Office of the Historian

466. Letter From the Secretary of State to the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee (Hayden)1

Washington, July 17, 1956.

Dear Mr. Chairman: As you know the Senate Appropriations Committee has included in its report the following language:

“The committee directs that none of the funds provided in this act shall be used for assistance in connection with the construction of the Aswan Dam, nor shall any of the funds heretofore provided under the Mutual Security Act as amended be used on this dam without prior approval of the Committee on Appropriations.”2

I am concerned by statements which I have seen in the press as to the reported background of this statement and as to the commitments which I am said to have made to the Committee on this subject. I would like to be certain that before the bill is acted on in the Senate there is no misunderstanding as to what assurance I actually gave.

You will recall that this matter was discussed at some length during my appearance before the Committee on June 19 and I was asked to give an assurance that the Committee would have an opportunity to consider the matter further before the United States Government made any commitment of funds to this project. I replied that I could not give such an assurance at that time because the United States is not alone in this project, the United Kingdom and the International Bank also being interested in it. I added that I would consult on this matter and see what I could properly do having regard to the fact that the United States has these partners in the project.

On June 26, I sent you a letter assuring “that none of the funds which may be appropriated for Fiscal Year 1957 will be committed to finance the Aswan Dam without specific prior consultation with the Committee”. A copy of this letter is enclosed.3

I think I should make clear that the Executive Department of the Government would not feel bound by the language in the Senate Appropriations Committee report.

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I should appreciate your taking whatever action is appropriate to make certain there is no misunderstanding on this matter. Sincerely yours,

John Foster Dulles4
  1. Source: Department of State, S/S–NEA Files: Lot 61 D 417, Omega #9.↩
  2. Reference is to U.S. Congress, Senate. Committee on Appropriations, Report No. 2579, “Mutual Security Appropriation Bill, 1957”, July 14, 1956. 84th Cong., 2d sess., p. 6.↩
  3. Not printed. (Department of State, Central Files, 874.2614/6–2656)↩
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.↩