U.S. government agency (1933–39).
It was established as part of the New Deal to reduce unemployment through the construction of highways and public buildings. Authorized by the National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) and administered by Harold Ickes, it spent about $4 billion to build schools, courthouses, city halls, public-health facilities, and roads, bridges, dams, and subways. It was gradually dismantled as the country moved to a military-industrial economy during World War II.