Memorandum From the President on Defense Economic Adjustment Programs

Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Chairman, Civil Service Commission, the Director, Community Services Administration, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator, General Services Administration, the Director, Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator, Small Business Administration, the Director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

This Administration has initiated a major effort to strengthen military effectiveness and to reduce unnecessary Defense expenditures. Many required changes can be implemented with minimal impact on individuals and communities. Other changes, however, will involve a requirement to close installations or eliminate jobs and these could result in a serious economic impact in some localities.

I am fully committed to a reduction in Defense costs, but the burden should not be borne solely by the citizens who happen to reside or work in an impacted area. Therefore, I am equally committed to the implementation of these changes in a manner that reflects my genuine concern for those individuals and communities that are directly affected.

I have asked Secretary Brown to continue to chair the Economic Adjustment Committee in order to assure that coordinated Federal assistance is provided to impacted communities when it is required and that increased consideration is given to social and economic impacts in the implementation of Defense realignment actions.

The Economic Adjustment Committee has helped many communities to successfully overcome the impact of Defense changes in the past. The scope and extent of possible future changes, however, impose a requirement for increased participation and priority attention by all agencies involved with the Committee. To meet this need, I have today signed an Executive Order designating you as a member of the Committee. I have also designated Jack Watson, my Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs and Secretary to the Cabinet, as a member of this Committee. Additionally, you should name a representative to work closely with the permanent Committee staff in the Office of Economic Adjustment.

My objective in issuing the order to strengthen the Committee is to assure that available Federal resources are coordinated and targeted in a manner that is responsive to the most important needs of Defense impacted communities. Priority consideration should be given to requirements for technical and financial assistance or other actions that may be required to support the Committee's projects.

You will appreciate that Defense impacts vary widely and they pose a complex challenge for the affected communities and states. They also serve as a test of the ability of the Federal departments and agencies to provide effective assistance. I therefore expect you to review your agency's support of economic adjustment assistance projects with the objective of identifying improvements, wherever possible.

Recognizing that funding and property are two Federal resources most often required to resolve local impact problems, I have asked the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to (1) review arrangements for identification of economic adjustment resources in the budgets of appropriate Federal agency programs, and (2) work with the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration to ensure that Federal property procedures are streamlined to expedite the interim use and transfer of excess base properties for job-generating purposes at prices the impacted communities can afford to pay.

In addition, I have asked the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to review the adequacy of the arrangements for the implementation of this Executive Order. Your cooperation with the Secretary of Defense and the Director of OMB will enable us to implement necessary Defense changes and render more effective Federal assistance to those in need.

JIMMY CARTER