The Executive Office of the President: An Historical Overview
Order Code 98-606 GOV
The Executive Office of the President:
An Historical Overview
Updated November 26, 2008
Harold C. Relyea
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
The Executive Office of the President:
An Historical Overview
Summary
Established in 1939, the Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of a
group of federal agencies immediately serving the President. Among the oldest of
these are the White House Office, where many of the President’s personal assistants
are located, and the Office of Management and Budget, which was established as the
Bureau of the Budget in 1921 and by transfer became one of the original EOP units
in 1939. Entities have been placed within the EOP by both presidential action and
congressional determination. Some components have endured; others have been
brief experiments. Some have been transferred to other quarters of the executive
branch; others have been abolished with no successor. In large measure, the tenure
and durability of an Executive Office agency is dependent upon its usefulness to the
President — as a managerial or coordinative auxiliary, a national symbol, or a haven
of political patronage, among other considerations. This report reviews the particular
circumstances of the creation of, and underlying authority for, the Executive Office
of the President, and provides profiles of the entities that have been, and still are,
located within that enclave.
Contents
Executive Office Agency Precursors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Toward an Executive Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Creating the Executive Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Composition and Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Appendix A: Profiles of the Principal Units of the Executive Office
of the President: 1939-2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Administration, Office of (1977- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Arts, National Council on the (1964-1965) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Budget, Bureau of the (1939-1970) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Civil and Defense Mobilization, Office of (1958-1961) . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Congested Production Areas, Committee for (1943-1944) . . . . . . . . . 12
Consumer Affairs, Office of (1971-1973) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Defense and Civilian Mobilization, Office of (1958) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Defense Mobilization, Office of (1950-1953; 1953-1958) . . . . . . . . . 13
Domestic Council (1970-1977; 1993- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Domestic Policy Staff (1977-1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Drug Abuse Policy, Office of (1976-1977) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Drug Abuse Prevention, Special Action Office for (1971-1975) . . . . 14
Economic Advisers, Council of (1946- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Economic Opportunity, Office of (1964-1975) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Economic Policy, Council on (1973-1974) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Emergency Management, Office for (1940- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Emergency Planning, Office of (1961-1968) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Emergency Preparedness, Office of (1968-1973) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Energy Policy Office (1973-1974) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Energy Resources Council (1974-1977) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Environmental Quality, Council on (1970- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Federal Energy Office (1973-1974; 1976) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Federal Property Council (1973-1977) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Government Reports, Office of (1939-1942; 1946-1948) . . . . . . . . . . 16
Gulf Coast Recovery and Rebuilding Council (2005 - ) . . . . . . . . . 17
Homeland Security Council (2001- 2002; 2002- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Homeland Security, Office of (2001-2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (2008- ) . . . . . . . . . 18
Intergovernmental Relations, Office of (1969-1972) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
International Economic Policy, Council on (1971-1977) . . . . . . . . . . 18
Management and Budget, Office of (1970- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Marine Resources and Engineering Development, National Council
on (1966-1971) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Mutual Security Agency (1951-1953) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
National Aeronautics and Space Council (1958-1973) . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
National Critical Materials Council (1984-1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
National Drug Control Policy, Office of (1988- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
National Energy Office (1973) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
National Security Council (1949- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
National Security Resources Board (1949-1953) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
National Space Council (1988-1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Operations Coordinating Board (1953-1957) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Personnel Management, Liaison Office for (1939-1953) . . . . . . . . . . 21
Policy Development, Office of (1981-1992; 1996- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Presidential Clemency Board (1974-1975) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
President’s Economic Policy Board (1974-1977) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (2004-2007) . . . . . . . . . 22
Resources Planning Board, National (1939-1943) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Rural Affairs, Council for (1969-1970) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Science and Technology, Office of (1962-1973) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Science and Technology Policy, Office of (1976- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, Office
of the (1963-1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Telecommunications Adviser to the President (1951-1953) . . . . . . . . 23
Telecommunications Policy, Office of (1970-1977) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
United States Trade Representative, Office of the (1979- ) . . . . . . . 23
Urban Affairs, Council for (1969-1970) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Wage and Price Stability, Council on (1974-1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
War Refugee Board (1944-1945) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
White House Office (1939- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
White House Office of Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives (2001- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Appendix B: A Chronology of the Principal Units of the Executive Office
of the President: 1939-2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Executive Office of the President:
An Historical Overview
Since 1939, federal agencies immediately assisting the President have been
located in an enclave known as the Executive Office of the President (EOP). Within
these entities are many, if not most, of the President’s closest advisers and assistants
on matters of policy, politics, administration, and management. Some of these EOP
components have been creations of the President; others have been established by
Congress. While some have endured, others have been brief experiments; some have
been transferred to other quarters of the executive branch, others have been abolished
with no successor. In large measure, the tenure and durability of an Executive Office
agency is dependent upon its usefulness to the President — as a managerial or
coordinative auxiliary, a national symbol, or a haven of political patronage, among
other considerations. Assessing the historical record, former presidential aide and
student of the Presidency Theodore Sorensen once quipped that some Presidents use
the Executive Office “as a farm league, some use it as a source of experts and
implementers, and some use it as Elba.”1
The Executive Office of the President represents an institutional response to
needs felt by every occupant of the Oval Office, beginning with George Washington,
who, of course, served before there even was a White House. Primarily, these were,
and remain, needs for advice and assistance. Undoubtedly, there have always been
many who are ready and more than willing to offer the President their advice.
However, what has probably always been desired by Presidents in this regard were
a few loyal and intelligent individuals who would offer counsel when asked and
would keep such consultations confidential. Loyalty, competence, and ability to keep
confidences were also qualities to be sought in individuals providing immediate
assistance — with correspondence and records maintenance, appointments and
scheduling, bookkeeping, and, in time, many more sophisticated tasks.
Executive Office Agency Precursors
The first experiments with special institutions to assist the President occurred
during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson and the initial term of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt.2 The Council of National Defense was established
1 Theodore C. Sorensen, Watchmen in the Night (Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1975), p.
100.
2 This statement does not overlook the existence of the Cabinet, rooted in the President’s
Article II, Section 2, constitutional authority to “require the Opinion, in writing, of the
principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices,” but otherwise without legally specified composition,
duties, or recognition.
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by Congress, with Wilson’s concurrence, in 1916.3 In announcing the formation of
the council, the President indicated its chief functions would be:
! coordination of all forms of transportation and the development of
means of transportation to meet the military, industrial, and
commercial needs of the Nation; [and]
! extension of the industrial mobilization work of the Committee on
Industrial Preparedness of the Naval Consulting Board. Complete
information as to our present manufacturing and producing facilities
adaptable to many-sided uses of modern warfare will be procured,
analyzed, and made use of.4
The council’s members included the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, the
Interior, Labor, the Navy, and War — the Cabinet minus the Attorney General,
Secretary of State, Postmaster General, and Vice President. Its statutory mandate
also provided that the council was to be assisted by a presidentially appointed
advisory commission “consisting of not more than seven persons, each of whom shall
have special knowledge of some industry, public utility, or the development of some
natural resource, or be otherwise specially qualified ... for the performance of the
duties ... provided.”5
During U.S. involvement in World War I, the council and its advisory
commission organized a large number of shifting subunits, largely composed of
prominent persons who placed their services at the disposal of the federal
government without compensation.6 The result was a network for the exchange of
information and advice between executive branch leaders of the American war effort
and counterpart leaders in industry, business, science, and engineering. Certainly the
President and his subordinates benefitted from this advisory structure, as well as from
the additional staff made available by the existence of the council.
With the close of hostilities in Europe, the council began to curtail its
operations. Council appropriations for FY1922 were denied, and the panel officially
discontinued its activities on June 30, 1921.7
3 39 Stat. 619 at 649.
4 Grosvenor B. Clarkson, Industrial America in the World War (Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin, 1923), p. 22.
5 39 Stat. 649.
6 See Lloyd M. Short, The Development of National Administrative Organization in the
United States (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1923), pp. 441-450;
U.S. Council of National Defense, Division of Statistics, Directory of Auxiliary War
Organizations (Washington: Council of National Defense, 1917).
