Executive Order 9280—Delegating Authority with Respect to the Nation's Food Program

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and in order to assure an adequate supply and efficient distribution of food to meet war and essential civilian needs, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary") is authorized and directed to assume full responsibility for and control over the Nation's food program. In exercising such authority, he shall:

(a) Ascertain and determine the direct and indirect military, other governmental, civilian, and foreign requirements for food, both for human and animal consumption and for industrial uses.

(b) Formulate and carry out a program designed to furnish a supply of food adequate to meet such requirements, including the allocation of the agricultural productive resources of the Nation for this purpose.

(c) Assign food priorities and make allocations of food for human and animal consumption to governmental agencies and for private account, for direct and indirect military, other governmental, civilian, and foreign needs.

(d) Take all appropriate steps to insure the efficient and proper distribution of the available supply of food.

(e) Purchase and procure food for such Federal agencies, and to such extent, as he shall determine necessary or desirable, and promulgate policies to govern the purchase and procurement of food by all other Federal agencies: Provided, that nothing in this subsection shall limit the authority of the armed forces to purchase or procure food outside the United States or in any theater of war as such purchase and procurement shall be required by military or naval operations, or the authority of any other authorized agency to purchase or procure food outside the United States for rehabilitation or relief purposes abroad. Existing methods for the purchase and procurement of food by other Federal agencies shall continue until otherwise determined by the Secretary pursuant to this Executive Order.

2. The Secretary shall recommend to the Chairman of the War Production Board the amounts and types of non-food materials, supplies, and equipment necessary for carrying out the food program. Following consideration of these recommendations, the Chairman of the War Production Board shall allocate stated amounts of non-food materials, supplies, and equipment to the Secretary for carrying out the food program; and the War Production Board, through its priorities and allocation powers, shall direct the use of such materials, supplies, and equipment for such specific purposes as the Secretary may determine.

3. Whenever the available supply of any food is insufficient to meet both food and industrial needs, the Chairman of the War Production Board and the Secretary shall jointly determine the division to be made of the available supply of such food. In the event of any difference of view between the Chairman of the War Production Board and the Secretary, such difference shall be submitted for final determination to the President or to such agent or agency as the President may designate.

4. The Secretary, after determining the need and the amount of food available for civilian rationing, shall, through the Office of Price Administration, exercise the priorities and allocation powers conferred upon him by this Executive Order for civilian rationing, with respect to (a) the sale, transfer, or other disposition of food by any person who sells at retail to any person, and (b) the sale, transfer, or other disposition of food by any person to an ultimate consumer, as is currently provided for in War Production Board Directive No. 1, dated January 24, 1942, and existing supplements thereto; and with respect to (c) the sale, transfer, or other disposition of food by any person at such other levels of distribution as he may determine; and in the administration or enforcement of any such priorities or allocation authority for civilian rationing, the Office of Price Administration, subject to the provisions of this Executive Order, is hereby authorized to exercise all the functions, duties, powers, authority, or discretion conferred upon the Price Administrator by Section 3 of Executive Order No. 9125 of April 7, 1942. The Secretary, before determining the time, extent, and other conditions of civilian rationing, shall consult with the Price Administrator.

5. In discharging his responsibility under this Executive Order with respect to the exportation of food, the Secretary shall collaborate with the other agencies concerned with the foreign aspects of the food program in the determination of plans, policies, and procedures for the feeding of the peoples in foreign countries and the production and stock-piling of food for use abroad. With respect to the issuance of the directives for the importation of food heretofore issued to the Board of Economic Warfare by the Chairman of the War Production Board under Executive Order No. 9128 of April 13, 1942, the Secretary shall issue those directives which relate to the importation of food for human and animal consumption, and the Chairman of the War Production Board and the Secretary shall jointly issue those directives which relate to the importation of food for industrial uses. The Chairman of the War Production Board shall continue to issue all other directives which relate to the importation of materials, supplies, and equipment required for the war production program and the civilian economy. Schedules of priorities heretofore prepared and issued by the Chairman of the War Production Board under Executive Order No. 9054 of February 7, 1942, for the importation by overseas transportation of food for human or animal consumption and for industrial uses shall be similarly issued, and transmitted to the Administrator of War Shipping Administration for his guidance.

