Special Message to the Congress on the Foreign Aid Program.

To the Congress of the United States:

I recommend a Foreign Aid program to help those nations who are determined to help themselves.

I recommend a program to help give the people of the less-developed world the food, the health, the skills and education--and the strength--to lead their nations to self-sufficient lives of plenty and freedom.

I propose to carry forward the best of what we are now doing in the less-developed world, and cut out the worst. I also propose to make the basic changes the times demand.

My recommendations are grounded in the deep conviction that we must use foreign assistance to attack the root causes of poverty. We must concentrate on countries not hostile to us that give solid evidence that they are determined to help themselves.

This is the lesson of the past. It is the hope for the future. It is the guiding principle for a nation ready and willing to cooperate with the industrious, but unwilling to subsidize those who do not assume responsibility for their own fate.

During the past year I have given our foreign assistance program the most sober and searching review. I have questioned the merit of each program. Special groups have concentrated on the particular areas of food, education and health. A Cabinet committee has examined the details of our general economic and military assistance.

Thus, the steps I recommend today have been developed in the light of advice from senior officials in the Executive Branch, Congressional leaders, and experienced advisors from outside government. They also have been developed with full recognition of our balance of payments situation.

They emerge from a rigorous examination of our past experience.

They are informed by compassion and shaped by the history of two decades.

They are the proof of our devotion to the works of peace.

They reflect our vision of a world free from fear and ripe with opportunity.

They will shape the legacy we leave our children.

The quest for peace is as old as mankind. For countless centuries man struggled to secure first his home, then his village, then his city. It is the unique heritage of our century that men must strive for a secure world.

Peace, plenty, freedom--our fathers aspired to these as we do now. But the fateful truth of our age is that all our personal and national hopes hang in a balance affected by events and attitudes half a world away.

We have paid a fearful price to learn the folly of isolation. We have learned that the human misery which infects whole nations with a thirst for violent change does not give way to mere slogans. We have learned that the works of peace require courage and foresight. The need knows neither national boundary nor narrow ideology.

We have demonstrated this understanding in many ways over the past two decades. Our military strength has protected many countries threatened by invasion from without or subversion from within. Our economic assistance programs have rebuilt Europe. We have helped untold millions to gain confidence in peaceful progress, where there has been neither peace nor progress for centuries.

We will never know how many crises have been averted, how much violence avoided, or how many minds have been won to the cause of freedom in these years. But I believe we have many such achievements to our credit.

Yet today the citizens of many developing nations walk in the shadow of misery:

--half the adults have never been to school;

--over half the people are hungry or malnourished;

--food production per person is falling;

--at present rates of growth, population will double before the year 2000.

These are the dominant facts of our age.

They challenge our own security.

They threaten the future of the world.

Our response must be bold and daring. It must go to the root causes of misery and unrest. It must build a firm foundation for progress, security and peace.

11.

Although we recognize the shortsightedness of isolation, we do not embrace the equally futile prospect of total and endless dependence. The United States can never do more than supplement the efforts of the developing countries themselves. They must supply most of the capital, the know-how--and the will to progress. If they do we can and will help. If they do not, nothing we can supply will substitute. Nothing can replace resources wasted in political or military adventures.

For the essence of economic development is work--hard, unremitting, often thankless work. Most of it must be done by the people whose futures and whose children's futures are directly at stake.

Only these people and their leaders can:

--invest every possible resource in improved farming techniques, in school and hospital construction and in critical industry;

--make the land reforms, tax changes, and other basic adjustments necessary to transform their societies;

--face the population problem squarely and realistically;

--create the climate which will attract foreign investment, and keep local money at home.

These are just a few of the steps on the road to modernization. They are far from easy. We would do well to remember how difficult many of them were for us. But they are absolutely necessary. Without them, outside help is wasted. Neither we nor they can afford waste, and we will not continue any partnership in which only we recognize that fact.

