REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 18 OF 1950

Current through P.L. 118-107 (published on www.congress.gov on 11/21/2024)

Eff. July 1, 1950, 15 F.R. 3177, 64 Stat. 1270

Prepared by the President and transmitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress assembled, March 13, 1950, pursuant to the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949, approved June 20, 1949 [see 5 U.S.C. 901 et seq.].

BUILDING AND SPACE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

Section 1. Transfer of Space Assignment and Leasing Functions

All functions with respect to acquiring space in buildings by lease, and all functions with respect to assigning and reassigning space in buildings for use by agencies (including both space acquired by lease and space in Government-owned buildings), are hereby transferred from the respective agencies in which such functions are now vested to the Administrator of General Services, exclusive, however, of all such functions with respect to-

(a) space in buildings located in any foreign country;

(b) space in buildings which are located on the grounds of any fort, camp, post, arsenal, Navy yard, naval training station, airfield, proving ground, military supply depot, or school, or of any similar facility, of the Department of Defense, unless and to such extent as a permit for its use shall have been issued by the Secretary of Defense or his duly authorized representative;

(c) space occupied by the Post Office Department in post-office buildings and space acquired by lease for post-office purposes; and

(d) space in other Government-owned buildings which the Administrator of General Services finds are wholly or predominantly utilized for the special purposes of the agency having the custody thereof and are not generally suitable for the use of other agencies (including but not limited to hospitals, housing, laboratories, mints, manufacturing plants, and penal institutions), and space acquired by lease for any such purpose:

Provided, That the space needs of the Post Office Department shall be given priority in the assignment and reassignment of space in post office buildings.

Sec. 2. Transfer of Office Building Management Functions

All functions with respect to the operation, maintenance, and custody of office buildings owned by the Government and of office buildings or parts thereof acquired by lease, including those post-office buildings which, as determined by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, are not used predominantly for post-office purposes, are hereby transferred from the respective agencies in which now vested to the Administrator of General Services, exclusive, however, of all such functions with respect to-

(a) any building located in any foreign country;

(b) any building located on the grounds of any fort, camp, post, arsenal, navy yard, naval training station, air field, proving ground, military supply depot, or school, or of any similar facility, of the Department of Defense, unless and to such extent as a permit for its use by another agency or agencies shall have been issued by the Secretary of Defense or his duly authorized representative;

(c) any building which the Administrator of General Services finds to be a part of a group of buildings which are (1) located in the same vicinity, (2) are utilized wholly or predominantly for the special purposes of the agency having custody thereof, and (3) are not generally suitable for the use of other agencies; and

(d) the Treasury Building, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Building, the buildings occupied by the National Bureau of Standards, and the buildings under the jurisdiction of the regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

[References to National Bureau of Standards deemed to refer to National Institute of Standards and Technology pursuant to section 5115(c) of Pub. L. 100-418 set out as a Change of Name note under 15 U.S.C. 271.]

Sec. 3. Performance of Transferred Functions

(a) The Administrator of General Services may from time to time make such provisions as he shall deem appropriate authorizing the performance by any other officer, or by any agency or employee, of the General Services Administration of any function transferred to such Administrator by the provisions of this reorganization plan.

(b) When authorized by the Administrator of General Services, any function transferred to him by the provisions of this reorganization plan may be performed by the head of any agency of the executive branch of the Government or, subject to the direction and control of any such agency head, by such officers, employees, and organizational units under the jurisdiction of such agency head as such agency head may designate: Provided, That functions with respect to post-office buildings shall not be delegated under the authority of this subsection to the head of any agency other than the Postmaster General.

(c) The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe such regulations as he deems desirable for the economical and effective performance of the functions transferred by the provisions of this reorganization plan.

Sec. 4. Transfer of Personnel, Property, Records, and Funds

There shall be transferred from time to time, between the agencies concerned and for use in connection with the functions transferred by the provisions of this reorganization plan, so much of the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances (available or to be made available) of appropriations, allocations, and other funds, relating to such functions, as may be necessary for the performance of said functions. Such further measures and dispositions as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine to be necessary in order to effectuate the transfers provided for in this section shall be carried out in such manner as the Director shall direct and by such agencies as he shall designate.

Sec. 5. Effective Date

The provisions of this reorganization plan shall take effect on the 1st day of July, 1950.

Message of the President

To the Congress of the United States:

I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 18 of 1950, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949. The plan transfers to the Administrator of General Services the functions of the various Federal agencies with respect to leasing and assigning general-purpose space in buildings and the operation, maintenance, and custody of office buildings. Since such authority is already largely concentrated in the General Services Administration with respect to the District of Columbia, the plan principally relates to the administration of these functions in the field.

