Grace Commission
Investigation to eliminate inefficiency in the United States federal government

The Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (PSSCC), commonly referred to as the Grace Commission, was an investigation requested by United States President Ronald Reagan, authorized in Executive Order 12369 on June 30, 1982. In doing so, President Reagan used the now famous phrase, "Drain the swamp". The survey's focus was on eliminating waste and inefficiency in the United States federal government. Businessman J. Peter Grace chaired the commission. Reagan asked the members of that commission to "Be bold. We want your team to work like tireless bloodhounds. Don't leave any stone unturned in your search to root out inefficiency."
“Grace Commission” enters the record as investigation to eliminate inefficiency in the United States federal government. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Grace, Commission and Investigation can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Grace Commission” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Grace, Commission and Investigation provides the most credible route into that argument.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The first chronological checks are 1982.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Grace Commission”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Grace Commission primary sources, Grace Commission archive and Grace research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Grace Commission”?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
- Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Grace Commission” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.