Harry S. Truman photo

Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Providing Funds for Military Aircraft.

May 21, 1948

I HAVE today signed H.R. 6226 providing funds for the procurement of military aircraft. The prompt action taken by Congress, on my request for legislation authorizing the immediate availability of funds included in the 1949 budget, and supplemental funds, means that this program can move ahead at an earlier date than would otherwise have been possible.

The Congress has seen fit to provide $822 million beyond the amount which I considered necessary in submitting my request for the acceleration of the program. Provision has been made, however, that the funds shall not be spent without a finding by the President that the "contracts let are necessary in the national defense," and that the procurement results in the "maximum utilization of improvements in aircraft and equipment consistent with the defense needs of the U.S." To assist me in discharging this responsibility, I have asked the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to formulate and recommend appropriate procedures.

I informed the Congress on May 13 that I intend to review the entire military program in September and again in December. Our national security requires that the total national defense program be based on a strong economic system and depend on a level of expenditures which can be supported in subsequent years. It is therefore my intention to carry out the provisions of the present Act with this in mind.

Note: As enacted, H.R. 6226 is Public Law 547, 80th Congress (62 Stat. 258).

Harry S Truman, Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Providing Funds for Military Aircraft. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/232291

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