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Fifth District Weekly Radio Reports, 1972
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Fifth District Weekly Radio Reports, 1972
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
Weekly Radio Reports
subjects
China
Soviet Union
Arms control
Busing for school integration
Drug abuse
Economic stabilization
Economics
Environmental protection
Federal aid
Gold
Labor disputes
Legislation
Monetary systems
Presidential trips
Private schools
Revenue sharing
Summit meetings
Taxation
United States-Soviet relations
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
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1972-06-30
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1972
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1972
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The original documents are located in Box D36, folder "Fifth District Weekly Radio
Reports, 1972" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF JAN. 22-23, 1972.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
The second session of the 92nd Congress now is under way, and so I am resuming
the weekly talks in which I
discuss with you what is happening in the Nation's
capital and in the Congress.
Traditionally, a new se ssion of Congress actually begins when the President
reviews the state of the union--in other words, tells the Congress and the American
people how he sees the condition
the Nation is in and outlines the action he
believes Congress should
take to deal with it.
We heard the President's State of the Union Address last Thursday and I think
all of you would agree that it was a most significant
speech.
Congress has its work cut out for it in this second session. Most of the legislation
on which Congre SS began work last year is still hanging fire. It is unfinished busine SS
on which Congress must get busy. In enacting the major measures recommended by the
President, the Congre SS will be directing its energies toward great goals.
The need for the major bills recommended by the Administration is more urgent
than ever. Such legislation as revenue sharing, welfare reform and improved health
care deserves to be
enacted promptly. For the good of the American people
they must be enacted
into law this year. I think they will be.
There is little doubt that the Administration proposals in these three areas will
be modified before final enactment. But I think they will survive in essentially the
form in which they were cast by the Administration.
Welfare reform is already through the House. It should make it hrough the
Senate this year.
The House Ways and Means Committee has conducted hearings on revenue sharing
FORD LIBRARY & CERTI and
BER
Digitized from Box D36 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
-2-
health care. The need for action in both of these areas has been fully established.
Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills recognizes the imperatives in both cases.
Mills has introduced revenue sharing legislation which goes about 80 per cent of
the way with the Administration. 1 feel sure a compromise is possible.
I think chances also are good that a bill resembling the Administration's proposal
in the health care field will pass both houses of Congress this year.
There are other bills which look like sure bets in 1972-at least a modest increase
in Social Security, consumer protection on warranties, the creation of a consumer
protection a gency,
an increase in the minimum wage, pension protection legislation,
additional aid for colleges and universities, and a big program to fight water pollution.
We need a total commitment by the Congre SS to deal with the problem of cleaning up
the country's lakes and streams. In fact, we must have the cooperation of government
at all levels and the enthusiastic support of all our people. This means, too, the
total support of labor and
industry.
We cannot wait any longer to launch an all-out effort to bring man into harmony
with his environment. The war against pollution must be fought and won in the years
immediately ahead.
There is another kind of dedication we must have in 1972--and that is a commitment
to lick inflationary psychology and to make Phase 2 of the President's price and wage
control program work as it should.
There has been a bulge in wholesale prices for December--a natural consequence
once the
90-day freeze declared last
August 15 was lifted.
This
should not discourage us. This was to be expected. We now should adhere as
FORD LIBRARY
religiously as possible to the price and wage guidelines laid down by the Price
-3-
Commission and the Pay Board.
Meantime, we can look for steady improvement in the economy and a gradual but
definite reduction in the unemployment rate.
The tax cuts voted by the last Congress are certain to stimulate the economy and
help produce a broad upswing in business and jobs.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington. I'll
be
talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
#######
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF JAN. 29-30, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
The stage is set for the second session of Congress. The President has delivered
his State of the Union Message. He has sent Congre SS his budget for fiscal 1973. It
now remains to be seen
what actions Congress will take.
The President proposed very little that is new-and for good reason. There are
some 90 Administration requests hanging over from the first se ssion of the 92nd
Congress, with revenue sharing, welfare reform, health care and executive branch
reorganization heading the list.
This will be a
short session, with the Democratic leaders of the Congress
hoping to end it by August 18--following a June 30 to July 17 recess which will include
the Democratic National Convention. If there is no adjournment on August 18, Congress
will
recess
again from August 18 until September 5, a recess that will include
the Republican National Convention.
