HBPI augi CONTENTS Collins, Gen. J. Lawton, Chief of Staff, United States Army, accom- panied by Col. Archibald King and Lt. Col. George E. Baya Ehlers, Joseph H., National Engineers Committee, Engineers Joint ARMY ORGANIZATION ACT THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1950 UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:45 a. m. in the committee room, room 212, Senate Office Building, Senator Millard E. Tydings (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Tydings (chairman), Byrd, Chapman, Johnson (of Texas), Kefauver, Hunt, Saltonstall, and Cain. Also present: J. Nelson Tribby, chief clerk, and Verne D. Mudge, staff assistant. The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, we shall proceed this morning to the consideration of S. 2334 and H. R. 8198, to provide for the organization of the Army and the Department of the Army, and for other purposes. This proposed legislation would provide a statutory basis for the organization now in effect in the Department of the Army pursuant to the First War Powers Act. Should the First War Powers Act become inoperative the Army would revert virtually to the organization it had prior to World War II. Many archaic procedures would again be in force unless some modernization of the existing structure, such as this bill contemplates, is provided. The CHAIRMAN. We have with us this morning Mr. Gordon Gray, who is Special Assistant to the President; Mr. Frank Pace, Jr., Secretary of the Army, and Gen. J. Lawton Collins, Army Chief of Staff, who is either here or will be here shortly. Which one of you gentlemen desire to testify first? Mr. PACE. I am prepared to testify first, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. We shall be pleased to have you three gentlemen sit at the end of the table there. All right, Mr. Pace, we will be glad to have you give us your opinion on this bill. Before you do that, let me say to the committee that a comparative print of the Senate bill and the House bill is before us. You will find the Senate version in the left-hand column of the right-hand page. You will find the House version in the right-hand column of the righthand page, and you will find the existing law in the left-hand column of the left-hand page. You will find some notes and comments of explanation in the righthand column of the left-hand page, so that there is a whole story there when you get ready to go into it. Go ahead, Mr. Pace. STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK PACE, JR., SECRETARY OF THE ARMY Secretary PACE. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I appreciate the opportunity of appearing before your committee on S. 2234, commonly referred to as the Army organization bill. 1 The Secretary of Defense has asked me to read to you the following statement from him. The statement is in the form of a letter from Secretary Johnson to the chairman of the committee and is dated May 10, 1950: MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I am sorry that I am unable to appear before you in person at this time to express my views on S. 2334, to provide for the organization of the Army and the Department of the Army, and for other purposes. I have requested the Secretary of the Army to present the following statement for me. This bill has my wholehearted support. With the enactment of the National Security Act amendments of 1949, the Department of Defense was placed on a sound statutory basis, and unification was thereby advanced. The bill now under consideration is, in my opinion, consistent with that act; and will provide an equally sound statutory basis for the Department of the Army, because it will vest in the Secretary of the Army the authority necessary to conduct all affairs of the Army Establishment. Along with this authority there is given to the Secretary of the Army suitable means for its exercise. The duties of the Chief of Staff are set forth, but in general the bill does not prescribe or continue in force separate authorities or duties for officers in the Department of the Army subordinate to the Secretary and Chief of Staff. It is therefore apparent that this bill is in harmony with the recommendations of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government. While that Commission's recommendations on the National Security Organization related only to the top structure-i. e., the Department of Defense-and did not deal specifically with the Department of the Army, nevertheless the following passage from the Commission's report is as applicable to the Department of the Army as to any other Department of the Government: "In our first report we have urged that the foundation of good departmental administration requires that the Secretary have authority from the Congress to organize and control his organization, and that separate authorities to component subordinates be eliminated" (H. Doc. 86, 81st Cong., 1st sess., p. 6). If this recommendation of the Commission on Organization should be carried into effect, either by statute or by reorganization plan, the Secretary of the Army would possess even broader powers than those conferred upon him by S. 2334. I regard S. 2334 as consistent with unification of the Services under the principles prescribed by the Congress. The enactment of this bill will permit the Secretary of the Army to make such organizational changes as may be necessary now or in the future, to meet the requirements of the Army in carrying out its mission under the National Security Act of 1947 and the amendments chereto of 1949. Secretary Pace and General Collins will explain and discuss the details of the bill with you; but, if the committee so desires, I shall be glad to appear before it at a later date and answer any questions which the members of the committee may care to ask me. With warm personal regards, I am. LOUIS JOHNSON. The bill before you is designed to provide authority for the organization of the Army and the Department of the Army in broad and simple terms, and to place the current organization on a permanent statutory basis. While my tenure as Secretary of the Army has not been long enough to permit me to become thoroughly familiar with all details of this measure, I am familiar in general with its purposes and provisions. The draft of the legislation, in approximately the same form, was considered by the Bureau of the Budget when I was Director. After extensive study by the staff of the Bureau, the submission of this proposal was approved as being in accord with the program of the President. I should also like to point out that two former Secretaries of the Army, Kenneth C. Royall and Gordon Gray, both gave much time and study to the proposal which you are now considering. During the period it was being formulated and drafted, each of these men gave it detailed and careful thought before approving it. In addition, Secretary Gray personally testified in favor of a companion bill in hearings conducted this March by a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. The bill deals exclusively with the internal organization of the Army Establishment. It does not deal with or affect the National Guard or the Reserve components of the Army; the strength of the Army; or personnel matters, such as pay, promotion, and retirement. It is a comprehensive organization measure, and is a consolidation and revision of various laws affecting the organization of the Army which have been enacted at different times in the past. The Secretary of the Army is given full authority in this bill to administer the entire establishment, subject to the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, and subject to the constitutional powers of the President. The authority of the Secretary of the Army which existed under the laws in effect prior to the enactment of the First War Powers Act will be strengthened by the repeal of many statutory provisions which prescribe organizational details and the duties and powers of officers subordinate to the Secretary. Such provisions are a handicap to good administration. The bill will clearly maintain the traditional policy of civilian control of the Army. It provides that the Chief of Staff shall perform his duties under the direction of the Secretary of the Army. It further provides that the Chief of Staff shall preside over the Army Staff, shall transmit to the Secretary of the Army the plans and recommendations of the staff, shall advise him in regard thereto, and, upon the approval of the plans or recommendations by the Secretary, shall act as the agent of the Secretary in carrying them into effect. The necessity for this legislation is clear. If some legislation is not enacted before expiration of title I of the First War Powers Act, it will be necessary for the Army and the Department of the Army to revert to the organization existing in 1941. That would result in the reestablishment of a now antiquated organization, which would not only be undesirable but would seriously interfere with the ability of the Army to meet the needs of the day. As Secretary of the Army, I approve and endorse this proposed legislation and will remain available to answer any broad questions concerning the legislation or its implementation. However, as I stated before, I am not an expert on all the detailed provisions, and for that purpose I have with me General Collins and officers who have assisted him in drafting the bill who can furnish any information which may be desired by your committee. Mr. Chairman, if I may make three very brief comments that are made with due regard to my lack of experience with the potential operation of this bill, but which I think might possibly be helpful to the committee; I would like to say that this matter was given exhaustive consideration in the House Armed Services Committee, and I feel that fundamentally the bill, as it now lies before this committee, is sound. There are some provisions of it that General Collins and Mr. Gray are better qualified to go into with you than I am, that the Army feels might, from the long-range viewpoint, be more beneficial to its opera |