Foreign Relations of the United States, 1917–1972, Volume VIII, Public Diplomacy, 1969-1972

32. Memorandum From the Under Secretary of State (Richardson) to the President’s Special Counsel (Garment)¹

Washington, August 7, 1969

SUBJECT

• Reduction in FY ’70 Educational Cultural Exchange Budget: Proposed Letters from President to Senator McClellan and Congressman Rooney

1. I understand that John Richardson has discussed with you our hope that the President would be willing to write a letter to Senator McClellan urging restoration of the 10% ($3.9 million) cut imposed by the House on the Department’s FY 1970 Educational and Cultural Affairs appropriation request.²

We think that it would also be extremely helpful if the President would be willing to send a note to Chairman Rooney indicating the President’s desire to discuss the matter with him in person after the recess.

Drafts are enclosed at Tab A.³ The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee is holding its hearing today, August 7.⁴ The letters should be delivered before the recess.

2. Secretary Rogers and I, Frank Shakespeare, and our Ambassadors believe these exchange activities contribute directly and importantly both to the achievement of US policy objectives and to the enhancement of our image and influence all around the world. The programs have suffered badly in recent years from both neglect and meat axe budget cuts. We, in the Department of State, are determined to see them reinvigorated and in some instances, redirected. We are confident that John Richardson will provide the necessary strong and imaginative leadership.

Such early and tangible evidence of Presidential interest and support would be of enormous help to him and to us in rebuilding morale and restoring momentum in the responsible bureau. Further, if the Senate does restore the funds (as appears unlikely without this intervention), we will have the elbow-room so urgently needed to revive the programs and to restore confidence in these important aspects of our relations with other countries all around the world.

3. The timing for such an initiative in support of the “Fulbright Exchange Program” seems especially auspicious just now following the moon landing and the President’s trip.⁵ These letters will emphatically but quietly signal to anxious academic, cultural and intellectual constituencies here and abroad this Administration’s serious interest in developing these constructive means of international communication. The action will be especially welcomed now because it is widely believed that lack of Presidential support in 1967 and 1968 was the prime factor in the 42% nose dive in appropriations for these programs which occurred in that period. The response should be equally favorable whether or not the Senate restores the funds.

The last such Presidential intervention was through a similar letter from Mr. Johnson to Senator McClellan requesting restoration of a House cut in the summer of 1964. The Senate did, in that case, respond.

A relevant article from the current issue of “Ripon Forum” is enclosed at Tab B,⁶ for your information.

We very much appreciate your interest in pursuing the matter.⁷

Elliot L. Richardson⁸

1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, EDX 1 US. No classification marking. Copies were sent to Kissinger and Harlow. Blind copied to Shakespeare and Mayo. A typed note at the end of the memorandum reads: “Original bypassed S/S and sent direct to Garment from U 8/7/69. See Garment/Richardson memo 8/18/69 (S/S–12621) for final disposition.” The August 18 Garment/Richardson memorandum was not found.
2. The Department included its budget request for educational and cultural programs within its broader appropriations request of $408,381,000 for FY 1970. (Congress and the Nation, vol. III, 1969–1972, p. 863) The President signed into law the Departments of State, Justice, Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 1970 (H.R. 12964; P.L. 91–153; 83 Stat. 403) on December 29.
3. Attached but not printed.
4. On August 7, Richardson testified before the subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of restoring $3,862,000 of the $3,975,000 that the House of Representatives had reduced for the funding of educational and cultural exchange activities. See Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1970 Hearings Before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Ninety-First Congress First Session on H.R. 12964. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1969)
5. In addition to his state visit to Romania (see footnote 4, Document 28), the President traveled to the Philippines (July 26–27), Indonesia (July 27–28), Thailand (July 28–30), South Vietnam (July 30), India (July 31–August 1), Pakistan (August 1–2), and the United Kingdom (August 3). For additional information, see Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, vol. XX, Southeast Asia, 1969–1972, Documents 18, 192, and 269; ibid., vol. VI, Vietnam, January 1969–July 1970, Documents 102 and 103; and ibid., vol. E–7, Documents on South Asia, 1969–1972, Documents 29 and 31.
6. Attached but not printed is Frank E. Samuel, Jr., “Still Time to Reverse: The Slow Asphyxiation of Fulbright-Hays,” Ripon Forum, July 1969.
7. In an August 18 memorandum to Richardson (see footnote 1, above), Garment indicated that while the Fulbright program was “highly desirable,” it was “not one of the President’s highest priority items.” Garment commented that the President did not intend to pursue the matter further at the time. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, EDX 1 US)
8. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.