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Bethel College, Mishawaka, IN, March 20, 1970
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4526263
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Bethel College, Mishawaka, IN, March 20, 1970
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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The original documents are located in Box D28, folder "Bethel College, Mishawaka, IN,
March 20, 1970" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
Distribution: 20 copies mr. Ford
office Copy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. FRIDAY--
March 20, 1970
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Republican Leader, U. S.
House of Representatives, at Bethel College, Mishawaka, Ind.
Reform is the watchword of the Nixon Administration and hopefully that of
the Congress as America moves into the decade of the 70's.
President Nixon has sent Congress some of the most far-reaching reforms ever
laid before the American people.
If all of these programs are adopted by the Congress, we will see a greater
reform of our political and social system than at any time since the first
administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The proposed reforms are timely and urgent. They are part and parcel of a
comprehensive strategy aimed at eliminating the most critical problems facing this
country.
That strategy is directed toward five objectives: Ending the Vietnam War;
making the streets safe again for the American people; curbing inflation; reforming
and ultimately ending the draft; and giving the Federal government back to the
people.
The top priority is, of course, to end the war in Vietnam. And while this
does not require direct congressional participation in planning and strategy, it
does require the support of Congress as well as the support of the American people.
I believe President Nixon has that support, now that he has reversed the trend of
our manpower commitment. We are gradually extricating ourselves from that tragic
war, and we are doing so in a manner that will produce a sound settlement of the
conflict. Meantime, I think it is safe to say that the policy of Vietnamizing the
war will result in taking U.S. forces in Vietnam below the 200,000 mark in another
year or so from the present ceiling of 434,000.
We have moved to reform the exercise of both our international and domestic
power through a transformation of our policies. Already we have accomplished much.
Much more remains to be accomplished reforms that require the cooperation of
the Congress.
The President has reformed American foreign policy. He has clothed it with
a new spirit of partnership - partnership with our free world allies --- and with
(more)
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Digitized from Box D28 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
-2-
a new spirit of willingness to negotiate in the interest of world peace. In his
approach to Communist nations, the President has adopted a policy tuned to their
individually nationalistic interests. He has sought to defuse the nuclear arms
race. In his approach to our allies, he is helping those who help themselves.
Overall, the Nixon policy is one of crisis prevention.
President Nixon has managed to bring order to the handling of our foreign
policy, and he has brought order to this country. In short, he has brought order
to the Presidency.
Let us look at the great array of reforms before us -- the first major over-
haul of the welfare system in a generation; a strengthened and broadened anti-crime
program to make our streets safe again; draft reform to make the selective service
system as fair as possible until we can establish a truly all-volunteer army;
expenditure reform which reorders our priorities while bringing inflation under
control; postal reform which will create a postal service authority with broad
modernization powers; poverty program reform which keeps the Office of Economic
Opportunity as an innovative agency but spins off successful experimental programs
to old-line Government departments; manpower training reform which consolidates
Federal manpower training programs; tax reform which takes millions of poor citizens
off the taxrolls, reduces taxes for millions of other low-income Americans, gives
a long-deserved break to middle-income individuals, and prevents the most wealthy
from escaping taxation; a New Federalism which provides the states and cities with
an increasing slice of Federal income tax revenue and gives them new vigor as solvers
of problems closest to them; a decentralization of Government authority which places
greater reliance on local officials and greater power in the hands of the people;
a re-examination of Federal aid to schools aimed at achieving quality of education
and equality of educational opportunity; revamping of our labor law for improved
handling of national emergency labor disputes; a crusade to rid ourselves of air
and water pollution and restore to our land the beauty it once knew.
We have already achieved some of these reforms and others are on the way.
We have instituted a lottery system as part of the draft. An all-volunteer Army
should be our next goal. We have accomplished major tax reforms along with tax
relief. We have reformed the anti-poverty program to make it truly innovative,
giving the operating programs to the old-line departments. The House Ways and Means
Committee has formally approved the President's plan to substitute Workfare for
Welfare.
The Workfare program -- the major overhaul of the welfare system -- is a
common-sense approach to the crisis of our cities. The accent is on the solid
American ethic of working for a living. It calls for a hand up instead of a
handout. It is based on the idea that a man never stands so tall as when he stands
on his own two feet.
