"(b) There shall be within the Department of Defense (1) the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, and each such department shall on and after the date of enactment of the National Security Act Amendments of 1949 be military departments in lieu of their prior status as Executive Departments, and (2) all other agencies created under title II of this Act. "(c) Section 158 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 158. The provisions of this title shall apply to the following Executive Departments: "(d) The provisions of title IV of the Revised Statutes as now or hereafter amended shall be applicable to the Department of Defense." STRENGTHENING OF THE POWERS OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SEC. 4. Section 202 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 202. (a) There shall be a Secretary of Defense who shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate: Provided, That a person who has within ten years been on active duty as a commissioned officer in a Regular component of the armed services shall not be eligible for appointment as Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall be the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the national security. Under the direction of the President, he shall be responsible for exercising direction, authority, and control over the Department of Defense, including the performance of the following duties "(1) Establishment of policies and programs for the Department of Defense; "(2) Exercise of direction, authority, and control over the affairs of the Department of Defense; "(3) Taking of appropriate steps, including such coordination, transfers, and consolidations as may be necessary, to eliminate unnecessary duplication or overlapping in the fields of procurement, supply, transportation, storage, personnel, health, research, and in such other fields, as he may deem proper, but this shall not be construed to authorize the Secretary of Defense to reassign the combatant functions assigned to the military departments by sections 205 (e), 206 (b), 206 (c), and 208 (f) hereof; and "(4) Performance with respect to the Department of Defense of all of the functions of a head of an Executive Department under title II of the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, as amended: Provided, That, subject to the direction, authority, and control of the Secretary of Defense, and subject to the terms of this Act, the Departments of Army, Navy, and Air Force shall be administered by their respective Secretaries. "(b) The Secretary of Defense shall submit annual written reports to the President and the Congress covering expenditures, work, and accomplishments of the Department of Defense, together with such recommendations as he shall deem appropriate. "(c) The Secretary of Defense shall cause a seal of office to be made for the Department of Defense, of such design as the President shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken thereof. "(d) The Secretary of Defense may, unless prohibited by some specific provision of law, perform any function vested in him through or with the aid of such officials or organizational entities of the Department of Defense as he may designate." UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, ASSISTANT SECRETARIES, MILITARY ASSISTANTS, AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL SEC. 5. (a) Section 203 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 203. (a) There shall be an Under Secretary of Defense, who shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and con sent of the Senate: Provided, That a person who has within ten years been on active duty as a commissioned officer in a Regular component of the armed services shall not be eligible for appointment as Under Secretary of Defense. The Under Secretary shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe. The Under Secretary shall act for, and exercise the powers of, the Secretary of Defense during his absence or disability. "(b) There shall be three Assistant Secretaries of Defense, who shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Assistant Secretaries shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe. "(c) Officers of the armed services may be detailed to duty as assistants and personal aides to the Secretary of Defense, but he shall not establish a military staff other than those provided for by sections 211 and 212 of this Act." (b) Section 204 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 204. The Secretary of Defense is authorized, subject to the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, to appoint and fix the com pensation of such civilian personnel as may be necessary for the performance of the functions of the Department of Defense." CREATING THE POSITION OF CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF SEC. 6. (a) Section 210 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 210. There shall be within the Department of Defense a War Council composed of the Secretary of Defense, as Chairman, who shall have power of decision; the Secretary of the Army; the Secretary of the Navy; the Secretary of the Air Force; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Chief of Staff, United States Army; the Chief of Naval Operations; and the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force. The War Council shall advise the Secretary of Defense on matters of broad policy relating to the armed forces and shall consider and report on such other matters as the Secretary of Defense may direct." (b) Section 211 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 211. (a) There is hereby established within the Department of Defense the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which shall consist of a Chairman, who shall be the head thereof; the Chief of Staff, United States Army; the Chief of Naval Operations; and the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force. "(b) The Chairman shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the Regular officers of the armed services. The person appointed as Chairman shall, while holding such office, take precedence over all other officers of the armed services, and shall receive the highest rate of pay and allowances prescribed by law for the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, or the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. "(c) Subject to the authority and direction of the President and