Page images
PDF
EPUB

The CHAIRMAN. A study of reorganization actions necessary to bring about greater efficiency and economy in government was made by a commission authorized under a previous act of Congress. That 12-member commission was headed by a great American, a distinguished former President of the United States.

That Commission has submitted some 18 reports to the Congress, recommending actions be taken that are calculated to bring about a better organized, better integrated, more efficient and more economic administration of the affairs of government.

The Congress under the Reorganization Act can disapprove, by constitutional majority vote of either House, these plans that the President has submitted; that is, by a resolution disapproving them being passed by either House by constitutional majority of the membership of that House.

Congress has the responsibility of examining these plans; if they are good, to accept them by permitting them to go into effect without a disapproving resolution. If the plans are not good, if they are not sound, if they will not achieve results that the Reorganization Act is intended to achieve, it would be the duty of the Congress to reject them by the adoption of a resolution of disapproval. The seven plans submitted to the Congress were referred to this Committee, and this committee wants to get all of the counsel and advice that it can in order to arrive at wise conclusions with reference to the action that the committee should recommend that the Congress take.

We are very happy this morning to have with us to discuss these plans a former President of the United States and distinguished Chairman of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, on whose recommendations these plans were based.

Mr. Hoover, the committee is very happy to welcome you and to have you with us this morning. We shall be glad to have your comments with reference to the plans that are now before the committee.

STATEMENT OF HON. HERBERT HOOVER

Mr. HOOVER. I am very glad to respond to your invitation to discuss these questions with the committee, and I can do so I think very shortly.

I wish to say at once that the seven plans are all steps on the road to better organization of the administrative branch. They are, insofar as they go, substantially in accord with the recommendations of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government.

The difficulty with this subject is that the President's authority under the Reorganization Act of 1949 is very limited. In most of these seven cases the full accomplishment of reorganization as recommended by the Commission requires also extensive and specific special legislative action, one that goes beyond the President's authority under this act. Either most of the seven plans must be regarded as simply preliminary steps, or must be absorbed, now or later, in full legislation if we are to effect the efficiencies and economies sought by the Com

mission.

Specifically, the situation as to the different plans, as I see it, is as follows:

The President's Plan No. 1, reconstitutes the Federal Security Agency as a full department, to be called the Department of Welfare and establishes the top administrative organization of the Secretary of Welfare.

The Commission recommended that all functions in the Federal Security Agency relating to labor organizations be transferred to the Department of Labor. A portion of these transfers to the Labor Department is carried out in Plan No. 2.

The Commission also recommended that all functions of the Federal Security Agency relating to Public Health be transferred to a new agency to be called the United Medical Administration. That agency is yet to be constituted; at least a majority of the Commission so recommended.

The Commission also recommended that as the Bureau of Indian Affairs was in large degree concerned with education and social security, it should be transferred from the Department of the Interior to the new department.

The Commission found difficulty as to the name of this new department. It recommended that it be elevated to department stature. Some of us felt that the word "welfare" carried unfortunate connotations, including the implication of the objectionable connotation of a "welfare state."

Under our plan the new department's functions would be limited to education and social security. The sentiment of the majority of our Commission seemed to be that it should be called the Department of Education and Security, rather than the Department of Welfare, although no formal action was taken by the Commission on that point.

The President's Plan No. 2 transfers certain bureaus to the Labor Department. The Commission was anxious to revitalize this much denuded Department. The President's Plan No. 2 provides for transfers to that Department of the Bureau of Employment Security and the Advisory Council attached to it from the Federal Security Agency, and the functions of the Veterans' Placement Service.

The Commission also recommended the placing in the Department of Labor the following agencies which do not appear in this plan No. 2. That is not a criticism. I mention them as I go along because they need to be transferred if the Commission's recommendations are carried out:

The Bureau of Employees Compensation and its Appeals Board from the Federal Security Agency.

The Selective Service System, including its Appeals Board, which is today an independent agency.

The functions relating to minimum wages for seamen now in the Maritime Commission.

The clarification of responsibility for the enforcement of labor standards in connection with Government contracts.

These latter transfers could be made under the Reorganization Act of 1949, when the position of the Labor Department comes to be further considered. In addition, the Commission considered that certain administrative staff provisions be set up together with reorganized budgeting, accounting, personnel, and procurement functions,

in order to revitalize fully the Department of Labor. These changes, however, require special legislation in each field, and bills to that effect have been introduced in the Congress which would effect these purposes. But they are beyond the reach of the President's authority. The President's Plan No. 3 relates to the post office. Again it is a preliminary step, going as far as the President's authority under the Reorganization Act of 1949 permits. However, since this plan was sent up, the President has sent certain recommendations to the Congress covering the entire reorganization of the Post Office Department, including the preliminary steps above. A bill for reorganization has been introduced. I am appearing later today at hearings before the Post Office and Civil Service Committee of the Senate.

The President's Plan No. 4 as to the National Security Council and the National Security Resources Board conforms to the Commission's recommendations and accomplishes the Commission's major purpose. Again, in this case some legisiation is probably required to effect the Commission's further recommendations which included the elimination of statutory membership on these two councils.

The President's Plan No. 5 relates to the civil service. Again, it it is a very limited step. The reorganization of the personnel of the Government requires extensive and searching legislation. The President's powers can hardly make a dent into this question. A bill for these purposes is before the Congress.

I might emphasize that the President's plan centralizes more administrative authority in the Chairman and is a very useful and helpful step in the civil service.

The President's Plan No. 6 refers to the Maritime Commission. It proposes to reorganize and centralize the authority over business operations of the Commission in the Chairman. Such a step of centralization of authority is vitally needed in that Commission. The Commission, however, recommended that a large part of these functions should be transferred to the Department of Commerce as part of a major purpose: collection of transportation agencies from many parts of the Government into that Department. A further reason for the transfer of these functions from the Maritime Commission is that it is a regulatory body having these great executive functions, yet also has certain independence from the executive arm of the Government.