7 The council was briefly revived by President Roosevelt in 1940 as a vehicle for
coordinating veiled U.S. mobilization efforts. A few months later, the Office for Emergency
Management became the principal mobilization coordinator. Ultimately, the council’s
functions were unofficially usurped by the National Security Council in 1947. Authority
(continued...)
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In combating the Great Depression, President Roosevelt seemingly preferred to
assign newly created emergency programs to agencies freshly established, rather than
to existing departments. To effect executive branch coordination, he chartered a
temporary Executive Council with E.O. 6202A of July 11, 1933. The panel’s 24
members — inclusive of the entire Cabinet, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget,
and the heads of the various economic recovery agencies — met at the White House
on Tuesday afternoons. Roosevelt himself presided over the sessions. He was
assisted by the council’s executive secretary, Frank C. Walker, who performed “such
duties as may be prescribed him by the President” and was the only professional staff
assistant serving the panel. Walker’s role was purely administrative and was limited
to the activities of the council: when FDR was absent from council meetings, the
senior Cabinet officer present presided. After a few months, the panel, in one
estimation, “proved too cumbersome for effective discussion.”8 The weakness of the
council was its limited staffing and lack of power to coordinate department and
agency efforts at combating the depression. However, it was a useful forum for the
exchange of ideas by the President, department heads, and the leaders of the new
emergency agencies. Indeed, the council meetings provided valuable information
and advice, and Walker ably assisted FDR as a behind-the-scenes trouble shooter.9
Recognizing the deficiencies of the Executive Council, Roosevelt established
another coordinating organization with a more limited membership. On November
17, 1933, he issued E.O. 6433A setting up the National Emergency Council.
Composed of the Secretaries of the Interior (or Administrator of Public Works),
Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor, the Administrators of Agricultural Adjustment
and Federal Emergency Relief, the chairman of the Home Owners Loan Corporation,
the governor of the Farm Credit Administration, and a representative from the
Consumer’s Council, the National Emergency Council had field directors in each of
the states to coordinate federal relief efforts. Furthermore, responsibility for the
dissemination of information and guidance to the public about federal recovery and
relief activities was vested in the council.10
Like the Executive Council, the National Emergency Council met every
Tuesday, but at two-week intervals. The agenda was set by the executive director in
consultation with the President. The member agencies submitted progress reports to
inform other participants and reduce misunderstandings and conflicts in
administration. With the President presiding, disputes might be settled at his
decision. Frank Walker initially acted as the council’s executive director.
7 (...continued)
for the Council of National Defense, however, still exists, though it is considered inactive.
8 Lester G. Seligman and Elmer E. Cornwell, eds., New Deal Mosaic: Roosevelt Confers
with His National Emergency Council, 1933-1936 (Eugene, OR: University of Oregon
Books, 1965), p. xv.
9 A. J. Wann, The President as Chief Administrator (Washington: Public Affairs Press,
1968), p. 51.
10 Ibid., p. 56.
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Recognizing the limitations of the National Emergency Council for coordinating
the activities and administration of New Deal programs in the area of relief and
unemployment, the President, with E.O. 6889A of October 31, 1934, consolidated
the Executive Council, the National Emergency Council, and a National Recovery
Administration oversight panel called the Industrial Emergency Committee. The
executive director of the reorganized National Emergency Council was given
sweeping new authority, but it could only be effectively exercised with the full
support of the President. Slipping into decline after December of 1935, the council
held its last meeting on April 28, 1936.11
Subsequently, on September 16, 1937, Roosevelt issued E.O. 7709A abolishing
the panel at the end of the year. He then changed his mind, however, thinking the
council might be useful for dealing with the recession that had become widespread
by November, and he extended the life of the panel. FDR thought the Emergency
Council experience “a wonderful essay in democracy.” He called it a New England
town meeting that gave everybody a chance to “blow off.” By his own admission,
he learned things that some of his subordinates “wouldn’t have liked me to know
anything about.” Eventually, Roosevelt admitted, the council became “too big to do
much actual work.” At the end, he was, he said, making “stump speeches” when he
would have preferred to be receiving advice.12 Nonetheless, it has been observed that
FDR’s experience with such super-Cabinet entities may well have convinced him that
the coordination he desired could be better achieved through strengthened
presidential staff rather than collegial bodies of department and agency leaders.13
Toward an Executive Office
FDR turned to a group of planners after his super-Cabinet experiments failed to
result in the kind of coordination he wanted. Shortly after the Federal Emergency
Administration of Public Works was established in June of 1933,14 Harold Ickes, as
the head of the new program, had created the National Planning Board to establish
evaluation criteria and advise him on project selection. Its members included
political scientist Charles E. Merriam, economist Wesley C. Mitchell (succeeded by
George Yantes), and city planner Frederick A. Delano, who was the President’s
uncle. As Roosevelt became familiar with the board’s work and as the board’s
members became increasingly aware of the lack of adequate information available
for use in planning the development and application of the nation’s resources, it was
agreed that a permanent, broadly based planning body was needed. The result was
the conversion of the National Planning Board into the National Resources Board and
Advisory Committee, an independent Cabinet committee, with E.O. 6777 of June 30,
1934. When this new entity lost its statutory charter due to Supreme Court
11 See Ibid., pp. 54-66; Seligman and Cornwell, New Deal Mosaic: Roosevelt Confers with
His National Emergency Council, 1933-1936, pp. xiv-xxix.
12 See Louis Brownlow, A Passion for Anonymity: The Autobiography of Louis Brownlow,
Second Half (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1958), p. 321.
13 Seligman and Cornwell, New Deal Mosaic: Roosevelt Confers with His National
Emergency Council, 1933-1936, p. xxvi.
14 48 Stat. 195 at 200.
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invalidation of the National Industrial Recovery Act,15 the planning body was
reconstituted as the National Resources Committee (NRC) with E.O. 7065 of June
7, 1935. Later, in 1939, when creating the Executive Office of the President, FDR
abolished the NRC and transferred its functions to a newly established National
Resources Planning Board (NRPB).16 In June, Congress appropriated funds for the
NRPB to carry out the functions of the NRC.17 Eventually, however, continued
congressional unhappiness with the NRPB resulted in its abolition, with no
successor, in June of 1943.18
The original members of the National Planning Board were suggested to Ickes
by one of his consultants, Louis Brownlow, who was the director of the Public
Administration Clearing House in Chicago. Brownlow became a frequent, informal
participant in the board’s deliberations and meetings with Ickes. During the spring
and summer of 1935, the planning group had progressed to having White House
meetings with Roosevelt, who took a keen interest in Merriam’s concept of planning
and its relation to the presidency. At FDR’s request, Merriam, with Brownlow’s
assistance, prepared a memorandum on the subject.19 Subsequently reproduced in
Brownlow’s autobiography, this October 1935 memorandum stressed the importance
of management and administration for national planning of natural and human
resources. Turning to the presidency, Merriam called for greater development of the
President’s capabilities for management and administrative supervision of the
government. He acknowledged that some steps — in personnel, budgeting, and
planning — had been taken in this regard, but thought some analysis of the situation
should be made, and called for “a study directed toward the institutional
arrangements, general understandings and practices which would most effectively aid
the Executive in the double task of management plus political leadership and
direction.” Merriam indicated that such a study of administrative management might
be undertaken by the Public Administration Committee of the Social Science
Research Council. Chaired by Brownlow, this committee, Merriam pointed out, was
already engaged in an assessment of the administration of the Works Progress
Administration, “and it might be persuaded to broaden the scope of its inquiry.”20
15 Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935).
16 53 Stat. 1423.
17 53 Stat. 927 at 931.
18 57 Stat. 169. See, generally, Marion Clawson, New Deal Planning: The NRPB
(Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981); Otis L. Graham, Jr., Toward
A Planned Society: From Roosevelt to Nixon (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976,
pp. 52-58); Charles E. Merriam, “The National Resources Planning Board: A Chapter in
American Planning Experience,” American Political Science Review, vol. 38, December
1944, pp. 1075-1088; Philip W. Warken, A History of the National Resources Planning
Board, 1933-1943 (New York: Garland Publishing Company, 1979).
