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4526325
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GOP Dinner for Representative Charles E. Chamberlain, Jackson, MI, October 12, 1970
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4526325
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GOP Dinner for Representative Charles E. Chamberlain, Jackson, MI, October 12, 1970
collections
Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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Crime
Drug abuse
Taxation
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
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1970-10-31
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1970
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1970-10-01
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1970
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The original documents are located in Box D30, folder "GOP Dinner for Representative Charles E. Chamberlain, Jackson, MI, October 12, 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 The Council donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 15 copies to Mr. Ford only Ford Office Copy CONGRESSMAN NEWS GERALD R. FORD HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER RELEASE --FOR RELEASE AT 7 P.M. MONDAY--- October 12, 1970 Excerpts from a speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, Republican Leader, U.S. House of Reps. at a GOP Dinner for Rep. Charles E. Chamberlain, 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, 1970, at Jackson, Mich. This is Columbus Day, and while the gentleman we honor tonight is not of Italian ancestry he has a lot in common with the courageous seafarer who discovered America. Chuck Chamberlain is an intrepid fellow, a peppery fighter for what he believes in. He is dogged and determined. When he takes hold of something, he never lets go until he has achieved his objective. America has much need of men like Chuck. You take auto excise tax repeal. Chuck has been advocating legislative action on that subject ever since he first came to Congress with the class of 1956. While the battle for complete repeal isn't won yet, Chuck is still in there fighting with his never-say-die attitude. And as a member of the highly important, tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee Chuck is in an increasingly powerful position when it comes to taxes. Chuck also has been fighting a one-man battle to try to choke off the supplies the Communist enemy in North Vietnam gets from Free World nations through the port of Haiphong. Chuck has been doggedly attacking this aid and comfort for the enemy since 1964, and it must be noted that such trading with the enemy has dropped off sharply. I was pleased to back Chuck for assignment to the House Ways and Means Committe early last year after seeing the great work he had done as a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Since that time, Chuck has helped to shape some vitally important legislation. the first Tax Reform Act in decades and an overhaul of the scandalous welfare system we inherited from the New Deal era. Most recently Chuck had a role in developing major anti-crime legislation--the Drug Abuse Control Act of 1970--adopted by the House last Sept. 23 and previously approved by the U.S. Senate. Chuck is deeply disturbed about drug abuse in the United States, as we all are. But Chuck has done more about it than most of us. When Federal and state drug laws were flagrantly violated in August at the Goose Lake Rock Festival near here Chuck immediately arranged for a hearing at which Jackson County and state officials discussed the Goose Lake experience with House Judiciary Committee members and the U.S. Attorney General's office. Digitized from Box D30 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library You can be sure of this, too. If Chuck had had his way, the Drug Abuse Control Act of 1970 would have reached the House far more quickly than it did. Passage of this bill to curb drug peddlers was at least a year overdue. The President requested this anti-drug legislation 14 months ago. The Goose Lake Rock Festival and other such events indicate that the use of drugs has spread dangerously in this country, presenting a menace not only to the individual but to the community in general. The latest available figure shows that drug arrests by State and local authorities in 1968 represented a 322 per cent increase over the figures for 1960, while juvenile arrests for drug abuse rose during the same period by about 800 per cent. The evidence also shows there is a direct connection between the horrendous rise in drug abuse and the enormous increase in street crime in the last decade. Yet the Democrats in Congress waited more than 12 months before moving the President's drug abuse control legislation. This has been the pattern on the part of Democrats in Congress-this foot- dragging on vital Administration bills. For instance, the organized crime control act, passed last Wednesday by the House, should have been approved months ago. It was passed by the Senate last Jan. 23 but gathered dust in the House because some Democrats are more concerned about the rights of criminals than the safety of the public. It is significant, I think, that all 26 House votes recorded against the organized crime control bill were cast by Democrats. I think my Democratic brethern are mistaken--mistaken in not feeling a greater sense of urgency in the war against crime, mistaken in not being more cognizant of the importance of Vietnam in the future lives of Americans. Strong men like Chuck Chamberlain have never been willing to throw up their hands in the war against crime. Strong men like Chuck Chamberlain have never been willing to cut and run in Southeast Asia. Subsequent developments are proving the