Reorganization Act of 1939
Encyclopedia
The Reorganization Act of 1939, Pub. L. No. 76-19, 53 Stat. 561, 5 USC 133 (1939), 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 (within certain limits) for two years subject to legislative veto
. It was the first major, planned reorganization of the executive branch of the government of the United States since 1787. The Act led to Reorganization Plan No. 1, which created the Executive Office of the President.
had a reputation for reorganizing government in order to achieve efficiency. The Economy Act of 1933
, enacted in Roosevelt's Hundred Days to combat the Great Depression, gave the president the authority to engage in limited reorganization of the executive branch in order to achieve economic recovery goals. But the president took no action during the two-year term of authority granted by the Act. By 1935, however, the keystone of the New Deal
(the National Industrial Recovery Act
) had been declared unconstitutional
and Roosevelt's views on how to affect recovery had shifted away from economic intervention and toward social justice (a legislative program known as the "Second New Deal"). Many influential members of Congress, political scientists
, and public administration experts
had strongly criticized Roosevelt's preference for the proliferation of executive branch agencies (a strategy Roosevelt used to experiment with responses to the Great Depression) as inefficient.
On March 22, 1936, Roosevelt established the Committee on Administrative Management (commonly known as the Brownlow Committee
) and charged it with developing proposals for reorganizing the executive branch. The three-person committee consisted of Louis Brownlow
, Charles Merriam
, and Luther Gulick
. On January 8, 1937, the Committee released its report. Famously declaring "The President needs help," the Committee's report advocated a strong chief executive, including among its 37 recommendations significant expansion of the presidential staff, integration of managerial agencies into a single presidential office, expansion of the merit system, integration of all independent agencies into existing Cabinet
departments, and modernization of federal accounting and financial practices.
President Roosevelt submitted the Brownlow Committee's report to Congress and on January 12, 1937, sought legislative approval to implement the Committee's recommendations. The bill immediately sparked concern that it delegated far too much power to the president. Additionally, members of Congress were unhappy that the bill would further diminish the patronage system, abolish the position of Comptroller General
(a position then held by a Republican
), and disrupt congressional committee oversight of and relationships with executive branch agencies. However, the bill's prospects for passage appeared relatively good. On February 5, Roosevelt submitted the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937
, which (in part) would have granted the President power to appoint an additional Associate Justice
to the U.S. Supreme Court
for every sitting member over the age of 70-and-one-half years of age, up to a maximum of six. The "court-packing" scheme led to widespread accusations that Roosevelt was attempting to impose a dictatorship, and the reorganization bill was quickly seen in the same light. This led to congressional efforts to weaken the reorganization plan. In the Senate, Burton K. Wheeler
proposed an amendment to the bill for a two-chamber legislative veto
of any reorganization plan and a 60-day waiting period before any reorganization plan was effective. The Senate defeated the highly contentious motion by four votes. Attempts were made in the House to adopt the Wheeler plan. The effort came close to success several times, which led the administration to agree to exempt a large number of independent agencies from the bill in an effort to win members' favor. But the House, already upset over the extension of presidential influence and reduction of its own authority, now saw the legislation as part of a Roosevelt power-grab and tabled the bill.
of Southern
conservatives who had opposed the New Deal. Although largely unsuccessful, Roosevelt's actions had a major, positive impact on congressional williness to pass reorganization legislation. Roosevelt met with Gulick, Merriam, and Senator James F. Byrnes
(who had managed the 1937 bill) on December 8, 1938, to review plans for the bill. Roosevelt and Byrnes agreed to have the bill originate in the House (which had killed it in 1937), include a two-chamber legislative veto, and grant reorganization authority for only two years. The President also agreed to submit the legislation as a stand-alone bill rather than part of an omnibus act, and to consider reform of the Works Progress Administration
as part of the package. Adhering to this strategy, the president then declined to submit a reorganization plan in January.
