General Services Administration

“ As fast as the States shall be organized, the Federal Government shall deliver to them the administration of the services which belong to them, and shall settle the responsibility of the federal administration in all that relates to said services and to the payment of the respective officials. ”

“ For the purpose of developing in the Federal Government a more effective and economical system of employment and personnel management, and to promotethe general welfare of the employees of the National Government, there is hereby established a Council of Personnel Administration, under the chairmanship of the President of the United States Civil Service Commission. ”

“ The Federal Civil Defense Administrator is charged by the statute creating the Federal Civil Defense Administration with responsibility to prepare national plans and programs, and to request reports on state plans directed at fulfillment of the objectives of the Act. ”

“ BY VIRTUE Of the authority vested in me under Title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 (Public No. 67, 73d Congress) , and for the purpose of increasing employment quickly:
(1) ⁠ I hereby establish a Federal Civil Works Administration, and appoint as Administrator thereof the Federal Emergency Relief. ”

“ In order to ensure coordinated relationships between Federal, State and local government agencies, and nongovernment entities with respect to all matters relating to the promotion of economy and efficiency, the Council shall develop standards for the management, operation, and conduct of inspector general-type activities. ”

“ The central administrative organs shall be reconstituted into six departments, viz., Interior; Finance; Justice; Agriculture and Commerce; Education, Health and Public Welfare; and Public Works and Communications. ”

“ ENHANCING ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT- The head of each Federal agency that has administrative jurisdiction over a Federal asset shall support the purposes of this subtitle and may take appropriate actions to enhance internal agency administration and management to better support, integrate, finance, and utilize observation data, products, and services developed under this section to further its own agency mission and responsibilities. ”

“ An earnest effort has been made to stimulate a sense of responsibility and public duty in all officers and employees of every grade, and the work done by them has almost wholly escaped unfavorable criticism. I speak of these matters with freedom because the credit of this good work is not mine, but is shared by the heads of the several Departments with the great body of faithful officers and employees who serve under them. The closest scrutiny of Congress is invited to all the methods of administration and to every item of expenditure. ”

“ The departments are invariably consulted as to the requirements desired and as to the character of questions that shall be asked. General invitations are frequently sent out to all heads of departments asking whether any changes in the scope or character of examinations are required. In other words, the departments prescribe the requirements and qualifications desired, and the Civil Service Commission co-operates with them in securing persons with these qualifications and insuring open and impartial competition. ”

“ The Administrator of General Services is delegated authority, to the extent not prohibited by other laws, to conduct surveys, establish agency-wide objectives for work space use for each Executive agency, and establish procedures, guidelines and regulations to be followed by the agencies in developing the work space planning, information and reporting systems required by this Order. ”

“ The head of each department in the executive branch of the Government shall be personally responsible for an effective program to insure that fair employment policies are fully observed in all personnel actions within his department. ”

“ Administrator, as an agency to administer a program of public works as a part of, and to be included in, the comprehensive program under preparation by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, which program shall be approved by the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works and shall be known as the "civil works program." ”

“ The members of the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments of thirteen and more States, the justices of peace, officers of militia, ministerial officers of justice, with all the county, corporation, and town officers, for three millions and more of people, intermixed, and having particular acquaintance with every class and circle of people, must exceed, beyond all proportion, both in number and influence, those of every description who will be employed in the administration of the federal system. ”

“ The Secretary shall prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department, from the appropriate agency and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency. ”

“ I am counting on our civil servants to seize upon that order and make our Government dramatically more accountable, effective, and efficient, by going beyond the modernization efforts of the past and re-examining the operational core of our executive departments and agencies. Together, through these and other efforts, we will fulfill our responsibilities to make our Government work better for the American people. ”

“ Under the present management of the Department its usefulness has been enhanced in every direction, and at the same time strict economy has been enforced to the utmost extent permitted by Congressional action. ”

“ Reports and exhibits from the several departments accompany this communication, and the Executive will always be ready to furnish, with pleasure, such information to the honorable Congress as may develop and explain the minutest transactions of the administration. The ability, fidelity, and economy with which the business of the several departments has been conducted, leave him no ground for wishing to eschew the examination; and, on his own part, the most rigid accountability. ”

“ In the United States the divisions of the executive civil service are—the departmental service, the customs service, the postal service, the government-printing service and the internal-revenue service. The number of positions in the United States executive civil service is now close upon 330,000, of which more than half are classified competitive positions, and all employed are under civil-service rules, prescribed by act of Congress in 1883. ”

“ It is now the national civil service law. The fundamental principles of this law are:— (1) selection by competitive examination for all appointments to the “classified service,” with a period of probationary service before absolute appointment; (2) apportionment among the states and territories, according to population, of all appointments in the departmental service at Washington; (3) freedom of all the employees of the government from any necessity to contribute to political campaign funds or to render political services. ”

