(a) The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States-
(1) to promote the better execution of the laws, the more effective management of the executive branch and of its agencies and functions, and the expeditious administration of the public business;
(2) to reduce expenditures and promote economy to the fullest extent consistent with the efficient operation of the Government;
(3) to increase the efficiency of the operations of the Government to the fullest extent practicable;
(4) to group, coordinate, and consolidate agencies and functions of the Government, as nearly as may be, according to major purposes;
(5) to reduce the number of agencies by consolidating those having similar functions under a single head, and to abolish such agencies or functions thereof as may not be necessary for the efficient conduct of the Government; and
(6) to eliminate overlapping and duplication of effort.
(b) Congress declares that the public interest demands the carrying out of the purposes of subsection (a) of this section and that the purposes may be accomplished in great measure by proceeding under this chapter, and can be accomplished more speedily thereby than by the enactment of specific legislation.
(c) It is the intent of Congress that the President should provide appropriate means for broad citizen advice and participation in restructuring and reorganizing the executive branch.
(d) The President shall from time to time examine the organization of all agencies and shall determine what changes in such organization are necessary to carry out any policy set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
(
| Derivation | U.S. Code | Revised Statutes and Statutes at Large |
|---|---|---|
| 5 U.S.C. 133z. | June 20, 1949, ch. 226, §2, |
In subsection (a), the words "from time to time examine" are substituted for "examine and from time to time reexamine" since the initial examination has been executed. The words "of the Government" following "agencies" are omitted as unnecessary in view of the definition of "agency" in section 902. In subsection (a)(1), the words "of the Government" following "executive branch" are omitted as unnecessary and to conform to the style of this title.
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
Section 901(c) of former Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees, was transferred to section 60e–2(a) of Title 2, The Congress.
1977-Subsecs. (a) to (d).
1971-Subsec. (a).
Subsec. (c).
Ex. Ord. No. 6166, June 10, 1933, provided:
The function of determination of policies and methods of procurement, warehousing, and distribution of property, facilities, structures, improvements, machinery, equipment, stores, and supplies exercised by an agency is transferred to a Procurement Division in the Treasury Department, at the head of which shall be a Director of Procurement.
The Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department is transferred to the Procurement Division, except that the buildings of the Treasury Department shall be administered by the Treasury Department and the administration of post-office buildings is transferred to the Post Office Department. The General Supply Committee of the Treasury Department is abolished.
In respect of any kind of procurement, warehousing, or distribution for any agency the Procurement Division may, with the approval of the President, (a) undertake the performance of such procurement, warehousing, or distribution itself, or (b) permit such agency to perform such procurement, warehousing, or distribution, or (c) entrust such performance to some other agency, or (d) avail itself in part of any of these recourses, according as it may deem desirable in the interest of economy and efficiency. When the Procurement Division has prescribed the manner of procurement, warehousing, or distribution of any thing, no agency shall thereafter procure, warehouse, or distribute such thing in any manner other than so prescribed.
The execution of work now performed by the Corps of Engineers of the Army shall remain with said corps, subject to the responsibilities herein vested in the Procurement Division.
The Procurement Division shall also have control of all property, facilities, structures, machinery, equipment, stores, and supplies not necessary to the work of any agency; may have custody thereof or entrust custody to any other agency; and shall furnish the same to agencies as need therefor may arise.
The Fuel Yards of the Bureau of Mines of the Department of Commerce are transferred to the Procurement Office. (As amended by Ex. Ord. No. 6623 of Mar. 1, 1934.)
Ex. Ord. No. 6623, Mar. 1, 1934, revoked a final paragraph of section 1 of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, which provided for the abolition of the Federal Employment Stabilization Board and the transfer of its functions to the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. Said Ex. Ord. No. 6623 also provided in part as follows:
"It is further ordered that the said Federal Employment Stabilization Board be, and it is hereby, abolished.
"There is hereby established in the Department of Commerce an office to be known as the 'Federal Employment Stabilization Office,' and there are hereby transferred to such office the functions of the Federal Employment Stabilization Board, together with its Director and other personnel, and records, supplies, equipment, and property of every kind.
