Creation of Executive Departments: Highlights from the Legislative History of Modern Precedents

CRS Report for Congress
Creation o f Executive Departments:
Highlights f ro m t he Legislative
History o f M odern Precedents
Upda ted September 8, 2003
ThomasP.Carr
Analys t in American Na tional Go ve rnment
Go ve rnment and Finance Division

Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

Creation of E xecutive Departments:
Highlights from the Legislative History of
Modern P recedents
Summary
On November 25, 2002, Presiden t G eorge W . Bush s igned l egislation t o
establish a Department of Homeland Security (P.L. 107-296, 106 Stat. 2135). In t he
period from W orld W ar II until the establishment o f t his l atest d epartment, C ongress
al so creat ed or i m p l em en t e d m aj o r reorgani z at i ons of seven o t h er C abi net
departments. This report provides a brief l egislative history of the establishment of
the Department of Homeland Securi t y ( D H S ) and for t he purpose o f comparison,
d e s c r i b es t he principal elements o f t he legi slative proces s t hat established t he
Depart m ent s o f D efense; H eal t h , E ducat i on, and W el fare (now, i n p art , Heal t h and
Human S ervices); Housing and Urban Dev el opm ent ; Trans p o r t at i on; Energy;
Educat i on; and Vet erans Affai rs.
The l egislative p rocess s urrounding the consideration o f l egislation t o establish
the Department of Homeland Security varied in some ways from t he procedures that
were generally associ at ed with the creatio n o f t he other m odern Cabinet d epartments.
Responding to the n eed to strengthen homeland d efense in the wake o f t he September
11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed l egislation creating t he department less than six
months after receiving the P resident ’s formal legi slative p roposal.
Congressional consideration of l egislation establishing earlier C abinet
depart m ent s general l y ex hi bi t ed cert ai n com m o n p rocedural el em ent s :
^! A f o r m a l p res i dential endorsement ge n e ral l y p r eced ed co n gres s i o n a l
action.
^! The predominant committees considering t he legi slation w ere t he
Gov ernment Operations (now Government Reform) C ommittee i n
the House and the Governmental Affairs C ommittee i n t he Senate,
or t h ei r p redecessors.
^! W ith few ex ceptions, d epartmental creation p roposals were
considered un d e r an open rule i n t he House; they were most often
brought up for S enate consideration b y unanimous consent.
^! Votes on passage were generally by comfortable m aj orities.
^! All bills but one went t o co n f erence to resolve House-Senate
di fferences; ex cept i n t wo i n st ances, conferees were drawn
ex cl usivel y from t he reporting committees ,.
Additional i nformation o n t he history o f creat i n g C abi n et depart m ent s appears
in CRS Rep ort RL31472, Departmental Organization, 1947-2003. CRS Report
RL30673, The President’s Cabinet: Evoluti on, Alternativ e s , and Proposals f or
Change, analyz es the role o f t he Cabinet.

Contents
In troduction ......................................................1
Procedural Characteristics .......................................1
LegislativeHistoryoftheDepartment ofHomeland Security ................3
LegislativeHistoryofOtherModern CabinetDepartments .................5
Department ofDefense .........................................5
Department ofHealth,Education,andWelfare .......................7
Department ofHousingandUrbanDevelopment .....................8
Department ofTransportation ....................................9
Department ofEnergy .........................................10
Department ofEducation .......................................12
Department ofVeterans Affairs ..................................13
Proposals t o C reate Additional C abinet Departments .................14
ListofTables
Tabl e 1 : Key Legi sl at i v e Docum ent s and Dat es R el at ed t o t he C reat i o n o f
Cabinet Departments, 1947 to 2002 ...............................16

Creation o f Executive Departments:
Highlights from the Legislative H istory of
Modern Precedents
Introduction
On November 25, 2002, President George W . Bush s ign e d l egislation t o
establish a Department of Homeland Security (P.L. 107-296, 106 Stat. 2135). This
marked the eighth time since World War II that Congress acted to create or
implement major reorganizations of Cabinet-level departments: the Department of
Defense (1947);¹ the Department of Health, E ducation, and W elfare (HEW ) (1953);²
the Department of Housing and Urba n D e v elopment (1965); t he Department of
T ransportation (1966); t he Department of Energy (1977); t he Department of
Education (1979); t he Department of Veterans Affairs (1988); and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) (2002).
T his report des cribes the principal el em ents of the l egislative proces s u s e d t o
es tablish t hese ex ecutive branch entities. Legi slative histories of the organic act s of
the eight Cabinet d epartments are set out in narrative form i n t he body of the report,
and i n t abular format in the appendix .³
Pr ocedur al Characteristics
Congressional consideration o f l egislation establishing Cabinet d epartments
general l y ex hi bi t ed cert ai n com m o n p rocedural el em ent s . For i n st ance, each
successful proposal was p receded by a p resi dential endorsement and t he submission
of draft l egislation by t he ex ecutive branch.

¹ The War Department was established in 1789. T he National Security Act of 1947
reorganized all military services under a single National Military Establishment, which, in
turn, was redesignated the Department of Defense in 1949.
² T h e D e p a r t ment of Health, Education, and Welfare was established i n 1953. T he
rema ining c omponents of t h e d e p a rtme nt were rename d t he Departme nt of Health and
Huma n Servi ces in 1979, when the Department of Education was created.
³ For additional i nformation on t he organiza tion of t hese departme nts , s e e C RS Report
RL31472, Departmental Organization, 1947-2003. CRS Report RL30673, The President’s
Cabinet: Evol u t i on, Alternatives, and Proposals f or Change, analyzes the r ole of t he
Cabinet. Additional i nforma tion on t he Departme nt of Home land Security can be found in
CRS Report RL31751, Homeland Security: Department Organization and Management —
Impl e m e n tation Phase, and CRS Report RL31677, Filling Presidentially Appointed,
Senate-Confirmed Positions in the Department of Homeland Security.

