What Are Governmental Regulatory Agencies?
Federal regulatory agencies have been created over the life of the United States to deal with specific issues that affect citizens of all states or industries that engage in business across state boundaries. Regulatory agencies are established by Congress under Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, which lists its powers and gives Congress the responsibility "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers granted in the section to Congress or to other branches of the government.
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Identification
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Federal regulatory agencies generate and enforce rules. They function as part of the executive branch of government; their work is dictated by the law that establishes them and by the president, who appoints their administrators. Most early regulation was done from within departments of the government; the Internal Revenue Bureau (1862) of the Treasury became the Internal Revenue Service beginning with the 16th Amendment (income tax) in 1913.
Types
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Over 20 agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs and Secret Service, were put under the supervision of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002. Others function as part of the Treasury department (IRS), Interior (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Health and Human Resources (Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration), Housing and Urban Development (Federal Housing Authority) and others. A few, such as the Federal Reserve System, function independently.
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Function
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Regulatory agencies are tasked with enforcing federal laws and generating rules necessary for effective enforcement. Agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration and National Transportation Safety Board (Department of Transportation) have investigative and advisory functions while some, such as the Federal Communications Commission, have a primary responsibility for regulation and enforcement. A few, such as the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (part of the Patent Office) have "quasi-judicial" authority under administrative law.
Early Agencies
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The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), established in 1887, was formed to regulate rate discrimination and monopolistic practices by large railroads. It also originally regulated telephone services. Some of the ICC's regulatory tasks were assumed by the Federal Trade Commission (1914), which was established to control unfair business practices. Early labor legislation formed the Department of Commerce and Labor (1903), which became the Department of Commerce in 1913 when the Department of Labor was formed. The Food and Drug Act of 1904 established the agency that would grow to regulate cosmetics as well as food products and drugs. The Federal Reserve System was established in 1913.
New Deal
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Depression-Era legislation established dozens of new regulatory agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (1933), Tennessee Valley Authority (1933), Securities and Exchange Commission (1934), Federal Housing Administration (1934) and the Social Security System (1935), agencies that are still in operation. Several New Deal agencies were phased out or overturned by court rulings. Some transferred regulatory functions to other agencies.
New Frontier
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 added non-discrimination enforcement to many agency portfolios, particularly the ICC's. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was also created that year. The Environmental Protection Agency, founded in 1970 is the largest modern agency. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (1970) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (1972) regulate employee and consumer safety.
Considerations
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Some insist that regulatory agencies are created to generate mounds of paper full of regulations and unintelligible prose. Efforts at paper reduction and consolidation have not yet satisfied those criticisms, but many agencies have improved communication and public service by establishing websites with direct service components.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons, Microsoft Office clip art, U.S. Government
