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- Banking. FDR ordered a closing of all banks on
March 5 and got passage of the Emergency Banking Relief Act
(March 9) which licensed the reopening of only healthy banks and
brought government into banking to deal with the bank failures. The Banking
Act (June 16) established the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, the FDIC
- Government Costs. The Economy Act
(March 20) slashed salaries for Federal workers, veterans' benefits and
otherwise cut costs.
- Joblessness. The Unemployment Relief Act
(March 31) establishes Civilian Conservation Corps, the CCC
aimed an providing Federal employment to jobless youth, employing half
a million two years later on sopil reclamation, parks and other
projects.
- Farming. The Agricultural Adjustment Act
(May 12) established Federal subsidies to insure farm prices without
radically interferring in market matters, but the Supreme Court
declared it unconstitutional (1936). In addition, the Tennesse
Valley Authority (May 18) planned the Federal construction of dams
on the Tennessee and Cumberland river to bring rural electrification to
the poorest region of the country.
The Federal Farm Bankruptcy Act (1934) continued
these efforts to maintain family farming. Funding State/Local Relief
- Federal Relief. The Federal Emergency
Relief Act (May 12) established funds for distribution to state and
local attempts to deal with the effects of the
depression; headed by Harry Hopkins, a colorful ex-social
worker important
in "the Brain Trust".
- The Stock Market. The Federal Securities
Act (May 27) made corporate executives responsible for providing
the FTC full inofrmation on stock and personally liable for
miresrepresentations of securities issued, extended with the
establishment of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the
SEC
(1934) as Federal watchdogs on the market.
- Housing. Through the Home Owners'
Refinancing Act (June 13), the Federal authorities helped
underwrite low interest loans to homeowners in towns and cities,
extended through the Home Owners' Loan Act (1934); the Farm
Credit
Act (June 16) did the same for farmers.
- The National Industrial Recovery
Act (June 16) establishes a National Recovery Administration
to oversee relief and recovery efforts; the NRA included a Public
Works
Administration; in contrast to Hopkins who sought to get into
circulation
as much money as possible quickly, "Honest Harold" Ickes of the
PWA
left much of the relief undistributed as his agency painstakingly
reviewed
every proposed project. The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional
(1935).
Subsequent Measures
After his experience working through state agencies, Hopkins convinced
other New Dealers of the necessity for direct Federal aid to
individuals, establishing a temporary Civil Works Administration
(Nov. 1933), bolstered
by the Civil Works Emergency Relief Act (1934). The
Communications
Act (1934) established a Federal Communications Commission,
the
FCC to licence use of the air waves
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