Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC's mission is to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability.

Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an independent agency, reporting directly to the President through the Director of Central Intelligence, and accountable to the American people through the intelligence oversight committees of the United States Congress. The CIA's mission is to support the President, the National Security Council, and all officials who make and execute U.S. national security policy.

Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) protects the United States and its citizens from terrorist attacks and responds to natural disasters. DHS leverages resources at all levels of government, and directs multiple agencies and programs into a single, integrated entity focused on keeping the nation secure. More than 87,000 different governmental jurisdictions at the federal, state, and local levels participate in homeland security efforts in concert with DHS.

Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is the law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice that enforces the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States. DEA also recommends and supports programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets. In carrying out its mission, the DEA is the lead agency responsible for the development of overall Federal drug enforcement strategy, programs, planning, and evaluation.

Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the organization within the United States Department of Transportation that regulates and oversees all aspects of civil aviation. The FAA's major functions include regulating civil aviation to promote safety and fulfill the requirements of national defense; encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology; developing and operating a common system of air traffic control and navigation for both civil and military aircraft; performing research and development with respect to the National Airspace System and civil aeronautics; developing and implementing programs to control aircraft noise and other environmental effects of civil aviation; and regulating U.S. commercial space transportation.

Federal Bureau of Investigations
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice that upholds the law through the investigation of federal crime. It provides leadership and law enforcement assistance to federal, state, local, and international agencies and partners. The FBI is also responsible for helping protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats.

Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency. The FCC was established under the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC has jurisdiction over all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an organization within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The primary mission of FEMA is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation.

FirstGov.gov
FirstGov.gov is the United States government's official web portal, improving public access to government information and services on the web. It is the catalyst for a growing electronic government.

GovBenefits.gov
GovBenefits.gov helps citizens access government benefit eligibility information through a free, confidential, and easy-to-use questionnaire.

Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the organization within the United States Department of Treasury that collects the tax revenues which fund 95% of the federal government's activities.

Library of Congress
Established as a legislative library in 1800, the Library of Congress grew into a national institution in the nineteenth century. Since World War II, it has become an international resource of unparalleled scope. The Library of Congress' mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has the unique mission of pioneering the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. It advances and communicates scientific knowledge and understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe. The agency is also charged with exploring and enabling the development of space for human enterprise.

National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent federal agency that preserves our nation’s history and oversees the management of all federal records. The NARA protects the materials that document the rights of American citizens and the actions of the federal government, as well as important relics of our nation’s history. Among the most treasured documents on display at the National Archives are the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution of the United States.

National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an organization within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is one of the world's foremost biomedical research centers. Its mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for all Americans. NIH works toward that mission by: conducting research in its own laboratories; supporting the research of non-Federal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad; helping in the training of research investigators; and fostering communication of biomedical information.

National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an organization within the U.S. Department of Interior that manages more then 80 million acres of American land in 375 park units, including national parks, national monuments, national historic sites, and other protected areas. The NPS works with states, tribes, and other local entities to preserve numerous historic and archaeological sites across America. Some of the NPS’s primary duties include: maintaining and expanding the national park system; developing and preserving parks for public use and enjoyment; and making decisions about park resources, activities, and facilities.

National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is charged by Congress with investigating civil accidents in the Unites States, including aviation, rail, highway, marine, and pipeline. The NTSB issues safety recommendations to prevent future accidents based on their findings.

National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an organization within the U.S. Department of Commerce that provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas. The NWS provides warnings and forecasts of hazardous weather, including thunderstorms, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, winter weather, tsunamis, and climate events. The NWS is the sole United States official voice for issuing warnings during life-threatening weather situations in the U.S.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an organization within the U.S. Department of Labor. The mission of OSHA is to save lives, prevent injuries and protect the health of America's workers by issuing and enforcing standards for workplace safety. More than 100 million working men and women and their six and a half million employers are covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) works cooperatively with federal agencies, non-federal parties, and several key interagency planning teams such as the Chief Financial Officers Council and the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, to maintain financial management policies for the federal government.

Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA’s goals include: increasing opportunities for small businesses to succeed; helping families and businesses recover from disasters; and serving as a voice for America’s small businesses.

Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the rules and regulations set forth by Congress when it passed, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law, the "Social Security Act" on August 14, 1935. In addition to several provisions for general welfare, the Social Security Act created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement. Today, the SSA’s mission is to advance the economic security of the nation’s people through compassionate and vigilant leadership in shaping and managing America's Social Security programs.

THOMAS (Legislative Information)
Acting under the directive of the leadership of the 104th Congress to make Federal legislative information freely available to the Internet public, the Library of Congress introduced the THOMAS website in January, 1995. In its current format, THOMAS provides present and past legislative bill text, the Congressional Record, and committee activities.

U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports production of agriculture and ensures a safe, affordable, nutritious, and accessible food supply for the American public. The USDA also maintains agricultural, forest, and range lands, supports sound development of rural communities, and provides economic opportunities and security for America’s farms and rural residents. It expands global markets for agricultural products, and works to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world.

