811.24 Raw Materials/54
The Acting Secretary of State to Senator Morris Sheppard 8
My Dear Senator Sheppard: With further reference to the Department’s letters of February 23 and March 13, 1939,9 with respect to the bill S. 572, which would authorize purchases of reserve stocks of strategic materials, I can now state that a report has been received from the Bureau of the Budget with regard to the relation of the proposed legislation to the President’s program.
The Acting Director of the Bureau of the Budget, Mr. D. W. Bell, states that he has taken the matter up with the President and that the President does not wish to make any commitment with respect to any appropriations for this purpose at this time but that there would be no objection to the enactment of such legislation if amended so as to eliminate the years for which the appropriations are to be made available, leaving the matter within the discretion of the President as to when and in what amount estimates may be submitted therefor.
In the event that Congress enacts legislation, amended in the sense indicated above, the Department of State will be prepared to bring to the attention of the Bureau of the Budget and the President at the first proper opportunity, the great advisability of seeking an appropriation at this session of Congress for the purpose of advancing the objectives of such legislation.
Sincerely yours,