Executive Order 10480—Further Providing for the Administration of the Defense Mobilization Program
August 14, 1953

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, including the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.), and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

PART I. GENERAL DIRECTION OF PROGRAM

SECTION 101. (a) The Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization shall, on behalf of the President, coordinate all mobilization activities of the executive branch of the Government, including all such activities relating to production, procurement, manpower, stabilization, and transport. Every officer and agency of the Government having functions under the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, delegated, redelegated, or otherwise assigned thereto by or under the authority of the President after the date of this order (whether heretofore or hereafter acquired, or acquired by this order) shall perform the said functions subject to the direction and control of the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

(b) In carrying out the functions conferred upon him by this order, the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization shall, among other things:

(1) Perform the central programming functions incident to the determination of the production programs required to meet defense needs.

(2) Make determinations as to the provision of adequate facilities for defense production and as to the procedure and methods followed by agencies of the Government with respect to the accomplishments of defense production programs.

(3) Be the certifying authority for the purposes of and within the meaning of subsections (e) and (g) of Section 124A of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by section 216 of the Revenue Act of 1950, approved September 23, 1950.

(4) Issue such directives, consonant with law, on policy and program to officers and agencies of the Government for execution by them as may be necessary to carry out the functions assigned to him by this order, and resolve interagency issues which otherwise would require the attention of the President.

(5) Report to the President from time to time concerning his operations under this order.

SEC. 102. (a) There is hereby established in the Office of Defense Mobilization the Defense Mobilization Board, which shall consist of the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization as Chairman, the Secretaries of State, Defense, the Treasury, the Interior, Commerce, Agriculture, and Labor, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Director of the Foreign Operations Administration, and such other officials of the Government as the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization may from time to time designate. The said Board shall be advisory to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

(b) The Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization shall be chairman of the National Advisory Board on Mobilization Policy established by Executive Order 10224 of March 15, 1951 (16 P. R. 2543).

PART II. PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS

SEC 201. (a) The functions conferred upon the President by Title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, are hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, who shall, in carrying out the said functions, provide by redelegation or otherwise for their performance, subject to the provisions of section 101 of this order, by

(1) The Secretary of the Interior with respect to petroleum, gas, solid fuels and electric power.

(2) The Secretary of Agriculture with respect to food and with respect to the domestic distribution of farm equipment and commercial fertilizer.

(3) The Commissioner of the Interstate Commerce Commission who is responsible for the supervision of the Bureau of Service of the Commission, with respect to domestic transportation, storage, and port facilities, or the use thereof, but excluding air transport, coastwise, intercoastal, and overseas shipping.

(4) The Secretary of Commerce with respect to all other materials and facilities.

(b) Findings made under or pursuant to and for the purposes of section 101 (b) of the Act shall not be effective until approved by the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

PART III. EXPANSION OF PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY AND SUPPLY

SEC 301. The Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the General Services Administration, in this Part referred to as guaranteeing agencies, and each officer having functions delegated to him pursuant to section 201 (a) of this order shall develop and promote measures for the expansion of productive capacity and of production and supply of materials and facilities necessary for the national defense.

SEC. 302. (a) Each guaranteeing agency is hereby authorized, in accordance with section 301 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, subject to the provisions of this section, in order to expedite production and deliveries or services under Government contracts, and without regard to provisions of law relating to the making, performance, amendment, or modification of contracts, to guarantee in whole or in part any public or private financing institution (including any Federal Reserve Bank), by commitment to purchase, agreement to share losses, or otherwise, against loss of principal or interest on any loan, discount, or advance, or on any commitment in connection therewith, which may be made by such financing institution for the purpose of financing any contractor, subcontractor, or other person in connection with the performance of any contract or other operation deemed by the guaranteeing agency to be necessary to expedite production and deliveries or services under Government contracts for the procurement of materials or the performance of services for the national defense, or for the purpose of financing any contractor, subcontractor, or other person in connection with or in contemplation of the termination, in the interest of the United States, of any contract made for the national defense; but no small business concern (as denned in section 714 (a) (1) of the said Act) shall be held ineligible for the issuance of such a guaranty by reason of alternative sources of supply.

(b) Each Federal Reserve Bank is hereby designated and authorized to act, on behalf of any guaranteeing agency, as fiscal agent of the United States in the making of such contracts of guarantee and in otherwise carrying out the purposes of section 301 of the said Act. as amended, in respect to private financing institutions.

