Which federal agency represents almost a quarter of all federal outlays and administers more grant dollars than all other federal agencies combined? The mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to…
Category: Spotlight
Spotlight: Bureau of Land Management
Which agency administers more public land than any other federal agency? Located within the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers more than 245 million surface acres (approximately one eighth of…
Spotlight: SSA
Which federal agency operates the largest social insurance program in the world? The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) administers Social Security, the retirement, disability and survivors’ benefits that constitute more than 30% of all federal government…
Spotlight: FAA
Which federal agency began moving into its current headquarters building on November 22, 1963—the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated? The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—the national aviation authority of the United States—has the power to…
Spotlight: U.S. Department of State
Which federal agency’s mission is to “Advance freedom for the benefit of the American people and the international community by helping to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world composed of well-governed states…
Spotlight: U.S. Coast Guard
Which federal agency is both a military force and a law enforcement agency? The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), one of the nation’s five armed forces and the only military organization within the Department of Homeland Security…
Spotlight: U.S. Postal Service
Which independent federal agency’s predecessor was created on July 26, 1775, by a decree of the Second Continental Congress? Here’s a hint: it’s also the third-largest civilian employer in the nation (behind only the federal government…
Spotlight: National Science Foundation
Which federal agency can claim (at least some) credit for more than 190 Nobel Prizes? The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science;…
Spotlight: Fish and Wildlife Service
Which federal agency is responsible for 150 million acres of land? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), a bureau within the Department of the Interior, manages the 150 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which is…
Spotlight: FTC
Which federal agency’s headquarters is housed in a structure whose cornerstone was laid with the same silver trowel that President George Washington used to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol in 1793? Since 1938, the…