19 Barry Dean Karl, Executive Reorganization and Reform in the New Deal (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 1963), p. 203.
20 Brownlow, A Passion for Anonymity: The Autobiography of Louis Brownlow, Second
Half, pp. 327-328.
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Roosevelt shied away from passing the study project on to the Social Science
Research Council and, instead, sought his own study committee, instructed by the
President. The result was the President’s Committee on Administrative
Management, announced on March 22, 1936, and consisting of Merriam, Brownlow,
and Luther Gulick.21 Its task, as revealed in the President’s letter to Congress, would
be to make “a careful study of the organization of the Executive branch of the
Government ... with the primary purpose of considering the problem of
administrative management.” FDR went on to stress that “many new agencies have
been created during the emergency, some of which will, with the recovery, be
dropped or greatly curtailed, while others, in order to meet the newly realized needs
of the Nation, will have to be fitted into the permanent organization of the Executive
branch.”22 Little concern with efficiency and economy through government
reorganization was evident in the President’s letter. Instead, the emphasis was upon
structuring the Chief Executive’s authority for effectively executing his constitutional
responsibilities.
The Brownlow committee reported approximately ten months later. Among its
recommendations was a proposed addition of six assistants to the President’s staff
and vesting responsibility in the President for the continuous reorganization of the
executive branch.23 Released to Congress on January 12, 1937, the report soon
became lost in high politics. Three weeks after submitting the Brownlow
committee’s report to Congress, FDR announced he wanted to enlarge the
membership of the Supreme Court. His “court packing” plan not only fed
congressional fears of a presidential power grab, but also so preoccupied Congress
that the Brownlow committee’s reorganization recommendations were ignored.
The Brownlow committee’s report made no recommendation for an Executive
Office of the President. What was sought was a modest enlargement of the number
of congressionally authorized presidential assistants. The President had initially been
granted funds in 1857 to employ a private secretary;24 in 1929, Congress was
persuaded to add two more secretaries and an administrative assistant to the
presidential payroll.25 The current situation, in the view of the Brownlow committee,
called for more.
The President needs help. His immediate staff assistance is entirely inadequate.
He should be given a small number of executive assistants who would be his
direct aides in dealing with the managerial agencies and administrative
departments of the government. These assistants, probably not exceeding six in
number, would be in addition to the present secretaries, who deal with the public,
with the Congress, and with the press and radio. These aides would have no
21 See Karl, Executive Reorganization and Reform in the New Deal, pp. 37-165.
22 Samuel I. Rosenman, ed., The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt:
1936 Volume, The People Approve (New York: Random House, 1938), pp. 144-146.
23 U.S. President’s Committee on Administrative Management, Report of the President’s
Committee (Washington: GPO, 1937), pp. 5-6, 29-42.
24 11 Stat. 228.
25 45 Stat. 1230.
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power to make decisions or issue instructions in their own right. They would not
be interposed between the President and the heads of his departments. They
would not be assistant presidents in any sense. Their function would be, when
any matter was presented to the President for action affecting any part of the
administrative work of the Government, to assist him in obtaining quickly and
without delay all pertinent information possessed by any of the executive
departments so as to guide him in making his responsible decisions; and then
when decisions have been made, to assist him in seeing to it that every
administrative department and agency affected is promptly informed. Their
effectiveness in assisting the President will, we think, be directly proportional to
their ability to discharge their functions with restraint. They would remain in the
background, issue no orders, make no decisions, emit no public statements. Men
for these positions should be carefully chosen by the President from within and
without the Government. They should be men in whom the President has
personal confidence and whose character and attitude is [sic] such that they
would not attempt to exercise power on their own account. They should be
possessed of high competence, great physical vigor, and a passion for anonymity.
They should be installed in the White House itself, directly accessible to the
President. In the selection of these aides, the President should be free to call on
departments from time to time for the assignment of persons who, after a tour of
duty as his aides, might be restored to their old positions.26
While this particular recommendation did not attract fervent opposition in
Congress, the forces of resistance carried sway, and Roosevelt’s hopes for executive
branch reforms died in the 75th Congress.
Creating the Executive Office
Although efforts at gaining legislative approval of the Brownlow committee’s
recommendations lay in ruin in the spring of 1938, the buoyant Chief Executive had
not deserted the cause. By July, FDR was meeting with Brownlow, Merriam, and
Gulick. Their committee would not be officially reassembled, but he wanted each
man’s help with a reorganization authority proposal. Roosevelt sought out the
Democratic congressional leadership to discuss the new reorganization measure.
Legislative strategy was set in early December 1938 by Roosevelt, Merriam, Gulick
— Brownlow was convalescing from a heart attack — and Senator James Byrnes,
the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Government Organization and
manager of the reorganization legislation. Byrnes asked that the bill be initiated in
the House, where debate could be limited and the Senate would be free to pursue
pending business of the moment. The resulting measure — H.R. 4425 —
empowered the President to propose reorganization plans, subject to a veto by a
majority vote of disapproval in both houses of Congress, and to also appoint six
administrative assistants.
After three days of discussion and debate, the House adopted the bill on March
8, 1939. Twelve days later, the Senate began considering the proposal. Following
two days of sparring over amendments, the Senate adopted the bill. A quick
26 U.S. President’s Committee on Administrative Management, Report of the President’s
Committee, p. 5.
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conference cleared the measure for Roosevelt’s signature on April 3.27 Earlier, FDR
had asked Brownlow, Merriam, and Gulick to return to Washington and assist with
the preparation of his initial reorganization plans.28
Following consultations with Budget Director Harold D. Smith, the Brownlow
group presented two reorganization proposals to Roosevelt on April 23. Plan 1,
submitted to Congress on April 25, indicated that certain agencies were transferred
to the Executive Office of the President, but offered no explanation of that entity.29
In Plan 2, the National Emergency Council was abolished and most of its functions
were transferred to the Executive Office.30 While both plans were acceptable to
legislators, their effective dates were troublesome in terms of accommodating fiscal
calendar necessities. By joint resolution, Congress provided that both plans would
be effective on July 1, 1939.31 Following this action, the President, on September 8,
issued E.O. 8248 formally organizing the Executive Office and, thereby, defining it
in terms of its components.32 Brownlow, who drafted the initial reorganization plan,
viewed the Executive Office as the institutional realization of administrative
management and “the effective coordination of the tremendously wide-spread federal
machinery.” He called the initial version “a little thing” compared to its later size.
It grew under Roosevelt and “it continued to expand and was further regularized by
statute, by appropriation acts, and by more reorganization plans” during the
succeeding years.33
Composition and Growth
The Executive Office organized by E.O. 8248 was to consist of the White House
Office, the Bureau of the Budget, the National Resources Planning Board, the Office
of Government Reports, which assumed the information responsibilities of the
defunct National Emergency Council, the Liaison Office for Personnel Management,
and, “in the event of a national emergency, such office for emergency management
as the President shall determine.” The Office for Emergency Management was
created by an administrative order on May 25, 1940, and its functions were further
specified in an administrative order of January 7, 1941.34 It subsequently served as
a parent unit for a number of subordinate emergency management bodies. Its
functions were largely assumed by the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion
27 53 Stat. 561.
28 Richard Polenberg, Reorganizing Roosevelt’s Government (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1966), pp. 184-187.
29 53 Stat. 1423.
30 53 Stat. 1431 at 1435.
31 53 Stat. 813.
32 3 C.F.R., 1938-1943 Comp., pp. 576-579.
33 Brownlow, A Passion for Anonymity: The Autobiography of Louis Brownlow, Second
Half, p. 416.
34 3 C.F.R., 1938-1943 Comp., pp. 1320-1321.
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in the closing years of World War II, but it was never abolished and remains an
inactive Executive Office unit.35
At the time of Roosevelt’s death, the United States Government Manual
indicated six principal EOP units, plus the Council of National Defense. However,
the Office for Emergency Management, which, it was explained, “is primarily a
framework within the confines of the Executive Office of the President, within which
framework various civilian war agencies have been established,” counted 16 major
agencies.
