Page:Legislative History of the AAF and USAF.djvu/24

 �This Page Declassified lAW EO12958 A' Yoree Eegzltio USAF lsocA, Suns -- 17 of mihtary materieL* This sum was to be available for the fiscal years 1939, 1940, and 1941. In addition $2,000,000 was au- thorized for each of the four succeeding years.-7 The regular appropriation act for fiscal year 1940 approved $2,000,000 for educa- tional orders and the supplementary ap- propriation bill provided an additional $14,250,000 for this purpose. The remainder of the $34,500,000 authorized under Public Law 18 lot' educational orders was granted by Congress in the MMitary Appropriation Act, 1941, approved 13 Yune 1940. It was not until 1941, however, that any large share of the funds thus granted were al- located to the Air Corps. g Early in 1941 the Air Corps submitted a list of proposed educational orders which totaled $12,312,18.25. Slightly more than the requested amount was allotted to the Air Corp. so that it had $12,885,664 for this purpose for the fiscal year 1941. :* It was not enough, however, to grant iunds for educational orders. Tins only prepared for production by helping manu- facturers acquire the "know-how," machin- ery, etc. necessary for the production of aircraft and related matoriel. It was neces- sary to set p a huge expediting program in order to get out the vast production de- manded by the defense emergency. This required extensive enabling legislation and large appropriations. V/hen Presiden Roosevelt in his message to Congress on 16 May 1940 called for the production of 50,000 planes, the problem of adequate productive facilities became acute. Soon afterward, in the 1Viih'tary Ap- propriation Act, 1941, Congress authorized the President to spend emergency funds for the furnishing of Government-owned facil- ities to private plants, for the procurement and training of civilian per.,onnel necessary for the production of critical equipment and materie1, and /or the procurement of strategic and critical materials. For these and other War Department purposes, The )roose of giving educational orders t. o enable firm hun[llu go¾crnment couracts o acquire eperlenc and "now-ho"  the prodnorton of wrlo type of matoriel whlc the wDl be called n to produce In large quantities  later date or durlns an emeryhey ey are really ample o trial order $66,000,000 in cash, and $66,000,000 in con. tract authority were to be arallable to the President through the appropriate govern- ment agencies.  By the First Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Act, 1941, approved 26 June 1940, Congress made $150,000,000 in cash and $õ0,000,000 in contract authority avadable to the Secre- tary of War to be used for the purpose of expediting production. These sums were to be spent upon the recommendation of the Council of National Defense and with the approval of the President.  By the passage of "An Act to Expedite the Strengthening of the National iense," Public Law 03, 6 Cong., 2 Seas. (approved 2 July 1940), Congress gave the Secretary of War wide powers to use in expediting production. He was authorized to use appropriated funds to construct and maintain war production plants and eft/ties--using either government em- ployees or qualified commercial manufac- turers for their operation and maintenance. Section seven of this act gave to the Presi- den expediting authority similar to that provided in the Ac of 13 June 1940 and made $132,000,000 in cash and contract authorizatxons available ior use in expecht- ing production for the War Department.  Meanwhile the Air Corps was considerinõ the varmus methods by which facilities for the proauction of tarcraft and engines might be expanded. The need for such ex- pansion was great; billions of dollars were waiting for aircraft factories which did not have the space to handle the orders. It was estimated that $120,000,000 would be the cost of providing the new facilities the ex- pansion program called/or, and the neces. sary funds for accelerating deliveries. While the problem of which method to use in ex. pancling facEties was being discussed, Con- gess had granted, by the passage of the firs and second supplemental appropria- tion acts for the fiscal year 1941, a total sum of $525,000,000 for expediting produc- tion. Of this amount approximately $18,500,000 was/or the Air Corps.  The Third Supplemental National reuse Appropriation Act, 1941, approved October 1940, carried a still larger grant THIS PAGE Declassflied lAW EO12958