Federal Works Agency
Encyclopedia
The Federal Works Agency (FWA) was an independent agency of the Federal government of the United States
which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949. Along with the Federal Security Agency
and Federal Loan Agency, it was one of three catch-all agencies of the federal government created by the Reorganization Act of 1939
, the first major, planned reorganization of the executive branch of the government of the United States since 1787.
, the federal government created a large number of agencies whose mission was to construct public works (such as parks, water treatment systems, roads, and buildings), employ the unemployed to construct such works, and to issue loans and grants to regional authorities, states, counties, and localities for the construction of public works. Many influential members of Congress, political scientists
, and public administration experts
had strongly criticized the proliferation of executive branch agencies as inefficient. On April 3, 1939, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed into law the Reorganization Act of 1939, which for two years gave him the authority (under certain limitations) to reorganize existing departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions and committees of the federal government to achieve efficiency and economy. Pursuant to the Act, President Roosevelt issued Reorganization Plan No. 1 (promulgated April 25, 1939; effective July 1, 1939).
Reorganization Plan 1 created the Federal Works Agency, bringing together the Bureau of Public Roads
, Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division
, Branch of Buildings Management of the National Park Service
, United States Housing Authority
, Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works
, and Works Progress Administration
. With global hostilities rising prior to the start of World War II
, the FWA used the authority granted to it by the Defense Housing and Community Facilities and Services Act of October 1940 (Act of October 14, 1940; ch. 862, 54 Stat. 1125; commonly known as the "Lanham Act") to establish by administrative order on July 16, 1941, the Division of Defense Public Works (DDPW). DDPW's role was to fund and supervise the construction of national defense public works, primarily housing, public health facilities, schools, child care facilities, and recreation areas for communities impacted by fast-growing defense industries. FWA created the Division of War Public Service (DWPS) by administrative order on August 3, 1942, under the Lanham Act to administer public services required by the war. The FWA, at about the same time, also created the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
to design and construct housing for middle income defense workers under the direction of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, Special Assistant to the Federal Works Administrator.
Additional changes came during the war. By presidential Executive Order (using authority granted under the First War Powers Act), the U.S. Housing Authority was moved under the National Housing Authority and redesignated as the Federal Public Housing Authority on February 24, 1942. The Public Works Administration, a Depression-era agency which distributed construction loans and grants as a form of relief, was abolished by Executive Order 9357 on June 30, 1943. The Works Project Administration was abolished, effective June 30, 1943, by order of the President to the Administrator of the FWA on December 4, 1942.
appointed the First Hoover Commission
to study the functions of the federal government and recommend administrative and managerial changes. Although the First Hoover Commission recommended merging FWA into a new Department of Public Works (which would oversee all non-military federal construction), opposition from special interests and several federal agencies (such as the Army Corps of Engineers
) led Truman to recommend abolishing FWA, transferring some functions to other agencies, and creating a new "housekeeping" agency to manage government construction needs and federally-owned buildings. On June 30, 1949, Congress passed the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act
(63 Stat. 377), which abolished the FWA and transferred its few remaining functions to the General Services Administration
.
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949. Along with the Federal Security Agency
Federal Security Agency
The Federal Security Agency was an independent agency of the United States government established in 1939 pursuant to the "Reorganization Act of 1939"...
and Federal Loan Agency, it was one of three catch-all agencies of the federal government created by the Reorganization Act of 1939
Reorganization Act of 1939
The Reorganization Act of 1939, Pub. L. No. 76-19, 53 Stat. 561, 5 USC 133 , is an American Act of Congress which became law on April 3, 1939, and which gave the President of the United States the authority to hire additional confidential staff and reorganize the executive branch for two years...
, the first major, planned reorganization of the executive branch of the government of the United States since 1787.
