Home / Tags / #Economy

#Economy

108 entries

Branches (6)
Council of Economic Advisers
The three-member White House council of economists that advises the President on economic policy
National Economic Council
The White House body that coordinates economic policy across the departments and advises the President on economic decisions
Office of the United States Trade Representative
The White House office that negotiates trade agreements and enforces American trade rights abroad
U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
The specialized units of the district courts that handle every bankruptcy case in the country, from individual debtors to major corporations and cities
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
The thirteenth federal appeals court, defined by subject rather than geography, with nationwide jurisdiction over patents, trade, and claims against the government
U.S. Court of International Trade
The national trial court in New York that hears disputes over tariffs, customs, and trade laws
Departments (41)
Agricultural Research Service
The USDA's in-house scientific research agency, with labs and field stations across the country
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
The USDA agency that guards American livestock and crops against pests and diseases and enforces the Animal Welfare Act
Antitrust Division
The Justice Department division that enforces the antitrust laws against monopolies, cartels, and anticompetitive mergers
ARPA-E
The Energy Department agency, modeled on DARPA, that funds high-risk, high-reward energy technology research
Bureau of Economic Analysis
The Commerce Department statistical agency that measures gross domestic product and the national accounts
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Treasury bureau that prints the nation's paper money
Bureau of Industry and Security
The Commerce Department agency that controls exports of sensitive technology and runs national security tariff investigations
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
The Interior Department agency that leases federal offshore waters for oil, gas, wind, and minerals
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Pentagon's high-risk research agency, whose projects helped create the internet, GPS, and stealth aircraft
DOE Office of Science
The Energy Department office that is the largest federal funder of basic research in the physical sciences and runs ten national laboratories
Economic Development Administration
The Commerce Department agency that makes grants to economically distressed communities for infrastructure and job creation
Employee Benefits Security Administration
The Labor Department agency that enforces ERISA and oversees private pension, 401(k), and employer health plans
Employment and Training Administration
The Labor Department agency that oversees unemployment insurance, job training, apprenticeships, Job Corps, and foreign labor certification
Energy Information Administration
The Energy Department's independent statistical agency for data and forecasts on oil, gas, electricity, coal, and renewables
Farm Service Agency
The USDA agency that runs farm commodity payments, farm loans, disaster aid, and the Conservation Reserve Program through county offices
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
The Treasury bureau that collects and analyzes financial data to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud
Ginnie Mae
The government corporation within HUD that guarantees mortgage-backed securities made up of federally insured home loans
International Trade Administration
The Commerce Department agency that promotes U.S. exports and investigates unfairly priced and subsidized imports
Maritime Administration
The Transportation Department agency that supports the U.S. merchant marine, shipbuilding, ports, and the sealift reserve fleet
National Agricultural Statistics Service
The USDA statistical agency that publishes crop and livestock estimates and runs the Census of Agriculture
National Institute of Standards and Technology
The Commerce Department laboratory that keeps the nation's measurement standards and sets technical standards from cybersecurity to AI
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The Commerce Department agency that advises the President on telecommunications, manages federal spectrum, and runs the national broadband program
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
The HUD office that enforces the Fair Housing Act against discrimination in renting, buying, and lending
Office of Foreign Assets Control
The Treasury office that administers and enforces U.S. economic sanctions
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
The independent Treasury bureau that charters and supervises national banks
Power Marketing Administrations
The four Energy Department agencies that sell electricity from federal dams to public utilities and cooperatives across 34 states
Risk Management Agency
The USDA agency that runs federal crop insurance through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and private insurers
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The government's emergency stockpile of crude oil, stored in salt caverns on the Gulf Coast
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
The agency behind the jobs report, the unemployment rate, and the Consumer Price Index
The Bureau of Land Management
The landlord of the American West: 245 million acres of public rangeland, desert, and forest, and the minerals beneath far more
The Department of Agriculture
Farm programs, food stamps, meat inspection, rural loans, and the national forests, all under one roof
The Department of Commerce
The census, the weather forecast, patents, standards, trade enforcement, and the numbers that measure the economy
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
Public housing, rental vouchers, mortgage insurance, fair housing enforcement, and grants to cities
The Department of Labor
Wages and hours, workplace safety, pensions, job training, and the statistics that measure work in America