"The unexpended balances of appropriations and/or allotments of appropriations of the Federal Employment Stabilization Board are hereby transferred to the Federal Employment Stabilization Office, Department of Commerce."
The effective date of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, §1, as provided for in section 22, post, was extended to Dec. 31, 1933, by Ex. Ord. No. 6224, of July 27, 1933, and the effective date of the last paragraph, subsequently revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 6623, was deferred by Ex. Ord. No. 6624 of Mar. 1, 1934, until such revocation could become effective.
[Subsequent to the effective date of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, §1, certain functions affected thereby were again transferred as follows: The Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division was transferred to Public Buildings Administration within the Federal Works Administration by 1939 Reorg. Plan No. 1, §§301, 303, 4 Fed. Reg. 2729;
Section 602(b) of act June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title VI,
All functions of administration of public buildings, reservations, national parks, national monuments, and national cemeteries are consolidated in the National Park Service in the Department of the Interior, at the head of which shall be a Director of the National Park Service; except that where deemed desirable there may be excluded from this provision any public building or reservation which is chiefly employed as a facility in the work of a particular agency. This transfer and consolidation of functions shall include, among others, those of the former National Park Service of the Department of the Interior and the following National Cemeteries and Parks of the War Department which are located within the continental limits of the United States:
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee.
Fort Donelson National Military Park, Tennessee.
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battle Fields Memorial, Virginia.
Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania.
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, North Carolina.
Kings Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina.
Moores Creek National Military Park, North Carolina.
Petersburg National Military Park, Virginia.
Shiloh National Military Park, Tennessee.
Stones River National Military Park, Tennessee.
Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi.
Abraham Lincoln National Park, Kentucky.
Fort McHenry National Park, Maryland.
Antietam Battlefield, Maryland.
Appomattox, Virginia.
Brices Cross Roads, Mississippi.
Chalmette Monument and Grounds, Louisiana.
Cowpens, South Carolina.
Fort Necessity, Wharton County, Pennsylvania.
Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia.
Monocacy, Maryland.
Tupelo, Mississippi.
White Plains, New York.
Big Hole Battlefield, Beaverhead County, Montana.
Cabrillo Monument, Fort Rosecrans, California.
Castle Pinckney, Charleston, South Carolina.
Father Millet Cross, Fort Niagara, New York.
Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida.
Fort Matanzas, Florida.
Fort Pulaski, Georgia.
Meriwether Lewis, Hardin County, Tennessee.
Mound City Group, Chillicothe, Ohio.
Statue of Liberty, Fort Wood, New York.
Camp Blount Tablets, Lincoln County, Tennessee.
Kill Devil Hill Monument, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
New Echota Marker, Georgia.
Lee Mansion, Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
Custer Battlefield, National Cemetery in the State of Montana.
Battleground, District of Columbia.
Antietam (Sharpsburg), Maryland.
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Fort Donelson (Dover), Tennessee.
Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), Tennessee.
Stones River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee.
Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Poplar Grove (Petersburg), Virginia.
Yorktown, Virginia.
National cemeteries located in insular possessions under the jurisdiction of the War Department shall be administered by the Bureau of Insular Affairs of the War Department.
The functions of the following agencies are transferred to the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior, and the agencies are abolished:
Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission
Public Buildings Commission
Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital
National Memorial Commission
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Commission
Expenditures by the Federal Government for the purposes of the Commission of Fine Arts, the George Rogers Clark Sesquicentennial Commission, and the Rushmore National Commission shall be administered by the Department of the Interior. (As amended by Ex. Ord. No. 6228 of July 28, 1933; Ex. Ord. No. 6614 of Feb. 26, 1934; Ex. Ord. No. 8428 of June 3, 1940, 5 F.R. 2132; and act Mar. 2, 1934. ch. 39, §1,
The enumeration of the National Cemeteries and Parks of the War Department which were transferred to the Department of the Interior was added by Ex. Ord. No. 6228, §1, of July 28, 1933, and Ex. Ord. No. 8428 of June 3, 1940.
