APPRNDIX B duly 7, 1949 Dear Mr. Steelman: This is in reply to your letter of June 6, 1949, requesting our corrionts on the preliminary report on Civil Defense Planning propared by the staff of the National Security Resources Board. Our comments on the report are confined at this time to those portions dealing with “wartime disaster relief” arainst radiologioal warfare. ‘The Cormission would, of course, also have an interest in the development of plans for “peace time disaster relief and “internal seourity." The report indicates, however, that recommendations eoncerning planning and the assignment of responsibilities in those arcas are to be made at a later date. We note the proposed assicnanat to the Federal Works Agency of primary planning responsibility in the immediate future for wartime disaster relief aid the listing of the Atomic Energy Commisaion as a participating apenoy in this planning program. Tho Commission will, of course, be glad to assist the Federal Yorks Agency in the fulfillment of its reponsibilitics. One of the first and most obvious responsibllities in a planning program will be a futher deternination of the scope of planning activitics. The Cormission feels that it can make an important oontribution to this determination by maxing avajlable to the Federal Works Agency technical information on which planning for disaster relief against radiological warfare must necessarily be based. The Commission can also mace a substantial contribution to civil defense plaming by a detailed study of these present activities of the Commission which, while related primarily to the Cotiasion's own prograns, have a bearing on civil defense plarrinz. This study is now being undertazen by tho Gommission and upon its completion we will be slad to make the rosults of the study available to the Federal Works Agonsy and to the National Security Resources Board. We would recommend to the Federal Yorks Asency and to the National Security Resources Board that similar studies of the prosent activities of other participating acencies be compiled. Pending the development of a more detailed definition of the scope of planning activities, the Cormission feels that long-term assignnents of responsibility should be cept as flexible az possible, The National Security Resouross Soard staff report (Part V Section 3c) recommends that the plaming adtivitios of Federal agencies assigned res- ponsibility under any of the planning programs be presented and justified separately in their budcpet documents, We anticipate that the Comaission's role in civil defense plaminrc will be in large measure one of supplying information to other agencies with primary responsibility for civil defense planning. There will, of course, be some aspects of planning, such as in DO ARCHIVES Lee