The Department of the Treasury
The department that collects the taxes, prints the money, manages the debt, and polices the financial system
The Federal Housing Administration
The mortgage insurer that created the 30-year fixed loan and still backs about one in six new home purchases
The Patent and Trademark Office
The agency that grants the exclusive rights behind inventions and brands, funded entirely by the people who apply
The United States Mint
The bureau that strikes the nation's coins, from pennies to gold eagles, and guards the bullion at Fort Knox
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The largest federal law enforcement agency: the Border Patrol, 328 ports of entry, and the collection of tariffs and duties
USDA Rural Development
The USDA mission area that lends and grants money for rural housing, utilities, broadband, and businesses
Wage and Hour Division
The Labor Department agency that enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime, child labor, and family leave laws
Agencies (39)
Appalachian Regional Commission
The federal-state partnership that funds economic development across 13 Appalachian states, from New York to Mississippi
Civilian Conservation Corps Dissolved
The New Deal program that put about 3 million young men to work planting trees, fighting erosion, and building parks from 1933 to 1942
Commodity Credit Corporation
The government corporation within the Agriculture Department that finances farm price supports, conservation payments, and emergency aid to farmers
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The independent commission that regulates futures, options, and swaps markets and polices them for fraud and manipulation
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Reorganizing
The agency created after the 2008 financial crisis to regulate mortgages, credit cards, loans, and other consumer financial products
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The independent commission that enforces federal laws against job discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability
Export-Import Bank of the United States
The federal export credit agency that finances and insures foreign purchases of American goods and services
Fannie Mae Reorganizing
The Federal National Mortgage Association, a government-sponsored enterprise that buys home mortgages from lenders and has been in federal conservatorship since 2008
Farm Credit System
The nationwide network of borrower-owned lenders, the oldest government-sponsored enterprise, that provides loans to farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The independent agency that insures bank deposits up to 250,000 dollars, supervises thousands of banks, and takes over banks that fail
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The independent commission that regulates interstate electricity transmission, wholesale power markets, natural gas pipelines, and hydropower dams
Federal Home Loan Banks
The eleven regional cooperative banks, created by Congress in 1932, that lend to member banks, credit unions, and insurers to support housing and community lending
Federal Housing Finance Agency
The independent regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, and conservator of Fannie and Freddie since 2008
Federal Maritime Commission
The independent commission that regulates ocean shipping in U.S. foreign trade, including carriers, ports, and freight forwarders
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Reorganizing
The independent agency that mediates labor contract disputes between employers and unions to prevent or end strikes
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
The independent agency that runs the Thrift Savings Plan, the 401(k)-style retirement savings plan for federal employees and members of the military
Freddie Mac Reorganizing
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, a government-sponsored enterprise created in 1970 to buy home mortgages, in federal conservatorship since 2008
Government-Sponsored Enterprises
Privately owned, federally chartered financial companies created by Congress to steer credit to housing, agriculture, and education
Minerals Management Service Dissolved
The Interior Department agency that leased offshore oil and gas, regulated drilling, and collected mineral royalties until it was broken up after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster
National Credit Union Administration
The independent agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions and insures credit union deposits
National Labor Relations Board Reorganizing
The independent agency that runs union elections and enforces private-sector workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively
National Mediation Board
The independent agency that mediates labor disputes and runs union elections in the railroad and airline industries under the Railway Labor Act
Office of Economic Opportunity Dissolved
The War on Poverty agency in the Executive Office of the President that launched Head Start, Job Corps, VISTA, and community action programs from 1964 to 1975
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
The federal corporation that insures private-sector traditional pensions and pays benefits when plans fail
Postal Regulatory Commission
The independent commission that oversees U.S. Postal Service prices, service standards, and compliance with federal postal law
Railroad Retirement Board
The independent agency in Chicago that pays retirement, disability, survivor, and unemployment benefits to railroad workers in place of Social Security
Surface Transportation Board
The independent board that regulates freight railroad rates, service, and mergers, successor to the Interstate Commerce Commission
The Federal Reserve System
The central bank: it sets interest rates, supervises banks, and acts as lender of last resort
The Federal Trade Commission
The agency that enforces antitrust law and protects consumers from fraud, deception, and unfair business practices
The Securities and Exchange Commission