At the end of his first term as President, Harry S. Truman had an Executive
Office of eight principal units, as well as the Council of National Defense, and the
Office for Emergency Management had two subsidiary agencies. New Executive
Office units created by Congress included the Council of Economic Advisers, the
Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council, and the National Security
Resources Board.36 At the end of his second term, Truman had 11 Executive Office
units, but the Office for Emergency Management was dormant.
Manuals for the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower indicate eight Executive
Office components at the end of his first administration and nine at the conclusion
of his second term. At the time of his assassination, John F. Kennedy also had nine
Executive Office entities, and Lyndon B. Johnson counted 11 such units at the
conclusion of his Oval Office tenure. When Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency,
he left behind 15 Executive Office agencies. His successor, Gerald Ford, also had
15 EOP components when he departed from the White House, but the next President,
Jimmy Carter, had a reduced total of 11 entities at the end of his term. Ronald
Reagan finished both of his administrations with nine Executive Office units, George
H. W. Bush had 11 such agencies when he completed his term, and William Clinton
had ten EOP entities during his presidency.37 Profiles of the major entities within the
Executive Office during the 1939-2000 period are presented in Appendix I of this
report, and their chronological location in the EOP is portrayed in Appendix II.
Among the more enduring constructs of the Executive Office are the White
House Office and the Office of Management and Budget (formerly the Bureau of the
Budget), which were among the initial EOP structures. The Council of Economic
Advisers, established in 1946,38 and the National Security Council, created in 1947,39
also appear to hold permanent status. Both the Office of the Special Representative
35 See Herman M. Somers, Presidential Agency (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1950).
36 While the Central Intelligence Agency could be considered a subunit of the National
Security Council, it is treated here as a principal unit of the Executive Office of the
President until 1981 when the United States Government Manual for that year listed it as
an independent establishment.
37 The staff office of the Vice President, though sometimes, for some purposes, is considered
to be an Executive Office component, it was not so regarded in these counts.
38 60 Stat. 24.
39 61 Stat. 496.
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for Trade Negotiations and the Council on Environmental Quality have endured for
over two decades. It also seems unlikely that the President’s administrative support
staff unit, known as the Office of Administration, will soon be eliminated. If such
did happen, its functions would most likely have to be assumed by the White House
Office, which would increase both its personnel and budget. Indeed, the Office of
Administration was created, in part, in response to criticism that the White House
staff was too large and too costly.
The number of units within the Executive Office of the President has not been
a serious issue over the years. Congress, respecting the Constitution’s separation of
powers, has allowed the President to exercise a free hand with regard to the
Executive Office. He may create a temporary EOP body and use appropriated
discretionary funds to finance such a unit. However, it is expected that the creation
and functioning of this entity, at a minimum, will not contravene prevailing statutes,
and that its continued existence will be subject to congressional approval through the
legislative or appropriations process. Congress routinely appropriates funds, directly
or indirectly, for all Executive Office agencies.
When controversy has risen, it has usually involved resources for, and the
powers of, Executive Office entities. As noted earlier, Congress was suspicious of
Roosevelt’s national planners; the National Resources Planning Board came to be
seen as meddlesome, a threat to traditional political relationships, and a waste of
money, so it was abolished.40 Concerned that the director of the Office of War
Mobilization, a unit of the Office for Emergency Management created by E.O. 9347
of May 27,1943,41 was becoming too powerful, Congress created a replacement
agency, the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, and made its director
subject to Senate confirmation, gave him a two-year term, and specified his
authority.42 More recently, during the 1970s, congressional concern about the growth
of the staff of the Executive Office ultimately resulted in an authorization statute
setting personnel ceilings for the White House Office, the Vice President’s Office,
the President’s domestic policy staff, and the Office of Administration.43 In the
summer of 1981, the House Committee on Appropriations denied the budget request
of the Office of Policy Development in its entirety because witnesses from the agency
refused to appear at a subcommittee hearing to discuss their funding. “After the
subcommittee mark-up occurred,” said the committee report, “the head of that Office
met informally and off the record with the subcommittee to discuss the matter.”
Additional information on “the legal basis for refusing to appear” was to be provided,
but, because it was not subsequently received, the committee took its action.44 The
Office of Policy Development and other segments of the federal government were
funded shortly thereafter through an emergency resolution continuing appropriations
40 57 Stat. 169.
41 3 C.F.R., 1938-1943 Comp., pp. 1281-1282.
42 58 Stat. 785.
43 92 Stat. 2445.
44 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Treasury, Postal Service and
General Government Appropriation Bill, 1982, H.Rept. 97-171, 97th Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1981), pp. 30-31.
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for FY1982.45 Office of Policy Development officials did not again refuse to appear
before an appropriations subcommittee.
In his 1958 autobiography, Louis Brownlow commented that he was quite
certain that FDR, when creating the Executive Office, “had not in his wildest
dreams” envisioned the expansion that later occurred.46 Indeed, Brownlow himself
was surprised. He might also be surprised that administrative management, stressed
by the Brownlow Committee, has not been a major concern of many of the men
succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt as President. The past two decades have seen little
awareness of or demonstrated interest in administrative management on the part of
the men occupying the Oval Office. This situation is reflected in their public
remarks, the relatively unchanging composition of the Executive Office, and the
general absence of executive branch reorganization activities or plans. However,
significant changes in the composition and staffing of the Executive Office, other
than an isolated addition of a new unit or a few personnel, could occur depending
upon the approach future Presidents have toward administrative management
considerations for the execution of the duties of the Presidency.47
45 95 Stat. 958.
46 Brownlow, A Passion for Anonymity: The Autobiography of Louis Brownlow, Second
Half, p. 417.
47 It might be noted in this regard that, while the initial 1993 report of the National
Performance Review (NPR) offered a dozen major recommendations concerning the
organization and operations of the Executive Office, none of these were of an administrative
management character. Furthermore, neither the 1993 NPR report nor President Clinton
indicated a governance theory of administrative management. See Office of the Vice
President, From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government that Works Better & Costs
Less; Report of the National Performance Review (Washington: GPO, 1993), pp. 139-140.
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Appendix A:
Profiles of the Principal Units of the
Executive Office of the President: 1939-2008
Administration, Office of (1977- ). Established in the Executive Office
of the President by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1977 to provide components of the
Executive Office with such administrative services as the President shall direct. A
staff authorization was initially established in 1978 (92 Stat. 2448). The Office of
Administration is headed by a presidentially-appointed director.
Arts, National Council on the (1964-1965). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by the National Arts and Cultural Development Act of 1964
(78 Stat. 905) to assist the President with regard to the growth and development of
the arts and cultural resources of the United States, including the encouragement of
private initiatives and the coordination of local, state, and federal activities. The
council was headed by a presidentially appointed chairman, who was subject to
Senate approval, and included the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and 24
other members appointed by the President from private life. The council was
subsequently transferred to the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (79 Stat.
849).
Budget, Bureau of the (1939-1970). Established within the Department
of the Treasury by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (42 Stat. 20) to prepare
the consolidated federal budget, but functioned under the immediate supervision of
the President. The bureau was transferred to the Executive Office of the President
by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1939. Headed by a presidentially-appointed director, it
was subsequently reorganized as the Office of Management and Budget by
Reorganization Plan 2 of 1970.
Civil and Defense Mobilization, Office of (1958-1961). Established in
the Executive Office of the President as the Office of Defense and Civilian
Mobilization by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1958 to direct and coordinate civilian
mobilization activities and nonmilitary defense functions of the federal government.
The Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization was renamed the Office of Civil
and Defense Mobilization by an act of August 25, 1958 (72 Stat. 861). Subsequently,
the civil defense functions of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization were
transferred to the Secretary of Defense by E.O. 10952 of July 20, 1961. With its
remaining functions, the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization was redesignated
the Office of Emergency Planning by an act of September 22, 1961 (75 Stat. 630).
Congested Production Areas, Committee for (1943-1944). Established
in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 9327 of April 7, 1943, to provide for
more efficient handling of government problems in areas that lacked adequate
community services or facilities because of large increases in population. Chaired
by the director of the Bureau of the Budget, the committee included among its
members representatives from the Department of War, Department of the Navy, the
War Production Board, the War Manpower Commission, the Federal Works Agency,
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and the National Housing Agency. It was subsequently terminated by the National
War Agency Appropriation Act of 1945 (58 Stat. 535).