In the C ongress in which t hey were approved, these p roposals normally were
considered by the House C ommittee on Government Operations (now the
Government Reform Committee) and t he Senate Committee on Governmental
Affairs, or thei r predecessors. Ex ceptions to this general rule were S enat e bill S. 758
in the 80^th Congress, creating t he National M ilitary Establishment (later renam ed the
Department of De f e n s e ) , which was referred t o t he S enat e Arm ed S ervi ces
Committee, and H.R. 6804 in t h e 9 5^th Congress, the l egislation establishing the
Department of Energy, w h i ch was referred t o both t he House Government
Operations, and Post Office and C ivil Service C ommittees . The creation of a select
co m m ittee i n t he House t o consider homel and security legi slation, with multi p l e
committees submitting recommended amendments, was a departure from t he usual
pattern.
W i t h t h e exception of the Defense D epart m ent and V et erans A ffai rs D epart m ent
bills, t he House considered earlier d epartmental creation under p rovisions of an open
rule. T h e D e fense m easure was brought up by unanimous consent, and Veterans
Affairs l egislation was considered under s uspension of t he rules. The DHS bill, in
contrast, was considered under a structur ed rule that specified the amendments that
couldbeoffered.
In the S enat e, al l earlier departmental creat i o n bills were brought up by
unanimous consent; the HEW reorganiz ation j oint resolution, however, was called
up by motion. In 2002, Senate homeland s ecurity legi slation was also called u p b y
motion.
Votes i n committee and on the House and Senate floor, t o approve legi slation
creating t he various Cabinet departments, were generally by comfortable m aj orities.
An ex ception was House consideration of t he Department of Education bill, which
cl eared committee by a single vote and passed t he House by a four-vote m argi n.
Fi nally, with the ex ception of t he resolution approving the HEW reorganization
plan, which was p assed b y t he H o u s e and agreed to in the S enate without
am endm ent , earl i er C abi n et depart m ent al creat i o n l egi s l at i o n w ent t o conference t o
resolve d ifferences between the House and S enate versions. Differences in the House
and S enat e v ersi ons of Hom el and S ecuri t y Depart m ent l egi sl at i o n were resol ved b y
amendments between the houses.
With two ex ceptions, conferees were drawn from t he reporting committees . In
the cas e o f t he D epartment of Veterans Affairs b ill conferen ce, members o f t he
Veterans Affairs C ommittees in the House and Sen a t e joined conferees from t he
House Government Operations and S enat e Governmental Affairs C ommittees . For
t h e E nergy D epart m ent bi l l conference, t h ree m embers of the E nergy and Natural
Resources Committee were i ncluded i n t he Senate conference delegation, and t hree
members of t he Post Office and C ivil Service C ommittee were i ncluded i n t he House
conference delegation.

Legislative H istory of the D epartment of
Homeland Security
On J u n e 6, 2002, President Bush announced that he would s end a proposal to
C ongress t o creat e a D epart m ent of Hom el and S ecuri t y. S uch l egi s l at i o n h ad al ready
been introduced in both t he House and Senate,⁴ but the P resident’s endorsement of
the i dea added m omentum t o t he effort. The Pres ident formally submitted his
proposal to Congress on J une 18. The b ill was i ntroduced, b y request,⁵ by Majority
Leader Richard Armey as H.R. 5005 on J une 24.
O n J une 13, House S peaker Dennis Hastert and M inority Leader Ric h a r d
Gephardt announc e d a n a greement o n t he procedures to be used in the House o f
Repres entatives for committee consideration of t he Homeland Security Department
legi slation. On J une 19, the House adopted H.Res. 449, b y v o i c e vote, creating a
Select Committee on Homel and S ecurity.⁶
Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 449, the P resident’s bill was referred t o t he
Select Committee on Homel and S ecurity and t o t he Government Reform Committee,
and s imultaneously to 11 other committees . B y J u l y 12, al l of t he standing
committees concerned were t o report t heir recommendations to the s el ect committee,
which was charged with marking u p t he legi slation. H.R. 5005 was reported t o t he
House b y t he select committee o n J uly 2 4 (H.Rept. 107-609, Pt. 1 ) b y a 5-4 vote.
House d ebate o n H.R. 5005 began J u l y 2 5 , e x tended l ate i nto t he nigh t, and
concluded o n J uly 26. Th e b i l l was i nitially considered in the House under t he
provisions of a s tructured rule (H.Res. 502). The resolution, which p assed t he House
by voi c e vote, provided for 90 minutes of ge neral d ebat e, and w ai ved al l poi nt s o f
order against the bill. Twenty-seven am endments were made in order. An amendment
in the nat ure of a substitute recommended by t he Select Committee on Homel and
Security was t o b e considered as original tex t for t he purpose o f amendmen t . T h e
House adopted 16 of the 2 7 amendments made in order, and p assed t he bill J u ly 26
by a 295-132 vote.

⁴ On May 2, 2002, Sen. J oseph Lieberma n i ntroduced S. 2452, a bill to establish t he
Departme nt of National Homeland Security and t he Nat i o n a l Office for Combating
T errorism. On t he same day, an identical b ill (H.R. 4660) was i ntroduced in the House of
Representatives by Rep. Mac T hornberry.
⁵ One or more M embers who wish t o put a l egislative proposal formally before Congress can
introduce t he proposal as their own, or t hey can introduce i t “ by request,” with those words
printed on the face of the bill, after their names as s pons or s . “By request” implies the
Member or Memb e r s i ntroduced the bill out of professional c ourtesy, but does not
necessarily mean they are embracing its ideas.
⁶ Pursuant to H.Res. 449, the Speaker appointed nine Members t o s erve on the committee:
Reps. Richard Ar mey, T om Delay, J .C. Watts, Deborah Pryce, Rob Portman, Nancy Pelosi,
Martin Frost, Robert Menendez, and Rosa DeLauro. All of the M embers s e l e c t e d held
Republican or Democratic party-leadership positions.

Subsequently, o n November 12, Repres entative Armey, t he House m aj ority
leader and chair of the S elect Committee o n H omeland S ecurity, i ntroduced a revised
version o f t he legi slation (H.R. 5710), which included revised language concerning
public emp l oyee work rules. The b ill was considered under a closed rule (H.Res.

600), and approved o n a 299-121 vote.

