Week 6 Assignment - Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies

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Running head: Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies 1 Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies Shenna Clark Constitutional and Administrative Law November 13th, 2022

Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies 2 Legislative agency and its functions It takes a lot of work and expertise to run a country and government. In order to assist the President and Congress with administering and overseeing the vast number of federal laws, Congress establishes legislative agencies and delegates rulemaking authority to them (Legislative Agencies, 2022) . A statute that establishes an agency and sets forth the responsibilities and authority of that agency is an enabling statute (Hall, 2019) . It is up to the administrative agencies to develop rules and regulations that further the objectives of the statutes (What are the functions of agencies?, n.d.) . The President must sign off on the agencies and gets to elect the secretary of the agency. Furthermore, federal agencies assist the President and Congress in their area of expertise. For example, the Department of Homeland Security focuses on making sure America is safe and secure and fighting terrorism. Each federal agency has an area of concern that they are created to address. Federal agencies have three main functions which are to enforce laws and regulations, second to make regulations, and third to adjudicate violations of laws or regulations (What are the functions of agencies?, n.d.) . “Congress dictates the objectives and substantive laws, and the administrative agency assumes the regulatory activity of developing procedural rules for enforcing the law. This is the quasi-legislative, agency function” (What are the functions of agencies?, n.d.) . Administrative agencies perform executive functions by enforcing the regulations they pass. Agencies investigate complaints and identify behavior that it deems in violation of regulations (What are the functions of agencies?, n.d.) . Agency of Interest & Its Creation and Purpose

Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies 3 I choose the Department of Homeland Security because I believe this is one of the most important federal agencies we have. The Department of Homeland Security protects America on all fronts. I was obsessed with this tv show called Homeland, which was based on the Department of Homeland Security and the many challenges and work that the department carries out. The work that Homeland Security does is invaluable, and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about its history, creation, strengths and weaknesses, and how successful they have been. Eleven days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed as the first Director of the Office of Homeland Security in the White House. The office oversaw and coordinated a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to any future attacks (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, n.d.) The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Department came into existence on January 24, 2003. It is administered under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security (History, n.d.) The goal was to create a unified agency, all or part of 22 different agencies such as FEMA, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, and Secret Service were merged into one department (5 Things You Might Not Know About DHS on Its 16th Birthday, 2018) . Likewise, the Department of Homeland Security was created to fight the war on terror and provide the American people with a sense of security. The 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil rocked our country to its core. Currently, the Department of Homeland Security works to prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the

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Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies 4 Nation. The Department will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote the free flow of commerce (Homeland Security Department, n.d.) . Agency Strengths and Weakness One weakness of DHS is its oversight. It has been called constrained and disorganized. There are roughly 90 committees and subcommittees that have jurisdiction over DHS’s planning, policies, and budgets—each focused on a small piece of the department rather than the entire homeland security operational matrix (Rudman, deLeon, & Martinez, 2021) . When government agencies cannot focus on the bigger picture and are unable to work together to ensure that policies are being carried out, citizens will suffer. Departments cannot run effectively when oversight is disorganized and constrained. Departments cannot run effectively if leaders don’t have the tools or support to streamline processes. According to Rudman, deLeon, and Martinez, six former secretaries and acting secretaries of homeland security recently signed a letter to congressional leadership calling for the House and Senate to consolidate congressional oversight of DHS in a single authorizing committee (2021). With a more streamlined process and one authoritative governing body, DHS could improve this weakness over time. In addition, one strength of DHS is enhancing the nation’s cybersecurity. DHS has led efforts to increase nationwide cybersecurity resilience across the public and private sectors, including by playing a critical role in responding to major cybersecurity incidents (2021: A Strong Year of Progress at the Department of Homeland Security, 2022) . Six highlights that DHS has done to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity include : 1. Leading several emergency responses to major cybersecurity incidents,

Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies 5 2. Increasing operational partnerships between private sector companies and the federal government to strengthen our nation’s cyber defenses, 3. Elevating the fight against ransomware, 4. Taking actions to protect the cybersecurity of our nation’s critical infrastructure, 5. Boosting investments in our cybersecurity defenses, and 6. Advancing meaningful progress toward developing a top-tier, diverse cybersecurity workforce (2021: A Strong Year of Progress at the Department of Homeland Security, 2022) . It takes a lot of innovation to be able to keep up with new threats and respond strongly. The DHS has done that with all the advancements they have made to fight cybersecurity. Rulemaking process and procedures The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is a federal act that governs the procedures of administrative law (Administrative Procedure Act, n.d.) . The APA governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations. The APA also addresses other agency actions such as the issuance of policy statements, licenses, and permits (Summary of the Administrative Procedure Act, 2022) . The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to ensure that the homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other potential threats. DHS carries out its mission by issuing regulatory actions (DHS Rulemaking, 2022) . Moreover, the DHS regulatory agenda includes regulations issued by DHS components, including the following seven operational components with regulatory responsibilities: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs

Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies 6 and Border Patrol, Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Immigrations, and Customs Enforcement, and Transportation Security Administration (DHS Rulemaking, 2022) . Mission Success In my opinion, I believe the Department of Homeland Security has been very successful in accomplishing its mission. The DHS has prevented countless cyber-attacks, terrorism, and threats, and has worked to prevent another 9/11 from happening. As with many government agencies, more oversight could possibly help improve processes and outcomes. “Since its founding, there have been persistent confusion about DHS’s role as well as complaints about its structure, operations, and oversight. Observers across the political spectrum have argued that, in the rush to stand up a new department, disparate components of the federal bureaucracy were shoe-horned into DHS, with mixed results” (Rudman, deLeon, & Martinez, 2021) . With appropriate oversight and respect for civil liberties, the department has tremendous potential to advance public safety and provide critical services (Rudman, deLeon, & Martinez, 2021) . When looking at the different components of DHS like TSA and ICE, for example, the work they do every day keeps us safer. There are so many possible threats we face, many which of we will never know, because of DHS. I am grateful for all the work DHS does for our national security and safety.

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Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies 7 References 2021: A Strong Year of Progress at the Department of Homeland Security . (2022, 02 04). Retrieved from Homeland Security: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/02/04/2021-strong- year-progress-department-homeland-security 5 Things You Might Not Know about DHS on Its 16th Birthday . (2018, 11 26). Retrieved from AFGE: https://www.afge.org/article/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-dhs-on-its-16th- birthday/ Administrative Procedure Act . (n.d.). Retrieved from Cornell Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/administrative_procedure_act DHS Rulemaking . (2022, 03 22). Retrieved from Homeland Security: https://www.dhs.gov/dhs- rulemaking Hall, D. E. (2019). Adminstrative Law: Bureaucracy in a Democracy (7th Edition). Pearson Education (US). https://strayer.vitalsource.com/books/9780135208717. History . (n.d.). Retrieved from Homeland Security: https://www.dhs.gov/ Homeland Security Department . (n.d.). Retrieved from Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/homeland-security-department Legislative Agencies . (2022, 05). Retrieved from Justia: https://www.justia.com/administrative- law/legislative-agencies/ Rudman, M., deLeon, R., & Martinez, J. (2021, 06 21). Redefining Homeland Security: A New Framework for DHS To Meet Today’s Challenges . Retrieved from The Center for American Progress: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/redefining-homeland- security-new-framework-dhs-meet-todays-challenges/ Summary of the Administrative Procedure Act . (2022, 08 15). Retrieved from United States Enviromental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary- administrative-procedure-act U.S. Department of Homeland Security . (n.d.). Retrieved from USA.GOV: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/u-s-department-of-homeland-security What are the functions of agencies? (n.d.). Retrieved from The Business Professor: https://thebusinessprofessor.com/en_US/us-legal-system/function-of-administrative- agencies

Week 6 Assignment - Origins and Purpose of Legislative Agencies

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