HOLD FOR RELEASE THIS MATERIAL, BASED ON THE FIRST SECTION OF THE COMMISSION'S REPORT TO CONGRESS ('GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH') IS GIVEN TO YOU IN CONFIDENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00269R000200010016-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 22, 2003
• Sequence Number: 16
• Content Type: REPORT

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Commission on rrganization
t,,f the Executive Branch
of the Government
1626 K Street 47V
EX 4160---C. Be Coates (2788)
Fred Hamlin (2780)
H 0 L. D F O R R E L E A S E
This material, based on the first
section of the Commissionts report
to Congress ("General Management
of the Executive Branch") is given
to you in confidence. PLEASE HOLD
FOR -RELEASE U.-IJTIL_PRESEidT D TO
EITHER BRAiQCH OF CONGRESS, proba bIv
about 12 Noon, Monday, February 7.
Kindly guard against premature use
or publication in the press or on
the radio.
Broad consolidation and realignment of government agencies with far-
reaching internal reforms were proposed today by the Commission on Organ-
ization of the Executive Branch of the Government in its first official
report to Congress.
Todayts report, on "General Management of the Executive Branch," is
the first section in a series of 15 which will go to Congress between now
and March 13. The reports culminate a vast research project begun when
Congress created the 12-man, bipartisan Commission in July, 1947. Since
then research "task forces" have amassed many volumes of data which the
Commission studied in preparing its reports.
Salient among the Commissionts recommendations is one calling for
consolidation "into about one-third" the present number of 65 departments
administrations, boards and commissions reporting directly to the President.
(Page 36)
"It is manifestly impossible for the President to give adequate super-
vision to so many agencies," the report declares. "By placing related
functions cheek by-jowl, the overlaps can be eliminated and, of even greater
importance, coordinated policies can be developed." (Page 34)
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Warning that "the critical state of world affairs" requires that the
government "act decisively to preserve its human and material resources,"
the report declares:
"If disorder in the administrative machinery makes the executive
(ranch of the government work at cross-purpcsea within itself, the nation
as a whole must suffer. It must suffer if its several programs con-
flict with each other and executive authority becomes confused --- from
waste in the expenditure of public funds and from the lack of national
unity that results from useless friction." (Page 2)
The Commission reiterates its support of the proposed tecrghnization
Act of 1949, reprinting in the report a letter which it addressed to
Congress on January 13 urging passage of the Act. (Page VII) Both the
letter and today's report were unanimously signed by the Commission.
Other principal findings of the report includet
Line of Commandt "The line of command and supervision from the
President down through.his department heads to every employee, and the
line of responsibility from each employee of the exacuti-e branch up to
the President has been weakened, or actually broken, in many slices and
in many ways..IStatutory powers often have been vested in subordinate
officers in such a way as to deny authority to the 'resident or a depart-
ment head. or example, the statute governing the sale of helium to a
fnreign nation gave the Secretary of the Interior the authority to control
such sales regardless of the opinion of the Presidenttiy-On some occasions
the responsibility of an official to his superie is obscured by laws which
requiro him, before acting, to clear his proposals with others. This breaks
the line of responsibility and encourages indecision, lack of initiative,
and irriApl'rove ' For 6ta`seo 6631b 26 :'~IA-RDP86B00269R000200010016-1
K
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Recommendation: "Establish a clear line of control from the President
to these departments and agency heads and from them to their subordinates
with correlative responsibility from these officials to the President,
cutting through the barriers which have, in many cases, made bureaus and
agencies partially independent of the President," (Pages 7 and S)
Administrators: "The federal government has not taken aggroosivo
steps to build a corps of administrators of the highest level of ability
with an interest in the -program of the government as a whole." (Page 5)
Recommendation: "Develop a much greater number of capable adminis-
trators in the public service, and prepare them for promotion to any
bureau or department in the government where their services will be most
effectively used." (Page 8) (This foreshadows a portion of the Commission's
report on Federal Personnel Administration, to be released at a latter
date.)
Staff Services: "The President and the heads of departments lack
the tools to frame programs and pclicies and to supervise their execution.
