-United States Department of Education
The department of Education was created in the 1980’s when the original Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into different departments. This was facilitated by the Department of Education Organization Act. Unlike many other countries educational systems, the system of the United States is highly decentralized, and the federal government has little control over day to day activities of schools, such as curriculums or lesson plans, but does have control over schools in the form of grant money. It should be said that in the constitution there is no mention of the federal government having anything to do with public, education, and many have negative opinions about the federal government stepping in.
-United States Department of Energy
The Department of Energy is another of the recently created cabinet departments, having been created in 1977. This department is responsible for all policy having to do with energy and nuclear safety. These policies range from monitoring the nuclear weapons program of the United States armed forces, to research of anything energy related. This department was proposed by President Jimmy Carter because of the energy crises mainly to do with oil during the early 1970’s.
-United States Department of Health and Human Services
The States Department of Health and Human Services or abbreviated to HHS because of its long name is the department that is in charge of protecting the health of all Americans, as well as providing “essential Human Services”. These Human Services include Medicare, Social Security, food and drug inspections by the FDA, and the monitoring of unstable home situations by the ACF. This department also houses the CDC, which is not only important to the health of Americans, but is also a leader in medical research for the world.
-United States Department of Homeland Security
The department of Homeland Security is the most recently created of all the departments. Created in 2001, creation of this department was a response of President George W Bush to the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks. The department had the obvious job of dealing with policy and intelligence having to do with national security, and later, after the slew of natural disasters, also had the job of protecting against bad situations due to natural disasters.
- United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
This department began as the House and Home Financing Agency, but later grew into what we call the department of housing and urban development. Its main purpose is to create and enforce policy having to do with affordable housing and cities, but in recent years it has shifted to favor the former rather than the latter. An example of one of the policies that this department sets to improve living conditions and the affordability of homes is enterprise zones. This is granting money to areas that are economically depressed.
- United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is a department within the cabinet which manages all federal land. This Department is headed up by the Secretary of the Interior, which is usually a citizen from a western state. Of the 507 million acres that the department manages, much of it are national parks, dams, reservoirs, monuments etc. The department of the Interior was once of very broad scope and high power, but over the past years, much of its power and responsibilities have been shifted to other departments.
- United States Department of Justice
The department of Justice is one of the oldest cabinet positions, having been created during George Washington’s presidency. Its responsibilities include enforcing law and making sure that said law is in the best interests of citizens in the United States. This department started as a single job, which later turned into the head of the department; the attorney general. The DOJ deals with antitrust, tax and civil rights issues, for example.
- United States Department of Labor
The department of labor is a department within the cabinet which has similar entities within the states. Its motto is to promote the welfare of the working man, but more specifically its purpose is to create and enforce policy having to do with safety, wages and benefits. Often this department holds many liberal programs and ideas, including a committee created to determine how much to raise minimum wage and OSHA, which monitors working conditions of every organization in the US which has employees.
- United States Department of State
The Department of State, another one of the oldest cabinet positions which was created in the 1700s is in charge of everything having to do with foreign policy. This department, though very small and having a relatively small budget of 35 billion, is very important in ensuring the safety of US citizens who are traveling internationally, assisting business internationally etc. The head of the department, the secretary of state is very influential because he or she is the main foreign policy advisor for the president.
- United States Department of Transportation
The department of Transportation deals with transportation and all policy having to do with it. Its mission is to provide fast, safe, efficient, and accessible transport for all citizens of the US. In recent years, when the department of transportation regulated nearly everything like airplane ticket prices, it was felt by the President, Ronald Reagan at the time, that the department was too large and had too much power, and was interfering with the private sector, so he had legislation passed that deregulated the airlines. This had many good points, like more competition, but also had cons.
- United States Department of the Treasury
This department was established in 1789 to deal with everything to do with the treasury of the US, but it mostly regulates the revenue of the government. It is the responsibility of the department to coin and print money, and to collect federal taxes through the smaller organization the IRS. It is also the responsibility of the department of the Treasury to manage banks, the public debt and prosecute tax evaders, counterfeiters, etc.
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the most recently created departments having been created in 1988. This department deals with veterans rights and the distribution of benefits to veterans as well as their survivors. The Department of Veterans affairs, or VA for short is one of the largest departments in size and budget, employing 230000 and using 60 billion yearly. A vast majority of the employees work in VA medical centers or hospitals.