Office of the Historian

200. Memorandum From the Director of Central Intelligence (Vandenberg) to the National Intelligence Authority0

Washington, August 21, 1946.

SUBJECT

  • Delegation of Authority to Utilize Special Working Fund
[Page 536]

REFERENCE

  • Letter from N.I.A. to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller General dated 30 July 19461

In the reference letter, the National Intelligence Authority requested the establishment of a special working fund to administer funds made available by the State, War and Navy Departments to the Central Intelligence Group. The N.I.A. stated that “Upon the establishment of such a working fund, it is proposed, in addition to committing such funds of our respective Departments for administration by the Central Intelligence Group, to delegate to the Director of Central Intelligence or his authorized representatives the necessary authorities for the administration of those funds, for personnel actions, for procurement of equipment and supplies, and for the certification of vouchers.”

The special working fund has now been established and the enclosed letter is designed to provide the additional authorizations which the N.I.A. proposed in the above quotation. This letter has been coordinated with representatives of the Treasury Department and the Comptroller General, and has been agreed to by them in principle.

It is requested that each member of the National Intelligence Authority, in turn, sign the enclosed letter and transmit to the next addressee, returning the letter to the undersigned when all the signatures have been affixed. Sufficient copies are also attached to enable each member to detach one copy for file.

Hoyt S. Vandenberg 2

Lieutenant General, USA

Enclosure3

Washington, September 5, 1946.

Letter From the National Intelligence Authority to the Comptroller General (Warren)

Dear Sir: In our letter of 30 July 1946, we requested that you establish a working fund to assist in carrying out the President’s wishes in [Page 537] regard to foreign intelligence activities. We proposed in that letter to authorize the Director of Central Intelligence to direct the administration and fiscal supervision of such a working fund upon its establishment. With approval of the Treasury Department and the Comptroller General, Working Fund, War, General, 1947, has been constituted and has been assigned the symbol number 2175900.

In order to comply with the Presidential Directive of 22 January 1946 that the Director of Central Intelligence perform such services of common concern as the National Intelligence Authority determines can be more effectively accomplished centrally, we now on behalf of the Departments we represent, and in our capacity as members of the National Intelligence Authority, authorize the Director, subject to policies established by the National Intelligence Authority, to control, supervise and administer this working fund with full powers in respect thereto as would otherwise have been exercised by us over the funds contributed to the working fund by our respective Departments, including the powers and authority granted by the Military Appropriation Act, 1947, and the Naval Appropriation Act, 1947, approved July 8, 1946 (Public Law 492–79th Congress), pertaining to certificates of expenditures and determinations of propriety of expenditures.

The Director of Central Intelligence and his authorized representatives shall arrange with your Departments such procedures, practices and controls as are necessary to meet your requirements, and the Working Fund, War, General, 1947 shall be subject only to the immediate control of the Director in accordance with policies established by the National Intelligence Authority.

Dean Acheson 4

Acting Secretary of State
Robert P. Patterson

Secretary of War
Forrestal

Secretary of the Navy
William D. Leahy

Personal Representative of the President on N.I.A.
  1. Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–804, Item 2, Job 84–B00442R, Box 7. Confidential. The source text is a transcript made for the CIA Historian on September 4, 1952.↩
  2. See the enclosure to Document 199.↩
  3. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩
  4. Confidential. It appears that this is not a draft but a copy of the signed original.↩
  5. Printed from a copy that bears these typed signatures.↩