HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY STAFFING AND OPERATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE EIGHTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, Arkansas, Chairman SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY STAFFING AND OPERATIONS HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, Minnesota KARL E. MUNDT, South Dakota JACK MILLER, Iowa DOROTHY FOSDICK, Staff Director ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL SECURITY MONDAY, MARCH 11, 1963 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY STAFFING AND OPERATIONS, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room 3302, New Senate Office Building, Senator Henry M. Jackson (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Jackson, Pell, Ribicoff, Mundt, Javits, and Miller. Also present: Senators Saltonstall and Goldwater. Staff members present: Dorothy Fosdick, staff director; Robert W. Tufts, chief consultant; Richard S. Page, research assistant; Judith J. Spahr, chief clerk; and Laurel A. Engberg, minority consultant. OPENING STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN Senator JACKSON. The committee will come to order. This is the first public meeting of the Subcommittee on National Security Staffing and Operations. The Senate has charged the subcommittee with the task of reviewing the administration of national security policies and processes in this country and abroad, and of making recommendations for improvement where appropriate. The present subcommittee is a successor to the Subcommittee on National Policy Machinery, and will build on its work. In the 2 years since that subcommittee submitted its main findings, a new administration has taken over the direction and management of national affairs and has made some major changes in national security policies and processes. Difficult administrative problems remain, however, as is to be expected in undertakings as large and complex as any government has had to face. It can be taken for granted that the national security policies and processes of the past need to be adjusted to fit the needs of today and tomorrow. Administrative flexibility and adaptability are therefore important to national security. But institutions-Congress includedresist change. Almost every President has had problems in reforming and reshaping the executive branch so that it could effectively serve as an instrument for the wise development and use of American power and influence. By and large, we have done a good job in building our military power. Today the great challenge we face, assuming that we maintain our military posture, is to use our strength wisely to protect our vital national interests and to keep the peace of the world. It is, of course, easier to build strength than to use it wisely. Therefore, it becomes all the more important that the organization and operations of our Government be a help and not a hindrance to both policymaking and execution. The opportunities and challenges of the sixties are great. In many ways they are novel. Power and influence, though still bipolar to an important degree, are becoming more widely diffused both in the East and the West. In large part, this fact is a tribute to past American policies. We have worked hard to help Europe regain its strength and to help the underdeveloped countries establish their independence on firm foundations. By blocking the expansionist drive of world communism, we have helped to turn the attention of Communist leaders inward. In a major way, our present difficulties are a measure of past success, and impose upon us the need to adjust our policies and operations to take advantage of situations we helped to create. This subcommittee, as you know, is concerned with the administration of national security-with methods, staffing, and processes. This is not an inquiry into the substance of policy. Our approach to our task is nonpartisan and professional. Many months of hard work by the subcommittee have preceded this hearing. During this time we have talked with many persons in public and private life about problems of administering national security. The staff visited U.S. missions in Asia and Europe to study problems of administration in the field, and of field-Washington relations. An initial staff report has been published examining a number of the basic issues before the subcommittee. Without objection, we will include at this point in the record a copy of Senate Resolution 13, the resolution authorizing the funds for our subcommittee study, together with the report thereon. (The documents referred to follow :) [S. Res. 13, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] RESOLUTION Resolved, That in holding hearings, reporting such hearings, and making investigations as authorized by section 134 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, and in accordance with its jurisdiction under rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee on Government Operations, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized, from February 1, 1963, through January 31, 1964, to make studies as to the efficiency and economy of operations of all branches and functions of the Government with particular reference to: (1) the effectiveness of present national security methods, staffing, and processes as tested against the requirements imposed by the rapidly mounting complexity of national security problems; (2) the capacity of present national security staffing, methods, and processes to make full use of the Nation's resources of knowledge, talents, and skills; and (3) legislative and other proposals or means to improve these methods and processes. SEC. 2. For the purposes of this resolution, the committee from March 1, 1963, to January 31, 1964, inclusive, is authorized (1) to make such expenditures as it deems advisable; (2) to employ upon a temporary basis and fix the compensation of technical, clerical, and other assistants and consultants: Provided, That the minority of the committee is authorized at its discretion to select one employee for appointment; and (3) with the prior consent of the head of the department or agency concerned, and the Committee on Rules and Administration, to utilize on a reimbursable basis the services, information, facilities, and personnel of any department or agency of the Government. SEC. 3. Expenses of the committee under this resolution, which shall not exceed $110,000, shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate upon vouchers approved by the chairman of the committee. [S. Rept. 27, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] STUDY OF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF NATIONAL SECURITY OPERATIONS The Committee on Rules and Administration, to whom was referred the resolution (S. Res. 13) authorizing an investigation of certain aspects of national security operations, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the resolution as amended be agreed to by the Senate. Senate Resolution 13 as amended would authorize the Committee on Government Operations, or any duly authorized subcommittee thereof, to expend not to exceed $92,250 from March 1, 1963, through January 31, 1964, to make studies as to the efficiency and economy of operations of all branches and functions of the Government with particular reference to: (1) The effectiveness of present national security methods, staffing, and processes as tested against the requirements imposed by the rapidly mounting complexity of national security problems; (2) The capacity of present national security staffing, methods, and processes to make full use of the Nation's resources of knowledge, talents, and skills; and (3) Legislative and other proposals or means to improve these methods and processes. The following table indicates funds authorized by the Senate during the 87th Congress for the same purpose. Committee expenditures pursuant to such authorization are shown through December 31, 1962. Senate Resolution 13 as referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration would have authorized the expenditure of $110,000 for the 12-month period from February 1, 1963, through January 31, 1964, an amount $40,000 in excess of that authorized by the Senate for the same purpose during the last session of Congress. At its meeting on March 6, 1963, the Committee on Rules and Administration amended Senate Resolution 13 by effecting the following reductions: (1) A reduction of the requested amount by 10 percent, to conform it more nearly to the corresponding 1962 authorization; and (2) A further reduction of the requested amount by one-twelfth of that portion of the reduced amount representing salaries and employee benefits, to compensate for funds made available to the committee during February 1963 by Senate Resolution 88, agreed to February 19, 1963. |