How Big Is The Gubmint?

from The Sierra Times Forum (The Jersey Lily) http://www.sierratimes.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi

How Big is the Gummint?
http://www.sierratimes.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=1&topic=652

LIB! (southern pronunciation of "Well, I'll be...." )

Want to see a rather comprehensive list of gummint agencies? While I'm not at all surprised on one hand, it was still quite an eye-opener to see them all listed in one place. I submit this for interest, and for whatever other purpose someone might want to use the list. Check the list of independent agencies! As just one, tiny example of the power of these organizations, I found this:

The USPIS has the power to enforce the law by conducting search and seizure raids on entities they suspect of sending non-urgent mail through overnight delivery competitors. For example: according to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a private think tank (http://aei.org) the USPIS raided Equifax offices to ascertain if the mail they were sending through Fedex was truly "extremely urgent." It was found that the mail was not, and Equifax was fined $30,000 to compensate the Postal Service for the postage that was lost to Fedex.

And following along with just the Post Office, note that there is a separate Postal Rate Commission - not a branch of the United States Postal Service. Just what do the people on that Commission, most certainly drawing tax dollars as salaries, DO in between rate hikes? Somehow I have this vision of however many people making up the Postal Rate Commission sitting in their gov't cubicles, day after day, doing crossword puzzles, going out for coffee, or whatever, and occasionally meeting to discuss whether there should be another postal rate increase, then going back to their cubicles to collect their salaries. Maybe that's not how it works, but with personal experience in other branches of government "service," I can't easily dismiss that scenario as a very real possibility. It reminds me of the old joke about the Bureau of Indian affairs visitor who was walking down the hall and spotted a man slumped over his desk, just sobbing. He walked in, asked the BIA agent what was the matter. The BIA agent replied, "My Indian died. I don't know if I'll have a job tomorrow."

And speaking of so-called "Indians," do a quick word search on the following list and notice that there are four entirely separate agencies devoted to "Indian" matters - under four entirely different departments!
Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs
Department of Education: Office of Indian Education
Department of Health & Human Services: Indian Health Service
Department of Housing & Urban Development: Office of Public and Indian Housing

And here's just one more, though it was FINALLY abolished as a separate agency just a few years ago (1996). This list is FULL of this kind of garbage:

The Tea Importation Act, which created the Board of Tea Appeals, was on the books for 99 years before its repeal in 1996. As codified just before its repeal, the Act instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services each year "to appoint a board, to consist of seven members, each of whom shall be an expert in teas, and who shall prepare and submit to him standard samples of tea." In accordance with the board of experts' recommendations, the Secretary was instructed to "fix and establish uniform standards of purity, quality, and fitness for consumption of all kinds of teas imported unto the United States" and to deposit samples of these standards in the customhouses of various ports of entry. Tea importers were required to submit samples of their product for comparison with the standard samples kept at the customhouses. The imported samples were then tested "by a duly qualified examiner," who would test "the purity, quality, and fitness for consumption of the... [imported tea samples] according to the usages and customs of the tea trade, including the testing of an infusion of the same in boiling water and, if necessary, chemical analysis."

And we PAY for this crap!

Georgia Saint
-------------------------
Executive Branch
Executive Office of the President
* White House Chief of Staff
* White House Press Secretary
* Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
* National Security Council (NSC)
* United States Trade Representative
* Office of National Drug Control Policy
* Council of Economic Advisers
* Council on Environmental Quality
* Domestic Policy Council
* National Economic Council
* Office of White House Administration
* Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
* Office of National AIDS Policy
* Office of Science and Technology Policy
* President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board
* President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
* USA Freedom Corps
* White House Military Office

Department of Agriculture
* Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
* Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
* Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
* Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP)
* Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CREES)
* Economic Research Service (ERS)
* Farm Service Agency (FSA)
* Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC)
* Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
* Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
* Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
* Forest Service (FS)
* Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)
* National Agricultural Library (NAL)
* National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
* Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
* Risk Management Agency (RMA)
* Rural Development (RD)

Department of Commerce
* Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
* Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA)
o Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
o Bureau of the Census
* Economic Development Administration (EDA)
* International Trade Administration (ITA)
* Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
o National Weather Service (NWS)
o National Oceanic Service (NOS)
o National Geodetic Survey (NGS)
o National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS)
* National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
* Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)
* Technology Administration (TA)
o National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
o National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
o Office of Technology Policy (OTP)

