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Ford Press Releases - Urban Affairs, 1967-1968
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Ford Press Releases - Urban Affairs, 1967-1968
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The original documents are located in Box D9, folder "Ford Press Releases - Urban
Affairs, 1967-1968" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at
the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D9 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR THE SENATE:
FOR THE HOUSE
THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP
OF REPRESENTATIVES:
Everett M. Dirksen
of Illinois
Gerald R. Ford
OF THE CONGRESS
of Michigan
Thomas H. Kuchel
of California
Leslie C. Arends
of Illinois
Bourke B. Hickenlooper
of Iowa
Press Release
Melvin R. Laird
of Wisconsin
Margaret Chase Smith
of Maine
John J. Rhodes
of Arizona
George Murphy
of California
H. Allen Smith
of California
Milton R. Young
of North Dakota
Bob Wilson
of California
Hugh Scott
of Pennsylvania
Charles E. Goodell
of New York
PRESIDING:
Richard H. Poff
of Virginia
The National Chairman
Ray C. Bliss
William C. Cramer
of Florida
STATEMENT BY THE
For Release
Tuesday, A.M.
REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP OF THE CONGRESS
February 28, 1967
40 Republican members of the House of Representatives and 16
Republican members of the Senate have introduced legislation for
the establishment of a National Commission on Public Management. We
urge the Democrat leadership and majority to schedule hearings
promptly on this significant measure.
This Commission would bring to bear on the management of public
business the very best minds in private industry, Government, labor,
and education. Its mandate is to answer two fundamental questions:
How can new management technology aid us in solving governmental
problems? What is the best way to take advantage of the opportu-
nities these new techniques provide?
Examples of attempts to apply these modern management principles
to State and local affairs already exist. In November 1964, the
State of California announced its plan for the application of systems
engineering techniques to four important public problems. New York
State is currently developing a computer-based identification and
intelligence system for law enforcement, the first of its kind in
the world.
Congress has over the past decade enacted a host of creative
programs designed to solve our public, social and economic problems.
Room S-124 U.S. Capitol-(202) 225-3700
Consultant to the Leadership-John B. Fisher
- 2 -
We have made important strides forward in education, health care,
pollution control and urban development, but the dimensions of our
remaining problems are staggering: 10,000 of our Nation's com-
munities will face serious problems of air pollution; the demand
for water consumption may exceed the available supply before the
end of this century; there are 9 million substandard housing units
in the United States, most of them in urban areas; traffic jams
cost the Nation over $5 billion each year; and scientific and
technical information is doubling every 15 years.
It is clear that problems of this magnitude are not susceptible
to the traditional solutions. We must reach beyond our history for
new ways to manage the public business effectively and economically.
We are sure that none of us can forcast the full measure of worth
to this nation which such an endeavor may ultimately provide. We
are equally certain that the use of modern technology coupled with
the application of modern management techniques may provide solutions
to many of the problems which now appear insoluble. It is up to
us in the Congress to insure that these steps are taken in a timely
fashion, hence our urging of prompt hearings on this measure.
FOR THE SENATE:
FOR THE HOUSE
Everett M. Dirksen
THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP
OF REPRESENTATIVES:
of Illinois
Gerald R. Ford
Thomas H. Kuchel
OF THE CONGRESS
of Michigan
of California
Leslie C. Arends
Bourke B. Hickenlooper
of Illinois
of Iowa
Press Release
Melvin R. Laird
Margaret Chase Smith
of Wisconsin
of Maine
10
John J. Rhodes
George Murphy
of Arizona
of California
H. Allen Smith
Milton R. Young
of California
of North Dakota
Bob Wilson
Hugh Scott
of
California
of Pennsylvania
Charles E. Goodell
of New York
PRESIDING:
Richard H. Poff
of Virginia
The National Chairman
Ray C. Bliss
William C. Cramer
of Florida
STATEMENT BY THE
For Release
Tuesday, A.M.Jaoo
REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP OF THE CONGRESS
February 28, 1967
40 Republican members of the House of Representatives and 16
20
Republican members of the Senate have introduced legislation for
the establishment of a National Commission on Public Management. We
urge the Democrat leadership and majority to schedule hearings
promptly on this significant measure.
dose
This Commission would bring to bear on the management of public
business the very best minds in private industry, Government, labor,
and education. Its mandate is to answer two fundamental questions:
How can new management technology aid us in solving governmental
problems? What is the best way to take advantage of the opportu-
nities these new techniques provide?
Examples of attempts to apply these modern management principles
to State and local affairs already exist. In November 1964, the
State of California announced its plan for the application of systems
engineering techniques to four important public problems. New York
State is currently developing a computer-based identification and
intelligence system for law enforcement, the first of its kind in
the world.
Congress has over the past decade enacted a host of creative
programs designed to solve our public, social and economic problems.
Room S-124 U.S. Capitol-(202) 225-3700
Consultant to the Leadership-John B. Fisher
- 2 -
We have made important strides forward in education, health care,
pollution control and urban development, but the dimensions of our
remaining problems are staggering: 10,000 of our Nation's com-
munities will face serious problems of air pollution; the demand
for water consumption may exceed the available supply before the
end of this century; there are 9 million substandard housing units
in the United States, most of them in urban areas; traffic jams
cost the Nation over $5 billion each year; and scientific and
technical information is doubling every 15 years.
It is clear that problems of this magnitude are not susceptible
to the traditional solutions. We must reach beyond our history for
new ways to manage the public business effectively and economically.
We are sure that none of us can forcast the full measure of worth
to this nation which such an endeavor may ultimately provide. We
are equally certain that the use of modern technology coupled with
the application of modern management techniques may provide solutions
to many of the problems which now appear insoluble. It is up to
us in the Congress to insure that these steps are taken in a timely
fashion, hence our urging of prompt hearings on this measure.
Office Cabel
REPUBLICAN
REpublican NATiONAL COMMiTTEE
HAPIONAL COMMINSION
1625 EYE STREET, NORTHWEST, WASHINGTON, D. C. 20006
NATIONAL 8-6800
NEWS
FOR RELEASE
MONDAY A.M.'s
June 3, 1968
REPUBLICAN COORDINATING COMMITTEE PLEDGES NEW LEADERSHIP,
NEW MEASURES, TO ALLEVIATE THE "CRISIS" IN NATION'S CITIES
The Republican Coordinating Committee pledged today a new leadership, and
a different approach and measures, in attacking the "crisis" that has descended
upon the nation's cities.
In a 55-page report entitled "New Directions for Urban America," the
Coordinating Committee, representing the top leadership of the Republican Party,
presented a detailed blueprint of the manner in which GOP leaders would approach
and undertake to set in order the perplexing maze of urban problems.
The GOP approach places emphasis on education and training to give individuals
self-reliance and personal dignity, an end of discrimination in all forms, support
for self-help groups and activities, restoration of the community as a center of
life, greater use of private enterprise in dealing with problems, and the rebuilding
of city governments in place of centralized control in Washington.
The report, released today by Republican National Chairman Ray C. Bliss, was
prepared by the Coordinating Committee's Task Force on the Functions of Federal,
State and Local Governments, of which Representative Robert Taft, Jr., Ohio
Republican, is Chairman.
After describing a long list of urban ills, and spelling out the Republican
approach to solutions, the report sums up 123 specific recommendations which the
-MORE-
-2-
Coordinating Committee has made in 27 position papers dealing with domestic affairs
issued over a period of nearly three years.
Special attention is directed in the report to 55 recommendations "because
of their relevance to the present urban crisis."
In the field of training and education, these recommendations call for
credits against the Federal income tax toward the cost of training persons, a
National Job Opportunity Survey and a nation-wide communications system to
facilitate job placement, improvement and expansion of vocational education pro-
grams, a cooperative effort to carry through a program of technological education,
expansion of two-year technical institutes and community colleges, early child-
hood education, new and expanded school facilities in the cities, distribution
of Federal aid to education to treat all school children equally, and other
measures.
Other recommendations deal with poverty and welfare, housing, human rights,
crime and law enforcement, pollution control, transportation, government structure
and procedures, and inter-government finance.
The recommendations include the following:
Removal of disincentives to work, enhancement of home ownership opportunities,
short-term leasing of existing housing for public housing, better techniques to
solve the relocation problem in urban renewal, "faithful execution of the fair
housing provisions of the civil rights bill recently passed by Congress with
majority Republican support," block grants directly to the States and other
measures to reduce crime, tax incentives to industry and other steps to cut down
water and air pollution, tax incentives and other measures to alleviate urban
traffic congestion, area governments to meet essential needs where necessary, and
reversal of the trend toward specialized Federal grant-in-aid programs.
The GOP policy group said:
-MORE-
-3-
"The Republican Party pledges to provide the American people the quality
of leadership needed to resolve the urban crisis and to build a better future in
our cities. The three most vital elements of national leadership, and the three
that the Democratic Administration has most visibly lacked, are responsibility,
candor and inspiration. We promise to restore these values to the American
political scene
"We indict the Democratic leadership on three counts:
(1) the reckless use of inflated promises and a resort to political
sloganeering which raised many expectations that were not realized;
(2) a lack of decisive action and influence in dealing with the immediate
problems of lawlessness and disorder; and
(3) an unwillingness to establish a well-ordered set of priorities to
meet pressing social needs and to chart the nation's future course
"To lift the urban crisis from our land will require profound adjustments
throughout our social system, involving new personal attitudes and commitments,
more relevant public and private institutions, a reassignment of priorities and
resources, and, above all, new national leadership to replace the 'politics-as-
usual' of the past four years.
"In a pluralistic society, no government, no administration, and no political
party can effect the entire range of necessary social adjustments. But this we
pledge: that the Republican Party, in 1968 and the years ahead, will seek to
provide a leadership of ideas, inspiration and innovation to set new directions
for urban America."
The Coordinating Committee said there is little doubt "that the repetition
of irresponsible promises and political slogans by the Administration in 1964 and
1965 contributed to the violence and disorcer of the succeeding two summers."
The Committee added:
-MORE-
-4-
"The rhetoric of the War on Poverty and the Great Society created the
impression among the disadvantaged of the cities that their living conditions
would be dramatically and rapidly improved.
"The deep-rooted ills of inadequate education and job training, racial
discrimination, poor housing, blighted neighborhoods, and lack of transportation
facilities would--according to this script--be cured overnight.
"It is clear that these promises extended far beyond the reach of any per-
formance humanly possible. As a result, expectations were raised, but not realized,
and for many, a sense of betrayal occurred.
"This led to hostility, and for some violent outbursts. We charge the present
Administration with irresponsibility in making these inflated and politically
motivated promises to the poor. "
The Republican policy-makers declared that, instead of restoring calm and
inspiring confidence as the urban crisis expanded, the actions of President
Johnson "have been halting, unclear and unsteady."
