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American Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Boca Raton, FL, April 30, 1973
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American Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Boca Raton, FL, April 30, 1973
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The original documents are located in Box D34, folder "American Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Association, Boca Raton, FL, April 30, 1973" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 D34 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS
ASSOCIATION, BOCA RATON, FLORIDA,
10 A.M. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1973.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT IS A-
GREAT PLEASURE AND A DISTINCT PRIVILEGE
TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU THIS MORNING.
YOU KNOW WHAT THE STANDARD
FORMULA IS FOR A PUBLIC SPEECH. YOU TELL
EM WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO TELL EM. THEN
YOU GO AHEAD AND TELL IT. AND FINALLY YOU
TELL EM WHAT YOU TOLD EM.
WELL, I AM NOT GOING TO FOLLOW
THAT FORMULA TODAY. I AM JUST GOING TO
CHAT WITH YOU A BIT. AND IN THE PROCESS
I HOPE TO IMPROVE MY IMAGE.
OH, YES, MY IMAGE NEEDS
IMPROVING. I THINK JUST ABOUT EVERY
POLITICIAN TODAY FEELS THAT WAY. YOU KNOW
-2-
HOW PEOPLE TALK. THEY SAY, "OH, HE'S
JUST ANOTHER POLITICIAN."
MAYBE SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD
THE STORY OF THE FOUR MEN WHO WERE FRIENDS
FROM BOYHOOD AND GOT TOGETHER IN THEIR
LATER YEARS. THEY WERE ALL WELL-ESTABLISHED
IN THEIR CAREERS, AND OVER A LEISURELY
LUNCH ONE DAY THEY BEGAN DISCUSSING THEIR
RESPECTIVE PROFESSIONS AND WHICH OF THE
PROFESSIONS WAS THE OLDEST.
"WELL," SAID THE DOCTOR, "EVE
WAS CREATED FROM THE RIB OF ADAM, AND
THAT REQUIRED A SURGICAL OPERATION, SO I
WOULD SAY MEDICINE OR SURGERY IS THE
OLDEST PROFESSION."
"AH, YES," SAID THE ARCHITECT
AMONG THEM, "BUT BEFORE EVEN ADAM COULD
BE CREATED THERE HAD TO BE A PLACE FOR
-3-
HIM TO LIVE, A WORLD, A UNIVERSE, AND
THAT REQUIRED ARCHITECTURAL PLANNING,
WHICH MAKES MINE THE OLDEST PROFESSION."
"OBJECTION!" CRIED THE LAWYER.
"BEFORE THE WORLD WAS CREATED THERE WAS
CHAOS, AND BEFORE ANYTHING COULD BE BUILT
SOMEONE HAD TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THE
CHAOS...AND THAT'S A LAWYER'S JOB. SO
I CLEARLY REPRESENT THE OLDEST
PROFESSION."
FINALLY THE POLITICIAN SPOKE UP.
"BUT GENTLEMEN," HE SAID, "WHO DO YOU
THINK CREATED THE CHAOS?"
EVEN MY FRIENDS IN CONGRESS THINK
THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD JOKE. BUT
UNFORTUNATELY IT DESCRIBES ALL TOO
ACCURATELY THE FACT THAT CONGRESS IN
RECENT WEEKS HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN DOING
-4-
EXACTLY THAT -- CREATING CHAOS.
I REFER TO REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO
SET UP CONFRONTATIONS WITH THE PRESIDENT
OVER FEDERAL SPENDING.
I FIRMLY BELIEVE THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE ARE WITH THE PRESIDENT IN THE
CURRENT SERIES OF CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN
HIM AND THE BIG SPENDERS IN CONGRESS.
THIS EVIDENCE OF PUBLIC SUPPORT HAS HELPED
TO PROMOTE THE REMARKABLE PARTY DISCIPLINE
EXHIBITED BY REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE AND
SENATE ALIKE ON THE ATTEMPTS MADE TO DATE
BY DEMOCRATIC LEADERS TO OVERRIDE
PRESIDENTIAL VETOES OF BUDGET-BUSTING
BILLS.
BUT REPUBLICANS AND A NUMBER OF
LIKE-MINDED DEMOCRATS HAVE STOOD UP TO
THE CHALLENGE POSED BY THE BIG SPENDERS.
-5-
AND SO I PREDICT THERE WILL BE NO INCREASE
IN FEDERAL INCOME TAXES THIS YEAR OR FOR
THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
THERE WILL BE NO INCREASE IN
FEDERAL INCOME TAXES IF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT
IN HIS EFFORTS TO HOLD BACK ON FEDERAL
SPENDING.