“ It is a priority of my Administration to ensure that the Federal Government, as the Nation’s largest employer, serves as a model employer by encouraging and facilitating Federal employees’ civic participation. ”

“ Each agency shall designate an official who shall be responsible for facilitating a Federal employee's or member's availability for service of process, regardless of the location of the employee's workplace or member's duty station. ”

“ The act of Congress creating the new department charges it with the duty of fostering, promoting, and developing the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States, mining, manufacturing, and fishery industries, the interests of labor, improvement of transportation facilities, and the supervision of the business of insurance. ”

“ Section 2. Proposed Plan to Improve the Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Accountability of Federal Agencies, Including, as Appropriate, to Eliminate or Reorganize Unnecessary or Redundant Federal Agencies. ”

“ I think the economy, purity, and efficiency of the public service would be greatly promoted by their systematic introduction, wherever practicable, throughout the entire civil service of the Government, together with ample provision for their general supervision in order to secure consistency and uniform justice. ”

“ In the administration of the State government during the past two years, an earnest effort has been made by the Executive and all other departments of the public service, to give the people a clean, efficient, and economical government. ”

“ They give a lot of precise information on the state of the civil service, the organization of the army and navy, the work of the Bureau of Corporations, the investigations of the Department of Labor, and the like, which I must have to give correctness and precision to my instruction in matters of State and Federal administration. Then they are indispensable for reference. I am constantly having trouble in remembering whether the pension bureau is a bureau or a division, or is in the War Department, where it would seem to belong, or in the Department of Commerce and Labor, or somewhere else. ”

“ Never before have there been agencies in existence in this country which knew so much of the field of supply, of labor, and of industry as the War Industries Board, the War Trade Board, the Labor Department, the Food Administration, and the Fuel Administration have known since their labors became thoroughly systematized; and they have not been isolated agencies; they have been directed by men who represented the permanent Departments of the Government and so have been the centres of unified and cooperative action. ”

“ Toward those ends, the executive departments, agencies, and offices constituting the USA Freedom Corps shall coordinate and strengthen Federal and other service opportunities, including opportunities for participation in homeland security preparedness and response, other areas of public and social service, and international service. The executive branch departments, agencies, and offices also will work with State and local governments and private entities to foster and encourage participation in public and social service programs, as appropriate. ”

“ The Civil Service Commission shall supervise and provide leadership and guidance in the conduct of equal employment opportunity programs for the civilian employees of and applications for employment within the executive departments and agencies and shall review agency program accomplishments periodically. ”

“ I have pledged myself and my colleagues in the cabinet to a continuous encouragement of initiative, responsibility and energy in serving the public interest. Let every public servant know, whether his post is high or low, that a man's rank and reputation in this Administration will be determined by the size of the job he does, and not by the size of his staff, his office or his budget. Let it be clear that this Administration recognizes the value of dissent and daring--that we greet healthy controversy as the hallmark of healthy change. Let the public service be a proud and lively career. ”

“ It is to be hoped that an act, so necessary to the proper legal appointments of the public service, and reasonable justice to faithful and competent employes, will be considered and enacted at the coming session of Congress.
The operations of the civil service, so far as this Bureau is concerned, have been highly satisfactory. There is an increased demand for accuracy and efficiency in the manner in which the public work is performed. ”

“ The purpose of the executive department Centers will be to coordinate department efforts to eliminate regulatory, contracting, and other programmatic obstacles to the participation of faithbased and other community organizations in the provision of social services. ”

“ The provisions of this Act shall apply to such other departments and agencies of the Government as the President may, from time to time, deem necessary in the best interests of national security. If any departments or agencies are included by the President, he shall so report to the Committees on the Armed Services of the Congress. ”

“ In the administration of a department such as that of Commerce and Labor, it was important to familiarize one's self as much as possible with its outlying branches, to become personally acquainted with the various officers and the details of their work and surroundings, thereby to enable one better to do the administrative work than by remaining at one's desk. ”

“ The findings and recommendations in the Federal Plan shall be followed by the designated executive departments and agencies in their policies and activities, to the extent permitted by law and as practicable. ”

“ The management of the Administration shall be vested in an Administrator who shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall be a person of outstanding qualifications known to be familiar and sympathetic with small-business needs and problems. ”

“ The development of the Federal agencies will probably be most efficiently stimulated if a considerable amount of such work is attempted by local authorities and such social agencies as have been described. ”

“ The national Government now has at least sixty different agencies with the staff and the experience and the competence necessary to carry on the two hundred and fifty or three hundred kinds of work that will be undertaken. ”