The Coordinating Committee added:
"An example of uncertain leadership and an apparent admission of failure is
the President's public statement that the nation can expect more rioting and
disorder in the cities this summer. Such statements do not resolve crises and
reduce tensions; they contribute to them.'
The Committee said the Administration had failed to present a blueprint for
the future, "based on a national strategy to reconcile hostilities and to alleviate
the cities' unmet social needs."
The basic ingredients of such a strategy, the Committee said, are:
--A call "for an end to group hostility and discrimination, together with
a strong assertion of the need for understanding and fairness."
--Establishment of "hard and meaningful priorities to provide needed funds for
urban problems while reducing or deferring outlays for less essential programs at
home and abroad."
-MORE-
-5-
--Vision and energy "from all of our leaders in order to gain popular
acceptance for these measures, to establish a sense of purpose, and to lead the
future course of urban America."
Aside from the basic attitude toward leadership, the GOP policy group listed
five other areas in which the approach of the Democratic Administrations of the
current decade has differed from that of the Republican Party. They are: the
attitude toward the individual; toward voluntary and self-help organizations;
toward the community; toward the role of private enterprise; and the approach
to government.
The Individual
With regard to the individual, the Coordinating Committee said that,
despite the passage of numerous civil rights laws, "widespread discrimination
or segregation continues in employment, education and housing due to uneven
enforcement of existing laws and gaps in coverage."
The Committee said:
"The persistence of discriminatory practices, unjustified in all forms,
contributes greatly to the sense of frustration and resentment among minority
groups in the cities."
The Republican policy-makers said that, from the days of the New Deal to
the Great Society, the Democratic approach to the individual has been that he
"should be dependent upon the government," and that this approach has been
"extended to cover more and more human needs, and expanded to apply to more and
more individuals."
The Coordinating Committee said this approach is now "enshrined in the
nation's welfare system, " that in a time of relative affluence welfare now covers
more than nine million people at an annual cost of more than $6 billion, and that
instead of a temporary relief measure as in the days of the New Deal it "has
-MORE-
-6-
become a way of life with second and even third generations trapped in the
system."
Emphasizing that the system as presently constituted "just does not work,"
the Committee said that a climate of opportunity should be provided for the
individual that would build "self-reliance and independence."
The Committee added:
"We, therefore, strongly favor and have consistently supported government
action to improve educational opportunities, to expand job training and provide
job incentives, and to remove employment barriers as the keys to providing more
individuals with enlarged opportunities for self-improvement and fulfillment.
"The individual in turn has the responsibility for seeking and using
opportunities to improve himself and his community.
"This approach, in combination with welfare measures to protect the individual
from temporary hardship, offers a constructive and lasting solution to the
problems of poverty and disadvantage in the cities."
Voluntary and Self-Help Organizations
The Coordinating Committee said the Democratic Party "has not fully
appreciated the importance of voluntary and self-help activity and has not
sufficiently encouraged the formation and strengthening of organizations dedicated
to self-help principles."
The Committee added:
"Too frequently, in fact, local self-help groups have been undermined by
Federally directed and subsidized organizations.
"The Republican Party, at the Federal, State and local level and through
its individual members, pledges to stimulate and encourage voluntary and self-help
organizations in the cities.
-MORE-
-7-
"We recognize that people who are producing progress of their own making
are people who will work to defend and to build, rather than to destroy."
The Community
The GOP policy group said that Democratic policies "have tended to ignore
the importance of intangible factors such as community stability, identity, and
cohesiveness in enhancing the quality of urban living."
The Coordinating Committee continued:
"Indeed, the concepts of neighborhood, community pride and mutual assistance
seem to have disappeared from many American cities today. This is revealed by
high turnover rates in housing, by unkempt property, streets and alleys, and by
the shocking indifference of bystanders to acts of violence."
The Committee cited the following three examples of "how recent Democratic
policies have contributed to the waning sense of community in the cities":
--An "obsession with rental housing assistance programs for the disadvantaged."
--The "heavy-handed destruction of neighborhoods and districts through urban
renewal and other Government construction programs."
--The failure "to stem the wave of crime and riots."
The Committee said:
"The Republican Party pledges to adopt urban policies which will foster and
reinforce the vital but intangible values of community pride and trust.
"These neglected values can be restored by shifting the emphasis from low
income rental housing to home-ownership programs, by respecting the cohesiveness
of established neighborhoods in urban renewal and other construction programs,
and by establishing more effective law enforcement programs.
"The goal must be to restore a sense of place, a familiarity with sights and
sounds, a feeling of belonging and contributing, and an absence of hostility and
tension that every human being longs for."
-MORE-
-8-
The Role of Private Enterprise
The Coordinating Committee said that over the last generation the Democratic
Party "has too often expressed and demonstrated a basic distrust and misunder-
standing of the role and capabilities of private enterprise."
The Committee said:
"The short-sighted Democratic attitude toward private enterprise has prevented
this Administration from fully recognizing and utilizing a development of great
potential significance-- the harnessing of the strengths of private enterprise to
the solution of public and social problems, particularly in the cities
"The Republican Party pledges to promote and foster the increased commitment
and utilization of private enterprise in coping with the urban crisis."
The Committee emphasized that a general climate of government would have to
be established that encouraged widespread private participation.
"Beyond creating a proper climate," the Committee added, "government can
promote a greater role for private enterprise in many ways.
"These include offering tax benefits and other incentives to channel private
resources to purposes of high social priority; using and applying government
regulatory powers wisely; involving private enterprise in the implementation of
government programs; and consulting continually with representatives of private
enterprise in planning and administering government programs.
"We favor a complete review of government policies and operations with these
guidelines in mind."
The Approach to Government
With respect to the attitude of Democratic Administrations toward government,
the Republican policy-makers said:
"The most conspicuous and unwise aspect of the Democratic approach to govern-
ment is the drive for greater centralization of local public services in the hands
of the Federal Government.
-MORE-
-9-
"The accelerating trend toward centralization under Democratic Administrations
has restricted the home-rule powers of city governments, and has reduced their
ability and capacity to respond effectively and creatively to the problems they
confront."
Pointing to the rapid growth under Democratic Administrations of specialized
Federal grant-in-aid programs, now numbering more than 400 and involving an annual
outlay of more than $18 billion, the Coordinating Committee said:
"Despite the added revenues provided, the Federal grant-in-aid system ultimately
weakens city governments.
"The system permits the Federal Government to establish local priorities and
to exercise detailed control over a vast array of essential local public services.
"It also creates a maze of bureaucratic red tape that saps the energy of
local officials, adds to delays, and reduces program effectiveness.
"There are also more subtle effects. Individual grant programs are generally
handled between a specialized element of the bureaucracy in Washington and a
counterpart agency at the local level, completely bypassing the mayor and other
elected officials
"The Republican Party believes that the capacity and capability of city
governments to be master of their own houses and to solve their own problems must
be restored.
"To this end we have consistently and repeatedly proposed a system of revenue
sharing and block grants to the States with provision for the allocation of funds
to local and city governments.
"These measures, together with a system of Federal income tax credits for
State and local taxes, would greatly strengthen these governments and would lift
the tired hand of the Federal Government from control of local public services.
"We also pledge to restore soundness to the Federal Government's economic
policies as a means to improve the financial position of city governments."
-MORE-
-10-
Referring to the economic policies of the present Democratic Administration,
and their effect on the cities, the Coordinating Committee said:
"Continuation of unsound Democratic economic policies could lead to run-away
inflation or a plunge into recession, with dire consequences on employment levels,
purchasing power, and the future hopes of city residents."
5/28/68
Adopted by
The Republican Coordinating Committee
May 6, 1968
Presented by the Task Force on the Functions
of Federal, State and Local Governments
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR URBAN AMERICA
Prepared under the direction of:
Republican National Committee
Ray C. Bliss, Chairman
1625 Eye Street, Northwest
Washington, D. C. 20006
REPUBLICAN COORDINATING COMMITTEE
Presiding Officer: Ray C. Bliss, Chairman, Republican National Committee
Former President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Former Presidential Nominees
Barry Goldwater
(1964)
Thomas E. Dewey
(1944 & 1948)
Richard M. Nixon
(1960)
Alf M. Landon
(1936)
Senate Leadership
Everett M. Dirksen
George Murphy, Chairman
Minority Leader
National Republican Senatorial Committee
Thomas H. Kuchel
Milton R. Young, Secretary
Minority Whip
Republican Conference
Bourke B. Hickenlooper
Hugh Scott, Vice Chairman
Chairman, Republican Policy Committee
National Republican Senatorial Committee
Margaret Chase Smith
Chairman, Republican Conference
House Leadership
Gerald R. Ford
Bob Wilson, Chairman
Minority Leader
National Republican Congressional Committee
Leslie C. Arends
Charles E. Goodell, Chairman
Minority Whip
Planning and Research Committee
Melvin R. Laird, Chairman
Richard H. Poff, Secretary
Republican Conference
Republican Conference
John J. Rhodes, Chairman
William C. Cramer, Vice Chairman
Republican Policy Committee
Republican Conference
H. Allen Smith, Ranking Member
of Rules Committee
Representatives of the Republican Governors Association
John A. Love, Governor of Colorado
Raymond P. Shafer, Governor of Pennsylvania
John A. Volpe, Governor of Massachusetts
John H. Chafee, Governor of Rhode Island
George Romney, Governor of Michigan
Nils A. Boe, Governor of South Dakota
Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of
Daniel J. Evans, Governor of Washington
New York
Republican National Committee
Ray C. Bliss, Chairman
Donald R. Ross, Vice Chairman
Mrs. C. Wayland Brooks, Assistant Chairman
Mrs. J. Willard Marriott, Vice Chairman
Mrs. Collis P. Moore, Vice Chairman
J. Drake Edens, Jr., Vice Chairman
President of the Republican State Legislators Association
F. F. (Monte) Montgomery
Robert L. L. McCormick, Staff Coordinator
Members of the Republican Coordinating Committee's Task Force on
the Functions of the Federal, State and Local Governments
Robert Taft, Jr., Chairman
Member of Congress from Ohio
Karl Mundt, Vice Chairman
United States Senator from South Dakota
Mrs. Consuelo Northrop Bailey
Secretary of the Republican National Committee
George C. S. Benson
President, Claremont Men's College
Neal Blaisdell
Mayor of the City of Honolulu
Joseph L. Budd
Republican National Committeeman for Wyoming
Howard H. Callaway
Member of Congress from Georgia, 1965-1967
Frank Carlson
United States Senator from Kansas
Roger Cloud
Auditor of the State of Ohio
William Cowger
Member of Congress from Kentucky
Walter DeVries
Former Executive Assistant to the Governor of the
State of Michigan
Willis D. Gradison, Jr.