IT HAS BEEN MIGHTY TOUGH FOR
REPUBLICANS IN THE CONGRESS TO VOTE TO
SUSTAIN PRESIDENTIAL REJECTION OF BILLS LIKE
THE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION ACT OF 1972
ANDTHE RURAL SEWER AND WATER ACT. BUT THEY
HAVE SENSED THAT THE PEOPLE ARE BEHIND
THEM, AND THAT GAVE THEM THE BACKBONE TO
STAND UP FOR FISCAL SANITY.
THEY KNOW, Too, THAT WE IN THE
CONGRESS WHO BELIEVE IN FISCAL
- 5A -
RESPONSIBILITY HAVE TO STAND UP AGAINST
THE WHOLE FLOOD OF BUDGET-BUSTING BILLS
THE BIG SPENDERS ARE THROWING AT US OR
THE DAM WILL BREAK AND ALL SEMBLANCE OF
FISCAL ORDER WILL BE SWEPT AWAY.
THE STAKES ARE CLEAR. WHAT IS
AT ISSUE IS SIMPLY WHETHER WE WILL HOLD
THE LINE AGAINST A FEDERAL TAX INCREASE.
THE NEED IS FOR ENOUGH DISCIPLES OF FISCAL
-6-
RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CONGRESS TO MAKE
THE PRESIDENT'S SPENDING HOLDBACK STICK
AND THUS HOLD TAXES DOWN. THEY NEED YOUR
SUPPORT.
YOU KNOW WHAT THE SCORE IS.
PEOPLE CAN ARGUE UNTIL THEY ARE BLUE IN
THE FACE ABOUT THE RIGHT OF THE PRESIDENT
TO IMPOUND FUNDS. BUT THE FACT REMAINS
THAT IF THE PRESIDENT HAD NOT SLAPPED A
$250 BILLION CEILING ON FEDERAL OUTLAYS
FOR FISCAL 1973, WE WOULD BE SPENDING
$11 BILLION MORE THAN THAT THIS FISCAL
YEAR. INSTEAD OF AN ESTIMATED DEFICIT
OF $25 BILLION, WE WOULD HAVE A FISCAL
1973 DEFICIT OF $36 BILLION. AND THEN
THE WHEELS WOULD REALLY FLY OFF THE
ECONOMIC BUGGY.
-7-
LET'S PROJECT THAT BUILT-IN
SPENDING A BIT. THE MOMENTUM OF IT WOULD
HAVE PUSHED FEDERAL OUTLAYS IN FISCAL 1974
TO $19 BILLION ABOVE THE PRESIDENT'S
1974 REQUEST, AND IT WOULD HAVE SHOVED
FEDERAL SPENDING $24 BILLION ABOVE THE
PRESIDENT'S PROPOSALS FOR FISCAL 1975.
THAT $24 BILLION IS AN
INTERESTING FIGURE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU
LAY IT ALONGSIDE THE ESTIMATE THAT AMERICAN
TAXPAYERS WILL RECEIVE FEDERAL INCOME TAX
REFUNDS TOTALLING $20 TO $22 BILLION THIS
YEAR. THINK OF IT! THE EXCESS OF SPENDING
THAT THE BIG SPENDERS IN CONGRESS WANTED
TO COMMIT US TO FOR FISCAL 1975 WOULD HAVE
TOPPED THIS YEAR'S $22 BILLION IN INCOME
TAX REFUNDS.
I AM DEEPLY COMMITTED TO PROGRAMS
-8-
LIKE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION. BUT I. AM
JUST AS DEEPLY COMMITTED TO THE PRINCIPLE
THAT THESE PROGRAMS MUST BE CARRIED
FORWARD AT A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE SPENDING
LEVEL. I BELIEVE WE SHOULD PRODUCE
100 CENTS WORTH OF HUMAN BENEFITS FOR
EVERY TAX DOLLAR WE SPEND.
IN THAT CONNECTION, DON'T LET
ANYBODY TELL YOU THE PRESIDENT JUST BLINDLY
ORDERED CUTS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS. HE
PROCEEDED ONLY AFTER THE OFFICE OF
MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET HAD CONDUCTED THE
MOST EXHAUSTIVE EVALUATION OF FEDERAL
PROGRAMS EVER UNDERTAKEN. AND DO YOU KNOW
WHAT THAT STUDY SHOWED? OF THE MORE THAN
1,000 FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS REVIEWED, 115
WERE FOUND TO BE RIDDLED WITH WASTE AND
INEFFICIENCY. THERE IS NO MONEY FOR SUCH
-9-
PROGRAMS IN PRESIDENT NIXON'S BUDGETS.
AS I SAID EARLIER, THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE HAVE REPEATEDLY SHOWN THEY WANT TO
HOLD THE LINE ON TAXES.
THE CURRENT DEBATE OVER FEDERAL
SPENDING IS TRULY HISTORIC. IT IS
HISTORIC NOT BECAUSE OF A CONSTITUTIONAL
CRISIS, AS MANY ASERT, BUT BECAUSE THE
OUTCOME IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE STRENGTH
AND FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES AS LEADER
OF THE FREE WORLD.
