Independent Agencies

Independent Agencies

Three Types of Independent Agencies • (1) The independent executive agencies • (2) The independent regulatory commissions • (3) The government corporations

The label “independent agency” is a catchall • Most of these agencies are independent only in the sense that they are not located within any of the 15 cabinet departments. • They are not independent of the President and the executive branch. Executive agencies like NASA, and Government Corporations like The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • Independent Regulatory Commissions are largely beyond the reach of presidential direction and control. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an example.

Independent agencies are located outside of the executive departments. • Today there are nearly 150. • Examples: • CIA • Federal Reserve System • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission • Consumer Product Safety Commission • NASA

Reasons these agencies exist outside of the cabinet departments are nearly as numerous as the agencies themselves. • Some have been set up outside the executive departments because they don’t fit well with any department. • Office of Personnel Management (hiring agency for the federal gov’t.)

Reasons Continued • Congress has given some of these agencies independent status to protect them from the influence of “politics.” • Social Security Administration • Office of Personnel Management • Federal Election Commission

Reasons Continued • Some agencies are independent because of the peculiar and sensitive nature of their functions. • Especially the independent regulatory commissions. • Federal Trade Commission • Nuclear Regulatory Commission • Consumer Product Safety Commission

Regulatory Commissions have certain powers given to them • Quasi-legislative powers: quasi-legislative powers are used in rule making and regulatory functions and have the force of law. • Quasi-judicial powers: powers resembling those of a court of law or judge; able to remedy a situation or impose legal penalties on a person or organization. Quasi-judicial powers are exercised when disputes are decided in those fields in which Congress has given policing authority, i.e., EPA is a good example.

Regulatory Commissions Continued • These regulatory bodies possess all three powers - executive, legislative, and judicial - and are exceptions to the principle of separation of powers. • The power of the regulatory commissions is controversial and had been decreased under Presidents Reagan and Bush. [They believed in a weaker federal government]. • Congress has attempted to protect independent regulatory agencies from political influence by requiring that each agency be led by a group of commissioners representing both major political parties.

Capture • Over the last several decades some observers contend that many independent regulatory agencies have been captured by the very industries they are supposed to regulate. • The result is less competition, higher prices and less choice.

Deregulation and Reregulation • Under Carter and then Reagan: deregulation of the airline industry • Under Bush (41): Regulation of many businesses increased due to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act Amendments, Cable Reregulation Act 1992 • Clinton eliminated the Interstate Commerce Commission, deregulated banking and telecommunications, but increased environmental regulations • Repeal of Glass-Steagall Act (GSA) 1999. This act separated investment and commercial banking activities. At the time, "improper banking activity", or what was considered overzealous commercial bank involvement in stock market investment, was deemed the main culprit of the financial crash of 1929.

Independent Agencies