In contrast to the s el ect committee approach em ployed by the House, the S enat e
chose t o h andle Homeland S ecurity Department proposals within the ex i sting
standing committee s tructure. On M ay 22, 2002, the S enate Governmental Affairs
Committee m arked up, and o rdered reported w i t h amendments, S . 2452, the
National Homeland S ecurity and C ombating Terrorism Act o f 2002, introduced by
the committee chair, S enat or Li eberman. The bill was reported t o t he Senate on J une
2 4 , with a written report (S.Rept. 107-175). Following receipt of the P res i d e n t ’ s
proposal, t h e Senate Governmental Affairs C ommittee revisited t he legi slation,
approving a s ubstitute to S. 2452 by a 12-5 vote on J uly 25.
The House-passed measure w as recei ved in the Senate July 30, and on the
fol l o wi ng day S enat or Harry R ei d m ade a m ot i o n t o p roceed t o t h e consi d erat i o n o f
H.R. 5005. A cloture motion coupled with the m otion t o p roceed was s ubsequently
withdrawn, on Augu st 1. After t he August congressi onal recess, t h e S enat e b egan
floor consideration o f t he House b ill, approving the m otion t o p roceed by a vote o f
94-0 o n S eptember 3. Deliberations conti nued t hroughout September, as lawmakers
wrestled with issues such as the civil s e rv i c e p rotections and collective bargaining
righ ts of the employees of the n ew departmen t . D e b a t e focused on an amendment
in the nature of a substitute (S.Amdt. 4471) submitted by S enator Li eberman t hat
em bodied the t ex t o f S . 2452 as modified by the C ommittee on Governmental
Affairs.
On Novem b er 13, fol l o wi ng t h e el ect i o n d ay recess, t h e S enat e resum ed
consideration of t he bill. Pending on the floor was t he Li eberman s ubstitute (S.Amdt.
4471), which was s ubsequ e n t l y tabled on a 50-47 vote. Senator Fred Thompson
offered t he tex t of the s econd House-passed bill (H.R. 5710) as a s ubstitute
amendment (S.Amdt. 4901).
On Novembe r 1 9 , c l oture was invoked o n t he bill by a vote o f 83-16. After
rejecting t wo Li eberman amendments to make certain provisions of the Thompson
substitute in ef f ective (S.Amdt. 4911 and S .Amdt. 4953), t he Senate adopted
Thompson substitute by a vote o f 73-26. The S enate t h e n p assed H.R. 5005, as
amended, by a vote o f 90-9, and returned t he bill to the House. The House agreed to
t h e S enat e-am ended v ersi on of t h e bill by unanimou s consent o n November 22,
clearing t he measure for the P resident’s si gn at ure. P resi d ent Bush s i gned t he
legi slation i nto l aw on November 25, 2002.
Fo rmer Governor Tom R idge of Pe nnsyl vania was nominated to be the first
secret ary o f t he new d epart m ent . T he nom i n at i o n w as recei ved i n t h e S enat e on
J anuary 7, 2003, and referred t o t he Committee o n Governmental Affairs. The
Senate confirmed the appointment J anuary 22 by a 94-0 vote. Ridge was sworn i n
J anuary 24, and t he depart m ent becam e operat i onal .

Legislative H istory of Other M odern
Cabinet D epartments
Depar t ment of Defense
The National S ecurity Act o f 1947 (P.L. 253 , 6 1 S t at. 495), m odified by
amendments in 1949 (P.L. 216, 63 Stat. 578), set the o rganiz ational framework for
the Department of Def e n s e. P r oposals to coordinate the activities of t he military
services were initially considered by Congress in 1944. Specific p lans were put forth
in 1945 by the Army, the Navy, and t he J o int C hiefs o f S taff. In a s pecial message
to Congress on December 19, 1945, P resident Harry S T ruman p roposed creation o f
a unified Department of National Defense.
A b ill based upon Tr u m an’s recommendation was reported favorably by the
Senate Military Affairs C ommittee i n April 1946. The Military Affairs C ommittee
made changes t o t he bill in response t o t he Navy’s objections related t o its retention
of control over naval aviation and the M arine C orps. The Naval Affairs C ommittee
h e l d hearings on the revised bill in J u ly 1946, but objected to the concentrati o n o f
power in a s ingl e department. The Naval Affairs C ommittee did no t report t he⁷
meas ure, effectivel y blocking further consideration of t he bill.
President Truman renewed his efforts i n 1947, sendi n g draft l egislation t o
Congress that had been vetted with the Army and the Navy. The P resident’s bill was
introduced in the House (H.R. 2319) on February 28, 1947, by Representative C lare
Hoffman , and referred t o t he co mmittee h e chaired , t he Committee o n Ex p enditures
in the Ex ecutive Departments (renamed t he Committee on Government Operations
on J u ly 3, 1952). Hearings on the House b ill, H.R. 2319, were held between April
and J uly. On J uly 16, the C ommittee on Ex penditures i n t he Ex ecutive Departments
reported a clean bill, H.R. 4214, in co r p o r at i n g amendments agreed to by the
committee (H.Rept. 80-961).
The House b ill, H.R. 4214, was b rought up for consideration under a
unanimous consent agreem ent t h a t w ai v ed all points of order agai nst t he bill, and
allotted five hours o f general d e b a te. W hen t he bill reached the floor on J u ly 19,
several m embers of the Armed Servi ces Committee s trongly supported t he bill, but
opposition came fr o m s everal quarters, incl uding members o f t he Appropriations,
Veterans Affairs, an d Armed Services C o m mittees .⁸ The House considered more
t h a n a doz en amendments, i ncluding several s uccessful am endm ent s offered b y
Repres entative W . S terling C ole, to protect the s tatus of t he Navy. The am ended bill
passed b y voice vote o n J uly 19. The Hous e t hen p assed t he Senate bi l l a f t er
substituting t he tex t of H.R. 4214.

⁷ The Military Affairs Committee and the Naval Affairs Committee were merged i nto a new
Ar med Servi ces Committee by t he Legi slative Reorganization Act of 1946.
⁸ A mong those opposing t he bill were Rep. Cole, a me mber of the Arme d S e r vi c e s
Committee, Rep. Harry Sheppard, f orme r c hair of the Navy Appropriations Subcommittee,
and Rep. Edith Rogers, chair of the V eterans Affairs Committee.

In the S enate, S. 758 was i ntroduced March 3 , 1947, by Senator J ohn Chandler
Gurney, chair of the Armed Services Committee. The bill’s referral t o t his committee
was del ayed when the S enat e C ommittee on Ex penditures i n t he Ex ecutive
Department s (renamed t he Committee o n Government Operations on March 3 , 1952)
al so cl aimed j urisdiction over t he bill. The dispute was resolved when Pres ident P ro
Tempore Arthur Vandenberg ruled t hat t he proper r eferral w as t o t h e A rm ed S ervi ces
Committee. The S enate s ubsequently upheld this ruling o n a voice vote.⁹
The S enat e Armed Services Committee hel d ex t ensive hearings over a 10-week
period. The b ill was m arked u p i n ex ecutive s ession May 20, 1947, and approved b y
a 12-0 vote. Despite the unanimous vote, some committee m em bers indicat ed they
intended t o refine t he bill further b y o fferi ng amendments on the S enate floor. S . 758
was reported b y t he Armed S ervices Committee on J une 5 (S.Rept. 80-239).
The b ill was b rought to the S enate floor by unanimous consent o n J uly 7 , 1947.
During two d ays o f floor debate, argumen t s i n favor of the b ill were presented b y
members o f t he Armed S ervices Committee. Among the opponents, Senator Edward
Robertson, the t hird-ranking majority member of the committee, voiced his concern
that the b ill w o u l d c o n centrate t oo much power in the h ands of the p roposed
S ecret ary o f N at i onal S ecuri t y.
An amendment p roposed by Se nator R obert Taft, clarifying t he duties o f t he
National S ecurity Council, was adopted. An amendment p roposed by Senator J oseph
McCarthy, prohibiting change i n t he stat us of the M arine C orps, was defeat ed. The
bill, as amended, passed t he Senate by voice vote J uly 9 , 1947.
Conferees were draw n from t he reporting committees , s ev en from Armed
Services in the S enat e (majority-minority ratio 4-3), and seven from Ex penditures i n
the Ex ecutive D e p a r tments i n t he House (4-3 ratio). The S enate adopted the
conference report b y voice vote o n J u l y 2 4 . The House followed s uit o n J uly 2 5
(H.Rept. 80-1051), and Presi d e n t Truman signed t he bill into law on J uly 26 (P.L.
253, 61 Stat. 495). P ursuant t o t he effective date provisions in the s tatute, t he
National M ili t a r y Establishment cam e i nto b eing on September 18, 1947. The
nom i n at i o n o f J am es Forre s t a l as secret ary o f t he depart m ent was recei ved i n t he
Senate J u ly 26, 1947, referred t o t he Committee o n Armed Services, and approved
by the full S enate t he same day b y unanimous consent.
In 1949, the National M ilitary Establishm ent was redesign ated the Department
of Defense, an d t h e secret ary was gi ven great er authority over t he military
departments o f t he Army, Navy, and Air Fo rce. These m odifications, s upported b y
Secretary Forrestal, wer e i ntroduced as H.R. 5632 in the House (by Representative
Dewey S hort o n J uly 13, 1949) and S . 1269 in the S en at e ( b y Senator Millard
Tydings o n M arch 16, 1949). Ex t ensive hearings were held by both t he House and
Senate Armed S ervices Committees.

