First, H.R. 6904 and H.R. 6905 provide for excessive restrictions on the President's appointing power. The bill requires that only certain groups be eligible for positions on the commission. The panels from which they are to be chosen are extremely small, allowing almost no discretion on the part of the President, and the panels are limited to those submitted by specific organizations. There should be no such limitation on Presidential appointments. Moreover, it would seem appropriate for the membership of the Commission not to be based on representation from the executive branch or from specific levels of State and local government. Rather, members should be persons of public stature who have had wide experience in governmental affairs and will represent the general public interest. In view of the questions with which the proposed Commission would be concerned, it could be authorized to consult on a continuing basis with advisory bodies made up of Governors, State legislators, mayors, county officials, and other individuals or groups interested in the many problems of intergovernmental relations.

Second, it is believed that a 24-member Commission consisting of 18 persons appointed by the President and 6 Members of Congress might tend to be unwieldy. A smaller membership with greater discretion for the President in appointments would make for a more effective Commission and still permit representation of differing backgrounds and points of view.

Third, to have the Chairman and Vice Chairman of a proposed Federal Commission appointed by someone other than the Chief Executive is a major deviation from accepted practices and further weakens the President's appointing authority. The procedures provided in H.R. 6904 and H.R. 6905 for appointment of the Chairman would make him responsible only to the Commission itself and the Commission in turn not responsible to any officer or branch of the Government. The bill should be amended to provide that the Chairman and Vice Chairman be appointed by the President, and we believe that the staff director should be appointed by the Chairman. Given the permanent nature of the proposed Commission, all staff should be subject to the civil service laws and the Classification Act of 1949.

Fourth, both bills provide that the term of office for each member of the Commission should be limited to 2 years with eligibility for reappointment. It is believed, in conformance with general practice, that the bill should provide for appointment by the President of Commission members without fixed limitation in regard to term of office.

Fifth, the bills would authorize the Commission to secure from any department, agency, or independent instrumentality of the executive branch any information that the Commission deems necessary to carry out its functions, and would authorize and direct any such agencies to furnish any such information as the Commission deems necessary. In order to avoid any question regarding the authority of the executive branch to withhold information where its disclosure would not be in the public interest, it is recommended that the following language be substituted for the language of section 6(b):

"The Commission is authorized to request from any department, agency, or independent instrumentality of the Government any information it deems necessary to carry out its functions under this Act; and each such department, agency, and instrumentality is authorized to cooperate with the Commission and, to the extent permitted by law, to furnish such information to the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman or by the Vice Chairman when acting as Chairman."

If the proposed measure were amended as recommended above, the Bureau of the Budget would have no objection to its enactment.

Sincerely yours,

(Signed) MAURICE H. STANS,

Director.

(Whereupon, at 12:25 p.m., the joint committee recessed to reconvene at the call of the chairman.)