Executive Order 11306—Establishing the President's Committee on Rural Poverty and the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows:

SECTION 1. Establishment of Committee. (a) There is hereby established the President's Committee on Rural Poverty (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee").

(b) The Committee shall be composed of the Secretary of Agriculture, who shall be Chairman of the Committee; the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Commerce; the Secretary of Labor; the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity; and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Each member of the Committee may designate an alternate member, who shall serve as a member of the Committee whenever the regular member is unable to attend any meeting of the Committee.

SEC. 2. Duties of the Committee. (a) The Committee shall:

(1) Appraise the means by which existing programs, policies, and activities relating to the economic and community welfare of rural people may be coordinated or better directed or redirected to achieve for the rural population the quality of living and levels of opportunities available to other segments of the population.

(2) Develop recommendations for action by Government or by private enterprise as to the most efficient and promising means of providing opportunities for rural people to share in America's abundance and better levels of living.

(b) In developing its recommendations the Committee shall take into account the final report of the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty established by Section 3 of this order, which report shall be transmitted to the President with the recommendations of the Committee.

SEC. 3. Establishment of Commission. (a) To assist the Committee in carrying out its functions under Section 2 of this order, there is hereby established the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty (hereinafter referred to as the "Commission").

(b) The Commission shall be composed of twenty-six members appointed by the President. The President shall designate the Chairman of the Commission from among its members.

(c) The Commission shall meet on the call of the Chairman.

(d) Each member of the Commission may be compensated for each day such member is engaged upon work of the Commission, and shall be reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 55a; 5 U.S.C. 73b-2) for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.

(e) The Commission shall have an Executive Director, who shall be designated by the President. Under the direction and supervision of the Chairman, the Executive Director shall direct and supervise any staff employed by or detailed to the Commission under this order.

SEC. 4. Duties of the Conzmission. (a) The Commission shall transmit to the Committee its independent analysis, evaluation, and recommendations with respect to all matters assigned to the Committee for study and recommendations.

(b) In carrying out its duties under subsection (a) above, the Commission shall:

(1) Make a comprehensive study and appraisal of the current economic situations and trends in American rural life, as they relate to the existence of income and community problems of rural areas, including problems of low income, the status of rural labor, including farm labor, unemployment and under-employment and retraining in usable skills; rural economic development and expanding opportunities; sources of additional rural employment; availability of land and other resources; adequacy of food, nutrition, housing, health, and cultural opportunities for rural families; the condition of children and youth in rural areas and their status in an expanding national economy; the impact of population and demographic changes, including rural migration; adequacy of rural community facilities and services; exploration of new and better means of eliminating the causes which perpetuate rural unemployment and underemployment, low income and poor facilities; and any other related matters.

(2) Evaluate the means by which existing programs, policies, and activities relating to the economic status and community welfare of rural people may be coordinated or better directed or redirected to achieve the elimination of underemployment and low incomes of rural people and to obtain higher levels of community facilities and services.

(3) Develop recommendations for action by local, State or Federal governments or private enterprise as to the most efficient and promising means of providing opportunities for the rural population to share in America's abundance.

(c) The Commission shall submit its final report and recommendations to the Committee no later than twelve months after the date of its appointment, and may make any interim reports to the Committee which it deems would expedite the work of the Committee.

SEC. 5. Federal departments and agencies. (a) The Committee or the Commission is authorized to request from any Federal department, agency, or independent instrumentality of the Government any information deemed necessary to carry out its functions under this order; and each department, agency, and instrumentality is authorized, to the extent permitted by law and within the limits of available funds, to furnish such information to the Committee or the Commission.

(b) Each department or agency the head of which is named in. Section 1 (b) of this order shall, as may be necessary, furnish assistance to the Committee or the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Section 214 of the Act of May 3, 1945 (59 Stat. 134; 31 U.S.C. 691), or as otherwise permitted by law.

(c) The Department of Agriculture is hereby designated as the agency which shall provide administrative services for the Commission.

SEC. 6. Construction. Nothing in this order shall be construed as subjecting any Federal agency, or any function vested by law in, or assigned pursuant to law to, any Federal agency, to the authority of the Committee or of the Commission or as abrogating or restricting any such function in any manner.

SEC. 7. Termination of the Committee and the Commission. The Committee and the Commission shall terminate ninety days after the submission of the final report of the Commission under Section 4 (c) hereof.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

The White House

September 27, 1966