AmeriCorps
Founded: 1994
Circumstances(historical context):
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush developed the Commission on National and Community Service. With the signing of the National Community Service Trust Act later in 1993, President Clinton was able to expand national service to create the Corporation for National and Community Service, and under it AmeriCorps. This corporation connected Americans of any age or backgrounds to opportunities to give back to their communities and nation. Through AmeriCorps members commit to full-time or part-time positions offered by a network of nonprofit community organizations and public agencies.
Founded: 1994
Circumstances(historical context):
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush developed the Commission on National and Community Service. With the signing of the National Community Service Trust Act later in 1993, President Clinton was able to expand national service to create the Corporation for National and Community Service, and under it AmeriCorps. This corporation connected Americans of any age or backgrounds to opportunities to give back to their communities and nation. Through AmeriCorps members commit to full-time or part-time positions offered by a network of nonprofit community organizations and public agencies.
Current Leadership:
Wendy Spencer
Wendy Spencer
News story:
Budget cuts for AmeriCorps threaten at-risk youth. Congress continues to propose a reduction in AmeriCorps funding. This year there are 73,600 AmeriCorps positions. The House bill proposed will cut 25,000 of these while the Senate will cut 20,000.
US Army Corps of Engineers
Founded: 1803
Circumstances(historical context):
In 1775, George Washington appointed engineer officers into the Continental Army but in 1779, Congress distinguished the Army Corps of Engineers from the Army. Its task was to build fortifications, specifically at Bunker Hill where a battle was fought against the British. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson established the Corps with the purpose of urban development. The US having a limited amount of engineers during the time, the duties of the Corps included providing urban services (such as water) and construction of buildings.
Current leadership:
Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick
News story:
Environmentalists want to remove a decrepit dam in Michigan. The local community, however, wants to keep the dam for whatever reasons. The environmentalist group, the Sierra Club, sued the US Army Corps of Engineers in a successful attempt to force the Corps to conduct studies on the environmental consequences of removing the dam.
Department of the Interior
Founded: 1849
Circumstances(historical context):
A department for domestic matters had been discussed since 1789 but it was not until 1849 that it was created. The main champion of its creation, Secretary of the Treasury Walker, argued in a report, shortly before it was made, that a department of the interior should be made and should include certain offices of various departments that had nothing to do with the function of their departments.
Current Leadership:
Secretary of the Interior - Sally Jewell
Deputy Secretary of the Interior - Mike Connor
News Story:
Congress failed to act on the Klamath agreement.
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-jewell-statement-congressional-failure-act-klamath-agreement
Department of Defense
Founded: 1949
Circumstances(historical context):
The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established in 1775, in concurrence with the American Revolution. The War Department was established in 1789, and was the precursor to what is now the Department of Defense. One year later, in 1790, the Coast Guard (part of Homeland Security in peacetime) was established. The navy was founded in 1798. The National Military Establishment unified in 1947 and replaced the War Department, which converted to the Department of the Army. That same year, the U.S. Air Force was established followed by the founding of the Department of the Air Force. Three military branches, Army, Navy, and Air Force, were placed under the direct control of the new Secretary of Defense, confirmed by Senate (in the 1949 amendment passed and The National Military Establishment was renamed Department of Defense).
Current leadership:
The Secretary of Defense - Ash Carter
The Deputy Secretary of Defense - Robert O. Work
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff - General Joseph F. Dunford Jr.
Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff - General Paul J. Selva
News story:
Following the Supreme Court decision to recognize gay marriage, the Department of Defense has begun to give same-sex couples in the military the benefits that they were typically denied. In the past, the Department of Defense has been known for its prejudice against gay service members, evidenced by its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that was struck down by Congress in 2011.
Department of Veterans Affairs
Founded: 1989
Circumstances(historical context):
In 1917, as the US entered WWI, Congress established a new system of Veterans benefits. Three federal agencies administered the benefits: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. On August 9, 1921, Congress combined all World War I Veterans programs to create the Veterans Bureau. Soldiers who were exposed to mustard gas, other chemicals and fumes required specialized care after the WWI. On July 21, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed Executive Order 5398 and elevated the Veterans Bureau to a federal administration, the National Homes and Pension Bureau joined. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 changed the Veterans Administration into a Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs. It was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 25, 1988, but came into effect under George H. W. Bush, on March 15, 1989. At the time nearly one third of the population was eligible for veterans’ benefits.
Current Leadership:
Secretary of Veterans Affairs- Robert A. McDonald
Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs- Sloan D. Gibson
News Story:
Congress demanded answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs after an investigation documented how VA medical centers in Minnesota and Wisconsin were providing false and misleading information about the qualifications of some of their doctors. Rep. Sean Duffy and Rep. Jeff Miller began demanding answers. Congressional sources say that the Department of Veterans Affairs has failed to respond to Congress's multiple requests for information.
