JURISDICTION OVER FEDERAL AREAS WITHIN THE STATES,

and subtitled

REPORT OF THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE STUDY OF JURISDICTION OVER FEDERAL AREAS WITHIN THE STATES, which was published in two volumes by the United States printing office.

"The White House,

Washington, April 27, 1956.

Dear Mr. Attorney General: I am herewith returning to you, so that it may be published and receive the widest possible distribution among those interested in Federal real property matters, part I of the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee for the Study of Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States. I am impressed by the well-planned effort which went into the study underlying this report and by the soundness of the recommendations which the report makes.

It would seem particularly desirable that the report be brought to the attention of the Federal administrators of real properties, who should be guided by it in matters related to legislative jurisdiction, and to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and appropriate State officials, for their consideration of necessary legislation. I hope that you will see to this. I hope, also, that the General Services Administration will establish as soon as may be possible a central source of information concerning the legislative jurisdictional status of Federal properties and that that agency, with the Bureau of the Budget and the Department of Justice, will maintain a continuing and concerted interest in the progress made by all Federal agencies in adjusting the status of their properties in conformity with the recommendations made in the report.

The members of the Committee and the other officials, Federal and State, who participated in the study, have my appreciation and congratulations on this report. I hope they will continue their good efforts so that the text of the law on the subject of legislative jurisdiction which is planned as a supplement will issue as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Eisenhower.

-----

The Honorable Herbert Brownell, Jr.,

The Attorney General, Washington, D. C."

and

LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The White House,

Washington, July 8, 1957.

Dear Mr. Attorney General: I have taken note of the final report (Part II) which you transmitted to me, rendered by the Interdepartmental Committee for the Study of Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States. It is my understanding that the report is to be published and distributed, for the purpose of making available to Federal administrators of real property, Federal and State legislators, the legal profession, and others, this text of the law of legislative jurisdiction in these areas. In view of the fact that the work of the Committee is completed, and since other Departments and agencies of the Government now have clear direction for turning this work into permanent gains in improved Federal-State relations, the Interdepartmental Committee for the Study of Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States is hereby dissolved.

Chairman Perry W. Morton and the members of this Committee have my congratulations and sincere appreciation of their service to our country in bringing to light the facts and law in this much neglected field. This monumental work, culminating three years of exhaustive effort, lays an excellent foundation for allocating to the States some of the functions which under our Federal-State system should properly be performed by State Governments.

Sincerely,

Dwight Eisenhower

The Honorable Herbert Brownell, Jr.,

The Attorney General,

Washington, D. C.

-----

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Office of the Attorney General,

Washington, D.C., June 28, 1957.

Dear Mr. President: The Interdepartmental Committee for the Study of Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States now has submitted the second, and final, part of its report, a text of the law of legislative jurisdiction over such areas. This exhaustive and analytical exposition of the law in this hitherto little explored field is a valuable supplement to the first part of the report, the compilation of facts, with recommendations, which received your commendation in April 1956, and constitutes a major addition to legal bibliography. Together, the two parts of this committee's report and the full implementation of its recommendations will provide a basis for reversing in many areas the swing of "the pendulum of power * * * from our states to the central government" to which you referred in your address to the Conference of State Governors on June 25, 1957.

The excellence of the work of the Committee reflects great credit upon its Chairman and members. Also especially noteworthy is the splendid assistance which the Committee received from the attorneys general of the several States, the general counsels of Federal agencies, and other State and Federal officials. With the submission of this second part of its report the Committee has completed its work and recommends that it be dissolved. Since the Departments and other permanent agencies of the Federal Government now can carry out directions which you have issued based upon the work of the Committee, I join in this recommendation.

Respectfully,

Herbert Brownell, Jr.

-----

LETTER OF SUBMISSION

INTERDEPARTMENTAL, COMMITTEE FOR THE STUDY OF JURISDICTION

OVER FEDERAL AREAS WITHIN THE STATES

June 17, 1957.

Dear MR. Attorney General: With the encouragement of the President, the understanding aid of you and the heads of the other Federal agencies represented on the Committee, and the invaluable assistance of the Attorneys General of the several States and of the principal law officers of nearly all Federal agencies, the Committee now has completed, and herewith submits, the final portion of its report, subtitled "Part II, A Text of the Law of Legislative Jurisdiction." This "Part II" supplements the portion of the Committee's report which you transmitted to the President on April 27, 1956. With its submission the work assigned to the Committee has been completed, and it is recommended that the Committee be dissolved.

Respectfully submitted,

PERRY W. MORTON,

Assistant Attorney General (Chairman).

ROBERT DECHERT,

General Counsel, Department of Defense (Vice Chairman).

HENRY H. PIKE,

Associate General Counsel, General Services Administration

(Secretary).

ARTHUR B. FOCKE,

Legal Advisor, Bureau of the Budget.

ELMER F. BENNETT.

Solicitor, Department of the Interior.

ROBERT L. FARRINGTON,

General Counsel, Department of Agriculture.

PARKE M. BANTA,

General Counsel, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

GUY H. BIRDSALL,

General Counsel, Veterans' Administration.