So it will
be a short se ssion but I still expect considerable accomplishment.
The reason I expect productive results is that the spadework on major measures was
done in the first session of the 92nd Congress. In addition, a Congress gets down to
work immediately in a second session. There is no long delay caused by organizational
activity, as there is
at the beginning of
a first session.
If there is an unusual amount of partisanship in this second session of the 92nd
Congress, it certainly won't be brought on by the President. The President
made it
clear in his State of the Union Message that he is looking toward a partnership for
progress with the Democrats in the Congress. He is seeking to bury partisanship, in
the best interests of the nation, at least until the 1972 political campaign gets under
way in earnest.
There were two initiatives cited by the President in his State of the Union
Message. One was a program of partnership between the Federal Government and the
-2-
private sector in the area of technology. The other was a search for a
substitute
for
financing local school operations through the
property tax.
I was very much ple sed by the President's emphasis on technology. I have become
increasingly concerned that Americans are relinquishing their
world preeminence in
technology and are tending to be satisfied with being second best or worse. If our
Nation is to advance economically, we
must move ahead technologically.
We must stay ahead of the other nations of the world. In
addition, advances
in U.S. technology hold out promise for a solution to such problems as the traffic
congestion that is strangling our cities. I applaud the President's decision to
accelerate development of new mass transit technologies. New transit technologies
are available but only the Federal Government has the resources to make
them
operational. This program will generate jobs for our unemployed engineers and provide
eventual relief for our traffic-clogged streets.
I am also pleased with the President's determination to provide relief for
local property tax payers. As for the speculation regarding a national value-added
tax, I can only say I will wait and see what develops. I am hoping for property tax
relief through the adoption of Federal revenue sharing. At present I am not inclined
to favor
new Federal taxes of any kind.
Congress got off to a fast start during its first week when the House adopted the
final version of a Senate-approved election campaign reform bill and sent it to the
President for his signature. I strongly supported this legislation. It is the first
major reform of campaign election 1 aws in 46 years and provides the first meaningful
limitation on campaign spending. The new law will go into effect 60 days after the
President signs it.
The other big development as Congre SS began work came when the President asked
-3-
for emergency legislation to end the West Coast dock strike. I favor such emergency
legislation. The dock strike has
caused American farmers to lose hundreds of
millions of dollars since it started last July 1. We must end it now. In addition,
the Congre SS has a pressing obligation to approve permanent legislation aimed at
improving our methods for handling national emergency labor-management disputes in
transportation. If Congress would do that, we could avoid such crises as the West
Coast
dock strike, and we wouldn't have these strikes dumped in Congress' lap
every few months.
reporting
This
is
your congre ssman, Jerry Ford,
to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
########
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF FEB. 5-6, 1972.
This
is
your congre ssman,
Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
I would like to talk with you about a variety of subjects today. First of
all, the West Coast dock strike and the need for permanent legislation to improve
our handling of national emergency labor disputes in transportation.
The West Coast dock strike is perhaps the most costly in our history. It has
lasted for more than 100 days. It has cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It
has hurt workers and their families, farmers, shippers and consumers all over
America. Yet the Democratic chairmen of labor subcommittees in both the House and
Senate are reluctant to move on President Nixon's request for binding arbitration to
get the men back to work for at least 18 months.
The entire Nation is affected by the dock strike, and yet key men in the Congre SS
let it drag on because this is an election year and they don't want to
offend the
leaders of organized labor. The West Coast dock strike is sorely damaging the
American economy. The American people should demand that it be brought to an end.
Apart from the special legisla tion to end the West Coast dock strike, the
President has also been seeking better general machinery to deal with such
labor
disputes before they reach the strike stage. This legislation is known as the
Crippling Publ Interest Strikes Protection Prevention Act.
It has been before the Congress for two years, but
Democratic committee chairmen have refused to move this legislation because it is
Crippling Strikes The Public Interest Prevention Protection
opposed by the leaders of organized labor. Act wuld
pressure labor and management in transportation to bargain down to two final proposals.
One of these proposals then would be imposed by government mediators to settle the
dispute. I think the Nation needs this legislation. There is no excuse for the
failure of Democratic committee chairmen to act on it.