As I said last October, "Action, not promises, will be the standard of assistance." It must be clear that the principle of our assistance is cooperation. Those who do not fulfill their commitments to help themselves cannot expect help from us.

III.

In this spirit of cooperation, I propose that the United States offer to join in new attacks upon the root causes of world poverty.

The incessant cycle of hunger, ignorance, and disease is the common blight of the developing world. This vicious pattern can be broken. It must be broken if democracy is to survive.

The problem of hunger is a continuing crisis. In many pans of the world we witness both the ravages of famine born of natural disaster and the failure of food production to keep pace with rising needs.

This is a catastrophe for all of us. It must be dealt with by all who can help. In many other countries food output is also falling behind population growth. We cannot meet the world food needs of the future however willing we are to share our abundance. Nor would it serve the common interest if we could.

The solution is clear: an all-out effort to enable the developing countries to supply their own food needs, through their own production or through improved capacity to buy in the world market.

I will shortly send to the Congress a special message which will recommend new legislation to redirect and strengthen our food aid programs to:

--induce greater agricultural self-help abroad;

--make food aid a more integrated element of general programs of economic cooperation;

--move as quickly as our mutual interests permit toward harder financial terms, thereby adding to our commercial markets and a favorable balance of payments result.

In addition, I propose that the Agency for International Development increase its efforts in the field of agriculture by more than one-third, to a total of nearly $500 million. One-third of this total will finance imports of fertilizer from the United States. The remainder will finance:

--transfer of American farming techniques, the most advanced in the world;

--improvement of roads, marketing and irrigation facilities;

--establishment of extension services, cooperatives and credit facilities;

--purchases of American farm equipment and pesticides;

--research on soil and seed improvements.

These programs will also have long-range benefits for our own farmers. Higher incomes abroad mean greater exports for our highly efficient food producers.

To combat ignorance, I am proposing a major new effort in international education. I propose a 50% increase in AID education activities to a total of more than $200 million. Shortly I will transmit to the Congress a special message proposing an International Education Act which will commit the United States to a campaign to spread the benefits of education to every corner of the earth. Nothing is more critical to the future of liberty and the fate of mankind.

To fight disease, I will shortly propose an International Health Act which will provide for extensive new programs at home and abroad.

We now have the capacity to eliminate smallpox from the list of man's natural enemies; to eradicate malaria in the Western Hemisphere and in large areas of Africa and Asia; and to relieve much of the suffering now caused by measles, cholera, rabies, and other epidemic diseases.

I will propose a two-thirds increase in FY 1967 in AID support of health programs, to a total of more than $150 million. In addition to financing disease eradication, we will step up our program to combat malnutrition. We will expand help to community water supply projects. We will finance the training of more doctors and nurses, needed for new health centers and mobile health units.

I also propose to provide nearly $150 million in Food for Work programs, and more than $100 million in contributions to international organizations to further support the war on hunger, ignorance and disease.

IV.

We stand ready to help developing countries deal with the population problem.

The United States cannot and should not force any country to adopt any particular approach to this problem. It is first a matter of individual and national conscience, in which we will not interfere.

But population growth now consumes about two-thirds of economic growth in the less-developed world. As death rates are steadily driven down, the individual miracle of birth becomes a collective tragedy of want.

In all cases, our help will be given only upon request, and only to finance advisors, training, transportation, educational equipment, and local currency needs.

Population policy remains a question for each family and each nation to decide. But we must be prepared to help when decisions are made.

V.

In many areas, the keys to economic and social development lie largely in the settling of old quarrels and the building of regional solidarity. Regional cooperation is often the best means of economic progress as well as the best guarantor of political independence.

I propose that we continue and enlarge our support of the institutions and organizations which create and preserve this unity.

Last April I pledged full United States support for regional programs to accelerate peaceful development in Southeast Asia. We have already begun to implement this pledge by support to the Nam Ngum Dam in the Mekong Basin and to other projects.