The regulator of stock markets, public companies, investment funds, and the disclosures investors rely on
The Small Business Administration
Loan guarantees, disaster loans, and federal contracting preferences for the country's 34 million small businesses
The Tennessee Valley Authority
The largest public power provider in the country, created by the New Deal to remake an impoverished river valley
U.S. Bureau of Mines Dissolved
The Interior Department research agency, created after deadly mine disasters, that studied mine safety, mineral resources, and helium from 1910 until Congress closed it in 1996
U.S. Customs Service Merged
The Treasury agency that collected tariffs on imports from 1789, long the federal government's main source of revenue, until it was merged into Homeland Security in 2003
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
The federal development bank that lends to and invests in private projects in developing countries
U.S. International Trade Commission
The independent, nonpartisan commission that decides whether imports injure U.S. industries, blocks infringing imports, and maintains the tariff schedule
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
The small independent agency that funds early planning for infrastructure projects abroad that could use American goods and services
War Production Board Dissolved
The World War II agency that directed the conversion of American industry to war production and allocated scarce materials from 1942 to 1945
Works Progress Administration Dissolved
The largest New Deal jobs program, which employed millions of Americans to build roads, schools, and parks and fund art and writing from 1935 to 1943
Offices & Roles (5)
Bankruptcy Judges
The federal judges, appointed by the courts of appeals to 14-year terms, who decide bankruptcy cases for individuals and businesses as units of the district courts
Chair of the Federal Reserve
The head of the central bank and the most closely watched economic official in the world
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
The seven-member board in Washington, appointed to staggered 14-year terms, that leads the Federal Reserve System and anchors the majority on the committee that sets interest rates
Secretary of the Treasury
The government's chief financial officer, whose signature appears on every dollar bill
United States Trade Representative
The cabinet-level official, with the rank of ambassador, who leads U.S. trade negotiations and enforces trade agreements on the President's behalf
Processes (9)
Economic Sanctions
The financial and trade restrictions the United States imposes on foreign governments, companies, and individuals, administered mainly by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
Entitlement Programs
Federal programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid that pay benefits automatically to everyone who qualifies, making up the bulk of mandatory spending
Federal Taxation
How the federal government raises revenue, from individual income and payroll taxes to corporate taxes, excise taxes, and tariffs, and how tax law is written
Government Contracting and Procurement
How the federal government buys more than $700 billion a year in goods and services from private companies, under rules meant to ensure competition and fair dealing
National Emergencies
How a presidential declaration unlocks more than a hundred special powers, and why so many emergencies never end
Tariffs and Trade Authority
How the constitutional power to set tariffs, which belongs to Congress, came to be largely delegated to the President, and the 2025 fight over emergency tariffs
The Debt Ceiling
The statutory limit on how much the Treasury may borrow to pay bills Congress has already approved
The Federal Deficit and Debt
The yearly gap between spending and revenue, the accumulated debt it creates, and why both are growing
The Social Security Trust Funds
The two Treasury accounts that hold Social Security's payroll tax surpluses in special government bonds, and the projections of when their reserves will run out
Principles (5)
Cost-Benefit Analysis
The practice, required by executive order since 1981, of weighing the expected costs and benefits of major federal regulations before they are issued
Deregulation
The reduction or removal of government rules on industries and the economy, from the bipartisan transportation reforms of the late 1970s to the regulatory budgets of 2017 and 2025
Lobbying and Interest Groups
How organized groups try to influence government decisions, the constitutional right to petition behind it, and the disclosure laws that regulate it
Regulatory Capture
The theory that regulatory agencies come to serve the industries they oversee rather than the public, and the safeguards designed to prevent it
The Commerce Clause
Congress's power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with Indian tribes, the basis for much of modern federal law
Documents & Cases (2)
Federal Reserve Act
The 1913 law creating the Federal Reserve System of regional reserve banks and a central board, the foundation of U.S. monetary policy and banking supervision
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
The steamboat case in which Chief Justice John Marshall read the Commerce Clause broadly and struck down a state monopoly that conflicted with federal law
States & Local (1)
Puerto Rico
The largest U.S. territory, a self-governing commonwealth of about 3.2 million American citizens without voting representation in Congress or electoral votes
All Tags
Executive Branch 148 Legislative Branch 110 Separation of Powers 110 Economy 108 Cabinet Department 105 Constitution 94 Budget 80 Supreme Court 77 Elections 76 Federalism 75 States 70 Judicial Branch 65 National Security 62 Law Enforcement 59 Administrative State 58 Oversight 49 Military 45 Foreign Policy 40 Health 39 Environment 36 Independent Agency 35 Statute 31 Civil Service 30 Data & Statistics 29 Regulatory Commission 28 Former Agency 24 Emergency Management 24 Transportation 24 Intelligence 22 Education 22 Immigration 22 Taxation 21 Government Corporation 15 Territories 12 Veterans 9 Tribal 8