Independent Regulatory Commissions

Independent regulatory commissions are essentially boards and agencies with ties to the government, but entirely separate from the policy making process in order to achieve unbiased information and effective results. They are formed and given power by Congress to regulate a specific industry. Within specific authority granted by Congress, these regulatory commissions have the power to form and enforce their own regulations upon industry. Agencies like the FCC (Federal Communications commission) were created to help regulate the private sector. In 1934 Congress passed the Communications Act, which abolished the Federal Radio Commission and transferred jurisdiction over radio licensing to a new Federal Communications Commission. The FCC’s main mission and obligation is to â€Å"make available so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communication services with adequate facilities at reasonable charges. As stated by the legislation of the Communications Act it states that the FCC was created â€Å"for the purpose of the national defense† and â€Å"for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communications. Putting the FCC in charge of radio broadcasting and communications regulation our government should be able to get an accurate and unbiased report. Many of today’s regulatory commissions wer e created to be outside the power of both the president and the Congress in their operations. While these committees do get their power through the political process and legislation passed by congress, they operate and act with minimal ties to the national government. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is another one of these agencies. The FAA is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation with authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U. S. The FAA’s major roles include regulating U. S. commercial space transportation, regulating air navigation facilities' geometry and Flight inspection standards, encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology, issuing, suspending, or revoking pilot certificates, regulating civil aviation to promote safety, especially through local offices called Flight Standards District Offices, eveloping and operating a system of air traffic control and navigation for both civil and military aircraft, researching and developing the National Airspace System and civil aeronautics, and developing and carrying out programs to control aircraft noise and other environmental effects of civil aviation. These regulatory commissions are an important part in overseeing our government’s actions. Government Corporation The Federal Government owned corporations are a separate set of corporations funded and owned by the Federal Government, which operate to provide publ ic services. But unlike the federal agencies, they have a separate legal personality from the Federal Government, providing the highest level of political independence. They sometimes receive Federal budgetary appropriations, but some also have other independent sources of revenue. An example of this is the United States postal Service. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Independent Executive Agency Most independent executive agencies are established through separate statutes passed by the Congress, each providing a necessary statutory grant of authority that defines the goals the agency must work towards. These agency rules and regulations, while in force, have the power of federal law. Most executive agencies have a single director, administrator, or secretary who is head of the department. This leadership selection is at the will of the President. A god example of an independent executive agency is the CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) min job is to coordinate the intelligence activities of certain government departments and agencies, collect, correlate, and evaluate intelligence information relating to national security, and make recommendations to the United States National Security Council within the Executive Office of the President.