Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXXIII, Organization and Management of Foreign Policy; United Nations

135. Report Prepared in the Department of State¹

Washington, June 20, 1968.

SUMMARY REPORT OF ACTION TAKEN ON HERTER COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

Rec No.	Gist of Recommendations	Action Taken	Legislation Required
1.	Strengthen the Department’s capacity to assist the President in providing leadership and coordination in foreign affairs.	No specific action indicated.
2.	Establish a new position of Executive Under Secretary of State as third ranking officer in the Department responsible for assuring that resources of the Department and other principal foreign affairs agencies are giving maximum support to the Secretary in his leadership and coordinating role in foreign affairs. As a consequence, consolidate the present positions of Deputy Under Secretary for Administration and Assistant Secretary for Administration under either title.	No action taken to establish position of Executive Under Secretary. See NSAM 341 of March, 2, 1966, re responsibilities of Secretary of State in foreign affairs. Position of Assistant Secretary for Administration abolished in July, 1965.	Yes
3.	Develop a system for translating foreign policy objectives into projected programs to be used as a basis for estimating future personnel and other needs.	A “Comprehensive Country Programming System”(CCPS) was developed and installed in selected posts in Latin America, Africa, and Europe on a trial basis. This programming system covered programs of all civilian agencies in the country. After a trial of more than a year it was abandoned. The PPBS system involves a similar concept, but on a broader basis. This system is being used experimentally in two of the Department’s bureaus by agreement with BOB.	No
4.	Provide a career Foreign Information Service for permanent professional personnel in overseas informational and cultural activities comparable to that of the Foreign Service Officer Corps.	USIA has attempted on several occasions to obtain passage of career service legislation. In 1964 the Secretary of State and the Director of USIA signed an agreement under which USIA Career Reserve officers would be given lateral entry appointments as FSO’s. In 1965 a USIA lateral entry nomination list was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but was not voted on by the Senate. In 1965 the Hays bill was passed by the House. USIA was covered under the provisions of the Hays bill. In 1966 both the Hays bill and the USIA lateral entry nomination list were considered by Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and both failed to be approved. In 1967 USIA submitted a new bill providing for a career service comparable to the FSO corps. This bill was passed by the Senate in 1968 and is pending action by the House.2	Yes
5.	Provide a career Foreign Development Service for core professional personnel of the foreign aid and development programs. Exclude from this group specialized and technical personnel employed on a project basis. Assure that present personnel are screened on the basis of an appropriate in-service examination.	The Hays Bill included career service provisions for AID. AID has not proposed separate career legislation since the Hays Bill failed enactment.	Yes
6.	The Foreign Service, the Foreign Information Service, and the Foreign Development Service should constitute a family of compatible services governed by uniform statutory provisions regarding personnel management, substantial uniformity in personnel policies and conditions of service, joint conduct of personnel operations where possible, systematic exchange and transfer of personnel, and filling top posts by personnel drawn from all three services.	The Hays Bill included provisions for a uniform statutory framework for the personnel systems of State, AID and USIA. Other items in this recommendation were substantially implemented by administrative action: A joint State-AID-USIA board has been in operation for several years to achieve maximum uniformity of regulations. Joint or compatible personnel policies are developed whenever feasible. Exchanges of personnel and the staffing of key positions by officers from one of the other two agencies have been increased in each of the three agencies.	Yes
7.	Establish an interagency Board of Foreign affairs Personnel to assist in achieving parallel personnel policies and joint personnel operations. This Board should be chaired by the proposed Executive Under Secretary of State and should include representatives from State, AID, USIA and the Civil Service Commission, and such additional members from other Federal agencies as the Secretary determines appropriate, such as the Departments of Commerce and Labor. The new Board should replace the present Board of the Foreign Service. Its functions should be advisory, but should include periodic assessment of senior career personnel of all three agencies for the purpose of making recommendations to the Secretary for promotion to career minister and career ambassador and of preparing rosters to be used by agency heads in filling executive and other high-level positions in all three agencies. Each agency head should have primary responsibility for personnel actions affecting individual employees.	Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1965 abolished the statutorily established Board of the Foreign Service. By Executive Order 11264 of December 31, 1965, the President reestablished the Board of the Foreign Service with expanded membership which includes CSC, USIA and AID.	Yes
8.	Bring present Civil Service employees of the three agencies within the structure of the foreign affairs service but do not require them to serve abroad. Stress availability for overseas service in future recruitment. Work out appropriate agreements with the Civil Service Commission to insure harmonious personnel relationships.	The Hays Bill included provisions for the voluntary transfer of Civil Service employees of State, AID and USIA to the Foreign Service without obligation to serve abroad. In 1965 the Department and the Civil Service Commission concluded an interchange agreement providing for the transfer of career personnel between the Foreign Service and Civil Service systems by non-competitive appointment. EO 11219, May 6, 1965 formed the basis of the interchange agreement. USIA has concluded a similar agreement.	Yes

[Omitted here is the report of action taken on recommendations 9–43. Recommendations 35–43 related to AID and were not discussed in the report.]

1. Source: Johnson Library, Administrative Histories, The Department of State During the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, Vol. II, Documentary Supplement, The Foreign Affairs Personnel System. No classification marking. The Committee on Foreign Affairs Personnel, known as the Herter Committee and chaired by former Secretary of State Christian Herter, was organized in 1961 at Rusk’s request. Although unofficial and privately sponsored, it worked in close association with State Department officials. Its recommendations were included in its report, Personnel for the New Diplomacy (New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1962). For more information on the Herter Committee and implementation of its recommendations, see The Department of State During the Administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, vol. I, chapter 2D, Efforts to Establish a Unified Foreign Affairs Personnel System, prepared in 1968 by Clifford Hailey of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Affairs Personnel Planning; and John Ensor Harr, The Professional Diplomat (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969), especially pp. 76 ff.
2. The bill, S. 633, became law on August 20, 1968, as PL 90–494 (82 Stat. 810).