Full text of "National Security Act of 1947 (as passed)"

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[PUBLIC LAW A 
fCHAPTF R 1 


(Pightiefh (Congrtss of Ihf Bnild £talre of glnttrira 

9t tfjc Jfirst Session 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, the third 
day of January, one thousand nine hundred and forty-seven 


AN ACT 

To promote the national security by providing for a Secretary of 

Defense: for n National Military Establishment; fora Department 

of the Army, n Department of the Navy, and a Department of the 

Air Force; and for the coordination of the activities of the National 

Military Establishment with other departments ami agencies of the 

(Soveniment concerned with the national security. 

/ 


Ur if enacted by the Senate and flonsc of Representatives of the 
United St a /, -a of . I meriea in Congre** a**«mlled, 

SHORT TITI.K 

That this Act may !« cited as the u Nationnl Security Act of 1047”. 

TABLE OF CONTEXTS 
geC. IVclnrntlon of policy. 

Tnu I — Coowmnation roa National Srann 

S«v. 101. National Security Connell. 

Sc-, toy. Crntml Inlelllircnce Agency. 

Sec. 100. National Security ltewinrces Doan). 

Titii: II— Tlir National Miutaiy Bruimidicit 

Sec. 'Jill. National Military Eatabllabax-nt. 

Sec. SC. Secretary of Defciuv. 

Sis'. SO. Mllllnry AneUlant* l« Ibe Secretary. 

Sec. 3W. Civilian pi-raouneL 
Sec. SOS. Itepansm-at of Ibe Arm). 

See. lot. Department of the Nary. 

Sw.aiT. Dejartraeot of tbr Air Force. 

Sec. SM. I’ nl lot State* Air Force. 

S<c. 303. Effective date of tramfer*. 

Sec. •-•10. War Council. 

Sec. *.1L Joint Ctilrfa of Staff. 

Sec. ill Joint ataff. 

See. SIS. Munition* lb «nl. 

Si-c.SU. Ilrrrarrb and Development Board. 

Tull III— Miacrajusuoc* 

See. SOL CarapeaaaUoO of Swrrlirlw. 

Sit. 302. tinder Sivrrtarlea and AaaUtant Secretaries. 

Sit. 303. Advbauy coinmltteea and penmnncl. 

Sec. 3<M. Statu* of Ira inferred ctrlllaa jiensonnel 
See. 903. Saving provlaton*. 

Sis-. Sim. Tran«fer of fund*. 

Sit. 307. Authorisation for appropriation*. 

Sec. :v«. Definition*. 

Sit. Ill Hi, Separability. 

Sec. 310. Effective date. 

Sec.tm. Suceinilon to the lTcaldency. 



S. 758—2 


DECLAMATION OF POL1CT 

Skc. 2. In enacting this legislation, it is the intent of Congress to 
provide n comprehensive program for the future security of the United 
States; to provide for the establishment of integrated policies and 
procedures for the departments, agencies, and functions of the Govern- 
ment relnting to the national security ; to provide three military depart- 
ments for the operation and administration of the Army, the Navy 
(including naval aviation and the United States Marine Corps), and 
the Air Force, with their assigned combat and sendee components; 
to provide for their authoritative coordination and unified direction 
under civilian control but not to merge them ; to provide for the effective 
strategic direction of the armed forces and for their operation under 
unified control and for their integration into an efficient team of land, 
naval, and air forces. 

TITLE I— COORDINATION FOR NATIONAL SECURITY 

NATIONAL SKCUItlTY COUNCIL 

Sec. 101. (a) There is hereby established a council to be known 
ns the National Security Council (hereinafter in this section referred 
to ns the “Council”). 

The President of the United States shall preside over meetings of the 
Council : Provided , That in his absence he may designate a member 
of the Council to preside in liis place. 

The function of the Council shall be to advise the President with 
respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies 
relating to the national security so as to enable the military services and 
the other departments and agencies of the Government to cooperate 
more effectively in matters involving the national security. 