Department of Defense
* Office of the Secretary of Defense
o Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
o Office of Net Assessment
o Office of Inspector General
+ Defense Criminal Investigative Service
* Military Departments
o Department of the Army including the U.S. Army
o Department of the Navy including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps
o Department of the Air Force including the U.S. Air Force
* Joint Chiefs of Staff
o United States Naval Observatory
* Unified Combatant Commands
o Central Command (CENTCOM)
o European Command (EUCOM)
o Joint Forces Command (JFCOM)
o Northern Command (NORTHCOM)
o Pacific Command (PACOM)
o Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
o Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
o Strategic Command (STRATCOM)
o Transportation Command (TRANSCOM)
* Defense Agencies
o Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
o Defense Commissary Agency
o Defense Contract Audit Agency
o Defense Contract Management Agency
o Defense Finance and Accounting Service
o Defense Information Systems Agency
o Defense Intelligence Agency
o Defense Legal Services Agency
o Defense Logistics Agency
o Defense Security Cooperation Agency
o Defense Security Service
o Defense Threat Reduction Agency
o Missile Defense Agency
o National Security Agency
o National Reconnaissance Office
o National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
o Pentagon Force Protection Agency
* Department of Defense Field Activities
o American Forces Information Service
o Counterintelligence Field Activity
o Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
o Department of Defense Education Activity
+ Department of Defense Dependents Schools
o DoD Human Resources Activity
o Office of Economic Adjustment
o Tricare Management Activity
o Washington Headquarters Services
* Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
* Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
* Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)

Department of Education
* Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance
* Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)
* National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
* Office of Educational Research and Improvement
* Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
* Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students
* Office of Federal Student Aid
* Office of Indian Education
* Office of Migrant Education
* Office of Postsecondary Education
* Office of Special Educational and Rehabilitation Services
* Office of Vocational and Adult Education

Department of Energy
* Energy Information Administration (EIA)
* Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
* National Laboratories & Technology Centers:
o Albany Research Center
o Ames Laboratory
o Argonne National Laboratory
o Argonne National Laboratory (West) (now part of Idaho National Laboratory)
o Brookhaven National Laboratory
o Center for Functional Nanomaterials (under design or construction)
o Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (under design or construction)
o Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (under design or construction)
o Center for Nanoscale Materials (under design or construction)
o Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
o Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
o Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
o Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
o Los Alamos National Laboratory
o Molecular Foundry (under design or construction)
o National Energy Technology Laboratory
o National Petroleum Technology Office
o National Renewable Energy Laboratory
o New Brunswick Laboratory
o Oak Ridge National Laboratory
o Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
o Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
o Radiological & Environmental Sciences Laboratory
o Sandia National Laboratories
o Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
o Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
o Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
o Yucca Mountain
* National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
* Power Marketing Administrations:
o Bonneville Power Administration
o Southeastern Power Administration
o Southwestern Power Administration
o Western Area Power Administration

Department of Health and Human Services
* Administration on Aging (AoA)
* Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
* Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
* Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
* Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
* Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
* Indian Health Service (IHS)
* National Institutes of Health (NIH)
* Program Support Center (PSC)
* Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Department of Homeland Security
* Coast Guard
* National Cyber Security Division
* Environmental Measurements Laboratory
* Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
* U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
* Customs and Border Protection
* Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
* Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
* United States Secret Service (USSS)
* Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness
* Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
* National Communications System (NCS)

Department of Housing and Urban Development
* Community Development Block Grants
* Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
* Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
* Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA, Ginnie Mae)
* Office of Policy Development and Research (Bridges to Work)
* Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH)

Department of the Interior
* Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
* Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
* Office of Surface Mining (OSM)
* Bureau Of Reclamation (USBR)
* Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
* Minerals Management Service (MMS)
* National Park Service (NPS)
* United States Geological Survey (USGS)
* Office of Insular Affairs

Department of Justice
* Antitrust Division
* Asset Forfeiture Program
* Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATF / BATFE)
* Bureau of Justice Assistance
* Bureau of Justice Statistics
* Civil Division
* Civil Rights Division
* Community Capacity Development Office
* Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
* Community Relations Service
* Criminal Division
* Diversion Control Program
* Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
* Environment and Natural Resources Division
* Executive Office for Immigration Review
* Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
* Executive Office for U.S. Trustees
* Federal Bureau of Investigation
* Federal Bureau of Prisons
* Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States
* U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
* Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP)
* Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
* Office of Immigration Statistics
* INTERPOL - U.S. National Central Bureau
* Justice Management Division
* Marshals Service
* National Crime Information Center
* National Criminal Justice Reference Service
* National Drug Intelligence Center
* National Institute of Corrections (FBOP)
* National Institute of Justice
* Office of the Federal Detention Trustee
* Office of the Inspector General
* Office of Intelligence Policy and Review
* Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
* Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
* Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
* Office of the Pardon Attorney
* Parole Commission
* Office of the Police Corps
* Office of Tribal Justice
* Office for Victims of Crime
* Office on Violence Against Women
* Solicitor General
* Tax Division
* U.S. Attorneys

Department of Labor
* Administrative Review Board (ARB)
* Benefits Review Board (BRB)
* Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
* Center for Faith-Based & Community Initiatives (CFBCI)
* Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB)
* Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
o Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
o The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
o Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)
o Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
* Employment & Training Administration (ETA)
* Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA)
* Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
* Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
* Veterans' Employment & Training Service (VETS)
* Women's Bureau (WB)