DURING HIS FIRST TERM, PRESIDENT
NIXON TOOK INITIATIVES IN THE AREA OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS WHICH HAVE REVITALIZED
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND MADE IT
REALISTIC AND VIABLE IN THE 1970'S. NOW,
IN HIS SECOND TERM, THE PRESIDENT HAS
PROPOSED BOLD STEPS IN THE DOMESTIC FIELD.
-10-
HE SEEKS TO REORGANIZE THE EXECUTIVE
BRANCH TO MAKE GOVERNMENT MORE RESPONSIVE
TO THE PEOPLE AND TO THE DEMANDS OF THE
FUTURE.
HE SEEKS TO PHASE OUT THE TIRED,
WASTEFUL AND INEFFECTIVE PROGRAMS OF THE
60'S -- AND TO REPLACE THOSE PROGRAMS WITH
A STREAMLINED REVENUE SHARING APPROACH
THAT SHIFTS POWER TO LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
WHERE THE PROBLEMS AND THE PEOPLE ARE.
THE PRESIDENT SEEKS ALSO TO
BRING FEDERAL SPENDING MORE NEARLY IN LINE
WITH FEDERAL REVENUES.
AS HE DID IN THE INTERNATIONAL
FIELD, PRESIDENT NIXON IS PROVIDING BOLD
AND IMAGINATIVE INITIATIVE ON THE DOMESTIC
FRONT. AND CONGRESS IS CHALLENGED AS NEVER
BEFORE -- NOT FOR POWER -- BUT TO
-11-
DEMONSTRATE AN EQUAL MEASURE OF
RESPONSIBILITY.
AMERICAN TAXPAYERS ARE WATCHING
CLOSELY TO SEE WHAT THE RESPONSE OF
CONGRESS WILL BE.
IF THE SPEND AND ELECT PHILOSOPHY
WAS GOOD POLITICS IN THE PAST, I SUGGEST
TO THE POLITICAL PRAGMATISTS THAT A NEW
DAY IS HERE. THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS WHO
ARE WATCHING CONGRESS KNOW THAT MASSIVE
NEW FEDERAL SPENDING WILL MEAN HIGHER
TAXES.
THOSE IN CONGRESS WHO FAIL TO
RECOGNIZE THAT A NEW DAY IS AT HAND WILL
NOT ONLY FAIL THEIR COUNTRY IN THIS HOUR
OF NEED, BUT THEY MAY SOON BECOME PART OF
THE POLITICAL PAST THEMSELVES.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE
-12-
BATTLE OF THE BUDGET GO FAR BEYOND THOSE
OF US IN THIS HALL TODAY. THIS BATTLE
TOUCHES THE LIVES OF THE NEW GENERATION --
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE WHO DEMONSTRATED IN THE
LAST ELECTION THAT THEY ARE NOT ABOUT TO
GO TROOPING AFTER THE PIED PIPERS OF
PACIFISM, PROTEST AND POT.
THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE JUST
GETTING STARTED IN LIFE. AND THEY ARE
THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BUILD THE AMERICA OF
THE FUTURE.
WHAT KIND OF HERITAGE ARE WE
GOING TO HAND THEM? HOW BIG A DEBT ARE
WE GOING TO PASS ALONG TO THEM? HOW SOUND
WILL THE ECONOMY BE AS THEY MOVE INTO
PARENTHOOD AND RAISE FAMILIES?
I DON'T KNOW HOW WELL WE WILL
LIVE UP TO THE CHALLENGES FACING US BUT,
-13-
BELIEVE ME, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO
KEEP AMERICA STRONG AND GROWING AS THE NEW
GENERATION BEGINS TO TAKE OVER.
MAKE NO MISTAKE, THE NEW
GENERATION OF AMERICANS IS GOING TO RUN
UP AGAINST TOUGH COMPETITION IN THIS
WORLD. EVEN IF WE ESCAPE THE CALAMITY OF
MAJOR WARS, AMERICA IS CERTAIN TO BE
CHALLENGED AS NEVER BEFORE.
LAST SUMMER I VISITED MAINLAND
CHINA, SEEING A TOTALLY DIFFERENT
CIVILIZATION AND POLITICAL SYSTEM, HIDDEN
FROM AMERICANS FOR A QUARTER CENTURY. IT
WAS A FASCINATING EXPERIENCE, AND IN SOME
WAYS A FRIGHTENING ONE. IMAGINE
800 MILLION PEOPLE, GROWING AT THE RATE
OF TWO NEW YORK CITIES PER YEAR, TRYING
WITH INCREDIBLE DEDICATION AND DISCIPLINE
-14-
TO CONSTRUCT A NEW KIND OF SOCIETY -- A
SOCIETY THAT WORKS AND THINKS AND ACTS
ACCORDING TO THE SAYINGS OF CHAIRMAN MAO.
