Independent Agencies
Early American History and Civics
Goals
 Identify the responsibilities of
executive agencies
 Identify the purpose of regulatory
commissions
 Compare government corporations
with private corporations.
Independent Agencies
 The executive branch can only handle
a small part of its’ responsibilities.
Independent Agencies
 Other organizations handle these
responsibilities
Independent Agencies
 Today’s government includes
hundreds of independent federal
agencies.
Independent Agencies
 Three types:
 Executive departments
 Regulatory commissions
 Government corporations
Independent Agencies
 An Executive agency is an
independent agency responsible for
dealing with specialized areas of the
government.
Independent Agencies
 National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) is an executive
agency
Examples
 Another example includes the Central
Intelligence Agency
Executive Agencies
 Another includes the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
Regulatory Commissions
 A regulatory commission is an
independent agency that protects the
public.
Regulatory Commissions
 Each commission has executive,
legislative, and judicial powers.
Regulatory commissions
 Examples include the Securities
Exchange Commission (SEC)
Example
 One other example includes the
Federal Communication Commission
(FCC)
Example
 Another includes the Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Regulatory Commissions
 The government keeps the
commissions impartial.
Government Corporations
 Similar to a private corporation,
EXCEPT, the government owns and
operates it.
Government Corporations
 These corporations operate under the
direction of congress BUT are given
flexibility.
Government Corporations
 Example of a government corporation
is the United States Postal Service.
(USPS)