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7337427
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Notice regarding White House staff organization [Notice to Press]
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7337427
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document
title
Notice regarding White House staff organization [Notice to Press]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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7337427
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18
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1974-12-18
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12
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1974
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Digitized from Box 6 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 1974
Office of the White House Press Secretary
THE WHITE HOUSE
The White House staff organization announced in today's
briefing has been evolving since August 9. The working style
of this President is reflected in this arrangement. It 1m-
plements his concept of leadership and management of the Executive
Branch, and conforms to the way President Ford operates.
The President designed the organization with several
important objectives in mind:
1) To provide the Cabinet Officers, Agency Heads,
Members of Congress and Senior Staff members with access
to the President.
2) To limit the White House staff function to those
that must necessarily be performed within the White House.
The Cabinet and Agency heads will be relied upon to perform
all appropriate functions best performed by their organizations.
3) To achieve a clearly defined White House organization
in which staff responsibilities and functions are specifically
assigned.
4) To assure high ethical standards and behavior by his
staff.
5) To see that the White House is an effective working
part of the total governmental process and not unduly separated.
To accomplish these objectives, the President today is
making several announcements concerning the organizational
structure and procedures for the White House staff and those
staff bodies in the Executive Office of the President:
First, there are four Cabinet rank advisors who will be
available to the President on the full range of policy issues.
Each will also have staff responsibilities.
Second, nine key staff officers will report directly to
the President. They are:
An Assistant to the President for Management and Budget,
and Director of OMB;
An Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs, and
Executive Director of the Economic Policy Board,
L. William Seidman;
An Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs, and
Executive Director of the Domestic Council;
more
2
An Assistant to the President dealing with national
security affairs, Henry A. Kissinger;
An Assistant to the President heading the White House
Operations Office and with responsibility for coordina-
tion of White House staff operations, Donald Rumsfeld
A Counsellor to the President principally responsible for
congressional relations and public liaison, John O. Marsh, Jr.;
The Press Secretary to the President, Ronald H. Nessen
A Counsellor to the President principally responsible for
the Editorial Office and political affairs, Robert T.
Hartmann; and
The legal Counsel to the President, Philip W. Buchen.
Third, other staff members will, of course, also work
directly with the President.
These officers include the Assistant to the President for
Legislative Affairs, Max L. Friedersdorf; the Assistant to the
President for Public Liaison, William J. Baroody, Jr.; as well
as the Special Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs,
the Special Assistant to the President for Human Resources,
the Special Assistant to the President for Hispanic Affairs,
the Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs,
and the Special Assistant to the President for Women
among others.
Fourth, key staff members will have a deputy authorized to
act for him. It is hoped that this will allow the work at the
White House to go forward even though one or more senior
officials may be away from their office. Thus, no one individual
will be "indispensable" and this approach should help to
alleviate the excessively long hours which can prevent White
House staff members from leading reasonably balanced lives.
Fifth, titles of the White House staff positions have been
adjusted so that they will more clearly identify the function
performed by that position.
Sixth, the size of the White House Office is being reduced
by approximately ten percent.
Seventh, support services to the White House staff will be
reduced as appropriate to reflect the staff size and
responsibilities.
Eighth, the President's schedule is being arranged to
provide broad access to him by Cabinet members, agency heads,
members of the House and Senate and the public on matters in
which he is personally involved.
Ninth, the number of Presidential commissions issued will
be limited to staff members heading key offices or key functions.
These arrangements have been decided upon with the aim of
facilitating an orderly Presidential decision making process
while assuring the President of multiple sources of information.
Of course, the White House organization will continue to evolve.
# # # #