Editing National Security Act of 1947 (section)

== Legislative history ==
When Congress convened, it had preemptively restructured in favor of unification. Due to the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, in the 80th Congress the Military and Naval Affairs Committees had been combined into unified Armed Services Committees in both the House and Senate.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

On February 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman sent a bill proposal to Congress detailing the creation of a "National Defense Establishment".<ref name=":10">{{cite news |title=Text of the President's Proposal for a National Defense Establishment, as Sent to Congress |id={{ProQuest|107802651}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/02/28/archives/text-of-the-presidents-proposal-for-a-national-defense.html |work=The New York Times |date=28 February 1947 }}</ref> Representative [[Clare Hoffman|Clare E. Hoffman]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Michigan|MI]]) introduced the bill as H.R. 2319 to the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] on February 28, 1947; it was then referred to the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform|Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments]].<ref name=":4">Congressional Quarterly, Inc. (1948). Unification of armed services. In ''Congressional quarterly almanac'' (v. 3, pp. 53–56). Congressional Quarterly, inc.</ref>

Senator [[John Chandler Gurney|Chan Gurney]] (R-[[South Dakota|SD]]) introduced the bill to the [[United States Senate|Senate]] as S. 758 on March 3, 1947.<ref name=":4" /> Due to conflict over which committee the bill was to be referred to, as well as the focus the Senate had on the legislative budget at the time, the bill was not able to be introduced in the Senate sooner.<ref name=":4" />

=== Congressional hearings ===
On March 18, 1947, then-[[Chairperson|Chairman]] Senator Gurney held [[United States congressional hearing|congressional hearings]] in the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Committee on Armed Services]] on the bill that would become the National Security Act of 1947.<ref name=":4" /> The hearings were held in three parts: Part 1 hearings were held on March 18, March 20, March 25, March 26, and April 1–3, 1947;<ref name=":11">''National Defense Establishment (Unification of the Armed Services) Part 1: Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services,'' 80th Cong. (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=HRG-1947-SAS-0003&type=HEARING={{subscription required}}</ref> Part 2 hearings were held on April 8, April 9, April 15, April 18, April 22, April 24, and April 25, 1947;<ref name=":5">''National Defense Establishment (Unification of the Armed Services) Part 2: Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services,'' 80th Cong. (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=HRG-1947-SAS-0007&type=HEARING{{subscription required}}</ref> and Part 3 hearings were held on April 30, May 2, May 6, May 7, and May 9, 1947.<ref name=":6">''National Defense Establishment (Unification of the Armed Services) Part 3: Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services,'' 80th Cong. (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=HRG-1947-SAS-0008&type=HEARING{{subscription required}}</ref>

The witnesses at the hearings largely spoke in support of the bill, either overall or with adjustments. Major witnesses of the bill who spoke in support were [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|United States Army Chief of Staff]] [[General officer|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] [[James Forrestal|James V. Forrestal]], [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Robert P. Patterson]], [[Chief of Naval Operations]] [[Admiral]] [[Chester W. Nimitz]],<ref name=":4" /> Under Secretary of War [[Kenneth Claiborne Royall|Kenneth C. Royall]], Representative [[Walter G. Andrews]] (R-[[New York (state)|NY]]), Senator [[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.|Henry Cabot Lodge]] (R-[[Massachusetts|MA]]), two [[Colonel|colonels]] from the [[Reserve Officers Association of the United States]], [[Director of Central Intelligence]] [[Hoyt Vandenberg|Hoyt S. Vandenberg]], Director of the [[Office of Management and Budget|Bureau of the Budget]] [[James E. Webb]], and president of [[General Electric|General Electric Co.]] [[Charles Edward Wilson (businessman)|Charles E. Wilson]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]] [[W. John Kenney]] spoke in support but expressed concerns about appropriations, while [[Surgeon General of the United States Army|United States Army Surgeon General]] [[Norman T. Kirk]] expressed concern about the role of [[Army Medical Department (United States)|medical services]].<ref name=":5" /> Former senator [[Thomas C. Hart]] (R-[[Connecticut|CT]]) opposed the bill and proposed changes to the areas concerning the Navy and the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]].<ref name=":5" /> The president of the Marine Reserve Officers Association, [[Melvin Maas|Melvin J. Maas]], stated that 95% of the Association opposes the bill and requests adjustments as it comes to the Marine Corps' role.<ref name=":5" /> The president of the Reserve Officers of the Naval Services (RONS), John P. Bracken, stated that the organization opposed the bill due to the lack of input they were allowed to give.<ref name=":6" /> Representatives from the [[National Guard Association of the United States|National Guard Association]] opposed the bill as it stood and said that the role of the [[National Guard (United States)|National Guard]] needed to be improved.<ref name=":6" />

