President's bulletin to the American people to promoting our trade interests away.

The EOP, overseen past the White House Chief of Staff, has traditionally been home to many of the President's closest advisers. While Senate confirmation is required for some directorate, such equally the Director of the Office of Direction and Upkeep, most are appointed with full Presidential discretion. The individual offices that these advisors oversee have grown in size and number since the EOP was created. Some were formed by Congress, others as the President has needed them — they are constantly shifting equally each President identifies his needs and priorities, with the electric current EOP employing over 1,800 people.

Perhaps the virtually visible parts of the EOP are the White Firm Communications Function and Printing Secretary's Office. The Press Secretary provides daily briefings for the media on the President's activities and agenda. Less visible to almost Americans is the National Security Council, which advises the President on foreign policy, intelligence, and national security.

There are also a number of offices responsible for the practicalities of maintaining the White Firm and providing logistical support for the President. These include the White House War machine Office, which is responsible for services ranging from Air Strength One to the dining facilities, and the Role of Presidential Accelerate, which prepares sites remote from the White Firm for the President'south arrival.

Many senior advisors in the EOP work near the President in the West Wing of the White House. All the same, the majority of the staff is housed in the Eisenhower Executive Office Edifice, just a few steps away and role of the White House chemical compound.

The Chiffonier

The Chiffonier is an advisory trunk made upward of the heads of the fifteen executive departments. Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the members of the Cabinet are often the President's closest confidants. In addition to running major federal agencies, they play an of import role in the Presidential line of succession — later the Vice President, Speaker of the Business firm, and Senate President pro tempore, the line of succession continues with the Chiffonier offices in the order in which the departments were created. All the members of the Chiffonier take the title Secretary, excepting the head of the Justice Department, who is styled Attorney General.

Section of Agriculture

The U.S. Section of Agriculture (USDA) develops and executes policy on farming, agriculture, and food. Its aims include coming together the needs of farmers and ranchers, promoting agronomical merchandise and production, assuring food safety, protecting natural resources, fostering rural communities, and catastrophe hunger in America and abroad.

The USDA employs more than 100,000 employees and has an annual budget of approximately $95 billion. It consists of 17 agencies, including the Fauna and Constitute Health Inspection Service, the Food and Diet Service, and the Forest Service. The majority of the department's budget goes towards mandatory programs that provide services required by police, such as programs designed to provide nutrition assistance, promote agronomical exports, and conserve our environment. The USDA likewise plays an of import office in overseas aid programs by providing surplus foods to developing countries.

The United States Secretarial assistant of Agriculture administers the USDA.

Department of Commerce

The Department of Commerce is the authorities agency tasked with improving living standards for all Americans past promoting economic development and technological innovation.

The department supports U.S. business organisation and industry through a number of services, including gathering economic and demographic information, issuing patents and trademarks, improving understanding of the surround and oceanic life, and ensuring the effective employ of scientific and technical resources. The agency likewise formulates telecommunications and applied science policy, and promotes U.S. exports by assisting and enforcing international trade agreements.

The Secretarial assistant of Commerce oversees a $6.five billion upkeep and approximately 38,000 employees.

Department of Defence

The mission of the Department of Defence force (DOD) is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country. The department'southward headquarters is at the Pentagon.

The DOD consists of the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Forcefulness, as well as many agencies, offices, and commands, including the Articulation Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Defense force Intelligence Agency. The DOD occupies the vast majority of the Pentagon building in Arlington, VA.

The Department of Defense is the largest authorities agency, with more than i.three meg men and women on active duty, about 700,000 noncombatant personnel, and ane.1 million citizens who serve in the National Guard and Reserve forces. Together, the armed services and civilian arms of DOD protect national interests through war-fighting, providing humanitarian aid, and performing peacekeeping and disaster relief services.

Section of Education

The mission of the Department of Education is to promote pupil achievement and preparation for competition in a global economy by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access to educational opportunity.

The Department administers federal fiscal aid for educational activity, collects information on America's schools to guide improvements in education quality, and works to complement the efforts of land and local governments, parents, and students.

The U.South. Secretary of Education oversees the Department's 4,200 employees and $68.half dozen billion upkeep.

Department of Free energy

The mission of the Department of Energy (DOE) is to accelerate the national, economical, and energy security of the United states of america.

The DOE promotes America'southward energy security by encouraging the development of reliable, clean, and affordable free energy. Information technology administers federal funding for scientific research to further the goal of discovery and innovation — ensuring American economic competitiveness and improving the quality of life for Americans.

The DOE is also tasked with ensuring America's nuclear security, and with protecting the surround by providing a responsible resolution to the legacy of nuclear weapons production.

The United States Secretary of Free energy oversees a budget of approximately $23 billion and more than 100,000 federal and contract employees.

Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States authorities'due south principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human being services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. Agencies of HHS deport wellness and social science inquiry, work to foreclose disease outbreaks, assure food and drug safety, and provide health insurance.

In addition to administering Medicare and Medicaid, which together provide wellness insurance to one in four Americans, HHS too oversees the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Assistants, and the Centers for Disease Control.

The Secretary of Wellness and Human Services oversees a budget of approximately $700 billion and approximately 65,000 employees. The Department's programs are administered by eleven operating divisions, including 8 agencies in the U.S. Public Health Service and 3 human services agencies.

