CIVIL AERONAUTICS AUTHORITY SEC. 7. Functions of the Administrator transferred.-The functions vested in the Civil Aeronautics Authority by the Civilian Pilot Training Act of 1939; the functions of aircraft registration and of safety regulation described in titles V and VI of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, except the functions of prescribing safety standards, rules, and regulations and of suspending and revoking certificates after hearing; the function provided for by section 1101 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938; and the functions of appointing such officers and employees and of authorizing such expenditures and travel as may be necessary for the performance of all functions vested in the Administrator, are transferred from the Civil Aeronautics Authority to and shall be exercised by the Administrator, who shall hereafter be known as the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics. GENERAL PROVISIONS SEC. 8. Transfer of records, property, and personnel.—All records and property (including office equipment) of the several agencies, and all records and property used primarily in the administration of any functions, transferred or consolidated by this Plan and all the personnel used in the administration of such agencies and functions (including officers whose chief duties relate to such administration and whose offices are not abolished) are transferred or consolidated, as the case may be, within the department or agency concerned, for use in the administration of the agencies and functions transferred or consolidated by this Plan: Provided, That any personnel transferred or consolidated within any department or agency by this section found by the head of such department or agency to be in excess of the personnel necessary for the administration of the functions transferred or consolidated shall be retransferred under existing law to other positions in the Government service, or separated from the service subject to the provisions of section 10 (a) of the Reorganization Act of 1939. SEC. 9. Transfer of funds.-So much of the unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds available (including funds available for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941) for the use of any agency in the exercise of any function transferred or consolidated by this Plan, or for the use of the head of any department or agency in the exercise of any function so transferred or consolidated, as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget with the approval of the President shall determine, shall be transferred within the department or agency concerned for use in connection with the exercise of the function so transferred or consolidated. In determining the amount to be transferred the Director of the Bureau of the Budget may include an amount to provide for the liquidation of obligations incurred against such appropriations, allocations, or other funds prior to the transfer: Provided, That the use of the unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds transferred by this section shall be subject to the provisions of section 4 (d) (3) and section 9 of the Reorganization Act of 1939. 76983949 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE TRANSMITTING REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. IV1 To the Congress of the United States: One year ago the Congress directed the President to investigate the organization of the Executive establishment and to submit plans for such transfers, consolidations, and abolitions of agencies as found necessary and desirable. This Shortly thereafter I submitted Reorganization Plan No. I which improved the over-all management of the Executive branch. was followed by Reorganization Plan No. II which effected a better allocation of certain agencies and activities among departments. Although these two plans have been in effect less than a year, their benefits have already been gratifying. I have found the task of coordinating the work of the Executive branch less difficult. Many improvements in service have occurred, and substantial economies have resulted. Reorganization Plan No. III, recently submitted, is a third step which will improve intradepartmental management through internal adjustment in certain agencies. I am now proposing a fourth reorganization plan which provides for a number of interdepartmental reorganizations. These changes are designed to increase efficiency in the administration of Government services by a more logical grouping of certain functions and by a further reduction in the number of independent agencies reporting directly to the Chief Executive. Accordingly, I am transmitting herewith Reorganization Plan No. IV, which, after investigation, I have prepared in pursuance of section 4 of the Reorganization Act of 1939 (Public, No. 19, 76th Cong., 1st sess.), approved April 3, 1939; and I declare with respect to each reorganization made in this plan, that I have found such reorganization necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes of section 1 (a) of the act: 1. To reduce expenditures; 2. To increase efficiency ; 3. To consolidate agencies according to major purposes; 4. To reduce the number of agencies by consolidating those having similar functions and by abolishing such as may not be necessary; 5. To eliminate overlapping and duplication of effort. The plan I now transmit I shall describe briefly as follows: Department of State.-The Dominican Customs Receivership is transferred to the Department of State from the Division of Territories and Island Possessions in the Department of the Interior. The 1 Printed as H. Doc. No. 692, 76th Cong., 3d sess. 78 State Department is the most appropriate agency to supervise this activity which involves relations with a foreign government. Treasury Department.-The plan transfers to the Secretary of the Treasury the function of the Attorney General of approving out-ofcourt settlements-technically termed compromises of cases arising under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act which have not, prior to compromise, been referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution. The present requirement that the Attorney General approve all compromises results in a cumbersome, time-consuming procedure which the small amounts involved do not warrant. The proposed handling will be simpler, less likely to cause delay, and consistent with the procedure now followed in compromises arising under other acts which the Treasury Department administers. Department of Justice.-Executive Order No. 6166, issued June 10, 1933, provided for the centralization of the disbursement function in a Division of Disbursement in the Treasury Department. The resulting increase in efficiency has amply demonstrated the wisdom of centralizing disbursement work. In effectuating the plan, however, I have found it necessary to postpone its application to United States marshals because of the unusual character of their disbursing work in serving the courts. Experience indicates that this arrangement should be continued. I am proposing, therefore, the permanent transfer of the disbursement function of United States marshals from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice. Post Office Department.