(b) There shall be at the head of the Office a Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall receive compensation at the rate now or hereafter prescribed by law for the heads of executive departments. (c) There shall be in the Office a Deputy Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall receive compensation at the rate now or hereafter prescribed by law for the under secretaries referred to in section 104 of the Federal Executive Pay Act of 1956 (5 U. S. C. 2203), shall perform such functions as shall be delegated or assigned to him pursuant to the provisions of this reorganization plan, and shall act as Director during the absence or disability of the Director or in the event of a vacancy in the office of Director. (d) There shall be in the Office three Assistant Directors of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, each of whom shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall receive compensation at the rate now or hereafter prescribed by law for assistant secretaries of executive departments, and shall perform such functions as shall be delegated or assigned to him pursuant to the provisions of this reorganization plan. (e) The Office and the Director thereof shall perform such functions as the President may from time to time delegate or assign thereto. The said Director may from time to time make such provisions as he shall deem appropriate authorizing the performance by any officer, or by any agency or employee, of the Office of any function delegated or assigned to the Office or to the Director. SEC. 3. Regional directors.-There are hereby established in the Office so many new positions, not in excess of ten existing at any one time, with the title "Regional Director," as the Director of the Office shall from time to time determine. Each Regional Director shall be appointed under the classified civil service, shall be the head of a regional office of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, shall perform such functions appropriate to such regional office as may be delegated or assigned to him pursuant to the provisions of this reorganization plan, and shall receive compensation which shall be fixed from time to time pursuant to the classification laws as now or hereafter amended except that the compensation may be fixed without regard to the numerical limitations on positions set forth in section 505 of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended (5 U. S. C. 1105). SEC. 4. Membership on National Security Council.-The functions of the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization with respect to being a member of the National Security Council are excluded from the scope of the provisions of section 1 (a) of this reorganization plan and are hereby transferred to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. SEC. 5. Civil Defense Advisory Council.-The Civil Defense Advisory Council, created by section 102 (a) of the Federal Civil Defense Act (50 U. S. C. App. 2272 (a)), together with its functions, is hereby transferred to the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. SEC. 6. Abolitions.-The offices of Federal Civil Defense Administrator and Deputy Administrator provided for in section 101 of the Federal Civil Defense Act (50 U. S. C. App. 2271) and the offices of the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization and Deputy Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization provided for in section 1 of Reorganization Plan Numbered 3 of 1953 (67 Stat. 634) are hereby abolished. The Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization shall make such provisions as may be necessary in order to wind up any outstanding affairs of the offices abolished by this section which are not otherwise provided for in this reorganization plan. SEC. 7. Records, property, personnel, and funds. (a) The records, property, personnel, and unexpended balances, available or to be made available, of appropriations, allocations, and other funds of the Office of Defense Mobilization and of the Federal Civil Defense Administration shall, upon the taking effect of the provisions of this reorganization plan, become records, property, personnel, and unexpended balances of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. (b) Records, property, personnel, and unexpended balances, available or to be made available, of appropriations, allocations, and other funds of any agency (including the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization), relating to functions vested in or delegated or assigned to the Office of Defense Mobilization or the Federal Civil Defense Administration immediately prior to the taking effect of the provisions of this reorganization plan, may be transferred from time to time to any other agency of the Government by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget under authority of this subsection for use, subject to the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended, in connection with any of the said functions authorized at time of transfer under this subsection to be performed by the transferee agency. (c) Such further measures and dispositions as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine to be necessary in connection with the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be carried out in such manner as he shall direct and by such agencies as he shall designate. SEC. 8. Interim provisions. The President may authorize any person who immediately prior to the effective date of this reorganization plan holds an office abolished by section 6 hereof to hold any office established by section 2 of this reorganization plan until the latter office is filled pursuant to the said section 2 or by recess appointment, as the case may be, but in no event for any period extending more than one-hundred-and-twenty days after the said effective date. SEC. 9. Effective date. The provisions of this reorganization plan shall take effect at the time determined under the provisions of section 6 (a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended, or on July 1, 1958, whichever is later. SUBCOMMITTEE ON REORGANIZATION, Staff Memorandum No. 85-2-17 SR. May 12, 1958. To: Members, Subcommittee on Reorganization. Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 was submitted to the Congress by the President on April 24, 1958, in accordance with the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended. It will become effective, by a special provision in the plan, on July 1, 1958, instead of at the expiration of a 60-day period following its submission to the Congress, as provided by the Reorganization Act, unless disapproved by either the House or the Senate. Senate or House action must be taken within the 60-day period, or by June 23. On April 25, 1958, Senator Charles E. Potter, of Michigan, submitted Senate Resolution 297, a disapproving resolution stating that the Senate does not favor Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958. Approval of that resolution by the Senate would reject the plan. In extending the Reorganization Act of 1949 to June 1, 1959 (Public Law 85-286, September 4, 1957), the 85th Congress made a significant change in the procedure by which a reorganization plan may be disapproved by either House of the Congress. An amendment to section 6 of the act provided that a reorganization plan may be disapproved by the adoption of a resolution by a simple majority of either House, stating in substance that that House does not favor the reorganization plan. An affirmative vote of a majority of the authorized membership of either House (49 in the Senate and 218 in the House) was previously required to disapprove a reorganization plan. No resolution has been filed in the House of Representatives to date, but the House Government Operations Committee's Subcommittee on Military Operations considered the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 1 at hearings held on general civil-defense matters May 5, 6, and 7, as hereafter noted. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS Section 1: Transfers to the President all statutory functions of the Office of Defense Mobilization, the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, the Federal Civil Defense Administration and the Federal Civil Defense Administrator. Authorizes the President to delegate any of the functions so transferred to him to any officer, employee, or agency of the executive branch of the Government as he deems fit. Section 2: Consolidates the Federal Civil Defense Administration with the Office of Defense Mobilization in the Executive Office of the President. Establishes a new organization in the Executive Office to be entitled "The Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization." Establishes the positions of Director, Deputy Director, and three Assistant Directors of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, each of whom shall 26895-58--2 be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Section 3: Establishes not in excess of 10 positions with the title of regional director (as the Director of the Office determines from time to time). Each regional director shall be appointed under the classified civil service, shall be the head of a regional office of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization and shall perform such functions delegated or assigned under provisions of the reorganization plan. Section 4: Transfers membership of the present Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization on the National Security Council to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. Section 5: Transfers the Civil Defense Advisory Council, created by section 102 (a) of the Federal Civil Defense Act, together with its functions, to the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. Section 6: Abolishes the offices of the Federal Civil Defense Administrator and the Deputy Administrator and the offices of the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization and the Deputy Director. Section 7: Provides for the transfer of records, property, personnel, and unexpended balances of appropriations, etc., of the Federal Civil Defense Administration and the Office of Defense Mobilization to the newly created agency. Section 8: Authorizes the President to make interim appointments to positions in the newly created agency established by section 2 of the reorganization plan from incumbent holders of the positions abolished by section 6 until appointments thereto are made in the usual manner provided by law, but in no event for more than 120 days after the effective date. Section 9: Provides that the reorganization plan shall become effective under provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended (60 days after submission to the Congress), or on July 1, 1958, whichever is later. FACTORS INVOLVED IN THE CONSIDERATION OF REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 1 Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 is more of a transfer to the President of authority for nonmilitary