Bureau of the Budget Recommends Eisenhower Approve Legislation Establishing NASA (1958)

Date: July 26, 1958

Created By: Maurice Stans

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, The Space Race

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: White House Office: Records Officer Reports to President on Pending Legislation, Box 124, 7/29/58 HR 12575; NAID #12060429

This July 26, 1958 memorandum from Bureau of the Budget Director Maurice H. Stans advises President Dwight D. Eisenhower on H.R. 12575, legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Stans explains that the bill largely follows the administration’s earlier proposal by creating a civilian agency responsible for directing the nation’s aeronautical and space activities, while military-specific programs would remain separate. The new NASA administrator would report directly to the president, and a National Aeronautics and Space Council would advise Eisenhower on the development and coordination of national space policy.

The memorandum discusses several important provisions, including coordination between civilian and military space programs, transfer of existing federal programs into NASA, protection and public release of information, patents resulting from government-supported research, and international cooperation in peaceful space exploration. It also notes concerns raised by the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and State about specific provisions of the legislation. Despite these concerns, the Departments of Defense and State, Atomic Energy Commission, National Science Foundation, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and Bureau of the Budget recommended approval. The document provides a detailed view of the administrative and policy considerations facing Eisenhower immediately before he signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act.