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    "localId": "4526466",
    "label": "Optimist Club, Grand Rapids, MI, November 1, 1972",
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{
    "id": "4526466",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Optimist Club, Grand Rapids, MI, November 1, 1972",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526466",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Legislation",
        "Revenue sharing"
    ],
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        "logicalDate": "1972-11-30",
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    "seq": 1,
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    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4526466.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D34, folder \"Optimist Club, Grand Rapids, MI,\nNovember 1, 1972\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at\nthe Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nMIffice Copy\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\nFOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1, 1972\nRemarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the Grand Rapids Optimist Club\nLocal taxpayers here and there throughout the country will get a break as\na result of Federal revenue sharing legislation passed by the 92nd Congress.\nMany communities around the country plan to use the funds they will receive\nunder the new Federal revenue sharing program to reduce taxes property taxes in\nmost\ninstances.\nThis is a result I had fervently hoped for in connection with Federal revenue\nsharing. Federal\nincome taxes have been cut but our taxpayers need local\ntax relief badly. This has been true for years. It is one of the reasons I have\npushed for Federal revenue sharing legislation since 1965.\nThis, of course, is not the sole reason for Fedehal revenue sharing. The aim\nalso is to let local officials set\ntheir own priorities, rather than\nbe dictated to by bureaucrats in Washington. The idea is to strengthen local\ngovernment.\nWhere\nFederal revenue\nsharing money is not used to reduce local taxes,\nit will\nbe used for public facilities and services. The most commonly planned use\nfor the funds is capital improvements, mostly improved sewer and water facilities.\nThis, in turn, should generate jobs and give the\nNation's economy added impetus.\nFederal revenue sharing funds also will be used in many communities\nto aid\nmass transit systems. And still other cities will use these funds for additional\nrecreational facilities and the purchase of parkland.\nFederal revenue sharing will be a big shot in the arm for State and local\ngovernments-more than $30 billion over a period of five years-and the injection\nstarts right now. Total allocation for 1972 is $5.3 billion.\nRevenue sharing checks will go out to State and local governments the first week\nin December under present plans. These checks will cover half of calendar year 1972.\nChecks for the second half will go out the second week in January unless there's a\nhitch.\nPreliminary figures have been announced showing Grand Rapids as receiving just\nunder $2.7 million. However, this\nallocation was based on 1967 tax data. The\nLIBRARY\nTreasury Department now is recomputing the Federal revenue sharing allocations wherever\nDigitized from Box D34 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\n-2-\npossible, using 1971 tax data. My guess is that Grand Rapids will wind up with a\nhigher allocation than the initial tentative figure-but don't hold me to that. It's\npurely a guess.\nThe allocations to local units of government are based on population, per capital\nincome and local tax effort. Allecations to the States are figured on\npopulation,\nurbanized population, per capita income, income tax collections, and general tax effort.\nThe allocation formula for local units of government tends to favor poorer areas\nsuch as central cities and rural poor sectors. It also favors those units of government\nthat are imposing heavy tax burdens on their people in order to meet their needs.\nIn any case, revenue sharing allocations have absolutely nothing to do with who\nhappens to be the congressman\nrepresenting a particular district. So if Flint\ngets more money than Grand Rapids, it won't be because Don Riegle is a White House\nfavorite. It will be because Flint comes out better under the formula.\nThere is no restriction on what the States can use the money for. But the local\nunits of government can use revenue sharing funds only for priority expenditures-public\nsafety, including law enforcement, fire protection and building code enforcement;\nenvironmental protection, including sewage disposal, sanitation and pollution abatement;\npublic transportation, including transit\nsystems and streets and roads; health;\nrecreation; libraries; social services for the poor or aged; financial administration;\nand necessary capital expenditures authorized by law.\nI call your attention to the fact that Federal revenue sharing money can\nbe\nused\nfor mass transit.\nI have received some criticism for opposing use of Highway Trust Fund money for\nmass transit. Let me make\nmy position cle ar. I favor greater\noutlays for\nmass transit. I simply do not believe Highway Trust Fund money should be used for mass\ntransit as long as there is a death trap or bottleneck like old US-131 here or anywhere\nelse in the country.\nIn any case, Grand Rapids has received $400,000 in Federal funds for mass transit\nin\njust the past 20 months. A program of transportation on demand will begin in the\nInner City on Jan. 1 and a study of transportation needs of the elderly is in progress.\nWhen the study is completed, I feel sure the r ecommendations will be implemented.\nWe are moving ahead. We are making progress. And Federal revenue sharing\nwill help\nto move us toward our goals.\n#########"
}