CONGRESSION RECORD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000600140001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 23, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 22, 1964
• Content Type: OPEN

Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA
Soviet Union. I believe we were amazed,
not only by the conclusions revealed, but
by the methods used to make this infor-
or NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, January 22, 1964
Mr. OSTERTAG. Mr. Speaker, many.
of us were amazed recently when the
Central Intelligence Agency held a public
press conference to announce some of its
conclusions about the 'economy of the
the object of this new game-since it' is ? economy, in any case, is that Russia is in the
played by today's ins instead of, as in 1960, Communist equivalent of a moderately seri-
by the outs-will be to prove that every- ous recession. Not only is it suffering from
thing Is nqw happily reversed. an obvious grain crop failure, says the CIA,
It seems to me there is cause for con-
organization such as CIA being used to
influence public opinion, and this prac-
tice should not be continued. All of us
remember the great manipulations of-
economic growth figures during the last
presidential election campaign
and the
,
CIA has no place in any renewal of a
1 public debate on this issue.
The Buffalo (N.Y.) Evening News has
discussed this question thoroughly and
appropriately in an editorial of January
18, 1964, and I would like to include a
copy of this excellent editorial with my
remarks.
GROWTHMANSHIP--A LA 1964
enjoyed by nearly every campaigning Demo- '
Drat was called growthmanship. A s described
in one satirical speech by then Vice President,
Nixon-before he knew who his 1960 oppo-
nent would be-it, was played by citing spe-
c;ous statistics to prove that the U.S. growth
rate had slowed down even as the Soviet
growth rate was speeding up. Thus, America
'.,.must hurry, hurry, hurry to keep Russia from
passing us and-winning the growth race.
Well, now it's another presidential cam-
paign year, and the stage is being set for a
new game, growthmanship revisited, or
growthmanship in reverse. And, of course
Thus, not our growth rate but Russia's is but its economy is so out of kilter in other
suddenly represented as having miraculously ways that its overall economic growth has
been slowed to a crawl while the U.S. econ- declined from a rate of about 6 percent a year
omy surges forward at an ever-accelerating during the 1950's to 21/z percent in 1962.
pace-thereby ending any danger of our be- But before anyone In Washington gets as
ing overtaken by Soviet production, Indeed, carried away politically by this new estimate
some of the more zealous players even show as,some did in 1960 by the old ones, perhaps
signs of getting carried away to the point of it is time to recall a famous line from the
implying that Russia is in such a slow-growth late Charlie Wilson when the some Congress
mess in Its domestic economy that It may that had panicked over the Soviet sputnik a
soon offer no danger to us, period. year earlier wanted to cut his Defense De-7
To lay the factual groundwork for such a partment budget: "I didn't think the Rus-
1964 reverse twist on 1960's game of growth- sians were 10 feet tall last year, and I don't
manship, we have been treated to an un- think they're only 5 feet tall now." Just so,
precedented special briefing by the Central we didn't think they, were economically 10
I Intelligence Agency. Never before has this feet tall In 1960, and we doubt if they're
.
Sanitized Approved For- Release :'CIA'RDP7:5-00'149ROO06001400.01-3
Irtrssxoiv.~~~-- JAN 22 1964.
anything. Why it did so now is open to'
varying conjecture-whether for reasons of
its own or because the administration felt
this appraisal of Russia's growth slowdown
would be more impressive coming directly
from CIA than from the usual White House,
State Department or Pentagon sources,