Consumer Affairs, Office of (1971-1973). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by E.O. 11583 of February 24, 1971, to advise the President
on all matters relating to consumer interests. Headed by a presidentially-appointed
director, the office and its functions were subsequently transferred to the Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare by E.O. 11702 of January 25, 1973.
Defense and Civilian Mobilization, Office of (1958). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1958 to direct and
coordinate civilian mobilization activities and nonmilitary defense functions of the
federal government. The Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization was headed
by a presidentially-appointed director, who was subject to Senate approval. The
agency was renamed the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization by an act of
August 25, 1958 (72 Stat. 861).
Defense Mobilization, Office of (1950-1953; 1953-1958). Established
in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 10193 of December 16, 1950, to
direct, control, and coordinate all mobilization activities of the government, including
manpower, stabilization, and transport operations. The Office of Defense
Mobilization was headed by a presidentially-appointed director, who was subject to
Senate approval. Reorganization Plan 3 of 1953 established a new Office of Defense
Mobilization, which assumed the functions of its predecessor and some other entities.
This unit was subsequently consolidated with the Federal Civil Defense
Administration into the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization by
Reorganization Plan 1 of 1958.
Domestic Council (1970-1977; 1993- ). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 2 of 1970 to formulate and coordinate
domestic policy recommendations for the President. Chaired by the President, the
council included among its members the Vice President; the Attorney General; the
Secretary of Agriculture; the Secretary of Commerce; the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare; the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; the
Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Labor; the Secretary of Transportation; the
Secretary of the Treasury; and such other officers of the executive branch as the
President might direct. The council was abolished by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1977
and its functions were transferred to the Domestic Policy Staff. The council was
recreated with E.O. 12859 of August 16, 1993, and was included within the Office
of Policy Development when it was reinstituted in 1996.
Domestic Policy Staff (1977-1992). Established in the Executive Office
of the President by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1977 to assure that the needs of the
President for prompt and comprehensive advice were met with respect to matters of
economic and domestic policy. A staff authorization was initially established in 1978
(92 Stat. 2448). Headed by an executive director, who was an assistant to the
President, the Domestic Policy Staff was incorporated into the Office of Policy
Development in 1981. It was abolished in a February 1992 presidential statement.
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Drug Abuse Policy, Office of (1976-1977). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by an amendment to the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment
Act of 1972 (90 Stat. 242) to make recommendations to the President with respect
to the objectives, policies, and priorities for federal drug abuse functions and to
coordinate the performance of those functions by federal departments and agencies.
Headed by a presidentially-appointed director, who was subject to Senate approval,
the Office of Drug Abuse Policy was abolished by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1977,
which transferred certain of its functions to the White House Office.
Drug Abuse Prevention, Special Action Office for (1971-1975).
Established in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 11599 of June 17, 1971,
and the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 65) to assist the
President with planning, policy formation, and establishing objectives and priorities
for all drug abuse prevention functions. Headed by a presidentially-appointed
director, who was subject to Senate approval, the Special Action Office was
terminated on June 30, 1975, when its authorization expired (86 Stat. 70)
Economic Advisers, Council of (1946- ). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by the Employment Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 24), the council
analyzes the national economy and its segments, advises the President on economic
developments, appraises the economic programs and policies of the federal
government, recommends to the President policies for economic growth and stability,
assists in the preparation of the economic reports of the President to Congress, and
produces its own annual report. The council is composed of three presidentially-
appointed members, one of whom is designated chairman and all of whom are
subject to Senate approval.
Economic Opportunity, Office of (1964-1975). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (78 Stat.
508) to administer programs providing opportunities for education and training,
work, and overcoming conditions of poverty. The Office of Economic Opportunity
was headed by a presidentially-appointed director, who was subject to Senate
approval. Programs of the agency were subsequently transferred to the Departments
of Labor; Health, Education and Welfare; and Housing and Urban Development
during 1973 and dismantling of the agency was completed in 1975 when the final
transfers were made to the Community Services Administration by the Headstart,
Economic Opportunity, and Community Partnership Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 2310).
Economic Policy, Council on (1973-1974). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by a presidential memorandum of February 2, 1973, to help
ensure better coordination in the formation and execution of economic policy and to
perform such functions relating to economic policy as the President or its chairman
may direct. Headed by a chairman who was an assistant to the President, the council
included among its members the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the
Secretary of Transportation, the director of the Office of Management and Budget,
the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, the director of the Cost of Living
Council, and the executive director of the Council on International Economic Policy.
Its functions were subsequently absorbed by the President’s Economic Policy Board
on September 30, 1974.
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Emergency Management, Office for (1940- ). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by a presidential administrative order of May 25,
1940, in accordance with E.O. 8248 of September 8, 1939, organizing the Executive
Office. The Office for Emergency Management assisted the President with
coordination and supervision of agencies engaged in emergency activities concerning
U.S. preparation for and prosecution of World War II. A multiplicity of civilian
emergency entities was created as organizational subunits of the Office for
Emergency Management, which was headed by a presidentially-appointed Liaison
Officer for Emergency Management. When the incumbent liaison officer resigned
on November 3, 1943, no successor was appointed. By this time, many of the
functions of the Office for Emergency Management had been assumed by one of its
subunits — the Office of War Mobilization. With the end of World War II, the
Office for Emergency Management became dormant, but has never been formally
terminated or abolished.
Emergency Planning, Office of (1961-1968). A scaled-down version of
the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization , the Office of Emergency Planning was
so designated by an act of September 22, 1961 (75 Stat. 630), and assisted and
advised the President in coordinating and determining policy for all emergency
preparedness activities of the federal government. Headed by a presidentially-
appointed director, who was subject to Senate approval, the office was renamed the
Office of Emergency Preparedness by an appropriation act of October 21, 1968 (82
Stat. 1194).
Emergency Preparedness, Office of (1968-1973). A renamed Office of
Emergency Planning, the Office of Emergency Preparedness was so designated by
an appropriation act of October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1194). Headed by a presidentially-
appointed director, who was subject to Senate approval, it advised and assisted the
President on policy determination and coordination of emergency preparedness
activities. The Office of Emergency Preparedness was abolished by Reorganization
Plan 1 of 1973 and its functions were transferred to the Department of the Treasury,
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the General Services
Administration.
Energy Policy Office (1973-1974). Established in the Executive Office of
the President by E.O. 11726 of June 29, 1973, to formulate and coordinate energy
policies at the presidential level. Headed by a presidentially-appointed director, the
Energy Policy Office was abolished by E.O. 11775 of March 26, 1974, and
superseded by the Federal Energy Office.
Energy Resources Council (1974-1977). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 1241) to
insure communication and coordination among federal agencies having
responsibilities for the development and implementation of energy policy or for the
management of energy resources. It also was to make recommendations to the
President for improving the implementation of federal energy policies or the
management of energy resources, particularly where two or more departments or
agencies are involved. The council was composed of the Secretary of the Interior,
the administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, the administrator of the
Energy Research and Development Administration, the Secretary of State, the
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director of the Office of Management and Budget, and such other executive branch
officials as the President might designate. The President designated a chairman from
among these members. The council was terminated when its establishing authority
was subsequently repealed by the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977
(91 Stat. 608).
Environmental Quality, Council on (1970- ). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by the National Environmental Quality Act of 1969
(83 Stat. 854) to develop and recommend to the President national policies to
promote the improvement of the quality of the environment, perform continuing
analysis of changes or trends in the national environment, and assist the President in
the preparation of the annual environmental quality report to Congress. The council
is composed of three presidentially-appointed members, one of whom is designated
as chairman by the President and all of whom are subject to Senate approval.
Federal Energy Office (1973-1974; 1976). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by E.O. 11748 of December 4, 1973, to advise the President
with respect to the establishment and integration of domestic and foreign policies
relating to the production, conservation, use, control, distribution, and allocation of
energy and with respect to all other energy matters. Headed by an administrator, who
was the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, the Federal Energy Office was abolished
by E.O. 11790 of June 25, 1974, and its functions were transferred to the Federal
Energy Administration. Temporarily recreated by E.O. 11930 of July 30, 1976, to
carry out functions of the Federal Energy Administration, the reconstituted Federal
Energy Office was headed by a presidentially-appointed administrator. It was finally
abolished by E.O. 11933 of August 25, 1976, and its functions again were transferred
to the Federal Energy Administration.