In my legislative proposals, I am requesting new and specific authority to carry forward this support for regional progress.

We must make it clear to friend and foe alike that we are as determined to support the peaceful growth of Southeast Asia as we are to resist those who would conquer and subjugate it.

These efforts in Asia will be further enhanced by the formation of the Asian Development Bank, which was the subject of my message to the Congress of January 18. I am confident that this Bank will be a major unifying force in the region, and a source of vital development capital invaluable to our mutual interests.

In Africa, we look forward to working closely with the new African Development Bank as its programs materialize.

We also look forward to progress toward an East African economic community and other sub-regional common markets on that massive continent. As these institutions and arrangements develop, the United States intends to make greater use of them as channels for our assistance. We will move in the direction of more regional administration of our bilateral programs.

We have recently extended our on-going commitment to the Alliance for Progress, which includes strong support for the successful economic integration of Central America. The movement toward greater cooperation among all Latin American economies will gain momentum in the years ahead. It has our strong support.

The United States will support the proposal of the Inter-American Committee of the Alliance for Progress and the Inter-American Development Bank to establish a new fund for feasibility studies of multinational projects. These projects can be of enormous value to countries which share a river valley or another natural resource. They are sound combinations of good economics and good politics.

VI.

I propose that the United States--in ways consistent with its balance of payments policy--increase its contributions to multilateral lending institutions, particularly the International Development Association. These increases will be conditional upon appropriate rises in contributions from other members. We are prepared immediately to support negotiations leading to agreements of this nature for submission to the Congress. We urge other advanced nations to join us in supporting this work.

The United States is a charter member and the largest single contributor to such institutions as the World Bank, the International Development Association, and the Inter-American Development Bank. This record reflects our confidence in the multilateral method of development finance and in the soundness of these institutions themselves. They are expert financiers, and healthy influences on the volume and terms of aid from other donors.

I propose that we increase our contributions to the United Nations Development Program, again subject to proportionate increases in other contributions. This Program merges United Nations technical assistance and pre-investment activities. It promises to be among the world's most valuable development instruments.

VII.

We will expand our efforts to encourage private initiative and enterprise in developing countries. We have received very useful advice and guidance from the report of the distinguished Advisory Committee on Private Enterprise in Foreign Aid. Many of the recommendations of that report are now being put into effect.

We will review frankly and constructively with cooperating countries the obstacles to domestic and foreign private investment. We will continue to support:

--elimination of inefficient controls;

--formation of cooperatives;

--training of labor and business leaders;

--credit facilities and advisory services for small and medium-sized farms and businesses.

The United States Government can do only a small part of the job of helping and encouraging businessmen abroad. We must rely more and more on the great reservoirs of knowledge and experience in our business and professional communities. These groups have already provided invaluable service and advice. We in government must find ways to make even greater use of these priceless assets. I propose to:

--continue our support for the International Executive Service Corps;

--increase the AID authority to guarantee U.S. private investments in developing countries.

VIII.

To signify the depth of our commitment to help those who help themselves, I am requesting five-year authorizations for our military and economic aid programs.

For development loans and loans under the Alliance for Progress, this is merely a reaffirmation of the principle adopted by the Congress in 1961 and 1962. It will not impair the ability or the duty of the Congress to review these programs. Indeed, it will free the Congress from the burden of an annual renewal of basic legislation, and provide greater opportunity for concentration on policy and program issues.

Annual Congressional consideration of both economic and military programs will be maintained through full annual presentations before the substantive committees, if they so desire, as well as through the annual appropriation process.

The military and economic authorization requests are contained in two separate bills. I believe this is a forward step in clarifying the goals and functions of these programs in the minds of the public and the Congress.

IX.

I am requesting a total appropriation of $2.469 million in FY 1967 to finance programs of economic cooperation. As in the last two years, I am requesting the absolute minimum to meet presently foreseeable needs, with the understanding that I will not hesitate to request a supplemental appropriation if a clear need develops.

