Ronald C. Moe - The Hoover Commissions Revisited

The Hoover Commissions Revisited

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The Hoover Commissions Revisited Ronald C. Moe

In recent years numerous bills have been introduced in Congress to establish a major study effort patterned after the two Hoover Commissions of some thirty years ago. The continuing interest in creating a "new Hoover Commission" has prompted questions about the earlier efforts to restructure national government. What were the Hoover Commissions? How were they structured, and how did they function? What administrative philosophy, if any, guided their work? And what did they accomplish and where did they fail?

This book provides the first detailed analysis of the Hoover Commissions and examines their relevance to recent attempts to initiate government reorganization. Dr. Moe begins with a review of the commissions and their task forces as political institutions and discusses the efforts that were made to generate political support for their recommendations. He then analyzes the impact of the commissions on the presidency, emphasizing that they operated at a time when government agencies were more directly managed by the president--a responsibility now shared by Congress and the Courts. Although the study is historical in perspective, the author ties the experience of the commissions to contemporary political and administrative trends, providing an essential analysis for anyone concerned with making the operation of the federal government more efficient.

Dr. Ronald C. Moe is a specialist in government organization and administration for the Congressional Research Service of the U.S. Library of Congress. He has taught political science at various universities and has held positions in the Department of Commerce, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Office of Economic Opportunity. Prior to his current appointment, he was senior policy advisor on the Cost of Living Council in the Executive Office of the president.

Published in cooperation with the National Academy of Public Administration

Ronald C. Moe

First published 1982 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2019 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Moe, Ronald C.
The Hoover Commissions revisited.
(A Westview replica edition)
Bibliography: p.
1. United States. Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government (19471949). 2. United States. Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government (1953-1955). I. Title.
JK643.C47M6 1982 353'.82073 82-10889

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-29285-0 (hbk)

This is a book about two related study commissions. Called the first and second Hoover Commissions, after the Chairman, former President Herbert Hoover, these Commissions were unusual in many respects, not the least being the broad scope of their mandate and the makeup of the membership. They met in the period following World War II (first Commission, 1947-49; second Commission, 1953-55) and attained a high degree of public visibility. They were generally rated as a "success" by the media, although this accolade, when subjected to analysis, is usually, and more appropriately, reserved for the first rather than the second Commission.

The Hoover Commissions have not been forgotten. It is a rare Congress that does not have one or more bills introduced to establish a "new Hoover Commission." The 97th Congress is no exception. At the time of this writing, a bill (S. 10) has passed the Senate that would create a Commission on More Effective Government patterned after the earlier Hoover Commissions. It would have eighteen members, partly appointed by the President and partly by the leadership of Congress, "to examine the performance of our Nation's public institutions and to make recommendations for change."

Following two years of study the Commission would submit recommendations ("a blueprint for better government") designed to improve "the management, operation, and organization of the executive branch" and the "relationship between the Federal executive branch and State and local governments." If this sounds like a broad mandate to assign a temporary commission, it is. But the sponsors of the Commission bill are confident that the task is achievable and cite the experience of the two Hoover Commissions thirty years ago to prove their point.

This is not a book about study commissions in general. There are numerous types of study commissions, e.g., presidential study commissions, each with their own characteristics and history. In a sense, this is a case study rather than an exercise in learning what is typical about study commissions.