Federal Property Council (1973-1977). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by E.O. 11724 of June 25, 1973, to review all federal real
property policies with respect to their consistency with the overall objectives of the
government, to make recommendations to the President regarding same, and to foster
the development of more effective policies regarding the use of federal property. The
council’s members included the director of the Office of Management and Budget,
the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, the chairman of the Council on
Environmental Quality, and such other members from the Executive Office as the
President might specify. The President designated the council’s chairman from
among its members. The panel was abolished by E.O. 12030 of December 15, 1977.
Government Reports, Office of (1939-1942; 1946-1948). Established
July 1, 1939, to perform functions of the National Emergency Council, which was
abolished by Reorganization Plan 2 of 1939. Pursuant to E.O. 8248 of September 8,
1939, organizing the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Government
Reports became a unit of the Executive Office. Headed by a presidentially-appointed
director, it was mandated to provide a central clearinghouse through which citizens
as well as state and local governments could make inquires and receive responsive
information about federal activities and programs, to collect and distribute
information concerning the purposes and operations of the departments and agencies,
and to keep the President currently informed about the opinions, desires, and
complaints of citizens and subnational government officials regarding the work of
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federal agencies. It was then consolidated with the Office of War Information, a
subunit of the Office for Emergency Management, by E.O. 9182 of June 13, 1942.
Temporarily reestablished in the Executive Office with new responsibilities by E.O.
9809 of December 12, 1946, the Office of Government Reports subsequently was
statutorily restricted the following year to advertising and motion picture liaison and
library operation (61 Stat. 588). In accordance with the liquidation arrangements set
forth in E.O. 9809, the Office of Government Reports was terminated on June 30,
1948.
Gulf Coast Recovery and Rebuilding Council (2005 - ). Established
in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 13389 of November 1, 2005, to
promptly review and provide advice and recommendations regarding the effective,
integrated, and fiscally responsible provision of federal support to state, local, and
tribal governments, the private sector, and faith-based and other community
humanitarian relief organizations in the recovery and rebuilding of the Gulf Coast
region affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Initially chaired by the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the 21-member panel includes
representatives from the Cabinet departments, the heads of certain independent
agencies, and other Executive Office and White House Office officials. E.O. 13463
of April 18, 2008, designated the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security
and Counterterrorism as the new chair of the council, and set February 28, 2009, as
the date for the termination of the panel.
Homeland Security Council (2001- 2002; 2002- ). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by E.O. 13228 of October 8, 2001, to advise and
assist the President with respect to all aspects of homeland security and serve as the
mechanism for ensuring coordination of homeland security-related activities of
executive departments and agencies and effective development and implementation
of homeland security policies. Statutorily reconstituted to advise the President on
homeland security matters; assess the objectives, commitments, and risks of the
United States in the interest of homeland security and make resulting
recommendations to the President; and oversee and review homeland security
policies of the federal government and make resulting recommendations to the
President (116 Stat. 2135).
Homeland Security, Office of (2001-2004). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by E.O. 13228 of October 8, 2001, to develop and coordinate
the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States
from terrorist threats or attacks. The office is under the direction of the assistant to
the President for homeland security. In late July 2003, doubt was cast on the future
of OHS when House appropriators, in their report on the Departments of
Transportation and Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2004,
revealed that the Bush Administration had changed the “Office of Homeland
Security” account to one for the “Homeland Security Council.” The account change
apparently also implied the shift of 66 staff from OHS to the council, which the
report questioned “given the existence and support of the Department of Homeland
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Security.”48 Subsequently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004, which
included funding for the agencies of the Executive Office of the President, did not
make any allocation for OHS, but did provide $7.2 million for the Homeland Security
Council.49 The President’s FY2005 budget made no mention of OHS, which, while
not formally abolished, has become dormant.
Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (2008- ). Established
in the Executive Office of the President by the Prioritizing Resources and
Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (122 Stat. 4256). The coordinator
chairs the interagency intellectual property enforcement advisory committee;
coordinates the development of the Joint Strategic Plan against counterfeiting and
infringement by the advisory committee; assists, as requested, in the implementation
of the Joint Strategic Plan; facilitates the issuance of relevant policy guidance; and
reports to the President and Congress on his duties and responsibilities.
Intergovernmental Relations, Office of (1969-1972). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by E.O. 11455 of February 14, 1969, to strengthen
federal, state, and local relations. The Office of Intergovernmental Relations was
under the immediate supervision of the Vice President, who designated its director.
It was subsequently abolished by E.O. 11690 of December 14, 1972, which
transferred its functions to the Domestic Council.
International Economic Policy, Council on (1971-1977). Established
in the Executive Office of the President by a presidential memorandum of January,
19, 1971, to assist the President with the coordination and consistency of policy and
activities concerning foreign economic affairs. Statutorily authorized by the
International Economic Policy Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 646), the council was chaired
by the President and its members included the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of
Labor, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the chairman of the
Council of Economic Advisers, the assistant to the President for national security
affairs, the executive director of the Domestic Council, and the Special
Representative for Trade Negotiations. The council ceased operations on September
30, 1977 when its statutory authorization (87 Stat. 447) expired.
Management and Budget, Office of (1970- ). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 2 of 1970 to assist the
President with various aspects of federal budget preparation and administration,
operations and funds management, management evaluation, efficient and economical
conduct of government service, and policy coordination and clearance. The office
is headed by a director, who, since 1974 (88 Stat. 11), has been subject to Senate
approval.
48 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Departments of Transportation and
Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2004, a report to accompany H.R.
2989, 108th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 108-243 (Washington: GPO, 2003), p. 163.
49 118 Stat. 3.
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Marine Resources and Engineering Development, National Council
on (1966-1971). Established in the Executive Office of the President by the Marine
Resources and Development Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 204) to provide advice and
assistance to the President to assure that marine science and technology are
effectively used in the interest of national security and the general welfare. Chaired
by the Vice President, the council was composed of the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the
chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, the director of the National Science
Foundation, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of the
Treasury, and such other officers and officials as the President deemed advisable to
designate as members. The council was subsequently terminated when its mandate
was extended only to June 30, 1971, by an act of September 25, 1970 (84 Stat. 865).
Mutual Security Agency (1951-1953). Established and continued by the
Mutual Security Acts of 1951 (65 Stat. 373) and 1952 (66 Stat. 141) as a unit of the
Executive Office of the President to maintain security and promote foreign policy and
provide for the general welfare of the United States by furnishing military, economic,
and technical assistance to friendly nations in the interest of international peace and
security. The Mutual Security Agency and the Office of the Director for Mutual
Security were abolished by Reorganization Plan 7 of 1953 with the functions of both
entities transferred to the Foreign Operations Administration, which was established
by the same plan authority.
National Aeronautics and Space Council (1958-1973). Established in
the Executive Office of the President by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of
1958 (72 Stat. 427) to advise and assist the President regarding aeronautical and
space programs and activities. Chaired by the President, the council was composed
of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the chairman of the Atomic Energy
Commission, a presidentially-appointed member from the federal agencies, and three
presidentially-appointed members from private life. The council was abolished by
Reorganization Plan 1 of 1973.
National Critical Materials Council (1984-1993). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by the National Critical Materials Act of 1984 (98
Stat. 1250) to advise the President on policies related to strategic and critical
materials and to review federal programs, activities, and budget priorities with
respect to these policies. The council was composed of three presidentially-
appointed members, one of whom is designated chairman by the President and all of
whom, if not already Senate-confirmed officers, were subject to Senate approval.
Individuals named to the council were, as a result of training, experience, and
achievement, to be qualified to carry out its duties and functions. The council was
dissolved in 1993, its funding was discontinued, and its functions were assumed by
the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
National Drug Control Policy, Office of (1988- ). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988
(102 Stat. 4181) to advise the President regarding necessary changes in the
organization, management, budgeting, and personnel allocation of federal agencies
involved in drug enforcement activities and coordination of policy for consistency
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with the national drug control strategy. The Office of National Drug Control Policy
is headed by a director, who is subject to Senate approval.