The President's Plan No. 7 refers to the Public Roads Administration, which is transferred to the Department of Commerce. That, together with other transport agencies, is part of the Commission's recommendation for the reorganization of that Department, and this step conforms to the Commission's recommendations.

I might say generally that the task of reorganization of the executive arm proved on investigation to go much further than can be carried out by any delegated authority to the President, and that, while I entirely agree and support these plans, I do want to emphasize the fact to the committee that if we are to have real organization it is going to be necessary in practically every case to have definite legislation of important and searching order.

Mr. Chairman, are there any questions I can answer?

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Hoover, you speak of the limited authority of the President under the Reorganization Act. You mean the authority is limited of necessity; that is, we have delegated about as much

authority under the act as it is possible for the Congress to delegate. Is that not correct?

Mr. HOOVER. I did not want to criticize or imply criticism of the Congress in the limitations in the authority, because I think this authority goes as far as Congress could delegate.

The CHAIRMAN. That is what I wanted to emphasize: That the Congress has not been derelict in its duty or in its willingness to cooperate to the end that we may get reorganization, because the 1949 act is broader in scope and actually delegates greater authority to the President than any previous Reorganization Act has. Is that not correct?

Mr. HOOVER. I agree thoroughly with that, Senator, and I am sorry if I gave any implied suggestion that the Congress did not delegate all of the authority that it could have delegated. I think it has delegated all of the authority that was possible.

The CHAIRMAN. I did not necessarily mean that you had implied that, but I did want to clarify it for the record, because I feel that in the Reorganization Act the Congress has delegated all of the power and authority that it could delegate, and, by reason of the fact that there are no exemptions or limitations as to any agency of Government, the President does now have the greatest opportunity that any President has ever had under previous acts to submit reorganization plans that can be put into effect, and that will actually achieve the great objective of better organization of the executive branch of the Government.

Mr. HOOVER. I am informed that the Congress could not delegate to the President the right to alter statutory law. It has delegated to him authority to move bureaus and consolidate bureaus, and straighten out the rotation of administrative officials, all of which are executive functions. But, as I said before, the real problems run into greater depths than those which are entirely beyond delegation and must be dealt with in separate legislation.

The CHAIRMAN. There is another problem which I wish to clarify. The people generally throughout the Nation want reorganization. They feel that some material savings, great economies, will be effected if the recommendations of the Hoover Commission are put into effect, but they are not well advised as to the necessary actions that have to be taken to put these recommendations into effect. A great many people seem to think that all we have to do is to have Congress pass a simple resolution adopting the Hoover Commission reports, and that puts them into effect, but it is going to take, as you have emphasized here this morning, considerable legislation. Many bills will have to be considered and passed to implement the Commission's recommendations, in addition to the reorganization plans that the President submits, and also to effectuate certain reorganizations that the President cannot possibly achieve by reorganization plans; is that correct?

Mr. HOOVER. Mr. Chairman, I think the Commission's recommendations run to somewhere between 18 and 20 special pieces of legislation. It is a long, hard road. It means a tremendous amount of committee investigation, committee hearings. It is not to be accomplished overnight. I think the progress made already is rather creditable to everybody. For instance, the legislation reorganizing the State Department has been completed. The Federal Property and

Administrative Services Act has now passed the House and is before the Senate.

The CHAIRMAN. The conference report was adopted yesterday in both Houses, and should be on the President's desk today.

Mr. HOOVER. A very important job has been completed there. The armed-services bill seems to be on its way, and is a very important one of these issues. The public should not complain that the Congress has not been industrious when we consider the amount of labors that are before the Congress and the committees, and that this is an added load to general legislation.

The CHAIRMAN. These bills necessary to carry out these recommendations in many instances are highly technical, and it is not easy to draft them. They require considerable study before enacted in order to actually get the results that we desire. They are very difficult. I know from the experience of this committee that on some legislation on which we have worked, about the time we think we have it perfected and believe that it will accomplish what has been recommended, and what we are trying to accomplish, we find there is something else needs to be included, some missing provision has to be added or something else has to be done; so it has taken and it is taking a great deal of study and effort to get this legislation in proper form for enactment.

Mr. HOOVER. I can give a little emphasis to that, Senator. A few days ago I looked over one of the proposed bills drafted by the Commission at this committee's request, and I found that there were in it repeals of some 18 previous acts. Every one of those has to be the subject of investigation and study of all of the previous laws before even a draft can be presented to the committee. So that I hope the public does not get the notion that this can be done. overnight.

The CHAIRMAN. Some people do have that impression, and I was hoping that the press would place more emphasis on the magnitude of this job, and let the people know that it cannot be accomplished so simply.

Mr. HOOVER. On the other hand, the public is greatly interested, and is economy-minded, naturally, and I hope that it will continue its interest and its support of the committees in the work which they are doing.

The CHAIRMAN. May I ask you about the plans now specifically? I understand from your testimony that you recommend that these seven plans be approved, or that the Congress does not disapprove them.

Mr. HOOVER. That is my recommendation, provided it is well understood by the Congress that it is only the first step.

The CHAIRMAN. You emphasize that these plans, of course, will have to be implemented with legislation or with further reorganization plans by the President.

Mr. HOOVER. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Any questions?

Senator O'CONOR. Just in that last connection, as to the necessity for further legislative and other action, may I ask you just one or two questions in respect to the proposed Plan No. 7, relating to the transfer of the Public Roads Administration to the Department of Commerce? I think the task forces first suggested possibly the creation of a separate Department of Transportation. Was that not true?

« PreviousContinue »