Department of State
* Bureau of Administration
* Bureau of African Affairs
* Bureau of Consular Affairs
* Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
* Bureau of Diplomatic Security
o Office of Foreign Missions
* Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
* Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
* Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
o Internet Access and Training Program
* Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
* Bureau of Human Resources
* Bureau of Information Resource Management
* Bureau of Intelligence and Research
* Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
* Bureau of International Organization Affairs
* Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
* Bureau of Legislative Affairs
* Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
* Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
* Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations
* Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
* Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
* Bureau of Public Affairs
* Bureau of Resource Management
* Bureau of South Asian Affairs
* Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation
* Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
* Counterterrorism Office (which produces the Patterns of Global Terrorism report)
* National Foreign Affairs Training Center (former Foreign Service Institute)
* Office of International Information Programs
* Office of the Legal Adviser
* Office of Management Policy
* Office of Protocol
* Office of the Science and Technology Adviser
* Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
* Office of War Crimes Issues
* US Department of Global Anti-semitism

Department of Transportation
* Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
* Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
* Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
* Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
* Maritime Administration (MARAD)
* Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
* National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
* Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)
* Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
* Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC)
* Surface Transportation Board (STB)

Department of the Treasury
* Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
* Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP)
* Bureau of the Public Debt
* Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI)
* Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
* Financial Management Service (FMS)
* Inspector General
* Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)
* Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
* Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
* Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
* Office of the Secretary
o Domestic Finance
o Economic Policy
o General Counsel
o Information and Technology Management
o International Affairs
o Management
o Public Affairs
o Tax Policy
o Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI)
o Treasurer of the United States
* United States Mint

Department of Veterans Affairs
* Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
* Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
* National Cemetery Administration (NCA)
* Office of Information and Technology (OI&T)

Independent Agencies
* Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)
* Agency for International Development (USAID)
* American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)
* AmeriCorps
* Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
* U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC)
* Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
* Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR)
* Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)
* Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
* Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
* Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
* Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
* Export-Import Bank of the United States (ExIm)
* Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
* Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
* Federal Election Commission (FEC)
* Federal Maritime Commission
* Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission (FMSHRC)
* Federal Reserve System (The Fed)
* Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
* Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
* General Services Administration (GSA)
* Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
* Inter-American Foundation (IAF)
* Learn and Serve America (LSA)
* National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
* National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
* National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)
* National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
* National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
* National Ice Center (NIC)
* National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
* National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) (NRPC)
* National Science Foundation (NSF)
* National Transportation Research Center (NTRC)
* National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
* Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
* Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
* Peace Corps
* Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
* United States Postal Service (USPS)
* Postal Rate Commission (PRC)
* Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
* Office of Government Ethics (OGE)
* Selective Service System (SSS)
* Senior Corps
* Small Business Administration (SBA)
* Social Security Administration (SSA)
* Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

Quasi-federal agencies
* Legal Services Corporation (LSC)
* Smithsonian Institution (SI)

Legislative Branch
* Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
* Library of Congress (LOC)
o United States Copyright Office
* Government Accountability Office (GAO) (formerly the General Accounting Office)
o United States Comptroller General
* Government Printing Office (GPO)
* Architect of the Capitol

Judicial Branch
Courts
* United States Supreme Court
* United States court of appeals
* United States district courts
* Federal Judicial Center
* United States Sentencing Commission
Administration
* Administrative Office of the United States Courts
* Judicial Conference of the United States

Historic / defunct agencies
* Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (in the Department of Agriculture) (ASCS)
Replaced in 1994 with the Farm Service Agency.
* Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AA)
* Board of Economic Warfare (BEW)
* Board of Tea Appeals
Abolished in 1996
* Bureau of Arms Control (in the Department of State)
Replaced September 13, 2005, by the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
* Bureau of Nonproliferation (in the Department of State)
Replaced September 13, 2005, by the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
* Bureau of Verification and Compliance (in the Department of State)
Replaced February 1, 2000 by the Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation
* Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (CIAA)
* Committee on Public Information (CPI)
* Farmers Home Administration
Replaced in 1994 with the Farm Service Agency.
* Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae)
Fannie Mae was partially privatized in 1968; its government administered portion was renamed the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae); see Department of Housing and Urban Development, above
* Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)
Renamed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; see Department of Health and Human Services, above
* Student Loan Marketing Association (SLMA or Sallie Mae)
Sallie Mae has been fully privatized and is no longer administered by the federal government.
* Foreign Economic Administration (FEA)
* Federal Theatre Project (FTP)
* General Accounting Office (GAO)
Renamed "Government Accountability Office" in 2004; see #Legislative Branch, above.
* Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
* Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
Now The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS)
* National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
* U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
Renamed U.S. National Geodetic Survey
* Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)
Congress closed the OTA in 2004.
* Office of War Information (OWI)
* Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
* United States Information Agency (USIA)
* Veterans Administration (VA)
Became a cabinet department in 1988; see United States Department of Veterans Affairs, above.
* War Production Board (WPB)
* Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Source=Wikipedia

-----
Got comments? Email me, dammit!
Permanent link for this article which can be used on any website: