An Act to establish a Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
PL 83-109 (S.1514), enacted 07/10/1953

67 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 109-JULY 10, 1953 
145 
directed to furnish such information, sugg^tionS, estimates, and 
statistics directly to the Commission, upon request made by the Chair-
man or Vice Chairman. 
Approved July 10, 1953. 
Public Law 109 
CHAPTER 185 
AN ACT 
To establish a Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That— 
DECLARATION OF PURPOSE 
SECTION 1. Because any existing confusion and wasteful duplication 
of functions and administration pose a threat to the objectives of pro-
grams of the Federal Government shared in by the States, including 
their political subdivisions, because the activity of the Federal Gov-
ernment has been extended into many fields which, under our con-
stitutional system, may be the primary interest and obligation of the 
several States and the subdivisions thereof, and because of the result-
ing complexity to intergovernmental relations, it is necessary to study 
the proper role of the Federal Government in relation to the States 
and their political subdivisions, with respect to such fields, to the end 
that these relations may be clearly defined and the functions concerned 
may be allocated to their proper jurisdiction. It is further necessary 
that intergovernmental fiscal relations be so adjusted that each level 
of government discharges the functions which belong within its juris-
diction in a sound and effective manner. 
COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS 
SEC. 2. (a) For the purpose of carrying out this Act there is hereby 
established a commission to be known as the Commission on Inter-
governmental Relations, hereinafter referred to as the "Commission". 
(b) The Commission shall be composed of tw^enty-five members, as 
follows: 
(1) Fifteen members appointed by the President of the United 
States, from among whom the President shall designate the Chairman 
and the Vice Chairman of the Commission: Provided, That not more 
than nine of the members appointed by the President shall be members 
of the same political party; 
(2) Five members appointed by the President of the Senate, three 
from the majority party, and two from the minority party; and 
(3) Five members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives, three from the majority party, and two from the minority 
party. 
(c) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but 
shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment 
was made. 
(d) Thirteen members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, 
but a lesser number may conduct hearings. 
(e) Service of an individual as a member of the Commission or 
employment of an individual by the Commission as an attorney or 
expert in any business or professional field, on a part-time or full-time 
basis, with or without compensation, shall not be considered as service 
or employment bringing such individual within the provisions of sec-
tions 281, 283, 284, 434, or 1914 of title 18 of the United States Code, 
or section 190 of the Revised Statutes (5 U. S. C. 99). 
July 10, 1953 
[S. 1514] 
Commission o n 
Intergo 
vernme nt al 
Relations. 
Members. 
Vacancy, 
Quorum. 
62 Stat. 697, 703, 
793. 
146 
PUBLIC LAW 109-JULY10,1953 
[67 S T A T . 
DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION 
SEC. 3. (a) The Commission shall carry out the purposes of section 
1 hereof. 
(b) The Commission shall study and investigate all of the present 
activities in which Federal aid is extended to State and local govern-
ments, the interrelationships of the financing of this aid, and the 
sources of the financing of governmental programs. The Commission 
shall determine and report whether there is justification for Federal 
aid in the various fields in which Federal aid is extended; whether 
there are other fields in which Federal aid should be extended; whether 
Federal control with respect to these activities should be limited, and, 
if so, to what extent; whether Federal aid should be limited to cases 
of need; and all other matters incident to such Federal aid, including 
the ability of the Federal Government and the States to finance activi-
ties of this nature, 
dent?"'* *° ^'*^^' 
(c) The Commission, not later than March 1, 1954, shall submit 
to the President for transmittal to the Congress its final report, 
including recommendations for legislative action; and the Commission 
may also from time to time make to the President such earlier reports 
as the President may request or as the Commission deems appropriate. 
HEARINGS; OBTAINING INFORMATION 
SEC. 4. (a) The Commission or, on the authorization of the Commis-
sion, any subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the purpose of 
carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and 
act at such times and places, administer such oaths, and require, by 
subpena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such witnesses 
and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 
papers, and documents, as the Commission or such subcommittee or 
member may deem advisable. 