A provision of this section transferring the administration of national cemeteries located in foreign countries to the State Department was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 6614 of Feb. 26, 1934.
See section 22 of this Ex. Ord. The transfer of national cemeteries located in the insular possessions to the Bureau of Insular Affairs, as provided in this section, was postponed until further order by Ex. Ord. No. 6228, §3, of July 28, 1933.
All functions now exercised by the Bureau of Prohibition of the Department of Justice with respect to the granting of permits under the national prohibition laws are transferred to the Division of Internal Revenue in the Treasury Department.
All functions now exercised by the Bureau of Prohibition with respect to investigations and all the functions now performed by the Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice are transferred to and consolidated in a Division of Investigation in the Department of Justice, at the head of which shall be a Director of Investigation.
All other functions now performed by the Bureau of Prohibition are transferred to such divisions in the Department of Justice as in the judgment of the Attorney General may be desirable.
[Section, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 6728, May 29, 1934; 1940 Reorg. Plan No. III, §1(a)(1), eff. June 30, 1940, 5 F.R. 2107,
The bracketed provisions in the first sentence of section 4 of Ex. Ord. No. 6166 reflect the changes effected by 1940 Reorg. Plan No. IV, §§3, 4, eff. June 30, 1940, 5 F.R. 2421,
The effective date of section 4 of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, originally fixed by section 22 of this Ex. Ord., was subsequently postponed as follows: to Dec. 31, 1933, by Ex. Ord. No. 6224 of July 27, 1933; to June 30, 1934 (insofar as not already effected prior to Dec. 31, 1933), by Ex. Ord. No. 6540 of Dec. 28, 1933; to Dec. 31, 1934 (insofar as not already effected prior to June 30, 1934), by Ex. Ord. No. 6727 of May 29, 1934; to June 30, 1935, by Ex. Ord. No. 6927 of Dec. 31, 1934; to Dec. 31, 1935 (insofar as not already effected prior to June 30, 1934), by Ex. Ord. No. 7077 of June 15, 1935; to June 30, 1936 (insofar as not already effected prior to Dec. 31, 1935), by Ex. Ord. No. 7261 of Dec. 31, 1935. Each of these orders contained a provision that the changes therein delayed might be made sooner effective by order of the Secretary of the Treasury approved by the President.
The functions of prosecuting in the courts of the United States claims and demands by, and offenses against, the Government of the United States and of defending claims and demands against the Government, and of supervising the work of United States attorneys, marshals, and clerks in connection therewith, now exercised by any agency or officer, are transferred to the Department of Justice.
As to any case referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution or defense in the courts, the function of decision whether and in what manner to prosecute, or to defend, or to compromise, or to appeal, or to abandon prosecution or defense, now exercised by any agency or officer, is transferred to the Department of Justice.
For the exercise of such of his functions as are not transferred to the Department of Justice by the foregoing two paragraphs, the Solicitor of the Treasury is transferred from the Department of Justice to the Treasury Department.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the function of any agency or officer with respect to cases at any stage prior to reference to the Department of Justice for prosecution or defense.
With regard to legal work performed by the Veterans' Administration in connection with suits against the United States arising under section 19 of the World War Veterans Act, 1924, the effective date of this section was postponed to Sept. 10, 1933, by Ex. Ord. No. 6222 of July 27, 1933.
The effective date of the first paragraph of this section, insofar as it affected the functions of the General Counsel for the Bureau of Internal Revenue, was postponed until Oct. 10, 1933, by Ex. Ord. No. 6244 of Aug. 8, 1933.
The United States Court for China, the District Court of the United States for the Panama Canal Zone, and the District Court of the Virgin Islands of the United States are transferred to the Department of Justice.
Ex. Ord. No. 6243, Aug. 5, 1933, provided that "the effective date of the transfer to the Department of Justice of the District Court of the United States for the Panama Canal Zone is hereby postponed to October 4, 1933."