Member of City Council, Cincinnati, Ohio
Robert J. Huckshorn
Professor of Political Science, Florida Atlantic
University
Denison Kitchel
Attorney, Phoenix, Arizona
Warren P. Knowles
Governor of the State of Wisconsin
Edwin G. Michaelian
County Executive, Westchester County, New York
Karl M. Ruppenthal
Professor, Graduate School of Business,
Stanford University
Robert F. Sittig
Professor, Department of Political Science,
University of Nebraska
Craig Truax
Executive Assistant to the House Majority Leader, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Fred VanNatta
Former Aide to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
State of Oregon
Charles E. Wittenmeyer
Republican National Committeeman for Iowa
Lawrence L. Thompson, Secretary to the Task Force
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR URBAN AMERICA
The United States is engulfed in an urban crisis. Events in the cities
over the past four years have thrust upon our nation the harsh reality of
widespread violence and destruction of an intensity unexpected, and have
exposed conditions of disadvantage and social failure of a depth previously
unrecognized. Tragically and paradoxically, we encounter this crisis at a time
when many of the normal indicators of social progress -- national output, personal
income, employment levels, educational attainments, technological advancement,
and life expectancy -- have risen to record heights.
Consequently, the urban crisis is more than civil disorders and unmet social
needs; it is a crisis of confidence, of leadership and of human relationships
that contributes to a depression of the national spirit. The situation demands
a recognition that just as the customary indicators of progress are no longer
completely valid, so also the customary responses, whether they be the establish-
ment of one more Federal program, the appointment of another blue-ribbon study
commission, or an after-the-riot plea for law and order, are woefully inadequate.
The urban crisis has occurred under the stewardship of the Democratic
Administration. During the past four years, as the crisis has developed and
deepened, the Administration has displayed its inability to devise effective
policies and programs to deal with the situation.
The President's major action in 1967, as the full dimensions of the crisis
became apparent, was to appoint an Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders whose
report he has largely ignored. In our view, the Commission's report neglected
to set any priorities among its numerous recommendations, failed to come to grips
-2-
with the crucial questions of cost and financing, and could be construed as
unfairly accusing all whites of practicing racism. It failed to recognize
adequately the need for self-help and private and voluntary citizen action.
Nevertheless, we believe the report contains much valuable information and
analysis, and its recommendations are worthy of detailed attention and considera-
tion by the President and the Congress.
In its approach to urban problems the Administration's gravest failure has
been an absence of responsible, candid, and inspiring leadership for our troubled
nation. We indict the Democratic leadership on three counts: (1) the reckless
use of inflated promises and a resort to political sloganeering which raised
many expectations that were not realized; (2) a lack of decisive action and
influence in dealing with the immediate problems of lawlessness and disorder;
and (3) an unwillingness to establish a well-ordered set of priorities to meet
pressing social needs and to chart the nation's future course. The record shows
clearly that the Democratic Administration -- its leadership and its policies --
must stand accused of failure in attempting to resolve the urban crisis.
To lift the urban crisis from our land will require profound adjustments
throughout our social system, involving new personal attitudes and commitments,
more relevant public and private institutions, a reassignment of priorities and
resources, and, above all, new national leadership to replace the "politics-as-
usual" of the past four years.
In a pluralistic society, no government, no administration, and no political
party can effect the entire range of necessary social adjustments. But this we
pledge: that the Republican Party, in 1968 and the years ahead, will seek to
provide a leadership of ideas, inspiration, and innovation to set new directions
for urban America.
-3-
This paper outlines the main aspects of current urban problems, sets
forth a comparison of the approaches of the Republican and Democratic
Parties to these problems, and presents 55 of the principal recommendations
on urban affairs made by the Republican Coordinating Committee in various
position papers issued since its inception in 1965. A full listing of 123
recommendations made by the Coordinating Committee on urban problems is
compiled in an appendix to this paper.
A Catalogue of Urban Ills
The crisis of the cities encompasses numerous aspects of urban living
conditions, and its full extent is revealed by an array of pertinent facts
and figures. The following catalogue of urban ills presents a disturbing
portrait of the troubled situation confronting the nation.
1. Unsolved Human Problems
In the cities today, a host of fundamental human problems remain such as
chronic unemployment, unequal education opportunities, racial discrimination,
substandard housing, inadequate transportation services and the breakdown of
family and community structures. These persistent problems yield a compound of
disadvantage and discontent, contribute to lawlessness and disorder, and bear
witness to the failures and inadequacies of the present Administration's policies
and programs.
-- Despite a reduction in overall unemployment rates, substantial "hard-
core" unemployment continues. Among Negroes the jobless rate is twice
the national average; among young people it is more than three times
as great.
-- Unemployment is an especially serious problem in the central cities.
Among young Negro men in the cities the unemployment rate is nearly
25 percent, seven times the national rate.
-4-
-- Rising prices, largely the result of unsound Democratic economic
policies, have reduced any gain in the urban resident's income and
have diminished the value of his savings. A price increase of over
six percent in just two years has worked a particular hardship on
the social security recipient and others with fixed incomes, the
unemployed, and the unorganized wage earner.
-- Great disparities in educational opportunities and achievement exist
in urban areas. According to achievement tests the average minority
group child in metropolitan areas is behind other children when he
begins school and the gap tends to widen; he is roughly two grades
behind the others at grade six; three grades behind at grade nine;
and four grades behind at grade twelve.
In poverty neighborhoods of the fifteen largest cities roughly 60 per-
cent of the tenth-grade students drop out before finishing high school;
unemployment and delinquency rates among dropouts are many times greater
than the national average.
-- Despite generally high rates of private housing construction, the goal
of "a decent home and suitable living environment for every American"
proclaimed in the 1949 Housing Act remains unfulfilled for millions
of families. Roughly 4 million substandard housing units continue to
exist in urban areas; nearly two-thirds of all minority group families
today live in neighborhoods marked with unsuitable housing and urban
blight.
-- Despite the passage of numerous civil rights laws at all levels of
government, widespread discrimination or segregation continues in
employment, education and housing due to uneven enforcement of existing
laws and gaps in coverage. Moreover, the recent passage of Federal fair
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housing legislation, achieved only with wide Republican support in
Congress, establishes a desirable goal but will not alone eliminate segre-
gated housing conditions. As recognized in the legislation, leadership
at local and State levels is a necessary and positive factor for achieving
progress in the elimination of such discrimination. The persistence
of discriminatory practices, unjustified in all forms, contributes
greatly to the sense of frustration and resentment among minority
groups in the cities.
-- The proportion of families living with no father in the home is growing,
both among Negroes and whites, and these families are heavily concen-
trated at the low end of the income scale. This breakdown of family
structure leads to numerous unfortunate consequences for the children,
including a sense of alienation, a lack of direction and, too often,
outright delinquency.
2. Crime and Civil Disorder
Rising crime rates and a series of major riots and civil disorders have
left a trail of victims, both Negro and white, creating an atmosphere of fear,
alarm, mistrust, and apprehension all across the country.
-- The number of crimes committed per year has increased by 88 percent
since 1960, nine times faster than the growth of population. The
crime rate in large cities typically is double the national rate.
-- High crime rates and the need for better police protection are acute
problems in the low-income districts of the central cities. One low-
income neighborhood experienced a serious crime rate 35 times greater
than in the high income sections of the city.
-- Since 1963 riots and disorders have occurred with greatly increased
frequency. In 1963, five serious disorders occurred; in 1964-65,
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15 serious disorders or incidents were recorded; in 1966 the number
of riots and disorders increased to 43; and during 1967, 164 riots and
disturbances took place in an eruption of violence that shook the nation.
-- This year riots and disorders occurred in over 80 cities during the
period following the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-- A study of 75 riots and disorders by a Senate Subcommittee revealed a toll
of 83 deaths and 1,897 injuries as a result of these disturbances. Pro-
perty damage estimates range from many tens of millions to hundreds of
millions of dollars.
3. The Declining Quality of the Urban Environment
Beyond the unmet human needs and social disorders described above, the cities
of America are characterized today by deteriorating environmental conditions which
impair for all the quality of urban living.
-- Automobiles, factories, power plants, and heating facilities pour into
the atmosphere 140 million tons of air pollutants each year, an average
of 1400 pounds for each American. Scientists have correlated high levels
of air pollution found in large cities with increased respiratory diseases
and even death.
-- Once pure lakes and steams are polluted and rendered unfit for swimming
and fishing because of wastes discharged from municipal sewer systems,
industry, and other pollution sources. It is estimated that 64 million
people -- nearly one-half the entire urban population -- are served, if
at all, by inadequate waste treatment plants.
-- The failure of the Federal government to eliminate air and water pollu-
tion from its own installations and facilities sets a bad example across
the country to industries and communities that are being called to join
the battle against pollution.
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-- Traffic congestion and inadequate mass transportation service cause
costly, time-consuming delays and create hardships for millions of
urban residents. Daily commuter round trips of two hours are not
uncommon, depriving workers of leisure and family time. Inadequate
bus and transit service add to the employment and mobility problems
of low-income residents, only one-half of whom own automobiles.
-- Newer forms of pollution, often the byproduct of technological advances,
contribute to the declining quality of the urban environment. For
example, noises from high-powered, high-speed jet aircraft, flying with
increasing frequency, produce a serious annoyance for many city dwellers
and at times result in property damage.
4. The Inadequacies of Urban Government
Many big city governments are ill-equipped to respond effectively to the
endless list of serious problems which they confront. The shortcomings are
largely a result of weaknesses in the structure, organization, and financial
capacity of the typical city government.
A fundamental problem of urban government is the inadequacy of available
revenue sources. The departure of industry and middle-income families to the
suburbs, and the influx of low-income residents in need of extensive governmental
services, have left the large cities with an array of costly social problems; yet
they lack the tax resources to pay for them. Attempting to meet the costs and to
compensate for the loss in tax base, cities are forced to raise tax rates, but
this simply hastens the outward flight of industry and middle-income families.
Caught in this fiscal squeeze, the cities increasingly have turned to the
Federal government for financial support. But under the specialized grant-in-aid
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system, this assistance has been accompanied by Federal controls and administra-
tive tangles that tend to erode home rule and impair the effectiveness of aided
programs.
In recent years a number of States under Republican leadership have demon-
strated a new awareness of city problems and have devoted increased resources
and attention to their resolution. We believe the States can and must play an
increased role in planning and in achieving coordinated solutions for urban and
metropolitan problems. Often, however, neither State nor Federal aid distribu-
tion formulas adequately recognize the disparity between the financial capacity
of cities and their great needs.
