Government Accountability Office

The Government Accountability Office has pointed out that the important practice of effective risk management is a challenge for the Congress and the administration. Risk management is a strategic process of helping policymakers to make decisions about assessing risk, and having limited allocating resources in taking actions under conditions of uncertainty (GAO, 2008). However, with the policymakers recognizing the risk management, it helps them to make informed decisions, while Congress and the administration have charged federal agencies to use a risk-based move to prioritize resource investments. In addition, the federal agencies often do not have enough comprehensive risk management strategies that merge well with the program, budget, and investment decisions (GAO, 2008). Between combing the approach of risk management, the process of decision-making is very difficult for any organization. In addition, it has been reported that the GAO says it is particularly difficult for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be given its diverse set of responsibilities. Homeland Security is responsible though for all hazards in the homeland security risk from natural disasters, industrial, and terrorist attacks. Experts have provided the history of natural disasters with the extensive historical data used to assess risks (GAO, 2008).

Congressional oversight: oversight by congress of the executive branch. This relates to this unit because in this unit we learn about the many things congress is in charge of, and its many functions in government. In this unit we discuss the different powers congress has and what powers it doesn’t have. With congressional oversight, congress has many powers such as protecting civil liberties, preventing fraud and waste, making sure the executive branch complies with the law, etc. The power of congressional oversight is important to American government and politics because it is an implied power of congress, and the idea of checks and balances is important in this country. Congress has committees and has the right to check the executive branch to make sure everything is in

The main role of the Secretary of State is to serve as the President’s Chief Foreign Affairs adviser. The Secretary also “carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State department & the Foreign Service of the United States”. Some of the Secretary of State’s specific tasks includes “conducting negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs, granting & issuing passports to American citizens and exequaturs to foreign consuls in the United States, supervising the administration of U.S. immigration laws abroad, and promoting beneficial economic intercourse between the United States and other

Congressional oversight is a mechanism that delegates Congress the power to investigate the activities of executive agencies, in order to ensure there is no violation of legislative goals (Lowi (et al), 2014). This summary concluded some discussion of the oversight mechanism from three articles by Lowi (et al) (2014), McCubbins and Schwartz (1984) and Kingdon (1984), particular on the effectiveness and its influences on agenda-setting process.

The president is also responsible for negotiating foreign treaties and promoting diplomacy with other nations. The president also has the ability to issue executive orders. Executive orders can be passed in order to manage other executive branch agencies or because permission

Agencies have the advantage over Congress in the information it has access to based on 1-governance tasks being difficult for Congress to observe, and 2-bureaucratic expertise between programs and consequences. (Bertelli, 2012).

The white house has overseen the vast foreign policy establishment for the purpose of synthesizing all the messages arising out of the bureaucracy and helping the president makes his own foreign policy. The constitution gives congress the power to declare war; congress has exercised this power on only five occasions. The treaty power was and is a significant entrée of the senate into foreign policy making. Numerous members of congress have left the legislature to develop into key foreign affairs cabinet. Although the president, the bureaucracy, and congress are the true makers of foreign policy, the foreign policy institution is a much larger arena, counting what can properly be called the shapers of foreign policy: a host of unofficial, informal players who posses varying degrees of influence depending on their prestige, reputation, socioeconomic, and most important, the party and ideology that are leading at a given moment. Even though foreign policy make in noncrisis situations may closely resemble the pluralistic politics of domestic foreign policy which is still a narrower arena with fewer

In 1946, the 79th Congress of the United States approved the Administrative Procedure Act. This act like many others approved by Congress has established the modern administrative agency oversight currently in place. This system of administrative review is a triumph of the American government in which citizens hold the elected accountable who review appointed officials within agencies. However, the process of administrative review is plagued with inefficiencies and delayed action. Congress regularly establishes new laws and regulations which are associated with stretched out implementation and complicated provisions. Just consider the fact that the National Health Law Program which promotes healthcare reform and the reduction in disparities add over 1,563 new statutory requirements. These requirements require the federal government to establish and fund additional agency oversight. Today’s administrative oversight in Congress is separated into different committees which poses the authority to review and audit programs under their jurisdiction. Citizens, have the role of keep both the government and the elected accountable for this process. It is important to

The Government Accountability Office has pointed out that the important part of effective risk management is a challenge for Congress and the administration. Risk management is a strategic process in helping policy-makers to make decisions about assessing risk, and having limited allocating resources in taking action under conditions of uncertainty (GAO, 2008). However, with the policy-makers recognizing risk management, it helps them to make decisions, while Congress and the administration have charged federal agencies to use a risk-based move to prioritize resource investments. In addition, the federal agencies often do not have enough comprehensive risk management strategies that merge well with the program, budget, and investment decisions

President Nixon administration revised and renamed the Bureau of Budget Department to Office of Management and Budget. OMB responsibility is to review the agencies budget proposal and hold hearings with agencies representatives. In November, OMB department will address the budget proposal to President for additional reviewing and revising. After the budget proposal is submitted , the next step is for Congress to approve the budget . Final step of the budget cycle is to evaluate and audit. This process is conduct by General Accounting Office. General Accounting Office was established to evaluate and audit federal agencies. General Accounting Office responsibility is to perform comprehensive audit to make sure that taxpayer’s money is being using properly and federal agencies are not over spending. In 2004, Congress had revised and renamed the General Accounting Office to General Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO department responsibilities are to make sure organizations are following the rules and regulation of finance performance and to provide recommendation to agencies about enhancing their policies to prevent financial

As same as holdings of the armed forces, the President is also the holder of the foreign policy of the United States. Through the Ministry of

The responsibility of the President and Congress is to set policies to keep us safe. To provide funding to equip and train a sound military. As well as have a strong relationship with our allies. Our state and local governments responsibilities in insuring our national securities is to use the state and local funding to provide citizens with a national guard and police force, to also establish a legal system, and adhere to the laws.

NSC: National Security Council is a group in the executive branch that counsels the president on matters relating to domestic, military, and foreign security.

For one, the president is responsible for appoint ambassadors who represent the president in foreign locales. Ambassadors report to the president and support their foreign policy. The president is the chief diplomat developing agreements with other countries through their leaders. These relationships aid in the development of foreign policies. The president acts as a mediator between the nation and the foreign locale. The president receives foreign dignities in order to negotiate foreign policy.

The president has many constitutional foreign policy powers that allow him to conduct actions for and with United Nations such as deploying troops, making treaties and appointing ambassadors. The president has the power to nominate ambassadors for UN but the nominees have to be confirmed by the Senate. In 2013, President Barack Obama “nominate foreign policy confidant Samantha Power to replace Susan Rice as the United States ambassador to the United Nations” (Hallowell). This power allows him to choose a person to his liking and therefore gain more control of the decision-making in UN. If there was an issue that needed to be brought up to UN, the ambassador will represent the United States position to it. President’s cabinet members, who are also nominated by him, such as the secretary of state, also represent United States in UN. The congress also has foreign policy powers shared with the President in UN such as declaring war on a foreign nation and handle budget for programs. They can restrict President’s plan of monetary