Statement by the President on the Importance of Maintaining a Bipartisan Foreign Policy.

I HAVE had a very satisfactory talk with Secretary Acheson and Senator Bridges, who is the ranking Republican of the Senate in Senator Vandenberg's absence. We discussed a number of the more important problems facing this Nation in the field of foreign relations and also some of the problems involved in finding a workable means for keeping the Republican minority informed currently. On my instructions, Secretary Acheson has previously consulted with Senator Connally as well as with Senator Vandenberg and other Democratic and Republican Members of Congress. In addition to the discussions I have had with Senator Bridges, I have also talked personally with Members of the Senate of both parties. I expect to obtain the views of still others on this subject.

With the problems facing the United States in the field of foreign relations it is most important that every effort be made to maintain a true bipartisan foreign policy. It will be my purpose, as well as that of Secretary Acheson, not only to keep the members of the minority currently informed, but to solicit their views and take them into serious account in both the formulation and implementation of our foreign policy.