The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The CSB conducts root cause investigations of chemical accidents at fixed industrial facilities. Root causes are usually deficiencies in safety management systems, but can be any factor that would have prevented the accident if that factor had not occurred. Other accident causes often involve equipment failures, human errors, unforeseen chemical reactions or other hazards. The agency does not issue fines or citations, but does make recommendations to plants, regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), industry organizations, and labor groups. Congress designed the CSB to be non-regulatory and independent of other agencies so that its investigations might, where appropriate, review the effectiveness of regulations and regulatory enforcement. [https://www.csb.gov]
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation BoardThe Office of Child Support Enforcement was established pursuant to act of January 4, 1975 (42 U. S. C. 651). Its mission is to provide leadership in the planning, development, management, and coordination of the Department's Child Support Enforcement programs and activities authorized and directed by title IV-D of the Social Security Act, as amended (42 U. S. C. 651), and other pertinent legislation. The general purpose of this legislation and the Child Support Enforcement programs is to require States to enforce support obligations owed by absent parents to their children by locating absent parents, establishing paternity when necessary, and obtaining child support.
Child Support Enforcement OfficeThe Administration for Children and Families was created April 15, 1991, under authority of section 6 of the Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953. The Administration provides advice to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues pertaining to children, youth, and families; child support enforcement; community services; developmental disabilities; family assistance; Native American assistance; refugee resettlement; and legalized aliens.
Children and Families AdministrationThe Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission was established by the act of August 7, 1984 (98 Stat. 1257) and was formed on September 12, 1985. The Commission consisted of 30 members whose mission was to plan, encourage, coordinate and conduct the commemoration of the voyages of Christopher Columbus and to set forth general provisions and policies governing the process of recognition and support of the Quincentenary projects. In accordance with the terms of the act that established it, the Commission was terminated on December 31, 1993 after submitting a comprehensive report to Congress that incorporated the Commission's recommendations for the commemoration.
Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee CommissionThe U. S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) was created under the Civil Rights Act of 1957, as amended, and reestablished by the United States Commission on Civil Rights Act of 1994, as amended (42 U. S. C. 1975). The Commission on Civil Rights collects and studies information on discrimination or denials of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, or in the administration of justice in such areas as voting rights, enforcement of Federal civil rights laws, and equal opportunity in education, employment, and housing.
Civil Rights CommissionThe United States Coast Guard was established by act of January 28, 1915 (14 U. S. C. 1) and became a component of the Department of Transportation on April 1, 1967, pursuant to the Department of Transportation Act of October 15, 1966. Following the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, The Coast Guard was transferred from Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003 (116 Stat. 2135). The Coast Guard protects the public, the environment, and U. S. economic interests in the Nation's ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region, as required, to support national security. Among its duties are: search and rescue operations in and over the high seas and navigable waters, maritime law enforcement, marine inspection and licensing, pilotage of the Great Lakes, protection of the marine environment by enforcing the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, ensuring the safety and security of ports and anchorages, maintaining the management of waterways, providing navigational aids, and regulating the construction, maintenance and operation of bridges and causeways across navigable waters.
Coast GuardThe Department of Commerce encourages, serves, and promotes the Nation's international trade, economic growth, and technological advancement. The Department provides a wide variety of programs through the competitive free enterprise system. It offers assistance and information to increase America's competitiveness in the world economy; administers programs to prevent unfair foreign trade competition; provides social and economic statistics and analyses for business and government planners; provides research and support for the increased use of scientific, engineering, and technological development; works to improve our understanding and benefits of the Earth's physical environment and oceanic resources; grants patents and registers trademarks; develops policies and conducts research on telecommunications; provides assistance to promote domestic economic development; and assists in the growth of minority businesses.
Commerce DepartmentThe Commercial Space Transportation Office regulates and encourages the U. S. commercial space transportation industry. It licenses the private sector launching of space payloads on expendable launch vehicles and commercial space launch facilities. It also sets insurance requirements for the protection of persons and property and ensures that space transportation activities comply with U. S. domestic and foreign policy. Registration The agency provides a system for registering aircraft and recording documents affecting title or interest in the aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, appliances, and spare parts.
Commercial Space Transportation OfficeThe Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was created February 25, 1863, (12 Stat. 665), as an independent bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Its mission is to ensure that national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations operating in the United States (banks) operate in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations. The Office is headed by the Comptroller, who is appointed for a 5-year term by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Office has the power to supervise and examine banks; approve or deny applications for new bank charters, branches, or mergers; take enforcement action against banks that do not comply with laws and regulations; and issue regulations and interpretations pertaining to banks. The Office supervises approximately 1,200 banks. The Office is independently funded through assessments on the assets of banks.
Commission of Fine ArtsThe Commission on Immigration Reform was established by the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) as an independent advisory commission. The Commission was created to review and evaluate the implementation and impact of U. S. immigration policy. Specifically, it focused on how the provisions of the implementing Act impacted family reunification, employment-based immigration, and diversifying the source of immigration, among other things. The Commission was terminated December 31, 1997.
Commission on Immigration ReformThe Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (CITA) was established as an independent Federal agency by the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) amendments of 1971. The function of the Committee was to provide employment opportunities for people who were blind or severely disabled. In 2006 JWOD was re-named AbilityOne. The AbilityOne Program uses the purchasing power of the federal government to buy products and services from participating, community-based nonprofit agencies nationwide dedicated to training and employing individuals with disabilities. Currently, AbilityOne employs more than 40,000 Americans who are blind or have other severe disabilities, making it the single largest source of jobs for such individuals in the United States.