Another basic problem is that urban government is not one government, but
many governments. The proliferation of special purpose governmental units and
authorities for planning, renewal, public utilities, transportation, etc., often
with independent revenue sources, fragments local government authority and
disperses responsibility and accountability. This condition, further compli-
cated by the involvement of State and Federal agencies, fosters lack of coordina-
tion and impedes comprehensive planning, particularly for metropolitan area-wide
problems. By most recent count each metropolitan area contains an average of 87
units of local government or special districts. The Chicago area alone encompasses
1,060 governments and the New York area, 1,112.
A final problem is the declining level of citizen interest and participation
in city government. Over the past generation the movement toward professionali-
zation of city civil service systems has brought numerous benefits. However,
a distinct disadvantage has been the centralization of city government in a
largely impersonal and frequently inaccessible bureaucracy. City departments
too often are staffed by those who do not identify with the problems of the lower
income families. As a result many residents feel alienated from city hall, and
have a low degree of confidence in its ability or willingness to deal with their
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problems. This is demonstrated perhaps by the low voter turnout for many city
elections, estimated to average less than 30 percent.
This, then, is the condition of urban America in 1968 -- beset by social
problems and unmet human needs, wracked by crime and rioting, exposed to an
environment increasingly polluted and congested, and governed by units of autho-
rity often with neither the structure nor the financial capacity to respond effec-
tively to the long catalog of problems.
A Republican Approach to Urban Problems
The Republican Party believes that the urban crisis must be analyzed and
approached in terms of the proper utilization of those human and institutional
resources which are basic to the operation of a stable and progressive society:
(1) the individual; (2) voluntary and self-help organizations; (3) the community;
(4) private enterprise; (5) government; and (6) leadership. Success in dealing
with the situation will depend on a careful understanding and appreciation of
these six elements, and will require policies that assign to each a proper role
and emphasis. The following discussion contrasts the basic approach of the
Republican Party to that of the Democratic Party and presents examples of the
failures of the frequently misguided Democratic approach.
1. The Individual
The policies of the Democratic Party demonstrate its basic belief that the
individual, especially the individual in less fortunate circumstances, should be
dependent upon the government. From the New Deal to the Great Society this
approach to the individual has been consistently propounded by the Democrats,
extended to cover more and more human needs, and expanded to apply to more and
more individuals.
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Today this approach is enshrined in the nation's welfare system. Largely
instituted in the Thirties to provide temporary relief to those in financial
distress, the welfare system has grown in these times of relative affluence to
cover over 9 million people at a current annual cost of more than $6 billion.
Instead of a temporary relief measure, welfare has become a way of life with
second and even third generations trapped in the system. By means of restrictions
and investigations that invade the individual's privacy and deny him dignity,
these programs emphasize the individual's dependency on government, and offer
him few incentives or little hope for a better future. For millions of individuals
and families in the cities today Democratic welfare policies are perpetuating
rather than alleviating poverty, broken homes, and bleak idleness. In short,
today's welfare system just does not work.
The Republican Party, by contrast, believes in the intrinsic dignity of each
individual. We hold that dignity is bestowed not by treating individuals as wards
of the state, but by providing a climate of opportunity that builds self-reliance
and independence. We believe the individual achieves fulfillment when engaged in
productive employment, utilizing his abilities, expanding his talents, and adding
to the economic well-being of society.
We, therefore, strongly favor and have consistently supported government
action to improve educational opportunities, to expand job training and provide
job incentives, and to remove employment barriers as the keys to providing more
individuals with enlarged opportunities for self-improvement and fulfillment.
The individual in turn has the responsibility for seeking and using opportunities
to improve himself and his community. This approach, in combination with welfare
measures to protect the individual from temporary hardship, offers a constructive
and lasting solution to the problems of poverty and disadvantage in the cities.
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2. Voluntary and Self-Help Organizations
From America's earliest history individuals have joined together volun-
tarily to solve problems and meet needs too big for the individual. They have
created associations and informal groups for the purpose of self-help rather
than turning to government for handouts and controls.
Such self-help activity is particularly meaningful in our cities today,
because it enables participants not only to meet their tangible needs but
also to increase their self-esteem and self-reliance.
The spirit of self-help is rising in the cities of America. In numerous
instances independent, representative citizen organizations have been estab-
lished to stimulate private self-help efforts in education, job training and
orientation, family counseling, housing, small business assistance and other
areas. Many observers have judged these efforts to be highly successful -- fre-
quently more successful than government controlled programs.
The Democratic Party has not fully appreciated the importance of volun-
tary and self-help activity and has not sufficiently encouraged the formation
and strengthening of organizations dedicated to self-help principles. Too
frequently, in fact, local self-help groups have been undermined by Federally
directed and subsidized organizations.
The Republican Party, at the Federal, State and local level and through
its individual members, pledges to stimulate and encourage voluntary and self-
help organizations in the cities. We recognize that people who are producing
progress of their own making are people who will work to defend and to build,
rather than to destroy.
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3. The Community
The policies of the Democratic Party have tended to ignore the importance
of intangible factors such as community stability, identity, and cohesiveness in
enhancing the quality of urban living. Indeed, the concepts of neighborhood,
community pride, and mutual assistance seem to have disappeared from many
American cities today. This is revealed by high turnover rates in housing, by
unkempt property, streets, and alleys, and by the shocking indifference of
bystanders to acts of violence. Three major examples show how recent Democratic
policies have contributed to the waning sense of community in the cities: (1) the
obsession with rental housing assistance programs for the disadvantaged; (2) the
heavy-handed destruction of neighborhoods and districts through urban renewal
and other government construction programs; and (3) the failure to stem the wave
of crime and riots.
The entire thrust of government housing assistance programs for low
income families has been in the direction of rental housing rather than home-
ownership. This emphasis has produced a number of undesirable effects, by
fostering a large population of tenants with weak community ties and high mobility
rates. Also, many of these programs penalize diligence and ambition by requiring
tenants to move should they improve their economic standing. In short, the
Democratic obsession with rental housing programs has contributed to the high
turnover rates and the loss of community identity which characterize our cities
today.
Urban renewal and other government-sponsored construction programs have had
unfortunate effects on the cohesiveness of many communities. Too often these
programs have destroyed entire neighborhoods, uprooting thousands of families,
depriving numerous small businessmen of their livelihood, and aggravating already
overcrowded conditions in other low-income neighborhoods. The number of
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housing units destroyed by urban renewal is roughly four times the number created;
moreover, provision for relocation of those displaced has been woefully inadequate.
The effect of such policies on the structure of the community and on the
outlook of the residents is far-reaching. According to studies conducted after
the Newark riot, neighborhood disruption caused by government construction programs
was high on the grievance list of riot area residents.
Nothing is more damaging to the health and vitality of a community than
unchecked crime and rioting. The immediate effect on the victims is just one
dimension; the other is the poisoned community atmosphere that lingers to breed
suspicion, anxiety, and fear and to cause community residents to turn inward.
The Democratic Administration has shown far too little sensitivity to this by-
product of urban violence.
The Republican Party pledges to adopt urban policies which will foster and
reinforce the vital but intangible values of community pride and trust. These
neglected values can be restored by shifting the emphasis from low income rental
housing to homeownership programs, by respecting the cohesiveness of established
neighborhoods in urban renewal and other construction programs, and by establish-
ing more effective law enforcement programs. The goal must be to restore a sense
of place, a familiarity with sights and sounds, a feeling of belonging and contri-
buting, and an absence of hostility and tension that every human being longs for.
These are the features which can make a city a truly desirable and attractive
place to live.
4. The Role of Private Enterprise
Over the past generation the Democratic Party has too often expressed and
demonstrated a basic distrust and misunderstanding of the role and capabilities
of private enterprise. The dominant Democratic theme equates private enter-
prise with selfishness and narrowness of purpose, but equates public enterprise
or government with the virtues of altruism and social purpose.
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The distortion inherent in this attitude can be demonstrated by listing
some of the vital public purposes accomplished by private enterprise -- job
creation, capital investment and economic growth, higher productivity and wages,
along with more leisure time. It is also revealed by some of the less noble
tendencies of government, notably the persistent inability of government to reverse
course or terminate unproductive activities and the endless drive for power among
rival government officials. These factors invariably result in attempts at pro-
gram expansion, and cause debilitating interagency conflicts at public expense
without regard to social purpose.
The short-sighted Democratic attitude toward private enterprise has prevented
this Administration from fully recognizing and utilizing a development of great
potential significance -- the harnessing of the strengths of private enterprise
to the solution of public and social problems, particularly in the cities.
Largely as a result of consistent Republican urging, private enterprises and
foundations in recent years have shown an awareness of the problems of the cities,
and have moved to devise new and effective approaches to their solution. Across
the full spectrum of urban problems private enterprise has produced or sponsored
numerous innovations in job training and placement, programs of learning for
disadvantaged children, low-cost housing technology, pollution abatement methods,
and college student loans, to name just a few.
Thoughtful Americans are realizing that private enterprise and independent
organizations possess numerous skills and resources which are vitally important
assets in the struggle against the growing urban problems. Among these are:
(1) a capacity for innovation and fresh thinking; (2) an ability to mobilize
community leadership and spirit; (3) an on-the-spot method of operation that
cuts delays and deemphasizes publicity; (4) a capacity for hard evaluation,
reassessment, and changes of objectives and policies when needed; and (5) an
informal network of communications and associations which can draw together
a combination of resources tailored to each problem's unique needs.
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The Republican Party pledges to promote and foster the increased commit-
ment and utilization of private enterprise in coping with the urban crisis. A
basic element of this approach must be the establishment of a general climate
of government that encourages widespread private participation. In this regard,
the Republican Party's consistent understanding and awareness of the strengths
of private enterprise, in contrast to the suspicions historically exhibited by
the Democrats, is a decisive advantage.
Beyond creating a proper climate, government can promote a greater role for
private enterprise in many ways. These include offering tax benefits and other
incentives to channel private resources to purposes of high social priority; using
and applying government regulatory powers wisely; involving private enterprise
in the implementation of government programs; and consulting continually with
representatives of private enterprise in planning and administering government
programs. We favor a complete review of government policies and operations with
these guidelines in mind.
An example of programs designed to expand participation of private enter-
prise is the Republican-sponsored Domestic Development Bank. Under this proposal
financing would be provided on favorable terms to whites and non-whites alike
for private business and commercial projects, in order to expand job opportuni-
ties in poverty areas and to stimulate local entrepreneurship.
5. The Approach to Government
The most conspicious and unwise aspect of the Democratic approach to govern-
ment is the drive for greater centralization of local public services in the hands
of the Federal government. The accelerating trend toward centralization under
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Democratic Administrations has restricted the home-rule powers of city govern-
ments, and has reduced their ability and capacity to respond effectively and
creatively to the problems they confront.