On January 31, Rep. John J. Cochran
submitted a resolution requesting the formation of a House Committee on Governmental Reorganization, which was approved over strong Republican
opposition the next day. This committee revived the Roosevelt bill which had been tabled
in 1937. A revised version of the bill was reported by the committee on March 2, which contained the provisions outlined in December as well as a list of exempt agencies and new "fast-track" procedures to limit debate and move any concurrent resolutions opposing reorganization out of committee within 10 days. In the Senate, a bill offered by Senator Harry F. Byrd
was reported out of the Committee on Executive Agencies of the Government on March 6. The House approved its version of the bill 246-153 on March 8 after accepting an amendment specifying that reorganization be for the purpose of effiency and economizing, and defeating efforts to require positive congressional action in both chambers to approve a reorganization plan. The Senate committee refused to include affirmative approval in the Byrd bill on March 14, and reported the revised bill in essentially the same form as the House-passed bill. An amendment by Senator Byrd making efficiency and economy the official goal of the bill was adopted on March 20. In a rancorous session, the Senate adopted the Wheeler amendment (requiring affirmative action) on March 21 by a vote of 45-44, but reversed itself a day later by a vote of 46-44. The Senate passed the bill moments later on a vote of 63-23. A joint House-Senate conference committee reported a compromise bill on March 27 which retained the fast-track procedures, the legislative veto, and the "efficiency and economy" goal. The Senate approved the conference committee's bill on a voice vote on March 28, and the House did so by voice vote March 29.
President Roosevelt signed the bill into law on April 3, 1939.
The second permitted the president to reorganize the executive branch, within certain limits. The Act created the Executive Office of the President and allowed the Roosevelt administration to shift a number of executive agencies (including the Bureau of the Budget) to its watch. The Act required that 60 days pass before any reorganization plan be implemented. If both chambers of Congress passed a concurrent resolution
expressing disapproval of the plan, the plan was considered null and void and could not be implemented (the first example in American law of a legislative veto). The Act also limited debate over discharge petition
s (to bring concurrent resolutions out of committee and onto the floor for a vote) to one hour, and debate on concurrent resolutions themselves to 10 hours. The Act required a simple majority vote in the Senate to approve a concurrent resolution on any reorganization plan. The Act did not authorize the establishment of any new executive branch agency, banned the abolition of any such agency, and exempted 21 independent agencies, boards, commissions, and departments (including the Comptroller General of the United States
and the Government Accounting Office
) from reorganization. It also denied the president the power to use reorganization authority to extend the life or functions of any agency beyond the period authorized by law.
The Act contained a sunset provision
, under which reorganization authority expired on January 21, 1941.
The Reorganization Act of 1939 led to the creation of the Executive Office of the President, and this proved to be the Act's longest-lasting and most important achievement. On April 25, 1939, President Roosevelt submitted Reorganization Plan No. 1, which created the Executive Office of the President (EOP). Executive Order 8248, promulgated on September 8, 1939, further defined the purpose, role, and duties of the EOP. E.O. 8248 has been called "one of the most striking executive orders in American history". The EOP dramatically extended presidential control over the executive branch. Reorganization Plan No. 1 made, for the first time in American history, a distinction between the institutional and personal staff of the President. The institutional staff were relegated to the EOP, while the personal staff were employed in the White House Office
.
Reorganization Plan No. 1 also substantially reorganized a number of federal agencies. It created the Federal Security Agency
, bringing together the Social Security Board
, U.S. Employment Service, Office of Education
, Public Health Service
, National Youth Administration
, and Civilian Conservation Corps
; 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
; and created the Federal Loan Agency, bringing together the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
, the Electric Home and Farm Authority
, Federal Home Loan Bank Board
, Federal Housing Administration
, and Export-Import Bank of the United States
. The plan also transferred the Farm Credit Administration
, Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation, and Commodity Credit Corporation
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
.
Reorganization Plan No. 2, promulgated on May 9, 1939, further transferred other agencies within existing Cabinet-level departments.
Neither reorganization plan accommodated the fiscal year for the U.S. budget. So on July 1, 1939, Congress passed a joint resolution
under which funding for both plans would be effective on July 1, 1939.
By January 1941, Congress had not disapproved a single reorganization. The Act was allowed to lapse by Congress, and never reauthorized.
Assessments of the Reorganization Act of 1939 are few, but one later criticism of the reorganization act is that it further reduced the influence, expertise, and capacity of the Cabinet and hid policymaking behind executive privilege
. With changing conditions both domestically and internationally in the post-war period, other major reorganizations were also implemented, including the Reorganization Act of 1945 and the Reorganization Act of 1949
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Act of Congress
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
which became law on April 3, 1939, and which gave the President of the United States
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....
the authority to hire additional confidential staff and reorganize the executive branch (within certain limits) for two years subject to legislative veto
Legislative veto
-History:Starting in the 1930s, the concurrent resolution was put to a new use—serving as the instrument to terminate powers delegated tothe Chief Executive or to disapprove particular exercises of power by him or his agents...
