Title: Independent Agencies | Justia
Headings: Independent Agencies
Independent Agencies
Content: Independent Agencies | Justia
Justia Administrative Law Independent Agencies
Independent Agencies
Although the executive departments are the main operating bodies of the federal government, they are not the only agencies that create, oversee, and supervise the laws of the United States. Congress has created a number of independent agencies to help administer various aspects of the federal government’s power and authority. In most cases, Congress creates an independent agency to supervise an area that is too complex and dynamic to be regulated by the passage of a statute or subsumed within an existing administrative agency. Independent agencies are not subject to direct control by the president or the executive branch, unlike executive agencies. The leaders of independent agencies do not serve as part of the president’s Cabinet. To create an independent agency, Congress passes a statute granting an agency the authority to regulate and control a specific area or industry. The statute provides clear guidelines for the objectives that the agency must work toward and specifies the extent to which the independent agency may exercise rulemaking authority. The regulations enacted by an independent agency have the full force and power of federal law. Most executive agencies have a single director, secretary, or administrator appointed by the president to oversee the department’s activities. A commission, board, or body consisting of between five to seven members, on the other hand, typically leads independent agencies.