Centralization results first from the Federal government's virtual monopoly
of the lucrative income tax, thereby forcing the States and local communities to
rely on the less responsive and less equitable sales and property taxes; and results
secondly from the unparalleled growth and proliferation of specialized Federal
grant-in-aid programs, currently numbering over 400 and accounting for an annual
Federal expenditure of $18 billion.
Despite the added revenues provided, the Federal grant-in-aid system ulti-
mately weakens city governments. The system permits the Federal government to
establish local priorities and to exercise detailed control over a vast array
of essentially local public services. It also creates a maze of bureaucratic
red tape that saps the energy of local officials, adds to delays, and reduces
program effectiveness.
There are also more subtle effects. Individual grant programs are generally
handled between a specialized element of the bureaucracy in Washington and a
counterpart agency at the local level, completely bypassing the mayor and other
elected officials. This procedure strengthens the hand of obscure city hall
employees at the expense of the mayor and the residents to whom he is responsible.
Also, since final authority over these programs is often lodged in the Federal
government, and with higher Federal pay scales acting as an inducement, city
*
employees and potential new employees may be lured away to Washington.
* City governments are also experiencing difficulty competing for employees with
private organizations, such as community action agencies, which are permitted to
pay higher salaries under the terms of lucrative Federal grant programs.
-17-
Another conspicuous deficiency of the Democratic Administration's approach
to government has been its failure to recognize that sound, balanced, and healthy
growth in the economy is the keystone to social progress and human betterment.
The distorted performance of the economy during the past four years of Democratic
mismanagement has had a. number of adverse effects in urban areas. Rampant infla-
tion, with rising prices and higher interest rates, has taken a heavy toll on the
economic well-being of urban residents. These economic conditions have compounded the
problems of city governments by raising the cost of public services and increasing
the cost of borrowing for capital improvements. Continuation of unsound Democratic
economic policies could lead to run-away inflation or a plunge into recession with
dire consequences on employment levels, purchasing power, and the future hopes of
city residents.
The Republican Party believes that the capacity and capability of city
governments to be masters of their own houses and to solve their own problems must
be restored. To this end we have consistently and repeatedly proposed a system
of revenue sharing and block grants to the States with provision for the alloca-
tion of funds to local and city governments. These measures, together with a
system of Federal income tax credits for State and local taxes, would greatly
strengthen these governments and would lift the tired hand of the Federal govern-
ment from control of local public services. We also pledge to restore soundness
to the Federal government's economic policies as a means to improve the
financial position of city governments.
We favor these measures in the firm belief that city governments, if struc-
turally and financially strong, can effectively provide the leadership, sense of
purpose, creativity, and responsiveness needed for the solution of their present
problems.
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6. Leadership
As we stated at the outset, the gravest failure of the present Administration's
approach to urban problems has been an absence of responsible, candid, and inspir-
ing leadership. The failure of national leadership consists, principally, of:
(1) the use of inflated promises and political slogans; (2) a lack of action to
deal with the immediate problems of lawlessness and disorder; and (3) an unwilling-
ness to establish a well-ordered set of priorities.
Little doubt exists that the repetition of irresponsible promises and political
slogans by the Administration in 1964 and 1965 contributed to the violence and dis-
order of the succeeding two summers. The rhetoric of the War on Poverty and the
Great Society created the impression among the disadvantaged of the cities that
their living conditions would be dramatically and rapidly improved. The deep-
rooted ills of inadequate education and job training, racial discrimination, poor
housing, blighted neighborhoods, and lack of transportation facilities would --
according to this script -- be cured overnight.
It is clear that these promises extended far beyond the reach of any perform-
ance humanly possible. As a result, expectations were raised, but not realized,
and for many, a sense of betrayal occurred. This led to hostility, and for some,
violent outbursts. We charge the present Administration with irresponsibility in
making these inflated and politically motivated promises to the poor.
A nation in crisis demands of its President the ability to summon all the
vast resources of the Office for the purpose of restoring calm and inspiring
confidence in the minds of the people. As the urban crisis has developed and
expanded, the President's actions have not met these standards, but have been
halting, unclear, and unsteady.
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An example of uncertain leadership and an apparent admission of failure
is the President's public statement that the nation can expect more rioting and
disorder in the cities this summer. Such statements do not resolve crises and
reduce tensions; they contribute to them.
The Administration has failed to present a blueprint for the future,
based on a national strategy to reconcile hostilities and to alleviate the cities
unmet social needs. The basic ingredients for such a strategy are: (1) a clarion
call for an end to group hostility and discrimination, together with a strong
assertion of the need for understanding and fairness; (2) the setting of hard and
meaningful priorities to provide needed funds for urban problems while reducing
or deferring outlays for less essential programs at home and abroad; and (3) a
summoning of vision and energy from all of our leaders in order to gain popular
acceptance for these measures, to establish a sense of purpose, and to lead the
future course of urban America. We commend the group of Republican Members of the
House of Representatives for recently pointing the way by proposing a "Human
Renewal Fund" based on a specific reallocation of resources in favor of the cities.
The Republican Party pledges to provide the American people the quality of
leadership needed to resolve the urban crisis and to build a better future in
our cities. The three most vital elements of national leadership -- and the three
that the Democratic Administration has most visibly lacked -- are responsibility,
candor, and inspiration. We promise to restore these values to the American
political scene.
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A Summary of Republican Recommendations
Over the past three years the Republican Coordinating Committee has issued
27 major position papers dealing with domestic affairs. Many of these state-
ments, in part or in their entirety, have addressed the problems of urban
America. In total, over 100 specific recommendations have been presented to
combat the full range of urban ills.
These recommendations are presented in two sections. The first section,
which follows below, contains a summary of 55 recommendations to which we wish
to direct particular attention because of their relevance to the present urban
crisis. The second section, presented as an appendix to the full paper, incor-
porates the entire list of 123 recommendations made by the Republican Coordinating
Committee in previous papers, including the 55 contained in the first section.*
We earnestly believe that our recommendations, based upon the Republican
approach to urban problems outlined in the previous section, constitute the
foundation for a broadly conceived plan of action to set new directions for
urban America. We commend these policies and programs to the attention of the
American people.
* The selection of recommendations for inclusion in the first section is not in
derogation of the others.
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Job Opportunities and Training
-- We recommend that Congress enact the Republican-authored Human Investment
Act to grant to employers a credit against Federal income taxes toward the costs
incurred in training employees or potential employees in skills in short supply.
Republicans agree that the most effective technique for achieving widespread
business involvement is through incentive tax credits, both for hiring the unem-
ployed and upgrading the under-employed, and for investment in urban and rural
poverty areas.
-- We recommend a National Job Opportunity Survey to include nationwide
collection of data on job market conditions, unfilled jobs, developing job needs,
labor supply, regional and local patterns and the skills needed to meet the
demands, together with a nationwide communications system making this data avail-
able to vocational educators, counselors, placement personnel, the Armed Services,
labor unions, and business enterprises.
-- We urge vocational educators to expand further their programs among the
hard-core unemployed in urban ghettoes, and to reorient and modernize these
programs to match the demands of today's job market.
-- We recommend that the resources of industry, labor, education and all
levels of government should be mobilized to institute a program of Technological
Education for the Future (TEFF). This program would offer young people up to
two years of functional training in needed new skills in schools and through
on-the-job training. The employer would receive a credit against his Federal
income tax for part of the wages paid the enrollee.
-- To meet the expanded demand for skilled technicians and semi-professional
personnel, and to offer the high school graduate a choice other than ending his
formal education or pursuing a four-year college program, we urge the expansion
and strengthening of two-year technical institutes and community college programs
located near the students' homes.
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Education
-- Early childhood education programs should, as a matter of priority and
urgency, be expanded to include all 5 and 4-year olds, and perhaps 3-year olds,
from impoverished neighborhoods who could benefit from this experience.
-- We urge that Project Head Start be administered in the Office of Education
through the States, not by the Office of Economic Opportunity. We believe the
program should be taken out from under the Economic Opportunity Act and funded to
the full extent of its need through the new Elementary and Secondary Education
Act.
-- We support a massive campaign against illiteracy in the United States.
-- As a basic principle, we believe that teachers must be accorded the
professional status, pay, and perquisites commensurate with the challenge of
the assignment and with the benefits which society realizes when this assignment
is successfully discharged.
-- We feel that recent proposals for school decentralization in a number
of the larger cities are worthy of serious attention and consideration by others
as possible guides for action.
-- We recommend that steps be taken to embark on a constructive program to
provide new and expanded school facilities in the cities, equivalent to the modern
and spacious plant frequently found in suburban school districts. In view of
ever-rising construction costs, these efforts should proceed without delay.
-- We feel that Federal aid programs for elementary and secondary education
should be combined into a smaller, more manageable number of grant categories,
in order to provide larger amounts of aid to problems of the highest priority.
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-- The educational goals of excellence and equality of opportunity in urban
schools, to which we subscribe, apply uniformly to all American children regard-
less of whether they attend public or non-public schools. For this reason,
Federal government aid to education should be distributed on the basis of fair
and equitable treatment of all school children.
-- If financial aid goes only to public institutions, the existing balance
could be shifted strongly toward public education. This could effectively be
remedied in part by the granting of Federal income tax credits for tuition and
certain other expenses in education. Financial aid programs such as this must
be carefully designed, along with other needed education programs, to include
significant assistance to young people from families with the greatest financial
need.
-- We believe that no qualified student should be deprived of a college
education because of economic hardship. We recommend that families be allowed
tax credits for the costs of college tuition and fees.
Poverty and Welfare
-- We recommend removal of disincentives for work. People on welfare who
are working part-time should be able to retain a portion of their earnings, thus
increasing their incentive to move to full-time employment.
-- We recommend providing work incentives for dependent youth by giving
teenage children of welfare recipients a desire to become productive through
minimum wage exemptions.
-- We urge the expansion of child care facilities to be available in each
State for working mothers.
-- We recommend fuller involvement of the poor in the solution of their own
problems, by giving them representation on the community action boards in each area.
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-- We recommend that the Office of Economic Opportunity be responsible for
Community Action Programs alone and that the other programs under the Economic
Opportunity Act be returned to the individual government departments and agencies
in which they logically belong.
-- We recommend setting realistic ceilings on the salaries of poverty
employees. Salaries of poverty workers should not exceed the salaries paid
persons holding comparable positions in the area.
Housing
-- We believe that opportunities for acquiring ownership of units must be
enhanced. In this regard, the Percy-Widnall home ownership plan and sweat equity
proposals offer imaginative and constructive approaches to improving the quality
of our housing and the lives of lower-income families.
-- Where public housing has been accepted by local decision, local public
housing officials should be encouraged to make use of the Republican-sponsored
program of short term leasing of existing housing, voluntarily offered by private
landlords at public housing levels.
