Comparative summary of estimated obligations to be incurred (excluding trust accounts) Salaries and expenses, Philippine rehabilitation, Department of State... 826, 313 121,850 4,000 481, 408 Pensions, annuities, and insurance losses: Foreign Service retirement and disability appropriated fund.... Unclassified: Emergencies arising in the diplomatic and consular service. Grand total obligations.. 188, 218, 864 178, 460, 759 1 Includes reimbursements and advance payments to other agencies for special interagency services, also shown as an obligation of the receiving agencies in the year in whica they use the money. 2 Where Government employees, materials, etc., are used in construction of structures, the obligations for such services and materials are included under "Services, supplies, and materials." We are holding this meeting at this time for the reason that the Secretary, General Marshall, must leave the country on an important mission and his time is limited. In order to give the Secretary an opportunity to appear before the committee and have his statement in the regular State Department appropriations record, we are going to hear his general statement now. General Marshall is here accompanied by his staff. We are also honored with the presence of our chairman of the full Committee on Appropriations, the Honorable John Taber, and the ranking minority member of the full Committee on Appropriations, the Honorable Clarence Cannon of Missouri. General Marshall, the committee welcomes you. Most of the members of this committee, General Marshall, were with you on many occasions in the War Department in the war days when you briefed us on the need of supplies and fighting men and women compared with appropriations. Many of us attended regularly the weekly lectures given in your office by General Ayers. We feel we know you and we are happy that you are here this morning. We admire you and have great faith in you. We realize that you have not read all of these justifications, nearly 600 pages. Many of the things connected with the Department of State are along the lines of reorganization for postwar programs. The items are enormous and farreaching. This committee has approved about four reorganizations of the Department of State in the past 10 years. We shall be glad to hear from you at this time, General Marshall. Secretary MARSHALL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Taber. I submitted the statement that I have here in my hand a few days ago. Is it your desire that I should read it now? Mr. STEFAN. It is quite long. Most members have read it. Some have not. Secretary MARSHALL. Whatever you wish, sir. GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. STEFAN. I think perhaps it would be better if you read the statement. Secretary MARSHALL. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am happy to have this opportunity to discuss with you the budgetary estimates of the Department for the fiscal year 1948. My predecessor, Mr. Byrnes, in discussing the budgetary estimates for the fiscal year 1947 before this committee, outlined our foreignpolicy objectives. He stated that they had not changed. I repeat that statement. We are deeply concerned with the prevention of future wars. We are continuing to advocate measures to remove the conditions which lead to war. We are continuing to encourage those conditions which will lead to the development of a free and democratic way of life for the peoples of the world in accordance with their customs and desires. The United States Government will work with other nations in seeking peace with a dependable basis for security. We will do all that we can to strengthen and perfect the United Nations as an instrument for the discussion of international problems and the maintenance of international peace. Progress has been made in achieving these objectives. The United Nations has been a going concern for over a year. The General Assembly has shown vitality as an international forum. The Security Council, meeting in continuous session, has considered urgent political problems and has now before it the question of the regulation and control of armaments. The Atomic Energy Commission has approved the Baruch plan as a basis for international control of atomic energy. The Economic and Social Council has created nine commissions to deal with a number of problems, including the reconstruction of devestated areas, employment, transportation, and communications, and the extension of human rights. The Trusteeship Council has been created to deal with the future of undeveloped and non-selfgoverning territories. Other international organizations-some of long standing and others newly created-provide for international cooperation in specialized fields. These include food and agriculture; labor; telecommunications; civil aeronautics; monetary affairs; educational, scientific, and cultural affairs; and many others. Two new organizations have just been created. The International Refugee Organization will deal with the problem of repatriation and resettlement of displaced persons. The World Health Organization will provide a common point of attack on health and sanitation problems which know no international boundaries. The proposed International Trade Organization will consider measures to remove trade barriers in order to expand world economy. After long and difficult negotiation, peace treaties have been concluded with the Axis satellite nations-Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Finland. Those affecting the United States now await ratification by the Senate. Many difficult problems still confront us. With other Allied Powers, we are participating in the control and government of approximately 200,000,000 people in Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea. Major questions of foreign policy are involved in this undertaking. The Council of Foreign Ministers will shortly convene in Moscow to consider treaty settlements involving Germany and Austria. Those involving Japan and Korea have not yet been initiated. The economies of many of our wartime allies, as well as those of enemy nations, are still disrupted. A major task of relief and rehabilitation confronts a large part of the world. The United States contributed a major share of the funds to UNRRA, which will soon be liquidated. The urgent necessity for continued relief still exists, however. As you are aware, the President has asked the Congress to consider legislation to continue relief assistance, but on a much smaller scale and under our own control. In the Far East we are concerned with many problems affecting countries other than Japan and Korea. The President sent me to China in December of 1945 to help the Chinese find a peaceful solution to their political differences. You are, no doubt, familiar with my statement on the situation. We continue to hope that China will find a peaceful solution to its problems. We redeemed our pledge to the Filipino people by granting them independence on