The Council shall be composed of tho President ; the Secretary of 
State; the Secretary of Defense, appointed under section 202; the 
Secretary of the Army, referred to in section 205; tho Secretary of 
the Navy; the Secretary of the Air Force, appointed under section 
207 ; the Chairman of the National Security Resources Board, 
appointed under section 103; and such of the following named officers 
as tho President may designate from time to time: The Secretaries 
of the executive departments, the Chairman of the Munitions Board 
appointed under section 213, und the Chairmnn of the Research and 
Development Board appointed under section 214 ; but no such addi- 
tional member shall be designated until tho advice and consent of 
the Senate has been given to his appointment to the office the holding 
of which authorizes his designation ns a member of the Council. 





S. 798— 3 


(!>) In addition to performing such other functions as the President 
may direct, for the purpose of more effectively coordinating the poli- 
cics uml functions of the depart incuts and agencies of the Government 
relating to the national security, it shall, subject to the direction of 
the President, be the duty of the Council — 

(1) to assess and appraise the objectives, commitments, and 
risks of the United States in relation to our actual and potential 
military power, in the interest of national security, for the purpose 
of making recommendations to the President in connection 
therewith; and 

(2) to consoler policies on matters of common interest to the 
departments nml agencies of the Government concerned with the 
national security, and to make recommendations to the President 
in connection therewith. 

(c) The Council shall have a staff to be headed by n civilian 
executive secretary who shall he appointed by the President, nml 
who shall receive compensation at the rate of $10,000 a year. The 
executive secretary, subject to the direction of tlie Council, is hereby 
authorized, subject to the civil-service laws and the Classification 
Act of 1923, as amended, to appoint and fix the compensation of such 
personnel as may be necessary to perform such duties as may bo 
prescribed by the Council in connection with the performance of its 
functions. 

(d) The Council shall, from time to time, make such recommenda- 
tions, and such other reports to tiro President as it deems appropriate 
or as the President may require. 

CENTRAL IXmXtnxKCR AGENCY 

Srxr. 102. (a) There is hereby established under the National Security 
Council a Central Intelligence Agency with a Director of Central 
Intelligence, who shall be the head thereof. The Director shall be 
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, from among the commissioned officers of the armed services or 
from among individuals in civilian life. The Director shall receive 
rompenfutioii at the rate of $14. (XX) a .rear. 

(b) (1) Ifa commissioned officer of the armed sendees is ap]>ointcd 
as Director then — 

(A) in the performance of his duties as Director, he shall be 
subject to no supervision, control, restriction, or prohibition (mili- 
tary or otherwise) other than would be operative with respect to 
him if lu* were a civilian in no way connected with the Department 
of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the 
Air Force, or the armed services or any component thereof ; and 


S. 758—4 


(B) lie shall not possess or exercise any supervision, control, 
powers, or functions (other than such as he possesses, or is author- 
ized or directed to exercise, as Director) with respect to the armed 
services or any component thereof, the Department of the Army, 
the Department of the Navy, or the Department of the Air Force, 
or any branch, bureau, unit or division thereof, or with respect to 
any of the personnel (military or civilian) of any of the foregoing. 

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), the appointment to the 
office of Director of a commissioned officer of the armed services, and 
his acceptance of and service in such office, shall in no way affect any 
status, office, rank, or grade he may occupy or hold in the armed serv- 
ices, or nny emolument, perquisite, right, privilege, or benefit incident 
to or arising out of any such status, office, rank, or grade. Any such 
commissioned officer shall, while serving in the office of Director, 
receive the military pay and allowances (active or retired, as the case 
may be) payable to a commissioned officer of his grade and length of 
service and shall be paid, from any funds available to defray the 
expenses of the Agency, annual compensation at a rate equal to the 
amount by which $14,000 exceeds the amount of his annual military 
pay and allowances. 