ERALD FORD LIBRARY
I would now like to report that progre SS is being made in pushing a proposed
-2-
anti-busing Constitutional Amendment toward a vote on the House Floor.
I have signed a House discharge petition which would take the amendment away
from the House Judiciary Committee and bring it
directly to the House for a vote.
There have been
several developments since I signed the discharge
petition. Tbout 10 more members of the House have signed the
petition, bringing
the total number of signers to about 150. We need 218 signatures, a majority of the
House. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has scheduled hearings to begin
March 1 on various anti-busing amendments. And the chairman of the House Rules
Committee has indicated that if there is no Judiciary Committee action to send an
anti-busing amendment to the House Floor, he will see that the Rules Committee takes
special action to bring about a vote.
I signed the anti-busing discharge petition because I think
forced busing to
and
achieve racial balance is not in the best interests of children
parents,
black and white. It works a hardship on them, and it does not enhance quality
education it undermines it. We should be concerned with quality education, not with
forced busing to achieve racial balance.
Now I would like to comment en President Nixon's recent disclosure of the private
negotiations he has pursued in an attempt to end the Vietnam War. As one who has
supported efforts to end the war either through negotiation or Vietnamization, I
felt assured by the President's disclosures that he has done everything possible
to end the war short of
simply turning South Vietnam over to the Communists.
It is now clear that it is not we who have been continuing the war but the
North Vietnamese.
The President has indicated his willingne SS to set a
date certain for total withdrawal of U.S.
forces--a withdrawal within six months in
exchange for an Indochina cease-fire and release of American prisoners of war.
IBRARY
-3-
I feel the President has made a
reasonable offer to resolve the
key
issue of the conflict--the control of the Saigon government--by proposing that
President Thieu step down so that new internationally supervised elections can be
held. It is now my hope tha
Americans will unite behind the President's effort to
end the
war. I believe this would hasten an end to this tragic conflict.
This is
your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again
next week--same time, same station.
#######
SCRIPTI FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF FEB. 12-13, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
Again we mark the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, one of the
wisest and most
eloquent men ever to occupy the White House.
went
In keeping with custom, Congre SS
into recess over Lincoln's birthday. This
gave me an opportunity to spend some time in the district. Congress will return for work
more actum
Feb. 16.
Before leaving Washington, Congress received the Administration's bill to devalue
official
the dollar by
raising the price of gold from $35 an ounce to $38. This, combined
with a realignment of international currencies which has already taken place, will have
a baneficial impact on our economy. It will lower the price of U.S. goods sold abroad
and will raise the price of
foreign goods sold in this country.
Foreign imports will cost more, and this should prompt Americans to buy more
domestic goods. At the same time, Americans goods sent abroad will cost foreign buyers
less than in the past and thus will be more attractive.
The increased demand and salability of U.S. products both at home and abroad will
create jobs which in turn will increase the buying power of many Americans.
Devaluation of the dollar had to come because the dollar was over-valued in relation
to the currencies of many other countries. We were seriously handicapped in selling
our
products abroad. The net result was a steadily declining
balance of
trade and a loss of American jobs.
We
now
can expect an improvement in U.S. trade as a result of devaluation of
the dollar. We must remember, however, that it of ten takes two years before the full
impact of devaluation is reflected in a country's trade alance.
FORD
I would like to
report now on a stepM
in our
increasing
attack on LIBRARY
drug abuse. We are
up our efforts all across the board--in prosecuting the
-2-
pushers and in
expanding our programs of treatment, rehabilitation
and education.
The House of Representatives has approved a bill which would mount a comprehensive
coordinated attack on drug abuse. It establishes a Special Action Office in the White
to coordinate all Federal programs dealing with
House with authority
drug addict rehabilitation and treatment and drug abuse
education. The bill also sets up a liaison between the Spencial Action Office and
law enforcement
groups concerned with d rug traffic.
In all, the House bill authorizes $411 million in appropriations over a three-year
period. The Senate
has approved a drug abuse attack bill authorizing a $1.8 billion
appropriation. Differences between the House and Senate bills will have to be resolved.
I feel that the approach contained in the House bill is most
promising.