⁹ For a discussion of the i ssues surrounding the j ur isdictional dispute, and t he rationale for
the r eferral decision, see Congressional Record, vol. 93 ( Mar. 3, 1947), pp. 1599-1607.

On May 12, the S enat e Armed Services Committee reported an origi nal bill, S.
1843. The Senate passed S. 1843 on May 26, and t he House approved a l e s s
sweeping v ersion, H.R. 5632, on J u ly 18. Conferees resolved most of the d ifferences
i n favor of t h e S enat e v ersi on of t h e l egi s l at i on. The conference report was agreed
to in the S enate o n J uly 28, and i n t he House o n August 2 (H.Rept. 80-1142), clearing
the m easure for the P resident’s Augu st 10 sign ature (P.L. 216, 63 Stat. 578).
Depar t ment of Heal th, E ducati on, and Wel far e
President Dwigh t D. Eisenhower propos ed the creation o f t he Dep a r tment of
Health, Education, and W el fare in Reorganization P lan No. 1, submitted t o C ongress
on March 12, 195 3 . T h e p lan called for the creation of a Cabinet department that
would absorb t he functions of the ex i sting Federal S ecuri t y Agency (FS A ). C ongress
a f f i rmed the p lan b y adopting H.J .Res. 223, which t he President s igned i n t o l a w
April 1, 1953 (P.L. 13, 67 Stat. 18).
Under p rocedures mandated b y t he Reorganiz ation Act of 1949 (P. L.109, 63
Stat. 203)., reorganiz ation p lans were to take effect 60 days after s ubmission unless
either house o f C ongress passed a resolution o f d isapproval. Language in H. J . Res.
223, introduced March 12, 1953, by Repres entative H o f f m a n , chair of the
Government Operations Committee, proposed to shorten t his p eriod, providing that
the p lan would t ake e f f e c t 10 days after enactment.¹⁰ Consequently, t he new
department officially came i nto b eing on April 11, 1953.
Proposals t o consolidate h ealth, education, and welfare activities h ad been
contemplated for s everal years. In 1947, the S enate C ommittee o n Ex p enditures i n
the Ex ecutive Departments reported a bill to reorganiz e FS A, but the S enate t ook no
further action. Similarly, in 1949 and 1950, President Harry S Truman s ubmitted t wo
reorganiz ation p lans, one to create a Department of W elfare, and another t o create a
Department of Health, E ducation, an d S ecuri t y. Both were d isapproved b y
Congress.¹¹
The u ltimately successful consideration o f HEW ’s organic act was s et in motion
by President Eisenhower’s February 2, 1953 State o f t he Union m essage, advocating
creation o f t he department. T he formal reorganiz ation p lan was sent to Congress on
M a rch 12. On March 16, the House Government Operations Committee an d t h e
Subcomm ittee on R eorganization of t he Senate Committee on Government
O p erations ex amined the p roposal in joint h earings . On M arch 17, the Ho u s e
Government Operations Committee approved H.J .Res 223, 17-12, and reported i t t o
the House (H.Rept. 83-166). The following day, March 18, the j oint resolution was

¹⁰ No action was required by Congress for t he Reorganization Plan t o go i n t o effect. T he
j oint r esolution was necessary only t o provi de an exception t o t he statutorily mandated 60-
day effective date r equirement.
¹¹ On Aug. 16, 1949, a r esolution disapprovi n g R e o r ga niza tion Plan No. 1, creating t he
Departme nt of Welfare, was adopted by a 60-32 vote in the Se n a t e . On J uly 10, 1950, a
resolution disapproving Reorganization Plan No. 27, creating t he Departme nt o f Health,
Education, and Security, was adopted in the House by a 249-71 vote.

considered under an open rule (H.Res .179), p rovidi n g f o r t wo hours o f general
debate, and passed t he House 291-86.
The S enat e Government Operations Committee considered the j oint resolution
March 23, voting 12-1 t o s end i t t o t he fu ll Senate (S.Rept. 83-128). On M arch 30,
a m ot i o n t o p roceed t o t h e consi d erat i o n o f t he j o i n t resol ut i on, m ade by Maj o ri t y
Leader Taft , w as agreed t o by voi ce vot e. H.J . R es. 223 was d ebat ed bri efl y o n t he
Senate floor, t hen p assed b y voice vote. Af ter s igning the j oint resolution on April
1 , P r e s i d e n t Eisenhower nominat e d f o r m e r Fe d e r a l S e c u r i t y A g e n c y h e a d O v e t a C u l p
Hobby as the first secretary o f t he new d ep artment. The nomination was received i n
the S enate April 2, 1953, and referred t o t he Committee o n Finan ce. T h e S enate
unanimously confirmed t he nomination o n April 10, and t he depart m e n t officially
began operation o n April 11, pursuant t o t he provisions of the j oint resolution.
The D epart m ent of Heal t h , E ducat i on, and W el fare was renam ed t h e
Department of Health and Human Services on May 4 , 1980, following the creation
of the n ew Department of Education. (Cons ideration of P .L. 96-88, the Department
of Educat i o n O rgani z at i o n A ct , i s d et ai l ed b el ow).
Depar t ment of Housi ng a nd Ur ban Devel opment
The Department of Housing and Urban Development was establish ed b y P .L.
89-174, 79 S t a t . 6 6 7 (H.R. 6927), s igned b y P resident Lyndon B. J ohnson on
September 9 , 1965. The l egislation p rovide d t hat t he department was t o b e created
60 days following the d ate o f enactment, o r n o l at er t h an Novem b er 8. The act ual
implementation was postponed until J anuary 13, 1966, following the completion of
a s pecial study group report o n t he federal role i n s olving urban p roblems.
From 1961 to 1965, both P resident J ohn F. Kennedy and P resident J ohnson had
advanced proposals for the creation o f a housing d epartment. In a special message to
Congress March 2 , 1965, President J ohnson specifically requested the establishment
of a Department of Housing and Urban Development. As approved i n 1965 , t he
legi slation bas ically el evat ed the Housing and Home Fi nance Agency (es tablished i n

1947) to Cabinet-level s tatus.