rightness of the Administration's domestically and in Vietnam. Now we have the President's 5-point plan for peace in Southeast Asia, an initiative which may produce a breakthrough to a negotiated settlement of the conflict. So place your faith in those who have stood behind the President in times of great travail and who cheer him now as he moves ahead with his quest for peace in Indochina. Americans can congratulate themselves on having a President who knows what the stakes of war and peace are. They need a like-minded Congress to back the President as he guides this Nation toward a generation of peace. # # # Copies to Mr Ford only 0 Office Copy CONGRESSMAN NEWS GERALD R. FORD HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER RELEASE --FOR RELEASE AT 7 P.M. MONDAY-- October 12, 1970 Excerpts from a speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, Republican Leader, U.S. House of Reps. at a GOP Dinner for Rep. Charles E. Chamberlain, 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, 1970, at Jackson, Mich. This is Columbus Day, and while the gentleman we honor tonight is not of Italian ancestry he has a lot in common with the courageous seafarer who discovered America. Chuck Chamberlain is an intrepid fellow, a peppery fighter for what he believes in. He is dogged and determined. When he takes hold of something, he never lets go until he has achieved his objective. America has much need of men like Chuck. You take auto excise tax repeal. Chuck has been advocating legislative action on that subject ever since he first came to Congress with the class of 1956. While the battle for complete repeal isn't won yet, Chuck is still in there fighting with his never-say-die attitude. And as a member of the highly important, tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee Chuck is in an increasingly powerful position when it comes to taxes. Chuck also has been fighting a one-man battle to try to choke off the supplies the Communist enemy in North Vietnam gets from Free World nations through the port of Haiphong. Chuck has been doggedly attacking this aid and comfort for the enemy since 1964, and it must be noted that such trading with the enemy has dropped off sharply. I was pleased to back Chuck for assignment to the House Ways and Means Committe+ early last year after seeing the great work he had done as a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Since that time, Chuck has helped to shape some vitally important legislation-- the first Tax Reform Act in decades and an overhaul of the scandalous welfare system we inherited from the New Deal era. Most recently Chuck had a role in developing major anti-crime legislation--the Drug Abuse Control Act of 1970--adopted by the House last Sept. 23 and previously approved by the U.S. Senate. Chuck is deeply disturbed about drug abuse in the United States, as we all are. But Chuck has done more about it than most of us. When Federal and state drug laws were flagrantly violated in August at the Goose Lake Rock Festival near here Chuck immediately arranged for a hearing at which Jackson County and state officials discussed the Goose Lake experience with House Judiciary Committee members and the U.S. Attorney General's office. You can be sure of this, too. If Chuck had had his way, the Drug Abuse Control Act of 1970 would have reached the House far more quickly than it did. Passage of this bill to curb drug peddlers was at least a year overdue. The President requested this anti-drug legislation 14 months ago. The Goose Lake Rock Festival and other such events indicate that the use of drugs has spread dangerously in this country, presenting a menace not only to the individual but to the community in general. The latest available figure shows that drug arrests by State and local authorities in 1968 represented a 322 per cent increase over the figures for 1960, while juvenile arrests for drug abuse rose during the same period by about 800 per cent. The evidence also shows there is a direct connection between the horrendous rise in drug abuse and the enormous increase in street crime in the last decade. Yet the Democrats in Congress waited more than 12 months before moving the President's drug abuse control legislation. This has been the pattern on the part of Democrats in Congress-this foot- dragging on vital Administration bills. For instance, the organized crime control act, passed last Wednesday by the House, should have been approved months ago. It was passed by the Senate last Jan. 23 but gathered dust in the House because some Democrats are more concerned about the rights of criminals than the safety of the public. It is significant, I think, that all 26 House votes recorded against the organized crime control bill were cast by Democrats. I think my Democratic brethern are mistaken--mistaken in not feeling a greater sense of urgency in the war against crime, mistaken in not being more cognizant of the importance of Vietnam in the future lives of Americans. Strong men like Chuck Chamberlain have never been willing to throw up their hands in the war against crime. Strong men like Chuck Chamberlain have never been willing to cut and run in Southeast Asia. Subsequent developments are proving the rightness of the Administration's actions--domestically and in Vietnam. Now we have the President's 5-point plan for peace in Southeast Asia, an initiative which may produce a breakthrough to a negotiated settlement of the conflict. So place your faith in those who have stood behind the President in times of great travail and who cheer him now as he moves ahead with his quest for peace in Indochina. Americans can congratulate themselves on having a President who knows what the stakes of war and peace are. They need a like-minded Congress to back the President as he guides this Nation toward a generation of peace. # # #