Besides setting up the Special Action Office on Drug Abuse, the bill establishes a
Special Fund to be used by the Director of the Office to fund promising new concepts
It
or methods for the treatment of drug addiction authorizes $45 million over two years
to encourage and promote research aimed at improving the treatment of drug addicts It
It
establishes clinical research facilities establishes a National Drug Abuse Training
The bill also
Center sets up a 15-member National Advisory
H
Council to make recommendations
to the Director regarding the planning
of drug abuse prevention
and treatment
programs, It provides $120 million over two years to initi ate drug treatment and
rehabilitation programs in community mental health centers. The bill provides $31
million over three
years for planning grants to States and local units of
government. It further increases the authorization for
the Community Health Centers
Act by $100 million over a two-year period. The bill also provides for the
establish-
FORD
ment of drug treatment and rehabilitation programs in the hospitals and clinics of the
Public Health Service.
-3-
Drug addiction, partitularly heroin, is costing this country $2.5 billion to $3
billion a year. In addition, it is estimated that about 50 per cent of our violent
street drime is traceable
to heroin addiction--crime committed by addicts who
steal to maintain their habit.
So I strongly favor the action taken by the House to expand
and
coordinate our programs aimed at attacking drug abuse.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again next week--same time, same station.
########
GEEALD FORD VIBRARY
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF FEB. 19-20, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from
Washington.
We have had some healthy clearing of the air in recent weeks on the issue of
Vietnam. It has finally become clear that the sole
issue in connection with
Vietnam is whether this Nation
is prepared to abandon South Vietnam to a
beallowed to
Communist takeover or will insist that the South Vietnamese determine their own future.
The answers to
many questions involving Vietnam have become clear as
a
result of the President's disclosure of secret negotiations with the North
Vietnamese.
Have the North Vietnamese ever offered to release American POW's in exchange for
the U.S. setting a fixed withdrawal date?
The answer is "No." The North Vietnamese have always insisted that any U.S.
military
settlement--withdrawal, cease-fire or exchange of prisoners--
would have to be accompanied by a complete political settlement. So it is usele: SS
for fis to talk about a "fixed date" for
withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam
unle SS we are prepared to
an swer
questions regarding a political settlement.
Bas the United States ever offered a withdrawal date in exchange for the return
of POW's?
Yes, we have. On May 31, 1971, the U.S. proposed a deadline for the withdrawal
of all American forces in return for a cease-fire agreement and exchange of all
prisoners. The North Vietnamese rejected this offer, not on the grounds that theo
cease-fire or any other aspect of our proposal was unacceptable, but
rather LIBRARY
on the grounds that any proposal which didy not include political elements could not
-2-
even be negotiated.
Have we ever offered a fixed date for the withdrawal of all military Pirces?
Again the answer is "yes." On August 16 we offered to set a date for withdrawal
which was nine months after signing an agreement, Or, to put it another way, we
said, "We are prepared to withdraw by August 1, 1972, provided an agreement is reached
by Nov. 1, 1971. This was part of an overall plan that included political elements
because the other side
continued to insist upon this. In October, we
shortened the withdrawal period.
Are we willing to accept a fixed withdrawal date for the exchange of prisoners
alone?
Yes, we have indicated, as we didi in October, that we are prepared--once the
comprehensive agreement is signed in principle--to begin implementing the withdrawal
and prisoner exchange portions, even while the other elements are still being ironed
out. This would be provided that the final agreement is reached within the six-month
period in which the withdrawals are running.
Why have we proposed that a cease-fire be part of a military settlement?
The North Vietnamese them selves included a cease-fire in the 9-point proposal
they returned to us on June 26. The issue of the cease-fire itself has not been the
reason for the rejection by the North Vietnamese of our
proposals.
A cease-fire is important to permit the safe withdrawal of American forces and to
bring about not only an end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam but
an end to the war
itself--an end to bloodshed in Indochina.
Have the North Vietnamese actually asked us to "overthrow" the government of
South Vietnam?
RALD FORD NIBRARM
The answer is .categorically, yes. The record is clear that they have asked us
to change the government directly, leaving the method to us. They have been categorical
--3--
in their insistence on the removal of the Thieu government as an essential condition
to any settlement.
In view of all this, what is it that the President's critics want us to do?
