He helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt wager with members of Congress to support the Fair Labor Standards Act.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Lawton to a term on the United States Civil Service Commission after he left the Bureau; he served from 1953 to 1963.

He opposed a number of plans in Congress, including a fair trade bill and attempts to decentralize the federal offices in Washington, D.C., to other areas of the country.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt used Lawton to build support Fair Labor Standards Act in the United States Congress.

Once there, Lawton was to put into the budget whatever pork barrel projects the Congressmen required in order to buy a supporting vote for the bill.

[6] Lawton landed the job of adviser to the Senate Select Committee when the Senate asked for a liaison and expert from the Budget Bureau; Lawton himself speculated that he received the job because his post did not have specific estimates assigned to it, leaving him free for new duties.

[7] He received the job again upon vacation of Frank Pace, who was appointed the United States Secretary of the Army.

[10] However, as assistant director, he argued strongly against calls from Congress for large-scale budget cuts, claiming that such a thing would not be possible because of "fixed" expenses like paying down the public debt and giving promised veteran's benefits.

[12] Lawton called for reform within the Bureau of Internal Revenue, claiming that its "magnitude and complexity" required an overhaul.

[15] Lawton vocally opposed plans to decentralize the federal offices in Washington, D.C., spreading them throughout the country so that an enemy attack would not cripple the entire national government.

[19] After leaving the Bureau of Budget, Lawton became a member of the United States Civil Service Commission.