Draft l egislation t o establish t he department was t ransmitted t o C ongress in late
March by t he administration. Bills embodying t he administration’s p roposals were
introduced by Representative Henry Reuss o n M arch 23, 1965 (H.R. 6654), and by
Representative Dante Fascell o n M arch 30 ( H . R . 6927). In t he Senate, t he
administration’s l egislation was introduced by Senator Abraham Ribicoff on March
25 (S. 1599). The House Government Operations Subcommittee on Ex ecutive and
Legi slative R eorganiz ation h eld t wo days of hearings on April 5 and 6 o n H.R. 6654,
H.R. 6927, and related bills.
The Government O p erations Committee s elected H.R. 6927 for further
consideration, voting 20-8 o n M ay 11 t o r e p o r t t he measure t o t he House (H.Rept.

89-337). On J une 16, the House considered th e b ill under an open rule (H.Res. 419),

which p rovided for two hours o f general debate, and passed i t with amendments, b y
a 217-184 vote, after rejecting a minority subs titute, H.R. 8222. This Republican
alternative, introduced by Representative Florence Dwyer on J une 6, proposed

e s t ablishing an Office of Urban Affairs and Community Development i n t he
Ex ecut i v e Offi ce of t h e P resi dent , rat her t han a full Cabinet d epartment.
The S enat e G o v e rn m e n t O p erations Subcommittee on Ex ecutive R eorganization
held four days of hearings on S. 1599 on March 31, April 1 and 2 , and May 19. The
full committee approved t he bill on J uly 30 by a 9-4 vote (the chair of the committee,
Senator J ohn McClellan, voting i n t he negative), and reported i t t o t he Senate Augu st

2 (S.Rept. 89-536).

The m easure was brought up on the floor by unanimous consent o n August 10,
1965. The m ain v ariation b etween the House and Senate versions of the l egislation
related t o t he stat us of the Federal Housing Administrat i o n ( FH A ) . Among the
Senate-adopted amendments was a proposal by Senator J ohn Sparkman providing for
the ret ention of t he Federal Housing Administrat i o n . T h e House had reject ed a
similar provision.¹² The S enate s ubsequently passed H.R. 6927 on Augu st 11, 57-33,
after s ubstituting t he provisions of S. 1599.
The conference committee i ncluded five m em bers of the S enat e Government
Operations Committee (3-2 ratio) and seven members of the House Government
Operations Committee (5-2 ratio). The conference report ( H.Rept. 89-844) was filed
Augu st 11. It was a gr e e d t o by voice vote and without debate in the S enate o n
A u gu st 30 and i n t he House o n August 31. The b i l l becam e l aw wi t h P resi d en t
J ohnson’s s ignature on September 9 , 1965.
The nom i n at i o n o f R obert C . W eaver as t h e fi rst secret ary o f t he n e w
department was received i n t he S enate J anuary 14, 1966, and referred t o t he
Committee on Banking and C urrency. The nomination was agreed to by the S enat e
without objection o n J anuary 17.
Depar t ment of Tr anspor tati on
The Department of Transportation was es tablished by P .L. 89-670, 80 Stat. 931,
(H.R. 15963), enacted October 15, 1966. Th e d epartment’s first o fficial day o f
operation w as A p ril 1 , 1967. As early as 1936, a S enate s elect committee h ad
recommended t he creation o f a transportation d e p a r t m ent. President Lyndon B.
J ohnson formally proposed the creation o f t he department in his S tate of the Union
address o n J anuary 12, 1966, and s ent a special messa ge to Congress on March 2 ,
detailing his recommendations.
The administration b ill to create a Department of Transportation (H.R. 13200)
was i ntroduced in the House o n M arch 2 b y R ep resentative C het Holifield and i n t he
Senate (S. 3010) by Senator W arren M agnuson. Over the n ex t t h r ee months, t he
Subcommittee on Ex ecutive and Legi slative R eorgan i z at i on of t he House
Government Operations Committee h eld 1 1 days o f h earings on the p roposal. During
the s ame time frame, n ine d ays o f h earings were conducted b y t he Senate Committee
on Government Operations.

¹² Conferees adopted language retaining t he Federal Housing Administration as a separate
entity in the new department.

On J une 22, the House s ubcommittee approved H.R. 13200 and forwarded it to
the Govern m e n t O perations Committee. The full committee approved t he bill on
J une 22 with an am endment i n t he nature of a s ubstitute, and, on J uly 15, reported
a clean bill to the House (H.R. 15963, H.Rept. 89-1701). On August 30, the House
took up the bill under t he provisions of an open rule (H.Res. 935), which provided
for four hours o f general debate. T he b ill passed, amended, by a vote o f 336-42.
In the S enate, S. 3010 was considered by the Government O p erations
Committee and reported with am endments on September 27, 1966 (S .Rept. 89-1659).
On the floor, t he bill was b rought up for consideration by unanimous consent. After
substituting t he pro v i s i o n s of its own bill, the S enate passed H. R . 15963 on
September 2 9 b y a vote o f 64-2.
Six conferees from t he House Government Operations Committee (4-2 ratio),
and five from the Senate Government Operations Committee (4-1 ratio), met to
resolve t he differences in the t wo versions of the b ill and filed t he conference report
on October 1 2 (H.Rept. 89-2236). On O c t o b e r 1 3 , both t he House and the S enate
adopted the conference report b y voice vote, clearing t he measure for the P resident.
Alan Boyd was nominat ed to be the department’s fi rs t s ecretary. The
nomination was received i n t he Senate J anuary 10, 1967, referred t o t he Committee
on Commerce, and approved without obj ection i n t he Senate on J anuary 12.
Depar t ment of Ener gy
The Department of Energy was created by P.L. 95-91, 9 1 Stat. 565 (S. 826),
sign ed by President J immy Carter on Augu st 4, 1977.¹³ Pres i d ent C arter formally
proposed creation o f t he new d epartment five months earlier, on March 1 , 1977, in
a s peci al message to Congress. The plan was similar i n m any res pect s t o P resident
Gerald R. Fo rd’s energy reorganization proposal submitted i n t he final m onth o f h is
term. In 1971 and 1973, President R ichard M. Nix o n h ad also offered p lans to
reorganiz e federal energy agencies.
Several i dentical House b ills embodying t he President’s p roposal were referred
to the Government Operations Committee.¹⁴ The Legislation and National S ecurity
Subcommittee h eld s ix days of hearings on H.R. 4263 and related bills in March and
April 1977. The s ubcommittee m arked u p H.R . 4263 and reported a clean bill, H.R.

