Office of Defense Mobilization
The Office of Defense Mobilization (ODM) was a defense procurement agency.
Composition
The office was led by a director. This position was appointed by the president with Senate approval.
History
Truman created the office in 1950 as a successor to the NSRB. Although the board had been created only three years earlier, it already become ineffectual, and Truman wanted a streamlined agency that could manage the U.S. national economy while he focused on the Korean War.
The office drastically intervened in the civilian economy:
- Commodities were declared federal property and rationed; diversion/theft of commodities resulted in cancellation of contracts
- Even for construction of buildings, purchases of steel required pre-approval
- Manufacturers were set quotas for munitions; failing to meet quota resulted in seizure
- Price controls were utilized to manage inflation
- CBS was banned from production of color televisions
Eisenhower reorganized the office under the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization in 1958.