the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall assist the Secretary of Defense in performing such duties as the Secretary of Defense may direct, including, in the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, any or all of the following "(1) preparation of strategic plans and provision for the strategic direction of the military forces; "(2) preparation of joint logistic plans and assignment to the military services of logistic responsibilities in accordance with such plans; "(3) establishment of unified commands in strategic areas when such unified commands are in the interest of national security; "(4) formulation of policies for joint training of the military forces; "(5) formulation of policies for coordinating the education of members of the military forces; "(6) review of major material and personnel requirements of the military forces, in accordance with strategic and logistic plans; and "(7) providing United States representation on the Military Staff Committee of the United Nations in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. "(d) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall act as the principal military adviser to the President and the Secretary of Defense and shall perform such other duties as the President and the Secretary of Defense may direct or as may be prescribed by law." (c) Section 212 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 212. There shall be, under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Joint Staff to be composed of approximately equal numbers of officers from each of the three armed services. The Joint Staff shall operate under a Director appointed by the Secretary of Defense. The Director shall be an officer junior in grade to all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." CHANGING THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE TO THE MUNITIONS BOARD SEC. 7. Section 213 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 213. (a) There is hereby established in the Department of Defense a Munitions Board (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 'Board'). "(b) The Board shall be composed of a Chairman, who shall be the head thereof, and an Under Secretary or Assistant Secretary from each of the three military departments, to be designated in each case by the Secretaries of their respective departments. The Chairman shall be appointed from civilian life by the Secretary of Defense, and shall receive compensation at the rate of $14,000 a year. "(c) The Board, or if the Secretary of Defense should so prescribe, the Chairman, after consultation with the Board, shall assist the Secretary of Defense in performing such duties as the Secretary of Defense may direct, including, in the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, any or all of the following— "(1) coordination of the appropriate activities with regard to industrial matters, including the procurement, production, and distribution plans of the Department of Defense; "(2) planning for the military aspects of industrial mobilization; "(3) assignment of procurement responsibilities among the several military departments and planning for standardization of specifications and for the greatest practicable allocation of purchase authority of technical equipment and common use items on the basis of single procurement; "(4) preparation of estimates of potential production, procurement, and personnel for use in evaluation of the logistic feasibility of strategic operations; "(5) determination of relative priorities of the various segments of the military procurement programs; "(6) supervision of such subordinate agencies as are or may be created to consider the subjects falling within the scope of the Board's responsibilities; "(7) regrouping, combining, or dissolving of existing interservice agencies operating in the fields of procurement, production, and distribution in such manner as to promote efficiency and economy; "(8) maintenance of liaison with other departments and agencies for the proper correlation of military requirements with the civilian economy, particularly in regard to the procurement or disposition of strategic and critical material and the maintenance of adequate reserves of such material, and making of recommendations as to policies in connection therewith; and "(9) assembly and review of material and personnel requirements presented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and by the production, procurement, and distribution agencies assigned to meet military needs, and making of recommendations thereon to the Secretary of Defense. "(d) When the Chairman of the Board first appointed has taken office, the Joint Army and Navy Munitions Board shall cease to exist and all its records and personnel shall be transferred to the Munitions Board. "(e) The Secretary of Defense shall provide the Board with such personnel and facilities as the Secretary may determine to be required by the Board for the performance of its functions." CHANGING THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE TO THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD SEC. 8. Section 214 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 214. (a) There is hereby established in the Department of Defense a Research and Development Board (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 'Board'). The Board shall be composed of a Chairman, who shall be the head thereof, and two representatives from each of the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, to be designated by the Secretaries of their respective Departments. The Chairman shall be appointed from civilian life by the Secretary of Defense, and shall receive compensation at the rate of $14,000 a year. The purpose of the Board shall be to advise the Secretary of Defense as to the status of scientific research relative to the national security, and to assist him in assuring adequate provision for research and development on scientific problems relating to the national security. "(b) The Board, or if the Secretary of Defense should so prescribe, the Chairman, after consultation with the Board, shall assist the Secretary of Defense in performing such duties as the Secretary of Defense may direct, including, in the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, any or all of the following "(1) preparation of a complete and integrated program of research and development for military purposes; "(2) advising with regard to trends in