The Solicitor for the Department of Commerce is transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of Commerce.
The Solicitor for the Department of Labor is transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of Labor.
The Bureaus of Internal Revenue and or Industrial Alcohol of the Treasury Department are consolidated in a Division of Internal Revenue, at the head of which shall be a Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
The effective date of section 8 of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, originally fixed by section 22 of the same order, post, was subsequently postponed as follows: to Dec. 31, 1933, by Ex. Ord. No. 6224 of July 27, 1933; to June 30, 1934, by Ex. Ord. No. 6540 of Dec. 28, 1933. Said orders, however, contained a provision whereby the changes thereby delayed might be sooner effected by order of the Secretary of the Treasury approved by the President.
The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics shall be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce and shall perform such functions as the Secretary of Commerce may designate.
The function of preparation of the Official Register is transferred from the Bureau of the Census to the Civil Service Commission.
The function of the Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce of compiling statistics of cities under 100,000 population is abolished for the period ending June 30, 1935.
The functions of the United States Shipping Board including those over and in respect to the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation are transferred to the Department of Commerce, and the United States Shipping Board is abolished.
The National Screw Thread Commission is abolished, and its records, property, facilities, equipment, and supplies are transferred to the Department of Commerce.
The Bureaus of Immigration and of Naturalization of the Department of Labor are consolidated as an Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Labor, at the head of which shall be a Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization.
The functions of the Federal Board for Vocational Education are transferred to the Department of the Interior, and the Board shall act in an advisory capacity without compensation.
The functions of making, waiving, and modifying apportionments of appropriations are transferred to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget.
The Federal Coordinating Service is abolished.
The effective date of this section originally fixed by section 22 of this Ex. Ord., was subsequently deferred to Oct. 10, 1933, by Ex. Ord. No. 6239 of Aug. 2, 1933.
Section 18 of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, which provided for the partial abolition of cooperative vocational education payments for agricultural experiment stations; cooperative agricultural extension work; and endowment and maintenance of colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanical arts, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 6536 of Feb. 6, 1934.
Each agency, all the functions of which are transferred to or consolidated with another agency, is abolished.
The records pertaining to an abolished agency or a function disposed of, disposition of which is not elsewhere herein provided for, shall be transferred to the successor. If there be no successor agency, and such abolished agency be within a department, said records shall be disposed of as the head of such department may direct.
The property, facilities, equipment, and supplies employed in the work of an abolished agency or the exercise of a function disposed of, disposition of which is not elsewhere herein provided for, shall, to the extent required, be transferred to the successor agency. Other such property, facilities, equipment, and supplies shall be transferred to the Procurement Division.
All personnel employed in connection with the work of an abolished agency or function disposed of shall be separated from the service of the United States, except that the head of any successor agency, subject to my approval, may, within a period of four months after transfer or consolidation, reappoint any of such personnel required for the work of the successor agency without reexamination or loss of civil-service status.
The effective date of the last paragraph of this section, originally fixed by section 22, post, was deferred as to employees separated from service under sections 2 and 15, ante, until Sept. 30, 1933, by Ex. Ord. No. 6227 of July 27, 1933. As to employees separated under section 12, ante, a similar deferment to Sept. 30, 1933, was made by Ex. Ord. No. 6245 of Aug. 9, 1933.
Such portions of the unexpended balances of appropriations for any abolished agency or function disposed of shall be transferred to the successor agency as the Director of the Budget shall deem necessary.
Unexpended balances of appropriations for an abolished agency or function disposed of, not so transferred by the Director of the Budget, shall, in accordance with law, be impounded and returned to the Treasury.
As used in this order-
"Agency" means any commission, independent establishment, board, bureau, division, service, or office in the executive branch of the Government.
"Abolished agency" means any agency which is abolished, transferred, or consolidated.
"Successor agency" means any agency to which is transferred some other agency or function, or which results from the consolidation of other agencies or functions.
"Function disposed of" means any function eliminated or transferred.