6804, to the full committee.

¹³ T he Department of Energy officially began operations on October 1, 1977. Pursuant to
sec. 901 of the Department of Energy Organization Act, President Carter issued Executive
Order 12009, prescribing t hat dat e a s t h e effective date of t he Act, as authorized by
Congress.
¹⁴ From April 25, 1967, to J a nuary 3, 1979, House r ules limited t he number of c osponsors
to 25 per bill, requiring the i ntroduction of i dentical bills when the number of cosponsors
exceeded 25. In addition t o H.R. 4263, the Department of Energy Act wa s i nt roduced as
H.R. 4466, H.R. 4806, H.R. 4807, H.R. 4808, H.R. 5299, and H.R. 5761.

The P ost Office and C ivil Service C ommittee also had asserted jurisdiction over
the l egislation. On April 19, the Employee Ethics and Utilization S ubcommittee hel d
hearings on the federal pers onnel ramifi cations of H.R. 4263, and Representative
Robert Nix , chai r of t he full committee, forwarded s ugge s t ed am endments to the
Government Operations Committee. On May 13, in a l etter t o t he Speaker, t he Post
Office and C ivil Service C ommittee request ed and received s equential referral o f t he
legi slation.¹⁵ H.R. 6804 was reported b y Government Operations on May 16, 1977
(H.Rept. 95-346, Pt. 1 ), and b y P ost Office and C ivil Service o n M ay 24 (H.Rept. 95-

346,Pt.2).

On J une 2, the House considered H.R. 6804 under an open rule (H.Res. 603).¹⁶
The m ajority o f the 34 amendments considered were noncontroversial, and were
adopted by voice votes. On t he following day, J une 3, the House p assed H.R. 6804
by a 310-20 vote, then pas s e d S . 826, after amending it to contai n t he language of
H.R.6804.
T h e S enate v ersion of the p roposed energy reorganiz ation, S. 826, was
introduced March 1 , 1977, by Senator Abrah am Ribicoff. Twelve days of hearings
were held dur i n g M arch and April 1977 by the Governmental Affairs C ommittee
(formerly the Government Operations Committee, renamed Governmental Affairs
on February 4, 1977). An amended v ersion of S. 826 was reported by t he Committee
on Governmental Affairs o n M ay 14 (S.Rept. 95-164).
The b ill was b rought up for consideration i n t he Senate by unanimous consent
on May 18. S event een am e n d m ent s , m aki n g rel at i v el y m i nor changes, were
propo s e d. All but three o f t hese were adopted by voice vote without sign ificant
challenge. The bill, as am ended, was t hen passed by a vote of 74-10.
Conferees were drawn from t he two reporting committees in the House, 10 from
Government Operations (7-3 ratio) and three from P ost Office and C ivil S ervice (2-1
ratio). In the S enat e, ei ght conferees cam e from t he Committee on Governmental
Affairs (5-3 ratio) and three from t he Committee o n Energy and Natural R es ources
(1-2 ratio). Senator Hen ry J ack son, ch ai r o f t he Committee o n Energy and Natural
Resources , requested that the bill be referred t o his committee after the Governmental
Affairs C ommittee had completed i t s consideration. No sequential referral was
made, but three m em bers of the Energy and Natural R es ources Committee were
appointed as conferees (in addition t o S enat or J ackson and Senator Lee Metcalf, who
served on both committees ).
The conference report o n S . 826 was agreed to on Augu st 2 i n t he House b y a

353-57 vo t e a n d i n t he Senate by a 76-14 vote (H.Rept. 95-539, S.Rept. 95-367).

President Carter signed the bill August 4, 1977, and on the same day nominated

¹⁵ A f ull chronology of t he Post Office and Civil Service Committee’s efforts t o obtain
sequential r eferral a ppears i n H.Rept. 95-346, Pt. 2, pp. 3-4.
¹⁶ T he r esolution provi ded f or three hours of general debate, t wo and one-half hours t o be
equally divi ded and controlled by t he chair and ranking minority member of the Committee
on Gove rnme nt Operations, a nd one-half hour to be equally divi ded a nd controlled by t he
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service.

J ames S chlesinger to head the new department. The nomination was referred t o t he
Committee on Energy and Natural R es ources . S chlesinger was confirmed by t he
Senate without objection August 5.
Depar t ment of Educati on
The Dep a rtment of Education Organiz ation Act, P .L. 96-88, 93 Stat. 668
(S.210), approved October 17, 1979, consolidated education components from t he
Depart m ent of Heal t h , E ducat i on, and W el fare and o t h er ex ecut i v e d epart m ent s i nt o
a s ingl e C abinet department.¹⁷ The l aw also renamed t he remaining components o f
HEW as t he Depart m ent of Heal t h and H um an S ervi ces. Federal educat i o n agenci es
had e x i s t e d a t the s ubcabinet level as early as 1867, but, as federal education
program s ex panded, pressure t o creat e a s eparat e educat i o n d epart m ent grew.
In a m essage to Congress February 28, 1978, President C arter p roposed creating
a C abinet-level department of education. The p roposal was a part of the P resident’s
education i nitiatives, which included finan cial aid t o college-bound students as well
as increased federal financi al assistance to elementary and s econdary education.
In t h e 9 5^th Congress, bills proposing a Department of Education were i ntroduced
in both ch a m b ers. The S enate b ill, S. 991, was i ntroduced by Senator Abraham
Ribicoff on March 14, 1977. The b ill was reported from t he Governmental Affairs
Committee on August 9, 1978 (S.Rept. 95-1078), and passed t he Senate 72-11 on
September28.
Representative J ack Brooks introduced H.R. 13778 on Augu st 8, 1978. The b ill
cleared the Government Operations Committee on August 25 (H.Rept. 95-1531), but
stalled on t he floor. Opponents c o n cer n e d about the b ill’s impact on independent
local schools s uccessfully blocked i t s c o n s i d eration i n t he waning days of the 9 5^th
Congress.
In t h e 9 6^th C ongress, efforts t o create t he new d ep artment were renewed with the
introduction of S . 210 by Senator R ibicoff, chair o f t h e Governmental Affairs
Committee, o n J anuary 24, 1979. The House bill, H.R. 2444, was i ntroduced by
Representative Brooks, chair of the Government Operations Committee, on February
27. The House Government Operations Subcommittee on Legislation and National
Security held three d ays o f h earings on H.R. 2444, Ma rch 2 6 and 27 and April 5.
The S enat e bill, which was similar t o t he meas ure approved i n t he previous Congress,
was t he subject of three d ays o f h earings before t h e S enate Governmental Affairs
Committee, February 6-8.
S. 210 was reported by t he Governmental Affairs C ommittee on M arch 27, with
an am endment i n t he nature of a s ubstitute (S.Rept. 96-49). The bill was called up
by unanimous consent o n April 5, with consideration continuing on April 9 , 10, 26,