Aid to Vietnam: The largest single portion of my request--$550 million in Supporting Assistance--is to support our effort in Vietnam. Our help to the government of Vietnam in carrying forward programs of village economic and social improvement is of crucial significance in maintaining public morale in the face of the horror of war. With the help of AID advisers, who often serve at great personal risk, the Vietnamese government is patiently building the foundations of progress in the rural areas.

Other Supporting Assistance: The remainder of my request--$197 million--is for aid to countries whose security is directly threatened. This is concentrated in programs for Laos, Korea, and Thailand. Each country is a key link in our defense system. Each lives in the shadow of great and hostile powers. Each is well worth the investment.

Alliance for Progress: I am requesting a total of $543 million in FY 1967 appropriations for the countries cooperating in the Alliance for Progress. Of this total $88 million will be used to finance technical cooperation.

At the Rio Conference, the United States announced its intention to support this great hemispheric effort beyond 1971. Our ultimate goal is a hemisphere of free nations, stable and just--prosperous in their economics and democratic in their politics.

We can cite many indications of heartening progress

--in 1965 alone, Chile settled about 4,000 families on their own land, about as many as had acquired land during the preceding 35 years;

--Brazil, as a result of courageous economic policy decisions, has reduced its rate of inflation, restored its credit, encouraged private investment, and modernized many of its economic institutions;

--in only two years, the five members of the Central American Common Market have increased intramarket trade by 123%.

These are not isolated or exceptional examples. The keynote of the Alliance for Progress has always been self-help. The pattern of our assistance--65% of which is concentrated in Brazil, Chile and Colombia-demonstrates our determination to help those who help themselves.

Most heartening of all, a new generation has risen to leadership in Latin America as the Alliance for Progress has taken hold. These young men and women combine a belief in democratic ideals with a commitment to peaceful change and social justice. We are happy to welcome them as leaders of great nations in the community of freedom.

Development Loans: Nine-tenths of the $665 million requested for this account is for five countries--India, Pakistan, Turkey, Korea and Nigeria.

We have long recognized the importance to all the world of progress in the giant nations of South Asia. But in the past year we witnessed a tragic confrontation between India and Pakistan which forced us to withhold all new assistance other than food. We will not allow our aid to subsidize an arms race between these two countries. Nor can we resume aid until we are reasonably certain that hostilities will not recur. The progress of reconciliation--first at the United Nations and then at Tashkent--holds promise that these two great countries have resolved on a course of peace. My request for development loan funds is made in the hope and belief that this promise will be fulfilled.

Turkey has continued her steady progress toward self-sustaining growth, and has remained a staunch NATO ally. She deserves our continued support.

Korea has made similar economic progress and has shown her dedication to the cause of freedom by supplying a full military division for service in Viet Nam.

Nigeria has recently suffered a painful upheaval, but we are hopeful that she too will maintain her responsible and progressive course.

The uncertainties of world affairs permit no guarantees that these hopes will be fulfilled. But I do guarantee the Congress and the American people that no funds will be used in these or other countries without a clear case that such expenditures are in the interest of the United States.

Technical Cooperation: This request-$231 million--will finance American advisors and teachers who are the crucial forces in the attack on hunger, ignorance, disease, and the population problem. The dollar total is relatively small. But no appropriation is more critical. No purpose is more central.

Contributions to International Organizations: I am requesting $140 million for these contributions in FY 1967. The majority of these funds will support such efforts as the United Nations Development Program and the U.N. Children's Fund. The remainder represents our share of the cost of maintaining essential United Nations peace-keeping and relief activities in areas of tension and conflict.

Other: The remaining $142 million of my request is distributed among the Contingency Fund, AID administrative expenses, and support of American schools and hospitals abroad.

X.