On April 24th, Edson requested to retire in order to be permitted to present his personal views against the bill, but the Commandant denied his request.<ref name="EdsonOMPF" />

On May 6th, the second Marine Corps Board was dissolved.<ref name="EdsonOMPF">[[nara:40912374|Official Military Personnel File of Merritt A. Edson (NAID: 40912374)]]; Official Military Personnel Files, 1885 – 1998; Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798–2007, Record Group 24; National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.</ref>

The next day, at the invitation of a member of the committee, Merritt Edson testified in opposition to the bill. He was the only active duty military officer to do so.<ref name="EdsonOMPF" />

On June 7th, Edson submitted a second request to retire, and this one was accepted. On June 17th, Edson testified before the committee again.<ref name="EdsonOMPF" />

=== Executive Order 9877 ===
Following the congressional hearings, on June 6th Truman published Executive Order 9877, which explicitly prescribed the functions of each of the military services.<ref name="ExecOrd9877">[[nara:300008|Executive Order 9877: Functions of the Armed Forces dated June 6, 1947 (NAID: 300008)]]; Executive Orders, 1862 – 2020; General Records of the United States Government, 1778–2006, Record Group 11; National Archives at Washington DC, Washington, DC.</ref>

=== Debates ===
On July 7, 1947, the National Security Act of 1947 was debated for the first time in the Senate, two days after the Senate Committee on Armed Services reported the bill to the Senate.<ref name=":3" /> On July 9, 1947, the Senate continued debates and, with an [[amendment]] to the title, passed the bill by a [[voice vote]].<ref name=":7">Legislative Insight. (n.d.). ''National Security Act of 1947''. ProQuest. https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=PL80-253&type=LEG_HIST{{subscription required}}</ref>

On July 15, 1947, having already been passed in the Senate, the National Security Act of 1947 was debated in the House of Representatives.<ref name=":7" /> The House introduced [[Resolution (law)|Resolution]] 80 H.Con.Res. 70 on the same day.<ref name=":7" /> The Senate agreed to the Resolution on July 16, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The House debated and passed the National Security Act of 1947, along with 80 H.R. 4214, on July 19, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The [[conference report]] 80 H. rp. 1051 was agreed to in the Senate on July 24, 1947, and was agreed to in the House on July 25, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The recorded votes on the bill itself "drew strong [[Bipartisanship|bipartisan]] support."<ref name=":3" />

==== Senate ====
During the July 7, 1947, and July 9, 1947, debates in the Senate, members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services spoke the most, with major proponents being Senators Lodge (R-MA), [[Leverett Saltonstall|Saltonstall]] (R-MA), [[Raymond E. Baldwin|Baldwin]] (R-CT), [[Wayne Morse|Morse]] (R-[[Oregon|OR]]), [[Millard Tydings|Tydings]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[Maryland|MD]]), [[Burnet R. Maybank|Maybank]] (D-[[South Carolina|SC]]), and [[J. Lister Hill|Hill]] (D-[[Alabama|AL]]).<ref name=":3" /> Arguments in support of the bill included Senator Gurney's reasoning that there were "personnel problems in the Army and Navy, including the [[United States Air Force|Air Forces]]" and that "the unification bill is a sincere and earnest attempt to put into effect by legislation a security organization which is adequate, effective, modern – and yet economical."<ref>''Debated in Senate''. (July 7, 1947). ProQuest. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=CR-1947-0707-PL80-253-S&type=CONGRESSIONAL_RECORD{{subscription required}}</ref>

Senator [[Edward V. Robertson|Robertson]] (R-[[Wyoming|WY]]) was a staunch opponent of the bill, arguing that the bill would cost the country too much considering it would not be able to make the armed services any more efficient, and that the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] would have too much power.<ref name=":3" />

Senator Robertson offered three amendments during debates, all of which were defeated by voice vote.<ref name=":3" /> Senator [[Joseph McCarthy|McCarthy]] (R-[[Wisconsin|WI]]) offered an amendment that stipulated that the "existing status of Marine Corps and Naval Aviation not to be altered or diminished; their existing functions not to be transferred to other services"; the Senate debated this amendment the most until it was defeated by a 52–19 [[roll call vote]].<ref name=":3" /> The only amendment that passed (by voice vote) in the Senate was offered by Senator [[Robert A. Taft|Taft]] (R-[[Ohio|OH]]) in which the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] was to only be focused on [[national security]] matters.<ref name=":3" />