-It has also been found desirable to continue permanently in the Post Office Department the disbursement of Post Office funds. The special character of the work of this Department, involving disbursements in thousands of post offices throughout the Nation, requires here, as well as in the case of the United States marshals, a departure from the sound theory of central disbursing. With its far-flung facilities, the Post Office Department is better equipped to carry on this work than the Division of Disbursement. Another proposal affecting the Post Office Department relates to the transportation of mail and other material between departments. In the early colonial days, the interchange of correspondence and messages was by the simple hand-to-hand method. Gradually a more systematic device became necessary to transport messages, with the resultant evolution of the postal service. Business and private citizens in general have made use of that service, and today we have in our Post Office Department the most efficient organization of its kind in the world. However, here in the Capital City, the Federal Government, instead of utilizing fully the resources of the Post Office Department to maintain its mail and messenger service, has permitted a multiplicity of interdepartmental messenger services, each serving its own department, bureau, or agency. This duplication of services is uneconomical and results in a constant crisscrossing and overlapping of personnel and equipment, all engaged in a common activity. I am sure that the average citizen in Washington, as well as officials of the Government itself, have wondered at this paradox whereby the Federal Government is failing to make the fullest use of one of its own agencies which is specially equipped to render a simple, centralized service for all the other agencies. This reorganization plan proposes to do exactly that; to provide for the transportation of mail, documents, packages, and similar material between all buildings occupied by Government offices on a regularly scheduled basis of sufficient frequency to meet the reasonable and normal requirements of these offices and to reduce to a minimum the constant dispatching of messengers on so-called urgent and emergency errands. This service will be available on a reimbursement basis to the agencies exempted by the Reorganization Act. Department of the Interior.-I propose to transfer to the Department of the Interior the activities of the Soil Conservation Service relating to soil and moisture conservation on lands under the jurisdiction of the Interior Department. With respect to private lands, the soil-conservation work of the Federal Government is primarily of a consultative character and can best be carried on by the Department of Agriculture through cooperation of the farmers throughout the country. In the case of Federal lands, this work includes the actual application by the Government of soil-conservation practices and is an appropriate function of the agency administering the land. Department of Commerce.-One of the purposes of the Reorganization Act is to reduce the number of administrative agencies and thereby simplify the task of executive management. We have made substantial progress toward this objective under previous reorganization plans. I am now proposing another step in this direction by placing the Civil Aeronautics Authority within the framework of the Department of Commerce. Reorganization Plan No. III, which deals with intradepartmental changes, draws a more practical separation between the functions of the Administrator and the Civil Aeronautics Board. In Plan IV, which is concerned with interdepartmental reorganization, I am bringing the Authority into the departmental structure. The Administrator will report to the Secretary of Commerce. The five-member Board, however, will perform its rule-making, adjudicative, and investigative functions independent of the Department. In the interest of efficiency it will be supplied by the Department with budgeting, accounting, procurement, and other office services. As a result of the adjustments provided in Plans III and IV, I believe the Civil Aeronautics Board will be able effectively to carry forward the important work of accident investigation heretofore performed by the Air Safety Board. In addition to the effective and coordinated discharge of accident investigation work which this transfer will facilitate, economies in administration will be possible. The importance of the Weather Bureau's functions to the Nation's commerce has also led to the decision to transfer this Bureau to the Department of Commerce. The development of the aviation industry has imposed upon the Weather Bureau a major responsibility in the field of air transportation. The transfer to the Department of Commerce, as provided in this plan, will permit better coordination of Government activities relating to aviation and to commerce generally, without in any way lessening the Bureau's contribution to agriculture. Department of Labor.-The plan transfers to the Secretary of Labor the functions of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior relating to the enforcement of the minimumwage provisions in contracts for Federal construction. The Secre tary of Labor is responsible by law for the determination of the prevailing wage rates included in Government contracts and should properly have complete responsibility for their enforcement. United States Maritime Commission.-I propose to transfer to the United States Maritime Commission the functions of the Secretary of the Navy relating to State marine and nautical schools. These schools are devoted to training young men for junior officer positions in the merchant marine. The general responsibility for developing facilities for the training of merchant marine personnel is vested in the Maritime Commission. The proposed transfer will thus permit closer coordination of the nautical schools with the training work of the Maritime Commission. Federal Security Agency.-The Federal Security Agency has as its major purposes the promotion of social and economic security, educational opportunity, and the health of the citizens. The functions. of Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Freedmen's Hospital, Howard University, and Columbia Institution for the Deaf plainly come squarely within these purposes. Consequently, I find it necessary and desirable in pursuance of the objectives of the Reorganization Act to transfer to the Federal Security Agency the responsibilities of the Interior Department relating to these institutions. The work of Saint Elizabeths Hospital and Freedmen's Hospital is much more akin to the activities of the Public Health Service in the Federal Security Agency than to those of any other Federal establishment. Similarly, Howard University and Columbia Institution for the Deaf can derive more benefit from association with the Office of Education in the Federal Security Agency than with any other Federal organization. I further propose to transfer to the Federal Security Agency the Food and Drug Administration with the exception of two activities intimately related to the work of the Department of Agriculture. The work of the Food and Drug Administration is unrelated to the basic functions of the Department of Agriculture. There was, however, no other agency to which these functions more appropriately belonged until the Federal Security Agency was created last year. I now believe that the opportunity for the Food and Drug Administration to develop along increasingly constructive lines lies in this new Agency. There is also need for coordination of certain of its functions with those of the Public Health Service. To accomplish these objectives, the plan establishes the Administration as a separate unit within the Federal Security Agency. a Economies.-Functions may be transferred or consolidated under this Reorganization Act, but the abolition of functions is prohibited. Congress alone can curtail or abolish functions now provided by law. Savings must come from administrative expenses which comprise only small fraction of Federal expenditures. This precludes the making of large reductions in expenditure through reorganization plans. The major achievements in reorganizations under this formula must inevitably be found in improved management and more effective service. However, some savings in administrative expenses will be possible under this plan. I estimate the immediate annual savings at approximately $300,000. Future reorganization needs.-The reorganization plans thus far submitted do not exhaust the transfers, consolidations, and abolitions |