Editorial Note
President Truman, on June 5, signed into law the Foreign Economic Assistance Act of 1950. Title III of the Act authorized the appropriation of a sum not to exceed $27,450,000 for aid to Palestinian refugees. The White House, on June 5, released a statement by the President, which stated in pertinent part: “I am especially glad that the Congress has taken action with respect to the problem of the Arab refugees from Palestine. The program authorized in this bill carries out the recommendations of the United Nations Economic Survey Mission for the Near East, headed by Mr. Gordon Clapp. This program has been drawn up in the light of the serious problems facing the Palestine refugees, and with the economic potential of the Near East in mind. Successful development in this area will make an obvious contribution to the maintenance of peace. To achieve this aim, we shall need the cooperation of other members of the United Nations, who have expressed their interest in the problems of the Arab world. We shall count also, on the continued work of private agencies. Government programs will supplement, but not replace, their work.”
The United States Mission at the United Nations had released on June 1 a statement by Ambassador Warren R. Austin after congressional action on the Foreign Economic Assistance Act of 1950. The full texts of the statements by President Truman and Ambassador Austin are printed in the Department of State Bulletin, June 26, 1950, pages 1042 and 1043.
For documentation on the activities of the Economic Survey Mission, see Foreign Relations, 1949, volume VI, pages 594 ff.