Photo: Broom snakeweed, a native species sometimes considered a weed, northeastern New Mexico. © 2017 Delena Norris-Tull
USA Federal Agencies
Summary prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, updated June 2022.
A wide range of US Federal Agencies manage various issues related to management of invasive species. I will start this page by listing all the Federal Agencies, before I address those Agencies that deal with noxious weeds and/or invasive species.
For details on the legislation that created various Federal programs, refer to the section of these webpages titled Federal Legislation. More details on the function of various agencies are included in that section.
The US President’s Cabinet & the Presidential line of succession
Presidential line of succession: The order in which various individuals in the US Government would succeed the President, in the event the President becomes incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office:
The President of the United States relies on the members of his/her Cabinet to keep him/her advised of important developments within all Federal Agencies. The President’s Cabinet includes the Vice-President, the Attorney General (the head of the Department of Justice), and the Secretaries of:
These 16 individuals not only serve as advisors to the President. They also are in the Presidential line of succession.
The following individuals, also nominated by the President, attend and advise the President at Cabinet meetings, although they are not official cabinet members (and thus they are not in the Presidential line of succession):
After the twin towers were destroyed in New York on December 11, 2001, a new Federal Agency was created – the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS coordinates activities of many separate Federal Departments and Agencies, and includes the General Service Administration, and the Departments of: Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Justice, Health & Human Services, Transportation, and the Treasury. One of the motivations for creating this new Agency was recognition that the various Federal Agencies responsible for gathering and acting on intelligence, including that related to terrorist acts, did not always communicate or coordinate effectively with each other. The creation of a single agency was determined to be the best strategy to effectively prevent another such attack on the homeland.
That same lack of coordination can create problems for other Federal Agencies. There are several Federal Agencies, and Offices within those Agencies, that all deal with some aspect of noxious weeds or invasive species management.
Federal Agencies that provide funding for scientific research
In addition to funding from many of the Agencies listed above, the following Federal Agencies are major sources of funding for scientific research.
National Science Foundation (NSF): According to their website, the NSF provides the “funding source for approximately 25 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities.” among many other research projects, the NSF is the major funding source for much of the biological research and research on the environment.
National Institutes of Health (NIH): According to the NIH website, “A part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH is the largest biomedical research agency in the world.” NIH is the major funding source for medical research in the USA.
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USA Federal Agencies
Summary prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, updated June 2022.
A wide range of US Federal Agencies manage various issues related to management of invasive species. I will start this page by listing all the Federal Agencies, before I address those Agencies that deal with noxious weeds and/or invasive species.
For details on the legislation that created various Federal programs, refer to the section of these webpages titled Federal Legislation. More details on the function of various agencies are included in that section.
The US President’s Cabinet & the Presidential line of succession
Presidential line of succession: The order in which various individuals in the US Government would succeed the President, in the event the President becomes incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office:
- Vice President
- Speaker of the House of Representatives
- President Pro Tempore of the Senate
- Cabinet Secretaries
The President of the United States relies on the members of his/her Cabinet to keep him/her advised of important developments within all Federal Agencies. The President’s Cabinet includes the Vice-President, the Attorney General (the head of the Department of Justice), and the Secretaries of:
- Agriculture,
- Commerce,
- Defense,
- Education,
- Energy,
- Health and Human Services,
- Homeland Security,
- Housing and Urban Development,
- Interior,
- Labor,
- State,
- Transportation,
- Treasury, and
- Veterans Affairs.
These 16 individuals not only serve as advisors to the President. They also are in the Presidential line of succession.
The following individuals, also nominated by the President, attend and advise the President at Cabinet meetings, although they are not official cabinet members (and thus they are not in the Presidential line of succession):
- White House Chief of Staff,
- Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
- Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
- United States Trade Representative,
- United States Mission to the United Nations,
- Director of National Intelligence,
- Director of the Central Intelligence Agency,
- Ambassador to the United Nations,
- Council of Economic Advisors, and
- Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
After the twin towers were destroyed in New York on December 11, 2001, a new Federal Agency was created – the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS coordinates activities of many separate Federal Departments and Agencies, and includes the General Service Administration, and the Departments of: Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Justice, Health & Human Services, Transportation, and the Treasury. One of the motivations for creating this new Agency was recognition that the various Federal Agencies responsible for gathering and acting on intelligence, including that related to terrorist acts, did not always communicate or coordinate effectively with each other. The creation of a single agency was determined to be the best strategy to effectively prevent another such attack on the homeland.
That same lack of coordination can create problems for other Federal Agencies. There are several Federal Agencies, and Offices within those Agencies, that all deal with some aspect of noxious weeds or invasive species management.
Federal Agencies that provide funding for scientific research
In addition to funding from many of the Agencies listed above, the following Federal Agencies are major sources of funding for scientific research.
National Science Foundation (NSF): According to their website, the NSF provides the “funding source for approximately 25 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities.” among many other research projects, the NSF is the major funding source for much of the biological research and research on the environment.
National Institutes of Health (NIH): According to the NIH website, “A part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH is the largest biomedical research agency in the world.” NIH is the major funding source for medical research in the USA.
NEXT SECTIONS on Federal Agencies:
- Federal Agencies and Invasive Species
- History of Coordination with States
- Challenges of Coordination between Federal Agencies
- Collaboration or Confusion
Related Sections: