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Essay Name       : 453.txt 
Uploader         : Manoj Patel
Email Address    : 
Language         : Engligh
Subject          : Politics
Title            : The Structure of the Executive Branch
Grade            : 11
School System    : Hazelwood
Country          : USA
Author Comments  : none
Teacher Comments : GOOD! 97%
Date             : 10/31/96
Site found at    : from friend
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The United States is a large and complex country that is full of a diversity of citizens.  It has millions of square miles of land with fifty states and several outlying territories, including more than a thousand islands scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.  All the citizens of the Unites States have been governed in an organized way for more than two hundred years.  The federal government is separated into three branches:  the legislative, executive, and judicial branch.  Of the three branches, the executive branch is the most complex.  Its job is to enforce the laws of the United States.  It is composed of the President, Vice President, executive departments, and independent agencies.
	The Presidency is the highest office in the country.  To become the President, you must be a natural born citizen of the United States, be at least thirty-five years old by the time you serve, and have lived in the United States at least 14 years.  Presidential elections occur every four years and candidates are chosen by their political parties before the election.  Each party chooses a candidate through primary elections, conventions, or caucases in every state and one national convention.  After all candidates are chosen, the campaign begins for the general election.  The election is held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.  People in each state vote for the President indirectly by electing the electors who will vote for the Presidential candidate.  The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of Representatives plus the number of Senators.  The electors from each state vote for the choice of the largest number of people in their state.  The candidate with more than half of the electoral votes wins.  The President is inaugurated on January 20 and may only serve two terms which are four years each. (18)
	The President  is the chief executive officer of the federal government, administrative head of the executive department of the government, and commander in chief of the armed forces of the nation.  With these titles, he has many duties and responsibilities.  The President works with the other two branches in several ways.  He is involved in the law-making process because all bills have to go to the President before they become the law and is considered the chief legislator because he sends bills to Congress that he wants passed.  The President appoints Supreme Court justices and judges of other federal courts.  When the President gets elected, he appoints a group of advisors which is called his Cabinet.  Part of his Cabinet are the heads of each executive department.  The Executive Office of the President consists of staff agencies that give the President information, ideas, and advice on wide range of issues.  Presidents frequently create, eliminate, and reorganize agencies in the Executive Office of the President.  The President also appoints the heads of all the independent agencies.  As the Chief Diplomat, he conducts the foreign policy by negotiating with other countries.  (18)
	The Vice-Presidency is the second highest office in the country.  If the President dies, leaves office, or cannot perform his duties, the Vice-President becomes President.  The Vice-President has to meet the same requirements as the President.  If the president is disabled for a certain period of time, then the Vice-President serves as Acting President.  The Vice President has special duties and responsibilities.  By being the leader of the Senate, he votes in case of a tie and becomes the connection between the President and Senate.  He also participates in the Cabinet meetings and serves as a member of the National Security Council. (19)
The Executive Departments
	The Department of State is the executive department of the United States government that handles relationships between U.S. and other governments.  The head of the department is the secretary of state who is the senior member of the President's Cabinet.  The department plans actions of the United States with other nations' governments.  After the approval of the plans by the President, they become the nation's official foreign policy.  The main function of the department is to carry out the foreign policy.  It negotiates treaties and agreements with other governments, handles business with the foreign embassies, speaks in international organizations, and arranges for the United States to participate in international conferences.  The Foreign Service provides information about specific countries, enforces the foreign policy towards them, and provides services to the Americans traveling abroad.  The Foreign service also issues passports and grant visas to the people coming into the United States.  There are a number of independent agencies that come from the Department of State.  They include the U.S. Information Agency, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the Agency for International Development.  (11)
	The Department of Treasury is an executive department that handles all the money of the United States.  It receives all money paid to the government, serves as the guardian of the government's revenue, pays federal government expenses, and keeps account of government revenues and expenses.  The department prepares all the paper money, coins, and prints postage stamps.  It also operates the Customs Service, Secret Service, and Internal Revenue Service.  The Customs Service main function is to regulate exports from and imports to the U.S.  and collects revenue from them.  The Secret Service provides protection to high-ranking government officials, security for some government buildings, and guarding against counterfeiting.  The Internal Revenue Service estimates and collects federal taxes.  Some of the other bureaus of the department include Bureau of Public Dept, Financial Management Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. (13)
	The Department of Defense is an executive department that provides military forces to protect national security.  It directs the operations of the nation's armed forces, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force.  The department is organized in order like this:  the Office of the Secretary, the Joint Chief of Staff, the military departments, the unified and specifies commands, and defense agencies.  It participates in the management of national security policy which includes the coordination of departmental plans with the national policy and participation in negotiations. (3)
	The Department of Justice is an executive department, headed by the attorney general, that enforces federal laws by investigating and prosecuting violations of federal laws and provides legal advice for the President and heads of the executive departments.  It represents the United States in all legal matters including cases before the Supreme Court and maintains the federal prison system of all security prisons, as well as providing halfway houses and community programs.  Through the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the department enforces all immigration laws and processes application for immigrants who want to become citizens.  Some divisions of the Department of Justice are Antitrust Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  (9)
	The Department of Interior is the executive department that is the Nation's principal conservation agency. The department has the responsibility of protecting, conserving, and promoting wise use of the country's land, water, minerals, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. It maintains national parks and recreation areas along with  preserving historic places.  It also provides for the welfare of Native American reservation communities and of inhabitants of island territories under U.S. administration.  The department consists of more than thirty major bureaus and offices that carries out an extensive variety of managerial, regulatory, planning, and research functions on specific items.  Some of them include National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Biological Service.  (8)
	The Department of Agriculture is the executive department that serves farmers and consumers in many ways.  It works to ensure reasonable incomes for farmers and reasonably priced farm products for consumers.  The department safeguards food supplies by inspecting meat, poultry, and dairy products in their processing plants along with grading them to ensure their quality.  Several food assistance projects are run by 
