Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume IX, International Development and Economic Defense Policy; Commodities

307. Record of Action¹

Washington, December 9, 1965, 4 p.m.

Joint Meeting of the Special Committee on Stockpile Objectives and the Executive Stockpile Committee, held on December 9, 1965, at 4:00 p.m. in the Situation Room of the White House

The two Committees took the following actions:

(1) Agreed that the draft National Security Action Memorandum should be amended by the addition of a third numbered paragraph of guidance providing that conventional stockpile objectives should be regarded as maximum and that no stocks should be withheld from sale in anticipation of possible future nuclear stockpile requirements. (The amended draft NSAM is attached herewith.)²

(2) Concurred in the draft NSAM as amended above, for recommendation to the President, subject to the position of the Department of Defense which is expected by December 17, 1965.³

(3) Discussed the legislative presentation to be made early in the next session and agreed that it would be desirable to have a single bill that would authorize the President to dispose of surpluses in the stockpile without specific Congressional approval of each disposition action. However, it was agreed that alternative arrangements would also be studied so that the President could determine the best legislative approach.

(4) Agreed that analysis and research should continue on the question of possible nuclear emergency stockpile requirements but that until firm nuclear emergency needs are established the nation cannot devote scarce resources to the creation and maintenance of contingency nuclear emergency stockpiles, the need for which has not yet been established.

1. Source: Department of State, S/S Files: Lot 70 D 217. Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text and there is no indication that Bundy, Chairman of the Special Committee, or Ellington, Chairman of the Executive Stockpile Committee, approved the Record of Action. An attached list of participants includes the following officials: Henry Rowen (Bureau of the Budget); John T. Connor (Commerce); Gardner Ackley (Council of Economic Advisers); Cyrus Vance (Defense); Lawson B. Knott (General Services Administration); Stewart L. Udall and William E. Florey (Interior); Seymore Wolfbein (Labor); Buford Ellington (Office of Emergency Planning); Thomas C. Mann and Edmund Getzin (State); McGeorge Bundy, Joseph Califano, Donald Hornig, Charles E. Johnson, and Henry Wilson (White House).
2. Dated December 13, not printed.
3. In a January 22, 1966, memorandum to Buddy, McNamara wrote: “The Department of Defense concurs in the draft NSAM dated 12/13/65 concerning revisions in strategic stockpile objectives.” (Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD Files: FRC 70 A 1266, 400.23 Stockpiles 1965)