388. Letter from Rusk to Freeman, August 31
I regret the delay in replying to your letter of May 25, following our discussion at Cabinet that morning on the administration of the agricultural aspects of the foreign aid program. I did review the memorandum which you enclosed, and then passed it along for further study.
Your statement that the Department of Agriculture has felt that its role has been minimized or largely ignored in the foreign aid program disturbs me, for I know for a fact that Mr. Bowles, Mr. Labouisse and others in the Department believe that the role of the USDA is most important, and that a close, harmonious, integrated working relationship between the AID and the USDA is essential to the success of our agricultural progress abroad.
As for the proposal in your memorandum that actual operating responsibility be delegated to the Department of Agriculture, however, I am convinced that it would be a mistake to further fragment the aid program. The delegation of operational responsibilities to the specialized departments could only run counter to the objective we are seeking in centralizing responsibility for the aid program in a single agency. Consequently, I must endorse the substantive position of the Department on this issue as stated by Mr. Bowles in his letter to you of May 19.
Nevertheless, your letter was most welcome in its affirmation of USDA’s desire to make available its resources and expertise in assuring the success of the foreign aid effort. I was assure you that they shall be needed and called for. I understand that informal staff level discussions between the Department of Agriculture and the proposed Agency for International Development have already been instituted looking to the development of arrangements for more effective utilization of the Department’s resources.
Under Secretary Bowles will undoubtedly wish to discuss this with you further upon his return from the Regional Operations Conferences abroad.
With kindest regards,
Sincerely,
- USDA and the foreign aid program. No classification marking. 1 p. Department of State, Central Files, 411.0041/5–2561.↩