. It was the first major, planned reorganization of the executive branch of the government of the United States since 1787. The Act led to Reorganization Plan No. 1, which created the Executive Office of the President.
1937 bill
As Governor of New York, Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin 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...
had a reputation for reorganizing government in order to achieve efficiency. The Economy Act of 1933
Economy Act
The Economy Act of 1933, officially titled the Act of March 20, 1933 , is an Act of Congress that cut the salaries of federal workers and reduced benefit payments to veterans, moves intended to reduce the federal deficit in the United States....
, enacted in Roosevelt's Hundred Days to combat the Great Depression, gave the president the authority to engage in limited reorganization of the executive branch in order to achieve economic recovery goals. But the president took no action during the two-year term of authority granted by the Act. By 1935, however, the keystone of the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
(the National Industrial Recovery Act
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act , officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 (Ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195, formerly...
) had been declared unconstitutional
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
and Roosevelt's views on how to affect recovery had shifted away from economic intervention and toward social justice (a legislative program known as the "Second New Deal"). 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 Roosevelt's preference for the proliferation of executive branch agencies (a strategy Roosevelt used to experiment with responses to the Great Depression) as inefficient.
On March 22, 1936, Roosevelt established the Committee on Administrative Management (commonly known as the Brownlow Committee
Brownlow Committee
The President's Committee on Administrative Management, commonly known as the Brownlow Committee or Brownlow Commission, was a committee that in 1937 recommended sweeping changes to the executive branch of the United States government. The recommendations made by the committee resulted in the...
) and charged it with developing proposals for reorganizing the executive branch. The three-person committee consisted of Louis Brownlow
Louis Brownlow
Louis Brownlow was an American author, political scientist, and consultant in the area of public administration...
, Charles Merriam
Charles Edward Merriam
Charles Edward Merriam, Jr. was a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, founder of the behavioralistic approach to political science, and an advisor to several U.S. Presidents...
, and Luther Gulick
Luther Gulick (social scientist)
-Life:Luther Halsey Gulick was born January 17, 1892 in Osaka, Japan.His father was congregationalist missionary Sidney Lewis Gulick and his mother was Clara May Gulick. He shared his name with his grandfather, missionary Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. , and uncle physician Luther Halsey Gulick Jr....
. On January 8, 1937, the Committee released its report. Famously declaring "The President needs help," the Committee's report advocated a strong chief executive, including among its 37 recommendations significant expansion of the presidential staff, integration of managerial agencies into a single presidential office, expansion of the merit system, integration of all independent agencies into existing Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
departments, and modernization of federal accounting and financial practices.
President Roosevelt submitted the Brownlow Committee's report to Congress and on January 12, 1937, sought legislative approval to implement the Committee's recommendations. The bill immediately sparked concern that it delegated far too much power to the president. Additionally, members of Congress were unhappy that the bill would further diminish the patronage system, abolish the position of Comptroller General
Comptroller General of the United States
The Comptroller General of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office , a legislative branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and managerial accountability of the federal government...
(a position then held by a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
), and disrupt congressional committee oversight of and relationships with executive branch agencies. However, the bill's prospects for passage appeared relatively good. On February 5, Roosevelt submitted the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937
Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937
The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the court-packing plan, was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Roosevelt's purpose was to obtain favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that...
, which (in part) would have granted the President power to appoint an additional Associate Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
to the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
for every sitting member over the age of 70-and-one-half years of age, up to a maximum of six. The "court-packing" scheme led to widespread accusations that Roosevelt was attempting to impose a dictatorship, and the reorganization bill was quickly seen in the same light. This led to congressional efforts to weaken the reorganization plan. In the Senate, Burton K. Wheeler
Burton K. Wheeler
Burton Kendall Wheeler was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a United States Senator from 1923 until 1947.-Early life:...
proposed an amendment to the bill for a two-chamber legislative veto
Legislative veto
-History:Starting in the 1930s, the concurrent resolution was put to a new use—serving as the instrument to terminate powers delegated tothe Chief Executive or to disapprove particular exercises of power by him or his agents...
of any reorganization plan and a 60-day waiting period before any reorganization plan was effective. The Senate defeated the highly contentious motion by four votes. Attempts were made in the House to adopt the Wheeler plan. The effort came close to success several times, which led the administration to agree to exempt a large number of independent agencies from the bill in an effort to win members' favor. But the House, already upset over the extension of presidential influence and reduction of its own authority, now saw the legislation as part of a Roosevelt power-grab and tabled the bill.