the department as well.  They include the national school lunch program and Food Stamp Program.  The USDA does research in laboratories that deal with plant and animal diseases, crop production, and pest control.  The researchers also explore new and different ways to conserve agricultural resources.  Other services of the USDA include providing annual reports on farm operating costs and crop production and managing the Forest Service.  (1)
	The Department of Commerce is the executive department whose chief responsibility is to promote the nation's economic development, international trade, and advancement in technology.  The department helps the President form the national economic policy and provides economic data, studies, and advice to other federal agencies and to private businesses.  It also has many other responsibilities.  It collects, analyzes, and distributes commercial statistics along with conducting the census every ten years.  The department works with businesses to issue patents and register trademarks.  The DOC also promotes travel to United States and provides weather forecasts.  (2)
	The Department of Labor is an executive department that prepares the American workforce for new and better jobs along with ensuring them with an adequate workplace.  The department develops standards and policies for promoting the welfare of workers.  It carries out federal laws on workers compensation programs and handles appeals from federal workers regarding compensation.  The department publishes annual reports on employment and unemployment, wages and industrial relations, and economic growth and employment projections.  It also manages the public employment service and the unemployment insurance programs and promotes interest of U.S. workers in international locations.  The DOL has many agencies that work on specific things like the Veteran's Employment and Training Service which protects reemployment rights of veterans and provides them with ample employment opportunities  and the Office of Labor-Management Standards which protects the rights of union workers.  (10)
	The Department of Health and Human Services is the executive department that protects the nation's health and to provide or support essential services.  It works to improve health services through research into prevention and cure of disease and supports health programs serving low-income people.  The department provides for the welfare of disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, children, and refugees.  It does this by administering assistance programs such as Social Security, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and refugee assistance programs.  The FDA is part of this department which protects consumers against impure and unsafe foods, drugs, and cosmetics.  (6)
	The Department of Housing and Urban Development is an executive agency that is responsible for programs concerned with housing needs and improving urban areas.  It works to improve housing and living conditions for low-income families by providing low interest loans and funds for public housing.  It also conducts programs for college housing, community planning, urban mass transportation, airports, and temporary housing.  HUD participates in the creation and planning of low to moderate income communities.  (7)
	The Department of Transportation is the executive agency that promotes and develops national transportation policies and programs.  It coordinates programs to provide safe, economic, and efficient transportation on land, water, and air.  The department carries on research and development of programs with cooperating with private businesses.  It conducts studies to identify transportation problems and to strengthen the weak parts of it.  The department also determines the economic status of U.S based airlines providing domestic or international service.  Some of the special Agencies that are part of DOT are the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard.  (3)
	The Department of Education is the executive department that conducts programs to improve American education and promotes educational opportunities for all citizens.  The department administers education programs for adults such as ESL and vocational  and assists students in paying for post-secondary schooling in a variety of ways.  It also identifies important issues and problems in education by collecting data and doing research on the nation's schools and reports their findings to educators and the general public.  (4)
	The Department of Energy is the executive department that works to meet the nation's energy needs.  The department develops and coordinates national energy policies and programs.  It works to promote energy conservation, increase the efficiency of energy production, secure energy supplies for the future, and minimize environmental waste by energy use.  Its main purpose was to research new ways of getting energy by working with private industries to develop energy technology.  The also regulates certain energy producers and distributors by setting rates and granting licenses.  (5)
Independent Agencies
	In addition to the departments, there are about 75 independent agencies in the executive government.  They are not departments because they serve a very specific 
need or  they are only temporary.  They often change frequently than departments.  Only a few of the major ones are explained.  The United States Postal Service is responsible for delivering about 150 billion pieces of mail each year.  They go out to millions of businesses and homes everyday.  Other services of the Postal Service are overnight delivery and money orders. (14) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) develops programs of space technology.  They encourage the study of the solar system and universe; and work to build a space station. (16) The Federal Deposit and Insurance Agency (FDIC) ensures the money that is deposited into banks that belong to its system.  It prevents a bank from becoming bankrupt and encourages good business practices. (15) The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) gathers political, economic, and military information of about more than 150 nations.  Most of it involves national security and it kept secret.  Spying is done in the defense of nation's hostile to the U.S.  Information is also collected from public sources of foreign media such as radio and television. Hi-tech equipment is used like orbiting satellites and intelligence aircraft. (17)
	The Executive Branch of government includes the President, Vice President, executive departments, and independent agencies.  Each part of the executive branch works to make our country better and the best.  


References
1. Department of Agriculture World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.usda.gov
2. Department of Commerce World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.doc.gov
3. Department of Defense World Web Home Page— http://www.dtic.dla.mil/defenselink/
4. Department of Education World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.ed.gov
5. Department of Energy World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.doe.gov
6. Department of Health and Human Resources World Wide Web Home Page—http://os.dhhs.gov
7. Department of Housing and Urban Development World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.hud.gov
8. Department of Interior World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.doi.gov
9. Department of JusticeWorld Wide Web Home Page—http://www.usdoj.gov
10. Department of Labor World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.dol.gov
11. Department of State World Wide Web Home Page—http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/
12. Department of Transportation World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.dot.gov
13. Department of Treasury World Wide Web Home Page—http://www.ustreas.gov
14. The United States Postal Service Home Page—http://www.usps.gov
15. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation—http://www.fdic.gov
16. National Aeronautics and Space Administration-- http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/NASA_homepage.html
17. Central Intelligence Agency--http://www.odci.gov
18. "President of the United States," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994     Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
19. "Vice-President of the United States," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994     Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's  
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