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Executive Departments
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Department of Agriculture
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1400 Independence Ave., SW (20250)
- Established: May 15, 1862. Administered by Commissioner
of Agriculture until 1889, when it was made executive department.
- Function: Supervises agricultural production to make
sure prices are fair; helps farmers financially with subsidies and
development programs; helps food producers sell their goods overseas;
runs food assistance and nutrition programs. The USDA's inspection and
grading programs make sure food is safe to eat.
- Secretary: Edward T. Schafer
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Department of Commerce
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1401 Constitution Ave., NW (20230)
- Established: Department of Commerce and Labor was
created Feb. 14, 1903. On March 4, 1913, all labor activities were
transferred out of Department of Commerce and Labor and it was renamed
Department of Commerce.
- Function: Promotes international trade, economic
growth, and technological advancement; works to keep the U.S.
competitive in international markets and to prevent unfair foreign trade
practices; gathers statistics for business and government planners.
- Secretary: Carlos Gutierrez
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Department of Defense
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Office of the Secretary, The Pentagon (20301-1155)
- Established: July 26, 1947, as National Military
Establishment; name changed to Department of Defense on Aug. 10, 1949.
Subordinate to Secretary of Defense are Secretaries of Army, Navy, Air
Force.
- Function: Oversees everything related to the nation's
military security; directs the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force,
as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several specialized combat
commands; nonmilitary responsibilities including flood control,
development of oceanographic resources, and management of oil
reserves.
- Secretary: Robert Gates
- Deputy Secretary: Gordon R. England
- Secretary of Army: Pete Geren
- Secretary of Navy: Donald C. Winter
- Secretary of Air Force: Michael W. Wynne
- Commandant of Marine Corps: Gen. James T. Conway
- Joint Chiefs of Staff: Adm. Michael Mullen, Navy,
Chairman; Gen. James E. Cartwright, Marine Corps, Vice Chairman; Gen.
George W. Casey Jr., Army; Adm. Gary Roughead, Navy; Gen. T. Michael
Moseley, Air Force; Gen. James T. Conway, Marine Corps.
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Department of Education
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400 Maryland Ave., SW (20202)
- Established: Oct. 17, 1979
- Function: Administers more than 150 federal education
programs, including student loans, migrant worker training, vocational
education, and special programs for the handicapped. The Department of
Education took over many of the education programs previously managed by
the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and six other
agencies.
- Secretary: Margaret Spellings
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Department of Energy
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1000 Independence Ave., SW (20585)
- Established: Oct. 1, 1977
- Function: Responsible for the research and development
of energy technology; energy conservation; the civilian and military use
of nuclear energy; regulation of energy production and use; pricing and
allocation of oil; sets standards to reduce the harmful effects of
energy production.
- Secretary: Samuel Bodman
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Department of Health and Human Services
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200 Independence Ave., SW (20201)
- Established: Formed April 11, 1953, replacing Federal
Security Agency created in 1939. On Oct. 17, 1979, the Department of
Education became a separate department.
- Function: Administers Social Security; funds Medicare
and Medicaid; offers social services for poor families, Native
Americans, children, the elderly, migrants, refugees, and the
handicapped; oversees institutes dealing with mental health and
substance abuse; works to control preventable and infectious diseases;
conducts research on cancer, AIDS, child health, aging, and other
issues; ensures the safety of the nation's food supply and tests and
approves all drugs.
- Secretary: Mike Leavitt
- Surgeon General: Dr. Richard Carmona
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Department of Homeland Security
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Washington, DC 20528
- Established: The most significant transformation of the
U.S. government since 1947 was formed in the aftermath of Sept. 11,
2001, when 22 separate agencies were combined to become the
cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. It became an official
cabinet department Jan. 24, 2003.
- Function: To protect the nation against threats to the
homeland.
- Secretary: Michael Chertoff
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Department of Housing and Urban Development
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451 7th St., SW (20410)
- Established: Nov. 9, 1965, replacing Housing and Home
Finance Agency created in 1947
- Function: Promotes community development; administers
fair-housing laws; provides affordable housing and rent subsidies.
