Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
Encyclopedia
The Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (popularly known as the Kestnbaum Commission) was created by an act of the United States Congress
on July 10, 1953, to make recommendations for the solution of problems involving federal and state governments. Its final report was issued on June 28, 1955.
At the time he made appointments to the Commission, President Eisenhower described it as "an historic undertaking: the elimination of frictions, duplications and waste from Federal-state relations; the clear definition of lines of Governmental authority in our nation; the increase in efficiency in a multitude of Governmental programs vital to the welfare of all Americans."
, apparently over his advocacy of the Bricker Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution. He had also been criticized for frequent absences, and lecture tours attacking the Tennessee Valley Authority
. Meyer Kestnbaum was appointed to replace him in April.
Dudley White, Ohio newspaper publisher, who had been appointed executive director for the commission, resigned in protest over Manion's ouster; Noah M. Mason
also resigned from the Commission.
, five by the Speaker of the House, and five by the President of the Senate.
Presidential appointees:
U.S. Senate:
U.S. House:
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
on July 10, 1953, to make recommendations for the solution of problems involving federal and state governments. Its final report was issued on June 28, 1955.
At the time he made appointments to the Commission, President Eisenhower described it as "an historic undertaking: the elimination of frictions, duplications and waste from Federal-state relations; the clear definition of lines of Governmental authority in our nation; the increase in efficiency in a multitude of Governmental programs vital to the welfare of all Americans."
Controversy
The original chairman, Clarence Manion, was asked to resign in February 1954 by the White HouseExecutive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently William M. Daley...
, apparently over his advocacy of the Bricker Amendment
Bricker Amendment
The Bricker Amendment is the collective name of a series of proposed amendments to the United States Constitution considered by the United States Senate in the 1950s. These amendments would have placed restrictions on the scope and ratification of treaties and executive agreements entered into by...
to the U.S. Constitution. He had also been criticized for frequent absences, and lecture tours attacking the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
. Meyer Kestnbaum was appointed to replace him in April.
Dudley White, Ohio newspaper publisher, who had been appointed executive director for the commission, resigned in protest over Manion's ouster; Noah M. Mason
Noah M. Mason
Noah Morgan Mason was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Mason was a representative conservative Republican in Congress who represented a rural downstate district...
also resigned from the Commission.
Commission members
The commission had twenty-five members. Fifteen were appointed by President Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, five by the Speaker of the House, and five by the President of the Senate.
Presidential appointees:
- Clarence Manion, Chairman, until February 1954
- Meyer Kestnbaum, Chairman, from April 1954
- Gov. Alfred E. DriscollAlfred E. DriscollAlfred Eastlack Driscoll was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate representing Camden County, who served as the 43rd Governor of New Jersey, and as president of Warner-Lambert .-Biography:He was born on October 25, 1902 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, Vice-Chair - Prof. William AndersonWilliam Anderson (political scientist)William Anderson was a U.S. political scientist, who served on national commissions in the 1940s and 1950s....
- Lawrence A. Appley
- Gov. John S. BattleJohn S. BattleJohn Stewart Battle was an American politician and the 56th Governor of Virginia from 1950 to 1954.Battle was born in 1890 in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. He earned an associate's degree from Mars Hill College , in North Carolina...
- John E. Burton
- Marion Bayard FolsomMarion Bayard FolsomMarion Bayard Folsom was born in McRae, Georgia and was U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1955 through 1958. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 1935 to 1953 he served as the Treasurer of the Eastman...
- Mayor Charles P. HendersonCharles P. HendersonCharles P. Henderson was a Republican Ohio politician who served as mayor of Youngstown, Ohio in 1948-54. In 1953, he was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a member of the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations....
- Oveta Culp HobbyOveta Culp HobbyOveta Culp Hobby was the first secretary of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, first commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps, and chairman of the board of the Houston Post....
- Ex-Gov. Sam H. JonesSam H. Jones--4.230.222.169 Sam Houston Jones was the 46th Governor of Louisiana from 1940 to 1944. He defeated the renowned Earl Kemp Long in the 1940 Democratic primary. Long turned the tables on Jones and defeated him in the 1948 party primary.-Early life:Sam Jones was born in Merryville in Beauregard...
- Clark KerrClark KerrClark Kerr was an American professor of economics and academic administrator. He was the first chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley and twelfth president of the University of California.- Early years :...
- Alice K. Leopold
- Val PetersonVal PetersonFrederick Valdemar Erastus Peterson , also known as Val Peterson, was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of Nebraska from 1947 to 1953; as director of the Federal Civil Defense Administration from 1953–1957; as U.S. ambassador to Denmark 1957–1961; and as U.S...
- Gov. Allan ShiversAllan ShiversRobert Allan Shivers was a Texas politician who led the conservative faction of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s...
- Dan Thornton
U.S. Senate:
- Sen. Alan BibleAlan BibleAlan Harvey Bible was a Nevada politician of the Democratic Party who served as a United States Senator from 1954 until 1974.-Biography:...
(filled vacancy) - Sen. John Marshall ButlerJohn Marshall ButlerJohn Marshall Butler was a Republican member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland from 1951-1963.-Early life:Butler was born in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Baltimore public schools...
(filled vacancy) - Sen. Guy CordonGuy CordonGuy F. Cordon was a U.S. politician and lawyer from the state of Oregon. A native of Texas, he served in the Army during World War I and later was the district attorney of Douglas County in Southern Oregon...
(left office January, 1955) - Sen. Robert C. HendricksonRobert C. HendricksonRobert Clymer Hendrickson was a United States Senator from New Jersey.-Biography:Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, he attended public schools and during the First World War enlisted in the United States Army in 1918 and served overseas...
(left office January, 1955) - Sen. Clyde R. HoeyClyde R. HoeyClyde Roark Hoey was a Democratic politician from North Carolina. He served in both houses of the state legislature and served briefly in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1919 to 1921. He was North Carolina's governor from 1937 to 1941. He entered the U.S...
(died May 12, 1954) - Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey
- Sen. Wayne L. Morse (filled vacancy)
- Sen. Andrew F. Schoeppel
U.S. House:
- Rep. John D. DingellJohn D. Dingell, Sr.John David Dingell, Sr. was an American politician who represented Michigan's 15th congressional district from 1933 to 1955.-Life and career:Dingell was born in Detroit...
- Rep. James I. DolliverJames I. DolliverJames Isaac Dolliver served six terms as a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 6th congressional district, beginning in 1944. He was the nephew of U.S. Senator Jonathan Prentiss Dolliver of Iowa....
- Rep. Brooks HaysBrooks HaysLawrence Brooks Hays was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Arkansas....
- Rep. Angier Goodwin (filled vacancy)
- Rep. Noah M. MasonNoah M. MasonNoah Morgan Mason was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Mason was a representative conservative Republican in Congress who represented a rural downstate district...
(resigned February 18, 1954) - Rep. Harold C. OstertagHarold C. OstertagHarold Charles Ostertag was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.Ostertag was born in Attica, New York. He graduated from the Chamberlain Military Institute in 1915 and served in France during World War I. He worked for the New York Central Railroad from...
Other sources
- "10 Senators Join Panels: Nixon Names Them to Review Economic and Tax Policies," New York Times, August 8, 1953
- John Marshall Butler, The Commission on Intergovernmental Relations: A Report to the President for Transmittal to the Congress, Washington, DC., 1955.