Chapter 10 What Agency Am I?

I am an independent judicial agency that establishes sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts, including guidelines prescribing the appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of federal crimes. I also advise and assist Congress and the executive branch in developing effective and efficient crime policy and collecting, analyzing, researching, and distributing information on federal crime and sentencing issues.

I am a Department of the Interior police agency that protects public safety and resources across 264 million acres of public land. I protect cultural and historical sites from vandalism; eradicate drug-manufacturing laboratories and marijuana fields; ensure the humane treatment of wild horses and burros; guard against the dumping of hazardous wastes and other pollutants; and prevent the theft and damage of timber, rare cactus plants, minerals, and other valuable publicly owned resources.

Part of the Commerce Department, I advance national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. I regulate the export of sensitive goods and technologies; enforce export control, anti-boycott, and public safety laws; assist other countries on export control and strategic trade issues; assist U.S. industry in complying with international arms control agreements; and monitor the viability of the U.S. defense industrial base, ensuring that it is capable of satisfying U.S. national and homeland security needs.