No executive, public or private, can manage a large and complex est.ablish-
ment without staff assistance. Staff agencies must keep the President
informed on the way in which the various departmental programs are rolatod
to each other, assist in defining specific programs pursuant to the
instructions of the Congress,. and help him supervise the execution of
these programs. Staff agencies do this by helping the President control
the common requirements of all government programs -- funds spent, legis-
lation requested, personnel required, the relation of each program to
others and to the national interest." (Page 5)
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Recommendation: "Give the President and each department head strong
staff services which should exist only to make executive work more effec-
tive and which the President or department head should be free to organize
at his discretioa." (Page 8)
The Executive Staffs In detail the report reviews the President's
immediate staff (aside from the heads of departments and agencies). (Page 13)
This consists of:
a. The White House Office,
b. The Bureau of the Budget,
c. The Council of Economic Advisers.
d. The National Security Council,
e. The National Security Resources Board..
Additions recommended: The Commission recommends the following ad-
ditions to, and changes in, the Executive Office:
1. An Office of Personnel, headed by a Director of Personnel who
should also be chairman of the Civil Service Commission., (Page 14-25)
2. A staff secretary in the White House Office. (Page 23)
3. Further expansion in the work of the Bureau of the Budget. (Page 25)
4... Replacement of the Council of Economic Advisers by an Office of
the Economic Adviser with a single head, (Page 17)
5. Placement formally, as well as in practice, of the National
Security Council and the National Security Resources Board with
their respective staffs in the Executive Office of the President,
(Page 21)
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6. Provision of adequate funds to enable the President to use advisory
commissions and to employ consultants or personal advisers "of
eminence and prestige" from time to time. (Page 22)
Director of Personnel: Among the chief duties of the Director of
Personnel (also Chairman of the Civil Service Commission) will be that
of "principal staff adviser to the President in onnoction with problems
related to the career or merit civilian, ser'vi- te of the Federal government."
"The director should advise the President on we.ys and, moans of iden-
tifying exceptional talent within the Federa.l.Civil Service in prof Ceesional,
scientific, and executive rositions and of ma,kilrg sure that this talent
is being utilized in the most effective possible mannor....He will be in
a position to advise the President as to the steps which reed to be taken
to put the government where it will be looked upon as one of the most
progressive employers in the nation." (Pages 23-25)
Staff Secretary: The proposed new stp..ff secretary to the President
fills a lack which the report describes as follows: "At present there
is no one glace in the President's Office to which the President c'.n
look for a current summary of the principal issues with which he m,.y
have to deal in the near future; nor is a current summary available on
rroblems that have been assigned .to his advisers, his staff agencies, or
the heads of departments and age;ncie!3." The new secretary would not in
kimself be an adviser an any issue of -policya.nd should, the Commission
believes, be a career public sorvant.. One of his rrincipal duties will
be that of keeping the President informed of the work of Co,bir.,et ccmmittees,
interdepartmental committees, and rublic advisory committe-s. (Page 22)
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Office of the Budget: Stressing the "vital role" of the Office of
the Budget, the Commission observes that "its functions go beyond strictly
budgetary matters."
"It is the President's main reliance as an instrumentality for the
improvement of management and the attainment of economy and efficiency
throughout the executive branch," the report says. "Our purpose is not
only to pcrfoct the work of the Office of the Budget in budgetary opera-
tions as such, but to strengthen it as the managerial arm of the President."
(Pages 25-26)
Council of Economic Advisers: The Commission says:
"The Council is a relatively now agency. It has properly nrocooded
with considerable caution in developing its role. Y0 one can judge its
strength or weakness with confidence at this early stage of its existence.
But it scorns clear that, at least -potentially, it is handicapped by being
a multiheaded body, with the requirement that its members be confirmed
by the Sonata.
"To put a full-time board at the head of P. staff agency is to run
the risk of inviting public disagreement among its members and of trans-
planting within the President's O-Ffic the disagreements on policy issues
that grow urn in the executive departments or in the Congress. It also
makes cooperation with related staff agencies more difficult.
