Extracted text

OCR Page 1 of 11
HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE February 28, 1946 CONFIDENTIAL: To be held in STRICT CONFIDENCE and no portion, synopsis or intimation to be given out or published until the READING of the President's Message has begun in either the Senate or House of Representa- tives. Extreme care must therefore be exercised to avoid premature publication. CHARLES G. ROSS Secretary to the President TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: On July 31, 1945, the Bretton Woods Agreements Act became law. In that legislation the Congress established the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems "in order to coordinate the policies and operations of the re- presentatives of the United States on the Fund and the Bank and of all agencies of the Government which make or participate in making foreign loans or which engage in foreign financial, ex- change or monetary transactions." The Congress provided that the membership of the Council should consist of the Secretary of the Treasury, as Chairman, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of Washington. On August 9, 1945, the Secretary of the Treasury submitted for my approval a proposal as to the manner in which the National Advisory Council should proceed in performing the task assigned it. The essence of this proposal is contained in the following excerpt from the communication which the Secretary of the Treasury sent to me: "As you can see from the attached memorandum, the United States Government is now extending financial assistance to foreign governments through a large number of programs, administered by different departments and agencies, and with different procedures for inter-agency consultation. In order for the Council to carry out the functions assigned to it, it seems to me necessary that the Council should have a picture of the over-all program of financial transactions which it is proposed to carry out in the next period. On such a basis, we can make decisions in a rational way, strike the best bargains with foreign countries, and save money for the taxpayer." On August 10, 1945, I expressed my complete approval of the proposal and requested the Council to proceed along the lines indicated. Promptly thereafter the Council completed its organization and commenced to function without delay. Since that time the Council has labored unremittingly in the performance of its duties. I have now received from the National Advisory Council a document containing significant conclusions concerning the entire problem of foreign lending. The Council in submitting the docu- ment to me stated: "At an early date the Council undertook to consider proposals and applications for foreign loans, and to study the problems and broad implications of foreign lending. (OVER)