In accordance with law, this order shall become effective 61 days from its date: Provided, That in case it shall appear to the President that the interests of economy require that any transfer, consolidation, or elimination be delayed beyond the date this order becomes effective, he may, in his discretion, fix a later date therefor, and he may for like cause further defer such date from time to time. (Promulgated June 10, 1933.)
[Postponements of effective date of certain transfers, etc., see notes under the various sections of this Executive Order effecting those transfers, etc.]
Executive Order No. 7261, promulgated December 31, 1935, provided that "except as hereinafter provided, the transfers, consolidations, and eliminations contemplated by section 4 of Executive Order No. 6166 of June 10, 1933, as amended, which are not effected prior to December 31, 1935, pursuant to Executive Order No. 6224 of July 27, 1933, Executive Order No. 6540 of December 28, 1933, Executive Order No. 6727 of May 29, 1934, Executive Order No. 6927 of December 21, 1934, and Executive Order No. 7077 of June 15, 1935, together with the operation of all other provisions of Executive Order No. 6166 of June 10, 1933, as amended, in so far as they relate to said section 4, be further delayed until June 30, 1936: Provided, that any transfer, consolidation, or elimination, in whole or in part, under said section 4, including any other provisions of the said order of June 10, 1933, in so far as they relate to section 4 thereof, may be made operative and effective between December 31, 1935, and June 30, 1936, by order of the Secretary of the Treasury, approved by the President."
Executive Order No. 7980, promulgated September 29, 1938, provided: "That the transfers, consolidations, and eliminations contemplated by section 4 of Executive Order No. 6166 of June 10, 1933, as amended, together with the operation of all other provisions of Executive Order No. 6166 of June 10, 1933, as amended, so far as they relate to the said section 4, be further delayed until December 31, 1938, with respect to the function of disbursement now exercised by United States Marshals under the Department of Justice."
Functions relating to disbursement by United States marshals which would otherwise have become functions of Treasury Department on July 1, 1940, by virtue of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, as amended, were transferred to and vested in Department of Justice to be exercised by United States marshals under supervision of Attorney General in accordance with existing statutes pertaining to such functions, by Reorg. Plan No. IV of 1940, §3, eff. June 30, 1940. See, also, sections 13–15 of said plan for provisions relating to transfer of functions of department heads, records, property, personnel, and funds.
Functions relating to disbursement of postal revenues and all other funds under jurisdiction of Post Office Department, Postmaster General, and Board of Trustees of Postal Savings System which would otherwise have become functions of Treasury Department on July 1, 1940, by virtue of Ex. Ord. No. 6166, as amended, set out in note under this section, were transferred to and vested in (a) said Board of Trustees as to postal savings disbursements, and (b) Post Office Department as to all other disbursements involved, such functions to be exercised by postmasters and other authorized disbursing agents of Post Office Department and of Postal Savings System in accordance with existing statutes pertaining to such functions, by Reorg. Plan No. IV of 1940, §4, eff. June 30, 1940. See, also, sections 13–15 of said plan for provisions relating to transfer of functions of department heads, records, property, personnel, and funds.
Public Buildings Branch of Procurement Division and its functions and personnel were transferred to Public Buildings Administration, and functions of Secretary of Agriculture and Director of Procurement Division relating to administration thereof and to selection of sites for public buildings were transferred to Federal Works Administrator by Reorg. Plan No. I of 1939, §§301, 303, effective July 1, 1939. See also sections 307–310 of said plan for provisions relating to transfer of records, property, funds, and personnel.
Ex. Ord. No. 11007, Feb. 27, 1962, 27 F.R. 1875, which related to regulations for formation and use of advisory committees, was superseded by Ex. Ord. No. 11671, June 5, 1972, 37 F.R. 11307.
Ex. Ord. No. 11671, June 5, 1972, 37 F.R. 11307, which related to committee management, was superseded by Ex. Ord. No. 11686, Oct. 7, 1972, 37 F.R. 21421, set out in the Appendix to this title.