Office of the Historian

840.20/5–1249

Memorandum by the Secretary of State to the President

top secret
[Washington,] May 12, 1949.

Memorandum For The President

It is important that Congress act on the Military Assistance Program at this session. Failure to so act on the program would compromise seriously our leadership among free nations, result in the possible loss of the initiative which those nations have secured, and prejudice our entire foreign policy interests.

Senators Connally and Vandenberg feel that hearings on the program should not begin prior to final Senate action on the Atlantic Pact, which will probably be during the week of June 13. Representative McCormack1 has concurred in this view. This would mean that the Senate would not be able to complete action on the program until after the first of July.

This creates a special problem in connection with the program for Greece and Turkey, since the present authorization expires June 30, 1949. While it might be possible to obtain separate authorization for military assistance to Greece and Turkey for the next fiscal year, this procedure might well prejudice the enactment of authorization for military assistance for the North Atlantic Pact countries and other areas at this session of Congress.

To avoid this prejudice, the Greek-Turkish situation can be met before final action on the Military Assistance Program by the Congress by a deficiency appropriation of $50 million, which is possible under the existing authorization, together with an extension of the time for obligating and expending the $10 to $11 million which will remain of the present appropriation. This would carry the Greek-Turkish program until August 30th.

This procedure would require that to maintain the Military Assistance Program for Greece and Turkey without a damaging break in the furnishing of such assistance, the entire Military Assistance Program would have to be enacted before August 31, 1949. However, entirely apart from the Greek-Turkish situation, I feel that it is essential for our over-all foreign policy interests that the Military Assistance Program be enacted before that date.

Recommendation:

I therefore recommend that you inform the leadership of:

(a)
The urgent necessity of legislative action on the Military Assistance Program at this session prior to August 31, 1949;
(b)
The need to seek now a deficiency appropriation of $50 million, an extension of time for obligating and expending existing funds for Greece and Turkey, to carry that program until August 31, 1949, pending enactment of the Military Assistance Program;

and obtain their support for this schedule.2

D[ean] A[cheson]
  1. John W. McCormack, Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives.↩
  2. In a memorandum of May 12, not printed, Acheson recorded that the President approved these recommendations and the suggestion that the Military Assistance Program should not be presented to the Congress until after ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty. (840.20/5–1249)↩