Part 20 (1/2)
On August 27, an a.s.sociated Press release announced that House Leader John W. McCormack (Democrat, Ma.s.sachusetts), was attempting to enlist the cooperation of 2,400 city mayors in support of a long-range foreign aid bill to meet the President's demands.
McCormack sent the city officials a statement of his views with a cover letter suggesting that the matter be brought to ”the attention of citizens of your community through publication in your local newspaper,”
and, further, urging their ”personal endors.e.m.e.nt of this bipartisan program through the medium of your local press....”
State Department officials scheduled speaking tours throughout the land, and CFR affiliated organizations (like the Councils on World Affairs) started the build-up to provide audiences--all in the interest of ”briefing” the American people on the necessity and beauties of foreign aid.
Anyone with sense had to wonder how the giving of American tax money to communist governments in Europe and to socialist governments all over the earth could help us resist communism in Berlin. But with the top leaders in our society (from the President downward to officials in the National Council of Churches) telling us that the survival of our nation depended on the President's getting all the foreign aid ”authorization”
he wanted--most Americans remained silent, feeling that such consequential and complicated matters should be left in the hands of our chosen leaders.
By the end of August, the Foreign a.s.sistance Act of 1961 had been pa.s.sed by both houses of Congress; and the Berlin crisis moved from front page lead articles in the nation's newspapers to less important columns.
Thus, in 1961, as always, the foreign aid bill was a special project of our invisible government, the Council on Foreign Relations. And, in 1961, as always, the great, tax-supported propaganda machine used a fear psychology to bludgeon the people into silence and the Congress into obedience.
President Kennedy signed the Act as Public Law 87-195 on September 4, 1961.
Public Law 87-195 authorized $10,253,500,000 (10 billion, 253 million, 500 thousand) in foreign aid: $3,066,500,000 appropriated for the 1962 fiscal year, and $7,187,000,000 Treasury borrowing authorized for the next five years. The law does require the President to obtain annual appropriations for the Treasury borrowing, but permits him to make commitments to lend the money to foreign countries, _before_ he obtains appropriations from Congress.
It was widely reported in the press that Congress had denied the President the long-term borrowing authority he had requested; but the President himself was satisfied. He knew that by promising loans to foreign governments (that is, ”committing” the funds in advance of congressional appropriation) he would thus force Congress (in the interest of showing ”national unity” and of not ”repudiating” our President) to appropriate whatever he promised.
On August 29, the President said:
”The compromise ... is wholly satisfactory. It gives the United States Government authority to make commitments for long-term development programs with reasonable a.s.surance that these commitments will be met.”
Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon (a member of the CFR) was happy about the 1961 foreign aid bill. On August 29, Nixon, on the ABC radio network, said that he favored such ”long-range foreign aid planning, financed through multi-year authorizations and annual appropriations.”
Nelson A. Rockefeller, Republican Governor of New York, announced that he too favored ”long-range foreign aid planning, financed through multi-year authorizations and annual appropriations”--exactly like Nixon.
Former President Eisenhower was also happy. He, too, said he favored this sort of thing.
Senator J. William Fulbright (Democrat, Arkansas) was almost jubilant: he said Congress for the next five years would be under ”strong obligation” to put up the money for whatever the President promises to foreign governments.
All in all, it is improbable that Congress ever pa.s.sed another bill more destructive of American const.i.tutional principles; more harmful to our nation politically, economically, morally, and militarily; and more helpful to communism-socialism all over the earth--than the Foreign a.s.sistance Act of 1961, which was, from beginning to end, a product of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Our foreign aid does grievous harm to the American people by burdening them with excessive taxation, thus making it difficult for them to expand their own economy. This gives government pretext for intervening with more taxation and controls for domestic subsidies.
Furthermore, the money that government takes away from us for foreign aid is used to subsidize our political enemies and economic compet.i.tors abroad. Note, for example, the large quant.i.ties of agricultural goods which we give every year to communist satellite nations, thus enabling communist governments to control the hungry people of those nations.
Note that while we are giving away our agricultural surpluses to communist and socialist nations, we, under the 1961 foreign aid bill (as under previous ones), are subsidizing agricultural production in the underdeveloped countries.
The 1961 foreign aid bill prohibited direct aid to Cuba, but authorized contributions to United Nations agencies, which were giving aid to Cuba.
At a time when the American economy was suffering from the flight of American industry to foreign lands, the 1961 foreign aid bill offered subsidies and investment guarantees to American firms moving abroad.