THE CHINESE CALL THEIR GOAL
COMMUNISM AND THEIR SYSTEM MARXIST, BUT
IT IS VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE RUSSIAN
AND EUROPEAN EXPERIMENTS WE HAVE SEEN
EVOLVING. ONE OF CHINA'S MOST IMPRESSIVE
ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAS BEEN IN THE FIELD
OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS.
CLEANLINESS IS A NATIONAL PASSION -- OLD
CHINA HANDS SIMPLY CANNOT BELIEVE THAT IN
TWO WEEKS AND THOUSANDS OF MILES OUR PARTY
SAW ONLY TWO FLIES AND NO MOSQUITOES. THE
CHINESE PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY THE YOUNGSTERS,
APPEAR TO BE ADEQUATELY FED, HEALTHY,
HARD-WORKING AND CONTENT.
THERE IS NO FREE COMPETITION IN
-15-
THE MARKETPLACE, OF COURSE, BUT THE
CHINESE CAREFULLY CULTIVATE THE
COMPETITIVE SPIRIT IN THEIR COLLECTIVE
SYSTEM. TEAMS ON THE FARM AND IN THE
FACTORIES COMPETE AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.
AND AS THE WORLD KNOWS FROM THEIR PINGPONG
PROWESS, CHINA'S LEADERS ARE PUSHING
COMPETITIVE SPORTS IN EVERY CORNER OF THE
LAND. NOT YET FOOTBALL. BUT WOULD YOU
BELIEVE BASKETBALL? I SAW MORE BASKETBALL
COURTS DRIVING THRU CHINA THAN ONE SEES
IN AMERICA --- AND I SAW THREE-YEAR-OLD
BOYS IN NURSERY SCHOOL PLAYING WITH
MINATURE BASKETS AND A SMALLER BALL,
PLAYING I MIGHT SAY WITH MORE SPIRIT THAN
SKILL.
WHAT DOES ORIENTAL BASKETBALL
HAVE TO DO WITH US? JUST THIS. IF WE ARE
TO REALIZE A GENERATION OF PEACE,
-16-
AS WE PRAY, WE WILL STILL NEED TEAMWORK
AND DISCIPLINE AND PHYSICAL STAMINA TO
SURVIVE THE PEACEFUL COMPETITION OF THE
FUTURE. NO SOFT, FLABBY, LUXURY-LOADED,
LAZY, LICENTIOUS NATION HAS EVER SURVIVED.
THE WHOLE COURSE OF HISTORY IS
ONE OF HUMAN SOCIETIES STRIVING TO FIND
THE RIGHT MIX OF APPARENTLY CONTRADICTORY
IDEALS -- ON THE ONE HAND, DISCIPLINE AND
DEDICATION; ON THE OTHER, INDIVIDUALITY
AND FREEDOM.
WHENEVER ANY SOCIETY GOES TOO FAR
IN EITHER DIRECTION IT IS IN TROUBLE. TOO
MUCH DISCIPLINE LEADS TO DESPOTISM AND
THAT CORRUPTS AND CORRODES THE HUMAN
SPIRIT. TOO MUCH INDIVIDUALITY AND FREEDOM
BRINGS DISORDER AND ANARCHY AND CHAOS, FROM
WHICH A STRONG MAN EVENTUALLY ARISES.
-17-
BOTH EXTREMES COME TO THE SAME END.
IF WE ARE TO MEET THE CHALLENGE
POSED BY SOCIETIES MORE DEDICATED AND
DISCIPLINED THAN OURS, WE MUST TOUGHEN
OURSELVES. WE MUST RECOVER SOME OF THE
TEAMWORK AND MUSCLE THAT TAMED THE
AMERICAN WILDERNESS. WE MUST REVITALIZE
OUR SENSE OF NATIONAL UNITY AND PURPOSE.
WE ARE CONFRONTED BY ENORMOUS
AND COMPLEX PROBLEMS AT HOME AND ABROAD.
BUT THE SPIRIT THAT HAS GUIDED
OUR NATION THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY LIVES
ON AND INSPIRES US ALL TO OVERCOME THE
PROBLEMS WHICH FACE US TODAY AND TO MAKE
THIS COUNTRY -- WHICH IS THE GREATEST FREE
REPUBLIC IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD --
EVEN GREATER.
-18-
AMERICA WILL ENDURE. IT WILL
ENDURE BECAUSE ITS STRENGTH COMES NOT FROM
MIGHTY POLITICAL FIGURES AND DRAMATIC
FORCES BUT FROM THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM,
THE STEADY FORCE WHICH NEVER FAILS. IT IS
THIS FORCE WHICH PROVIDES A NEVER-ENDING
RESERVOIR OF POWER AND ENABLES US TO MEET
THE CHALLENGES OF THE GREAT CAUSES FOR
WHICH THIS NATION STANDS.