¹⁷ T he Department of Education was officially established on M ay 4, 1980. Pursuant to the
provisions in sec. 601 of the Department of Education Organization Act, President Carter
issued Executive Order 12212, designating M ay 4, 1980, as the effective date of t he Act, as
authorized by Congress.

and 30. On April 26, a time agreement was reached, s pecifying d ebate limits on all
remaining amendments.¹⁸ A controversial s chool-prayer amendment adopted on A p r i l

5 was subsequently stri p p ed from t he bill. Other amendments on sex education,

uni oni z at i o n o f t eachers, and affi rm at i v e act i o n w ere d efeat ed by rol l -cal l vot es.
Among the amendments adopted was one o ffered b y S enator Dennis DeConcini t o
es tablish an Office of Bilingual Education and M i nority Affairs. The bill, as
amended, passed t he Senate 72-21 on April 30.
On May 2 , H.R. 2444 was o rdered reported b y t he Government Operatio n s
Committee by a single vote, 20-19 (H.Rept. 96-143). The bill was considered on the
floor under t h e p r o v i s i ons of an open rule (H.Res. 299), with three hours p rovided
for general debat e. V ari ous am endm ent s on subjects s uch as busing, racial quo t a s,
abortion, and s chool prayer were agreed to . The final b ill passed t he House o n J uly

11, by a four-vote m argi n, 210-206.

Fi v e c o nferees appointed from t he Senate Gover n m e n t a l A f f a i r s C o mmittee (3-2
ratio), and n i n e fro m t he House Government Operations Committee (6-3 ratio)
reached an agreement t hat d ropped m ost o f t he House p rovisions. The Senate adopted
the conference report (S.Rep t . 9 6 - 3 2 6 ) o n S eptember 24 by a vote o f 69-22. On
Septe m ber 27, the House followed s uit, agreeing to the conference report (H.Rept.

96-459) by a vote o f 215-201.

The November 14, 1979 nomination o f S hirl ey Hufstedler as secretary o f t he
department was referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. On
November 30, the S enate confirmed Hufstedler b y a vote o f 81-2.
Depar t ment of Veter a ns Affai r s
The Department of Veterans Affair s w a s c r e a t ed by P. L. 100-527, 102 Stat.

2635 (H.R. 3471), which upgraded t he Veterans Administr a tion t o C abinet status.

The Dep artment of Veterans Affairs Act was s igned b y P resident Ronald Reagan on
October 25, 1988, and t he redesign ation b ecame effective o n M arch 15, 1989.
Proposals t o m ake t he Veterans Administration an ex ecutive d ep a r t m ent h ad
been introduced in the 88^th through t he 100^th C ongresses. P resi d ent R eagan’s publ i c
endorsement of the i dea o n November 10, 1987, on the eve of Veterans D a y,
provided added m omentum t o t he effort.
O n t h e s ame d ay that the P resident made his endorsement, t he House
Government Operations Committee approved H.R. 3471 to create a Veterans Affairs
Department. Introduced October 13, 1987, by the committee chair, R epresentative
Brooks, t he measure was reported t o t he House o n November 16 (H. R ept. 100-435),
and p assed t he House o n November 17, under s uspension of t he rules, by a vote of

399-17.

Related l egislation, S. 533, was i ntr oduced in the S enate February 17, 1987, by
Senator S trom Thurmond, a s enior minority member of both t he Armed S ervices and

¹⁸ Congressional Record, vol. 125 (Apr. 26, 1979), pp. 8823-8825.

Veterans Affairs C ommittees . The Senate Governmental Affairs C ommitt ee held
hearings on the m easure December 9 , 1987, and M arch 15 and 28, 1988.
The Governmental Affairs C ommittee m arked u p t he bill April 1 4 and ordered
it reported b y a 9-0 vote. As reported, the b i l l i n corporat ed an am endm ent i n t he
nature of a s ubstitute offered by Governmental A ffairs C ommittee C hairman J ohn
Glenn, which m ade s ignificant changes to the bill originally introduced by Senator
Thurmond. The b ill was reported t o t he Senate on May 1 2 (S.Rept. 100-342).
On J u ly 11, 1988, the S enate b egan consideration o f S . 533 under t he terms o f
a unanimous consent agreement.¹⁹ The agreem ent limited debat e on t he bill to two
hours, and m ade i n o rder specified amendm ents. On J uly 12, the S e n a t e p assed S .
533, adopting an amendment o ffered b y S enat or Alan Cranston to establish certain
positions within the Vet erans Benefit Administration. Amendments to change the
effective dat e o f t he Act, and t o allow limited j udici al review of Veterans
Administration compensation cas es , were t abled.
The S enat e t hen t ook up the House bill, inserted the amended t ex t of S . 533 as
a s ubstitute, and passed H. R . 3471 by a vote o f 84-11 . D i f f e r e n ces between the
House- and S enat e - p a s s e d v ersi ons of t h e b i l l were resol v ed i n conference. The
H o u s e conference delegation comprised eigh t m embers from t he Government
Operations Committee (5-3 ratio) and three from t he Veterans Affairs C ommittee (2-
1 ratio). S e v e n S en at e conferees cam e from t he Governmental Affairs C ommittee
(4-3 ratio) and two from t he Veterans Affairs C ommittee (1-1 ratio). The conferen ce
report was agreed to by voice vote o n October 6 in the House (H.Rept. 100-1036) and
October 1 8 i n t he Senate.
E d w a rd Derwi n ski w as nom i n at ed t o be t h e fi rst secret ary o f t h e n e w
department. The nomination w as recei ved i n t he Senate J anuary 20, 1989, and
referred t o t he Committee o n Vet eran s Affairs. The full S en at e confirmed Derwinski
on March 2 , b y a vote o f 94-0.
Pr oposal s t o Cr eate Addi ti onal Cabi net Depar t ments
Mem b ers o f C ongress regu l arl y p r o p o se t h e est abl i s hm ent o f n ew ex ecut i v e
departments or reorganization of ex i sting ones. For i nstance, in the 107^th Congress,
H.R. 2459, introduced J u ly 7, 2001, by Repres entative Dennis Kucinich, sought to
c r e a t e a Depart m ent of P eace. It was referred t o t he House Governm ent R eform ,
International R el ations, J udici ary, and Education and the W orkforce Committees .
In recent years, similar efforts h ave b een mounted to establish:
^! a Department of Na t i o nal Drug C ontrol P olicy (S. 1690, 105^th
Congress, introduced by Senator Lauch Faircloth, referred t o t he
Governmental Affairs C ommittee);

¹⁹ For t he text of the unanimous consent a gr eement s ee Congressional Record, vol. 134
(J une 28, 1988), p. 16176.

