The records in this series are from Walker's work with the Executive Council and its successor, the National Emergency Council. The Executive Council, established in 1933, was comprised of cabinet members and agency heads who met weekly with the president to coordinate the administration's activities with governmental agencies. The NEC, which took over the duties of the Executive Council in 1934, had fewer members, was national in scope, and was concerned only with New Deal programs. Walker headed both councils while also taking on special assignments from Roosevelt to help pass the National Housing Act, establish the United States Information Service, and work closely with the NEC's Division of Applications and Information, the federal office that reviewed applications to the Works Relief Program. All of these special assignments are reflected in the records.
The files include correspondence and memoranda, minutes and agenda, reports, office logs of correspondence and telephone calls, applications for federal funding, reports on federal work projects, copies of Roosevelt's speeches, congressional testimony and copies of legislation, printed material, and clippings. Correspondents include the president and others in the White House, senators and members of Congress, state and local officials, lobbyists, job seekers, Democratic Party officials, businessmen affected by New Deal programs, and others. The records offer a detailed picture of Walker's role in the New Deal, especially as it related to the public works programs. The correspondence in this series also documents Walker's work for the Democratic Party in the areas of fundraising and patronage jobs. In addition to the records found in this series, letters concerning the NEC are also filed in the Correspondence Series, other speeches by Franklin Roosevelt can be found in the Speeches Series, and newspaper clippings on Walker's work with the NEC are part of the Scrapbook Series.