378. Personal Memorandum from Bundy to Rusk, May 251
I would like to put in one more word about the organization of the AID agency, and in particular the rank and salary of its Administrator and four Regional Directors.
Two propositions seem to me fundamental about AID. One is that it should be under the Secretary of State, and the other is that it should command the best possible talent. The first point, which has been much debated in the past, now seems settled in everyone’s mind. Not only is it clear that the Administration will be in the Department—it is [Typeset Page 1599] crystal clear that you as Secretary will have direct authority and responsibility and can exercise it through any staff officer you choose. This is parallel to the decisions being made about Disarmament.
But this is only half the battle. We shall soon need to recruit half a dozen men of the highest quality for AID. It is the universal judgment of men close to this kind of talent that this will be just about impossible if the Administrator cannot rank with the Under Secretary, and the Regional Directors with the Assistant Secretaries. This “with” should be “with, but after,” and in no case should the title of Under Secretary or Assistant Secretary be used. It is, oddly enough, salary that is decisive in terms of prestige; we can get men at $20,000 that we cannot touch at $19,000. And for the agency as a whole, the extra $500 for the Administrator will be worth millions in morale.
I understand and share your conviction that The Under Secretary must be the Secretary’s alter ego and full deputy. It seems to me that this is a standing and a role which, with your support, any Under Secretary can always fulfill, as long as no one actually outranks him. All the cards are in his hand as long as you put them there.
Finally, let me say only that the whole concept of foreign aid is both so important and so hard to defend, that we ought to give its soldiers the very best send-off we can. They will surely need it as time goes by.
I have had a word with Bob Lovett on this general topic, and I think that in general he agrees with the views of this memorandum, which is not an official document but a personal note.
- Organization of AID. No classification marking. 1 p. Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Departments and Agencies Series, AID, 1/61–12/61, Box 268.↩