6. In discharging his responsibility under this Executive Order, the Secretary shall, in the event of a shortage of domestic transportation service, and after consultation with the War Production Board for the purpose of adjusting the relative demands for the movement of food for human or animal consumption and the movement of commodities for other purposes, prepare schedules of priorities for the domestic movement of food, which the Office of Defense Transportation shall take into consideration in determining traffic movements.

7. a. To advise and consult with him in carrying out the provisions of this Executive Order, the Secretary shall appoint a committee composed of representatives of the State, War, and Navy Departments, the Office of Lend-Lease Administration, the Board of Economic Warfare, the War Production Board, and such other agencies as the Secretary may determine to be concerned with the food program. The Food Requirements Committee of the War Production Board established by the Chairman of the War Production Board by memorandum dated June 4, 1942, is abolished effective as of the date of appointment of said advisory committee. The Secretary shall receive from the members of such advisory committee estimates of food requirements, and consult with such committee prior to the making of food allocations under Section 1 (c) of this Executive Order. Such committee shall perform such other functions in connection with the food program as the Secretary may determine. The Secretary may, in his discretion, appoint such other advisory committees composed of representatives of governmental or private groups interested in the food program as he deems appropriate.

b. Section 1 of Executive Order No. 9024, dated January 16, 1942, is amended to provide that the Secretary shall be a member of the War Production Board.

8. The Secretary, in carrying out the responsibilities imposed on him by this Executive Order, may, subject to the provisions of this Executive Order, exercise the following powers in addition to the powers heretofore vested in him.

(a) The power conferred upon the Department of Agriculture with respect to contracts by Executive Order No. 9023 of January 14, 1942.

(b) The power conferred upon the President by Title III of the Second War Powers Act, 1942, insofar as it relates to priorities and allocations of (1) all food for human or animal consumption or for other use in connection with the food program, but excluding that food which has been determined to be available to the War Production Board for industrial purposes pursuant to Section 3 of this Executive Order; (2) those portions of non-food materials, supplies, and equipment which have been allocated by the War Production Board under Section 2 of this Order for carrying out the food program; (3) any other material or facility, when the Secretary determines that it is necessary, in order to carry out the provisions of this Executive Order, to exercise the priorities or allocation power with respect thereto: Provided, that in order to avoid overlapping and conflicting action, prior to taking action pursuant to item (3) hereof, the Secretary shall inform the Chairman of the War Production Board of the action proposed to be taken, and in the event that the Chairman of the War Production Board shall object, the issue shall be determined by the President or such agent or agency as he may designate. Contracts or orders, relating to the materials and facilities specified in this subsection, made by the Secretary, or by any other officer or agency of the Government at the Secretary's direction, and subcontracts and suborders which the Secretary shall deem necessary or appropriate to the fulfillment of any such contract or order, are hereby declared to be necessary and appropriate to promote the defense of the United States. The Secretary may assign priorities with respect to deliveries under any such contract, order, subcontract, or suborder, and he may require acceptance of and performance of any such contract, order, subcontract, or suborder, in preference to other contracts or orders for the purpose of assuring such priority. Allocations of materials and facilities under this subsection may be made by the Secretary in such manner, upon such conditions, and to such extent as he shall deem necessary or appropriate in the public interest, to promote the national defense, and to carry out the provisions of this Executive Order.

(c) The powers under the Act of October 10, 1940 (54 Stat. 1090), as amended by the Act of July 2, 1942 (56 Stat. 467), and the Act of October 16, 1941 (55 Stat. 742), as amended by Title VI of the Second War Powers Act, 1942, heretofore vested in the War Production Board by Executive Order No. 8942 of November 19, 1941, Executive Order No. 9024 of January 16, 1942, and Executive Order No. 9040 of January 24, 1942, with respect to the requisitioning of food for human or animal consumption.

(d) The powers of acquisition of property under the Act of July 2, 1917 (40 Stat. 241), as amended by Title II of the Second War Powers Act, 1942.

(e) The powers of taking over and operating facilities under Section 120 of the National Defense Act of 1916 (39 Stat. 213) and Section 9 of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 892).

(f) The powers with respect to anti-trust prosecutions vested in the Chairman of the War Production Board by Section 12 of the Act of June 11, 1942, Public Law 603, 77th Congress.

(g) The power of inspection and audit of the war contractors (including the power of subpoena) under Title XIII of the Second War Powers Act, 1942.

