Hoover Commission
The Hoover Commission refers to two significant initiatives aimed at reorganizing the executive branch of the U.S. government, led by former President Herbert Hoover. The first commission was established in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman in response to perceptions of a bloated government following the Great Depression and World War II. This commission aimed to streamline government operations and resulted in widely praised recommendations that contributed to the establishment of key governmental bodies, such as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Hoover to chair a second commission, motivated by the need for structural adjustments due to Cold War pressures and military expansion. While this second commission sought to address broader policy-making issues, it faced challenges, with less than 30 percent of its recommendations ultimately enacted. Nonetheless, it succeeded in advocating for the reduction of bureaucratic "red tape," prompting numerous federal agencies to simplify their processes. Both commissions had a lasting impact on government efficiency and inspired similar state-level initiatives across the United States, known as "Little Hoover Commissions."
Hoover Commission
Identification U.S. government commission developed to study the role of government policymaking and to reorganize the executive departments of the federal government
Date Operated from 1953 to 1955
The proposals of the first and second Hoover Commissions resulted in extensive reorganization of the executive branch of the federal government.
In 1947, President Harry S. Truman appointed Herbert Hoover to a commission to reorganize the executive departments. He was appointed chairman of a similar commission, the second Hoover Commission, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. Many changes resulted from both commissions’ recommendations.
After the Great Depression and World War II, many members of Congress believed that the U.S. government had grown bloated. Both Republicans and Democrats advocated a streamlining of government. Thus, through passage of the Lodge-Brown Act of 1947, President Truman organized the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, which commonly became known as the Hoover Commission after former president Herbert C. Hoover was named as the commission chairman. Hoover’s early career as a cost accountant and mining engineer provided him with the business background needed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations.
Following the submission of the commission’s report in 1949, there was spectacular public and congressional acclaim. By the end of 1950, the alliance between Truman and Hoover had produced one of Truman’s most successful reform programs. When Truman left office in 1953, he proudly told reporters that he had done more for administrative reform than all previous presidents combined.
The Second Hoover Commission
By the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s election to the presidency in 1952, massive rearmament as a result of the Cold War and the conflict in Korea had led to government expansion. Though seventy-nine years old, Hoover was again entrusted with the chairmanship of a twelve-member commission to reorganize the executive branch of the federal government. Whereas the first Hoover Commission dealt with how the federal government was organized, the second Hoover Commission addressed whether the government should act in certain realms of policy making. Hoover set up twenty task forces, with hundreds of volunteer workers, to conduct the actual work of the commission. To simplify problems faced with the first commission, Hoover obtained from Congress the authority to subpoena witnesses.
Impact
While the reports of the first Hoover Commission had been widely applauded and its proposals led to the creation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Council of Economic Advisors, the Atomic Energy Commission , and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, such was not the case with the reports of the second commission. Fewer than 30 percent of the second commission’s recommendations were enacted. The one phase of the reports that did win approval was the recommendation to reduce government “red tape.” Many federal agencies examined their standard procedures and attempted to simplify them. The second Hoover Commission was moderately successful, and a number of states throughout the nation established their own “Little Hoover Commissions” to study efficiency and effectiveness in state government.
Bibliography
Lyons, Eugene. Herbert Hoover: A Biography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964. Many consider this the best biography ever written on Hoover. Chapter 32 summarizes the activities of the two Hoover Commissions, with particular emphasis on the long hours contributed by Hoover himself.
Moe, Ronald C. The Hoover Commissions Revisited. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1982. This volume provides an in-depth analysis of the two Hoover commissions.
Walch, Timothy, and Dwight M. Miller, eds. Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman: A Documentary History. Billings, Mont.: High Plains, 1993. Explores the professional relationship between the two presidents.