^! a D e p artment of Trade (H.R. 2325, 104^th Congress, introduced by
Repres entative Toby Roth, r eferred t o t he National S ecurity,
Banking and Financial Services, International R elations,
Government Reform and Oversi g h t , and W ays and M eans
Committees);
^! a Department of Science, Energy, and Technology (H.R. 1300, 103^rd
Congress, introduced by Representative R obert Walker, referred t o
the Government Operations Committee); and
^! a Department of Arts and Humanities (H.R. 383, 102^nd Congress,
i n t roduced by R epres e n t at i v e M ary R ose O akar, referred t o t he
Government Operations Committee).
For t he most part, t hese initiatives have not made significant progres s i n t erms
of formal congressional consideration. In each of the ex amples cited above, t he bills
were referred t o committee, but received n o further action.
One ex ception t o t his pattern has been the p ers i s t ent efforts t o elevate the
Environmental P rotection Agency (EPA) to Cabinet s tatus. Such proposals were first
introduced in the l at e 1980s and earl y 1990s . Both President William C linton and
P resi d ent George H.W . Bush advocat ed ex ecut i v e d epart m e nt st at us for E P A. In
1993, one such bill, S. 171, introduced by Senator Glenn, passed t he S e n a t e , b u t
recei ved n o House act i on. In t h e 107^th Congr e s s , H . R . 2438, the Department of
Environmental Protection Act, introduced July 10, 2001, by Representative
Sherwood Boehlert, was referred t o t he House C ommittee on Government Reform.
In the S en at e, a s imilar bill, S.159, introdu ced by Senator Barbara Bo x er, was t he
subject of a J uly 24, 2001 hearing b efore t he Committee o n Governmental Affairs.

CRS-16
Table 1: K ey Legislative D ocuments and D ates Related t o t he Creation o f C abinet Departments, 1947 to 2002
Conference
House B ill Initial Rep o rt
Public Law (S p eci al S en a te B ill Commi ttee Rep orts Passage Adopted
Rule)(OrFinal
Passage)
Department of P.L. 107- H.R.5005 S. 2452 H.Rept. 107-609 Pt. 1 (J uly 24, 2002) House House
Homeland Security 296 J une 24, May 2 , Select Committee on Homeland J uly 26, Nov. 22, 2002
Nov. 25, 2002 2002 S ecuri t y) 2002 Senate
2002 (H.Res. 502) S.Rept. 107-175 (J une 24, 2002) Senate Nov. 19, 2002
Nov.19,
ⁱ^{ki/CRS-RL31497} 2002
^g/w
^s^.orDepartment of P.L. 100- H.R. 3471 S. 533 H.Rept. 100-435 (Nov. 16, 1987) House H.Rept. 100-1036
^le^akVeterans Affairs 527 Oct. 13, Feb. 17, Government Operations Nov. 17, House
^://wikiOct. 25,1988 1987 1987 S.Rept. 100-342 (May, 12, 1988)Governmental Affairs 1987Senate Oct. 6, 1988Senate
^h^ttp J uly 12, Oct. 18, 1988
1988
Department of P.L. 96-88 H.R. 2444 S. 210 H.Rept. 96-143 (May, 14, 1979) House H.Rept. 96-459
Education Oct. 17, Feb. 27, J an. 24, Government Operations J uly 11, S.Rept. 96-326
1979 1979 1979 S.Rept. 96-49 (Mar. 27, 1979) 1979 House
(H.Res. 299) Governmental Affairs Senate Sept. 27, 1979
April30,Senate

1979 Sept. 24, 1979

CRS-17
of Energy P.L. 95-91 H.R. 6804 S. 826 H.Rept. 95-346, Pt. 1&2 House H.Rept. 95-539
Aug. 4, May, 2, Mar. 1, Government Operations (May 16, J une 3, S.Rept. 95-367
1977 1977 1977 1977) 1977 House
(H.Res. 603) Post Office and C ivil Service (May Senate Aug. 2, 1977
24, 1977) May 18, Senate
S.Rept. 95-164 (May 14, 1977) 1977 Aug. 2, 1977
Governmental Affairs
Department of P.L. 89-670 H.R. 15963 S. 3010 H.Rept. 89-1701 (J uly 15, 1966) House H.Rept. 89-2236
Transportation Oct. 15, J une 27, Mar. 2. Government Operations Aug. 30, House
1966 1966 1966 S.Rept. 89-1659 (Sept. 27, 1966) 1966 Oct. 13, 1966
(H.Res. 935) Government Operations Senate Senate
Sept. 29, Oct. 13, 1966
ⁱ^{ki/CRS-RL31497} 1966
^g/w
^s^.orDepartment of P.L. 89-174 H.R. 6927 S. 1599 H.Rept. 89-337 (May 11, 1965) House H.Rept. 89-884
^le^akHousing Sept. 9, Mar. 30. Mar. 25, Government Operations J une 16, House
and U rban 1965 1965 1965 S.Rept. 89-536 (Aug. 2 , 1965) 1965 Aug. 31, 1965
^://wikiDevelopment (H.Res. 419) Government Operations Senate Senate
^h^ttp Aug. 11, Aug. 30, 1965
1965
of Health, P.L. 13, H.J . Res. 223 H.Rept. 83-166 (Mar. 17, 1953) House
Education, and Apr. 1, 1953 Mar. 12, 1953 Government Operations Mar. 18,
Welfare (H.Res. 179), S.Rept. 83-128 (Mar. 23, 1953) 1953 —

affirmed R eorganiz ation Government Operations Senate
Plan no. 1 o f 1953 Mar. 30,
1953

CRS-18
of Defense P .L. 253 H.R. 4214 S. 758 H.Rept. 80-961 (J uly 16, 1947) House H.Rept. 80-1051
J uly 26, J uly 15, Mar. 3, Ex penditures i n t he Ex ecutive J uly 19, House
1947 1947 1947 Departments 1947 J uly 25, 1947
S.Rept. 80-239 (J une 5, 1947) Senate Senate
Arm ed S ervi ces July 9, J uly 24, 1947

1947
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