defense programs than a detailed reorganization of the programs per se. As noted, section 1 (a) transfers to the President all statutory functions of the primary nonmilitary defense programs-the present Office of Defense Mobilization and the Federal Civil Defense Administration. Section 1 (b) gives the President carte blanche authority to delegate responsibility for these functions (except for ODM membership on the National Security Council) throughout the executive branch of the Government. Thus, although plan 1 (sec. 2) merges the two existing nonmilitary defense agencies to form a single agency in the Executive Office of the President, it (1) vests all authority for the operation of those programs directly in the President, himself, and (2) gives the President unlimited authority to delegate this authority to other officers of the executive branch. Also, the broad delegation authority contained in section 1 (b) of plan 1 bestows upon the President continuing reorganization authority over nonmilitary defense programs without further congressional review. Plan 1 is based directly upon a survey of nonmilitary defense functions of the Federal Government made at the direction of the Bureau of the Budget by a private management consulting company, McKinsey & Co., Inc. The main concept of the McKinsey Co. report is that most Federal civildefense programs should be conducted through Presidential delegation of authority to existing Government agencies. The specific functions envisioned for the new agency in the Executive Office are limited to: (1) overall planning; (2) administration and coordination; and (3) public information, education and training programs. It is the viewpoint of the Bureau of the Budget that this proposed rearrangement is necessary on two counts: (1) that the vital powers involved relating to survival in event of nuclear attack should be lodged in no officer of the Government short of the President, himself, and (2) that the greatest flexibility of delegation is imperative to adequately meet the rapid changes in the military sciences brought about by the development of nuclear weapons. Further, it is contended that the vesting of authority for nonmilitary defense directly in the President would greatly improve interagency cooperation on civildefense matters-a recognized weakness of the present program. HEARINGS BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS ON PLAN NO. 1 The Subcommittee on Military Operations of the House Committee on Government Operations conducted hearings upon Reorganization Plan 1 of 1958 on May 5, 6, and 7, receiving testimony from the following witnesses: W. F. Finan, Assistant Director, Bureau of the Budget; Gordon Gray, Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization; and former Governor Leo A. Hoegh, of Iowa, FCDA Administrator. Points of controversy relating to plan 1 raised at the House subcommittee's hearings revolved around the following premises: (1) That the vesting of authority for nonmilitary defense directly in the President of the United States might clothe the Nation's civil-defense program in an area of "executive privilege.' (2) That plan 1 in reality is a blank check to the President giving him unlimited authority to reorganize nonmilitary defense functions of the executive branch, through the delegation of the authorities vested in him, without further congressional approval. (3) That witnesses appearing before the subcommittee representing the administration could give no indication as to what nonmilitary defense functions would be delegated by the President or to what executive agencies of the Government the functions would be delegated. (4) That if appropriations for civil defense were made en bloc to the President he could allocate them to the operating agencies of the executive branch as he desired without additional congressional authority or control. (5) That plan 1 does not materially augment the Nation's civil-defense program, except by elevating its prestige in the Government structure by lodging it in the Executive Office of the President. The answers or comments of witnesses to the above points of controversy raised at the House subcommittee's hearings may be summarized as follows: (1) That the director of the newly created agency in the Executive Office, as well as other officials to whom delegations of authority might be made, would be directly accountable to the Congress. (2) That it is essential the President be given the widest latitude to organize or reorganize the Government's nonmilitary defense functions as he deems most appropriate to meet the constantly shifting requirements of the nuclear missles age. (3) That future Presidential delegations of authority cannot be determined at this time. Such delegations would be made upon the advice of the present ODM Director, the present FCDA Administrator and the head of the newly created Executive Office agency, when appointed. (4) That no decision had been made as to whether civil-defense appropriations would be made to the President or directly to the various agencies which would operate the programs. At present funds are appropriated directly to FCDA for allocation to the various operating agencies. (5) That the act of raising the prestige of the Federal Civil Defense Administration by placing it in the Executive Office of the President alone would materially strengthen the Nation's civil-defense program. (Staff note: An agency's functions cannot be increased by a reorganization plan.) COMMENTS BY SENATOR POTTER OF MICHIGAN ON REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 1 Senator Potter in filing Senate Resolution 297, on April 25, 1958, which would disapprove Reorganization Plan No. 1, made the following comments (Congressional Record, Apr. 25, 1958, p. 6537): "Mr. President, I submit for appropriate reference a resolution designed to establish that the Senate does not favor the Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 transmitted to the Congress on April 24, 1958. "In my judgment, the effects of the reorganization plan are of such magnitude they should be reviewed by Congress. My resolution will make this possible. "The principal effects of the reorganization plan would be to transfer to the President the functions vested by law in the Federal Civil Defense Administration and those so vested in the Office of Defense Mobilization and to consolidate the Office of Defense Mobilization and the Federal Civil Defense Administration to form a new Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization in the Executive Office of the President. "Mr. President, I have grave reservations about this and hearings may prove that it is unwise to place an operating agency under the arm of a Chief Executive, particularly when the Presidential Office is already burdened with such tremendous responsibilities. Congress authorized the Federal Civil Defense Administration in its present form, and any proposed change should be most carefully reviewed by Congress. "These agencies should not be supervised by the President of the United States. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that an operating agency of the Government is proposed to be placed under the direct control of the President in peacetime. I can visualize what would happen to civil defense in that event. Every mayor and every governor who had a problem of civil defense, rather than dealing with it directly, would insist on consulting with the President as the direct head of the operating agency. "I think the entire reorganization plan needs to be reviewed, to determine whether it is wise to carry it out and to establish the President as the head of an operating agency. "Mr. President, it my earnest hope that the resolution will receive prompt action by an appropriate committee, and that thorough hearings will be held.” FEDERAL CIVIL DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION The Federal Civil Defense Administration, first created within the Office for Emergency Management by Executive Order 10186, December 1, 1950, was established as an independent agency of the executive branch of the Government by the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 (64 Stat. 1245). The agency is responsible for the development, coordination, and operation of the national civil-defense program. It develops national policy, operates warning systems, conducts shelter research, maintains training centers, and stores emergency civil-defense supplies.1 FCDA also coordinates the Federal Government's disaster-relief activities under Executive Order 10427 of January 16, 1953. FCDA's national headquarters are at Battle Creek, Mich. It maintains a Washington office, 7 regional offices throughout the United States and 2 training centers, a rescue school at Olney, Md., and a staff college at Battle Creek. As of March 31, 1958, it had 1,278 employees, stationed as follows: Battle Creek, 741; the Washington area, including the rescue school at Olney, 159; regional offices, 378. Civil-defense headquarters were moved to Battle Creek September 1, 1954, as the leadoff in a dispersal program of essential defense agencies. There is no indication in the President's message, or in the reorganization plan, itself, as to whether the administrative employees at Battle Creek would be transferred to Washington, although witnesses at the House hearings implied there was no present intent to move the majority of them. It is clear, however, that the agency's headquarters would be in the newly created agency in the Executive Office of the President. FCDA's appropriation for fiscal 1958 totaled $39,300,000—$17 million of which was for grants to States. Its budget requests for fiscal 1959 totaled $44,700,000— including $18 million for stockpiling civil-defense supplies. About $219 million in supplies had been stockpiled as of January 1, 1958. OFFICE OF DEFENSE MOBILIZATION The Office of Defense Mobilization was established in the Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1953 (67 Stat. 634), which consolidated the major civilian mobilization activities of the Government in that agency. The Director of the Office, on behalf of the President, coordinates all mobilization activities of the Government, including production, stabilization, transportation and manpower, and the stockpiling of strategic materials. There are approximately $7,350 million of strategic materials in Government inventories at present. In addition, the Director advises the President on various other matters related to mobilization, including trade agreements, telecommunications, strategic_relocation of industries, major disasters affecting national defense, etc., and administers an executive reserve training program. As of January 1, 1958, the Office of Defense Mobilization had 254 full-time employees. Its appropriation for fiscal 1958 amounted to $2,214,000; its budget request for fiscal 1959, $2,420,000. 1 States, Territorial governments, and their political subdivisions have primary responsibility for the operation of the civil-defense program at local levels. |