Summary of changes 1966 enacted appropriation----. Transfer from Federal old-age and survivors insurance trust fund__ 1966 total estimated obligations-- 1967 estimated obligations_. Transfers from Federal old-age and survivors insurance trust fund__ Total 1967 obligations_ Total change_-_. Increases: Mandatory: 1. Annualization of 48 new positions authorized in 1966_. Subtotal, mandatory increases_ Program: 1. For assistance to the Secretary and Under Secretary in 2. For discharging increased responsibilities in administra- 3. For increased emphasis on coordination, program plan- (a) Legislative review and development (6) -----. 302,300 95,000 397.500 56, 800 88,000 529, 700 65.900 59,100 4. For expanding and improving management appraisal of 6. For meeting increased internal security workload (2 7. For improving management of housekeeping functions, 8. For strengthening coordination and policy development 9. For other costs associated with increased workload and Total program increases.. 196, 600 46, 800 93,700 13,500 111,300 99,600 25,900 1,065, 300 Decreases: Net decrease due to transfer of mail, messenger, and accounting functions to working capital fund (42 positions) _. Nonrecurring costs related to authorized new staffing in 1966. Total decrease.... Net change--- -155.30 -28,700 -183, 800 +1,279, 000 EXPLANATION OF CHANGES Responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary have increased during the past 2 years at a rate never before experienced. The Department's budget for 1967 requests funds in more than double the amount appropriated for 1964, and six times the amount appropriated in 1954. New legislation and greater public awareness of the Department's programs have emphasized the need for strengthened coordination and improved planning at the top level of the Department. Many of its programs are no longer the sole responsibility of a single operating agency, but rather are the concern of several of the agencies. The 1967 budget for the Office of the Secretary is designed to provide the leadership essential to effective management of the Department's complex activities. Executive direction and coordination It is important that the Secretary and Under Secretary have adequate staff within their immediate offices to meet the pressures of daily operations and to carry out numerous short-term special projects. Continuing and expanding demands from outside sources are difficult to meet within the present limited staffing. Four positions, two Assistants to the Secretary, and two secretaries are requested for handling the workload of this office. Included in the increase is a man-year of middle management intern service. Six positions are requested to assist the Secretary in the discharge of his increased responsibilities in the field of civil rights. A new unit, reporting directly to the Secretary, has recently been established to provide the necessary coordination among the Department's agencies and units. The additional staff requested will round out the staff support to the Secretary in this area. From the standpoint of governmental administration, the Department's greatest challenge in the period ahead is to provide effective direction, coordination, and planning for its vast and complex programs. The new and expanded responsibilities placed on the Office of the Secretary are generating new demands and new requirements every day. Steps must be taken to strengthen the resources available to the Secretary to fulfill this enlarged role, with primary emphasis on well-timed, well-planned, and well-coordinated programs. These resources can most effectively be developed through the expansion of staff support to the Assistant Secretaries. An amount of $64,000 would be used for the intermittent services of experts and consultants and for technical services contracts. Administrative management Three positions (including two professional) are requested to strengthen resources available to the Secretary for the study of organizational and procedural matters and to plan for management improvements. The new staffing requested will bring increased attention to these areas and will provide the nucleus of an internal management consultant staff. Seven positions (five professional and two clerical) are requested to expand and improve the career development and executive recruitment programs. The new staff will concentrate on the selection of quality executive personnel and the development of leadership talent. Significant progress has been made in these areas during the past year but much more is required. Two clerical positions are needed in the Office of Internal Security to keep pace with the substantial increase in workload created by the Department's growth. One example of this increase is the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service where, in 1966, the number of security checks for applicants to the corps will increase by 48 percent over 1965. This trend is expected to continue into 1967. Five new positions, including two for operation of the Department's library, are requested to meet increased workload and to strengthen the staff components of the Division of General Services. Cataloging and processing of additional books and periodicals expected to be obtained during 1967 will increase workload by 2 man-years. The estimate provides two new library positions to cope with this workload. The request includes a professional position and a secretary to provide a more orderly and systematic approach to space planning and acquisition and a ful-time position of safety coordinator to guide the Department's safety program. The budget also includes $27,000 to permit full-time staff direction and coordination of Department printing and communications management. Five positions now involved in these activities spend approximately half time in day-to-day operating functions. A decrease of 29 positions and $134,300 is the net effect of the centralization of mail and messenger functions for the headquarters function. Financial management Seven positions are requested to strengthen and improve the planning and coordination of financial management functions. Two of the positions are intended to provide relief to the continually increasing workload of the departmental budget staff and to permit more effective coordination of departmental budget activities. A secretarial position is included for the Division of Fiscal Policy and Procedure to allow a total of