256. Editorial Note
President Eisenhower briefly mentioned the Mutual Security Program in his May 2 address, terming it “one of the greatest programs through which the United States can lead toward world peace.” That evening, the President gave a major speech on the program at a dinner sponsored by the Committee for International Growth and the Committee to Strengthen the Frontiers of Freedom. For the texts, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960–61, pages 374–378, and American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pages 836–841, respectively. The President also transmitted a report on the Mutual Security Program to the Congress on May 2; for the text, see Report to Congress on the Mutual Security Program for the First Half of Fiscal Year 1960 (Department of State Publication 6950).
The following day, Eisenhower sent the Congress a special message urging action on certain legislation, including the administration’s fiscal year 1961 Mutual Security appropriations request; for the text, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960–61, pages 385–394. Authorizing legislation for the appropriation, H.R. 11510, was in conference.
On May 6, House and Senate conferees reported a compromise version of the bill which cut $88.7 million from the President’s request. (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Selected Executive Session Hearings of the Committee, 1957–60, vol. XXI, Mutual Security Program, Part 8 (Washington, 1987), pages 581–601) That day, Bryce Harlow, Eisenhower’s Deputy Assistant for Congressional Affairs, reported he had spoken with Speaker of the House Rayburn about the Mutual Security bill, and suggested the President invite Rayburn to the White House to talk about it. Eisenhower agreed. Acting Secretary of State Dillon, who had been discussing other matters with the President, volunteered to provide a memorandum on the effects a $1 billion or $1.5 billion reduction would have on the program. (Memorandum of conference with the President, May 7; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries. Dillon’s paper is ibid., Dulles–Herter Series, Herter—May 1960.)
Eisenhower met with Rayburn at 5:30 p.m., May 9:
“The President asked the Speaker’s cooperation and advice in dealing with the implacable resistance of Congressman Otto Passman to the mutual security program. At the President’s direction I briefly presented the consequences certain to ensue should there be a massive reduction in mutual security appropriations for Fiscal Year 1961.
[Page 499]“It was pointed out to the Speaker that the ‘pipeline’ is now so severely reduced that a cut of a billion dollars or more would unavoidably fall mainly on force modernization in the military assistance part of the program—and that this would mainly hit NATO and certain countries in Asia.
“The Speaker stressed the effectiveness of Passman’s criticisms of administrative errors in the program. The President quickly conceded that errors are bound to occur in a program of this character and magnitude but that these cannot be allowed to destroy the entire effort. It was pointed out to the Speaker that prior reductions have not crippled the program because funds still remaining in the pipeline have tided the program over the successive reductions—a process no longer feasible because of the consumption of the pipeline these past few years.
“The Speaker stated to the President that he would ‘do his best’ to get the highest possible figure for mutual security but gave no more specific assurance than this, and this assertion was coupled with the reiteration of the great difficulties in handling the program this year.” (Memorandum for the record by Harlow, May 10; ibid., Eisenhower Diaries)