(c) All actions and operations of Federal Reserve Banks, under authority of or pursuant to section 301 of the said Act, as amended, shall be subject to the supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Said Board is hereby authorized, after consultation with the heads of the guaranteeing agencies, (1) to prescribe such regulations governing the actions and operations of fiscal agents hereunder as it may deem necessary, (2) to prescribe, either specifically or by maximum limits or otherwise, rates of interest, guarantee and commitment fees, and other charges which may be made in connection with loans, discounts, advances, or commitments guaranteed by the guaranteeing agencies through such fiscal agents, and (3) to prescribe regulations governing the forms and procedures (which shall be uniform to the extent practicable) to be utilized in connection with such guarantees.

SEC. 303. The Administrator of General Services is hereby authorized and directed to purchase and make commitments to purchase metals, minerals, and other materials, for Government use or resale, as authorized by and subject to the provisions of section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture may also exercise the said functions under section 303 of the said Act, as amended, with respect to food, and with respect to plant fibers (except abaca) not included in the definition of food to the extent that the procurement of such fibers involves the encouragement and development of sources of supply within the United States and its Territories and possessions.

SEC. 304. The Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization is hereby authorized and directed to encourage the exploration, development, and mining of critical and strategic minerals and metals, as authorized by and subject to the provisions of section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

SEC. 305. The Administrator of General Services is hereby authorized and directed to make subsidy payments, to determine the amounts, manner, terms, and conditions thereof, and to make findings, as authorized by and subject to the provisions of section 303 (c) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

SEC 306. The functions conferred upon the President by section 303 (e) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, with respect to the installation of additional equipment, facilities, processes, or improvements to plants, factories, and other industrial facilities owned by the United States Government, and with respect to the installation of Government-owned equipment in plants, factories, and other industrial facilities owned by private persons, are hereby delegated to the Administrator of General Services.

SEC 307. The functions conferred upon the President by section 303 (f) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, with respect to transfers to the stockpile referred to in the said section, are hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

SEC. 308. The authority conferred upon the President by section 304 (b) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, to approve borrowing from the Treasury of the United States is hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

SEC 309. All functions provided for in sections 303 to 307, inclusive, and in sections 310 and 311 of this order, shall be carried out within such amounts of funds as may be made available pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

SEC. 310. (a) The Reconstruction Pinance Corporation is hereby authorized and directed to make loans (including participations in. or guarantees of, loans) to private business enterprises (including research corporations not organized for profit) for the expansion of capacity, the development of technological processes, and the production of essential materials, including the exploration, development, and mining of strategic and critical metals and minerals, exclusive of such expansion, development and production in foreign countries, as authorized by and subject to section 302 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

(b) Loans under section 310 (a) hereof (1) shall be made upon such terms and conditions as the Corporation shall determine, (2) shall be made only after the Corporation has determined in each instance that financial assistance is not available on reasonable terms from private sources or from other governmental sources, and (3) except in the case of working capital loans (involving no more than minor expansion of capacity which is incidental to a loan for working capital) shall be made only upon certificate of essentiality of the loan, which certificate shall be made by the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

(c) Applications for loans under section 310 (a) hereof shall be received from applicants by the Corporation or by such agencies of the Government as the Corporation shall designate for this purpose.

SEC. 311. (a) The Export-Import Bank of Washington is hereby authorized and directed to make loans (including participations in, or guarantees of, loans) to private business enterprises, for the expansion of capacity, the development of technological processes, and the production of essential materials, including the exploration, development, and mining of strategic and critical metals and minerals, in those cases where such expansion, development or production is carried on in foreign countries, as authorized by and subject to section 302 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

(b) Loans under section 311 (a) hereof (1) shall be made upon such terms and conditions as the said Bank shall determine, (2) shall be made only after the Bank has determined in each instance that financial assistance is not available on reasonable terms from private sources and that the loan involved cannot be made under the provisions of and from funds available to the Bank under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended, and (3) shall be made only upon certificate of essentiality of the loan, which certificate shall be made by the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

(c) Applications for loans under section 311 (a) hereof shall be received from applicants by the said Bank or by such agencies of the Government as the Bank shall designate for this purpose.

SEC 312. The functions conferred by sections 303, 305, and 306 of this order shall be carried out in accordance with programs certified by the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization. Each officer and agency of the Government delegated or assigned functions by or pursuant to Part II or Part III of this order shall make recommendations to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization for the issuance of certificates or other action under sections 302 and 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, and for the issuance of certificates under subsections (e) and (g) of Section 124A of the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the materials and facilities within his or its particular Jurisdiction.