"The Commission recommends that the Council of Economic Advisors be
replaced by an Office of the Economic Adviser and that it have P. single
head." (Page 17)
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National Security Council and National Securit Resources Board:
recommending that the National Security Council and the National Security
Resources Board be formally placed in the Office of the President, the
Commission termed these the "tw.wuo most conspicuous Cabinet level cor:m.ittoos"
and observed that both are "located in the same building with the agon.cics
of the President's Office and to all intents and 'Purposes ere -Dart of
that Office.." The report observed in passing that "the National Sccu:zrity
Council is unduly weighted in its statutory membership on the side: of the
military departments." (Page 20)
Budgeting: "The 1-udg-.tart' .orocesios of the government need improve-
ment in order to express the objectives of the government in terms of the
work to be done rather than in more classifications of oxpenditur:es."
(Page 6)
Accounting: "The accounting needs in the executive branch require
standardization and simplification and accounting activities require de-
centralization if they are to become effective tools of management a d
if great expense and waste are to be eliminatedt" (Page 6)
Central Serv ces; "Central administrative services for various opera-
ting agencies -- such as purchasing of supplies, maintenance of records,
and the operation of public "buildings -- are poorly organized or coordin-
ated." (Page 7)
The above three findings wore tot accompanied by recommexldations in
this report. They will be treated in greater deto.i.l, with r-commondationns,
in subsequent reports. Both these reports, one on "Budgroting and rccounting,"
and the other on "The Office of General Services," will appear at an early
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Federal Field Services: "The business of the Federal Government is
primarily transacted by field offices. Nearly 90 percent of all Federal
employees work outside of Washington. There must be some official in the
Government responsible for constant study and simplification and coordina-
tion of departmental work in the field. (Page 42)
"The findings of our task forces indicate the direction for reorgan-
ization and improvement. Among these findings, there are listed the fol-
lowing deficiencies.
"a. Too many separately organized, highly specialized field offices
representing individual departments, their bureaus, and even different
units of one bureau.
The ineffectiveness of field offices in dealing with operating
problems because headquarters fail to delegate authority.
"c. Confused lines of direction and supervision between specialized
headquarters units and the field.
trd. Inadequate systems of reporting and inspection which prevent
administrative officials from knowing how effectively and efficiently
their field organization is performing.
"d. Lack of coordination of effort among the various Federal field
offices, both within the same agency and between different agencies.
"f. Failure to make the most of potential cooporatian from State
and local governments and private organizations.
This Commission is not in a position to make individual recommenda-
tions regarding the several hundred different field services of Federal
departments and agencies. The proper distribution, supervision, and
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coordination of these field offices is essentially a problem for the
President and the head of each department, with the cooueration of the
Congress."
Recommondatipns: "(1) Administrative regions and regional headquar-
tors should be romapped on a comparable. geographic basis. (2) Greater
utilization shculd be made of 'cooled centralized administrative services.
(3) Reporting and inspection practices should be strengthened. (4) Field
relationships with State and local officials should be standardized.
(5) The responsibility now vested in the Public Buildings Administr-tion
for providing certain tees of space necessary to moot the field requ.iro-
men a of Federal agencies should be expanded. (6) Manuals of instructions
now in use should be revised and simplified and their self-defeating de-
gree of detail eliminated."
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Commissioners
Honorable Herbert Hoover, Chairman
Waldorf-Astoria Towers
Apartment 31-A
New York, New York
Honorable Joseph P. Kennedy
270 Park Avenue
Now York, New York
Honorable Dean Acheson, Vice Chairman
Secretary of State
State Department
Washington, D. C.
Honorable George D, Aiken
Room 358, Senate Office Building
Washington, D. C.
Honorable Clarence J, Broom.
Room 1401, House Office Building
Washington, D. C.
Honorable Arthur S. Flemming
President, Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, Ohio
Honorable James Forrestal
Secretary of Poftnse"
Room 3E714, Pentagon
Washington, D. C.
Honorable John L. McClellan
Room 437, Senate Office Building
Washington, D. C.
Honorable Carter Manasco
16 :6 K. Street, N,. W.
Washington, D, 0.
Honorable George He Mead
131 North Ludlow Street
Dayton, Ohio .
Honorable James K. Pollock
P-rofes-;Qr and Chairman of the
Department of Political Science
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Honorable James Rove, Jr.
1626 K Street, 11.
Washington, D. C.
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