Oral history transcript, Frank M. Wozencraft, interview 7 (VII), 2/25/1969, by T.H. Baker

Title:

Oral history transcript, Frank M. Wozencraft, interview 7 (VII), 2/25/1969, by T.H. Baker

Number of Pages:

37

Description:

The Plan of Reorganization Act of 1945; LBJ's plan to merge the Bureau of Narcotics from the Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) into one bureau under the Department of Justice; why the bureaus were separate; whose idea it was to merge the bureaus under Justice; HEW's, Treasury's, and Justice's response to the proposal; why the bureaus were not merged under the FBI; Joseph Califano's expectation of support for the plan; the Office of Legal Counsel's role in approving the plan of reorganization and drafting the executive order; constitutional arguments for and against the Plan of Reorganization Act; the new joint organization director's pay grade; the Civil Service Commission's response to the addition of three super-grade positions in the reorganization plan; Wozencraft's role explaining the reorganization to members of Congress; support for the reorganization from the Senate but not from the House of Representatives; Wozencraft's work with the Democrats and Republicans on the Government Operations Committee; the opinion of Treasury and HEW administrators; House subcommittee hearings; Congressman Jack Edwards and Johns Erlenborn's initiation of a floor fight on the issue of reorganization; congressional voting patterns; Wozencraft's meeting with Congresswoman Margaret Heckler; getting Wilbur Mills' support for the reorganization; House of Representative reorganization supporters John McCormack, Chet Holifield, and John Blatnik; opposition to Ramsey Clark and the administration in general; the House voting process; Ogden Reid's final vote after the reorganization had passed; organization of the new bureau with John Ingersoll as director; corruption in regional offices; opposition from Tom Steed and Silvio Conte; the congressional process and need for reorganization.

Contributor:

Wozencraft, Frank M.

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with Frank M. Wozencraft

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details