Editorial Note

Throughout February and early March 1953, the National Security Council continued the review of basic national security policies in relation to their costs begun at the 131st meeting on February 11 (for a memorandum of discussion, see page 236). Briefings were given by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, and letters concerning the costs of policies were exchanged between the Director and the Secretary of the Treasury. Documentation on these activities is in the Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file, “NSC Minutes”, and in S/SNSC files, lot 63 D 351, NSC 142 Series.

At the 134th meeting of the NSC on February 25, the Council in Action No. 726–b “Agreed that each department and agency should review the figures on its program” for the current fiscal year; and in Action No. 726–c “Decided to establish an ad hoc committee of civilian consultants to the National Security Council to study and advise the Council on basic national security policies and programs in relation to their costs”. (S/SNSC (Miscellaneous) files, lot 66 D 95, “Records of Action by the National Security Council, 1953”)

At the 135th meeting of the NSC on March 4, the Council took Action No. 730 as follows:

  • “a. Agreed that the initial visit to Washington of the [Civilian] Consultants for this subject [review of national security policies in relation to costs] should be chiefly for briefing purposes, and they should then be asked to return at a later date to give their reactions to the preliminary views of the Council members when more fully developed.
  • “b. Noted a statement by the Director, Bureau of the Budget, regarding the assumptions underlying the budget outlook, and proposing the following assumptions as a basis for considering the security effects of approaching a balanced budget in FY 1954 and achieving a balanced budget in FY 1955:
    • “(1) That reductions in security programs other than military and mutual security will amount to about $.6 billion for each of the two years. This would allow total expenditures for those programs of $3.8 billion for 1954 and $3.6 billion for 1955.
    • “(2) That expenditures for the mutual security program can be held at the 1953 level of $5.5 billion for 1954 and be reduced to $4.0 billion for 1955. This would amount to a reduction in projected expenditures of $1.9 billion in 1954 and $4.0 billion in 1955.
    • “(3) That the remaining reduction ($4.3 billion in 1954 and $9.4 billion in 1955) would be applied to the military program, bringing it to $41.2 billion for 1954 and $34.6 billion in 1955.
  • “c. Noted that the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director for Mutual Security will submit to the Council by March [Page 245] 17 statements as to (1) the revisions in their respective programs which would be necessary to reduce them to the levels indicated in b above, and (2) the effects of these revisions in relation to currently approved national security policies and objectives.” (S/SNSC (Miscellaneous) files, lot 66 D 95, “Records of Action by the National Security Council, 1953”)