U.S. Department of Commerce
The Department of Commerce (DOC) promotes job creation, economic growth, sustainable development and improved living standards for all Americans. By working in partnership with businesses, universities, communities and workers, the DOC helps to build for the future and promote U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace by strengthening and safeguarding the nation's economic infrastructure; keeping America competitive with cutting-edge science and technology and an unrivaled information base; and providing effective management and stewardship of the nation's resources and assets to ensure sustainable economic opportunities.

U.S. Department of Defense
The mission of the Department of Defense (DoD) is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our nation. The Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as 14 defense agencies, report to the cabinet-level organization. The military departments are responsible for recruiting, training, and equipping their forces, but operations control of those forces is assigned to one of the unified combatant commands.

U.S. Department of Education
The responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Education generally fall into six important areas: providing national leadership and partnerships to address critical issues in American education; serving as a national clearinghouse of good ideas; helping families pay for college; helping local communities and schools meet the most pressing needs of their students; preparing students for employment in a changing economy; and ensuring nondiscrimination by recipients of federal education funds. In order to help state and local decision makers improve their schools, the Department shares the latest research findings and information on education with parents, teachers, school board members, policy makers, and the general public.

U.S. Department of Energy
The Department of Energy (DOE) is a leading science and technology agency whose research supports our nation's energy, national security, and environmental quality and contributes to a better quality of life for all Americans. The DOE maintains the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, without underground nuclear testing. In addition, the DOE develops and ensures the safety and reliability of nuclear reactor plants and is working to assure clean, affordable, and dependable supplies of energy for our nation.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is responsible for national policies and programs that address America's housing needs and enforces fair housing laws. HUD helps the nation's communities meet their development needs by spurring economic growth in distressed neighborhoods, providing housing assistance for the poor and rehabilitating and developing moderate and low-cost housing. In addition, HUD plays a major role in supporting homeownership by underwriting homeownership for lower- and moderate-income families through its mortgage insurance program, the Federal Housing Authority.

U.S. Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation's principal conservation agency. Its mission is to protect America's treasures for future generations, provide access to our nation's natural and cultural heritage, and offer recreation opportunities. A very important duty of DOI is to honor our trust responsibilities to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and island communities. It is also tasked with conducting scientific research, providing wise stewardship of energy and mineral resources, fostering sound use of land and water resources, and conserving and protecting fish and wildlife. Its work affects the lives of millions of people: from the family taking a vacation in one of our national parks to the children studying in one of our Indian schools.

U.S. Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) enforces the law and defends the interests of the United States according to the law. It is tasked with ensuring public safety against foreign and domestic threats. It provides federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime and it seeks just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior. Ultimately, DOJ ensures fair and partial administration of justice for all Americans.

U.S. Department of Labor
The Department of Labor (DOL) is charged with preparing the American workforce for new and better jobs, and ensuring the adequacy of America's work places. It is responsible for the administration and enforcement of over 180 federal statutes. These legislative mandates and the regulations produced to implement them cover a wide variety of workplace activities for nearly 10 million employers and well over 100 million workers, including protecting workers' wages, health and safety, employment and pension rights; promoting equal employment opportunity; administering job training, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation programs; strengthening free collective bargaining; and collecting, analyzing and publishing labor and economic statistics.

U.S. Department of State
The Department of State was established in 1789 as the lead institution for the conduct of American diplomacy, a mission based on the role of the Secretary of State as the President’s principal foreign policy adviser. To carry out U.S. foreign policy at home and abroad, the Department of State exercises policy leadership, broad interagency coordination, and management of resource allocation for the conduct of foreign relations; leads representation of the United States overseas and advocates U.S. policies for foreign governments and international organizations; coordinates, and provides support for, the international activities of U.S. agencies, official visits, and other diplomatic missions; conducts negotiations, concludes agreements, and supports U.S. participation in international negotiations; coordinates and manages the U.S. Government response to international crises of all types; carries out public affairs and public diplomacy; reports on and analyzes international issues of importance to the U.S. Government; assists U.S. business; protects and assists American citizens living or traveling abroad; adjudicates immigrant and non-immigrant visas to enhance U.S. border security; manages those international affairs programs and operations for which the Department has statutory responsibility; and guarantees the Diplomatic Readiness of the U.S. Government.

U.S. Department of Transportation
The mission of the Department of Transportation (DOT) is to serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future.

