TABLE OF CONTENTS Note Concerning Manner of Citation of Legislative Material. Page (1) Any military, naval, or foreign affairs function of the United States.... 26 (2) Any matter relating to agency management or personnel or to pub- Appendix B-Attorney General's letter of Oct. 19, 1945.. Page 66 67 69 71 71 74 75 75 75 77 79 79 79 81 81 83 85 86 87 88 88 89 89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 101 105 107 111 123 INTRODUCTION June 11, 1946, the date on which the Administrative Procedure Act was approved by President Truman, is notable in the history of the governmental process. The Act sets a pattern designed to achieve relative uniformity in the administrative machinery of the Federal Government. It effectuates needed reforms in the administrative process and at the same time preserves the effectiveness of the laws which are enforced by the administrative agencies of the Government. The members of the Seventy-Ninth Congress who worked so assiduously on the McCarran-SumnersWalter bill showed statesmanship and wisdom in dealing with the difficult problems thus presented. The Department of Justice played an active role in the development of the Administrative Procedure Act. In 1938, at a time when there was criticism of Federal administrative agencies, Homer Cummings, as Attorney General, suggested to the late President Roosevelt that the Department of Justice be authorized to conduct a full inquiry into the administrative process. In response to this suggestion, President Roosevelt requested Attorney General Cummings to appoint a committee to make a thorough study of existing administrative procedures and to submit whatever recommendations were deemed advisable. For this purpose the Attorney General appointed a committee of eminent lawyers, jurists, scholars and administrators. For a period of two years this committee, known as the Attorney General's Committee on Administrative Procedure, devoted itself to the study of the administrative process. Its work culminated in the issuance of 27 monographs on the operations of the more important Government agencies it had investigated, as well as in a Final Report to the President and to the Congress. This Final Report is a landmark in the field of administrative law. In fact, the main origins of the present Administrative Procedure Act may be found in that Report, and in the so-called majority and minority recommendations submitted by the Committee. These recommendations were the subject of extensive hearings held before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 1941. There was a lull in legislative activities in the field of administrative law during the next few years by reason of the impact of war. But when Congress in 1945 resumed consideration of legislation in this field, the Chairmen of both the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary called upon this Department for its assistance. The invitation was accepted, and the task was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Solicitor General. For many months the members of that Office assisted in the drafting and revision of the bill (S. 7) which developed into the Administrative Procedure Act. Finally, in a letter dated October 19, 1945, to the Chairmen of both Committees on the Judiciary, I endorsed S. 7 as revised. I concluded that "The bill appears to offer a hopeful prospect of achieving reasonable uniformity and fairness in administrative procedures without at the same time interfering unduly with the efficient and economical operation of the Government." Sen. Rep. 752, 79th Cong., 1st sess., pp. 37-38. The bill then moved in regular course through both Committees with a few minor modifications (H.R. Rep. 1980, 79th Cong., 2nd sess., p. 57). It was subsequently adopted by both Houses of Congress without a dissenting vote. After the Administrative Procedure Act was signed by President Truman on June 11, 1946, it became evident that a major phase of our work had just begun. Government agencies were calling upon us for advice on the meaning of various provisions of the Act. We endeavored to furnish that advice promptly and in detail to every agency which consulted us. At length I decided that we could offer a definite service by preparing a general analysis of the provisions of the Act in the light of our experience. This manual is the result of that effort. It does not purport to be exhaustive. It was intended primarily as a guide to the agencies in adjusting their procedures to the requirements of the Act. George T. Washington, the Assistant Solicitor General, was assigned the tasks I have just described-both the rendition of advice to the agencies and the preparation of the manual. He had assisted in drafting the Act and was familiar with the administrative problems of the agencies. Two members of his staff, Robert Ginnane and David Reich, took the major burden of the work, under the supervision and direction of Mr. Washington and myself. The manner in which the task has been carried out has my full approval. |