United States federal executive departments - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States federal executive departments are among the oldest primary units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States–the Departments of State, War, and the Treasury all being established within a few weeks of each other in 1789.
Departments
[change | change source]Department | Creation | Order of succession | Modifications since creation | 2007 Budget in billions of dollars | Employees (2007) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | 1789 | 1 | 9.96 | 30,266 | |
Treasury | 1789 | 2 | 11.10 | 115,897 | |
Defense | 1947 | 3 | 439.30 | 3,000,000 | |
Justice | 1870 | 4 | Position of Attorney General created in 1789, but had no department until 1870 | 23.40 | 112,557 |
Interior | 1849 | 5 | 10.70 | 71,436 | |
Agriculture | 1862 | 6 | 77.60 | 109,832 | |
Commerce | 1903 | 7 | Originally named Commerce and Labor; Labor later separated | 6.20 | 36,000 |
Labor | 1913 | 8 | 59.70 | 17,347 | |
Health and Human Services | 1953 | 9 | Originally named Health, Education, and Welfare; Education later separated | 543.20 | 67,000 |
Housing and Urban Development | 1965 | 10 | 46.20 | 10,600 | |
Transportation | 1966 | 11 | 58.00 | 58,622 | |
Energy | 1977 | 12 | 21.50 | 116,100 | |
Education | 1979 | 13 | 62.80 | 4,487 | |
Veterans Affairs | 1989 | 14 | 73.20 | 235,000 | |
Homeland Security | 2002 | 15 | 44.6 | 208,000 | |
Total budget (fiscal year 2007): | 1,523.42 | 4,193,144 |
Past departments
[change | change source]Department | Dates of Operation | Notes |
---|---|---|
War | 1789–1947 | Subsumed by Department of Defense, renamed Department of the Army |
Post Office | 1792–1971 | Reorganized as quasi-independent agency, United States Postal Service |
Navy | 1798–1947 | Subsumed by Department of Defense; it has been proposed that the Secretary of Homeland Security assume the position in the order of succession once held by the Secretary of the Navy[source?] |
Commerce and Labor | 1903–1913 | Divided between Department of Commerce and Department of Labor |
Health, Education, and Welfare | 1953–1979 | Divided between Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education |