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6 of the Act of 
August 24, 1912 (37 Stnt. 555), or the provisions of any other law, 
the Director of Central Intelligence may, in his discretion, terminate 
the employment of any officer or employee of the Agency whenever 
lie shall deem such termination necessary or advisable in the interests 
of the United States, but such termination shall not affect the right 
of such officer or employee to seek or accept employment in any 
other department or agency of the Government if declared eligible 
for such employment by the United States Civil Service Commission. 

(d) For the purpose of coordinating the intelligence activities of 
the several Government departments and agencies in the interest of 
national security, it shall be the duty of the Agency, under the 
direction of the National Security Council — 

(1) to advise the National Security Council in matters con- 
cerning such intelligence activities of the Government depart- 
ments and agencies as relate to national security; 

(2) to make recommendations to the National Security Council 
for the coordination of such intelligence activities of the depart- 
ments and agencies of the Government ns relate to the national 
security; 

(3) to correlate and evaluate intelligence relating to the 
national security, and provide for the appropriate dissemination 
of such intelligence within the Government using where appro- 



S. 758—5 


priate existing agencies and facilities: Provided, That the Agency 
shall have no police, subpenn, law-enforcemont powers, or inter- 
nal-security functions: Provided further , That the departments 
and other agencies of the Government shall continue to collect, 
evaluate, correlate, and disseminate departmental intelligence: 
And provided further , That the Director of Central Intelligence 
shall be responsible for protecting intelligence sources and meth- 
ods from unauthorized disclosure ; 

(4) to perform, for the benefit of the existing intelligence 
ngencies, such additional services of common concern as the 
National Security Council determines can be more efficiently 
accomplished centrally; 

(5) to perform such other functions and duties related to 
intelligence affecting the national security as the National Security 
Council may from time to time direct. 

(e) To the extent recommended by the National Security Council 
und approved by the President, such intelligence of the departments 
and agencies of the Government, except as hereinafter provided, 
relating to the national security shall be open to the inspection of the 
Director of Central Intelligence, and such intelligence as relates to 
the national security and is possessed by such departments and other 
agencies of the Government, except as hereinafter provided, shall be 
made available to the Director of Central Intelligence for correlation, 
evaluation, and dissemination: Provided , however , That upon the 
written request of the Director of Central Intelligence, the Director 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall make available to the 
Director of Central Intelligence such information for correlation, 
evaluation, und dissemination as mny be essential to the national 
security. 

(f) Effective when the Director first appointed under subsection 
(a) has taken office — 

(1) the National Intelligence Authority (11 Fed. Reg. 1337, 
1339, February 5, 1946) shall cease to exist; and 

(2) the personnel, property, and records of the Central Intelli- 
gence Group are transferred to the Central Intelligence Agency, 
and such Group shall cease to exist. Any unexpended balances 
of appropriations, allocations, or other funds available or 
authorized to be made available for such Group shall be avail- 
able and shall be authorized to be made available in like manner 
for expenditure by the Agency. 


S. 758 — 6 


NATIONAL SECTtlTY RESOURCES BOARD 

Sec. 103. (a) There is hereby established a National Security 
Resources Board (hereinafter in this section referred to ns the 
“Board”) to be composed of tho Chairman of the Board and such 
heads or representatives of tho various executive departments and 
independent agencies as may from time to time be designated by the 
President to be members of the Board. The Chairman of the Board 
shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive compensation at the 
rate of $14,000 a year. 

(b) The Chairman of the Board, subject to the direction of the 
President, is authorized, subject to the civil-service laws and the 
Classification Act of 1923, as amended, to appoint and fix the com- 
pensation of such personnel as may be necessary to assist the Board 
in carrying out its functions. 

