Evening star., 1950-03-13
] ext of Message on Reorganization

chairrlen of the agencies, to be dis
charged in accordance with policies
which the commissions may estab-
| lish. The chairman is to be desig-
mated in each agency by the Pres
ident from among the commission
members.
In plan No. IL, unified respon-
sibillty is once more established in
the National Labor Relations Board
by transferring to the board and its
chairman the functions of the gen.
ieral counsel and by abolishing the
statutory office of the general coun-
sci. This plan will bring to an end
the confusion which has resulted
from divided responsibility.
The changes embodied in the first
13 plans are fundamental to the
sustained drive we have undertaken
TO increase effective and economical
management of the executive
branch. Only by placing in the
heads of departments and agencies
the authority necessary to direct and
supervise the machinery of the exec
utive branch can the maximum
benefit be attained from the reor-
ganization and reassignment of the
functions which make up that
branch.
The eight remaining plans propose
reassignment of certain functions.
They will take up further toward
the goal of grouping the programs
of the Government in the smallest
practicable number of departments
and agencies organized according to
major purpose.
Transfer of the functions of the
Maritime Commission to the De-
partmcnt of Commerce through Plan
No. 81 will mark a long step forward
! in the integration of the many Gov
/ lernmeiltal programs affecting trans
portation. This step, again, is in
accord with the recommendation
of the Commission on Organization
of the Executive Branch.
For more than decade, the de-
partment has been in the process of
becoming the major transportation
agency of the Government. The es-
tabliShment of the Civil AeronauticS
Administration within the depart
ment was the first major move in
this direction. The transfer of the
Weather Bureau to the department
was based in large part on that bu-
reaus Importance to transportation.
One of the reorganization plans
which I transmitted to the Congress
last year transferred the Bureau
of Public Roads to the department.
Now, with the addition of the func-
tions of the Maritime Commission,
the department will have jurisdic-
tion over the major portion of the
operating aspects of the programs
Of the Government relating to air,
highway, and water transportation,
as veil as over the development and
coordination of policies affecting
the Nations transportation system
as whole.
Maritime Board Plan.
Plan No. 81 establishes in the De-
partment of Commerce three man
Federal Maritime Board and a Mar
itime Administration under a Mari
time Administrator. The award of
subsidies and all regulatory func-
tions are transferred from the
present Maritime Commission. to
the new board. The remaining
functions of the Maritime Commits
sion, involving ship construction
and other administrative; operas
tions, are transferred to the De-
partment of Commerce for execu-
tion through the Maritime Adminis-
! tration &
The plan also provides for ap-
pointment of an Undersecretary of
Commerce for Transportation, who
viii assist the Secretary in the di-
rection and coordination of the
transportation activities now CEN
tered IN the department.
In Plans Nos. IA and 10 the De-
partmcnt of Labor is given two new
functions-the Bureau of Employees
Compensation, transferred from the
Federal Security Agency; and the
responsibility for coordination of the
enforcement of wages and hours
legislation affecting Federal or
Federally- Financed contracts.
These two steps will further
strengthen the Department of Labor
as the center of responsibility for
Governmental programs which pro-
tect the welfare of employees. This
is the same essential purpose that
underlay the transfer last year of
the Bureau of Employment Security
to the department.
The remaining five plans repre-
sent logical evolution of the re-
sponsibilities of the new General
Services Administration. Two of
these plans 08 and 2O) transfer
additional service responsibilities to
the General Services Administra-
ton; and the other three 05-1D re-
move from it various inappropriate
functions it received from the re-
Gently abolished Federal Works
Agency.
| In Plan No. 18 the Administrator
OF General Services is given ex-
panded authority over the acquisi-
ton and control of Federal office
space, particularly outside the Dis
trict of Columbia. He is also as
signed the responsibility by Plan No.
20 for the preservation and publica-
ton of certain public documents,
such as laws and territorial papers,
now handled by the Department of
State, hut unrelated to the foreign
affairs mission of the Department.
Plans 1877 transfer from the Ad-
ministration six programs relating
to public works, community facilities
and school aid. Alaska and Virgin
Islands public works functions are
transferred by plan No. Is to the
Department of the Interior; assist
ance to school districts overburdened
by Federal activities and certain
water pollution control functions are
assigned by plan No. 16 to the Fed
eral Security Agency; and advance
planning of non-Federal public
works and the management and dis
posal of war public works are trans
ferred to the Housing and Home
Finance Agency by plan No. II.
When considered in conjunction
with the reorganization plans and
Legislation, which were made effec-
tive in 1949, these 81 plans bring
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