Through all of the proposed reforms runs a challenge -- to make the
Seventies a time when we as a people will live our lives better will improve
the quality of our lives.
# # #
Distribution 20 copies Ms. Ford
O office Copy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. FRIDAY--
March 20, 1970
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Republican Leader, U. S.
House of Representatives, at Bethel College, Mishawaka, Ind.
Reform is the watchword of the Nixon Administration and hopefully that of
the Congress as America moves into the decade of the 70's.
President Nixon has sent Congress some of the most far-reaching reforms ever
laid before the American people.
If all of these programs are adopted by the Congress, we will see a greater
reform of our political and social system than at any time since the first
administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The proposed reforms are timely and urgent. They are part and parcel of a
comprehensive strategy aimed at eliminating the most critical problems facing this
country.
That strategy is directed toward five objectives: Ending the Vietnam War;
making the streets safe again for the American people; curbing inflation; reforming
and ultimately ending the draft; and giving the Federal government back to the
people.
The top priority is, of course, to end the war in Vietnam. And while this
does not require direct congressional participation in planning and strategy, it
does require the support of Congress as well as the support of the American people.
I believe President Nixon has that support, now that he has reversed the trend of
our manpower commitment. We are gradually extricating ourselves from that tragic
war, and we are doing so in a manner that will produce a sound settlement of the
conflict. Meantime, I think it is safe to say that the policy of Vietnamizing the
war will result in taking U.S. forces in Vietnam below the 200,000 mark in another
year or so from the present ceiling of 434,000.
We have moved to reform the exercise of both our international and domestic
power through a transformation of our policies. Already we have accomplished much.
Much more remains to be accomplished reforms that require the cooperation of
the Congress.
The President has reformed American foreign policy. He has clothed it with
a new spirit of partnership - partnership with our free world allies -- and with
(more)
BERALD FORD LIBRARY
-2-
a new spirit of willingness to negotiate in the interest of world peace. In his
approach to Communist nations, the President has adopted a policy tuned to their
individually nationalistic interests. He has sought to defuse the nuclear arms
race. In his approach to our allies, he is helping those who help themselves.
Overall, the Nixon policy is one of crisis prevention.
President Nixon has managed to bring order to the handling of our foreign
policy, and he has brought order to this country. In short, he has brought order
to the Presidency.
Let us look at the great array of reforms before us -- the first major over-
haul of the welfare system in a generation; a strengthened and broadened anti-crime
program to make our streets safe again; draft reform to make the selective service
system as fair as possible until we can establish a truly all-volunteer army;
expenditure reform which reorders our priorities while bringing inflation under
control; postal reform which will create a postal service authority with broad
modernization powers; poverty program reform which keeps the Office of Economic
Opportunity as an innovative agency but spins off successful experimental programs
to old-line Government departments; manpower training reform which consolidates
Federal manpower training programs; tax reform which takes millions of poor citizens
off the taxrolls, reduces taxes for millions of other low-income Americans, gives
a long-deserved break to middle-income individuals, and prevents the most wealthy
from escaping taxation; a New Federalism which provides the states and cities with
an increasing slice of Federal income tax revenue and gives them new vigor as solvers
of problems closest to them; a decentralization of Government authority which places
greater reliance on local officials and greater power in the hands of the people;
a re-examination of Federal aid to schools aimed at achieving quality of education
and equality of educational opportunity; revamping of our labor law for improved
handling of national emergency labor disputes; a crusade to rid ourselves of air
and water pollution and restore to our land the beauty it once knew.
We have already achieved some of these reforms and others are on the way.
We have instituted a lottery system as part of the draft. An all-volunteer Army
should be our next goal. We have accomplished major tax reforms along with tax
relief. We have reformed the anti-poverty program to make it truly innovative,
giving the operating programs to the old-line departments. The House Ways and Means
Committee has formally approved the President's plan to substitute Workfare for
Welfare.
The Workfare program -- the major overhaul of the welfare system -- is a
common-sense approach to the crisis of our cities. The accent is on the solid
American ethic of working for a living. It calls for a hand up instead of a
handout. It is based on the idea that a man never stands so tall as when he stands
on his own two feet.
Through all of the proposed reforms runs a challenge -- to make the
Seventies a time when we as a people will live our lives better will improve
the quality of our lives.
# # #