Federal Agencies

All Federal Agencies

Version 05/14/24
Count: 408

ACTION

ACTION was established by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1971, effective July 1, 1971. ACTION's purpose was to mobilize Americans for voluntary service throughout the United States and in developing countries overseas through programs which help meet basic human needs and support the self-help efforts of low-income individuals and communities. ACTION's functions relating to SCORE and ACT programs were transferred to the Small Business Administration. Other functions exercised by the Director of ACTION prior to March 31, 1995 were transferred to the Corporation for National and Community Service by 107 Stat. 888 and Proclamation 6662 of April 4, 1994.

ACTION

Administration Office, Executive Office of the President

The Office of Administration (OA) was created by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1977 and Executive Order 12028. As a component of the Executive Office of the President, the Office's primary function is to provide common administrative and support services for the various agencies and offices of the EOP.

Administration Office, Executive Office of the President

Administrative Conference of the United States

The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) was established under the Administrative Conference Act (5 U. S. C. 591-96), as a permanent independent agency of the Federal Government. ACUS provides suitable arrangements through which Federal agencies, assisted by outside experts, may cooperatively study mutual problems, exchange information, and develop recommendations for action by proper authorities to the end that private rights may be fully protected and regulatory activities and other Federal responsibilities may be carried out expeditiously in the public interest. Other purposes of the ACUS include the promotion of effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process; The reduction of unnecessary litigation in the regulatory process; the improvement of the use of science in the regulatory process; and the improvement of the effectiveness of laws applicable to the regulatory process.

Administrative Conference of the United States

Administrative Office of United States Courts

Created in 1939, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) serves the federal Judiciary in carrying out its constitutional mission to provide equal justice under law. The AO is the central support entity for the Judicial Branch. It provides a wide range of administrative, legal, financial, management, program, and information technology services to the federal courts. The AO provides support and staff counsel to the Judicial Conference of the United States and its committees, and implements and executes Judicial Conference policies, as well as applicable federal statutes and regulations. The AO facilitates communications within the Judiciary and with Congress, the Executive Branch, and the public on behalf of the Judiciary.

Administrative Office of United States Courts

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is an independent federal agency that promotes the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of our nation's historic resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy. The goal of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which established the ACHP in 1966, is to have federal agencies act as responsible stewards of our nation's resources when their actions affect historic properties. The ACHP is the only entity with the legal responsibility to encourage federal agencies to factor historic preservation into federal project requirements.

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Advocacy and Outreach Office

USDA’s Office of Advocacy and Outreach was established by the 2008 Farm Bill to improve access to USDA programs and to improve the viability and profitability of small farms and ranches, beginning farmers and ranchers, and socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. As such, OAO is split into five key program areas: Socially disadvantaged farmers, small and beginning farmers and ranchers, Higher education institutions program, farm worker coordination, and community engagement.

Advocacy and Outreach Office

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

The Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research was renamed the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) under the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 which amended Title IX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U. S. C. 299 et seq). AHRQ is the health services research arm of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). AHRQ is a home to research centers that specialize in major areas of health care research such as: quality improvement and patient safety, outcomes and effectiveness of care, clinical practice and technology assessment, and health care organization and delivery systems. AHRQ is also a major source of funding and technical assistance for health services research and research training at leading U. S. universities and other institutions. In addition AHRQ acts as a science partner, working with the public and private sectors to build the knowledge base for what works—and does not work—in health and health care and to translate this knowledge into everyday practice and policymaking. For more information on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and its activities, please visit the agency homepage at https://www.ahrq.gov.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Agency for International Development

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent Federal agency established by 22 U. S. C. 6563 that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. Its principal statutory authority is the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U. S. C. 2151 et seq. ). USAID serves as the focal point within the Government for economic matters affecting U. S. relations with developing countries. USAID administers international economic and humanitarian assistance programs. The Administrator is under the direct authority and foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State. For more information on the U. S. Agency for International Development’s organization and activities, please visit the agency homepage at https://www.usaid.gov/.

Agency for International Development

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

In 1980, Congress created the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to implement the health-related sections of laws that protect the public from hazardous wastes and environmental spills of hazardous substances. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), commonly known as the "Superfund" Act, provided the Congressional mandate to remove or clean up abandoned and inactive hazardous waste sites and to provide federal assistance in toxic emergencies. As the lead Agency within the Public Health Service for implementing the health-related provisions of CERCLA, ATSDR is charged under the Superfund Act to assess the presence and nature of health hazards at specific Superfund sites, to help prevent or reduce further exposure and the illnesses that result from such exposures, and to expand the knowledge base about health effects from exposure to hazardous substances.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Aging Administration

The Administration on Aging (AoA) was created under the Older Americans Act of 1965. The AoA is the Federal agency responsible for advancing the concerns and interests of older people and their caregivers. AoA works with and through the Aging Services Network to promote the development of a comprehensive and coordinated system of home and community-based long-term care that is responsive to the needs and preferences of older people and their family caregivers. AoA is part of the Department of Health and Human Services and is headed by the Assistant Secretary for Aging, who reports directly to the Secretary.

