Americans Give Thumbs-Up to Key Agencies

Last week, we learned what federal employees think of their agencies. Now comes some data on how the American public rates the federal government. And it turns out that many agencies get pretty high marks. In mid-January, Harris Interactive conducted the latest in a series of surveys dating back to 2000 on what Americans think of a select group of agencies. And it turned out that 12 of 13 agencies got positive ratings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention topped the list, with 90 percent of respondents saying they understood what the agency does and 84 percent giving it positive marks. Others on the list with approval ratings of 70 percent or higher included the Federal Aviation

Administration (78 percent) the National Institutes of

Health (75 percent), the FBI (74 percent), the Agriculture Department (73 percent) and

the Securities and Exchange Commission (71 percent).

At the other end of the spectrum was the Social Security Administration, with only a 40 percent positive rating, down from 51 percent in 2004 and 60 percent in 2001. (The agency's reputation among the under-50 set is plummeting.) Every other agency won the approval of more than 50 percent of respondents -- even the much-maligned IRS.