COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES EIGHTY-FIRST CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON S. 1269 and S. 1843 A BILL TO CONVERT THE NATIONAL MILITARY ESTAB- 89469 MARCH 24 AND 29, APRIL 6, 7, 11, AND 12, Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1949 3 :A7 CONTENTS Statements of— Bradley, Gen. Omar N., Chief of Staff for Army-- Cake, Gilbert L., Associate Commissioner of Accounts, Treasury De- Cates, Gen. Clifton B., Commandant, United States Marine Corps‒‒‒ 28 Page 108 235 108 108 48, 201 6 145 173 236 93 108 Kimball, Dan A., Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air_--- McNeil, W. J., Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense-. Stauffacher, Charles, Assistant Director in charge of Administrative Management, Bureau of the Budget__. Symington, Hon. W. Stuart, Secretary of Air Force_ Statement of Hon. James Forrestal, Secretary of Defense; accom- Letter from Secretary of Defense to chairman of the Armed Services Committee dated March 24, 1949, and a press release concerning monetary savings effected thus far under unification of armed Letter from Secretary of Defense to chairman of the Armed Services Committee dated March 28, 1949, and a comparison of President's recommendations for amending the National Security Act of 1947 and the recommendations of the Hoover Commission__ Letter from Secretary of Defense to chairman of the Armed Services Committee dated March 28, 1949, attaching statement on Munitions Board purchase assignment program__. Letter from Secretary of Defense to chairman of the Armed Services Statement of Ferdinand Eberstadt___ April 6, 1949: Statement of Hon. Frank Pace, Director of the Budget, ac- companied by Frederick J. Lawton, Assistant Director of the Budget; Charles B. Stauffacher, Assistant Director, Administrative Management Division; William Finan, Deputy Chief, Management Improvement Branch; and William Schaub, Deputy Chief, Division of Estimates____ Statement of Hon. W. Stuart Symington, Secretary of the Air Force Statements of Admiral Louis E. Denfeld, Chief of Naval Operations; Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Chief Staff for Air; Gen. Omar N. Bradley, Chief of Staff for Army; and Gen. Clifton B. Cates, Commandant, Letter from Hon. John J. McCloy, president of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, dated April 7, 1949, to chair- man of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, enclosing copy of his letter to Mr. Ferdinand Eberstadt giving his views on proposed amendments to the National Security Act of 1947_. Statement of Hon. Kenneth C. Royall, Secretary of the Army, accom- panied by Maj. Gen. W. H. Arnold, Chief, Budget Division, Depart- Letter from Secretary of the Army Royall to Mr. Herbert Hoover en- closing comments on the Eberstadt Committee Report on the Mili- Letter dated May 4, 1949, from E. F. Bartlett, Fiscal Assistant Secre- Letter dated May 4, 1949, from Hon. Lindsay Warren, Comptroller General of the United States, to chairman of Senate Committee on Letter dated May 5, 1949, from Hon. Louis Johnson, Secretary of De- fense, to chairman, Senate Committee on Armed Services-. Letter dated May 5, 1949, from Hon. F. J. Lawton, Acting Director, Bureau of the Budget, to chairman of Senate Committee on Armed Address of Mr. Marx Leva, special assistant to the Secretary of De- fense, before the Joint Orientation Conference of the National Memorandum from Admiral Louis Denfeld, for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dated March 25, 1949, to the Secretary of Defense. Memorandum from Secretary of Defense Forrestal, dated March 26, NATIONAL SECURITY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1949 THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1949 UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a. m. in the committee room, room 212 Senate Office Building, Senator Millard Tydings (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Tydings, Byrd, Chapman, Johnson of Texas, Kefauver, Hunt, Saltonstall, Baldwin and Knowland. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. The committee will begin consideration today of S. 1269. This is a proposal which reflects the position of the President as stated in his message of March 5. It has been drafted by our legislative counsel, and conforms to changes which have been suggested by, and agreed to by, the interested executive departments of the Government. In its present form I understand it has the concurrence of the Bureau of the Budget, the National Military Establishment and other interested parties. (S. 1269 is as follows:) [S. 1269, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To convert the National Military Establishment into an Executive Department of the Government, to be known as the Department of Defense; to provide the Secretary of Defense with appropriate responsibility and authority, and with civilian and military assistance adequate to fulfill his enlarged responsibility; and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "National Security Act Amendments of 1949". CHANGE IN COMPOSITION OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SEC. 2. The fourth paragraph of section 101 (a) of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "The Council shall be composed of the President; the Secretary of State; the Secretary of Defense, appointed under section 202; the Chairman of the National Security Resources Board, appointed under section 103; and such of the Secretaries of the other Executive Departments, and such other officials of the executive branch of the Government, as the President may designate from time to time." CONVERSION OF THE NATIONAL MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT INTO AN EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT SEC. 3. Section 201 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: SEC. 201. (a) There is hereby established, as an Executive Department of the Government, the Department of Defense, and the Secretary of Defense shall be the head thereof. 1 |