two clerical positions to serve the six professional staff members of the Division. Two positions are requested to assist the Comptroller in the development and implementation of departmentwide fiscal and administrative policy in grants administration and management. An increase of two positions is provided to permit more adequate staffing of the Operations Analysis Division. A decrease of 13 positions and $21,000 is the net effect of centralization of accounting services for headquarters functions of the Office of the Secretary. Office of Commissioner of Welfare, and miscellaneous other headquarters activities. Small increases are also included for other items of expenditure such as purchase of library books, telephone services, postal services, overtime, etc. The flood of legislaiton enacted by the 88th Congress and the 1st session of the 89th Congress affecting this Department has presented it with a tremendous challenge. A partial listing of the legislation passed during the last year is enough to indicate the programs expanded or inaugurated. The Older Americans Act of 1965 and the Water Pollution Control Act of 1965 in addition to expanding programs created new agencies requiring Department management. The social security amendments, the Elementary and Secondary and the Higher Education Acts, amendments to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act have contributed significantly to our responsibilities. To carry out its more than 150 programs to serve the people of the Nation, the Department is requesting a permanent staff of more than 102,000 in 1967 and over $11.7 billion in new obligational authority. A Department having a budget rogram of this magnitude should be carefully and comprehensively coordinated and directed through a strengthened Office of the Secretary. In recognition of this need, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare established a management structure designed to meet the demand of this heterogeneous Department. The chart on page 28 set out the new organization and summarizes the responsibilities of its major segments. In order to continue the intent of the new organization, significant increases in top staff to coordinate, direct and plan for the future are essential. A major step in this direction was made during the last session of Congress when 24 positions were authorized to permit the framework of staffing for newly established Assistant Secretaries. Except for that action top staff increases authorized for executive direction and coordination over the years have been quite modest. Although total Department staffing has increased almost threefold since 1954, the executive direction staff of the Office of the Secretary has risen from only 88 to 127 positions (less than 50 percent). It is apparent from this that the resources available to the Secretary must be expanded to permit the cohesive direction and planning so vital to the Department's fulfillment of its responsibilities. Immediate office of the secretary (4 new positions) The many new day-to-day priorities and projects occurring within the Secretary's immediate office place an increasingly heavy burden on the small existing professional and clerical staff. The routine of daily operations cannot be diffused among the new Assistant Secretaries who are devoting their time to program planning and direction on a broad scale. Liaison with the White House, the Congress and the public in general, in addition to the general management responsibilities with which this Office is charged, involve matters which must be handled with dispatch. The very limited staff available for this purpose cannot meet the demands of the growing organization. To relieve the burden, two professional and two clerical positions are requested in 1967. Special assistant for civil rights (6 new positions) In order to provide stronger leadership by the Office of the Secretary and more effective coordination among the Department's agencies and units, a new organization has been established to handle civil rights activities. Whereas civil rights matters were formerly assigned to an Assistant Secretary together with other program responsibilities, a special assistant and his staff devote full time to civil rights. In addition, rather than attempting to implement the Department's civil rights policies from the Office of the Secretary, now each agency head has assumed this responsibility for his program. To eliminate duplication of efforts, civil rights compliance responsibility for specific categories of institutions has been assigned to the appropriate agency of the Department. For instance, the Public Health Service will be handling compliance in all hospitals and nursing homes regardless of whether the grant funds involved come from the Service or from the Office of Education or the Welfare Administration. Similarly, the Office of Education will be handling all elementary and secondary school compliance for the Department. The most of the operating agencies will be retaining the services of specially qualified staff to advise on civil rights policies in the agencies and to insure effective implementation of these policies. The addition of four professional and two clerical staff members requested for 1967 will provide the essential nucleus for coordinating the Department's varied and complex responsibilities in the area of civil rights. Assistant secretary (education) (4 new positions) In his role as adviser to the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary (for Education) will assist the Secretary in matters of educational policy which are best handled at the Department level. He will review interdepartmental policies affecting fellowships, student loans and related matters to assure Department-wide consistency. He is charged with the responsibility for activities in educational television, manpower development and training, and education of the deaf. As Chairman of the Federal Interagency Committee on Education, the Assistant Secretary will study the current effects of Federal activities upon the educational programs of State, local and nonprofit educational institutions, assess future trends of such activities, and develop recommendations for educational activities. In this role he will also exercise the necessary leadership in seeking timely resolutions of differences of opinion concerning policies or administrative practices with respect to Federal educational institutions. |