Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

local level because the employees and agency executive personnel do not have the
protections provided by the federal civil service system.
a) Executive Branch Supervision
The major control over agency power is political. Most agencies are under the
direct control of the president, who can replace their directors with the consent of
Congress and these directors can replace their employees who are in high- level
policy-making positions. For example, when President Clinton assumed office, his
attorney general took the unprecedented action of asking for the resignation of the
hundreds of U.S. Attorneys around the United States so they could be replaced with
more politically compatible appointees. (Lower-level employees are protected by
the civil service laws so that they cannot be fired and replaced with political
cronies of the newly elected administration.) The president can issue Executive
Orders to tell agencies to change what they are doing, as long as the order is
consistent with the agency’s enabling legislation. If Congress objects, then it can
change the enabling legislation. The president also has the power to reorganize
agency functions while seeking approval from Congress.
There are independent agencies that are not under the direct control of the
president, although they are still considered part of the executive branch. One
example is the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is charged with
enforcing the laws governing stocks and securities. Another is the Federal Reserve
Bank. It is critical to the economy that these agencies be seen as honest and
impartial, rather than just doing the political bidding of Congress or the president.
They are governed by boards whose members serve staggered terms whose
duration is not contiguous with the president’s term. Although presidents may fill
vacancies as they arise, the president cannot remove board members, absent
extraordinary circumstances. The Independent Counsel’s office is the most legally
unusual of these independent agencies because the counsels are appointed by
judges and exercise the prosecutorial power generally reserved to the DOJ. The
Supreme Court found this arrangement constitutional only because the Attorney
General has the right, if not the political power, to remove an Independent Counsel.
b) Congressional Supervision
The most problematic political control is by Congress. Congress may properly
control agencies by changing the laws that govern the agencies. This requires that
both houses of Congress pass the law and that it be signed by the president.
Congress also directs agencies through the appropriations power. Each year
Congress passes a budget that authorizes federal spending. The budget is specific
and the president has only limited power to reallocate appropriations. Agencies
only get the money Congress gives them, and Congress can specify the funds down
to the level of departments and programs within the agency. These agency budgets
are set by congressional subcommittees and they are usually adopted by the rest of
the Congress without further review. This gives a subcommittee the power to
178