Understanding the Executive Branch

Terrorism. Immigration. Cyber security. Border control. In addition to being hot-button issues, these are also the areas of American safety under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security. Whether they're determining the rules of immigration and how we let migrants and refugees into the country, beefing up security along America's borders, fighting cyber-attacks from foreign countries, or creating plans to keep terrorists from attacking our citizens, the Department of Homeland Security plays a big role in keeping Americans safe. Introduce your readers to this essential department, the how and why they operate, the way they do, and which of their rules play a part in our everyday life.

Concerned with promoting economic growth, the Department of Commerce is responsible for things like creating jobs and helping American businesses grow and survive. This Cabinet department is tasked with building up the American economy to help American businesses thrive and provide a suitable quality of life for the country's workers. Readers will discover how the Department of Commerce operates to keep the American economy healthy and operates to create jobs that ensure as many citizens as possible have the opportunity to live a safe and stable life.

For more than a hundred years, the Department of Labor has been protecting the American workers. From ensuring that American laborers are making a fair wage across the country and aren't being taken advantage of by employers who force them to work long hours, to helping make certain that retirees have the ability to provide for themselves, and assisting unemployed citizens when they're down on their luck, the Department of Labor concerns itself with all aspects of a person's career. In this book we'll discuss the many facets of the Department, from unemployment insurance and labor laws to retirement services, and everything in between.

The Department of Agriculture is responsible for all the laws and regulations related to food and farming in the United States. While working to ensure the safety of the food we eat and beverages we drink, the Department of Agriculture also does all it can to promote the work of the country's ranchers and farmers, control trade, and protect our nation's natural resources. Every day, you're interacting with the work of the Department of Agriculture. Each time you have a snack or sit down to a meal, wear a cotton shirt, or admire the flowers planted in your garden, you're seeing the work of the Department of Agriculture. Readers will learn more about what this department does, and how its work impacts our lives in big and small ways.

Every time you get on an airplane, take a railway train to visit family, or drive down the highway to go on an adventure, you're putting your safety in the hands of the Department of Transportation. The Cabinet department determines how the country's various public transit systems operate and connect, what the rules are for airline flight, and how highways and roadways are constructed and maintained. Readers will learn about the various rules and regulations the DOT is responsible for, and how those rules help keep us safe whenever and wherever we travel in America.

Worried about nuclear war? What about nuclear energy? How about radioactive materials? All of these things fall under the control of the Department of Energy. This Cabinet department is responsible for ensuring the quality and safety of our nation's nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors, as well as providing for the proper disposal of radioactive material and working on energy conservation. Each time a natural disaster threatens a nuclear reactor or the military decides it wants to destroy its nuclear weapons arsenal, the Department of Energy must respond. In this book, readers will learn exactly how this department keeps our country safe.