Chapter 7: The Executive Branch
Objective(s)
7.1: The federal bureaucracy includes all the organizations and agencies of the executive branch. The civil service system is used to place qualified civilians into positions within the agencies of the federal bureaucracy.
7.2: Executive departments and independent agencies provide key services and regulate important industries for the American people.
7.3: By collecting taxes and borrowing money, the federal government is able to generate the funds it needs to run the nation. The government then assigns these funds to create a federal budget for the upcoming year.
Essential Questions
EQ: What are the functions of the executive departments and independent agencies? ______
HOQ: How is the bureaucracy organized and how do decisions made by executive agencies impact individuals and groups outside of government? ______
HOQ: What is the relationship between the Executive branch and the Legislative and Judicial branches and how has this relationship evolved? ______
Reading Focus
1. What is the federal bureaucracy? ______
2. What is the civil service, and how has it changed over the years? ______
1. What is the purpose of the executive departments? ______
2. What are the primary functions of executive departments today? ______
3. What are independent agencies? ______
4. What are some issues regarding power and accountability in the federal bureaucracy? ______
1. How does the federal government pay for its operations? ______
2. What are the two types of government spending? ______
3. How does the federal budget process work? ______
4. How do fiscal and monetary policy affect the nation’s economy? ______
Vocabulary
bureaucracy- ______bureaucrats- ______civil service- ______spoils system- ______independent agencies-______independent executive agencies- ______independent regulatory commissions- ______bipartisan- ______government corporations- ______income tax- ______progressive tax- ______payroll tax- ______regressive tax-______proportional tax-______bond- ______federal debt- ______mandatory spending- ______discretionary spending ______fiscal policy- ______monetary policy- ______