Subpenas may be issued under the 
signature of the Chairman of the Commission, of such subcommittee, 
or any duly designated member, and may be served by any person 
designated oy such Chairman or member. 
The provisions of sections 
102 to 104, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes (U. S. C , title 2, sees. 
192-194), shall apply in the case of any failure of any witness to 
comply with any subpena or to testify when summoned under authority 
of this section. 
(b) The Commission is authorized to secure from any department, 
agency, or independent instrumentality of the executive branch 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 and directed to furnish such information 
to the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman or by the 
Vice Chairman when acting as Chairman. 
APPROPRIATIONS, EXPENSES, AND PERSONNEL 
SEC. 5. (a) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such 
amounts as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
(b^ Each member of the Commission shall receive $50 per diem 
when engaged in the performance of duties vested in the Commission, 
except that no compensation shall be paid by the United States, by 
reason of service as a member, to any member who is receiving other 
compensation from the Federal Government, or to any member who 
is receiving compensation from any State or local government. 
(c) Each member of the Commission shall be reimbursed for travel, 
subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by him in the per-
formance of duties vested in the Commission. 
67 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW UO-JULY 13, 1953 
147 
(d) The Commission may appoint and fix the compensation of 
such employees as it deems advisable without regard to the provisions 
of the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1949, as amended. 
IuicTioyi^note. 
(e) The Commission may procure, without regard to the civil-
service laws and the classification laws, temporary and intermittent 
services to the same extent as is authorized for the departments by 
section 15 of the Act of August 2, 1946 (60 Stat. 810), but at rates not 
* use 55a. 
to exceed $50 per diem for individuals. 
(f) Without regard to the civil-service and classification laws, the 
Commission may appoint and fix the compensation of a Director not 
exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, who shall perform such duties as 
the Commission shall prescribe. 
TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION 
SEC. 6. Six months after the transmittal to the Congress of the final 
report provided for in section 3 of this Act, the Commission shall cease 
to exist. 
Approved July 10, 1953. 
Public Law 110 
CHAPTER 186 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
j ^ ^ 13^ 1^53 
Authorizing an appropriation to defray the expenses of the annual meeting of 
[H. j . Rea. 234] 
the Interparliamentary Union for the year 1953, to be held in Washington, 
District of Columbia. 
Whereas the Interparliamentary Union has been invited, pursuant 
to S. Con. Res. 90 (Eighty-second Congress, second session), to hold 
^^ ^*°*' ^^*' 
its annual meeting for the year 1953 in Washington, District of 
Columbia; and 
Whereas it appears that the Interparliamentary Union will accept 
such invitation, and it is necessary that funds be made available to 
defray the expenses incident to such meeting: Therefore be it 
Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That there is authorized to tJ"unT^n*^^"-
be appropriated the sum of $150,000 for the purpose of defraying the ^ 
^^ riation. 
expenses incident to the annual meeting of the Interparliamentary 
Union for the year 1953, to be held in Washington, District of Colum-
bia, 
Funds appropriated pursuant to this authorization shall be 
disbursed on vouchers approved by both the President and the execu-
tive secretary of the American Group of the Interparliamentary 
Union, and such approval shall be final and conclusive upon the 
accounting officers in the auditing of accounts incident to said annual 
meeting. 
SEC. 2. Bona fide members of the Interparliamentary Union and 
visas, 
members of their immediate families, may be issued without cost to 
them nonimmigrant visitors' visas under section 101 (a) (15) (B) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and admitted into the United 
States notwithstanding section 212 (a) (28) of the said Act for a 
lirecVio^im* 
period not exceeding thirty days to proceed as delegates to the annual 
meeting of the Union without being registered and fingerprinted, and 
shall, solely for the purpose of this Act, be accorded the status defined 
in paragraph (A) (i) of section 101 (a) (15) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act. 
Approved July 13, 1953.