A concept lacking a name

In Canada, as well as a few other Commonwealth countries, the term 'Crown corporation' is used to describe a set of entities owned by the state but run somewhat independently.  Good examples of Crown corporation in Canada include things like CBC or Via Rail.

Not surprisingly given the inclusion of the word 'corporation' in the term, these entities are often means through which the state can participate in economic activities.  In some instances these corporations almost look like their private counterparts while in other instances it is clear that they are government own entities.

So even though Crown corporations may be of provincial or federal origin, the term provides a sense of clarity about their origins and relationship to government.

When discussing similar entities I immediately encounter two problems.  Firstly, if such entities can't be called 'Crown corporations' what can they be called?  'Government-own corporations' is an entirely unsatisfying name.  And, secondly, because there is no unifying descriptor they don't seem to discussed in the same way.  I know that I often forget how many government owned entities exist is the US because we almost never hear discussion of the entire class of entities in the way that we do in Canada.

I can't help but wonder how political discourse would change in the US if there was an easy and accessible way to talk about the class of entities which includes Amtrak, the USPS, and the FDIC, just to name a few.

(Maybe it doesn't matter, but I find it funny that Amtrak and the USPS use .com domains while the FDIC has a .gov domain.)