W A S H I N G T O N N E W S BUREAU
OTOMAC POSTSCRIPTS ROBERT G. GIBBS, Associât* Editor
Senate committee refutes claims of multibillion dollar savings from Hoover Commission reorganization of Federal Government ^-* recommendations made by the Hoover Commission to improve government operations, the Senate Committee on Government Operations reports. The committee strongly disagrees, however, with t h e contention that the eventual savings resulting from adoption of these plans will total $3 billion to $10 billion a year. Claims of such savings have been made by members of the Hoover Commission a n d by spokesmen for the Citizens Committee for the Hoover Report. The Hoover Commission, oificially known as the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, made a detailed study of the executive branch of the Government. Results of the study were incorporated in 18 basic reports plus a concluding report. The 18 reports deal with the following: general management of the Executive Branch; personnel management, Office of General Services (supply activities); Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Labor, Interior, Post Office, and \griculture; foreign affairs; budgeting and accounts; national security organization; veterans* affairs; regulatory commissions; social security, education, and Indian affairs; medical activities; federal business enterprises; and overseas administration, federal and state relations, and federal research. In these reports, the commission set forth a total of 281 specific recommendations. Legislation has been prepared incorporating most of these recommendations. Action taken on these is noted in the table. Only KK£, or 2 8 recommendations, still require further action by Congress. It is believed that the new Congress will consider the pending proposals. Federal Research. The Hoover Commission Report dealing ,with federal research contained two specific recommendations. One suggested that the President b e granted authority to coordinate research and strengthen interdepartmental committees for this purpose. The second w a s that a federal science foundation be established. The Senate committee noted that the first point was covered in legislation establishing within the Department of Commerce a clearing house for the collection, dissemination, and exchange of technological, scientific, and engineering information useful to business and industry, and for the transmission of information of military value to the Department of Defense.
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Another law relating to this objective was one providing for expanded research facilities in the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Passage of the National Science Foundation Act of 1949 completed action on Hoover Commission recommendations concerning research. Actually, X S F legislation had its inception prior to the establishment of the Hoover Commission. Reorganization Plan Review. Twenty eight of the 41 plans presented t o Congress during the past four years concerning Hoover Commission reorganizations were approved, one was superseded by other legislation, and the remaining 12 were rejected. Details appear in t h e table. Reorganization Plans of 1 9 4 9 1. Dept. of Welfare Rejected 2. Bureau of Employment Security Approved 3. Po>t Office Department Approved 4. National Security Council and National Security Resources Board Approved 5. Civil Service Commission Approved 6. Maritime Commission Approved 7. Public Roads Administration Approved 8. National Military Establishment Approved 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. IS. 19. 20.
Reorganization Flans of 1 9 5 0 Dept. of Treasury Rejected Dept. of Justice Approved Dept. of Interior Approved Dept. of Agriculture Rejected Dept. of Commerce Approved Dept. of Labor Approved Interstate Commerce Commission Rejected Federal Trade Commission Approved Federal Power Commission Approved Securities and Exchange Commission Approved Federal Communications Commission Rejected National Labor Relations Hoard Rejected Civil Aeronautics Board Approved Labor Standards Enforcement Approved Alaska and Virgin Islands Public Works Approved Assistance to School Districts and Water Pollution Control Approved Advanced Planning and War Public Works Approved Building and Space-Management Functions Approved Employees' Compensation Functions Approved Statutes at Large and Other Matters Approved
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21. Maritime Commission 22. Federal National Mortgage Association 23. Loans for Factory-Built l i e ies 24. R F C to Department of Commerce 25. National Security Resources Board 26. Department of the Treasury 27. Department of Health, Education, and Security
Approved Approvec Approvec Rejectee Approvec Approvec Rejectee
Reorganization Plans of 1951 1. Reconstruction Finance Corporation Approvec Reorganization Plans of 1952 1. Bureau of Internal Revenue Approvec 2. Post Office Department Rejectee 3. Bureau of Customs, Treas. Dept. Rejectee 4. Department of Tustice ( U . S. Marshals) Rejectee 5. District of Columbia Approvec Estimated Savings. The Senate Committee notes that none of the estimates o* savings of from $ 3 billion to $10 billiorJ a year have been supported b y any de-< tailed analysis. T h e Senate group, in arJ effort to obtain some indication of th* possible savings involved, asked the Bu-i reau of the Budget to estimate sucll savings. The Budget Bureau stated that the Hoover Commission in preparing its reports deliberately refrained from estimating economies in terms of reduced expenditures. T h e Reorganization Act of 194S requires the President to specify the savings which will b e brought about as a result of adopting a given reorganization Except for predicting long-range ccono< mics, the President has generally not been ;:ble to forecast precisely expected dollai savings. The Budget Bureau, therefore, stated that it could not furnish estimates of savings to result from plans already put intc effect, nor others which have been pre< p.!red but not yet acted upon. In some individual cases, the Budget Bureau has estimated savings in several specific areas totalling about $33.5 million a year. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget pointed out that the objective of the Hoover Commission in many cases was td improve the effectiveness of executive su·, pervision of federal agencies. In othei cases, the commission proposals were den signed t o facilitate coordination of federa programs by bringing together those re< luted to a common major purpose. Othei recommendations called for additiona studies. In some instances, the savings re^ suiting from improved organization have been obscured by greatly stepped up ac< tivittes and budgets. This is particular!) true with respect to the Department o> Defense. In addition to reorganizations based or commission recommendations, other plan* to improve management and efficience have often been adopted. W h e r e such ac tions have taken place in the same agency it is generally not possible to estimate the individual savings.
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