- Secretary: Steven C. Preston
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Department of the Interior
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1849 C St., NW (20240)
- Established: March 3, 1849
- Function: Protects the natural environment; develops
the country's natural resources; manages national parks, monuments,
rivers, seashores, lakes, outdoor recreation areas, and historic sites;
oversees more than 400 wildlife refuges, research centers, wildfowl
production areas, and fish hatcheries; supervises economic development
and environmental protection of public land; helps Native Americans
living on reservations. The Department of the Interior is also
responsible for the following U.S. territories: the Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the
Trust Territory of Palau, and the Freely Associated States (Republic of
the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia).
- Secretary: Dirk Kempthorne
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Department of Justice
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950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (20530)
- Established: Office of Attorney General was created
Sept. 24, 1789. Although one of the original cabinet members, the
attorney general was not an executive department head until June 22,
1870, when the Department of Justice was established.
- Function: Supervises U.S. district attorneys and
marshals; supervises federal prisons and other penal institutions;
advises the President on petitions for paroles and pardons; represents
the U.S. government in legal matters and gives legal advice to the
president and other members of the Cabinet; researches violations of
federal laws; administers immigration laws.
- Attorney General: Michael Mukasey
- Solicitor General: Paul D. Clement
- Director of FBI: Robert S. Mueller, III
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Department of Labor
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200 Constitution Ave., NW (20210)
- Established: Bureau of Labor was created in 1884 under
Department of the Interior; later became independent department without
executive rank. Returned to bureau status in Department of Commerce and
Labor, but on March 4, 1913, became independent executive department
under its present name.
- Function: Protects the rights of workers; helps improve
working conditions; promotes good relations between labor and
management. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks changes in employment,
prices, and other national economic statistics.
- Secretary: Elaine L. Chao
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Department of State
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2201 C St., NW (20520)
- Established: 1781 as Department of Foreign Affairs;
reconstituted, 1789, following adoption of Constitution; name changed to
Department of State Sept. 15, 1789.
- Function: Advises the president on foreign-policy
issues; works to carry out the country's foreign policy; maintains
relations between foreign countries and the U.S.; negotiates treaties
and agreements with foreign nations; speaks for the U.S. in the United
Nations and other major international organizations; supervises
embassies, missions, and consulates overseas.
- Secretary: Condoleezza Rice
- UN Ambassador: Zalmay Khalilzad
- Deputy UN Ambassador: Alejandro Daniel Wolff
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Department of Transportation
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400 7th St., SW (20590)
- Established: Oct. 15, 1966, as result of Department of
Transportation Act, which became effective April 1, 1967.
- Function: Sets the nation's transportation policy.
There are nine administrations within the department whose jurisdictions
include highway planning, development, and construction; aviation; urban
mass transit; railroads; and the safety of waterways, ports, highways,
and oil and gas pipelines. Also supervises the Coast Guard, which is
responsible for search and rescue at sea and the enforcement of laws
that protect oceans and waterways from oil spills and other
pollution.
- Secretary: Mary E. Peters
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Department of the Treasury
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1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (20220)
- Established: Sept. 2, 1789
- Function: Reports to Congress and the president on the
financial state of the government and the economy; regulates the
interstate and foreign sale of alcohol and firearms; supervises the
printing of stamps for the U.S. Postal Service; curbs counterfeiting;
and operates the Customs Service, which regulates and taxes imports. The
Internal Revenue Service, a branch of the Treasury, regulates tax laws
and collects Federal taxes.
- Secretary: Henry Paulson
- Treasurer of the U.S.: Anna Escobedo Cabral
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Department of Veterans Affairs
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810 Vermont Ave., NW (20420)
- Established: March 15, 1989, replacing Veterans
Administration created in 1930
- Function: Provides benefits and services to veterans
and their dependents; offers pensions, education, rehabilitation, home
loan guarantees, burial, compensation payments for disabilities or death
related to military service, and a medical care program.
- Secretary: James Peake
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