Obviously all that would be left under their proposals is to surrender--either
to
leave Vietnam without our
prisoners or to overthrow a
government and abandon the people for whom 45,000 Americans have died and billions
of U.S. dollars have been spent. This is not the course the United States should
follow.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be
talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
######
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF FEB. 26-27, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
As I speak to you, the meetings between President Nixon and the leaders of the
People's Republic of China
are r spidly becoming history.
These meetings were unprecedented. They
occurred after
nearly
a
between our two nations.
quarter of a century of
hostility
The earliest Sine American contacts developed in the early 1800s. At that time,
the ancient Chinese empire was just beginning to adjust itself to the outside world.
The Chinese then were self-confident and self-contained as the "Middle Kingdom" of
the world. Neverthele SS they were
exp loited by technologically superior
foreign powers.
The Communist leaders of China thus inherited a tradition marked by both pride
and humiliation.
The Chinese
experience had not been one of dealing with the
but
outside world as equals one of either Chinese superioraty or foreign exploitation.
In recent years China has passed through a period of domestic turmoil and shifts
in external relationships. China's leaders now have broken the isolation that was
partly self-imposed, to explore more normal relations with other countries and to take
their lace in the international dialogue.
With the conversations which have
taken place this week in Peking, the United
States and China have
both turned a new page in our histories.
Néather side should pretend that we have solved our basic problems. The President's
trip to China is more than anything else the culmination of three years of patient
effort to pierce the isolation of decades. It is an end of isolation and the beginning
of negotiation. It is
the launching of a new process in diplomacy.
RALD FORD LIBRAR
In January 1969 Richard Nixon entered office convinced that a new policy Stoward
of
-2-
the People's Republic of China W as an essential component of a new American foreign
policy. He was, of course, fully aware of the profound ideological and political
differences between our two countries, and of the hostility and suspicion to be
overcome. But he also believed that in this era we could not afford to be cut off
from a quarter of the world S population. He felt WB had an obligation to try to
estaglish contact, todefine our positions, and perhaps move on to understanding.
At this point in history we needed talks with
China at the highest level.
Eighteen years of off-and-on ambassadorial discussions in Geneva and Warsaw
demonstrated that few problems could be cleared away at lower levels. Authoritative
for
exchanges between our leaders, however, held hope
genuine communication and for the
setting of a new direction.
Now at last we have talked at the very highest level. We have met as equals.
We have closed one chapter in our histories and have begun writing another.
We now know clearly where
each of us stands on the issues that divide
us. We are looking for ways to begin
reducing our differences. We are attempting
to find common ground on which to build a constructive relationship.
Over the longer term, we will see whether two countries whose histories and
cultures are completely different, whose recent isolation has been total, whose
ideologies clash, and whose visions of the future collide can neverthele SS move
from antagonism to communication and to understanding.
I am pleased that the President has never sought to make it appear that great
and glowing results would come from his China trip. Hₑ has been very careful--and
properly so--to be realistic about this historic meeting at the summit.
Even now as
the communiques are made public
we are reminded of what
BERAL the FORD LIBRARY
President said when he announced his China trip last July 15. At that time he
-3-
stated:
"The meeting between the leaders of China and the United States is to seek the
normalization of relations between the two countries and also to exchange views on
questions of concern to the two sides."
As the President also has said, contact now
may help avert a
catastrophe later. I share that hope.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's capital.
I'll be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
########
FORD MERAGA
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF MARCH 4-5, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
Now that the President's China trip is history, attention will be focusing in
the next few months on preparations for his trip to Moscow and the summit meeting
there.
Let's take a look at what the Soviet Union and the United States hope to gain
by meeting at the summit.
Why should the Soviet Union be interested in such a meeting? First of all, we
have Russia's obse ssive concern
with Red China. It stands to re ason that the
Soviet leaders would like to tidy up Russia's affairs in the West so they can
concentrate on Sino-Soviets relations.
In addition, the Soviets obviously would like to gain U.S. trading credits and
technological help. There is further the Soviet hope of reducing the U.S. presence
in Europe through a European Security Treaty. And finally, the Soviets are probably
hoping to bring about a deterioration of the Western Alliance
a possibility
must always
that the United States and her allies guard against.
What possible gains does the
Moscow summit meeting hold for the United States?