THIS IS THE ROCK ON WHICH TO
BUILD -- THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM -- THE
SPIRIT IN WHICH THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED
AND GREW TO GREATNESS. SO LET US BE
WORTHY OF THE GLORIES OF OUR HERITAGE AND
THE PROMISE OF OUR FUTURE.
-- END --
20 copies u/ Mr. 7 only
O OFFICE COPY
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD. R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA
10 a.m. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1973
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and a distinct
privilege to appear before you this morning.
You know what the standard formula is for a public speech. You
tell 'em what you are about to tell 'em. Then you go ahead and tell
it. And finally you tell 'em what you told 'em.
Well, I am not going to follow that formula today. I am just
going to chat with you a bit. And in the process I hope to improve
my image.
Oh, yes, my image needs improving. I think just about every
politician today feels that way. You know how people talk. They say,
"Oh, he's just another politician."
Maybe some of you have heard the story of the four men who were
friends from boyhood and got together in their later years. They
were all well-established in their careers, and over a leisurely lunch
one day they began discussing their respective professions and which
of the professions was the oldest.
"Well," said the doctor, "Eve was created from the rib of Adam,
and that required a surgical operation, so I would say medicine or
surgery is the oldest profession."
"Ah, yes," said the architect among them, "but before even Adam
could be created there had to be a place for him to live, a world, a
universe, and that required architectural planning, which makes mine
the oldest profession."
"Objection!" cried the lawyer. "Before the world was created
there was chaos, and before anything could be built someone had to
straighten out the chaos and that's a lawyer's job. So I clearly
represent the oldest profession."
Finally the politician spoke up. "But gentlemen," he said,
"who do you think created the chaos?"
(more)
Page 2
Even my friends in Congress think that's a pretty good joke. But
unfortunately it describes all too accurately the fact that Congress
in recent weeks has been engaged in doing exactly that -- creating
chaos.
I refer to repeated attempts to set up confrontations with the
President over Federal spending.
I firmly believe the American people are with the President in
the current series of confrontations between him and the big spenders
in Congress. This evidence of public support has helped to promote
the remarkable party discipline exhibited by Republicans in the House
and Senate alike on the attempts made to date by Democratic leaders
to override Presidential vetoes of budget-busting bills.
But Republicans and a number of like-minded Democrats have stood
up to the challenge posed by the big spenders. And so I predict there
will be no increase in Federal income taxes this year or for the next
three years.
There will be no increase in Federal income taxes if the American
people continue to support the President in his efforts to hold back
on Federal spending.
It has been mighty tough for Republicans in the Congress to vote
to sustain Presidential rejection of bills like the Vocational
Rehabilitation Act of 1972 and the Rural Sewer and Water Act. But
they have sensed that the people are behind them, and that gave them
the backbone to stand up for fiscal sanity.
They know, too, that we in the Congress who believe in fiscal
responsibility have to stand up against the whole flood of budget-
busting bills the big spenders are throwing at us or the dam will
break and all semblance of fiscal order will be swept away.
The stakes are clear. What is at issue is simply whether we will
hold the line against a Federal tax increase. The need is for enough
disciples of fiscal responsibility in the Congress to make the
President's spending holdback stick and thus hold taxes down. They
need your support.
You know what the score is. People can argue until they are blue
in the face about the right of the President to impound funds. But
the fact remains that if the President had not slapped a $250 billion
(more)
Page 3
ceiling on Federal outlays for fiscal 1973, we would be spending
$11 billion more than that this fiscal year. Instead of an estimated
deficit of $25 billion, we would have a fiscal 1973 deficit of
$36 billion. And then the wheels would really fly off the economic
buggy.
Let's project that built-in spending a bit. The momentum of it
would have pushed Federal outlays in fiscal 1974 to $19 billion above
the President's 1974 request, and it would have shoved Federal spend-
ing $24 billion above the President's proposals for fiscal 1975.
That $24 billion is an interesting figure, especially when you
lay it alongside the estimate that American taxpayers will receive
Federal income tax refunds totalling $20 to $22 billion this year.
Think of it! The excess of spending that the big spenders in Congress
wanted to commit us to for fiscal 1975 would have topped this year's
$22 billion in income tax refunds.
I am deeply committed to programs like vocational rehabilitation.
But I am just as deeply committed to the principle that these programs
must be carried forward at a fiscally responsible spending level. I
believe we should produce 100 cents worth of human benefits for every
tax dollar we spend.
In that connection, don't let anybody tell you the President just
blindly ordered cuts in Federal programs. He proceeded only after the
Office of Management and Budget had conducted the most exhaustive
evaluation of Federal programs ever undertaken. And do you know what
that study showed? Of the more than 1,000 Federal grant programs
reviewed, 115 were found to be riddled with waste and inefficiency.
There is no money for such programs in President Nixon's budgets.