-- Federal or local tax policy can be used to encourage, rather than penalize,
the owner for improving his property. Such encouragement could be based on a tax
credit or tax abatement approach, using as a guide the cost of the improvement or
the local property tax increase. Certainly, all levels of government should study
their tax laws to eliminate factors which encourage the maintenance and spread of
profitable slums.
-- A coordinated approach to housing and urban renewal should realize that
there is social benefit in retaining the neighborhood -- which may be the only
social institution with meaning and value for the low income urban family.
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-- We recommend better techniques to solve the relocation problem in urban
renewal. Needed are more adequate payments for moving expenses, and more equitable
compensation awards and procedures where property is taken under eminent domain.
-- A detailed and careful study of the operations of the Federal urban
renewal and slum clearance programs by Congress is urgently needed. Such a
study should include in-depth hearings involving the people directly affected
by the program.
Human Rights
-- We call for faithful execution of the fair housing provisions of the
civil rights bill recently passed by Congress with majority Republican support.
This measure, aimed at providing all persons regardless of race, color, religion
or national origin with non-discriminatory access to most sale and rental housing,
should help to reduce tensions in the central cities by creating opportunities
for greater economic and social mobility among minority groups.
-- We pledge to reduce discrimination in employment. The Administration has
failed to give prompt and effective implementation to Title VII of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act, which bans discrimination by employers and labor unions with more than
one hundred members. Once again, we Republicans call upon the Democratic Adminis-
tration to enforce this section of the law.
-- We firmly believe in the positive value of inter-cultural and inter-
racial educational experiences for all children. Integrated schools expand the
knowledge and understanding of the child, increase his awareness of others, and
provide lessons of tolerance and fairness that are important assets to the indivi-
dual and to society.
-26-
Crime and Law Enforcement
-- We recommend substantial Federal financial assistance in the form of
block grants be given directly to the States for crime control, and the creation
of State departments of criminal justice to direct and coordinate all phases and
segments of State and local crime prevention and control.
-- We urge enactment of the Republican proposal to create a permanent Joint
Congressional Committee on Organized Crime.
-- We recommend that the Congress and the States enact appropriate codes
of police procedures.
-- We urge the Federal government -- through the National Institute of
Health -- to increase substantially its research into causes of and cures for
narcotic and drug addiction.
-- We call upon the Federal government to establish a model juvenile crime
control system for the District of Columbia.
-- We recommend that Congress enact legislation to more effectively control
the indiscriminate availability of firearms and to assist the States in enforcing
their own firearms control laws by preventing circumvention in ways which are
beyond the power of the States to control.
-- We urge the Federal government to establish an accelerated research
program into the causes of crime and elimination of the causes of crime.
-27-
Pollution Control
-- We propose a system of Federal tax benefits to industry for investments
in air and water pollution control devices, so that the costs of controlling pollu-
tion will be widely shared, as well as the benefits. Congress should hold hearings
and act favorably on legislation of this type.
-- We call for effective action rather than words to halt air and water
pollution emanating from Federal installations, so that the Federal government
in its own activities will be above reproach and can provide more effective
leadership.
-- In order to promote efficiency and increased effectiveness in the operation
of Federal water and sewer grant programs, we recommend transfer to the Federal
Water Pollution Control Administration of all such programs now administered by
four other Federal agencies.
-- We believe that Federal water pollution control grants should be allocated
to local projects only after approval by the State as meeting an area-wide or
regional pollution control plan.
-- We urge greater use of regional and metropolitan area agreements among
States and local governments in the control of air pollution, so that solutions
may be matched to the geographical pattern and wide variations of the problem, and
to minimize Federal controls consistent with the approach contained in the Air
Quality Act of 1967. The Federal government should offer increased financial
incentives to State and local governments to encourage them more strongly to
enter into regional and metropolitan area agreements.
-28-
Transportation
-- We propose a system of Federal tax incentives to private transit companies
for investments in new equipment and systems, as a supplement to the Federal urban
mass transportation grant program. These incentives might take the form of an
increased investment credit or an accelerated depreciation allowance for such
outlays.
-- In order to establish a more balanced set of priorities within total
Federal research and development outlays, we recommend an accelerated and improved
research and development program for urban mass transportation with an increased
funding commitment for these activities.
-- We propose that the present limited program of aid for urban and suburban
Federal routes be expanded into a new category of Federal-aid highways to be
know as the Metropolitan System. To be eligible for funds, communities in metro-
politan areas would have to show that new construction was in conformity with
metropolitan area-wide transportation planning.
-- Before a particular freeway is built, careful consideration should be
given to its liabilities and to its costs. Careful attention should be given
to the impact on families, neighborhoods, business enterprises and whole communi-
ties. Appropriate care should be taken to preserve places of historical and
cultural interest and areas of scenic beauty.
Government Structure and Procedures
-- The resolution of urban and metropolitan problems requires at the very
least considerably increased coordination than generally now exists. And where
-29-
it is necessary, units too small to handle effectively their share of metropolitan
problems should relinquish enough of their powers to area governments to meet
essential needs. In some instances a total merger of governmental units into a
new or existing area-wide government may be the required answer.
-- Each of the States should make an active study of its constitution and
laws with the aim of making whatever changes are required to facilitate metro-
politan cooperation and organization.
-- The States should be encouraged to establish offices or departments of
local government. Such agencies should help local governments in each State be
more effective in meeting their responsibilities, and cooperating with nearby units.
-- For certain problems, governmental subdivisions within large cities or
other mechanisms of citizen participation should be studied and tried.
Inter-Government Finance
-- We call for a reversal of the trend in the proliferation of specialized
grant-in-aid programs -- now estimated at well over 400 -- by a gradual consoli-
dation of grants eventually into a small number of block grants.
We favor measures to allow Federal income tax credits for State and local
taxes to enable State and local governments to finance their activities increas-
ingly under their own powers. Stricter Federal expenditure control and a gradual
reduction in Federal tax rates should go hand in hand with this program.
-- We recommended that Congress authorize and appropriate a Federal revenue
sharing fund to be allocated to States and local governments with minimum restric-
tions and in an amount consistent with sound fiscal policy.
-30-
-- Under block grants and revenue sharing, the initial distribution of
funds should be to the States. However, with growing urbanization in our society
the pressing needs of city and other local governments must be recognized. Any
final plan, therefore, must contain appropriate and enforceable provisions to
ensure that State governments pass on a fair share to units of local government.
-- The formulas governing distribution of Federal and State aid to local
governments should inc lude equalization factors that take into account the great
needs and the limited financial capacity of the cities.
***
REPORTS OF THE REPUBLICAN COORDINATING COMMITTEE
PERTAINING TO URBAN PROBLEMS AND PROGRAMS
Task Force on the Functions of Federal, State and Local Governments
Toward a Stronger Federal System
December 1965
Toward Fair Elections in America
December 1965
Financing the Future of Federalism: The Case for Revenue Sharing
March 1966
Federal, State and Local Responsibilities for Problems of
Education
June 1966
Effective Water Management for the Nation's Future
June 1966
Housing and Urban Development
June 1966
Transportation in Modern America
June 1966
The Alleviation of Poverty
June 1966
The Challenge of the Modern Metropolis: The Republican Response
June 1966
Clean Air: Our Most Basic Resource
July 1967
Water Pollution Control: Promise and Performance
December 1967
Modern Urban Transportation
December 1967
Task Force on Job Opportunities and Welfare
The Human Investment
March 1966
Jobs and People
June 1966
Job Training and Employment Opportunities for A11 Americans
April 1967
Revitalizing Our Rural Areas
July 1967
Where the Jobs Are
July 1967
Full and Equal Employment Opportunities
December 1967
Improving Social Welfare
December 1967
-31-
Task Force on Human Rights and Responsibilities
Equality in America: A Promise Unfulfilled
September 1965
Task Force on Crime and Delinquency
Crime and Delinquency -- A Republican Response
March 1968
Study Group on Revenue Sharing
The Restoration of Federalism in America
April 1967
The Restoration of Federalism in America (Final Report)
December 1967
Study Group on Urban Education
Urban Education: Problems and Priorities
March 1968
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR URBAN AMERICA
APPENDIX
(A Compilation of Recommendations
on Urban Affairs made by the Republican
Coordinating Committee, 1965-1968.)
A-1
Job Opportunities and Training
-- We recommend that the resources of industry, labor, education and
all levels of government should be mobilized to institute a program of
Technological Education for the Future (TEFF). This program would offer
young people up to two years of functional training in needed new skills in
schools and through one-the-job training. The employer would receive a credit
against his Federal income tax for part of the wages paid the enrollee.
-- We recommend that Congress enact the Republican-authored Human
Investment Act to grant to employers a credit against Federal income taxes
toward the costs incurred in training employees or potential employees in
skills in short supply. Republicans agree that the most effective technique
for achieving widespread business involvement is through incentive tax credits,
both for hiring the unemployed and upgrading the under-employed and for invest-
ment in urban and rural poverty areas.
-- We recommend a National Job Opportunity Survey to include nationwide
collection of data on job market conditions, unfilled jobs, developing job
needs, labor supply, regional and local patterns and the skills needed to
meet the demands, together with a nationwide communications system making this
data available to vocational educators, counselors, placement personnel, the
Armed Services, labor unions, and business enterprises.
-- To reduce competition and overlapping among federal agencies, we
recommend that OEO job-training programs should be transferred to existing
departments which should be restructured to insure the success of job training
programs.
-- We urge vocational educators to expand further their programs among
the hard-core unemployed in urban ghettoes, and to reorient and modernize these
programs to match the demands of today's job market.
A-2
Job Opportunities and Training (2)
-- We recommend that existing labor laws be reviewed and changed so as
to permit the part-time employment necessary for some young people to continue
in school and to meet urgent financial needs while having a meaningful work
experience.
-- Education standards for unkilled and clerical positions, which some
companies set at an arbitrarily high level, should be reexamined and modified,
for business and labor must accept the principle that just as all youth have a
place in the school, so at a certain age, all must have a place in the world
of work.
-- We urge that guidance and counseling programs for students be strengthened
for those who are planning to enter the job market directly from school and for
those who should be encouraged to continue their schooling. The schools should
make greater efforts to avail themselves of the assistance of business, labor,
and other occupational groups whose representatives could most accurately help
students learn the nature of various jobs, the opportunities for placement, and
the requirements for entry and success.
-- To meet the expanded demand for skilled technicians and semi-professional
personnel, and to offer the high school graduate a choice other than ending his
formal education or pursuing a four-year college program, we urge the expansion
and strengthening of two-year technical institutes and community college programs
located near the students' homes.
-- We call on non-governmental resources, including private industry, labor,
the church, commerce, etc., to develop new methods for providing realistic incen-
tives for job opportunities. These programs must offer to all our disadvantaged
citizens genuine dignity and hope of self-support and independence, including
opportunity for training and advancement.
