172. Memorandum of Conference With President Eisenhower0
OTHERS PRESENT
- Secretary Dillon
- General Goodpaster
[Here follows discussion of an unrelated matter.]
Mr. Dillon next referred to proposals and questions regarding the Development Loan Fund, and specifically to Senator Fulbright’s suggestion for a five-year commitment of $1.5 billion per year, with the Fund to be financed like the Export-Import Bank. Mr. Dillon said that he had told the Congress the Administration had planned to raise the matter next year, with another year’s experience to draw upon. When pressed he had said that State favored the proposal, although he could not say what the Administration position would be. Now, however, he has reached agreement with Mr. Stans and Secretary Anderson on taking a position generally as follows: The President does not take a position on proposals not in his program until the specific legislation comes before him; however, on the basic idea of the Fulbright suggestion the Administration favors the long-range basis for the Development Loan Fund, and would have no objection to the appropriation of $1.5 billion for it, it being clearly understood that there is no commitment that that amount would be expended each year.
[Page 329]The President said his idea on the Development Loan Fund would be for an amount of approximately $5 billion in “no year” money constituting a revolving fund. The Executive Branch would advise Congress each year how much it planned to spend, and also what their projection would be for the following year.
The President said that he viewed foreign development not primarily as competition for the United States, but as the building up of markets, standards of living and foreign wage levels, all of which would increase the demand for U.S. products and reduce the wage differentials as between the U.S. and foreign labor. He thought the Development Loan Fund should be made a regular banking program. He recognized that there is one difficult point, in that we now prefer not to finance it by selling bonds to the Treasury, although this was our proposal two years ago. Mr. Dillon said we can simply report that we have changed our minds on this. He added that he thought a proposal along these lines should be made next year if the Fulbright proposals do not go through during this Congress and the President indicated agreement.
[Here follows discussion of an unrelated matter.]
Brigadier General, USA
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries. No classification marking. Drafted by Goodpaster on May 22.↩