First of all, we will be seeking a final a ccord on strategic arms limitations, now
being hammered out in the SALT Talks.
Second, we will be discussing the problem of the Middle East and the reasons
for failure to
reach a peaceful settlement there.
Third, we will be discussing the problem of European security in all of its
aspects, and we will be seeking to normalise relations between Eastern and Western
Europe. No agreements in this area will be made, however, without consulting our Milies.
Fourth, there will be and anzero explorations of our policies in other areas
GERA FORD of the LIBRARY
-2-
world and the extent to
which
the United States and the Soviet Union-share
an interest in stability.
Fifth, there will be an examination of the possibility of additional
cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union. For instance, in space
travel and in trade relationships.
I believe there is a distinct
possibility that we can build a prospectus
for improved U.S.Soviet relations over the next few years. If our diplomacy is
sufficiently imaginative, we could emerge from the Moscow summit with real prospects for
a generation of peace.
Why do I say this? Because We have already made progress in improving
the
relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The
agreement on improved access to Berlin is, for instame, an
example of definite
progress, a most significant development.
Prior to May 20, 1971, we were hung up in our SALT negotiations but on May 20 of
last year we announced a breakthrough-- agreeement that restored vigor and promise
to the taks. The Berlin Agreement followed in August, and in September the United
States and the Soviet Union agreed to a draft treaty banning the development, production
and possession of biological and toxin weapons. In November our Secretary of Commerce
visited the Soviet Union and engaged in talks with the Soviet leaders looking toward
a normalization of our economic relations. He was received with cordiality.
By he fall of 1971 it became apparent that marked progress had been made in our
relations with the Soviet Union-both on a bilateral basis and on broad international
issues. Thus the conditions were created which justified a meeting between the
FORD
President and Soviet leaders. There are definite indications that such a meeting
LIBRAST
will be successful and will lead to additional progress. There were signs, as the
-3-
President himself put it, that "a summit (in Moscow) would not be an empty and
self-deluding exercise in atmospherics."
The
President will not be going to Moscow in May with any Musions.
He knows the Soviet Union will not give up the pursuit of its own interests. But he
does expect some restraint in the pursuit of those interests. He does not expect the
Mowscow talks to end - 20 years' accumulation of problems. But he does expect to
solve some of those problems. And if he manages to do that, the trip will have been
worthwhile.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. i'll be talking with you again # next week-same time, same station.
#######
GERALD R FORD
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF MARCH 11-12, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, r eporting to you from Washington.
Recently an event occurred in Washington which was of greati importance to
the Nation and yet received very little attention from the news media.
A House Commerce Subcommittee voted on legislation to prevent crippling strikes
in transportation and rejected it by a 6-to-5 vote--killed it for this session of
Congress.
All six of the votes against the legislation were cast by Democrats which
nated for The like plus on Dim,
proved oncelly again the leader of organized labor can call the signals in a
Congress SB controlled by the Democrats.
How important is it that we get this legislation which would prevent crippling
strikes in transportation? We recently went through the longest and most costly
longshormen's strike in our history--the West Coast dock strike. It not only hurt
workers and their families; it actually undermined our entire economy before it was
finally settled.
What we need is
legislative machinery to prevent such strikess as the
West Coast work stoppage from occurring. That is the kind of legislation
which
was before the House Commerce subcommittee and which was terpedoed for this year by
the negative votes of the Democrats.
The President's Crippling Strikes Prevention Act has been before the Congre SS
for more than two years but Democratic committee chairmen have refused to move this
legislation because it is opposed by the leaders of organized labor. The Crippling
Strikes Prevention Act would pressure labor and management in transportation to bargain
down to two final proposals. One of these proposals then would be imposed by government
mediagors to settle the dispute. I think the Nation needs this legislat on.
GERALD There is
"I
refusal of the Democrats in Congress
no excuse for the
to
move
it.
-2-
Now I would like to talk with you about two bills I recently introduced in the
House--one to give an income tax credit to parents who send their children to nonpublic
elementary and secondary schools, and the other to encourage the sale of U.S. products
overseas at no cost to the American t axpayer.
