Executive Branch Organization of the Executive Branch Unit

Executive Branch – Organization of the Executive Branch Unit III – Part 3

Development of an executive staff • Employment of first paid presidential clerk (1857) • Employment of 3 secretaries and 5 assistants – FDR • Reorganization Act (1939) – Establishment of the advisory Executive Office of the President (EOP) – Expansion of president’s personal advisors into the White House staff

White House Staff • Duties – Advice to the president – Creation of policy options – Channeling and organizing information – Writing speeches and policy papers – Organization of the president’s schedule – Control of access to the president – Monitoring and maintaining contact with the executive bureaucracy and other groups

White House Staff • Key individuals – Chief of Staff • Organization of staff • Control access to the president – Press secretary • Handling and scheduling of press briefings and conferences • Preparation of press releases

– First Lady • Ceremonial hostess since Dolly Madison • Notable exceptions – Eleanor Roosevelt – Hillary Clinton – Vice President • Constitutionally prescribed duties – Presiding officer of the Senate – Casting tie breaking votes in the Senate • Presidentially prescribed duties – Decision of each president • Until 1950 virtually nonexistent role • After 1950 assignment of significant duties

Executive Office of the President (EOP) • Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (1970) – Creation as Bureau of Budget (1921) – Transfer from Treasury Department to EOP (1939) – Organization • Director – pres appointment with Senate approval • Executive staff – Duties

EOP – OMB Duties • Preparation of pres’s budget to be sent to Congress – Clearinghouse for all agency budget requests • Management of the deficit • Monitoring of funds allocated by Congress • Overseer of federal bureaucracy’s work and policy positions on legislative matters

EOP • National Security Council (NSC) (1947) – Membership: President, chairman; VP; Sec Def and Sec State – In attendance: CIA Director, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff – Duties • Advice to president on national security implications of domestic, foreign, and military policies • Liaison to the Central Intelligence Agency

EOP • Domestic Policy Council – Organization • Chairman – pres appoints with Senate approval • Executive staff – Duties • Assistance to the president in policy development • Providing of information on domestic matters

EOP • Council of Economic Advisors – Membership: three economists – Appointment: by president with Senate approval – Duties: providing of information on the state of the nation’s economy – Assisting the president with the economic message to Congress

• Other offices: – Council on Environmental Quality – Office of Science and Technology Policy – Office of the Vice President – Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives – Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board – Office of National Drug Control Policy – Office of National AIDS Policy – White House Military Office – Office of Homeland Security – Office of Administration • Duties: clearinghouse for support services to other offices in the White House and providing info to the pres as requested