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authority to cope with the problems involved in carrying out the program.
Such broad authority was considered to be necessary to enable the Executive
Branch to fulfill the large responsibilities placed upon it by the Act.
In particular it was recognised that there would be many problens in the
field of atomic energy which could not be foreseen and which were unpredict-
able. In the words of the Act itself, "It is a field in which unknown
factors are involved." The results achieved under the Act have generally
demonstrated the wisdom of the basic framework of the Act.
Although phrased in terms of congressional approval of prograns, the
proposed bill would, in fact, result in a substantial change in the way in
which the atomic energy program is now carried forward and would result in
a considerable shift of responsibility from the Executive to the Legislative
ASD
Branch of the Government. By the terms of the Act, Section 4 (c) (2), for
example, the President now determines the program, at least once a year, for
the production of fissionable material, and by Section 6 (a) (2) the President
now determinos the program of the Commission for the production of atomic
bombs. Under the proposed bill apparently these programs must first be
authorized by the Congress before any money may be appropriated to carry them
out. Likowise, as a further example, it would seen that the Congress would
be called upon to authorize any program for the testing of atomic weapons
before money could be appropriated for the tests.
The plain fact is that there are many programs in the field of atomic
energy which do not lend thenselves to the legislative plan of requiring
specific prior congressional authorization. The underlying assumption of
the proposed legislation is that the whole atomic energy program is a stable,
predictable program which can be plotted out well in advance and then followed
in detail. This was not the case when the Act was passed and is certainly
not the case now or in the foreseeable future.
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"ocrText": "- 2 -\nauthority to cope with the problems involved in carrying out the program.\nSuch broad authority was considered to be necessary to enable the Executive\nBranch to fulfill the large responsibilities placed upon it by the Act.\nIn particular it was recognised that there would be many problens in the\nfield of atomic energy which could not be foreseen and which were unpredict-\nable. In the words of the Act itself, \"It is a field in which unknown\nfactors are involved.\" The results achieved under the Act have generally\ndemonstrated the wisdom of the basic framework of the Act.\nAlthough phrased in terms of congressional approval of prograns, the\nproposed bill would, in fact, result in a substantial change in the way in\nwhich the atomic energy program is now carried forward and would result in\na considerable shift of responsibility from the Executive to the Legislative\nASD\nBranch of the Government. By the terms of the Act, Section 4 (c) (2), for\nexample, the President now determines the program, at least once a year, for\nthe production of fissionable material, and by Section 6 (a) (2) the President\nnow determinos the program of the Commission for the production of atomic\nbombs. Under the proposed bill apparently these programs must first be\nauthorized by the Congress before any money may be appropriated to carry them\nout. Likowise, as a further example, it would seen that the Congress would\nbe called upon to authorize any program for the testing of atomic weapons\nbefore money could be appropriated for the tests.\nThe plain fact is that there are many programs in the field of atomic\nenergy which do not lend thenselves to the legislative plan of requiring\nspecific prior congressional authorization. The underlying assumption of\nthe proposed legislation is that the whole atomic energy program is a stable,\npredictable program which can be plotted out well in advance and then followed\nin detail. This was not the case when the Act was passed and is certainly\nnot the case now or in the foreseeable future."
}