1939 bill
Roosevelt reintroduced the bill in the next Congress. Roosevelt was very active in the House and Senate primaries, working to "purge" the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
of Southern
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
conservatives who had opposed the New Deal. Although largely unsuccessful, Roosevelt's actions had a major, positive impact on congressional williness to pass reorganization legislation. Roosevelt met with Gulick, Merriam, and Senator James F. Byrnes
James F. Byrnes
James Francis Byrnes was an American statesman from the state of South Carolina. During his career, Byrnes served as a member of the House of Representatives , as a Senator , as Justice of the Supreme Court , as Secretary of State , and as the 104th Governor of South Carolina...
(who had managed the 1937 bill) on December 8, 1938, to review plans for the bill. Roosevelt and Byrnes agreed to have the bill originate in the House (which had killed it in 1937), include a two-chamber legislative veto, and grant reorganization authority for only two years. The President also agreed to submit the legislation as a stand-alone bill rather than part of an omnibus act, and to consider reform of the 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...
as part of the package. Adhering to this strategy, the president then declined to submit a reorganization plan in January.
On January 31, Rep. John J. Cochran
John J. Cochran
John Joseph Cochran was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.Cochran was born in Webster Groves, Missouri and attended the public schools there. He was employed in the editorial department of various St. Louis newspapers for many years, and served as assistant to the election commissioners of St...
submitted a resolution requesting the formation of a House Committee on Governmental Reorganization, which was approved over strong Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
opposition the next day. This committee revived the Roosevelt bill which had been tabled
Table (parliamentary)
In parliamentary procedure, a motion to table has two different and contradictory meanings:*In the United States, table usually means the motion to lay on the table or motion to postpone consideration; a proposal to suspend consideration of a pending motion...
in 1937. A revised version of the bill was reported by the committee on March 2, which contained the provisions outlined in December as well as a list of exempt agencies and new "fast-track" procedures to limit debate and move any concurrent resolutions opposing reorganization out of committee within 10 days. In the Senate, a bill offered by Senator Harry F. Byrd
Harry F. Byrd
Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. of Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia, was an American newspaper publisher, farmer and politician. He was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia...
was reported out of the Committee on Executive Agencies of the Government on March 6. The House approved its version of the bill 246-153 on March 8 after accepting an amendment specifying that reorganization be for the purpose of effiency and economizing, and defeating efforts to require positive congressional action in both chambers to approve a reorganization plan. The Senate committee refused to include affirmative approval in the Byrd bill on March 14, and reported the revised bill in essentially the same form as the House-passed bill. An amendment by Senator Byrd making efficiency and economy the official goal of the bill was adopted on March 20. In a rancorous session, the Senate adopted the Wheeler amendment (requiring affirmative action) on March 21 by a vote of 45-44, but reversed itself a day later by a vote of 46-44. The Senate passed the bill moments later on a vote of 63-23. A joint House-Senate conference committee reported a compromise bill on March 27 which retained the fast-track procedures, the legislative veto, and the "efficiency and economy" goal. The Senate approved the conference committee's bill on a voice vote on March 28, and the House did so by voice vote March 29.
President Roosevelt signed the bill into law on April 3, 1939.
Provisions of the Act
The Reorganization Act of 1939 contained two major provisions. The first, which received little debate in Congress and proved noncontroversial, permitted the president to hire six assistants (whose pay was capped at $10,000 a year) to help him coordinate management of the federal government.The second permitted the president to reorganize the executive branch, within certain limits. The Act created the Executive Office of the President and allowed the Roosevelt administration to shift a number of executive agencies (including the Bureau of the Budget) to its watch. The Act required that 60 days pass before any reorganization plan be implemented. If both chambers of Congress passed a concurrent resolution
Concurrent resolution
A concurrent resolution is a resolution adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature that lacks the force of law and does not require the approval of the chief executive.-United States Congress:...
expressing disapproval of the plan, the plan was considered null and void and could not be implemented (the first example in American law of a legislative veto). The Act also limited debate over discharge petition
Discharge petition
A discharge petition is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from a Committee and usually without cooperation of the leadership. Discharge petitions are most often associated with the U.S. House of Representatives, though many state...
s (to bring concurrent resolutions out of committee and onto the floor for a vote) to one hour, and debate on concurrent resolutions themselves to 10 hours. The Act required a simple majority vote in the Senate to approve a concurrent resolution on any reorganization plan. The Act did not authorize the establishment of any new executive branch agency, banned the abolition of any such agency, and exempted 21 independent agencies, boards, commissions, and departments (including the Comptroller General of the United States
Comptroller General of the United States
The Comptroller General of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office , a legislative branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and managerial accountability of the federal government...
and the Government Accounting Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
) from reorganization. It also denied the president the power to use reorganization authority to extend the life or functions of any agency beyond the period authorized by law.
