248. Editorial Note

Following on the recommendations of the Interagency World Hunger Working Group (see Document 245), the President’s Special Assistant for International Health Issues Peter Bourne began preparing a message to Congress on world hunger. Under a March 17, 1978, covering memorandum, Bourne circulated to the members of the World Hunger Working Group a draft message to Congress and a draft charter and executive order for the proposed Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition. Bourne’s draft provided a historical overview of U.S. food aid, summarized current U.S. food policy, discussed the establishment of the World Hunger Working Group, and highlighted administration initiatives in the area of food reserves, P.L. 480, international trade and foreign investment, nutrition, and private sector involvement. Bourne concluded the draft with the following paragraphs:

“World arms expenditures were estimated at $107 billion in 1960; they are now approximately $400 billion. Thirty million people bear arms today, as compared with 24 million only a decade ago. We must begin to give food the sort of attention we have given to weapons; for our strongest weapons will ultimately be compassion and the will to help and to cooperate with those who are now less fortunate, before the problem becomes entirely uncontrollable. We need an increased and sustained debate, both nationally and internationally, on the issue of world hunger. The United States cannot alone solve these problems. But they will not be solved without us. Our leadership is needed, and our assistance is crucial if the hungry nations of the world are to become self-sufficient in food by the end of this century. That goal can be reached. It must be reached. Working together, we shall reach it, by offering other nations our unmatched agricultural skill, by working with them to adapt our science and technology methods, and to help them develop new ones suitable to local conditions.

“In the interests of our national security, and in keeping with our moral responsibility to help our fellow man, we must and we shall do our utmost to combat world hunger while there is still time to act. I ask Congress to join with me in this most important undertaking.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Subject Chron File, Box 93, Food: 1978)

National Security Council Staff member Guy Erb sent a copy of Bourne’s draft to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Zbigniew Brzezinski on April 3. In an attached covering memorandum, Erb noted that the draft message was “rather long and contains numerous weaknesses.” He added that he could handle “detailed drafting suggestions” with Bourne and his staff members but suggested that Brzezinski send a memorandum to Bourne explaining the NSC’s major concerns with the draft. (Ibid.) In an April 4 memorandum to Bourne, Brzezinski explained that the draft message “appears very long for a document intended to have an impact on Congressional attitudes toward the Administration’s hunger policies. I would suggest greatly shortening the message and moving specific requests to the Congress to the front of the paper. I understand that those requests and recommendations for U.S. trade, investment, and nutrition policies will be cleared by the appropriate agencies.” At the conclusion of the memorandum, Brzezinski stressed that Erb would provide additional detailed comments to Bourne and his staff members. (Ibid.)

In an April 5 action memorandum to Under Secretary of State for Eco[Page 810]nomic Affairs Richard Cooper, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Julius Katz noted that Bourne’s March 17 draft message “contains a number of unrealistic or controversial proposals,” and added that it “is important that the Department clear the final version.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P780068–0745) Katz also provided Cooper with a copy of the Department of State’s response to Bourne’s draft, prepared by Frederick McEldowney of the Food Policy Division, Office of Food Policies and Programs, International Resources and Food Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, which recommended that Bourne redraft the message with the Department’s assistance. (Undated Department of State Comments on Draft Message to Congress; Draft Charter and Executive Order to the Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition; ibid.) Tarnoff had sent the Department’s comments to Bourne under cover of an undated memorandum, which McEldowney had drafted on April 4. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P780067–1963)

Cooper, in an April 11 memorandum to Bourne, referenced the Department of State’s proposed changes and commented: “The subject matter of the Working Group’s paper is obviously important and the issues associated with it are being dealt with in several fora such as the UN Overview Mechanism, the UNCTAD, and the MTN.” Cooper continued, “Because these issues bear on many important aspects of foreign economic policy—and the current draft contains major changes in them—it is vital that the Department be permitted to clear the final paper which goes forward to the President. On at least two previous instances we were told we would have the opportunity to clear on such messages, but papers went forward to the President without our having had an opportunity to review them. If there are any difficulties in reshaping the paper along the lines suggested in Tarnoff’s memorandum, please let me know.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P780067–1962)

Bourne subsequently circulated a revised draft at the end of May. The Department of State’s response to this draft, which Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State David Anderson sent to Bourne on June 6, is in the National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P780099–0004. In a June 21 memorandum to Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Charles William Maynes, Paul Brynes, Agency Director for Agriculture in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, discussed the most recent version of the proposed message to Congress:

“The latest draft message to Congress on World Hunger (late May) was on the surface a vast improvement over earlier drafts. It had, however, very little revolutionary substance, very few bold new thoughts. Previous drafts were extremely poor but at State’s insistence the im[Page 811]practical and unrealistic ideas mostly were winnowed out. The current message recapitulates the President’s intention to further focus foreign assistance along ‘new directions’ lines.

“State’s June 6 response to this draft objected only to (a) the portrayal of U.S. wheat reserves (inconsistent with legislative proposals); (b) statements on the Wheat Trade Agreement (the suggested special LDC preferences and trade stabilization proposals are inconsistent with U.S. policy); (c) a proposal to separate the Food Aid Convention from the Wheat Trade Agreement (premature). We also urged the investment section be reworked to eliminate the appearance that compulsory measures would be considered to ensure (all) U.S. multinational paid due regard to the nutritional consequences of their investments.

OMB and NSC (Erb) have sent a stiff memo to Bourne saying the message is no good and should be scrapped in favor of a simple (yet lofty) proclamation on the new Commission. They feel, I believe rightly, the Bourne message to Congress would simply restate our good intentions without being able to commit ourselves to anything really new. With the Foreign Assistance bill at risk this seems a particularly sensible caution, since the message as now written could be criticized by anyone knowledgeable as an empty shell.” (National Archives, RG 59, Bureau of International Organization Affairs/International Development Assistance/Agriculture Division, Subject Files of the FAO, US Mission, International Food Organizations, Lot 88D305, Box 2, World Hunger Initiative)

Ultimately, President Carter did not send a world hunger message to Congress, rather opting to issue an executive order establishing the Presidential Commission on World Hunger. For additional information about the Commission’s charter and composition, see Document 251.