scientific research relating to national security and the measures necessary to assure continued and increasing progress; "(3) coordination of research and development among the military departments, and allocation among them of responsibilities for specific programs of joint interest; "(4) formulation of policy for the Department of Defense in connection with research and development matters involving agencies outside the Department of Defense; and "(5) consideration of the interaction of research and development and strategy, and advising the Joint Chiefs of Staff in connection therewith. "(c) When the Chairman of the Board first appointed has taken office, the Joint Research and Development Board shall cease to exist and all its records and personnel shall be transferred to the Research and Development Board. "(d) The Secretary of Defense shall provide the Board with such personnel and facilities as the Secretary may determine to be required by the Board for the performance of its functions." COMPENSATION OF SECRETARIES, UNDER SECRETARIES, ASSISTANT SECRETARIES, AND CONSULTANTS SEC. 9. (a) Section 301 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 301. (a) The Secretary of Defense shall receive the compensation prescribed by law for heads of Executive Departments. "(b) The Under Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force shall each receive the compensation prescribed by law for Under Secretaries of Executive Departments." (b) Section 302 of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 302. The Assistant Secretaries of Defense, and the Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force shall each receive compensation at the rate prescribed by law for Assistant Secretaries of Executive Departments and shall perform such duties as the respective Secretaries may prescribe." (c) The third sentence of section 303 (a) of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended by striking out "$35" and inserting in lieu thereof "$50." MISCELLANEOUS AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS AND SAVING PROVISIONS SEC. 10. (a) The National Security Act of 1947 is amended by striking out the term "National Military Establishment," wherever it appears in such Act, and inserting in lieu thereof "Department of Defense.' (b) Section 207 (a) of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 207. (a) Within the Department of Defense there is hereby established a military department to be known as the Department of the Air Force, and the Secretary of the Air Force who shall be the head thereof. The Secretary of the Air Force shall be appointed from civilian life by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." (c) Section 207 (b) of the National Security Act of 1947 is repealed. (d) The first sentence of section 208 (a) of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended by striking out the word "under" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "within." V (e) Section 308 (b) of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended to read as follows: "(b) As used in this Act, the term 'Department of Defense' shall be deemed to include the military departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and all agencies created under title II of this Act." (f) The titles of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, the Under Secretaries and the Assistant Secretaries of the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Chairman of the Munitions Board, and the Chairman of the Research and Development Board, shall not be changed by virtue of this Act, and the reappointment of the officials holding such titles on the effective date of this Act shall not be required. (g) All laws, orders, regulations, and other actions relating to the National Military Establishment, the Departments of the Army, the Navy, or the Air Force, or to any officer or activity of such establishment or such departments, shall, except to the extent inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, have the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted; but, after the effective date of this Act, any such law, order, regulation, or other action which vested functions in or otherwise related to any officer, department, or establishment, shall be deemed to have vested such function in or relate to the officer or department, executive or military, succeeding the officer, department, or establishment in which such function was vested. For purposes of this subsection the Department of Defense shall be deemed the department succeeding the National Military Establishment, and the military departments of Army, Navy, and Air Force shall be deemed the departments succeeding the Executive Departments of Army, Navy, and Air Force. The CHAIRMAN. You see before you a copy of the bill, S. 1269, also a photostatic copy of the Unification Act as it was passed in 1947 and upon which the changes proposed by S. 1269 have been inserted. Also, for general information there is a copy of an organizational chart of the National Military Establishment as it now exists including the new office of Under Secretary of Defense. Realizing that we are rapidly approaching the 1st of April, upon which date Mr. Forrestal relinquishes the office which he has held with such distinction since its inception in September 1947, I have asked him to appear before the committee today as the first witness to discuss the merits of the proposed legislation. Mr. Forrestal, we are very glad to have you here, and as we said before, we are sorry that you are leaving and hope that you will always feel free to give this committee any advice that you think would help us in preparing this country for an eventual emergency. We will be glad to have your testimony. Secretary FORRESTAL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Shall I proceed? STATEMENT OF HON. Mr. FORRESTAL. Mr. Chairman, because the subject before your committee this morning has been thoroughly analyzed in the Hoover Commission Report and has been covered as well by my annual report to the President and the Congress and by the President's message to ✓ the Congress of March 5, I feel it would be redundant for me to present a lengthy and detailed statement. Similarly, I shall not attempt to address myself to the specific accomplishments that have been achieved under the act as it now stands. With your permission, then, I will be relatively brief and will confine myself to what I regard as essentials. |