As I said earlier, the American people have repeatedly shown
they want to hold the line on taxes.
The current debate over federal spending is truly historic. It
is historic not because of a Constitutional crisis, as many assert,
but because the outcome is so important to the strength and future of
the United States as leader of the free world.
During his first term, President Nixon took initiatives in the
area of foreign affairs which have revitalized American foreign policy
and made it realistic and viable in the 1970's. Now, in his second
term, the President has proposed bold steps in the domestic field.
(more)
Page 4
He seeks to reorganize the executive branch to make government more
responsive to the people and to the demands of the future.
He seeks to phase out the tired, wasteful and ineffective
programs of the 60's -- and to replace those programs with a stream-
lined revenue sharing approach that shifts power to levels of
government where the problems and the people are.
The President seeks also to bring federal spending more nearly
in line with federal revenues.
As he did in the international field, President Nixon is provid-
ing bold and imaginative initiative on the domestic front. And
Congress is challenged as never before -- not for power -- but to
demonstrate an equal measure of responsibility.
American taxpayers are watching closely to see what the response
of Congress will be.
If the spend and elect philosophy was good politics in the past,
I suggest to the political pragmatists that a new day is here. The
American taxpayers who are watching Congress know that massive new
federal spending will mean higher taxes.
Those in Congress who fail to recognize that a new day is at
hand will not only fail their country in this hour of need, but they
may soon become part of the political past themselves.
The implications of the Battle of the Budget go far beyond those
of us in this hall today. This battle touches the lives of the new
generation -- our young people who demonstrated in the last election
that they are not about to go trooping after the Pied Pipers of
pacifism, protest and pot.
These young people are just getting started in life. And they
are the people who will build the America of the future.
What kind of heritage are we going to hand them? How big a debt
are we going to pass along to them? How sound will the economy be as
they move into parenthood and raise families?
I don't know how well we will live up to the challenges facing
us but, believe me, we have a responsibility to keep America strong
and growing as the new generation begins to take over.
(more)
Page 5
Make no mistake, the new generation of Americans is going to run
up against tough competition in this world. Even if we escape the
calamity of major wars, America is certain to be challenged as never
before.
Last summer I visited Mainland China, seeing a totally different
civilization and political system, hidden from Americans for a quarter
century. It was a fascinating experience, and in some ways a fright-
ening one. Imagine 800 million people, growing at the rate of two
New York Cities per year, trying with incredible dedication and
discipline to construct a new kind of society -- a society that works
and thinks and acts according to the sayings of Chairman Mao.
The Chinese call their goal communism and their system Marxist,
but it is vastly different from the Russian and European experiments
we have seen evolving. One of China's most impressive accomplishments
has been in the field of public health and physical fitness. Cleanli-
ness is a national passion -- old China hands simply cannot believe
that in two weeks and thousands of miles our party saw only two flies
and no mosquitoes. The Chinese people, particularly the youngsters,
appear to be adequately fed, healthy, hard-working and content.
There is no free competition in the marketplace, of course, but
the Chinese carefully cultivate the competitive spirit in their
collective system. Teams on the farm and in the factories compete
against one another. And as the world knows from their pingpong
prowess, China's leaders are pushing competitive sports in every
corner of the land. Not yet football. But would you believe basket-
ball? I saw more basketball courts driving thru China than one sees
in America -- and I saw three-year-old boys in nursery school playing
with minature baskets and a smaller ball, playing I might say with
more spirit than skill.
What does Oriental basketball have to do with us? Just this.
If we are to realize a generation of peace, as we pray, we will still
need teamwork and discipline and physical stamina to survive the
peaceful competition of the future. No soft, flabby, luxury-loaded,
lazy, licentious nation has ever survived.
The whole course of history is one of human societies striving
to find the right mix of apparently contradictory ideals -- on the
one hand, discipline and dedication; on the other, individuality and
freedom.
(more)
Page 6
Whenever any society goes too far in either direction it is in
trouble. Too much discipline leads to despotism that corrupts and
corrodes the human spirit. Too much individuality and freedom brings
disorder and anarchy and chaos, from which a strong man eventually
arises. Both extremes come to the same end.
If we are to meet the challenge posed by societies more dedicated
and disciplined than ours, we must toughen ourselves. We must recover
some of the teamwork and muscle that tamed the American wilderness.
We must revitalize our sense of national unity and purpose.
We are confronted by enormous and complex problems at home and
abroad.
But the spirit that has guided our Nation throughout its history
lives on and inspires us all to overcome the problems which face us
today and to make this country -- which is the greatest free republic
in the history of the world -- even greater.
America will endure. It will endure because its strength comes
not from mighty political figures and dramatic forces but from the
spirit of freedom, the steady force which never fails. It is this
force which provides a never-ending reservoir of power and enables
us to meet the challenges of the great causes for which this Nation
stands.
