Page:Legislative History of the AAF and USAF.djvu/105

 �This Page Declassified lAW EO12958 ords of the contractor or subcontractors in- volved should be open to examination by the Comptroller General of the United States or his assistants. a Pubhc Law 30, 82 Cong., ! Sees. (approved 15 May I951) facilitated the financing of defense contracts by banks, and Public Law 245 82 Cong., 1 Sees (ap- proved 31 August 1951) amended Section 4 Of the Armed Services Procurement Act of 1947 to provide that in the case of all con- tracts negotiated wthout advertising the Comptroller General of the United States should have the authority to examine the books or records of the contractor or sub- contractors concerned. TM A significant development in procure- ment occurred in 1951 as a result of the aforementioned Mutual Defense Assistance Program, under which the Urnted States umished military eqmpment and other orms of military assistance to those na- tions which had ragned the North Atlantic Pact and to other friendly powers. The United States wa committed to this pro- gram by the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, ,nplemented by a foreign aid bill appropmatmg $1,314,010,000, which was signed by the Promdent on 28 October 1949. The mih'tary equipment thus made avmla- ble was to be taken irom excess stocks on hand, from service stock not in current use, or it was to be new matoriel obtained through regular procurement channels. The procurement of the aircraft and re- lated matoriel to implement this program became the responsibfity of the USAF which assigned the job to the Air Materlet Command. 6 More billions were appropriated for mutual defense assistance in 1950 and t951. s locurement for this program was slowed down, despite generous grants of funds, by the slowness with winch our air- craft production program got under way and by the development of industrial bot- fienecks. Then, too, American involvement in Korea brought about a rapid expansion of the USAF and a multiplication of pro- curement demands. These factors, plus the fact that American dollars spent abroad for aircraft and related matoriel would strengthen the economic condition of our allies and help them to develop facilities for supplying their own military needs, caused the USAF to resort to foreign procurement. On 15 February 1951 the authority of the Ar Matoriel Command to direct overseas procurement became effective. Arrangements were made in August 1951 for the Off-Shore lrocurement Program to serve USAF requirements in the European region. This included the off-shore manu- facture of spare parts, arrangements for the use of patent rights held by U.S. manu- facturers, and the licensing of European manufacturers. An example of the way off- shore procurement operated was the sub- sttution of British.built Avon engines for J-35 jet engines as a solutmn to the bottle- neck in NATO aircraft production result- ing from nsufficient jet engune produo- Air Force appropriations for tarcraft and related procurement, including funds granted for expanding and mobilizing pro- duction facilities, also reflected the USAF expansion program. In 1949 Congress granted $3,092,755,000 in cash and contract authorizations to be used for aircraft and related procurement in fiscal 1950. TM By the Defense Appropriation Act, 1951, ap- proved 6 September 1950, provision was made [or the establishment of a 1951 air- craft procurement program which was to cost $1,711,440,000, part of the cost being paid out of the sum of $2,510,000,000 in cash and contract authority granted in ths act, and part from unused contract authority granted in the National Militm7 Establish- ment Appropriation Act, 1950. xr Subse- quent supplemental appropriation legisla- tion enacted n 1950-1951 brought the total of appropriations for roreraft and related procurement made by Congress for fiscal 1951 up to $8,102,000,0007 Appropriations granted for the purpose of aircraft and re- lated procurement reached a new high in 1951. Before the end of he year Congress enacted the Department of Defense Ap- propriation Act, 1952, approved 18 October 1951, which granted the Air Force a total of $12,990,800,000 ($11,215,800,000 cash and $1,75,000,000 in contract authority) to be used for this type of procurement. TM This THIS PAGE Declassified lAW EO12958