(c) It shall be the function of the Board to advise the President 
concerning the coordination of military, industrial, and civilian 
mobilization, including — 

(1) policies concerning industrial and civilian mobilization 
in order to assure the most effective mobilization and maximum 
utilization of the Nation's manpower in the event of war; 

(2) programs for the effective use in time of war of the 
Nation’s natural and industrial resources for military and civilian 
needs, for the maintenance and stabilization of the civilian econ- 
omy in time of war, and for the adjustment of such economy 
to war needs and conditions; 

(3) policies for unifying, in time of war, the activities of Fed- 
eral agencies and departments engaged in or concerned with 
production, procurement, distribution, or transportation of mili- 
tary or civilian supplies, materials, and products; 

(4) the relationship between potential supplies of, and poten- 
tial requirements for, manpower, resources, and productive facili- 
ties in time of war; 

(5) policies for establishing adequate reserves of strategic 
and critical material, and for the conservation of these reserves; 

(6) the strategic relocation of industries, services, government, 
and economic activities, the continuous operation of which is 
essential to the Nation’s security. 

(d) In performing its functions, the Board shall utilize to the 
maximum extent tho facilities and resources of the departments and 
agencies of the Government. 


S. 758-7 


TITLE II— THE NATIONAL MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT 
ESTARUHHMKXT OF TICK xatioxai. militaut establishment 

Sec. 201. (a) There is hereby established the National Military 
Establishment, and the Secretary of Defense shall be the head 
thereof. 

(b) The Nutionul Military Establishment shall consist of the 
Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the 
Department of the Air Force, together with all other agencies created 
under title II of this Act. 

SKCKETARY OF DEFKXSK 

Sec. 202. (a) There dial I be n Secretary of Defense, who shall 
be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate: /* rovided , That a person who has 
within ten years Ihmmi on active duty ns a commissioned officer in a 
Regular component of the armed services shall not be eligible for 
appointment as Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense 
shall lie the principal assistant to the President in all matters relat- 
ing to the national security. Under the direction of the President 
and subject to the previsions of this Act he shall perform the 
following duties: 

(1) Establish general |K>lieics and programs for the National 
Military Establishment ami for all of the departments and 
agencies therein; 

(2) Exercise general direction, niithority. and control over such 
departments and agencies; 

(:') Take appropriate steps to eliminate unnecessary duplica- 
tion or overlapping in the fields of procurement, supply, 
transportation, storage, health, and research ; 

(4) Supervise and coordinate the preparation of the budget 
estimates of the departments and agencies comprising the National 
Military Establishment ; formulate and determine the budget 
estimates for submit tul to the Bureau of the Budget; and super- 
vise the budget programs of such departments and agencies under 
the applicable appropriation Act : 

Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prevent the Secretary 
of the Army, the Secretary of the Nary, or the Secretary of the Air 
Force from presenting to the President or to the Director of the 
Budget, after first so informing the Secretary of Defense, any report 
or recommendation relating to his department which he may deem 
necessary : And provided further , That the Department of the Army, 
the Department of tho Navy, and the Department of the Air Force 
shall be administered in* individual executive departments by their 


S. 758—8 


respective Secretaries and all powers and duties relating to such 
departments not specifically conferred upon the Secretary of Defense 
by this Act shall be retained by each of their respective Secretaries. 

(b) The Secretary of Defense shall submit annual written reports 
to the President and the Congress covering expenditures, work, and 
accomplishments of the National Military Establishment, together 
with such recommendations os he shall deem appropriate. 

(c) The Secretary of Defense shall cause a seal of office to be made 
for the National Military Establishment, of such design as the Presi- 
dent shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken thereof. 

MILITARY ASSISTANTS TO THE SECRETARY 

Sec. 203. Officers of the armed services may be detailed to duty 
as assistants and personal aides to the Secretary of Defense, but he 
shall not establish a military staff. 

CIVILIAN PERSONNEL 

Sec. 204. (a) The Secretary of Defense is authorized to appoint 
from civilian life not to exceed three special assistants to advise and 
assist him in the performance of his duties. Each such special assist- 
ant shall receive compensation at the rate of $10,000 a year. 

