Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Proposing Advisory Commission on Presidential Office Space.
Dear Mr. :
I am submitting herewith for consideration of the Congress a draft bill "To provide for the establishment of a President's Advisory Commission on Presidential Office Space." The purpose of this Commission will be to study the problem of providing more adequate office space for the White House Office and the other agencies of the Executive Office of the President and report to me appropriate findings and recommendations.
I have been concerned for some time over the lack of adequate office facilities for the White House staff and the other agencies of the Executive Office of the President. Studies have been made to alleviate current overcrowding in the White House offices and to provide a basis for a more permanent solution to the problem. It seems to me, however, that our consideration of this important problem and the development of appropriate action toward its solution would benefit greatly from an advisory group composed of seven members as follows: two Senators appointed by the President of the Senate; two Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and three persons appointed by the President from the executive branch or from private life.
This Commission will, in effect, complement the work of the earlier Commission for the Renovation of the Executive Mansion which was concerned with the reconstruction of the White House itself (Public Law 40, 81st Congress, First Session). The proposed Commission would be concerned with the development of recommendations for suitable space and location of the Presidential offices.
Because the problem is so acute and its solution will require a Substantial amount of time, I strongly urge that this proposed legislation be acted upon before the close of the present session of Congress.
Sincerely,
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Note: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Richard M. Nixon, President of the Senate, and the Honorable Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The bill providing for the President's Advisory Commission on Presidential Office Space (S. 4228), as enacted on August 3, 1956, is Public Law 954, 84th Congress (70 Stat. 979).
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Proposing Advisory Commission on Presidential Office Space. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/232941