National Energy Office (1973). Established in the Executive Office of the
President by E.O., 11712 of April 18, 1973, to advise the President with respect to
all federal energy programs, activities, and related matters. Headed by a
presidentially-appointed director, the National Energy Office was abolished by E.O.
11726 of June 29, 1973, which transferred its functions to the Energy Policy Office.
National Security Council (1949- ). Established by the National Security
Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 496), the council was transferred to the Executive Office of the
President by Reorganization Plan 4 of 1949. Its statutory function is to advise the
President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies
relating to national security. Chaired by the President, the council includes among
its statutory members the Vice President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of
Defense. Each President may also designate other officials to attend and participate
in council meetings on a regular basis. The Director of National Intelligence and the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serve as statutory advisers to the council.
Although the council has been statutorily authorized to have a presidentially-
appointed executive secretary since its creation, leadership of its staff has been
exercised for many years by each President’s national security assistant, who is
actually a member of the White House Office staff. The work of the council is also
conducted through various working groups and special policy instruments.
National Security Resources Board (1949-1953). Established by the
National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 499), the board was transferred to the
Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 4 of 1949. Functions of
the board were transferred to its chairman, and the board was made advisory to him
by Reorganization Plan 25 of 1950. The board primarily was to advise the President
concerning the coordination of military, industrial, and civilian mobilization. Its
chairman was appointed from civilian life by the President with Senate approval; its
members included the heads or representatives from the various departments and
agencies so designated by the President. Those functions of the board delegated by
executive order were transferred to the Office of Defense Mobilization by E.O. 10438
of March 13, 1953. The board was subsequently abolished by Reorganization Plan
3 of 1953, which transferred its remaining function to the Office of Defense
Mobilization.
National Space Council (1988-1993). Established in the Executive Office
of the President by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization
Act, Fiscal Year 1989 (102 Stat. 4102) and organized by E.O. 12675 of April 20,
1989, to advise and assist the President on national space policy and strategy.
Chaired by the Vice President, the council included among its members the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, the director of the Office of Management
and Budget, the chief of staff to the President, the assistant to the President for
national security affairs, the assistant to the President for science and technology, the
Director of Central Intelligence, and the administrator of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration. The council was dissolved in 1993, its funding was
CRS-21
discontinued, and its functions were assumed by the Office of Science and
Technology Policy.
Operations Coordinating Board (1953-1957). Established by E.O. 10483
of September 2, 1953, to provide primarily for the integrated implementation of
national security policies by several agencies. Chaired by the Under Secretary of
State, the board included among its members the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the
director of the Foreign Operations Administration, the Director of Central
Intelligence, and a presidential representative designated by the President. With E.O.
10700 of February 25, 1957, the board was subsumed as a subunit of the National
Security Council and its membership was slightly expanded, with both the chairman
and a vice chairman designated from among its members by the President. The board
was terminated by E.O. 10920 of February 18, 1961, which revoked E.O. 10700.
Personnel Management, Liaison Office for (1939-1953). Established
in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 8248 of September 8, 1939,
organizing the Executive Office. Headed by a presidentially-appointed liaison
officer, the office advised and assisted the President regarding personnel matters. It
was abolished by E.O. 10452 of May 1, 1953, and its functions were delegated to the
chairman of the Civil Service Commission.
Policy Development, Office of (1981-1992; 1996- ). A renamed
Domestic Policy Staff, the Office of Policy Development continued to advise and
assist the President in the formulation, coordination, and implementation of
economic and domestic policy. Headed by the assistant to the President for economic
and domestic policy, it was abolished in February 1992 by the President’s
reorganization statement, effective May 1992. Reinstituted in 1996 to consist of the
Domestic Policy Council, established in 1993 by E.O. 12859, and the National
Economic Council, created in 1993 by E.O. 12835.
Presidential Clemency Board (1974-1975). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by E.O. 11803 of September 16, 1974, to examine the cases
of individuals applying for executive clemency and to report findings and make
recommendations to the President regarding the granting of clemency. The board
consisted of eight presidentially-appointed members from private life, one of whom
was designated chairman by the President. Having submitted its final
recommendations to the President on September 15, 1975, the board, pursuant to
E.O. 11878 of September 10, 1975, terminated its operations and its remaining
administrative duties were transferred to the Attorney General.
President’s Economic Policy Board (1974-1977). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by E.O. 11808 of September 30, 1974, to provide
advice to the President concerning all aspects of national and international economic
policy, oversee the formulation, coordination, and implementation of all economic
policy, and serve as the focal point for economic policy decisionmaking. Chaired by
the Secretary of the Treasury, the board included among its members the assistant to
the President for economic affairs, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior,
the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the director of the Office of
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Management and Budget, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and
the executive director of the Council on International Economic Policy. It was
subsequently terminated by E.O. 11975 of March 7, 1977.
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (2004-2007). Established
in the Executive Office of the President by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism
Prevention Act of 2004 (118 Stat. 3638) to advise the President or the head of any
department or agency of the executive branch to ensure that privacy and civil liberties
are appropriately considered in the development and implementation of laws,
regulations, and executive branch policies to protect the nation from terrorism; to
review proposed regulations and policies related to efforts to protect the nation from
terrorism; to review the implementation of laws, regulations, and executive branch
policies related to efforts to protect the nation from terrorism; and to provide advice
on proposals to retain or enhance a particular governmental power relative to the
need to protect privacy and civil liberties. The board was composed of five
members, all appointed by the President, and two of which, the chair and vice chair,
were subject to Senate confirmation. The board became an independent agency
within the executive branch pursuant to the Implementing Recommendations of the
9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (121 Stat. 266).
Resources Planning Board, National (1939-1943). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1939 to collect,
prepare, and make available to the President, with recommendations, such plans,
data, and information as may be helpful to a planned development and use of natural
resources. The board was composed of five members appointed by the President,
with one designated as chairman and another designated as vice chairman. The board
was abolished by an appropriation act of June 26, 1943 (57 Stat. 170).
Rural Affairs, Council for (1969-1970). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by E.O. 11493 of November 13, 1969, to advise and assist the
President with respect to the further development of the nonmetropolitan areas of the
country. Chaired by the President, the council included among its members the Vice
President, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Labor, the chairman of the
Council of Economic Advisers, the director of the Bureau of the Budget, the director
of the Office of Economic Opportunity, and such other heads of departments and
agencies as the President might direct. The council was subsequently terminated by
E.O. 11541 of July 1, 1970, which transferred its functions to the Domestic Council.
Science and Technology, Office of (1962-1973). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 2 of 1962 to advise and
assist the President with respect to developing policies and evaluating and
coordinating programs to assure that science and technology are used most
effectively in the interests of national security and the general welfare. Headed by
a presidentially-appointed director, who was subject to Senate approval, the Office
of Science and Technology was abolished and its functions were transferred to the
National Science Foundation by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1973.
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Science and Technology Policy, Office of (1976- ). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by the Presidential Science and Technology
Advisory Organization Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 463) to provide advice to the President
on scientific, engineering, and technological aspects of issues that require attention
at the highest levels of government. The Office of Science and Technology Policy
is headed by a presidentially-appointed director, who is subject to Senate approval.
Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, Office of the (1963-
1979). Established in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 11075 of
January 15, 1963, to assist the President with supervising and coordinating the trade
agreements program and directing U.S. participation in trade negotiations with other
countries. Headed by the Special Trade Representative, who was subject to Senate
approval, the agency was redesignated the Office of the United States Trade
Representative by Reorganization Plan 3 of 1979.
Telecommunications Adviser to the President (1951-1953).
Established in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 10297 of October 9,
1951, the Telecommunications Adviser, who was presidentially-appointed, was to
assist and advise the President concerning telecommunications policies and
programs. The adviser’s mandate was revoked and his functions were transferred to
the director of the Office of Defense Mobilization by E.O. 10460 of June 16, 1953.
