Executive Order 8890—Establishing the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services in the Executive Office of the President and Defining its Functions and Duties

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, and in order to define further the functions and duties of the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President with respect to the national emergency as declared by the President on May 27, 1941, for the purpose of assuring adequate health and welfare services to meet needs of the national defense program, it is hereby ordered:

1. The term "health and welfare services" as used in this Order means all health, welfare, medical, nutrition, recreation, and related services including those aspects of education under the jurisdiction of the Federal Security Agency.

2. There is established within the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services, at the head of which the Federal Security Administrator shall serve as Director. The Director shall discharge and perform his responsibilities and duties under the direction and supervision of the President. The Director shall receive no salary or other remuneration as such, but shall be entitled to actual and necessary transportation, subsistence, and other expenses incidental to the performance of his duties.

3. Subject to such policies, regulations, and directions as the President may from time to time prescribe, the Office shall:

a. Serve as the center for the coordination of health and welfare services made available by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government, and other agencies public and private, to meet the needs of State and local communities arising from the defense program; and take necessary steps to secure the cooperation of the appropriate Federal departments and agencies relative thereto.

b. Make available to States and localities, upon request, the services of specialists in health and welfare activities to assist in the planning and execution of such local and State programs.

c. Study, plan, and encourage measures designed to assure the provision of adequate defense health and welfare services to the citizens of the Nation during the period of the emergency, and coordinate studies and surveys made by Federal departments and agencies with respect to these fields.

d. Keep the President informed with respect to progress made in carrying out this Order; and perform such related duties as the President may from time to time assign or delegate to it.

4. The Director may provide for the internal organization and management of the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services. He shall obtain the President's approval for the establishment of the principal subdivisions of the Office and the appointment of the heads thereof.

5. In the study of problems and in the discharge of its functions and responsibilities it shall be the policy of the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services to collaborate with and to utilize, in so far as practicable, the facilities and services of existing departments and agencies which perform related functions. Furthermore, it shall be the policy of the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services in carrying out its functions and duties to work with and through the State and local defense councils and other appropriate State and local agencies, and in this connection to cooperate and work in conjunction with the Office of Civilian Defense in its relationships with State and local groups.

6. There shall be in the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services a Health and Medical Committee to consist of a Chairman to be appointed by the President, the Surgeon General of the Army, the Surgeon General of the Navy, the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, the Chairman of the Committee on Medical Research of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and such others as the President may from time to time determine. The Committee shall advise the Director regarding the health and medical aspects of national defense exclusive of medical research and assist in the coordination of health and medical activities affecting national defense. The members of the Committee shall serve as such without compensation but shall be entitled to actual and necessary transportation, subsistence, and other expenses incidental to the performance of their duties.

7. The Director is authorized to appoint such advisory committees and subcommittees, with respect to particular aspects of health, welfare, nutrition, recreation, and related activities, as he may find necessary or desirable to assist him in the performance of his duties. Such advisory committees may include representatives from Federal departments and agencies, State and local governments, private organizations, and the public at large. The members of advisory committees shall serve as such without compensation, but shall be entitled to actual and necessary transportation, subsistence, and other expenses incidental to the performance of their duties.

8. Within the limits of such funds as may be appropriated or allocated to the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services by the President, the Director may employ necessary personnel and make provision for the necessary supplies, facilities, and services through the Federal Security Agency. The Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services may use such statistical, informational, fiscal, personnel, and other general business services and facilities as may be made available through the Office for Emergency Management.

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

The White House,
September 3, 1941.