Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary). However, most independent agencies are part of the executive branch, with only a few being part of the legislative or judicial branches.
Established through separate statutes passed by the Congress, each respective statutory grant of authority defines the goals the agency must work towards, as well as what substantive areas, if any, over which it may have the power of rulemaking. These agency rules (or regulations), while in force, have the power of federal law.
Examples:
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Federal Election Commission (FEC)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The General Services Administration (GSA)
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
The Peace Corps
The Small Business Administration (SBA)
The Selective Service System (SSS)
The Social Security Administration (SSA)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC)
The United States Postal Service
An independent Postal Regulatory Commission
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Further information at Wikipedia. (A hat tip to Z. Constantine for providing the link)
It's enough to make a minarchist weep.
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