The Act contained a sunset provision
Sunset provision
In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law...
, under which reorganization authority expired on January 21, 1941.
Implementation and impact
Roosevelt began discussions regarding the implementation of the Reorganization Act immediately upon its passage. Brownlow, Gulick and Merriam met with Budget Director Harold D. Smith beginning in March, and presented reorganization proposals to Roosevelt on April 23. The recommendations became Reorganization Plan No. 1 and Reorganization Plan No. 2.The Reorganization Act of 1939 led to the creation of the Executive Office of the President, and this proved to be the Act's longest-lasting and most important achievement. On April 25, 1939, President Roosevelt submitted Reorganization Plan No. 1, which created the Executive Office of the President (EOP). Executive Order 8248, promulgated on September 8, 1939, further defined the purpose, role, and duties of the EOP. E.O. 8248 has been called "one of the most striking executive orders in American history". The EOP dramatically extended presidential control over the executive branch. Reorganization Plan No. 1 made, for the first time in American history, a distinction between the institutional and personal staff of the President. The institutional staff were relegated to the EOP, while the personal staff were employed in the White House Office
White House Office
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The White House Office is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, which was temporarily Pete Rouse, replaced on January 6, 2010 with the permanent appointment of William M. Daley, who is also...
.
Reorganization Plan No. 1 also substantially reorganized a number of federal agencies. It created 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"...
, bringing together the Social Security Board
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
, U.S. Employment Service, Office of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
, National Youth Administration
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 24. It operated from 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration . Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of...
, and Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
; created the Federal Works Agency
Federal Works Agency
The Federal Works Agency 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...
, 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...
; and created the Federal Loan Agency, bringing together the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...
, the Electric Home and Farm Authority
Rural Utilities Service
is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture , one of the federal executive departments of the United States government charged with providing public utilities to rural areas in the United States via public-private partnerships...
, Federal Home Loan Bank Board
Federal Housing Finance Board
The Federal Housing Finance Board was an independent agency of the United States government established in 1989 in the aftermath of the savings and loan crisis to take over oversight of the Federal Home Loan Banks , and was superseded by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2008.The FHFB...
, Federal Housing Administration
Federal Housing Administration
The Federal Housing Administration is a United States government agency created as part of the National Housing Act of 1934. It insured loans made by banks and other private lenders for home building and home buying...
, and Export-Import Bank of the United States
Export-Import Bank of the United States
The Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. It was established in 1934 by an executive order, and made an independent agency in the Executive branch by Congress in 1945, for the purposes of financing and insuring...
. The plan also transferred the Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit Administration
The Farm Credit Administration is an independent agency of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. It regulates and examines the banks, associations, and related entities of the Farm Credit System, a network of borrower-owned financial institutions that provide credit to farmers,...
, Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation, and Commodity Credit Corporation
Commodity Credit Corporation
The Commodity Credit Corporation is a wholly owned government corporation created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices"...
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
.
Reorganization Plan No. 2, promulgated on May 9, 1939, further transferred other agencies within existing Cabinet-level departments.
Neither reorganization plan accommodated the fiscal year for the U.S. budget. So on July 1, 1939, Congress passed a joint resolution
Joint resolution
In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his/her approval or disapproval, in exactly the same case as a bill....
under which funding for both plans would be effective on July 1, 1939.
By January 1941, Congress had not disapproved a single reorganization. The Act was allowed to lapse by Congress, and never reauthorized.
Assessments of the Reorganization Act of 1939 are few, but one later criticism of the reorganization act is that it further reduced the influence, expertise, and capacity of the Cabinet and hid policymaking behind executive privilege
Executive privilege
In the United States government, executive privilege is the power claimed by the President of the United States and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government...
. With changing conditions both domestically and internationally in the post-war period, other major reorganizations were also implemented, including the Reorganization Act of 1945 and the Reorganization Act of 1949
External links
- (List of) United States Reorganization Plans available from justia.com