9. The Secretary is authorized to delegate any or all functions, responsibilities, powers (including the power of subpoena), authorities, or discretions conferred upon him by this Executive Order to such person or persons within the Department of Agriculture as he may designate or appoint for that purpose. The Secretary may, except as otherwise provided herein, delegate to any appropriate Federal, State, or local governmental agency, officer, or employee, in such manner and for such periods of time as he shall deem advisable, the execution of any of the provisions of this Executive Order together with any powers of the Secretary under this Executive Order. To the fullest extent compatible with efficiency the Secretary shall utilize existing facilities and services of other governmental departments and agencies and may accept the services and facilities of any State or local governmental agency in carrying out his responsibilities defined hereunder.

10. As used herein, the term "food" shall mean all commodities and products, simple, mixed, or compound, or complements to such commodities or products that are or may be eaten or drunk by either humans or animals, irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, and at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the product thereof in a vendible form for immediate human or animal consumption, but exclusive of such commodities and products as the Secretary shall determine. For the purposes of this Executive Order, the term "food" shall also include all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal fats and oils, cotton, tobacco, wool, hemp, flax fiber, and such other agricultural commodities and products as the President may designate.

11. In the event of any difference of view arising between the Secretary and any other officer or agency of the Government, in the administration of the provisions of this Executive Order, such difference of view shall be submitted for final decision to the President or such agent or agency as the President may designate.

12. The personnel, property, records, unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds of the War Production Board primarily concerned with and available for, as determined by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, the discharge of any of the functions, responsibilities, powers, authorities, and discretions that are vested in the Secretary by this Executive Order are hereby transferred to the Department of Agriculture. In determining the amounts transferred hereunder, allowance shall be made for the liquidation of obligations previously incurred against such balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds transferred.

13. To facilitate the effective discharge of the Secretary's responsibility under this Executive Order, the following changes are made within the Department of Agriculture:

a. The Agriculture Conservation and Adjustment Administration (except the Sugar Agency), the Farm Credit Administration, the Farm Security Administration, and their functions, personnel, and property; the functions, personnel, and property of 'the Division of Farm Management and Costs of the Bureau of . Agricultural Economics concerned primarily with the planning of current agricultural production; the functions, personnel, and property of the Office of Agricultural War Relations concerned primarily with the production of food; and the functions, personnel, and property established in or transferred to the Department by this Executive Order that are concerned primarily with the production of food, are consolidated into an agency. to be known as the Food Production Administration of the Department of Agriculture. The Food Production Administration shall be under the direction and supervision of a Director of Food Production appointed by the Secretary.

b. The Agricultural Marketing Administration, the Sugar Agency of the Agricultural Conservation and Adjustment Administration, and their functions, personnel, and property; the functions, personnel, and property of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Agricultural Research Administration concerned primarily with regulatory activities; the functions, personnel, and the property of the Office of Agricultural War Relations concerned primarily with the distribution of food; and the functions, personnel, and property established in or transferred to the Department of Agriculture by this Executive Order that are concerned primarily with the distribution of food are consolidated into an agency to be known as the Food Distribution Administration of the Department of Agriculture. The Food Distribution Administration shall be under the direction and supervision of a Director of Food Distribution appointed by the Secretary.

c. So much of the unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds available (or to be made available) for the use of any agency in the exercise of any function transferred or consolidated by subsections a. and b. of this section or for the use of the head of any agency in the exercise of any function so transferred or consolidated, as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine, shall be transferred for use in connection with the exercise of the function so transferred or consolidated. 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 balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds prior to the transfer.

14. Any provision of any Executive Order or proclamation conflicting with this Executive Order is superseded to the extent of such conflict. All prior directives, rules, regulations, orders, and similar instruments heretofore issued by any Federal agency which affect the subject matter of this Executive Order shall continue in full force and effect unless and until withdrawn or superseded by or under the direction of the Secretary under the authority of this Order. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to limit the powers exercised by the Economic Stabilization Director under Executive Order No. 9250 dated October 3,1942, as amended. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to limit the power now exercised by the Price Administrator under the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, Public Law No. 421, 77th Congress, as amended, or the Act of October 2, 1942, Public Law No. 729, 77th Congress.

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

The White House,
December 5, 1942.