A-3
Job Opportunities and Training (3)
-- We urge that the Job Corps be completely revamped with an accent
on intelligent evaluation of applicants, necessary discipline in camps, use
of private enterprise to create realistic working conditions, and elimination
of prodigal spending for staff and facilities.
-- We recommend the advisability of setting up Job Corps camps to be
administered by the Defense Department. These would equip young men who
cannot now meet Selective Service standards to meet the requirements for the
armed services. Admission to these camps would be strictly voluntary.
A-4
Education
-- Early childhood education programs should, as a matter of priority and
urgency, be expanded to include all 5 and 4-year olds, and perhaps 3-year olds,
from impoverished neighborhoods who could benefit from this experience.
-- We urge that Project Head Start be administered in the Office of Educa-
tion through the States, not by the Office of Economic Opportunity. We believe
the program should be taken out from under the Economic Opportunity Act and
funded to the full extent of its need through the new Elementary and Secondary
Education Act.
-- We feel that recent proposals for school decentralization in a number of
the larger cities are worthy of serious attention and consideration by others
as possible guides for action.
-- A pressing need is to provide teachers and school administrators, many
of whom come from middle-income and small community origins, with a broader
knowledge of the special problems and backgrounds of children who live in
congested, lower-income sections of large cities. To accomplish this, universi-
ties and colleges need to modify and strengthen programs of preparation and
retraining for teachers and administrators.
Consideration should be given to special incentives, designed in conjunction
with other urban policies, to encourage more city school teachers to live and
participate in the community where they teach.
-- As a basic principle, we believe that teachers must be accorded the pro-
fessional status, pay, and perquisites commensurate with the challenge of the
assignment and with the benefits which society realizes when this assignment
is successfully discharged.
A-5
Education (2)
-- To relieve the heavy load on the professional teacher in city schools,
greater use should be made of teaching assistants recruited whenever possible
from the immediate community.
-- Computerized instruction programs and other electronic teaching devices
have the potential to offer the child certain types of learning experiences on
an individual basis, while permitting the teacher to devote additional time to
those parts of the curriculum that demand the human touch. These new educational
tools should be given increased attention.
-- We recommend that steps be taken to embark on a construction program to
provide new and expanded school facilities in the cities, equivalent to the
modern and spacious plant frequently found in suburban school districts. In
view of ever-rising construction costs, these efforts should proceed without
delay.
-- Education is a Federal concern, a State responsibility, and a local
function. All three levels of government must bear a portion of the cost of
developing the total education system.
-- We feel that Federal aid programs for elementary and secondary education
should be combined into a smaller, more manageable number of grant categories,
in order to provide larger amounts of aid to problems of the highest priority.
-- Federal support for education should, as a general rule, not only be
channeled through the States, but it should be made available in a steady and
predictable manner, based on objective formulas, so that States and communities
can plan with confidence, and can avoid disruptive starts and stops in vital
programs.
A-6
Education (3)
-- As a condition of providing support for education, the Federal govern-
ment should establish planning requirements for the State departments of education
and should set ground rules for the planning process. For example, the Federal
government might require that the State planning process provide full opportunity
for all interested parties to participate, including officials of non-public and
city school systems.
-- The 50 States should perform an intermediate planning and review function
between thousands of local school districts and the Federal government, and
should equip themselves to provide leadership and maximum assistance for the
solution of metropolitan school problems.
-- The educational goals of excellence and equality of opportunity in urban
schools, to which we subscribe, apply uniformly to all American children regard-
less of whether they attend public or non-public schools. For this reason,
Federal government aid to education should be distributed on the basis of fair
and equitable treatment of all school children.
-- We urge the States to present plans that would include distribution of
Federal aid to non-public school children, that provide for the participation of
non-public school representatives in the planning process, but where State con-
ditions prevent use of funds for non-public school children, there shall be a
public agency designated to administer Federal funds.
If financial aid goes only to public institutions, the existing balance
could be shifted strongly toward public education. This could effectively be
remedied in part by the granting of Federal income tax credits for tuition and
certain other expenses in education. Financial aid programs such as this must be
carefully designed, along with other needed education programs, to include significant
assistance to young people from families with the greatest financial need.
A-7
Education (4)
-- We support a massive campaign against illiteracy in the United States.
-- We believe that no qualified student should be deprived of a college
education because of economic hardship. We recommend that families be allowed
tax credits for the costs of college tuition and fees.
A-8
Poverty and Welfare
-- We recommend fuller involvement of the poor in the solution of their
own problems, by giving them representation on the community action boards in
each area.
-- In order to keep private community organizations strong, we recommend
that wherever a community welfare council is already in existence in an area its
approval be required before the Office of Economic Opportunity will consider a
request for Federal funds from that area.
-- We recommend that the Office of Economic Opportunity be responsible
for Community Action Programs alone and that the other programs under the
Economic Opportunity Act be returned to the individual government departments
and agencies in which they logically belong.
-- The States should participate to a fuller extent in Federal anti-poverty
programs. To accomplish this, we recommend a bonus plan be enacted for those
States willing to match Federal poverty funds on a 50-50 basis above the present
level of funding.
-- We also urge the restoration of the Governor's veto power contained
in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.
-- We recommend that Congress consider reducing the present high ratio of
Federal to State and local funds for the Community Action Program.
-- We urge an amendment to the poverty law to bring the employees of OEO-
sponsored projects, the principal part of whose salaries derives from Federal
funds, under the Hatch Act's prohibitions on political activities.
A-9
Poverty and Welfare (2)
-- We recommend setting realistic ceilings on the salaries of poverty
employees. Salaries of poverty workers should not exceed the salaries paid
persons holding comparable positions in the area.
-- We believe in emphasizing need as a criteria for welfare. The welfare
laws should be revised to shift the basis of eligibility as rapidly as possible
to need rather than maintaining the maze of categorical assistance.
-- We recommend removal of disincentives for work. People on welfare who
are working part-time should be able to retain a portion of their earnings, thus
increasing their incentive to move to full-time employment.
-- We support proposals to change the law so that those receiving Aid to
Families with Dependent Children could increase their incomes by taking jobs,
thereby working toward self-support.
-- We believe that programs of vocational rehabilitation and job retraining
should be expanded SC as to shift into self-reliance people who now are on the
public relief rolls.
-- We recommend providing work incentives for dependent youth by giving
teenage children of welfare recipients a desire to become productive through
minimum wage exemptions.
-- We believe in encouraging family stability by revising the man-in-house
rule to give the needy family the incentive to stay together.
A-10
Poverty and Welfare (3)
-- We recommend encouraging family planning by requiring local government
welfare agencies which participate in Federal welfare programs to make avail-
able family planning advice for the use of families on relief.
-- We urge the expansion of child care facilities to be available in each
State for working mothers.
A-11
Housing
-- Federal and State governments should make a far more energetic effort
to encourage all types of private research into low-cost building materials,
directed at improving lower income housing. Where necessary, grants should be
provided for basic research into the development of low-cost materials and
methods of new construction and rehabilitation.
We believe that the private building industry and the trade unions
should give top priority to efforts to develop a model building code which
should be adopted by local communities. We also commend the example set by those
States which have created building code commissions to foster the development
and adoption of model codes.
Federal or local tax policy can be used to encourage, rather than penalize,
the owner for improving his property. Such encouragement could be based on a
tax credit or tax abatement approach, using as a guide the cost of the improvement
or the local property tax increase. Certainly, all levels of government should
study their tax laws to eliminate factors which encourage the maintenance and
spread of profitable slums.
-- Where public housing has been accepted by local decision, local public
housing officials should be encouraged to make use of the Republican-sponsored
program of short-term leasing of existing housing, voluntarily offered by private
landlords at public housing levels.
-- We believe that opportunities for acquiring ownership of units must be
enhanced. In this regard, the Percy-Widnall home ownership plan and sweat equity
proposals offer imaginative and constructive approaches to improving the quality
of our housing and the lives of lower-income families.
A-12
Housing (2)
-- We urge increased use of rehabilitation and code enforcement to diminish
the need for massive new building and slum clearance projects.
-- We recommend better techniques to solve the relocation problem in urban
renewal. Needed are more adequate payments of moving expenses, and more equitable
compensation awards and procedures where property is taken under eminent domain.
-- Congress should require that top priority be given to residential rather
than commercial projects in urban renewal areas where housing needs remain unmet.
Emphasis should be givento increasing the supply of housing within the reach of
lower income families.
-- Congress should consider revamping the commercial renewal program. The
Federal Government's share of the costs should be repaid by the community, at
least in part, from increased tax revenues where these result from the property
improvement.
-- The assistance provided by the Federal government in the forms of urban
renewal planning grants or advances should be continued, but it should be clearly
understood that local elected officials, the persons responsive to the electorate,
are responsible for the decision to plan, and for the content of such plans.
-- A detailed and careful study of the operations of the Federal urban renewal
and slum clearance programs by Congress is urgently needed. Such a study should
include in-depth hearings involving the people directly affected by the program.
-- A coordinated approach to housing and urban renewal should realize that
there is social benefit in retaining the neighborhood -- which may be the only
social institution with meaning and value for the low-income urban family.
A-13
Housing (3)
-- In highly urbanized States, departments of local government or urban
affairs within the State government can be focal points for housing and urban
renewal programs.
A-14
Human Rights
We call for faithful execution of the fair housing provisions of the
civil rights bill recently passed by Congress with majority Republican support.
This measure, aimed at providing all persons regardless of race, color, religion
or national origin with non-discriminatory access to most sale and rental housing,
should help to reduce tensions in the central cities by creating opportunities
for greater economic and social mobility among minority groups.
-- Every American deserves and should have a full and fair chance to
fulfill his God-given capacity to learn, to work, to earn -- all without regard
to race, or creed, or color. He deserves and should have a full and fair chance
to own a decent home, at a price he can afford, in a decent neighborhood. He
deserves and should have a full and fair chance, with all of his fellows, to go
to the places and do the things for himself and his family as his earnings will
permit.
-- We pledge to reduce discrimination in employment. The Administration has
failed to give prompt and effective implementation to Title VII of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act, which bans discrimination by employers and labor unions with more than
one hundred members. Once again, we Republicans call upon the Democratic Adminis-
tration to enforce this section of the law.
-- We firmly believe in the positive value of inter-cultural and inter-
racial educational experiences for all children. Integrated schools expand the
knowledge and understanding of the child, increase his awareness of others, and
provide lessons of tolerance and fairness that are important assets to the
individual and to society.
A-15
Human Rights (2)
-- In working toward this goal, a requirement is to provide condi-
tions of living, including high quality city educational programs, which will stem
the migration of whites to the suburbs and attract suburbanites back to the city.
