Government agency - Definition and Overview

An agency is a department of a local or national government responsible for the oversight and administration of a specific function, such as a customs agency or a space agency.

Examples include Environment Agency of England and Wales and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Government agencies in the United States

The U.S. Congress and President delegate specific authority to government agencies as means of regulating the complex facets of the modern American federal state. Also, most of the 50 American states have created similar government agencies, but with limited, state-level regulatory power. The agencies of the federal government are often divided into two categories:

• executive department agencies - that include the President's Cabinet-level departments, and their sub-units, and
• independent agencies - that exercise some degree of independence from the President's control. Although the heads of independent agencies are often appointed by the President, they usually can only be removed for cause. The heads of an independent agency work together in groups, such as a commission, board or council. Independent agencies often function as miniature versions of the tripartite federal government with the authority to legislate (through the issuing, or "promulgation" of regulations), to adjudicate disputes, and to enforce agency regulations (through enforcement personnel). Examples of independent agencies include the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Most federal agencies are created by Congress through statutes called "enabling statutes," that define the scope of an agency's authority. Because the Constitution does not sanction federal agencies (as it does the other branches), some commentators have called agencies the "headless fourth branch" of the tripartite federal government. By enacting the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946, Congress established some means to oversee government agency action. The APA established uniform administrative law procedures for a federal agency's promulgation of rules, and adjudication of claims. The APA also sets forth the process for judicial review of agency action.

See also

• List of intelligence agencies of France
• List of United States federal agencies