Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file, Administration series
Notes on the Legislative Leadership Meeting Held at the White House, December 13, 19541
- The following were present:
- President Eisenhower
- Vice President Nixon
- Sen. Knowland
- Sen. Bridges
- Sen. Millikin
- Sen. Saltonstall
- Sen. Ferguson
- Speaker Martin
- Rep. Halleck
- Rep. Arends
- Rep. Allen
- Gov. Adams
- Gen. Persons
- Mr. Shanley
- Mr. Hagerty
- Mr. Snyder
- Mr. Morgan
- Mr. Randall
- Mr. Jack Martin
- Mr. Harlow
- Mr. Gruenther
- Dr. Hauge
- Mr. Minnich
- Sec. Dulles
- Asst. Sec. Thruston Morton
- Sec. Humphrey
- Sec. Wilson
- Asst. Sec. McNeil
- Asst. Sec. Carter Burgess
- Asst. Sec. Seaton
- Asst. Sec. Struve Hensel
- Mr. Summerfield
- Asst. PMG Lyons
- Mr. Ben Guill
- Sec. Benson
- Sec. Mitchell
- Sec. Hobby
- Under Sec. Rockefeller
- Asst. Sec. Perkins
- Director Hughes, Budget
- Mr. Brundage
- Gov. Stassen, FOA
- Chrm. Young, CSC
- Mr. Albert Cole, HHFA
- Dr. Milton Eisenhower
The President opened the meeting by noting that the past year had left much unfinished business, which would constitute a large [Page 218] part of the program for the coming year, and that there would not be a great deal of material new to the Leaders. He felt the task of getting a program through would be more difficult because of Democratic control of the Congress, that there would have to be some experimentation on procedures in dealing with this new situation, but that it was helpful to have already developed pretty well procedures for doing business among Republicans.
[Here follow the President’s comments relating to the topics to be covered, followed by discussion of various budgetary, foreign policy, defense, and mutual security issues. For text of the section on mutual security, see page 810.]
Trade Program—Mr. Randall stated that the 1954 proposal for extending the Reciprocal Trade Act and related items would be resubmitted with a few minor revisions. He quickly reviewed some of the items in the program, stressing the problem of Japanese trade. In this connection, he noted some peril point hearings currently underway, and how sensitive the Japanese are to every single one of these proceedings. Mr. Millikin asked whether the action re Japan would be by quotas or by revisions of rates. Mr. Randall said it was undecided, and the President stressed the need for doing something.
Mr. Millikin then opened a lengthy discussion over GATT. He thought it very important to iron out the status of that organization prior to action on Reciprocal Trade. Also, he suggested an alternative of “trading out” rather than providing a particular authority to the President. When Mr. Randall suggested it might be best to keep details of the bill “off the floor” Sen. Knowland asserted that inclusion of such a provision was not the way to keep details off the floor. Mr. Randall then agreed it might have to be cleaned up a bit, and he appreciated Sen. Millikin’s strong convictions. He pointed out, however, that the President instructs the State Department on what lines to carry on negotiations and he felt the President had to have that power.
(The President departed for lunch with the Shah.)
Mr. Halleck stated how difficult it would be to enlist Republican support for this bill, and he inquired whether the bill could be made “any easier to love” or was it already set at an irreducible minimum. Randall replied that the whole program had been reviewed after Congress adjourned, and that this now was at the minimum. Sen. Knowland thereupon spoke of how the great value of these leadership meetings lay in their use for reconciling divergent views, how foreign trade was essentially a Congressional matter although some of its authority had been delegated to the Executive, and how the required votes were to be found in the Congress rather than in the Commission which had advanced this program. [Page 219] He thought that the proposal ought to be adjusted somewhat along the lines suggested by Millikin if there was any value in having the advice of the leaders, and he thought that Mr. Randall ought to keep his own mind flexible for these discussions as well. Mr. Randall replied that his task was to present the recommendations in which he believed, and that it was a different matter as to what the President and the leaders concluded after that presentation was once made. Mr. Knowland repeated that he and his associates were trying to get to a meeting of the minds so that the Executive and the Party majority would not be taking opposite positions.
Mr. Halleck thought perhaps it would be best to eliminate this item from the agenda for the next day. Gov. Adams suggested that further discussion be postponed until the afternoon session when the President would again be at hand. The discussion was then concluded as Mr. Morgan repeated that the bill was the same as in the preceding session, and as Mr. Randall assured Sen. Millikin that the Congress would not be approving GATT by its action on this proposal. Mr. Halleck said he would go along as necessary now that he understood it was the same bill as last year.
[Here follows discussion of several miscellaneous issues, after which the meeting adjourned for lunch. It reconvened at 2:55 p.m. with President Eisenhower present.]
Reciprocal Trade—The President said he had been informed of the discussion that followed his departure prior to lunch. As for GATT, he understood that our negotiating group had been given clear instructions that everything new would have to be submitted to the Congress before taking effect. He recalled that the Randall program had been thrashed out last year. Even while he recognized that many differences of opinion existed, he wanted to emphasize that this was very much a part of the program in which he believed and which he represented. Noting that the United States spends billions in arms, he asserted that all such money would be inadequate to what we need unless we do something to enable some of our allies to make a living; and we could do that without ruining our own country. He concluded by describing the Randall proposal as essentially a middle of the road approach.
Sen. Millikin explained that he did not object to the advisory and consultative functions of GATT, but he wanted no part of regulation by a supra-national authority to which the Senate had repeatedly objected. The power belonged to the Congress, not to a supra-national body. The President said this was the first time he had ever heard the GATT procedures being challenged, and if there was something wrong with them, they ought to be re-examined. [Page 220] Millikin repeated that GATT had never been submitted to Congress, that the Senate caveats had always been ignored.
Mr. Randall assured the group that the Attorney General was keeping in close touch with the GATT negotiations and would be able to insure protection against any improper supra-national arrangement. Mr. Randall received approval for limiting his presentation to the bipartisan, group the next day to a simple statement of the proposal being resubmitted. The President thought Randall ought add a short statement about the Japanese trade problem. The discussion concluded as Millikin joshingly urged Randall to leave the Congress some elbow-room, and Randall replied in kind about the big elbows of the Congress!
[Here follows discussion of the highway program and other unrelated issues.]