CONTENTS Nils A. Boe, nominee to be an Assistant Director of the Office of Lt. Gen. Robert E. Cushman, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, nominee to NOMINATION OF NILS A. BOE, TO BE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1969 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 212, Old Senate Office Building, Senator John Stennis (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Stennis, Symington, Young of Ohio, Inouye, McIntyre, Byrd, Jr., of Virginia, Smith, Tower, Murphy, and Schweiker. Also present: T. Edward Braswell, Jr., chief of staff; Labre R. Garcia, professional staff member; Charles B. Kirbow, chief clerk; and Herbert S. Atkinson, assistant chief clerk. Chairman STENNIS. The committee will come to order, please. We have with us this morning Governor Boe, who is retiring from the Governor's office in the State of South Dakota, where he has had a distinguished background as Lieutenant Governor and two terms as Governor. Governor, we are glad to have you here, and we are delighted to have you accompanied by Senator Mundt of South Dakota, a very valuable Member of the Senate. Senator Mundt, may we call on you to introduce the Governor. STATEMENT OF HON. KARL E. MUNDT, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA Senator MUNDT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I shall be very brief. Governor Boe has been Lieutenant Governor and Governor of South Dakota but to us legislators he has done something more important. He has been a member of the legislative body out there, six terms, two of which he served as speaker of the house of representatives. He lives in Sioux Falls. He is a very distinguished lawyer and has a great record as Governor. His administration provided progressive economic legislation, and I am delighted that President Nixon was able to persuade him to come to Washington. The position he will hold I believe is that of Assistant Director of the Office of Emergency Planning under General Lincoln, whom we all know. I think that they will team up very well and it is a pleasure for me to introduce him and to recommend him without any reservation whatsoever. Chairman STENNIS. Thank you very much, Senator. We appreciate your coming here. As I told you, Governor, you come well vouched for. I will ask the reporter at this point to include your biographical sketch in the record. (The nomination reference and biography of Governor Boe follow :) NOMINATION REFERENCE AND REPORT IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, March 6, 1969. Ordered, That the following nomination be referred to the Committee on Armed Services: Nils A. Boe, of South Dakota, to be an Assistant Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness. NILS A. BOE Born September 10, 1913 in Baltic, South Dakota, the only son of a Lutheran minister. Attended public schools in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Received A.B. degree, Universit of Wisconsin, 1935 and LL. B. degree, University of Wisconsin, 1937. In World War II served in U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946 as Lieutenant Senior Grade. Entered practice of law in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1938. Member of South Dakota State Bar, Wisconsin State Bar, and the American Bar Association. Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Elected to South Dakota State legislature as a member of the House of Representatives, in 1951, 1953, 1955, and 1957; Speaker Pro Tem in sessions of 1953; Speaker of House in sessions of 1955 and 1957. Elected Lieutenant Governor for State of South Dakota in 1962. Elected Governor in 1964 and re-elected in 1966. (South Dakota law limits Governor to only two consecuitve terms.) He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Governors' Conference and as Vice Chairman of the Midwestern Governors' Conference. He is a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, the American Legion, the Lutheran Church, and a past exalted ruler of the Elks. Governor Boe is a bachelor. Chairman STENNIS. I have already announced that your credentials have been examined and your statement with reference to any possible conflict of interest under the law and under the rules of this committee. You passed with good grades; is that right, Mr. Braswell? Mr. BRASWELL. Yes, sir. Chairman STENNIS. I have one question to ask on this matter, and I want you to make such statement as you wish. You are certainly welcome here as far as this committee is concerned. You have been appointed to an important position. I would like for you to make a statement about it, and included in that will you answer this general query. Why are you serving in this position? Why did you agree to it? Governor, will you proceed now? STATEMENT OF NILS A. BOE, OF SOUTH DAKOTA, NOMINEE TO BE AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Governor BOE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Senator Smith. I certainly appreciate the privilege of coming before this committee this morning, in seeking confirmation of this appointment that the President has seen fit to make. I do not want to impose upon your time because I certainly know the busy schedule that you have. You have indicated, Mr. Chairman, that you are fully satisfied with respect to my biographical data and my financial status. I also have been, as you have indicated, informed by the General Counsel of the Office of Emergency Preparedness that in his opinion there is no conflict of interest, and I assure all members of the committee that if it would appear at any time that such a conflict exists, I would be most happy to conform with any wish or desire of the members of this committee. I feel that a Government official must necessarily be of such a stature that there can be no doubt with regard to his integrity so far as the people of the United States are concerned. You have my background in brief. I might say, Mr. Chairman, in answer to your question, I have made my living in the practice of law, because the position as a legislator in the State of South Dakota is not a highly remunerative one nor is the office of Lieutenant Governor. They are not full-time positions. I have always had, ever since I entered the field of government or politics, whatever we may want to term it in 1951, an intense interest in what government is, can, and should be in this great country of ours, and in our particular State of South Dakota. I have tried to the best of my ability, throughout my career, in my own State to live according to my conscience and tried to provide for the people of our State as good a government as I was capable. I was very fortunate in having an extremely fine group of individuals in my administration to whom I shall be forever in debt. You have asked why, Mr. Chairman, I was interested in this job, and I might say that when it was first mentioned to me early last December by the President and the Vice President, I had just the day before made the statement to the Vice President at a conference that no one would ever be able to persuade me to join any group down in Washington. This is an example, I believe how one must at times necessarily eat his own words because it was the next day this position was offered to me, and I was given about 2 or 3 days to give an answer. I can only say, Mr. Chairman, that there comes a time, if I may be permitted to use the vernacular, there comes a time I presume when one has to either put up or shut up. I had been a Governor for 4 years, and in Governors' conferences I had joined and was probably as vocal as most, and probably more than some, with respect to my feeling of a need for a greater coordination and cooperation among all levels of government, not only on the Federal level but at the State level. I had been urging many things to be accomplished, some of which the Budget Bureau is going into at the present time, a coordination of the fragmented programs that we have, the possibility of attempting joint funding, the possibility of allowing States or communities to come in with a single applicaton, and being able to have their full needs looked at, to have the cities of our respective States join with the State Governors and present on a common approach, which would be for the benefit of all. In other words, Mr. Chairman, I have felt for quite a long while that through the fault of no one, governments at all levels have become competing forces, rather than complementary to each other, which I feel is so necessary, if we are not only to survive but to grow and prosper as a nation. It is to this end I felt, that since I had talked so much at one time, when I was asked or requested to take on this job, it was my duty as an American citizen to try to see what I could |