The transfers made by this plan will promote more economical leasing, better utilization of building space, and more efficient operation of Government-controlled office buildings. They will effectuate the recommendations of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government with respect to concentrating in the General Services Administration the responsibility for space allotment and the operation of Government buildings outside of the District of Columbia. Likewise, they will extend the principles laid down by the Congress in enacting the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to another important area of Government-wide administrative services-the administration of Government office buildings and general-purpose building space in the field.

Within the District of Columbia, one agency, the Public Buildings Service of the General Services Administration, has long had the operation and custody of most Government buildings and the leasing and assignment of space for executive agencies. Thus, nearly all requests for building space are handled by a single organization which is responsible for seeing that agencies are properly and efficiently housed. This arrangement has proved its worth and has repeatedly been approved by the Congress.

Outside of the National Capital, however, responsibility for the acquisition and control of building space and the operation of Government buildings is widely diffused. A variety of agencies operate and control general-purpose buildings. If quarters are not available in Federal buildings, each agency ordinarily does its own leasing. As a result, in some cases Federal agencies have contracted for space at high rentals at the very time that other agencies have been giving up surplus low-cost space.

The assignment of space in Government-owned buildings outside of Washington is also divided among a number of agencies. While the Public Buildings Service constructs a large part of the Government buildings, it operates and controls the assignment of space in only a small proportion of them. The Post Office Department operates and allocates the space in post-office buildings, several hundred of which contain substantial amounts of office space available for other agencies. During and immediately after the war several other Federal agencies acquired office buildings in the field. As their activities have contracted, surplus space in many of these structures has become available for other uses.

This plan concentrates in the General Services Administration the responsibility for the leasing and assignment of what is termed general-purpose building space; that is, space which is suitable for the uses of a number of Federal agencies. It specifically excludes space in buildings at military posts, arsenals, navy yards, and similar defense installations and space in hospitals, laboratories, factories, and other special-purpose buildings.

Also, the plan excludes the Post Office Department from the transfer of leasing authority since the Department has a highly developed organization for this purpose, and it limits the transfer of space assignment authority in post-office buildings to the space not occupied by the Department. Further, it gives the needs of the Post Office Department priority in the assignment of space in post-office buildings. Thus, the plan amply safeguards the interests of the Post Office Department while making it possible to include the general office space in post-office buildings in any given city with other similar space under Federal control in planning and executing an efficient program for housing Government agencies in that area.

In addition, the plan transfers to the General Services Administration the operation, maintenance, and custody of office buildings owned or leased by the Government, including those post-office buildings which are not used predominantly for post-office purposes. This will make it possible to establish a single organization for the operation and maintenance of Government office buildings in principal cities in the field as has proved desirable in the National Capital. Since many post offices are in fact primarily large office buildings, the plan includes in this transfer the post-office buildings which are not used predominantly for post-office purposes. This will relieve the Post Office Department of a considerable expenditure for building operation and maintenance which properly should not be charged against postal revenues.

While the plan effects a broad transfer of functions with respect to leasing and assignment of space and the operation and maintenance of office buildings, it specifically authorizes the Administrator of General Services to delegate the performance of any part of these functions to other agencies subject to such regulations as he deems desirable for economical and effective administration. In this the plan follows the pattern adopted by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 for other branches of property management. In large urban centers where numerous Federal units are located unified administration of space activities by the General Services Administration will normally be advantageous. On the other hand, in the smaller communities it will no doubt be desirable to delegate the work back to the agencies directly affected, to be carried on under standards laid down by the Administrator of General Services. The plan provides ample flexibility for working out the most effective administrative arrangement for each type of situation.

The fundamental soundness and economy of centralized administration of building space have been amply demonstrated in the National Capital. By virtue of unified control it has been possible since the war to accomplish far-reaching changes which have consolidated agencies in much fewer locations, released many of the rented buildings, and greatly reduced the cost of housing the Government establishment. Similar procedures applied in the larger centers of field activity should produce substantial savings.

After investigation, I have found, and hereby declare, that each reorganization contained in this plan is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949.

While it is not possible at this time to calculate the reduction in expenditures which will result from this plan, it can safely be predicted that it will produce substantial savings. I am confident that this reorganization plan will constitute a significant improvement in Federal business practice and will bring about an important increase in efficiency in housing Government agencies.

Harry S. Truman.

THE WHITE HOUSE, March 13, 1950.