==== House of Representatives ====
During the July 15, 1947, and July 19, 1947, debates in the House of Representatives, major proponents of the National Security Act of 1947 included Representatives [[James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.|Wadsworth]] (R-[[New York (state)|NY]]), [[John W. McCormack|McCormack]] (D-MA), and [[Carter Manasco|Manasco]] (D-AL), who were all on the Expenditures Committee as high-ranking members, and the [[United States House Committee on Armed Services|House Armed Services Committee]] Chairman Walter G. Andrews (R-NY).<ref name=":3" />

Opponents of the bill in the House included Representatives [[W. Sterling Cole|Cole]] (R-NY), [[Harry R. Sheppard|Sheppard]] (D-[[California|CA]]), [[Edith Nourse Rogers|Rogers]] (R-MA), and [[John Taber|Taber]] (R-NY).<ref name=":3" /> Representatives Cole, Sheppard, and Rogers argued that the Navy did not have enough protections under the bill, while Representative Taber argued against the budgetary aspect.<ref name=":3" />

Minor amendments were passed during debates in the House. Some of Representative Cole's amendments protecting the Navy and limiting the secretary of defense's powers were passed by voice vote (though others he offered were defeated).<ref name=":3" /> Representatives [[Walter Judd (politician)|Judd]] (R-[[Minnesota|MN]]) and [[Clarence J. Brown|Brown]] (R-OH) were able to pass amendments by voice votes that required the director of Central Intelligence to be appointed by the president from civilian life and confirmed by the Senate, and Representative Judd passed an amendment allowing the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] to conduct secret operations without the inspection of the director of Central Intelligence.<ref name=":3" /> Amendments offered by Representatives [[George MacKinnon|MacKinnon]] (R-MN), [[Clifford P. Case|Case]] (R-[[New Jersey|NJ]]), Mitchell (R-[[Indiana|IN]]), [[Charles R. Clason|Clason]] (R-MA), and [[Thomas L. Owens|Owens]] (R-[[Illinois|IL]]) were defeated.<ref name=":3" />

=== Enactment ===
The National Security Act of 1947 was signed into law by President Truman on July 26, 1947.<ref name=":8" /> The bill signing took place aboard Truman's [[VC-54]]C presidential aircraft ''Sacred Cow'', the first aircraft used for the role of [[Air Force One]].<ref name=":12">[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1845 Fact Sheets : National Security Act of 1947 : National Security Act of 1947<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114142445/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1845 |date=January 14, 2012 }}</ref> The president was traveling to be at the bedside of his dying [[Martha Ellen Young Truman|mother]] and delayed his departure until the bill was signed.<ref name=":8">{{cite news |last1=Hulen |first1=Bertram D. |title=UNIFICATION SIGNED; President Acts in Plane Just Before Take-Off for Mother's Home CONFIRMATION IS SPEEDY Senate Upholds Nomination by Truman, by Voice Vote, Just Before Quitting FORRESTAL NAMED DEFENSE CHIEF |id={{ProQuest|107857035}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/07/27/archives/unification-signed-president-acts-in-plane-just-before-takeoff-for.html |work=The New York Times |date=27 July 1947 }}</ref>

The majority of the provisions of the act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed [[James Forrestal]] as the first secretary of defense.<ref name=":9">Historical Office. (n.d.). [https://history.defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571293/james-v-forrestal/ James V. Forrestal]. Office of the Secretary of Defense. Retrieved November 14, 2021</ref> His power was initially limited and it was difficult for him to exercise the authority to make his office effective.<ref>{{Cite web |title=James V. Forrestal |url=https://history.defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571293/james-v-forrestal/https://history.defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571293/james-v-forrestal/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=Historical Office |at="Forrestal brought to his new office a deep distrust of the Soviet Union and a determination to make the new national security structure workable. . . . He soon discovered that perhaps the chief obstacle to accomplishing his objectives for the NME was the inherent weakness in the secretary of defense's powers as defined in the National Security Act." |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> This was later changed in the amendment to the act in 1949, creating what was to be the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]].<ref>Kinnard, Douglas. "The Secretary of Defense in Retrospect." The Secretary of Defense. Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1980. 192–93. Print.</ref>