This is the rock on which to build -- the spirit of freedom --
the spirit in which this Nation was founded and grew to greatness.
So let us be worthy of the glories of our heritage and the promise
of our future.
###
Distribution 20 capies of Mr. Ford
M OFFICE COPY
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R--MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA
10 a.m. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1973
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and a distinct
privilege to appear before you this morning.
You know what the standard formula is for a public speech. You
tell 'em what you are about to tell 'em. Then you go ahead and tell
it. And finally you tell 'em what you told 'em.
Well, I am not going to follow that formula today. I am just
going to chat with you a bit. And in the process I hope to improve
my image.
Oh, yes, my image needs improving. I think just about every
politician today feels that way. You know how people talk. They say,
"Oh, he's just another politician."
Maybe some of you have heard the story of the four men who were
friends from boyhood and got together in their later years. They
were all well-established in their careers, and over a leisurely lunch
one day they began discussing their respective professions and which
of the professions was the oldest.
"Well," said the doctor, "Eve was created from the rib of Adam,
and that required a surgical operation, so I would say medicine or
surgery is the oldest profession."
"Ah, yes," said the architect among them, "but before even Adam
could be created there had to be a place for him to live, a world, a
universe, and that required architectural planning, which makes mine
the oldest profession."
"Objection!" cried the lawyer. "Before the world was created
there was chaos, and before anything could be built someone had to
straighten out the chaos and that's a lawyer's job. So I clearly
represent the oldest profession."
Finally the politician spoke up. "But gentlemen," he said,
"who do you think created the chaos?"
(more)
Page 2
Even my friends in Congress think that's a pretty good joke. But
unfortunately it describes all too accurately the fact that Congress
in recent weeks has been engaged in doing exactly that -- creating
chaos.
I refer to repeated attempts to set up confrontations with the
President over Federal spending.
I firmly believe the American people are with the President in
the current series of confrontations between him and the big spenders
in Congress. This evidence of public support has helped to promote
the remarkable party discipline exhibited by Republicans in the House
and Senate alike on the attempts made to date by Democratic leaders
to override Presidential vetoes of budget-busting bills.
But Republicans and a number of like-minded Democrats have stood
up to the challenge posed by the big spenders. And so I predict there
will be no increase in Federal income taxes this year or for the next
three years.
There will be no increase in Federal income taxes if the American
people continue to support the President in his efforts to hold back
on Federal spending.
It has been mighty tough for Republicans in the Congress to vote
to sustain Presidential rejection of bills like the Vocational
Rehabilitation Act of 1972 and the Rural Sewer and Water Act. But
they have sensed that the people are behind them, and that gave them
the backbone to stand up for fiscal sanity.
They know, too, that we in the Congress who believe in fiscal
responsibility have to stand up against the whole flood of budget-
busting bills the big spenders are throwing at us or the dam will
break and all semblance of fiscal order will be swept away.
The stakes are clear. What is at issue is simply whether we will
hold the line against a Federal tax increase. The need is for enough
disciples of fiscal responsibility in the Congress to make the
President's spending holdback stick and thus hold taxes down. They
need your support.
You know what the score is. People can argue until they are blue
in the face about the right of the President to impound funds. But
the fact remains that if the President had not slapped a $250 billion
(more)
Page 3
ceiling on Federal outlays for fiscal 1973, we would be spending
$11 billion more than that this fiscal year. Instead of an estimated
deficit of $25 billion, we would have a fiscal 1973 deficit of
$36 billion. And then the wheels would really fly off the economic
buggy.
Let's project that built-in spending a bit. The momentum of it
would have pushed Federal outlays in fiscal 1974 to $19 billion above
the President's 1974 request, and it would have shoved Federal spend-
ing $24 billion above the President's proposals for fiscal 1975.
That $24 billion is an interesting figure, especially when you
lay it alongside the estimate that American taxpayers will receive
Federal income tax refunds totalling $20 to $22 billion this year.
Think of it! The excess of spending that the big spenders in Congress
wanted to commit us to for fiscal 1975 would have topped this year's
$22 billion in income tax refunds.
I am deeply committed to programs like vocational rehabilitation.
But I am just as deeply committed to the principle that these programs
must be carried forward at a fiscally responsible spending level. I
believe we should produce 100 cents worth of human benefits for every
tax dollar we spend.
In that connection, don't let anybody tell you the President just
blindly ordered cuts in Federal programs. He proceeded only after the
Office of Management and Budget had conducted the most exhaustive
evaluation of Federal programs ever undertaken. And do you know what
that study showed? Of the more than 1,000 Federal grant programs
reviewed, 115 were found to be riddled with waste and inefficiency.
There is no money for such programs in President Nixon's budgets.
As I said earlier, the American people have repeatedly shown
they want to hold the line on taxes.
The current debate over federal spending is truly historic. It
is historic not because of a Constitutional crisis, as many assert,
but because the outcome is so important to the strength and future of
the United States as leader of the free world.
