U.S Code last checked for updates: Sep 29, 2023
REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 1 OF 1973

Eff. July 1, 1973, 38 F.R. 9579, 87 Stat. 1089, as amended Pub. L. 94–282, title V, § 502, May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 472

Prepared by the President and transmitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress assembled, January 26, 1973, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 9 of Title 5 of the United States Code.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Section 1. Transfer of Functions to the President

Except as provided in section 3(a)(2) of this reorganization plan, there are hereby transferred to the President of the United States all functions vested by law in the Office of Emergency Preparedness or the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness after the effective date of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958.

Sec. 2. [Repealed. Pub. L. 94–282, title V, § 502, May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 472. Section transferred to the Director of the National Science Foundation all functions vested by law in the Office of Science and Technology or the Director or Deputy Director of the Office of Science and Technology.]

Sec. 3. Abolitions

(a) The following are hereby abolished:

(1) The Office of Emergency Preparedness including the offices of Director, Deputy Director, and all offices of Assistant Director, and Regional Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness provided for by sections 2 and 3 of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 (5 U.S.C., App.).

(2) The functions of the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness with respect to being a member of the National Security Council.

(3) The Civil Defense Advisory Council, created by section 102(a) of the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. App. 2272(a)), together with its functions.

(4) The National Aeronautics and Space Council, created by section 201 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2471), including the office of Executive Secretary of the Council, together with its functions.

(5) The Office of Science and Technology, including the offices of Director and Deputy Director, provided for by sections 1 and 2 of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1962 (5 U.S.C., App.).

(b) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make such provisions as he shall deem necessary respecting the winding up of any outstanding affairs of the agencies abolished by the provisions of this section.

Sec. 4. Incidental Transfers

(a) So much of the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, or to be made available in connection with the functions transferred by sections 1 and 2 of this reorganization plan as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine shall be transferred at such time or times as he shall direct for use in connection with the functions transferred.

(b) Such further measures and dispositions as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall deem to be necessary in order to effectuate the transfers referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall be carried out in such manner as he shall direct and by such agencies as he shall designate.

Sec. 5. Effective Date

The provisions of this reorganization plan shall take effect as provided by section 906(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, or on July 1, 1973, whichever is later.

Message of the President

To the Congress of the United States:

On January 5 I announced a three-part program to streamline the executive branch of the Federal Government. By concentrating less responsibility in the President’s immediate staff and more in the hands of the departments and agencies, this program should significantly improve the services of the Government. I believe these reforms have become so urgently necessary that I intend, with the cooperation of the Congress, to pursue them with all of the resources of my office during the coming year.

The first part of this program is a renewed drive to achieve passage of my legislative proposals to overhaul the Cabinet departments. Secondly, I have appointed three Cabinet Secretaries as Counsellors to the President with coordinating responsibilities in the broad areas of human resources, natural resources, and community development, and five Assistants to the President with special responsibilities in the areas of domestic affairs, economic affairs, foreign affairs, executive management, and operations of the White House.

The third part of this program is a sharp reduction in the overall size of the Executive Office of the President and a reorientation of that office back to its original mission as a staff for top-level policy formation and monitoring of policy execution in broad functional areas. The Executive Office of the President should no longer be encumbered with the task of managing or administering programs which can be run more effectively by the departments and agencies. I have therefore concluded that a number of specialized operational and program functions should be shifted out of the Executive Office into the line departments and agencies of the Government. Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1973, transmitted herewith, would effect such changes with respect to emergency preparedness functions and scientific and technological affairs.

STREAMLINING THE FEDERAL SCIENCE ESTABLISHMENT

When the National Science Foundation was established by an act of the Congress in 1950, its statutory responsibilities included evaluation of the Government’s scientific research programs and development of basic science policy. In the late 1950’s however, with the effectiveness of the U.S. science effort under serious scrutiny as a result of sputnik, the post of Science Advisor to the President was established. The White House became increasingly involved in the evaluation and coordination of research and development programs and in science policy matters, and that involvement was institutionalized in 1962 when a reorganization plan established the Office of Science and Technology within the Executive Office of the President, through transfer of authorities formerly vested in the National Science Foundation.

With advice and assistance from OST during the past decade, the scientific and technological capability of the Government has been markedly strengthened. This administration is firmly committed to sustained, broad-based national effort in science and technology, as I made plain last year in the first special message on the subject ever sent by a President to the Congress. The research and development capability of the various executive departments and agencies, civilian as well as defense, has been upgraded. The National Science Foundation has broadened from its earlier concentration on basic research support to take on a significant role in applied research as well. It has matured in its ability to play a coordinating and evaluative role within the Government and between the public and private sectors.

I have therefore concluded that it is timely and appropriate to transfer to the Director of the National Science Foundation all functions presently vested in the Office of Science and Technology, and to abolish that office. Reorganization Plan No. 1 would effect these changes.

The multi-disciplinary staff resources of the Foundation will provide analytic capabilities for performance of the transferred functions. In addition, the Director of the Foundation will be able to draw on expertise from all of the Federal agencies, as well as from outside the Government, for assistance in carrying out his new responsibilities.

It is also my intention, after the transfer of responsibilities is effected, to ask Dr. H. Guyford Stever, the current Director of the Foundation, to take on the additional post of Science Adviser. In this capacity, he would advise and assist the White House, Office of Management and Budget, Domestic Council, and other entities within the Executive Office of the President on matters where scientific and technological expertise is called for, and would act as the President’s representative in selected cooperative programs in international scientific affairs, including chairing such joint bodies as the U.S.–U.S.S.R. Joint Commission on Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

In the case of national security, the Department of Defense has strong capabilities for assessing weapons needs and for undertaking new weapons development, and the President will continue to draw primarily on this source for advice regarding military technology. The President in special situations also may seek independent studies or assessments concerning military technology from within or outside the Federal establishment, using the machinery of the National Security Council for this purpose, as well as the Science Adviser when appropriate.

In one special area of technology—space and aeronautics—a coordinating council has existed within the Executive Office of the President since 1958. This body, the National Aeronautics and Space Council, met a major need during the evolution of our nation’s space program. Vice President Agnew has served with distinction as its chairman for the past four years. At my request, beginning in 1969, the Vice President also chaired a special Space Task Group charged with developing strategy alternatives for a balanced U.S. space program in the coming years.

As a result of this work, basic policy issues in the United States space effort have been resolved, and the necessary interagency relationships have been established. I have therefore concluded, with the Vice President’s concurrence, that the Council can be discontinued. Needed policy coordination can now be achieved through the resources of the executive departments and agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, augm