Sept. 7, 1962 - President Kennedy asked Congress today for authority to order 150,000 members of the Ready Reserves to active duty for a year because of the critical nature of the international situation. The President’s action came as Republicans were stepping up their demands that the Administration take measures ranging from blockade to outright invasion of Cuba to meet the threat they believe is posed by the Soviet arms buildup there. It was widely suspected in Washington that the President was seeking to counter this criticism with his request. This assumption was reinforced by the fact that the President sent his bill to Congress only a few hours after Senator Everett Dirksen and Representative Charles A. Halleck, the Republican leaders, had proposed a joint resolution giving the President authority to use troops, if necessary, to defeat communism in Cuba.
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