History
During the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the federal government created a large number of agencies whose mission was to construct public works (such as parks, water treatment systems, roads, and buildings), employ the unemployed to construct such works, and to issue loans and grants to regional authorities, states, counties, and localities for the construction of public works. Many influential members of Congress, political scientists
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, and public administration experts
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
had strongly criticized the proliferation of executive branch agencies as inefficient. On April 3, 1939, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
signed into law the Reorganization Act of 1939, which for two years gave him the authority (under certain limitations) to reorganize existing departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions and committees of the federal government to achieve efficiency and economy. Pursuant to the Act, President Roosevelt issued Reorganization Plan No. 1 (promulgated April 25, 1939; effective July 1, 1939).
Reorganization Plan 1 created the Federal Works Agency, bringing together the Bureau of Public Roads
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
, Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
, Branch of Buildings Management of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, United States Housing Authority
United States Housing Authority
The United States Housing Authority, or USHA, was an agency created during 1937 as part of the New Deal.It was designed to lend money to the states or communities for low-cost construction. Units for about 650,000 low-income people but mostly homeless were started...
, Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
, and Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
. With global hostilities rising prior to the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the FWA used the authority granted to it by the Defense Housing and Community Facilities and Services Act of October 1940 (Act of October 14, 1940; ch. 862, 54 Stat. 1125; commonly known as the "Lanham Act") to establish by administrative order on July 16, 1941, the Division of Defense Public Works (DDPW). DDPW's role was to fund and supervise the construction of national defense public works, primarily housing, public health facilities, schools, child care facilities, and recreation areas for communities impacted by fast-growing defense industries. FWA created the Division of War Public Service (DWPS) by administrative order on August 3, 1942, under the Lanham Act to administer public services required by the war. The FWA, at about the same time, also created the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
The Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency part of the United States government, operating from about 1940 to 1942 under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, was an attempt by the United States Government, late in the New Deal, to respond to the housing needs...
to design and construct housing for middle income defense workers under the direction of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, Special Assistant to the Federal Works Administrator.
Additional changes came during the war. By presidential Executive Order (using authority granted under the First War Powers Act), the U.S. Housing Authority was moved under the National Housing Authority and redesignated as the Federal Public Housing Authority on February 24, 1942. The Public Works Administration, a Depression-era agency which distributed construction loans and grants as a form of relief, was abolished by Executive Order 9357 on June 30, 1943. The Works Project Administration was abolished, effective June 30, 1943, by order of the President to the Administrator of the FWA on December 4, 1942.
Dissolution
Significant consolidation occurred in post-war period, which finally led to the dismantling of the FWA. DDPW and DWPS were merged by administrative order into a new Bureau of Community Facilities (BCF) on January 1, 1945. In 1947, President Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
appointed the First Hoover Commission
Hoover Commission
The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the Federal Government of the United States...
to study the functions of the federal government and recommend administrative and managerial changes. Although the First Hoover Commission recommended merging FWA into a new Department of Public Works (which would oversee all non-military federal construction), opposition from special interests and several federal agencies (such as the Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
) led Truman to recommend abolishing FWA, transferring some functions to other agencies, and creating a new "housekeeping" agency to manage government construction needs and federally-owned buildings. On June 30, 1949, Congress passed the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949
The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 is a United States federal law that established the General Services Administration . The act also provides for various Federal Standards to be published by the GSA...
(63 Stat. 377), which abolished the FWA and transferred its few remaining functions to the General Services Administration
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
.
External links
- "Colonel Lawrence Westbrook (1889-1964) Papers." Texas Collection, Archives Division, Baylor University. (Col. Westbrook was Special Assistant to the Federal Works Administrator for the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division)
- "General Records of the Federal Works Agency. Record Group 162. 1930-50." Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. 3 volumes. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette, et al. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
- "Guide to the Warren Jay Vinton Papers, 1932-1969." Collection Number: 2946. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library. (Warren Vinton was Chief Economist and Planning Officer of the U.S. Housing Authority (1937–1949), and First Assistant Commissioner of the Public Housing Administration (1949–1957))
- "John M. Carmody (1881-1963) Papers." Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, Marist University. (John M. Carmody was Administrator of the FWA)
- "Reminiscences of John Michael Carmody." RLIN number: NXCP87-A56. Oral History Research Office. Columbia University.