Chapter 7 Section 4 Executive Cabinet

Cabinet – group of advisors to the President that includes all of the heads of the 15 top-level executive departments

First Lady – The President’s Wife

Federal Bureaucracy – The agencies and employees of the executive branch, all of the agencies that work within the top level departments

Bureaucrat- employees who work within the government agencies

Vocabulary:

Executive Agencies- Agencies that do not operate within other government department, but have a specialized area of their own

Government Corporations – ran like private businesses, but are owned and operated by the Federal Government

Regulatory Boards / Commissions – Agencies that enforce the rules for certain industries

Vocabulary:

Independent Agencies – federal boards or commissions that are not part of any cabinet department

Political Appointees – People who the President chooses to fill a position, often only hold the position while the President is in office

Civil Service Workers – career federal employees, hold their employment until retirement

Civil Service System – the practice of using a series of exams and merit to hire government workers

Vocabulary:

Vocabulary:• Spoils System – giving jobs to people as a

reward for political support

• Merit System – jobs are given to people based on Civil Service Exam Scores and other standards set forth by the Office of Personnel Management

Advisors, clerks, and Secretaries who help the President to do their job

5 Most Important Offices in the EOP:◦ White House Office◦ Office of Management and Budget◦ National Security Council◦ Office of Administration◦ Council of Economic Advisers

1. What is the job of the Executive Office of the President? What are the 5 offices that make it up?

Group of about 500 people who work directly for the president (includes political advisors, personal secretaries, speech writers, ect..)

Person in charge of this department is known as the Chief of Staff (Cyrus on Scandal)

2. What is the job of the White House Office? Who is the most powerful person in this group?

They help the President to prepare the budget and monitor spending among government agencies

3. What is the most important job of the Office of Management and Budget?

Helps to regulate Foreign Policy Made up of the following people:

◦ Vice-President◦ Secretary of Defense◦ Secretary of State◦ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

4. What departments make up the National Security Council?

Individuals who are seeking information under the Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.

http://www.foia.gov/

5. What is the primary interaction that citizens have with the Office of Administration?

Consists of 3 advisors that assist the President on topics of employment, tax policy, inflation, and foreign trade◦ President names the members, but the Senate

must approve them

6. What does the Council of Economic Advisors do? What branch of government approves appointees to these positions?

The heads of all of the top level executive departments

Head of the Justice Department is called the Attorney General, all others are called secretaries

Vice-Presidents and other high raking officials are often asked to join the Cabinet

7. What is the executive cabinet?

The Department of Homeland Security◦ Created in 2002 as a reaction to the attacks on

9/11◦ Focuses on preventing terrorist attacks on

American soil◦ First secretary named by George W. Bush was PA

Governor Tom Ridge

8. What is the newest of the Cabinet departments?

• ABSOLUTELY NOTHING !!!!

• The cabinet developed out of tradition and need

• Dates back to George Washington, who only had 4 cabinet members in his cabinet

• President sets the rules for meetings

9. What does the Constitution say about the Presidential Cabinet?

1. Turn new laws into action by setting rules and procedures

2. Run day to day business of the federal government

3. Regulate activities within the United States, set standards

10. What does the Federal Bureaucracy do?

President appoints directors of these agencies with Congressional Approval

Operate separate from the President, Leaders are Presidentially Appointed, but the President cannot fire them

Types of Agencies:◦ Executive Agencies ◦ Government Corporations◦ Regulatory Commissions

11. What are independent Agencies in government?

Agencies that do not operate within other government department, but have a specialized area of their own

Example: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

12. What is an Executive Agency?

United States Postal Service

13. Give an example of a government corporation.

To protect the citizens from dangerous or inappropriate actives in certain industries

Examples:◦ Food and Drug Administration (FDA)- inspects

food and pharmaceutical industries in the US◦ Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-

regulates television and radio broadcasts

14. Why do we have Regulatory Boards and Commissions?

Political appointees are chosen by the President and usually only hold their position until the end of the President’s term

Civil Service Workers are hired based on merit and exam scores, often hold their positions for life

15. What is the difference between a political appointee and civil service worker?

Known as the Civil Service Reform Act of 1883

Created after the assassination of James Garfield

Limited the amount of positions a President could give to their supporters

Created the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) which administers tests and sets standards for hiring federal employees

Federal employees are hired based on test scores and other criteria set forth by the OPM

16. What is the Pendleton Act?