U.S. Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is the executive agency responsible for promoting economic prosperity and ensuring the financial security of the United States. The department is responsible for a wide range of activities, such as advising the President on economic and financial issues, encouraging sustainable economic growth, and fostering improved governance in financial institutions. The Treasury Department operates and maintains systems that are critical to the nation's financial infrastructure, such as the production of coin and currency, the disbursement of payments to the American public, revenue collection, and the borrowing of funds necessary to run the federal government.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to serve America’s veterans and their families with dignity and compassion and be their principal advocate in ensuring that they receive medical care, benefits, social support, and lasting memorials promoting the health, welfare and dignity of all veterans in recognition of their service to this Nation.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment, including air, water, and land. A primary purpose of the EPA is to ensure that all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn, and work. It works to develop and enforce regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress. EPA is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs, and delegates to states and tribes the responsibility of issuing permits and monitoring and enforcing compliance. Where national standards are not met, EPA can issue sanctions and take other steps to assist the states and tribes in reaching the desired levels of environmental quality.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an organization within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that inspects and oversees the production of safe foods and the manufacture of safe and effective drugs and medical devices. The FDA is also responsible for protecting the rights and safety of patients in the clinical trials of investigational medical products; reviewing and approving in a timely manner the safety and efficacy of new drugs, biologics, medical devices, and animal drugs; monitoring the safety and effectiveness of new medical products after they are marketed; and acting on the information collected. As the nation's oldest consumer protection agency, the FDA is also responsible for seeing that the public has access to truthful and non-misleading product information by monitoring the promotional activities of drug and device manufacturers. It also regulates the labeling of all packaged foods, assures the safety of our nation's blood supply, and assures the safety of all imported FDA-regulated products.

U.S. General Accounting Office
The General Accounting Office (GAO) is the investigative arm of Congress. Charged with examining matters relating to the receipt and disbursement of public funds, GAO performs independent audits and evaluations of government programs and activities. Over the years, Congress has expanded GAO's audit authority, added new responsibilities and duties, and strengthened GAO's ability to perform independently.

U.S. General Services Administration
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) provides expertly managed space, supplies, services, and solutions, at the best value, to enable federal employees to do the work of the government. In support of this mission, the GSA provides workspace, security, furniture, equipment, supplies, tools, computers, and telephones. The GSA also provides travel and transportation services, manages the federal motor vehicle fleet, oversees telecommuting centers and federal child care centers, preserves historic buildings, manages a fine arts program, and develops, advocates, and evaluates government-wide policy.

U.S. Government Printing Office
The mission of the Government Printing Office (GPO) is to keep the nation informed by producing, procuring, and disseminating printed and electronic publications of Congress, as well as the executive departments and establishments of the federal government. The GPO furnishes printing supplies to all governmental agencies. It catalogs, distributes, and sells government publications in printed and electronic formats.

U.S. House of Representatives
The legislative branch of the U.S. government is comprised of two chambers: the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected Members representing all 50 States. The number of Representatives for each State varies and is determined by population. Members are elected by the people of their State for two-year terms, all terms running for the same period. A U.S. Representative must be at least 25 years old, must have been a citizen of U.S. for at least 7 years, and must be a resident of the State from which they are elected.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is a federal bureau within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the nation's immigration laws. The USCIS conducts immigration inspections of travelers entering or seeking entry to the U.S.; regulates permanent and temporary immigration to the U.S.; maintains control of our borders; and identifies and removes people who have no lawful immigration status in the country. The USCIS also works with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to uphold the laws of the United States.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency established by the U.S. Congress under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, common defense and security, and the environment in the use of nuclear materials in the United States. The NRC's scope of responsibility includes regulation of commercial nuclear power reactors; nonpower research, test, and training reactors; fuel cycle facilities; medical, academic, and industrial uses of nuclear materials; and the transport, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and waste.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the federal government's human resources agency. While providing the American public up-to-date employment information on a daily basis, OPM ensures that the nation's civil service remains free of political influence and that federal employees are selected and treated fairly and on the basis of merit. OPM supports agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations, preparation of the government's future leaders, compensation policy development, and programs to improve workforce performance. The agency manages the federal retirement system, as well as the world's largest employer-sponsored health insurance program serving more than nine million federal employees, retirees and their family members.

U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) plays an integral role in keeping our nation connected by ensuring that every American has access to mail service and pays the same postage regardless of where they live or work. Each year, the USPS processes and delivers more than 212 billion pieces of mail – letters, cards, ads, bills, payments, and packages. It delivers mail to more 300 million people at 148 million homes, businesses and PO Boxes in every state, city, and town, as well as in Puerto Rico, Guam, the American Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. The Postal Service is also the second largest employer in the nation, with nearly 685,000 career employees.

U.S. Senate
The United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives are the two bodies of the legislative branch of the U.S. government. The U.S. Senate is composed of 100 members, 2 from each State, who are elected to serve for a term of 6 years. Senators were originally chosen by the State legislatures. This procedure was changed in 1913 by the 17th Amendment to the Constitution which mandated that Senators be elected by the people. A Senator must be at least 30 years old, must have been a citizen of the United States for at least 9 years, and must be a resident of the State from which he or she has been elected.

White House
The White House is the permanent home of the President and the First Family. The President is the administrative head of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government, which includes numerous agencies, both temporary and permanent, as well as the 14 executive departments. The President and Vice President are elected for a term of 4 years. The power of the executive branch is vested in the President, who also serves as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints the Cabinet and oversees the various agencies and departments of the federal government.