Which is the most important and largest agency in the Executive Office of the President?

Which is the most important and largest agency in the Executive Office of the President?
Which is the most important and largest agency in the Executive Office of the President?
My detail at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided me with professional and personal experiences and insights that I will never forget. I worked at the highest level of government for seven months until June 2013 at a monumental point in history during the first and second Administrations of the first-elected African American President of the United States. I was there during a tough economic climate where the government was on the brink of sequestration and an unsettling political climate on the heels of a national presidential election.

What I Did
OMB is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President (EOP), which consists of the immediate staff of the President, many of the President’s closest advisors, and supporting offices, including the White House. OMB’s main function is to assist the President in overseeing the preparation of the Federal Budget and supervise its administration across federal government.

During my detail, I worked in two OMB offices, the Office of Personnel and Performance Management (PPM) and the Office of Economic Policy (EP), and on the Evidence-based Policymaking Team. PPM is responsible for implementing the Government Performance Results Modernization Act (GPRAMA) requiring agencies to report performance goals and conduct strategic planning. The Evidence-based Policymaking Team and EP advance the President’s evidence agenda across government. My primary project involved leading a small OMB team in exploring how federal agencies use evidence for decision-making, integrate performance measurement and evaluation, and promote innovation through interviews with senior officials at various federal agencies. I also redesigned OMB’s evidence website, co-facilitated the OMB evaluation working group, and reviewed and edited performance, strategic planning and evidence-related documents and guidance.

Some Exciting and Memorable Experiences
I worked hard and long hours in a fast-paced, highly political environment and there were many memorable experiences including:

  • Working in the New Executive Office Building (NEOB): My office was next to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) which has a direct pathway to the White House and houses the ceremonial office of the Vice President and other EOP offices. From my office I had an excellent view of the front of the White House, including the rooftop where Secret Service were armed and strategically posted around the clock.
  • Seeing President Obama de-board Marine One: I was selected to be a part of a small group of EOP staffers to watch Marine One land and wave to President Obama as he greeted us on the south lawn of the White House.
  • Touring the White House: I toured the East and West Wings a couple of times.
  • Attending a few White House and OMB special events: I attended social events, including holiday parties and the Easter Egg Roll.
  • Meeting EOP top officials: I attended regular meetings at the EEOB and the White House Conference Center with top EOP officials.
  • Trying out for the OMB basketball team: I tried out for the OMB team that played the White House team. I didn’t make the team but had fun trying and later attended the actual game on the south lawn.

Important Lessons I Learned
This experience was rich with important lessons, including:

  • Although we are small, PSA is doing well, surpassing many larger federal agencies, at transforming our culture into a more performance-based and data-driven one that’s open to innovation, evidence, and quality with a new and validated risk assessment instrument to support this.
  • A lot of the wisdom and diligence happens every day at the agency level and is as valuable as that which happens at the highest level of government.
  • Similar issues, challenges and uncertainties faced in agencies are faced at the top of government -- just broader in scope.
  • Politics matters. I observed first-hand how political interests play a big role in the inner workings and decisions in top government.
  • Relationships are critical. A lot of work gets done based on relationships and alliances.
  • Appreciation is golden. I am grateful to all who supported me in this experience, including my OSD Director and team, PSA’s Director and Deputy Director, and OMB and EOP staff and leadership. My experience was truly remarkable.

The PSA Writers Bureau is a creative forum for employees to write about PSA from a personal perspective.

Policy is not developed nor are all executive decisions made by the president alone. Presidents have come to rely on a large staff based in the White House to handle a wide range of administrative tasks from policymaking to speechwriting. The staff is loyal to the president, not to Congress or a government agency. Unchecked by the president, the White House staff can become a source of scandal. Watergate under President Nixon is a good example. 

The Constitution gives practically no direction on the organization of the executive branch. It does mention "executive departments," which became the basis for the cabinet. While relying primarily on the White House staff for advice, a president turns to members of the cabinet for advice in their areas of expertise. In the main, however, cabinet secretaries are responsible for running the departments they head. 