My bill to aid families sending their children to nonpublic schools is an indirect
means of assisting the MAXMM nonpublic schools themselves. It wouxild provide an income
tax credit of 50 per cent on the ****tuition charged by nonpyblic schools, up to a limit
of $400 per dependent.
Prospects for enactment of such legislation now are the mostp promising they
have ever been. The reason is that the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,
Rep. Wilbur Mills, D-Ark., has introduced a bill identical with mine, and so has the
third-ranking Democrat on the committee, stance Rep. James A. Burke, D-Mass. It is the
Ways and Means Committee which will handle the nonpublic schools tax credit bill.
Another reason chances for enactment of the tax credit bill have brightened is that
the President's Committee on School Financme has urged tax credits or deductions for
nonpublic school tuition, along with other means of aiding nonpublic schools.
We must act to help our nonpublic schools or they will be forced to close and this
tremendous pumpupil load will be thrown onto the public schools. I think everyone would
agree that a consequence of this kind would be disastrous. At the same time we should
remember that parents sending themir children to nonpublic schools bear a double insfx
burden--paying public school taxes as well as nonpublic school tuition.
Last Monday I introduced a bill which I believe would create thousands of jobs in
this country. Under my bill the United States would take foreign currencies which have
accumulated in our account under Public 2 Law 480 and use these idle funds to pay the
duties charged by foreign countries on our exports to them. The saving in export duties
would be passed along to the foreign consumers of our
-3-
products, allowing them to buy U.S. goods duty free.
This would make
American goods
more competitive with European and Japanese products in foreign
markets. The net result . would be an upsurge in American exports. The effect
would be the creation of thousands of new jobs in this country and a big bulge in
U.S. tax revenue. I hope there is early action on my export-expanding foreign
currencies bill.
This
is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. in be talking with you again next week--same time, same station.
######
BERALD FORD LIBRARY
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF MARCH 18-19, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry For d, reporting to you from Washington.
hear
The more I
of
the
views
of
some
obviously uninformed
people about Sen. Kennedy' 8 national health insurance plan the more amazed I am.
There actually are those individuals who seem to think they will be getting cradale-
to-the-grave health care under the Kennedy proposal without paying for it.
would
The truth is that the Kenne plan cost an estimated
$77 billion a
year and would
be financed through higher taxes.
The funds would build up in a Health Security Trust Fund for two years before
benefits began to take effect. Employes would pay 12 per cents
of the total through
a 1 per cent payroll tax on annual wages up to $15,000
.,
Employer would pay 36 per cent, with a 3.5 per cent payroll tax on
self-employed would pay 2 per cent of the total, with a 2.5
no maximum base. The
per cent tax on income up to $15,000.
fus
The Federal Government--that's all
taxpayers--would pay the balance, or 50 per cent of the total, from General tax
revenues. The plan would eliminate
Medicare and Medicaid, as well as private
health insurance.
In my view, there simply is no way that
this health
care plan could be financed without a big increase in personal income taxes, coupled
with the proposed payroll taxes on both employes and employers. Those who think
they will be getting something for nothing under the Kennedy health care plan
simply aren't using their heads.
The Administration's health care proposal would build on the present system
of private health insurance. Employers initially would pay 65 per cent of the
insurance premiums. After the first 2 years, the employer's share of
GEBALE FORD LIBRARY
premium cost would go up to 75 per cent. To me, it makes a lot more sense to
improve what 5 we have now than to tear it all down and start from scratch with
-2-
a completely federalized health care system based on payroll taxes and increased
income taxes.
I would like to turn now to the plans which are being made for a $100,000 a
year pest management pilot project in West Central Michigan's apple district. It will
run for three years.
This program is not only important to the apple growers but to every man,
woman and child in Michigan. In fact, it has significance for the entire Nation.
I say this because what is
involved is an improvement in the protection
of our environ ment. It is a project in pesticide application control which would
be carried out by the Cooperative Extension Service at Michigan State University
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Michigan Department of Agriculture
cooperating.
The West Michigan Environmental Action Council is very much interested in this
pilot project. The Council points out that in experimental@ work already carried out
by scientists, the use of chemical pesticides has been reduced by 40 per cent. This
kind of cutback in the use of pesticides reduces the amount of toxic insecticides
entering our lakes from fruit orchards, many of which are located in
watershed areas.
