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MEMORANDUM TO ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL BALDRIDGE Res President's Power to Seize the Steel Industry The proposed Executive Order directing seimure of the steel industry purports to issue "by virtue of the povers invested in the President by the Constitution and lava of the United States." The purposes of this nemorandum are to consider which existing lavs or independent constitutional povers of the President are veilable to support the proposed order and to indicate which of these sources of power are likely to provide the most satisfactory support. There ere two main statutory bases for energency seisure of an industry: (1) Section 18 of the Selective Service Act of 1948, 50 U.S.C. App. 468, and (2) Title II of the Defense Production Act of 1950, 1 RS amended, 50 U.S.C. App. 2081. In addition, there exists a nonstatutory basis in the so-called inherent executive povers of the President, stemming directly from the Constitution. We conclude that neither of the above stetutory bases is entiraly desirable or fensible, and that the proposed order should therefore be defended on the besis of the inherent executive povers. The reasons for these conclusions are set forth in this memorandum. We discuss, in Point I, the statutory provisions and, in Foint II, the inherent povers, as they relate to the problems raised by the proposed order. I STATUTORY BASES FOR SEIZURE A. The #Utilization of Industry" Provisions of Section 18 of the Selective Service Act of 1948. TRUMAN The pertinent provisions of Section 18 of the Selective to "NATIONAL RECORDS ADMIN." A ARCHIVES A Service Aet of 1948, 50 U.S.C. App. 468 rend as follews: COVERANE (a) Whenever the President after consultation with and receiving advice from the National Security Resources Board determines that it is in the interest of the national security for the Covernment to obtain prompt delivery of any articles or materials the procurement of which has been authorized by the Congress xclusively for the uso of the armed forces of the United States, or for the use of 1 A pasaille additional statutory basis for netion is to be found in the enorgeney injunction provisions of the Act. These provisions are considered in a separate memorandus.

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