SEC. 313. The Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization is hereby authorized and directed to submit to the Congress the reports required by the second proviso of section 304 (b) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

PART IV. LABOR SUPPLY

SEC 401. The Secretary of Labor shall utilize the functions vested in him so as to meet most effectively the labor needs of defense industry and essential civilian employment, and to this end he shall:

(a) Assemble and analyze Information on, and make a continuing appraisal of, the nation’s labor requirements for defense and other activities and the supply of workers. All agencies of the Government shall cooperate with the Secretary in furnishing Information necessary for this purpose.

(b) Consult with and advise each delegate of the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization referred to in section 201 (a) of this order and each official of the Government exercising guarantee or loan functions under Part HI of this order concerning (1) the effect of contemplated actions on labor supply and utilization, (2) the relation of labor supply to materials and facilities requirements, (3) such other matters as will assist in making the exercise of priority and allocations functions consistent with effective utilization and distribution of labor.

(d) Utilize the public employment service system, and enlist the cooperation and assistance of management and labor to carry out these plans and programs and accomplish their objectives.

(e) Determine the occupations critical to meeting the labor requirements of defense and essential civilian activities and with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of Selective Service, and such other persons as the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization may designate develop policies applicable to the induction and deferment of personnel for the armed services, except for civilian personnel in the reserves.

PART V. VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS

SEC 501. The functions conferred upon the President by section 708 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, are hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization. Each officer of the Government to whom functions under Title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, are delegated or otherwise assigned by the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization under section 201 (a) hereof may, with respect to the materials and facilities within his jurisdiction, carry out the consultations referred to in subsection 708 (a) of that Act, and make recommendations to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization for the approval of voluntary agreements and programs as provided in section 708 of that Act.

PART VI. GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 601. As used in this order:

(a) The term “functions” includes powers, duties, authority, responsibilities, and discretion.

(b) The term “materials” includes raw materials, articles, commodities, products, supplies, components, technical information, and processes, but excludes fissionable materials as denned in the Atomic Energy Act of 1946.

(c) The term “petroleum” shall mean crude oil and synthetic liquid fuel, their products, and associated hydrocarbons, including pipelines for the movement thereof.

(d) The term “gas” shall mean natural gas and manufactured gas, including pipelines for the movement thereof.

(e) The term “solid fuels” shall mean all forms of anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coals; coke; and coal chemicals.

(f) The term “electric power” shall mean all forms of electric power and energy, including the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization thereof.

(g) The term “metals and minerals” shall mean all raw materials of mineral origin, including their refining and processing but excluding their fabrication.

(h) The term “food” shall mean all commodities and products, simple, mixed, or compound, or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being eaten or drunk by either human beings or animals, Irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for human or animal consumption. For the purposes of this order the term “food” shall also include all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal fats and oils, cotton, tobacco, wool, mohair, hemp, flax fiber, and naval stores, but shall not include any such material after it loses its identity as an agricultural commodity or agricultural product.

(i) The term “farm equipment” shall mean equipment manufactured for use on farms in connection with the production or processing of food.

(j) The term “fertilizer” shall mean fertilizer in form for distribution to the users thereof.

(k) The term “domestic transportation, storage, and port facilities” shall include locomotives, cars, motor vehicles, watercraft used on inland waterways, in harbors, and on the Great Lakes, and other vehicles, vessels, and all instrumentalities of shipment or carriage, irrespective of ownership, and all services in or in connection with the carriage of persons or property in intrastate, interstate, or foreign commerce within the United States, its Territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia, except movement of petroleum and gas by pipeline; and warehouses, piers, docks, wharves, loading and unloading equipment, and all other structures and facilities used in connection with the transshipment of persons and property between domestic carriers and carriers engaged in coastwise, intercoastal, and overseas transportation.

SEC 602. (a) Except as otherwise provided in section 602 (c) of this order, each officer or agency of the Government having functions under the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, delegated or assigned thereto by or pursuant to this Executive order may exercise and perform, with respect to such functions, the functions vested in the President by Title VII of the said Act.

(b) The functions which may be exercised and performed pursuant to the authority of section 602 (a) of this order shall include, but not by way of limitation, (1) except as otherwise provided in section 708 (c) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, the power to redelegate functions, and to authorize the successive redelegation of functions, to agencies, officers, and employees of the Government, (2) the power to create an agency or agencies, under the jurisdiction of the officer concerned, to administer functions delegated or assigned by or pursuant to this order, and (3) in respect of Part II of this order, the power of subpoena: Provided, That the subpoena power shall be utilized only after the scope and purpose of the investigation, inspection, or inquiry to which the subpoena relates have been defined either by the appropriate officer referred to in section 602 (a) of this order or by such other person or persons as he shall designate.

