893.50 Recovery/7–2848
President Truman to the Secretary of State
Washington, July 28, 1948.
My Dear Mr. Secretary: My letter of June 2, 1948, addressed to you concerning the provision of additional aid to China as authorized by Section 404(b) of the China Aid Act of 1948 is amended to read in pertinent part as follows:
“It is my desire that the grants to China under this Section of the Act, which grants are hereby made, shall be under the following procedure:
- 1.
- The Chinese Government will from time to time submit to the Department of State requests for payment with respect to commodities or services procured or ordered by it, supported by purchase orders, contracts, invoices or other appropriate documentation evidencing the transactions.
- 2.
- The Department of State will examine the documentation submitted by the Chinese Government to determine that the request is [Page 125] not in excess of the total represented by the supporting data and will authorize the Treasury to make the appropriate payments to the Chinese Government. The Treasury Department shall make the payments in accordance with such authorization.
- 3.
- In those cases in which the Chinese Government wishes to arrange for the procurement or furnishing of supplies or services by any department, agency, or establishment of the United States Government, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State as to the availability of funds prior to the procurement or furnishing of such supplies or services and pursuant to Sections 403 and 113(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948, such department, agency, or establishment is authorized to submit to the Department of State requests for reimbursement of appropriations or for advance payments. On the basis of such requests, the Department of State will authorize the Treasury Department to make reimbursements or advance payments to such department, agency, or establishment.
- 4.
- The Secretary of State will request from the Chinese Government monthly reports showing in as much detail as possible the purposes for which expenditures have been made out of the funds provided to it under the authority of Section 404(b) of the Act.”
Attached is a copy of my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury83 advising him of this decision.
Sincerely yours,
Harry S. Truman
- United States Relation With China, p. 950.↩