Telecommunications Policy, Office of (1970-1977). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1970 to establish and
implement executive branch communications policies, coordinate the planning and
evaluate the operation of executive branch communications activities, and develop
mobilization plans for the nation’s communications resources and implement those
plans during an emergency. Headed by a presidentially-appointed director, who was
subject to Senate approval, the Office of Telecommunications Policy was
subsequently abolished by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1977 and its functions were
transferred to the Department of Commerce.
United States Trade Representative, Office of the (1979- ). A
renamed Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, the Office of
the United States Trade Representative was so designated by Reorganization Plan 3
of 1979. Headed by the presidentially-appointed U.S. Trade Representative, who is
subject to Senate approval, it advises and assists the President with setting and
administering overall trade policy.
Urban Affairs, Council for (1969-1970). Established in the Executive
Office of the President by E.O. 11452 of January 23, 1969, to assist the President
with the formulation and implementation of a national urban policy. Chaired by the
President, the council included among its members the Vice President, the Attorney
General, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of
Labor, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, and such other heads of
departments and agencies as the President might direct. The council was
subsequently terminated by E.O. 11541 of July 1, 1970, which assigned its functions
to the Domestic Council.
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Wage and Price Stability, Council on (1974-1981). Established in the
Executive Office of the President by the Council on Wage and Price Stability Act of
1974 (88 Stat. 750) to identify and monitor economic factors contributing to
inflation, including the effects on inflation of industrial, wage, and productivity
performance and federal policies, programs, and activities. The council consisted of
eight presidentially-appointed members from within the executive branch, with one
designated as chairman by the President. Among those so appointed were certain
Cabinet secretaries, heads of other Executive Office agencies, and senior White
House Office staff members. The council was subsequently abolished by E.O. 12288
of January 29, 1981. Its funding was immediately ended by an appropriation act of
June 5, 1981 (95 Stat. 74), and its authorization was repealed by the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (95 Stat. 432).
War Refugee Board (1944-1945). Established in the Executive Office of
the President by E.O. 9417 of January 22, 1944, to effectuate with all possible speed
the rescue and release of victims of enemy oppression in immediate danger of death,
and otherwise to afford such victims all possible relief and assistance. Composed of
the Secretaries of State, War, and the Treasury, the board was to report to the
President at frequent intervals concerning the steps taken for the rescue and relief of
war refugees and to make recommendations to overcome any difficulties encountered
regarding such efforts. The board was terminated by E.O. 9614 of September 14,
1945.
White House Office (1939- ). Established in the Executive Office of the
President by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1939 to provide assistance to the President in
the performance of his many detailed activities incident to his immediate office. The
White House Office is organized in accordance with the wishes of each incumbent
President and is directed by staff chosen by the President. A staff authorization was
initially established in 1978 (92 Stat. 2445). Some presidential boards, committees,
and commissions function organizationally as subunits of the White House Office.
White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
(2001- ). Established in the Executive Office of the President by E.O. 13199 of
January 29, 2001. The Office, among other responsibilities, develops, leads, and
coordinates the Administration’s policy agenda affecting faith-based and other
community programs and initiatives, expands the role of such efforts in communities,
and increases their capacity through executive action, legislation, federal and private
funding, and regulatory relief.
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Appendix B:
A Chronology of the Principal Units of
the Executive Office of the President: 1939-2008
Unit
Added
Removed
Status
White House Office
1939
—
—
Bureau of the Budget
1939
1970
Reorganized as the Office
Management and Budget
National Resources
1939
1943
Abolished
Planning Board
Liaison Office for
1939
1953
Functions delegated to the
Personnel Management
Civil Service Commission
Office of Government
1939
1942
Transferred to the Office of
Reports
War Information
Office for Emergency
1940
—
Dormant
Management
Committee for Congested
1943
1944
Abolished
Production Areas
War Refugee Board
1944
1945
Abolished
Council of Economic
1946
—
—
Advisers
Office of Government
1946
1948
Abolished
Reports
National Security Council
1949
—
—
National Security
1949
1953
Transferred to the Office of
Resources Board
Defense Mobilization
Office of Defense
1950
1958
Transferred to the Office of
Mobilization
Defense and Civilian
Mobilization
Telecommunications
1951
1953
Transferred to the Office of
Adviser to the President
Defense Mobilization
Mutual Security Agency
1951
1953
Transferred to the Foreign
Operations Administration
Operations Coordinating
1953
1957
Subsumed by the National
Board
Security Council
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Unit
Added
Removed
Status
Office of Defense and
1958
1958
Renamed the Office of Civil
Civilian Mobilization
and Defense Mobilization
Office of Civil and Defense
1958
1961
Some functions transferred to
Mobilization
the Department of Defense
and the agency was renamed
the Office of Emergency
Planning
National Aeronautics and
1958
1973
Abolished
Space Council
Office of Emergency
1961
1968
Renamed the Office of
Planning
Emergency Preparedness
Office of Science and
1962
1973
Transferred to the National
Technology
Science Foundation
Office of the Special
1963
1979
Redesignated the Office of
Representative for Trade
the United States Trade
Negotiations
Representative
Office of Economic
1964
1975
Transferred to the
Opportunity
Departments of Labor,
Health, Education, and
Welfare; and Housing and
Urban Development; and the
Community Services
Administration
National Council on the
1964
1965
Transferred to the National
Arts
Foundation on the Arts and
the Humanities
National Council on
1966
1971
Abolished
Marine Resources and
Engineering Development
Economic Opportunity
1967
1977
Abolished
Council
Office of Emergency
1968
1973
Transferred to the
Preparedness
Departments of the Treasury
and Housing and Urban
Development and the General
Services Administration
Council for Urban Affairs
1969
1970
Transferred to the Domestic
Council
Office of Intergovernmental
1969
1972
Transferred to the Domestic
Relations
Council
Council for Rural Affairs
1969
1970
Transferred to the Domestic
Council
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Unit
Added
Removed
Status
Council on Environmental
1970
—
—
Quality
Office of
1970
1977
Transferred to the Department
Telecommunications Policy
of Commerce
Office of Management and
1970
—
—
Budget
Domestic Council
1970
1977
Reorganized as the Domestic
Policy Staff
Council on International
1971
1977
Abolished
Economic Policy
Office of Consumer Affairs
1971
1973
Transferred to the Department
of Health, Education, and
Welfare
Special Action Office for
1971
1975
Abolished
Drug Abuse Prevention
Council on Economic
1973
1974
Superseded by the President’s
Policy
Economic Policy Board
National Energy Office
1973
1973
Superseded by the Energy
Policy Office
Federal Property Council
1973
1977
Abolished
Energy Policy Office
1973
1974
Superseded by the Federal
Energy Office
Federal Energy Office
1973
1974
Transferred to the Federal
Energy Administration
Council on Wage and Price
1974
1981
Abolished
Stability
Presidential Clemency
1974
1975
Transferred to the Department
Board
of Justice
President’s Economic
1974
1977
Abolished
Policy Board
Energy Resources Council
1974
1977
Abolished
Office of Drug Abuse
1976
1977
Transferred to the White
Policy
House Office
Federal Energy Office
1976
1976
Transferred to the Federal
Energy Administration
Office of Science and
1976
—
—
Technology Policy
CRS-28
Unit
Added
Removed
Status
Office of Administration
1977
—
—
Domestic Policy Staff
1977
1992
Incorporated into the Office
of Policy Development in
1981
Office of the United States
1979
—
—
Trade Representative
Office of Policy
1981
1992
Abolished
Development
National Critical Materials
1984
1993
Dissolved and functions
Council
assumed by Office of Science
and Technology Policy
National Space Council
1988
1993
Dissolved and functions
assumed by Office of Science
and Technology Policy
Office of National Drug
1988
—
—
Control Policy
Office of Policy
1996
—
—
Development
White House Office of
2001
—
—
Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives
Office of Homeland
2001
2004
Dormant
Security
Homeland Security Council
2001
—
—
Privacy and Civil Liberties
2004
2007
Became an independent
Oversight Board
agency in the executive
branch
Gulf Coast Recovery and
2005
—
E.O. 13463, scheduled
Rebuilding Council
termination for Feb. 28, 2009
Intellectual Property
2008
—
—
Enforcement Coordinator