Brownlow Committee
Encyclopedia
The President's Committee on Administrative Management, commonly known as the Brownlow Committee or Brownlow Commission, was a committee
that in 1937 recommended sweeping changes to the executive branch of the United States government. The recommendations made by the committee resulted in the creation of the Executive Office of the President. It had three members; they were Louis Brownlow
, Charles Merriam, and Luther Gulick
. The staff work was managed by James P. Harris, Director of Research for the committee.
Some of the most important recommendations from the council include creating aides to the President in order to deal with the administrative tasks assigned to the President. It also suggested that the President should have direct control over the administrative departments. In its third suggestion, the committee said that the managerial agencies - The Civil Service Administration, the Bureau of the Budget, and the National Resources Board - should be part of the Executive Office.
The Reorganization Act of 1939
incorporated only two of the recommendations in the 53 page report delivered by the committee. However, the Act provided to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
the authority to make changes so that most of the various agencies and government corporations were organized within various cabinet level departments, greatly improving accountability among the various agencies.
The most important results of the actions taken by Roosevelt were the creation of the Executive Office of the President and the creation of a group of six executive level assistants.
two commissions in 1947-1949 and 1953-1955.
The Grace Commission
1982-1984
National Partnership for Reinventing Government
1993-1998
Project on National Security Reform
2006–present
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
that in 1937 recommended sweeping changes to the executive branch of the United States government. The recommendations made by the committee resulted in the creation of the Executive Office of the President. It had three members; they were Louis Brownlow
Louis Brownlow
Louis Brownlow was an American author, political scientist, and consultant in the area of public administration...
, Charles Merriam, and Luther Gulick
Luther Gulick (social scientist)
-Life:Luther Halsey Gulick was born January 17, 1892 in Osaka, Japan.His father was congregationalist missionary Sidney Lewis Gulick and his mother was Clara May Gulick. He shared his name with his grandfather, missionary Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. , and uncle physician Luther Halsey Gulick Jr....
. The staff work was managed by James P. Harris, Director of Research for the committee.
Some of the most important recommendations from the council include creating aides to the President in order to deal with the administrative tasks assigned to the President. It also suggested that the President should have direct control over the administrative departments. In its third suggestion, the committee said that the managerial agencies - The Civil Service Administration, the Bureau of the Budget, and the National Resources Board - should be part of the Executive Office.
The Reorganization Act of 1939
Reorganization Act of 1939
The Reorganization Act of 1939, Pub. L. No. 76-19, 53 Stat. 561, 5 USC 133 , is an American Act of Congress which became law on April 3, 1939, and which gave the President of the United States the authority to hire additional confidential staff and reorganize the executive branch for two years...
incorporated only two of the recommendations in the 53 page report delivered by the committee. However, the Act provided to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
the authority to make changes so that most of the various agencies and government corporations were organized within various cabinet level departments, greatly improving accountability among the various agencies.
The most important results of the actions taken by Roosevelt were the creation of the Executive Office of the President and the creation of a group of six executive level assistants.
Other similar commissions
Hoover CommissionHoover Commission
The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the Federal Government of the United States...
two commissions in 1947-1949 and 1953-1955.
The Grace Commission
The Grace Commission
The Private Sector Survey on Cost Control , commonly referred to as The Grace Commission, was an investigation requested by United States President Ronald Reagan, in 1982. The focus of it was waste and inefficiency in the US Federal government. Its head, businessman J. Peter Grace, asked the...
1982-1984
National Partnership for Reinventing Government
National Partnership for Reinventing Government
National Partnership for Reinventing Government , originally the National Performance Review, was an interagency task force to reform the way the U.S. federal government works in the Clinton Administration.The NPR was created on March 3, 1993...
1993-1998
Project on National Security Reform
Project on National Security Reform
The Project on National Security Reform is a nonpartisan non-profit organization mandated by the United States Congress to recommend improvements to the U.S. national security system. Advocates of reform of the U.S...
2006–present
See also
- Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883Pendleton Civil Service Reform ActThe Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The act provided selection of government employees competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation...
- Civil Service Reform Act of 1978Civil Service Reform Act of 1978The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, , reformed the civil service of the United States federal government.The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 abolished the U.S...
- Public administrationPublic administrationPublic Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
- Public administration theoryPublic administration theoryPublic administration theory is the amalgamation of history, organizational theory, social theory, political theory and related studies focused on the meanings, structures and functions of public service in all its forms....