Education policies alone cannot achieve this objective; equally important are
policies in regard to housing, urban renewal, employment, and public transportation.
However, city schools of exceptionally high quality could be a key factor in stem-
ming the flight to the suburbs and in bringing about greater integration in
education.
-- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorized the Attorney General to initiate
Federal court suits to bring about a speedy desegregation of all public schools.
We urge immediate and full implementation of this authority.
-- At the State and local levels of government, we urge enactment of
laws designed to protect constitutional guarantees and a vigorous implementation
of such laws. We also urge private action at the local level to insure equal
opportunity for all in the fields of education, housing, employment and public
accommodations.
A-16
Crime and Law Enforcement
-- We recommend substantial Federal financial assistance in the form of block
grants be given directly to the State for crime control, and the creation of State
departments of criminal justice to direct and coordinate all phases and segments
of State and local crime prevention and control.
-- We recommend development and expansion of statewide law enforcement
functions.
-- We recommend that Federal resources be employed to develop new and
improved techniques of crime control through application of science and techno-
logy.
-- We recommend development and implementation of new and improved inter-
state compacts and other forms of multistate and regional agreements for crime
control.
-- We recommend that the States revise antiquated, obsolete and ineffective
criminal codes.
-- We recommend immediate enactment of the Republican-sponsored bill to
outlaw all forms of private wiretapping and bugging, but authorize limited
electronic surveillance in specific criminal investigations by law enforcement
officials acting under strict court supervision.
-- We urge enactment of the Republican proposal to establish Federal resi-
dential facilities for protecting cooperative witnesses and families of such
witnesses in organized crime cases.
-- We urge enactment of the Republican proposal to create a permanent
Joint Congressional Committee on Organized Crime.
A-17
Crime and Law Enforcement (2)
-- We recommend that the Federal government establish a model juvenile
crime control system for the District of Columbia.
-- We recommend that the Republican amended Juvenile Delinquency Prevention
Act of 1968, which provides for Federal financial assistance directly to the
States, be consolidated with other related Federal grant programs for crime
control.
-- We recommend that the enforcement and related staff at the Bureau of
Customs be materially increased, and that the United States Government invite
the Mexican and Canadian governments to assist in establishing bi-national com-
missions to develop better methods to stem the flow of narcotics, marijuana and
dangerous drugs across common borders.
-- We recommend that the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act of 1966 be
amended to revitalize the Federal assistance program and make substantial assis-
tance available for State and local rehabilitation programs.
-- We recommend that the Federal government -- through the National Institute
of Health -- substantially increase its research into causes of and cures for
narcotic and drug addiction.
-- We recommend that the Federal government prepare and widely disseminate
information and educational materials on drug abuse and addiction. We further
recommend that increased emphasis be given to developing appropriate educational
programs directed towards college students and young people.
-- We recommend that Congress enact legislation to control more effectively
the indiscriminate availability of firearms and to assist the States in enforcing
their own firearms control laws by preventing circumvention in ways which are
beyond the power of the States to control.
A-18
Crime and Law Enforcement (3)
-- We recommend immediate study of the Federal law enforcement and crime
control complex to effectuate a fundamental reorganization of all Federal investi-
gative and law enforcement authority and administration of Federal crime control
programs.
-- We recommend creation of a consolidated Federal Corrections Service, with
authority to administer Federal corrections and assist State and local correctional
authorities.
-- We recommend a fundamental revision by Federal and State governments of
the rules of criminal procedure and the laws of appellate review of criminal
convictions.
-- We recommend that the Congress and the States enact appropriate codes of
police procedures.
-- We recommend that Federal resources be used to develop a model court
system employing modern management technology.
-- We recommend and pledge implementation of the vital recommendations of
the President's Crime Commission.
-- We recommend that the Federal government establish an accelerated research
program into the causes of crime and elimination of the causes of crime.
A-19
Pollution Control
-- We recommend an accelerated research and development program to reduce
or eliminate gaps in our knowledge and in our technical capability, so that our
ability to control air pollution will be matched to our desire to do SO. The
Federal government should take the lead in this effort.
-- We urge greater use of regional and metropolitan area agreements among
States and local governments in the control of air pollution, so that solutions
may be matched to the geographical pattern and wide variations of the problem, and
to minimize Federal controls consistent with the approach contained in the Air
Quality Act of 1967. The Federal government should offer increased financial
incentives to State and local governments to encourage them more strongly to
enter into regional and metropolitan area agreements.
We recommend greater use of economic analysis in the formulation of public
policies for air pollution control, so that the economic implications of the
problem and of proposed control measures can be more fully understood and
considered. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare should be required
to present economic analyses of all proposed legislation and regulations in this
field.
-- We propose a system of Federal tax benefits to industry for investments
in air and water pollution control devices, so that the costs of controlling
pollution will be widely shared, as well as the benefits. Congress should hold
hearings and act favorably on legislation of this type.
-- We call for effective action rather than words to halt air and water
pollution emanating from Federal installations, so that the Federal government
in its own activities will be above reproach and can provide more effective
leadership.
A-20
Pollution Control (2)
-- We call upon the Federal government working in close consultation with
the States, to define the aims of national water quality policy. Further, we
recommend that an agency unprejudiced by regulatory responsibilities be assigned
the task of assembling and evaluating data that will provide a periodic audit
of the quality conditions of our water resources.
-- In order to promote efficiency and increased effectiveness in the
operation of Federal water and sewer grant programs, we recommend transfer to
the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration of all such programs now
administered by four other Federal agencies.
-- We believe that Federal water pollution control grants should be
allocated to local projects only after approval by the State as meeting an area-
wide or regional pollution control plan.
-- We recommend that Congress review the criteria, formulae, and long-range
planning for Federal water treatment construction grants to ensure that such aid
is a stimulant and not a depressant to local initiative. Consideration should be
given to current local financial efforts, and priority should be given to projects
in areas where pollution problems are most urgent.
-- Consideration should also be given to encouraging States to advance con-
struction of waste treatment facilities by pre-financing against Federal reimburse-
ment.
-- We urge that attention be directed to the integrated water quality manage-
ment organizations now established or undergoing study at the State and interstate
level. These agencies might well provide a model for similar action by other States.
A-21
Transportation
-- We propose a system of Federal tax incentives to private transit
companies for investments in new equipment and systems, as a supplement to
the Federal urban mass transportation grant program. These incentives might
take the form of an increased investment credit or an accelerated depreciation
allowance for such outlays.
-- The Federal government's experimental program of demonstration grants
should be continued and evaluated. The Federal program which provides long-
term low-interest loans for urban transportation facilities should be expanded.
-- We recommend that the Federal share of the net cost of mass transporta-
tion projects be increased from 67 to 80 percent when the local application has
been reviewed by a metropolitan area-wide planning agency or is submitted by a
metropolitan area transportation agency, and is otherwise eligible for a Federal
grant. This increased Federal share should also be offered to those cities which
alone comprise an entire metropolitan area.
-- We recommend that State initiative be released to meet the immediate
and growing problem of mass transportation by Federal authorization of State
pre-financing of any Federal share.
We recommend that State highway funding allocation formulas, when
additional programs are considered, be equitably adjusted to reflect more
accurately the current distribution of population and automobiles and the
continued growth of urban areas.
Federal and State governments should consider ways to provide financial
incentives to metropolitan residents to persuade them to use urban transit
systems. In addition to reasonably priced fares, we believe that a plan whereby
A-22
Transportation (2)
the users of transit systems are given income tax benefits (perhaps through
receipts which could be filed with tax returns) merits serious study.
-- We propose that the present limited program of aid for urban and
suburban Federal routes be expanded into a new category of Federal-aid highways
to be known as the Metropolitan System. To be eligible for funds, communities
in metropolitan areas would have to show that new construction was in conformity
with metropolitan area-wide transportation planning.
-- We call upon the President to stop using Interstate Highway funds
for partisan political purposes. To avoid disruptive swings in the level of
construction activity, we urge that the States be assured a steady and predictable
apportionment of these Federal trust funds earmarked for highway construction.
-- Before a particular freeway is built, careful consideration should
be given to its liabilities and to its costs. Careful attention should be
given to the impact on families, neighborhoods, business enterprises and whole
communities. Appropriate care should be taken to preserve places of historical
and cultural interest and areas of scenic beauty.
-- In order to establish a more balanced set of priorities within total
Federal research and development outlays, we recommend an accelerated and
improved research and development program for urban mass transportation with an
increased funding commitment for these activities.
-- We recommend a sharply increased emphasis on improved and modernized
traffic engineering and procedures as an approach to relieving urban congestion.
A-23
Government Structure and Procedures
-- The resolution of urban and metropolitan problems requires at the very
least considerably increased coordination than generally now exists. And
where it is necessary units too small to handle effectively their share of
metropolitan problems should relinquish enough of their powers to area governments
to meet essential needs. In some instances a total merger of governmental units
into a new or existing area-wide government may be the required answer.
-- Each of the States should make an active study of its constitution and
laws with the aim of making whatever changes are required to facilitate metro-
politan cooperation and organization.
-- For certain problems, governmental subdivisions within large cities or
other mechanisms of citizen participation should be studied and tried.
-- The States should be encouraged to establish offices or departments of
Local Government. Such agencies should help local governments in each State be
more effective in meeting their responsibilities, and cooperating with nearby units.
-- We commend the interstate and regional compact device to the Congress and
the States as an excellent method through which certain problems of modern govern-
ment should be advanced.
A-24
Inter-Government Finance
-- We call for a reversal of the trend in the proliferation of specialized
grant-in-aid programs -- now estimated at well over 400 -- by a gradual consoli-
dation of grants eventually into a small number of block grants.
-- We favor measures to allow Federal income tax credits for State and local
taxes to enable State and local governments to finance their activities increas-
ingly under their own powers. Stricter Federal expenditure control and a
gradual reduction in Federal tax rates should go hand in hand with this
pr ogram.
-- We recommend that Congress authorize and appropriate a Federal revenue
sharing fund to be allocated to States and local governments with minimum
restrictions and in an amount consistent with sound fiscal policy.
- - Under block grants and revenue sharing, the initial distribution of
funds should be to the States. However, with growing urbanization in our society
the pressing needs of city and other local governments must be recognized. Any
final plan, therefore, must contain appropriate and enforceable provisions to
ensure that State governments pass on a fair share to units of local government.
-- The formulas governing distribution of Federal and State aid to local
governments should include equalization factors that take into account the great
needs and the limited financial capacity of the o cities.
No new Federal grant programs should be passed until the opinions of the
governors of the States about the desirability of the proposed grant have been
presented to Congress.
-- There should be provision for careful review of grants by Congress and the
Administration every five years.