US. FEDERAL AGENCIES

US. Federal Agencies



US. Federal Agencies

Introduction

An independent agency of the Government of the United States is an agency of the executive branch of government of the United States that is attached to any federal executive department. It is created under separate statutes passed by the Congress of the United States, the statute creating each agency defines its role, its areas of competence and possibly its regulatory authority. Regulations issued by the agencies have the force of federal law. The federal executive departments are the main units of the federal government but many agencies may have important responsibilities to serve the public interest and conduct government tasks. These independent agencies are not a fourth branch of government, in addition to branches executive, legislative and judicial. They are part of the executive branch but not attached to departments (Bill, 2010).Discussion

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA is an independent agency of the U.S. government. It was established in 2nd of December 1970 to study and protect nature and the health of citizens of the United States.

Mission

Its mission is "to protect human health and safeguard the natural elements - air, land and water - essential to life. " Today, it employs approximately 17,000 people, it has ten regional offices and 17 research centers. The EPA is headed by a director appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, member of the Presidential Cabinet.

Operation

The agency develops and enforces regulations on the environment, managing the budget allocations that support environmental programs, conducts research on environmental issues and inform the American public. She has an educational function. The Office of International Affairs, EPA is responsible for efforts to reduce pollution. It also encourages the ethical governance of international environmental policy. In 2008, budgetary resources are 7.472 billion dollars (James, 2010).U.S. Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a governmental agency American company dedicated to Earth Sciences. It is responsible for monitoring the activity seismic on its territory and throughout the world. U.S. Geological Survey is a U.S. government research organization specializing in the geoscience. The most important area of research concerns USGS United States. In particular, mineral exploration in the U.S. USGS appeared in 1879, Headquartered in Reston, State of Virginia. The two leading department of USGS is in Denver and Menlo Park. Its mission is stated below:

Maps

The USGS is the first civilian agency to map the United States, known especially for its topographic maps at 1:24 000. The recent program called National Map ("National Map") is an attempt to digitize the topographic maps of the entire United States. It also has an extensive business program that aims to sell its products to facilitate access to the public. Many commercial sites have thus used data from the USGS to provide their own mapping services on the Internet. Since 1962, the USGS is also involved in the program of exploration and mapping of the moon and other planets (Macleavy, 2005).

Earthquakes

The USGS also monitors seismic activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, detect the epicenter and magnitude ...