US Foreign Aid Battle Expected; LBJ Submits 'Pre-Shrunk' Bill
WASHINGTON — (UPI) — In the past two decades the United States has spent more than $100 billion in foreign aid in some 100 countries around the world to help build up shattered post-war economies or keep Communism at bay.
This year, as in all past years, the debate continues—has the expenditure been worth it? How long must it go on? And in what amounts?
HE BASES THIS ON THE expectation that a number of recipients—among them Greece, Israel, Mexico, Venezuela and the Philippines—are approaching the point where their economies can continue to develop without grant or "soft" type loans.
FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS Congress has cut administration requests by $1 billion or more. This year in the federal budget the Johnson administration has sent Congress what it calls a "preshrunk" $3.4 billion request for military and economic aid. This would be for the fiscal year 1965 which begins July 1.
U. S. foreign aid director David E. Bell predicts that in the next few years aid should be at least a "plateau" and, hopefully, will decline.
By pre-shrunk President Johnson means—or hopes to convince the legislators—that he has already made the $1 billion cut and that Congress should not do so. But prospects are that the request will cause as big a fight this year as ever.
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In preparing his new program for fiscal 1965, the President placed new stress on "transition" countries such as these, devising individual programs for them which provide for tapering-off over a period of years.
YET THERE ARE OTHER factors which make it impossible for aid officials to predict with any certainty what aid needs will be in the future. One is the uncertainty of military needs of the cold war.
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Another is that in programs such as the Alliance for Progress for
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Latin America the Administration has pledged to aid individual countries according to the degree to which they undertake economic and social reforms and, in short, aid themselves.
Secretary of State Dean Rusk recently devoted all of a major speech to the debate over foreign aid, answering point by point the principle arguments of critics.
THESE WERE THE major criticisms and Rusk's answers:
- That it is simply too expensive: "The new funds requested by the President for the next fiscal year," Rusk said, "are about one-sixteenth of our military budget, less than 4 per cent of the federal budget, less
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Building Starts On Fifth Dorm
Construction will begin this week on a new ten-story men's dormitory, to be located southwest of Ellsworth Hall, on "Daisy Hill."
The new dormitory, to be the fifth in "residence hall complex." is scheduled for completion by September 1965. J. J. Wilson, director of dormitories and housing, said.
The Clarence Vollmer Construction Company of Wichita won the contract for the new dorm, with a low bid of $1,907.31. Wilson said.
Blasting will be used to start the foundation. An explosives expert on the job will make preliminary blasts to record the amount of vibration, so as to insure safety to the other dorms in the area.
Wilson doubted that anyone will hear the blasting. "It will be a low charge, controlled, minor blasting operation." he said.
than 3.5 of one per cent of our gross national product.
"It amounts to $17.80 for each American citizen. Of this, $5.25 from each of us is for military assistance, and $12.55 for economic and technical assistance."
- That goes to too many countries which criticize or disagree with the United States;
"We seek no satellites," Rusk said. "We are not trying to buy friends—and if we were trying to, we could not expect to do it with aid that amounts to one or two per cent of the income of the recipient. Our objective is to help these countries to grow in independence and freedom. We must expect independent countries to disagree with us at times."
"Before we become outraged," Rusk declared, "let us recall that preventing corruption is a constant battle and that we ourselves have brought it under reasonable control only in the last generation."
- THAT SOME GOVERNMENTS receiving U.S. aid are corrupt;
- That there is waste:
"I am sure there has been some waste," Rusk said. "Some of the countries we have helped have suffered from turbulence caused or aggrivated by communist subversion or aggression.
"Under such conditions, you don't expect peace-time efficiency. Moreover, some of these countries lack experienced administrators. There have also been problems due to rapid turn-overs of personnel in our own aid organizations . . . but I believe we now have a well-administered organization."
"We are impatient . . .." Rusk said. "We prefer to have them do it by Democratic means. But, as we know from our own history, social and economic reforms involve tensions, political difficulties, delays."
- That progress is too slow;
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Monday, March 23, 1964 University Daily Kansan
819 Mass.
VI 3-3470
MARCH 23-28