Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me by Title I of the First War Powers Act, 1941, approved December 18, 1941 (Public Law 354, 77th Congress), and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. The following agencies, functions, duties, and powers are consolidated into a National Housing Agency and shall be administered as hereinafter provided under the direction and supervision of a National Housing Administrator: (a) The Federal Housing Administration and its functions, powers, and duties, including those of the Administrator thereof. (b) All functions, powers, and duties of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and of its members. (c) The Home Owners' Loan Corporation and the functions, powers, and duties of its Board of Directors. (d) The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and the functions, powers, and duties of its Board of Trustees. (e) The United States Housing Authority and its functions, powers, and duties, including those of the Administrator thereof. (f) All functions, powers, and duties relating to defense housing of (1) the Federal Works Administrator under the act of October 14, 1940, entitled "An Act to expedite the provision of housing in connection with national defense, and for other purposes," as amended, and under acts making appropriations to carry out the purposes of said act, (2) the War Department and the Navy Department with respect to housing units for persons (with families) engaged in national defense activities (except housing units located on military or naval reservations, posts, or bases) under Title IV of the Naval Appropriation Act for the fiscal year 1941, and (3) any agencies heretofore designated (including the Federal Works Agency and the Farm Security Administration) to provide temporary shelter in defense areas under the Urgent Deficiency Appropriation Act, 1941, and the Additional Urgent Deficiency Appropriation Act, 1941, and the Third Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Act, 1942. (g) All functions, powers, and duties of the Farm Security Administration relating to such housing projects as such Administration determines are for families not deriving their principal income from operating or working upon a farm. (h) The Defense Homes Corporation and its functions, powers, and duties, including those of its officers and Board of Directors. (i) All functions, powers, and duties of the Federal Loan Administrator, the Federal Works Administrator, and the head of any department or other agency relating to the administration or supervision of the agencies, functions, powers, and duties transferred hereunder. (j) All functions, powers, and duties of the Division of Defense Housing Coordination established by Executive Order No. 8632 of January 11, 1941, and of the Coordinator of Defense Housing: Provided, That such Division and such Coordinator shall continue to exercise such functions, powers, and duties until the appointment or designation of the National Housing Administrator. (k) All powers, rights, privileges, duties, and functions transferred to the Federal Works Administrator by Executive Order No. 8186 of June 29, 1939: Provided, That with respect to any functions, powers, and duties enumerated in sub-paragraphs (f) and (g) above, any agency now engaged in the construction or management of any project shall continue such activities on behalf of the National Housing Agency until such time as the National Housing Administrator shall determine that it is expedient for the Federal Public Housing Authority, herein provided for, to discharge such functions, powers, and duties with respect to such project through its own facilities. 2. The National Housing Administrator shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive a salary of $12,000 a year unless the Congress shall otherwise provide. Pending such appointment, an existing officer of the Government designated by the President shall act as National Housing Administrator. 3. There shall be three main constituent units in the National Housing Agency. Each such unit shall be administered by a commissioner acting under the direction and supervision of the National Housing Administrator. The unit administering the Federal Housing Administration and its functions, powers, and duties shall be known as the Federal Housing Administration, and the Federal Housing Administrator shall serve as Federal Housing Commissioner. The unit administering the functions, powers, and duties of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and its members shall be known as the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration, and the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board shall serve as Federal Home Loan Bank Commissioner. The United States Housing Authority and its functions, powers, and duties shall be administered as the Federal Public Housing Authority, one of the main constituent units, and the Administrator of the United States Housing Authority shall serve as Federal Public Housing Commissioner. The agencies, functions, powers, and duties enumerated in sub-paragraphs (c), (d), and (k) of paragraph 1 shall be administered in the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration, and those enumerated in subparagraphs (f) and (g) shall be administered in the Federal Public Housing Authority. The agency, functions, powers, and duties enumerated in sub-paragraph (h) of paragraph 1 shall also be administered by the Federal Public Housing Commissioner. The Administrator of the National Housing Agency may centralize in the office of the National Housing Administrator such budget, personnel, legal, procurement, research, planning, or other administrative services or functions common to the said constituent units as he may determine. 4. The capital stock of the Defense Homes Corporation shall be transferred from the Federal Loan Administrator to the National Housing Administrator, and the Federal' Loan Administrator and the Defense Homes Corporation shall take all necessary action to effectuate such transfer and carry out the purposes hereof. 5. The Central Housing Committee is hereby abolished, and all of its assets, contracts, property (including office equipment and records), and unexpended balances of funds available for its use are hereby transferred to the National Housing Agency. 