Overseeing the bureaucracy

The Central Intelligence Agency is one of the most well-known and controversial bureaucracies in the United States government. Go to the CIA's website, located at http://www.cia.gov/, and locate the Agency's "Frequently Asked Questions" feature. Read the answers provided to the questions about the agency's mission and powers, its relationship to the elected branches of government, its relationship with the American public, and its figures on its workforce and operating budget. Based on the information here, can you think of at least one significant reason why the agency might be a difficult one for the rest of government (and the general public) to monitor?




Food safety

Ever wonder where that nutrition label on your packaged food comes from? If you scan your shelves you'll find that no matter what the item, the labeling is essentially identical. That is due to regulations that have been developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a government agency that describes itself as "the nation's foremost consumer protection agency." Go to the FDA's web site, located at http://www.fda.gov/, and locate information on the design and regulation of food labels. If you see sugar "free" on a label, can you be sure that the product contains no sugar? Is "fresh" food literally right off the vine? Because there are so many kinds of foods, setting safety guidelines for the nation's food producers may seem like a challenging task, and could place many producers in situations that would make it impossible for them to comply with safety regulations. Is there any evidence on this page that the FDA has recognized and attempted to address this potential problem?