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Rotary Club, Grandville, MI, August 24, 1970
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4526306
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Rotary Club, Grandville, MI, August 24, 1970
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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The original documents are located in Box D30, folder "Rotary Club, Grandville, MI,
August 24, 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
so copies to Mr. Ford only
Office Copy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON--
Monday, August 24, 1970
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the Grandville Rotary Club
There is good news on the economic front.
Inflation is definitely slowing down and the economy is in the early stages
of an upswing.
These statements are not wishful thinking but developments which are borne
out by the facts.
The facts are that the cost of living increased at a seasonally adjusted rate
of 0.3 of one per cent in July, an annual rate of 3.7 per cent or only about half
of the rate of increase recorded last winter.
The facts are that the earnings of the Nation's rank and file workers rose
faster than the cost of living in July--for the third consecutive month. This means
the average worker's purchasing power is going up under the present Administration.
It means that his spendable earnings--his real income after deduction of Federal
income tax and Social Security tax--increased in July for the third month in a row.
The facts are that the Administration's policies of fiscal and monetary
restraint are producing a victory over inflation. This has been the Administration's
game plan all along, and it is a game plan which is going to push the ball over the
goal line.
I have predicted that the Administration's policies will slow inflation down
to a 3 per cent rate. I renew that prediction today.
Let me also emphasize that an upswing in the economy is at hand. An upswing
in the economy is beginning because the Administration's policy of a deliberate
anti-inflation slowdown in the economy has left plenty of room for the economy to
expand before any price strains resume.
We are also in the early stages of an economic upswing because our present
fiscal and monetary policies are designed to produce moderate expansion--expansion
without a rekindling of inflationary fires. Various tax cuts and the recent increase
in Social Security benefits are giving consumers incentive to buy. We will now see
an upward push on the economy. We will also see a moderate easing in longterm
interest rates.
Short-term interest rates are already down by about one
percentage point from the start of the year.
(more)
GERALD
Digitized from Box D30 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
-2-
The upswing in the economy is already reflected in the fact that housing
starts are moving upward. I see a boom ahead. Economic lessons of the past tell
us that housing is the first industry to be hurt by an economic contraction but it
is also the first to respond to a quickening in the economy.
The Emergency Home Finance Act, which I sponsored in the U.S. House of
Representatives, will give additional stimulus to the housing industry.
The Emergency Home Finance Act, which was recently signed into law, is
aimed at attracting as much as $6 billion into the housing market over the next
12 months.
The Act authorizes a $250 million subsidy for Federal Home Loan Banks to
stimulate mortgage lending through savings and loan institutions. It also provides
a secondary market for conventional mortgages which is designed to help increase the
fluidity of the mortgage market.
The Emergency Home Finance Act is the end product of legislation which I
introduced in the House last April 30.
One section of the Act authorizes a new subsidized housing program to
help middle income families obtain mortgage loans at interest rates as low as 7
per cent. The budget authorization--$6 million a year for the first three years--
should support construction of 450,000 housing units over a three-year period.
In sum, the Emergency Home Finance Act should permit more than a third of
a million families to obtain home financing in the near future. It is important, too
that the resulting construction of more than 200,000 new houses will also help provid
many new jobs.
This is a program which was badly needed in this period when we are making
a painful transition from a vartime economy to a peacetime economy.
This was an instance when the Congress, controlled by the opposition party,
cooperated with the President.
Unfortunately, the Congress has failed to cooperate in the fight against
inflation.
Now that we have turned the corner in the battle against inflation it is all
the more important that the Congress refrain from overspending--refrain from
jeopardizing the economic gains that we have made in our transition from a wartime to
a peacetime economy.
We cannot afford a Congress which adds billions of dollars to the Federal
Budget at a time when all Americans are fighting inflation and trying to live within
their means.
This is a time for responsibility. This is a time for legislating in the
best interests of the people, not with an eye on the November election.
Distribution
capies
to
8/22/70
Moffice Capy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON--
Monday, August 24, 1970
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the Grandville Rotary Club
There is good news on the economic front.
Inflation is definitely slowing down and the economy is in the early stages
of an upswing.
These statements are not wishful thinking but developments which are borne
out by the facts.
The facts are that the cost of living increased at a seasonally adjusted rate
of 0.3 of one per cent in July, an annual rate of 3.7 per cent or only about half
of the rate of increase recorded last winter.
The facts are that the earnings of the Nation's rank and file workers rose
faster than the cost of living in July--for the third consecutive month. This means
the average worker's purchasing power is going up under the present Administration.
It means that his spendable earnings--his real income after deduction of Federal
income tax and Social Security tax--increased in July for the third month in a row.
The facts are that the Administration's policies of fiscal and monetary
restraint are producing a victory over inflation. This has been the Administration's
game plan all along, and it is a game plan which is going to push the ball over the
goal line.
I have predicted that the Administration's policies will slow inflation down
to a 3 per cent rate. I renew that prediction today.
Let me also emphasize that an upswing in the economy is at hand. An upswing
in the economy is beginning because the Administration's policy of a deliberate
anti-inflation slowdown in the economy has left plenty of room for the economy to
expand before any price strains resume.
We are also in the early stages of an economic upswing because our present
fiscal and monetary policies are designed to produce moderate expansion--expansion
without a rekindling of inflationary fires. Various tax cuts and the recent increase
in Social Security benefits are giving consumers incentive to buy. We will now see
an upward push on the economy. We will also see a moderate easing in longterm
interest rates.
Short-term interest rates are already down by about one
percentage point from the start of the year.
(more)
-2-
The upswing in the economy is already reflected in the fact that housing
starts are moving upward. I see a boom ahead. Economic lessons of the past tell
us that housing is the first industry to be hurt by an economic contraction but it
is also the first to respond to a quickening in the economy.
The Emergency Home Finance Act, which I sponsored in the U.S. House of
Representatives, will give additional stimulus to the housing industry.
The Emergency Home Finance Act, which was recently signed into law, is
aimed at attracting as much as $6 billion into the housing market over the next
12 months.
The Act authorizes a $250 million subsidy for Federal Home Loan Banks to
stimulate mortgage lending through savings and loan institutions. It also provides
a secondary market for conventional mortgages which is designed to help increase the
fluidity of the mortgage market.
The Emergency Home Finance Act is the end product of legislation which I
introduced in the House last April 30.
One section of the Act authorizes a new subsidized housing program to
help middle income families obtain mortgage loans at interest rates as low as 7
per cent. The budget authorization--$6 million a year for the first three years--
should support construction of 450,000 housing units over a three-year period.
In sum, the Emergency Home Finance Act should permit more than a third of
a million families to obtain home financing in the near future. It is important, too
that the resulting construction of more than 200,000 new houses will also help provid
many new jobs.
This is a program which was badly needed in this period when we are making
a painful transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy.
This was an instance when the Congress, controlled by the opposition party,
cooperated with the President.
Unfortunately, the Congress has failed to cooperate in the fight against
inflation.
Now that we have turned the corner in the battle against inflation it is all
the more important that the Congress refrain from overspending--refrain from
jeopardizing the economic gains that we have made in our transition from a wartime to
a peacetime economy.
We cannot afford a Congress which adds billions of dollars to the Federal
Budget at a time when all Americans are fighting inflation and trying to live within
their means.
This is a time for responsibility. This is a time for legislating in the
best interests of the people, not with an eye on the November election.