July 4, 1946. The new republic will continue to need our assistance. We are deeply interested in the troubled situation in Indochina and hopeful that a pacific basis for its adjustment can be found. Our relations with the other American Republics continue to be of special importance to the United States. In accordance with the good-neighbor policy, we are cooperating in the solution of common problems and in developing an effective inter-American regional system. Political and economic problems in the Middle East are growing in complexity. This area includes 75 countries of varying degrees of sovereignty. Of particular importance to us are problems affecting Greece, Palestine, Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, and Turkey. The problems which must be dealt with in Europe are of the utmost consequence to the future peace of the entire world. All of the conditions I have recited directly affect the budgetary estimates of the Department of State, which is responsible, under the direction of the President, and in collaboration with the Congress, for the conduct of our foreign relations. The budgetary estimates reflect the plans and programs of the Department required to carry out this responsibility. The budgetary estimates for the fiscal year 1948 provide for a total of approximately 277.9 million dollars for the Department and its affiliated activities. This is in contrast to a total of 23.9 million dollars for the fiscal year 1941, the last prewar year. This increase is a direct reflection of the increased responsibility of the United States in international relations. This expenditure is, in my opinion, justified in our effort to bring peace and security to the world. The amount requested in the budget for 1948 is further subdivided by budget classifications as follows: (1) For the departmental service, 51.3 million dollars. (2) For the Foreign Service, 135.4 million dollars. (3) For international obligations and activities, 91.2 million dollars. Expressed in terms of major program activities, the budget is subdivided as follows: (1) Political, economic, and administrative, 147.9 million dollars. (2) International obligations and activities, 85.4 million dollars. (3) Information and cultural, 37.2 million dollars. (4) Intelligence, 4.7 million dollars (5) Foreign surplus property disposal, 2.7 million dollars. The principal officers of the Department responsible for administering various phases of these programs will appear before you to explain the estimates in detail. I will discuss each briefly. POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES The estimates for this program provide for the salaries and expenses relating to the political, economic, and administrative activities of the departmental service and the Foreign Service. Also included is an estimate for relief and repatriation of American nationals. A small increase is requested for the departmental service. The principal increase relates to the Foreign Service. The amount requested for the Foreign Service for 1948 is approximately 72.2 million dollars in excess of the amount appropriated for 1947. Fifty million dollars of the increase is required to acquire foreign currency obtained through the disposal of surplus property and lend-lease settlements for the purchase of buildings for embassies, legations, and consulates abroad. The appropriation will be paid into the Treasury in exchange for the foreign currency. In effect' this is a bookkeeping transaction not involving the expenditure of additional Federal funds. Another portion of the increase is required to make effective the Foreign Service Act of 1946 which liberalized salaries and allowances. More important, however, the estimate provides for increased manpower for the Foreign Service. I cannot emphasize too strongly the importance to the United States of this request. Our Foreign Service posts are seriously understaffed in relation to the tasks which they have to perform. I can testify to this from my recent experience in China. When I arrived there I quickly learned that there was an insufficient number of American personnel at every post. Also, the morale of the alien personnel was extremely low since the salaries we were paying them were not even subsistence wages. I was told that budgetary limitations prevented the correction of these conditions. However, I exerted enough pressure to relieve the situation to some extent, but I have since learned that this relief was arranged by the State Department at the expense of the work at other posts in other countries. There are still a considerable number of American nationals living abroad who must be repatriated. The estimate includes a small amount for the continuation of assistance to this group in the form of loans. INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND ACTIVITIES Provision is made under this program for the United States' share of contributions to international organizations, the salaries and expenses of United States delegations to international organizations and commissions, and the expenses of international conferences. The United States share of the contribution to the United Nations, as you know, has been increased from 24.6 to 39 percent as a result of the action taken at the recent General Assembly meeting in New York. This action ultimately will affect our quota contributions to other international organizations since most of them will hereafter adopt the United Nations contribution scale or modifications thereof. Provision is made for the first time for the quota contribution to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the salaries and expenses of the secretariat of the Advisory National Commission to UNESCO. The estimate includes $8,000,000 for continuation of construction on the Rio Grande in accordance with the United States-Mexico Water Treaty and $54,000,000 for continuation of the Philippine rehabilitation program to be expended by various Federal agencies other than the State Department. INFORMATION AND CULTURAL PROGRAM One effective way to promote peace is to dispel misunderstanding, fear, and ignorance. Foreign peoples should know the nature and objectives of our foreign policy. They should have a true understanding of American life. This is the purpose of the information and cultural relations program. This includes the exchange of students, scholars, and technical experts with other countries, themaintenance of information libraries abroad, the distribution of documentary motion pictures, film strips, and still pictures, documentary information material, and international broadcasting. The total of the estimate is $37,000,000, which includes $5,800,000 for the programs of cultural cooperation with the other American Republics. I regard this program as an integral and essential part of the conduct of foreign relations. In China I observed at first hand the consequences of misrepresentation and lack of understanding of the facts about the United States and its policies. |