Government agencies: roles and public services

Government - 2 Government Agencies

AGENCY #1: FEDERAL BUREAU of INVESTIGATIONS the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI or "The Bureau)) is a federal law enforcement agency administrated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The Mission Statement of the agency is "... To uphold the law through the investigation of violations of federal criminal law; to protect the United States from foreign intelligence and terrorist activities; to provide leadership and law enforcement assistance to federal, state, local, and international agencies; to perform these responsibilities in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the public and is faithful to the Constitution of the United States."

The FBI is the lead domestic government agency in the pursuit of threats to U.S. homeland security and U.S. property, personnel and government facilities located abroad.

The agency maintains 56 field offices in major cities throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico and approximately 400 local offices located in smaller cities and towns in every state in the country. The Bureau has enforcement jurisdiction in 200 different categories of federal law in addition to its lead role in law enforcement efforts against domestic terrorism. In that capacity, the Bureau functions as liaison for the dissemination of up-to-date counter-terrorism between state and federal law enforcement agencies and also maintains joint terrorism task forces (JTTF) with major metropolitan law enforcement agencies.

In addition to its counter-terrorism efforts, the FBI is also extensively involved in investigating and prosecuting crimes arising from computer-related fraud, public corruption, civil rights, white collar crime, organized crime, major thefts, and violent felonies.. AGENCY #2: U.S. DEPRATMENT of HEALTH and HUMAN SERVICES the United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) is the main federal agency responsible for protecting the health of all Americans and for providing essential human service, particularly for individuals least capable of helping themselves. It is the largest of all federal agencies with a budget that accounts for one- quarter of the federal budget allocated to all federal agencies.

In addition to maintaining approximately 300 HHS programs, the USDHHS also administrates numerous other federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Indian Health Service (IHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Through these federal agencies, the USDHHS monitors and ensures the safety of foods and drugs, conducts ongoing medical and health-related scientific research, monitors and responds to medical crisis and other medical issues affecting the public, and provides for the health-related needs of approximately 2 million Native Americans and Alaskan Natives in more than 500 officially-recognized Native American tribes.