In making these requests, I assure the Congress that every effort will be extended to minimize the adverse impact on our balance of payments. I think the record is proof of the sincerity of these commitments.

AID procurement policies have been tightened to the point that, with minor and essential exceptions, all funds appropriated to AID must be spent in the U.S. for American goods and services. As a result, offshore expenditures of AID funds declined from $1 billion in 1960 to $533 million in 1964.

Further steps have been taken. I now expect that the figure will drop to about $400 million in FY 1967. Receipts are expected to rise to $186 million in FY 1967, yielding a net outflow of only $214 million.

XI,

I am transmitting the Military Assistance and Sales Act of 1966 as separate legislation. This new Act will provide a five-year authorization for the program which strengthens U.S. security by building the strength of offers to deter and resist aggression.

The new Act will provide:

--Effective coordination between our economic and military programs. I request the Congress to retain in the new Act those provisions which place responsibility for continuous supervision and general direction of all military assistance programs in the Secretary of State.

--Greater emphasis on sell-help. As with economic aid, we must condition our military aid upon commitments from recipients to make maximum contributions to the common defense.

--Greater emphasis on civic action programs. We shall give new stress to civic action programs through which local troops build schools and roads, and provide literacy training and health services. Through these programs, military personnel are able to play a more constructive role in their society, and to establish better relations with the civilian population.

--Emphasis on training. One of our most effective methods of building free world security is through the training provided foreign military personnel. Today, 8,500 foreign trainees come to this country each year and a similar number are trained at our service schools overseas. They return to their home countries with new professional skills and a new understanding of the role of the armed forces in a democratic society.

--Continued shift from grant aid to military sales. We will shift our military aid programs from grant to sales whenever possible--and without jeopardizing our security interests or progress of economic development. Military sales now exceed the dollar volume of the normal grant aid program. This not only makes a substantial favorable impact on the balance of payments, but it also demonstrates the willingness of our allies to carry an increasing share of their own defense costs.

I am requesting new obligational authority of $917 million for military assistance in fiscal year 1967. This is the bare minimum required if we are to keep our commitments to our allies and friendly armed forces to provide the equipment and training essential to free world defense.

The military assistance request for FY 1967 does not include funds for support of South Vietnamese and other allied forces who are engaged in the crucial struggle for freedom in that country. Financing for this effort will come directly from Department of Defense appropriations.

Almost three-fourths of the total program will go to countries adjacent to the borders of Soviet Russia and Communist China. The armed forces of such countries as Greece, Turkey, Iran and the Republics of China and Korea are effective deterrents to aggression. The balance of the funds will strengthen the capacity to maintain internal security in countries where instability and weakness can pave the way for subversion.

XII.

Americans have always built for the future.

That is why we established land grant colleges and passed the Homestead Act to open our Western lands more than 100 years ago.

That is why we adopted the progressive programs proposed by Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt.

That is why we are building the Great Society.

And that is why we have a foreign assistance program.

We extend assistance to nations because it is in the highest traditions of our heritage and our humanity. But even more, because we are concerned with the kind of world our children will live in.

It can be a world where nations raise armies, where famine and disease and ignorance are the common lot of men, where the poor nations look on the rich with envy, bitterness and frustration; where the air is filled with tension and hatred.

Or it can be a world where each nation lives in independence, seeking new ways to provide a better life for its citizens:

--a world where the energies of its restless peoples are directed toward the works of peace;

--a world where people are free to build a civilization to liberate the spirit of man.

We cannot make such a world in one message, in one appropriation or in one year. But we can work to do this with this appropriation in this year. And we must continue to build on the work of past years and begin to erase disease and hunger and ignorance from the face of the earth.

But the basic choice is up to the countries themselves. If that choice is for progress, we can and we must help. Our help can spell the difference between success and stagnation. We must stand ready to provide it when it is needed and when we have confidence that it will be well used.

This is the price and the privilege of world leadership.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

The White House

February 1, 1966