During his first term, President Nixon took initiatives in the
area of foreign affairs which have revitalized American foreign policy
and made it realistic and viable in the 1970's. Now, in his second
term, the President has proposed bold steps in the domestic field.
(more)
Page 4
He seeks to reorganize the executive branch to male government more
responsive to the people and to the demands of the future.
He seeks to phase out the tired, wasteful and ineffective
programs of the 60's -- and to replace those programs with a stream-
lined revenue sharing approach that shifts power to levels of
government where the problems and the people are.
The President seeks also to bring federal spending more nearly
in line with federal revenues.
As he did in the international field, President Nixon is provid-
ing bold and imaginative initiative on the domestic front. And
Congress is challenged as never before -- not for power --- but to
demonstrate an equal measure of responsibility.
American taxpayers are watching closely to see what the response
of Congress will be.
If the spend and elect philosophy was good politics in the past,
I suggest to the political pragmatists that a new day is here. The
American taxpayers who are watching Congress know that massive new
federal spending will mean higher taxes.
Those in Congress who fail to recognize that a new day is at
hand will not only fail their country in this hour of need, but they
may soon become part of the political past themselves.
The implications of the Battle of the Budget go far beyond those
of us in this hall today. This battle touches the lives of the new
generation -- our young people who demonstrated in the last election
that they are not about to go trooping after the Pied Pipers of
pacifism, protest and pot.
These young people are just getting started in life. And they
are the people who will build the America of the future.
What kind of heritage are we going to hand them? How big a debt
are we going to pass along to them? How sound will the economy be as
they move into parenthood and raise families?
I don't know how well we will live up to the challenges facing
us but, believe me, we have a responsibility to keep America strong
and growing as the new generation begins to take over.
(more)
Page 5
Make no mistake, the new generation of Americans is going to run
up against tough competition in this world. Even if we escape the
calamity of major wars, America is certain to be challenged as never
before.
Last summer I visited Mainland China, seeing a totally different
civilization and political system, hidden from Americans for a quarter
century. It was a fascinating experience, and in some ways a fright-
ening one. Imagine 800 million people, growing at the rate of two
New York Cities per year, trying with incredible dedication and
discipline to construct a new kind of society -- a society that works
and thinks and acts according to the sayings of Chairman Mao.
The Chinese call their goal communism and their system Marxist,
but it is vastly different from the Russian and European experiments
we have seen evolving. One of China's most impressive accomplishments
has been in the field of public health and physical fitness. Cleanli-
ness is a national passion -- old China hands simply cannot believe
that in two weeks and thousands of miles our party saw only two flies
and no mosquitoes. The Chinese people, particularly the youngsters,
appear to be adequately fed, healthy, hard-working and content.
There is no free competition in the marketplace, of course, but
the Chinese carefully cultivate the competitive spirit in their
collective system. Teams on the farm and in the factories compete
against one another. And as the world knows from their pingpong
prowess, China's leaders are pushing competitive sports in every
corner of the land. Not yet football. But would you believe basket-
ball? I saw more basketball courts driving thru China than one sees
in America -- and I saw three-year-old boys in nursery school playing
with minature baskets and a smaller ball, playing I might say with
more spirit than skill.
What does Oriental basketball have to do with us? Just this.
If we are to realize a generation of peace, as we pray, we will still
need teamwork and discipline and physical stamina to survive the
peaceful competition of the future. No soft, flabby, luxury-loaded,
lazy, licentious nation has ever survived.
The whole course of history is one of human societies striving
to find the right mix of apparently contradictory ideals -- on the
one hand, discipline and dedication; on the other, individuality and
freedom.
(more)
Page 6
Whenever any society goes too far in either direction it is in
trouble. Too much discipline leads to despotism that corrupts and
corrodes the human spirit. Too much individuality and freedom brings
disorder and anarchy and chaos, from which a strong man eventually
arises. Both extremes come to the same end.
If we are to meet the challenge posed by societies more dedicated
and disciplined than ours, we must toughen ourselves. We must recover
some of the teamwork and muscle that tamed the American wilderness.
We must revitalize our sense of national unity and purpose.
We are confronted by enormous and complex problems at home and
abroad.
But the spirit that has guided our Nation throughout its history
lives on and inspires us all to overcome the problems which face us
today and to make this country -- which is the greatest free republic
in the history of the world -- even greater.
America will endure. It will endure because its strength comes
not from mighty political figures and dramatic forces but from the
spirit of freedom, the steady force which never fails. It is this
force which provides a never-ending reservoir of power and enables
us to meet the challenges of the great causes for which this Nation
stands.
This is the rock on which to build -- the spirit of freedom --
the spirit in which this Nation was founded and grew to greatness.
So let us be worthy of the glories of our heritage and the promise
of our future.
# # #