=== Provisions ===
The legislation's definition of covert action was vague, limiting oversight over the CIA's activities. It was only in the 1990s that Congress attempted to regulate covert action by prohibiting certain forms of it and enacting substantive and procedural rules for covert action.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Haas |first=Melinda |date=2022 |title=Origins of Oversight: Covert Action Amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2022.2119446 |journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence |pages=1–22 |doi=10.1080/08850607.2022.2119446 |s2cid=252612436 |issn=0885-0607}}</ref>

==== Title I – Coordination for National Security ====
Title I worked to establish the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], an advisory council to the [[President of the United States|president]] for matters relating to national security in the realm of "domestic, [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign]], and military policies" with the intent of allowing for the military departments to communicate with more efficiency.<ref name=":1">National Security Act of 1947, Pub. L. No. 80-253, 61 Stat. 495 (1947). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/299856</ref> It also established the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) under the National Security Council, led by the [[Director of Central Intelligence]].<ref name=":1" /> The role of the director of Central Intelligence, and the CIA as a whole, is as an advisory unit to the National Security Council and as a coordinator of [[Military intelligence|intelligence]].<ref name=":1" /> Finally, Title I worked to establish the [[National Security Resources Board]], an advisory board to the President on matters relating to "the coordination of military, industrial, and civilian [[mobilization]]."<ref name=":1" />

==== Title II – The National Military Establishment ====
Outlined the establishment of the [[National Military Establishment]] (NME), which consists of the [[United States Department of the Army|Department of the Army]], the Department of the Navy, and the [[United States Department of the Air Force|Department of the Air Force]] (DAF) and is led by the secretary of defense.<ref name=":1" />

Designated the Department of War to be renamed the Department of the Army, led by the [[secretary of the Army]].<ref name=":1" /> 

Established the Department of the Navy and outlined it to consist of the [[United States Marine Corps]], the [[United States Navy]], and the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name=":1" /> The role of the United States Marine Corps was further outlined.<ref name=":1" />

Established the DAF, led by the [[secretary of the Air Force]], and allowed the secretary of defense to designate any and all functions that they deem fit to be under the DAF.<ref name=":1" /> 

Created the [[United States Air Force]] as an agency of [[Military aviation|aviation]] offense and defense under the DAF, led by a [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Chief of Staff, United States Air Force]], who in turn is directed by the secretary of the Air Force.<ref name=":1" /> The chief of staff, United States Air Force, was designated as having equal authority as the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Chief of Staff, United States Army]], and the [[Chief of Naval Operations]].<ref name=":1" />

Established the [[Council of war|War Council]] as an advisory council to the secretary of defense within the NME.<ref name=":1" /> The War Council consists of the secretary of defense, the secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, the chief of naval operations, and the chiefs of staff of the United States Army and the United States Air Force.<ref name=":1" />

Title II established the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] within the NME as consisting "of the Chief of Staff, United States Army; the Chief of Naval Operations; the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force; and the [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff|Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief]], if there be one" with the role of being "the principal military advisers to the President and the Secretary of Defense."<ref name=":1" /> It also created a Joint Staff under the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<ref name=":1" />

Created a Munitions Board within the NBE, which replaced the Joint Army and Navy Munitions Board, led by a chairman and consisted of [[United States Under Secretary of State|under secretaries]] or assistant secretaries [[United States Under Secretary of the Army|from the Department of the Army]], [[United States Under Secretary of the Navy|the Department of the Navy]], and [[United States Under Secretary of the Air Force|the Department of the Air Force]].<ref name=":1" />

Established a Research and Development Board within the NME, which replaces the Joint Research and Development Board, and that consists of a chairman with two representatives from each military department.<ref name=":1" /> The Research and Development Board acts as an advisory unit on matters relating to and the conducting of [[military research]].<ref name=":1" />

==== Title III – Miscellaneous ====
Designated compensation for each of the positions created under the act, designate relative [[Security clearance|classification statuses]], and specify the transfer of funds and resources. <ref name=":1" />

Defined "function" as including "functions, powers, and duties", and defines "budget program" as "recommendations as to the apportionment, to the allocation and to the review of allotments of appropriated funds".<ref name=":1" />

Specified [[Severability|separability]] and established the timeline of when provisions of the act would be in effect.<ref name=":1" />

Amended the July 18, 1947, [[Presidential Succession Act]]<ref>Presidential Succession Act, Pub. L. No. 199, 61 Stat. 380 (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=PL80-199&type=LEG_HIST{{subscription required}}</ref> to remove "Secretary of the Navy" and to replace "Secretary of War" with "Secretary of Defense".<ref name=":1" />