6. All assets, contracts, and property (including office equipment and records) of any agency hereby consolidated, and all assets, contracts, and property (including office equipment and records) which other agencies, including departments, have been using primarily in the administration of any function, power, or duty hereby consolidated or transferred, are hereby transferred, respectively, with such agency, function, power, or duty. 7. Except as provided in paragraph 8 hereof, (1) all personnel of any agency hereby consolidated, and (2) all personnel of other agencies, including departments, who have been engaged primarily in the administration of any function, power, or duty hereby consolidated or transferred and who within thirty days after the appointment or designation of the National Housing Administrator are jointly certified for transfer by said Administrator and the head of the department or agency to which such personnel is attached, shall be transferred, respectively, with such agency, functions, power, or duty; but any personnel transferred with functions, powers, or duties pursuant to this paragraph who are found by the National Housing Administrator to be in excess of the personnel necessary for the administration of such functions, powers, and duties shall be retransfered under existing law to other positions in the Government or separated from the service. 8. The following personnel are not transferred hereunder:(1) the Directors and Officers of the Defense Homes Corporation, (2) the members of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board other than the Chairman, (3) the Directors of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, and (4) the Trustees of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. The offices of the foregoing personnel excepted from transfer by this paragraph (except in the case of the Defense Homes Corporation) are hereby vacated for the duration of this order: Provided, That the offices of the members of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board shall not be vacated until sixty days from the date of this order. The personnel of the Division of Defense Housing Coordination and of the Central Housing Committee are not transferred hereunder, except that the National Housing Administrator, within sixty days after his appointment or designation, may take over such of this personnel as are needed. During such period, all personnel of such Division and of such Committee may be retained by them in connection with the winding up of their affairs. 9. So much of the unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, or other funds (not otherwise transferred hereunder) available for the use of any agency in the exercise of any function, power, or duty consolidated by this Order, or for the use of the head of any department or agency in the exercise of any such function, power, or duty, as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine (with the approval of the President), shall be transferred, respectively, to the National Housing Agency or the main constituent unit therein concerned, for its use in connection with the exercise of the functions, powers, or duties, respectively, to be administered by it hereunder. In determining the amount to be transferred, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget may include an amount to provide for the liquidation of obligations incurred against such appropriations, authorizations, allocations, or other funds prior to transfer. 10. All housing now owned by the United States and located on a military or naval reservation, post, or base is hereby transferred to the jurisdiction of the War or Navy Department, respectively, having jurisdiction of such reservation, post, or base: Provided, That with respect to all housing developed by the War or Navy Department under Title II of Public 671, approved June 28, 1940, the Federal Public Housing Authority .shall take all necessary steps to transfer such jurisdiction and carry out the purpose hereof, including the transfer of title to the United States and including repayment (out of any funds available therefor) of the cost of such housing for reimbursement of the Bond Account from which funds were transferred to pay such costs. 11. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall allocate to the National Housing Agency, from appropriations, authorizations, allocations, or other funds available for the administrative expenses of the Federal Loan Agency and the Federal Works Agency (relating to the administration of the agencies and functions transferred therefrom hereunder) and of the agencies and functions, powers, and duties consolidated hereunder, such sums, and in such proportions, as he may find necessary for the administrative expenses of the National Housing Agency. None of the agencies established or consolidated hereunder shall incur any obligations for administrative expenses except pursuant to appropriations, allocations, or other authorizations of funds specifically available now or hereafter for administrative expenses. 12. The National Housing Administrator may appoint necessary personnel and make necessary expenditures to carry out the functions, powers, and duties of the National Housing Agency. The Administrator and the Commissioners hereunder may delegate their respective functions, powers, and duties to such agencies, officials, or personnel as they may designate, respectively. Until the appointment or designation of a National Housing Administrator, the Commissioners respectively shall exercise such of the functions, powers, and duties of the National Housing Administrator as relate to the agencies, functions, powers, and duties to be administered by such Commissioners respectively. 13. Nothing herein shall impair or affect any outstanding obligations or contracts of any agency consolidated hereunder or of the United States of America (including its pledge of faith to the payment of all annual contributions now or hereafter contracted for pursuant to the United States Housing Act, as amended), or of any Insurance Funds created under the National Housing Act. 14. All orders, rules, regulations, permits, or other privileges made, issued, or granted by or in respect of any agency, function, power, or duty consolidated hereunder shall continue in effect to the same extent as if such consolidation had not occurred until modified, superseded, or repealed, except that the regulations of January 11, 1941, relating to defense housing coordination shall hereby be revoked upon the appointment or designation of the National Housing Administrator. 15. All unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, or other funds transferred under this Order shall be used only for the respective purposes and in the administration of the respective functions for which such funds were made available. 16. Transfers of available funds under this Order shall include funds available for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1943. 17. This Order shall become effective as of the date hereof and shall be in force and effect so long as Title I of the First War Powers Act, 1941, remains in force. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, February 24, 1942.