Aging Administration

Agricultural Marketing Service

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) was established by the Secretary of Agriculture on April 2, 1972, under the authority of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 U. S. C. app. ) and other authorities. The Service administers standardization, grading, certification, market news, marketing orders, research and promotion, and regulatory programs. The Agricultural Marketing Service includes five commodity programs--Dairy, Fruit and Vegetable, Livestock and Seed, Poultry, and Cotton and Tobacco. The programs provide standardization, grading and market news services for those commodities. They enforce such Federal Laws as the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and the Federal Seed Act. AMS commodity programs also oversee marketing agreements and orders, administer research and promotion programs, and purchase commodities for Federal food programs. The AMS National Organic Program (NOP) develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards for organic agricultural products. The NOP also accredits the certifying agents (foreign and domestic) who inspect organic production and handling operations to certify that they meet USDA standards. The AMS Science and Technology Program lends centralized scientific support to AMS programs, including laboratory analyses, laboratory quality assurance, coordination of scientific research conducted by other agencies for AMS, and statistical and mathematical consulting services. The AMS Transportation and Marketing Program brings together a unique combination of traffic managers, engineers, rural policy analysts, international trade specialists, and agricultural marketing specialists to help solve problems of U. S. and world agricultural transportation. , provides better quality products to the consumer at reasonable cost, improves market access for growers with small-to medium sized farms, and promotes regional economic development. AMS is part of the Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) mission area. MRP agencies facilitate the domestic and international marketing of U. S. agricultural products and ensure the health and care of animals and plants. MRP agencies are active participants in setting national and international standards.

Agricultural Marketing Service

Agricultural Research Service

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) was established on November 2, 1953 under the Secretary of Agriculture’s Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953. ARS is the principal in-house research agency of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority. It provides information access and dissemination to ensure high-quality safe food and other agricultural products; assess the nutritional needs of Americans; sustain a competitive agricultural economy; enhance the natural resource base and the environment; and provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole. Research activities are carried out at 103 domestic locations (including Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands) and 5 overseas locations. Much of this research is conducted in cooperation with partners in State universities and experiment stations, other Federal agencies, and private organizations. National Programs, headquartered in Beltsville, MD, is the focal point in the overall planning and coordination of ARS' research programs. Day-to-day management of the respective programs for specific field locations is assigned to eight area offices. ARS also includes the National Agricultural Library (NAL), which is the primary resource in the United States for information about food, agriculture, and natural resources, and serves as an electronic gateway to a widening array of scientific literature, printed text, and agricultural images. NAL serves USDA and a broad customer base including policymakers, agricultural specialists, research scientists, and the general public. NAL works with other agricultural libraries and institutions to advance open and democratic access to information about agriculture and the Nation's agricultural knowledge.

Agricultural Research Service

Agriculture Department

The Department of Agriculture works to improve and maintain farm income and to develop and expand markets abroad for agricultural products. The Department helps to curb and cure poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. It works to enhance the environment and to maintain production capacity by helping landowners protect the soil, water, forests, and other natural resources. The Department, through inspection and grading services, safeguards and ensures standards of quality in the daily food supply. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) was created by act of May 15, 1862 (7 U. S. C. 2201).

Agriculture Department

Air Force Department

The Department of the Air Force is responsible for defending the United States through control and exploitation of air and space. The Department of the Air Force (USAF) was established as part of the National Military Establishment by the National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 502) and came into being on September 18, 1947. The National Security Act Amendments of 1949 redesignated the National Military Establishment as the Department of Defense, established it as an executive department, and made the Department of the Air Force a military department within the Department of Defense (63 Stat. 578). The Department of the Air Force is separately organized under the Secretary of the Air Force. It operates under the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense (10 U. S. C. 8010). The Department consists of the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Air Staff, and field organizations.

Air Force Department

Air Quality National Commission

The National Commission on Air Quality was a 13 member Commission created by the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments. The Commission was required to report to Congress on the effectiveness of that law and on alternative approaches to controlling air pollution, in time for the next Congressional revision of clean air legislation. NCAQ was terminated upon submission of its final report on March 3, 1981.

Air Quality National Commission

Air Transportation Stabilization Board

On September 22, 2001, President Bush signed into law the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act ("Act") (Public Law 107-42). The Act establishes the Air Transportation Stabilization Board ("Board"). The Board may issue up to $10 billion in Federal credit instruments, e.g. (loan guarantees).

Air Transportation Stabilization Board

Alaska Power Administration

The Alaska Power Administration was established by the Secretary of the Interior in 1967. The Administration was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the Department of Energy by act of August 4, 1977 (91 Stat. 578).

Alaska Power Administration

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, statutorily named the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) was established under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (the Act) on January 24, 2003. Rendering the functions of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) into two new organizations with separate functions, the Act created a new tax and trade bureau within the Department of the Treasury, and shifted certain law enforcement functions of ATF to the Department of Justice. The Act called for the tax collection functions to remain with the Department of the Treasury; and the new organization was called the “Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. ” The mission of TTB is to collect alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition excise taxes that are rightfully due; to protect the consumer of alcohol beverages through compliance programs that are based upon education and enforcement of the industry to ensure an effectively regulated marketplace; and to assist industry members to understand and comply with Federal tax, product, and marketing requirements associated with the commodities we regulate.

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is responsible for enforcing Federal criminal laws and regulating the firearms and explosives industries. ATF, formerly known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, was initially established by Department of Treasury Order No. 221, effective July 1, 1972, which transferred the functions, powers, and duties arising under laws relating to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives from the Internal Revenue Service to ATF. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U. S. C. 531) transferred certain functions and authorities of ATF to the Department of Justice and established it under its current name. ATF works, directly and through partnerships, to investigate and reduce violent crime involving firearms and explosives, acts of arson, and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products. The Bureau provides training and support to its Federal, State, local, and international law enforcement partners and works primarily in 23 field divisions across the 50 States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. It also has foreign offices in Mexico, Canada, Colombia, and France.

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau

American Battle Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) was established by Congress in 1923 to commemorate the service, achievements, and sacrifice of U. S. armed forces where they have served overseas since 1917, and within the U. S. when directed by public law. The ABMC commemorative mission is reflected in 24 overseas military cemeteries that serve as resting places for almost 125,000 American war dead; on Tablets of the Missing that memorialize more than 94,000 U. S. servicemen and women; and through 25 memorials, monuments and markers.

American Battle Monuments Commission