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Lot 82
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Reagan 1986 "protect American lives...against terrorist activity"
Reagan 1986 "protect American lives...against terrorist activity"
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Description:

Ronald Reagan
[Washington, DC], June 4, 1986
Reagan 1986 "protect American lives...against terrorist activity"
TLS

A 3pp typed letter boldly signed by 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) as "Ronald Reagan" towards the top of the third page. June 4, 1986. [Washington, D.C.] Typed on watermarked pale green paper, on "The White House / Washington" letterhead with a blind-embossed seal at the top. Annotated at upper right as "Budget / Response / 'politely,'" almost certainly in the hand of Reagan's letter recipient, William H. Grey III. Date-stamp docketed in part "Budget Committee," also at upper right. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds. The first and second pages have gentle creases at upper left, with old staple holes. Isolated edge darkening, else near fine. 7" x 10.5."

President Reagan wrote this letter to William H. Gray III (1941-2013), the longtime Pennsylvania Congressman, and Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget since 1985. In the letter, Reagan urged Gray to reconsider his hawkish position on funding the International Affairs (150) function in the upcoming budget for Fiscal Year 1987 (FY 1987). In broad terms, the letter represents a superb reversal of Reagan's typical fiscal conservatism. Yet, as Reagan explains within, Foreign Affairs expenditure more than paid for itself by forging America's global reputation. "For this relatively small share of the budget, we receive enormous dividends, chief among which is a renewed position of influence and respect internationally," Reagan wrote Gray.

The Reagan administration had a nuanced position on the issue of spending: although Reagan here passionately advocates for Foreign Affairs spending, his February 8, 1986 Radio Address to the Nation on the Fiscal Year 1987 Budget proposed cutting $38 billion from the next year's appropriations. Reagan's speech calling to "cut the fat out of the Federal budget" certainly sounded more like his typical fiscal approach. Reagan's FY 1987 budget aimed to hit a deficit target of $144 billion by reducing defense spending, reducing handouts to corporations, increasing user fees, and cutting programs. But his call to fund Foreign Affairs was not inconsistent with this, since he saw intrinsic value in it which could not be quantified.

The Congressional response to President Reagan's FY 1987 budget was far from what he had hoped for. Both the Republican-led Senate and Democratic-led House significantly underfunded Reagan's proposed International Affairs budget. This mostly discretionary pot of money was typically allocated to fund humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping missions, and economic investment abroad, as well as finance basic State Department operations.

Reagan wrote in part:

"I am writing to underscore Secretary Schultz's [U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz] recent statements on the grave implications of Congressional Budget actions in the International Affairs (150) function. As conferees begin to work on a final budget resolution for FY 1987, I hope you will take into account my concern that the funding levels under consideration risk jeopardizing all the progress we have made in the past five years. Today, we have a strong, effective foreign policy, due in large measure to the increased resources we have devoted -- with bipartisan Congressional support -- to international affairs. We must not reverse this situation through unwise budgetary action.

The request for the International Affairs function represents less than 2.3 percent of the entire federal budget. Out of this small fraction, we fund not only our entire foreign assistance program and the State Department's operations, but also numerous smaller programs dealing with the conduct of foreign affairs and international communications and cultural exchanges. For this relatively small share of the budget, we receive enormous dividends, chief among which is a renewed position of influence and respect internationally.

Yet, the Congress has taken this tiny fraction and cut it by as much as twenty-five percent. Moreover, as Secretary Schultz has pointed out, after funding our highest priority commitments to Israel and Egypt, the base rights countries [countries hosting U.S. bases in exchange for aid], Pakistan, and Central America, and after allowing for the Congress' addition of over a billion dollars for the Export-Import Bank, the shortfall in the bulk of our foreign affairs program is more on the order of fifty percent…

Meanwhile, the ongoing operations of the States Department, USIA and the Board for International Broadcasting must also be funded. Reductions of the kind being discussed could result in substantial reductions in our diplomatic presence overseas which would give the impression of a United States in retreat. This is hardly the sort of posture we should be adopting in the wake of the foreign policy successes we have achieved over the past few years.

Such cutbacks in foreign affairs programs would send a signal to the world that we are retrenching just as an era of new opportunity is dawning. It would be tragic if we were to send such a signal…

We must continue to pay the relatively small cost of a vital, active foreign policy which tells the world that we stand for peace, freedom and security…"

The FY 1987 budget was passed hastily on October 18, 1986 to avoid a government shutdown. Far away from President Reagan's $144 billion deficit target, the bill met a $154 billion ceiling, and only then to remain compliant with the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings mandate.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7" x 10.5"
  • Medium: TLS

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