Department of Homeland Security

The missions of the Department of Homeland Security are to prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks; protect the American people, our critical infrastructure, and key resources; and reply to and recover from incidents that do occur. The third largest Cabinet section, DHS was established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, largely in response to the terrorist attacks on September eleven, 2001. The new department consolidated 22 executive branch agencies, including the U.South. Customs Service, the U.S. Declension Guard, the U.Due south. Secret Service, the Transportation Security Assistants, and the Federal Emergency Direction Agency.

DHS employs 216,000 people in its mission to patrol borders, protect travelers and our transportation infrastructure, enforce immigration laws, and respond to disasters and emergencies. The agency also promotes preparedness and emergency prevention amid citizens. Policy is coordinated by the Homeland Security Council at the White House, in cooperation with other defence force and intelligence agencies, and led by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

Department of Housing and Urban Evolution

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the federal agency responsible for national policies and programs that accost America'southward housing needs, that ameliorate and develop the nation'south communities, and that enforce fair housing laws. The Section plays a major part in supporting homeownership for lower- and moderate-income families through its mortgage insurance and rent subsidy programs.

Offices within HUD include the Federal Housing Administration, which provides mortgage and loan insurance; the Part of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, which ensures all Americans equal admission to the housing of their choice; and the Customs Evolution Cake Grant Program, which helps communities with economic development, task opportunities, and housing rehabilitation. HUD also administers public housing and homeless assistance.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development oversees approximately 9,000 employees on a budget of approximately $40 billion.

Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation'south principal conservation agency. Its mission is to protect America's natural resources, offer recreation opportunities, conduct scientific enquiry, conserve and protect fish and wildlife, and accolade our trust responsibilities to American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and our responsibilities to island communities.

DOI manages 500 meg acres of surface land, or well-nigh one-5th of the land in the United States, and manages hundreds of dams and reservoirs. Agencies inside the DOI include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Minerals Management Service, and the U.South. Geological Survey. The DOI manages the national parks and is tasked with protecting endangered species.

The Secretary of the Interior oversees most 70,000 employees and 200,000 volunteers on a budget of approximately $16 billion. Every year it raises billions in revenue from energy, mineral, grazing, and timber leases, equally well every bit recreational permits and country sales.

Department of Justice

The mission of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is to enforce the police force and defend the interests of the United states co-ordinate to the law; to ensure public safety confronting threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek but punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial assistants of justice for all Americans.

The DOJ is comprised of 40 component organizations, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals, and the Federal Agency of Prisons. The Attorney General is the head of the DOJ and chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters, advises the President and the heads of the executive departments of the authorities, and occasionally appears in person before the Supreme Court.

With a upkeep of approximately $25 billion, the DOJ is the globe's largest law function and the central agency for the enforcement of federal laws.

Section of Labor

The Department of Labor oversees federal programs for ensuring a potent American workforce. These programs address chore training, safe working weather, minimum hourly wage and overtime pay, employment discrimination, and unemployment insurance.

The Department of Labor's mission is to foster and promote the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the U.s.a. past improving their working weather, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economical measurements.

Offices within the Section of Labor include the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal regime'southward main statistics agency for labor economics, and the Occupational Condom & Wellness Administration, which promotes the rubber and health of America's working men and women.

The Secretary of Labor oversees 15,000 employees on a budget of approximately $50 billion.

Department of State

The Section of State plays the lead part in developing and implementing the President's foreign policy. Major responsibilities include United States representation abroad, strange assist, foreign military preparation programs, countering international criminal offence, and a wide assortment of services to U.South. citizens and foreign nationals seeking entrance to the U.Southward.

The U.S. maintains diplomatic relations with approximately 180 countries — each posted past civilian U.S. Foreign Service employees — too every bit with international organizations. At dwelling house, more than 5,000 civil employees carry out the mission of the Department.

The Secretarial assistant of State serves equally the President'south pinnacle foreign policy adviser, and oversees xxx,000 employees and a budget of approximately $35 billion.

Department of Transportation

The mission of the Department of Transportation (DOT) is to ensure a fast, safe, efficient, attainable and user-friendly transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people.

Organizations within the DOT include the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Aviation Assistants, the National Highway Traffic Safety Assistants, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Maritime Assistants.

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation oversees approximately 55,000 employees and a budget of approximately $lxx billion.

Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is responsible for promoting economic prosperity and ensuring the soundness and security of the U.S. and international financial systems.

The Section operates and maintains systems that are critical to the nation'southward financial infrastructure, such as the production of coin and currency, the disbursement of payments to the American public, the collection of taxes, and the borrowing of funds necessary to run the federal regime. The Department works with other federal agencies, foreign governments, and international financial institutions to encourage global economic growth, raise standards of living, and, to the extent possible, predict and forestall economical and financial crises. The Treasury Department besides performs a disquisitional and far-reaching office in enhancing national security by improving the safeguards of our financial systems, implementing economical sanctions confronting strange threats to the U.South., and identifying and targeting the fiscal back up networks of national security threats.

The Secretary of the Treasury oversees a budget of approximately $thirteen billion and a staff of more 100,000 employees.

Department of Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for administering benefit programs for veterans, their families, and their survivors. These benefits include pension, teaching, disability compensation, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, survivor support, medical care, and burying benefits. Veterans Affairs became a cabinet-level section in 1989.

Of the 25 million veterans currently live, nearly three of every four served during a war or an official menses of hostility. Almost a quarter of the nation's population — approximately 70 million people — are potentially eligible for V.A. benefits and services because they are veterans, family members, or survivors of veterans.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs oversees a budget of approximately $90 billion and a staff of approximately 235,000 employees.

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Source: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/executive-branch

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