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely DisabledThe Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA), an interagency group chaired by the Department of Commerce, is responsible for matters affecting textile trade policy and for supervising the implementation of all textile trade agreements. CITA negotiates and administers provisions of Free Trade Agreements; implements the short supply, wool provisions, and other aspects of the Trade Preference Acts; and takes textile and apparel safeguard actions, when appropriate, under the World Trade Organization (WTO). CITA administers textile and apparel quotas on non-WTO countries and safeguard limits. CITA coordinates the administration's efforts to combat illegal textile and apparel transshipment. CITA was established by the President in Executive Order 11651 on March 3, 1972 and is comprised of the Departments of Commerce, State, Labor, and Treasury and the Office of the U. S. Trade Representative's Office. CITA is chaired by the Commerce Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles and Apparel. The Commerce Department's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) provides the staff support for the Committee, monitors all agreements and provides economic analysis and statistical data upon which the Committee relies in taking action.
Committee for the Implementation of Textile AgreementsThe Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a Government-owned and operated entity that was created to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices. CCC also helps maintain balanced and adequate supplies of agricultural commodities and aids in their orderly distribution. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) was originally incorporated October 17, 1933, under a Delaware charter with a capitalization of $3 million. It was initially managed and operated in close affiliation with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which funded its operations. On July 1, 1939, CCC was transferred to the U. S. Department of Agriculture and later reincorporated under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (62 Stat. 1070; 15 U. S. C. 714) on July 1, 1948 as a Federal corporation within the USDA. The CCC stabilizes, supports, and protects farm income and prices, assists in maintaining balanced and adequate supplies of agricultural commodities and their products, and facilitates the orderly distribution of commodities. CCC also carries out assigned foreign assistance activities, such as guaranteeing the credit sale of U. S. agricultural commodities abroad. Major emphasis is also being directed toward meeting the needs of developing nations. Agricultural commodities are supplied and exported to combat hunger and malnutrition and to encourage economic development in developing countries. In addition, under the Food for Progress Program, CCC supplies commodities to provide assistance to developing democracies.
Commodity Credit CorporationThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal regulatory agency for futures trading, was established by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974 (7 U. S. C. 4a). The Commission began operation in April 1975, and its authority to regulate futures trading was renewed by Congress in 1978, 1982, 1986, 1992, 1995, and 2000. The mission of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is to protect market users and the public from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices related to the sale of commodity futures and options, and to foster open, competitive, and financially sound commodity futures and option markets. The Commission consists of five Commissioners who are appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. One Commissioner is designated by the President to serve as Chairman. The Commissioners serve staggered 5-year terms, and by law no more than three Commissioners can belong to the same political party. The Commission has six major operating components: the Divisions of Market Oversight, Clearing and Intermediary Oversight, and Enforcement and the Offices of the Executive Director, General Counsel, and Chief Economist.
Commodity Futures Trading CommissionThe CDFI Fund was created for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization and community development through investment in and assistance to community development financial institutions (CDFIs). The CDFI Fund was established by the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994.
Community Development Financial Institutions FundThe Competitiveness Policy Council was established in 1991as an independent public advisory council by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-418). The Council was created to develop recommendations for national strategies and on specific policies intended to enhance the productivity and international competitiveness of U. S. industries. During its existence, the Council made a number of important recommendations during its years of operation regarding pensions, education, public investment, trade negotiations, and many other issues. The Council was terminated in July 1996 after the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee withheld further funding of its operations on the grounds that the Council was "duplicative of private sector organizations" that performed the same function without receiveing Federal funding.
Competitiveness Policy CouncilThe Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was created February 25, 1863, (12 Stat. 665), as an independent bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Its mission is to ensure that national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations operating in the United States (banks) operate in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations. The Office is headed by the Comptroller, who is appointed for a 5-year term by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Office has the power to supervise and examine banks; approve or deny applications for new bank charters, branches, or mergers; take enforcement action against banks that do not comply with laws and regulations; and issue regulations and interpretations pertaining to banks. The Office supervises approximately 1,200 banks. The Office is independently funded through assessments on the assets of banks.
Comptroller of the CurrencyThe Congressional Budget Office provides the Congress with economic analyses of alternative fiscal, budgetary, and programmatic policy issues, and with information and estimates required for the congressional budget process. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was established by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U. S. C. 601), which also created a procedure by which the United States Congress considers and acts upon the annual Federal budget. This process enables the Congress to have an overview of the Federal budget and to make overall decisions regarding spending and taxing levels and the deficit or surplus these levels incur.
Congressional Budget OfficeThe Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) is an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve System that empowers consumers with the information they need to make financial decisions in the best interests of them and their families. The CFPB was created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The purpose of the CFPB is to promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer financial products and services. The CFPB will set and enforce clear, consistent rules that allow banks and other consumer financial services providers to compete on a level playing field and that let consumers see clearly the costs and features of products and services. The functions of the CFPB to assist people in borrowing money or using other financial services include: implementing and enforcing Federal consumer financial laws; reviewing business practices to ensure that financial services providers are following the law; monitoring the marketplace and taking appropriate action to make sure markets work as transparently as they can for consumers; and establishing a toll-free consumer hotline and website for complaints and questions about consumer financial products and services.
Consumer Financial Protection BureauThe Consumer Product Safety Commission was established as an independent regulatory agency by the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U. S. C. 2051 et seq. ) in 1973 and reauthorized by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The Commission consists of up to five members, who are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, for 7-year terms. The Commission implements provisions of the Flammable Fabrics Act (15 U. S. C. 1191); Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 (15 U. S. C. 1471); Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U. S. C. 1261); act of August 2, 1956 (15 U. S. C. 1211), prohibiting the transportation of refrigerators without door safety devices; Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act (15 U. S. C. 2056 note); and Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (15 U. S. C. 8001 et seq. ).
Consumer Product Safety Commission