(c) There are excluded from the functions delegated by section 602 (a) of this order (1) the functions delegated by Part V of this order, (2) the functions of the President under section 710 (a) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, (3) the functions of the President with respect to regulations under sections 710 (b), 710 (c), and 710 (d) of the said Act, and (4) the functions of the President with respect to fixing compensation under section 703 (a) of the said Act.

(d) The functions conferred upon the President by section 710 (a) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, are hereby delegated as follows:

(1) Each officer or agency of the Government having functions under the said act delegated or assigned to such officer or agency by or pursuant to this order shall submit to the Chairman of the United States Civil Service Commission such requests for classification of positions in grades 16, 17, and 18 of the General Schedule as may be necessary, and shall accompany any such request with a certificate stating that the duties of the position are essential and appropriate for the administration of the said Act.

(2) Each requested position shall be placed in the appropriate grade of the General Schedule in accordance with the standards and procedures of the Classification Act of 1949, except that the placement of positions in Grade 18 of the General Schedule, and the removal of positions therefrom, shall be accomplished by the Chairman of the United States Civil Service Commission (instead of by the President upon the recommendation of the said Commission). No person shall be employed in a position of grade 16, 17, or 18 under authority of section 710 (a) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, except pursuant to notice of the Chairman of the United States Civil Service Commission of the classification of the position.

SEC 603. All agencies of the Government (including, as used in this order, departments, establishments, and corporations) shall furnish to each officer of the Government to whom functions under the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, are delegated or assigned by or pursuant to this order such information relating to defense production or procurement, or otherwise relating to the said functions, delegated or assigned to such officer by or pursuant to this order as may be required to perform those functions.

SEC. 604. The Defense Materials Procurement Agency established by Executive Order No. 10281 of August 28, 1951 (16 P. R. 8789), is hereby abolished and the personnel, records, property, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations and other funds thereof shall be transferred from it to the General Services Administration for use in connection with the functions assigned or delegated to the Administrator of General Services by or pursuant to this order or for purposes of liquidation, as the said Administrator shall determine.

SEC. 605. The Economic Stabilization Agency, established by Executive Order No. 10161 of September 9, 1950, is continued to October 31, 1953, under the direction of the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization who shall serve ex officio as the Economic Stabilization Administrator for the purpose of winding up and liquidating the affairs of said Agency.

SEC 606. All orders, regulations, rulings, certificates, directives and other actions relating to any function affected by this order shall remain in effect except as they are inconsistent herewith or are hereafter amended or revoked under proper authority, and nothing in this order shall affect the validity or force of anything heretofore done under previous delegations or other assignment of authority under the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

SEC. 607. The following are superseded or revoked:

(1) Executive Order No. 10161 of September 9, 1950 (15 P. R. 6105).

(2) Executive Order No. 10169 of October 11, 1950 (15 P. R. 6901).

(3) Executive Order No. 10193 of December 16, 1950 (15 F. R. 9031).

(4) Executive Order No. 10200 of January 3, 1951 (16 F. R. 61).

(5) Executive Order No. 10223 of March 10, 1961 (16 F. R. 2247).

(6) Executive Order No. 10281 of August 28, 1951 (16 F. R. 8789).

(7) Executive Order No. 10324 of February 6, 1962 (17 F. R. 1171).

(8) Executive Order No. 10359 of June 9 1962 (17 F. R. 5269).

(9) Executive Order No. 10373 of July 14, 1952 (17 F. R. 6425).

(10) Executive Order No. 10377 of July 25, 1952 (17 F. R. 6891).

(11) Executive Order No. 10390 of August 30, 1962 (17 F. R. 7995).

(12) Executive Order No. 10433 of February 4, 1953 (18 F. R. 761).

(13) Executive Order No. 10467 of June 30, 1953 (18 F. R. 3777).

SEC. 608. To the extent that any provision of any prior Executive Order (including Executive Order No. 10461 of June 17, 1953 (18 F. R. 3513)) is inconsistent with the provisions of this order, the latter shall control and such prior provision is amended accordingly. The following designated orders, modified as required to conform them to the provisions of this order, shall remain in effect:

Executive Order No. 10182 of November 21, 1960 (15 F. R. 8013), as amended by

Executive Order No. 10206 of January 16, 1951 (16 F. R. 419).

Executive Order No. 10219 of February 28, 1951 (16 F. R. 1983).

Executive Order No. 10224 of March 15. 1951 (16 F. R. 2543).

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE,

August 14, 1953.

Citation: Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Executive Order 10480—Further Providing for the Administration of the Defense Mobilization Program,” August 14, 1953. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=59221.