Evening star., 1940-12-18
Presidents Message Vetong Logan-Wa|te Bill TO Curb Bureaus

.dn-WaI
he knows whether or how the rule
will affect him in operation. In
fact, there Is nothing in the bill to
prevent a succession of litigations
by different individuals about the
same rule. The bill puts new and
advantageous weapons in the hands
OF those whose animus is strong
enough and whose purse Is long
enough to wage unrestricted war
fare on the administration of the
laws. The effect on the functions
OF the Court of Appeals, which al
ready carries full burden of duties,
may well be serious.
The provision purporting to give
the Supreme Court jurisdiction to
review advisory decisions of the
District Court of Appeals is, in view
OF the constitutional definition of
Supreme Court jurisdiction, of very
doubtful validity. The first act of
Congress ever held to be unconsti-
tutlonal was one in which the at
tempt was made to give the Supreme
Court jurisdiction in excess of the
constitutional provision. Repeated
expressions in judicial opinion of
determination to avoid assuming
the functions of the political
branches of the Government, such
as administrative rule making, leaves
little doubt that legislation designed
to bring new and strange burdens
to the courst will have as little SUD-
port among responsible judicial off,
GERS as it has among responsible
administrative officials.
Uniform Procedures In Diverse
Agencies.
The bill proposes to prevent errors
and abuses in procedure by setting
up uniform procedure for all agen-
cles. Until now it has been the
policy of the Congress to set up in
the organic act creating new
agency at least rough outline of
procedures suitable to its distinctive
functions.
This bill, however, lays down a
series of blanket requirements for
the PRONUNCIATION of rules and the
conduct of hearings by administra-
tive agencies and for judicial review
OF their action. In doing so it
amends literally hundreds of sta
tutes. Just what statutes are
amended or repealed is not stated,
but left to the always debatable
implication. 1t alters drastically the
operation OF innumerable agencies in
lnnumerable ways. I use the term
"lnnumerable" deliberately, because,
while the bill names some agencies
excepted, it nowhere names those
to which it would apply but covers
them only by general description.
The principles that governed what
should be included and what except
ed are not discernible. Thus, the
Federal Trade Commission, the Ma
tlonal Mediation Board, and the
Railroad Adjustment Board, are
exempted, while agencies now
operating under essentially similar
statutory procedures, such as the
Securities and Exchange Commission
and the National Labor Relations
board, are presumably blanketed in.
Cases involving the denial of loan
are exempted: but the denial of a
grant-in-aid is presumably blanket
ed in. The Federal Reserve Board,
the Office Of the Comptroller of the
Currency, and the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation are ex-
empted; but the Secretary of the
treasury is presumably blanketed
IN. The Department of Justice is
out; the Department of Commerce
is IN. These are simply few obvious
instances.
Same Procedures Imposed
On All Federal Bureaus.
This bill abandons all account of
underlying diversities and imposes
the same procedures upon agencies
as different in structure and func-
ton as the Veterans Administrat ton.
the Bureau of Reclamation, the Pure
Food and Drug Administration and
the Office of Education. It is as if
we should average the sizes of all
mems feet and then buy shoes of
only that one size for the Army.
The Attorney Generals Committee
on Administrative Procedure, ap-
pointed at your direction and con-
slstlng of eminent judges, LAWYERS
and scholars, has been examining
administrative procedures in detail
In typical agencies, both through a
staff of investigators and through
hearing the officials themselves.
While it has not addressed itself to
consideration of this bill, it's in
terim report indicates a unanimous
doubt as to the feasibility of uniform
and rigid procedures. The committee
says:
THE committees inquiries have
made it apprehensive that a too
rigid prescription of administrative
procedures would, by substituting
artificial uniformity for essential
variety, abolish many procedures
which now fully satisfy the con-
venience and protect the welfare of
great numbers of citizens and would
defeat the substantive purposes of
many congressional enactments.
1t is not practicable to follow all
possible consequences of a bill so
unexampled in range and so replete
with uncertainties of meaning.
Nv
Effect on Administrative
Rule Making.
Section 2 provides that thereafter
administrative rules and all amend
ments or notifications or supple
ments of existing rules implements
ing or filling in the details of any
statute affecting the rights of per-
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