(b) The Secretary of Defense is authorized, subject to the civil- 
service laws and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, to appoint 
and fix the compensation of such other civilian personnel as may be 
necessary for the performance of the functions of the National Mili- 
tary Establishment other than those of the Departments of the Army, 
Navy, and Air Force. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMT 

Sec. 205. (a) The Department of War shall hereafter be designated 
the Department of the Army, and the title of the Secretary of War 
shall be changed to Secretary of the Army. Changes shall be made 
in the titles of other officers and activities of the Department of the 
Army as the Secretary of the Army may determine. 

(b) All laws, orders, regulations, and other actions relating to the 
Department of War or to any officer or activity whose title is changed 
under this section shall, insofar as they are not inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act, be deemed to relate to the Department of the 
Army within the National Military Establishment or to such officer or 
activity designated by his or its new title. 

(c) The term “Department of the Army” us used in this Act shall be 
construed to mean the Department of the Army at the seat of govern- 
ment and all field headquarters, forces, reserve components, installa- 
tions, activities, and functions under the control or supervision of the 
Department of the Army. 


S. 758—9 


(d) The Secretary of the Army shall cause a seal of office to be made 
for the Department of the Army, of such design as the President may 
approve, and judicial notice shall be taken thereof. 

(e) In general the United States Army, within the Department of 
the Army, shall include land combat and sendee forces and such avia- 
tion and water transport as may be organic therein. It shall be 
organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained 
combat incident to operations on land. It shall be responsible for the 
preparation of land forces necessary for the effective prosecution of 
war except as otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated 
joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of peacetime components 
of the Army to meet the needs of war. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 

Sec. 20G. (a) The term “Department of the Navy” ns used in this 
Act shall be construed to mean the Department of the Navy at the seat 
of government; the headquarters, United States Marine Corps ; the 
entire operating forces of the United States Navy, including naval 
aviation, and of the United States Marine Corps, including the 
reserve components of such forces; all field activities, headquarters, 
forces, bases, installations, activities, and functions under the control 
or supervision of the Department of the Navy; and the United States 
Coast Guard when operating as a part of the Navy pursuant to law. 

(b) In general the United States Navy, within the Department of 
the Navy, shall include naval combat and services forces and such 
aviation as may be organic therein. It shall be organized, trained, 
and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained combat incident to 
operations at sea. It shall be responsible for the preparation of naval 
forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except as other- 
wise assigned, and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization 
plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Navy to 
meet the needs of war. 

All naval aviation shall be integrated with the naval service as 
part thereof within the Department of the Navy. Naval aviation shall 
consist of combat and service and training forces, and shall include 
land-based naval aviation, air transport essential for naval operations, 
all air weapons and air techniques involved in the operations and 
activities of the United States Navy, and the entire remainder of the 
aeronautical organization of the United States Navy, together with the 
personnel necessary therefor. 

The Navy shall be generally responsible for naval reconnaissance, 
antisubmarine warfare, and protection of shipping. 


S. 7 .'>8—20 
mxcnvx hate 

Six*. 310. (a) The first sentence of section 202 (a) and sections 1, 
2, 307, 308, 309, aiul 310 shall take effect immediately upon the enact- 
ment of this Act. 

(b) Except as provided in subsection (a) , the provisions of this Act 
shall take effect on whichever of the following days is the earlier: 
The day after the day upon which the Secretary of Defense first 
a pi min ted takes office, or the sixtieth dny after the date of the enact- 
ment of this Act. 

SUCCESSION TO Til K FBKMDEXCT 

Sec. 311. Paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of section 1 of the Act 
entitled “An Act to provide for the performance of the duties of the 
office of President in case of tho removal, resignation, death, or in- 
ability both of the President and Vice President”, approved July 18, 
1947, is amended by striking out “Secretary of War” and inserting in 
lieu thereof “Secretary of Defense”, and by striking out “Secretary of 
the Navy”. 




Speaker of the House of Representatives. 




President of the Senate pro tempore.