REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 4 OF 1949
Eff. Aug. 20, 1949, 14 F.R. 5227, 63 Stat. 1067
Prepared by the President and transmitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress assembled, June 20, 1949, pursuant to the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949, approved June 20, 1949 [see 5 U.S.C. 901 et seq.].
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
The National Security Council and the National Security Resources Board, together with their respective functions, records, property, personnel, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds (available or to be made available), are hereby transferred to the Executive Office of the President.
Message of the President
To the Congress of the United States:
I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1949, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949. The plan transfers the National Security Council and the National Security Resources Board to the Executive Office of the President. After investigation I have found, and I hereby declare, that each reorganization included in the plan is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949.
The growth of the executive branch and the increasingly complex nature of the problems with which it must deal have greatly intensified the necessity of strong and well-coordinated staff facilities to enable the President to meet his responsibilities for the effective administration of the executive branch of the Government. Ten years ago several of the staff agencies of the executive branch were brought together in the Executive Office of the President under the immediate direction of the President. The wisdom of this step has been demonstrated by greatly improved staff assistance to the President, which has contributed importantly to the management of the Government during the trying years of war and of postwar adjustment.
Since the creation of the Executive Office of the President, however, the Congress has further recognized the need for more adequate central staff and created two new important staff agencies to assist the President-the National Security Council and the National Security Resources Board. The primary function of the first of these agencies, as defined by statute, is-
to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to the national security.
The function of the second is-
to advise the President concerning the coordination of military, industrial, and civilian mobilization.
Within their respective fields these agencies assist the President in developing plans and policies which extend beyond the responsibility of any single department of the Government. In this they play a role similar in character to that of the various units of the Executive Office of the President. In fact, many of the problems with which they deal require close collaboration with the agencies of the Executive Office.
Since the principal purpose of the National Security Council and the National Security Resources Board is to advise and assist the President and their work needs to be coordinated to the fullest degree with that of other staff arms of the President, such as the Bureau of the Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers, it is highly desirable that they be incorporated in the Executive Office of the President. The importance of this transfer was recognized by the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, which specifically recommended such a change as one of the essential steps in strengthening the staff facilities of the President and improving the over-all management of the executive branch.
Because of the necessity of coordination with other staff agencies, the National Security Council and the National Security Resources Board are physically located with the Executive Office of the President and I have taken steps to assure close working relations between them and the agencies of the Executive Office. This plan, therefore, will bring their legal status into accord with existing administrative practice. It is not probable that the reorganizations included in the plan will immediately result in reduced expenditures. They will, however, provide a firm foundation for maintaining and furthering the efficient administrative relationships already established, and for assuring that we have provided permanent arrangements vitally necessary to the national security.
Harry S. Truman.