The Executive Office of the President

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises four agencies that advise the president in key policy areas: the White House Office, the National Security Council, the Council of Economic Advisors, and the Office of Management and Budget. 

The president's main advisers, often long-time personal friends or people who played a key role in the election, make up the White House Office. It includes the president's personal lawyer, press secretary, appointments secretary, and other support personnel. The most important position in this group is the chief of staff, who is responsible for seeing that the president's legislative goals are carried out by working with Congress on the legislative agenda. 

The National Security Council (NSC), organized in 1947, deals with domestic, foreign, and military policies affecting security issues. By law, the NSC is composed of the president, vice president, secretary of defense, and secretary of state. Representatives of the intelligence and defense communities are also members. The president's national security advisor supervises the council's activities. 

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) was created in 1946 to provide the president with information on economic policy. It is best known for predicting national economic trends. 

The enormously complex task of preparing the federal budget for submission to Congress falls to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Originally established in the Treasury Department as the Bureau of the Budget, the OMB has had its powers expanded considerably since 1970. It is involved in drafting the president's legislative program and evaluating how effectively federal agencies use their appropriations. 

The Executive Office of the President also includes the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of National AIDS Policy, the Office of National Drug Policy, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The president is free to establish new agencies within the EOP. George W. Bush created the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the USA Freedom Corps. 

The cabinet

George Washington appointed the first executive department heads in 1789. They were the attorney general, secretary of state, secretary of treasury, and secretary of war. As the scope and functions of the federal government grew, the number of executive departments increased. The heads of these departments, who all have the title secretary (except the attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice), make up the core of the president's cabinet. From time to time, the cabinet departments have been reorganized, along with the agencies under them. For example, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was originally part of the Department of Labor but was transferred to the Justice Department in 1940. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953) was renamed Health and Human Services in 1979 when a separate Department of Education was established. In addition to the secretaries of the departments, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the OMB director, and other officials participate in the cabinet. Following are the cabinet departments as they have existed since 1989: 

  • Justice (1789)
  • State (1789)
  • Treasury (1789)
  • Interior (1849)
  • Agriculture (1889)
  • Commerce (1903; originally included Labor)
  • Labor (1913)
  • Defense (1947)
  • Health and Human Services (1953)
  • Housing and Urban Development (1965)
  • Transportation (1967)
  • Energy (1977)
  • Education (1979)
  • Homeland Security (2003)

In recent years, the cabinet departments have become targets for people who believe that too much power is in the hands of the federal government. For example, some have called for the elimination of the Department of Education, based on the belief that educational policy is best set at the state or local level. Abolishing the Department of Commerce has also been considered. 

Unlike the White House staff positions or ambassadorships, cabinet appointments are not usually based on a personal relationship with the president or given as a reward. A president is more likely to base the selections on reputation, expertise, and ability to manage a large bureaucracy. Appointments are also an opportunity for a president to show that the administration represents a broad cross section of the country by including ethnic and racial minorities and women in the cabinet. 

Which of the following is the most important and largest agencies of the Executive Office of the President quizlet?

Which of the following is the MOST important and largest agency of the Executive Office of the President (EOP)? FEEDBACK: The most important and the largest EOP agency is the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

What is the largest agency of the Executive Office of the President quizlet?

the president's power to declare war. The most important and largest agency in the Executive Office of the President is the: a. Office of Management and Budget.

What is the largest of the executive agencies?

The Department of Defense is the largest government agency, with more than 1.3 million men and women on active duty, nearly 700,000 civilian personnel, and 1.1 million citizens who serve in the National Guard and Reserve forces.

What is the most important executive office?

Executive Office of the President The EOP has responsibility for tasks ranging from communicating the President's message to the American people to promoting our trade interests abroad. The EOP, overseen by the White House Chief of Staff, has traditionally been home to many of the President's closest advisers.