I can
report that the recently-approved pest management pilot project for
sometime before June
West Michig an will begin
Final plans
are being made.
I would now like to comment on the Noise Control Act of 1972, recently passed
by the House of Representatives. I was a co-sponsor of this legislation. While it
may not silence the loud electric guitars in your neighborhood or muffle the pounding
drums of your neighborhood rock band, it will promote a quieter environment for all
Americans.
ERALD FORD LIBRARI
Under the Act, the Environmental Protection Agency will set noise emission
standards for new products in fields r anging from transportation to construction
-3-
to electronics--including such noises as the whine of a
vacuum sweeper. EPA
is
required to issue regulations for informative labeling of those products which
emit noise capable of harming the public health. The bill also requires EPA to
coordinate the noise control programs of all Federal departments and agencies.
Under the Noise Control Act, individual citizens could bring suits in the courts
against noise control violators. I cosponsored this legislation in the hope
that we can have the advantages of modern technological development and still enjoy
the quieter
atmosphere of a more
pastoral existence.
This
is your congressman, Jerry Ford,
reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
#######
FORD MBRAET
SCRIPT FOR TAPE TO BE USED BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS, WEEKEND OF APRIL ly 2, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting from Washington.
Firstofall,
I am frequently asked, "Is Phase II working? The answer is that Phase II must
work. The alternatives to the President's New Economic Policy at this stage are either
total wage and price controls, or unrestricted wage and price increases. Both are
unacceptable. An indefinite and total freeze would perpetuate inequitiers, which
everyone seeks to correct. A "no controls" policy, on the other hand, would bring
more inflation without a return to full employment.
The truth is that Phase II is working--despite public skepticism and despite
the irresponsible behavior of those labor
representatives who have walked
off the Pay Board.
The public skepticism is understandable. Many people cite individual Price
Commission or Pay Board rulings as proof that the Government has abandoned its
commitment to maintain certain
guidelines. Others believe that the
Phase II program is intended to halt inflation comple tely--which doesn't happen to
be true. These misunderstandings
require some answers.
T he principal point to be understood is that the New Economic Policy is designe d
to slow inflation, not to halt it. Economists say the cost of living would have
increased at an annual rate of 5 per cent without Phase II. Under Phase II, the
Administration hopes to hold the cost of living increase to 3 per cent during 1972.
The Phase II record actually is encouraging when we consider the overall impact
of Price Commission and Pay Board decisions--and not merely the individual rulings.
Through Feb. 15, for instance, the Price Commission had approved increases
averaging only 1.6 per cent--well below the 2.5 per cent guideline established
GERE FORD by LIBRARY
the Commission. The Pay Board has approved wage increases on contracts negotiated
-2-
prior to Nov. 13
averaging 4.2 per cent, and increases averaging 4.4 per cent
on contracts negotiated after that date. These averages are below the Board's general
standard of
5.5 per cent, and Internal Revenue Service officials report that
compliance has been consistent throughout the nation.
Phase II cannot and should not control all wages and prices. Raw agricultural
products, state and local taxes, utility rates and the wages of
the
"working
poor" have been exempted from
controls.
There is no guarantee that the limited Phase II controls will be successful.
We must have labor and industry cooperation--as well as public understanding--if we
are to
ensure a return to stable economic conditions.
The Pay Board must be made to work despite the walkout of four of the five labor
members. What about that walkout? Was it justified? It not only was not justified,
it was completely irresponsible. And it was difficult to understand because
the AFL-CIO and the UAW should want to take part in the Pay Board's decisions--not be
on the outside looking in. Leaders of the AFL-CIO and the UAW owe it to their own
members to be on the inside of such decisions, not on the outside.
Of course there was disagreement on the Pay Board. But the decisions were made
with
a sense of equity and justice. All members, including the labor representatives,
were given the opportunity to express their views on each issue. The full Board
has acted upon eight major wage cases. In five of these, the position of the Labor
members prevailed. Does that sound like the AFL-CIO and the UAW had reason to
walk out?
Since the inception of the Pay Board, the Labor members have voted with the majority
36 times, in the minority 13 times, split their votes once, and abstained on four
RALD
LIBRARY
occasions. Of the 54 votes taken by the Pay Board on major issues, 28--or over 50
per cent--were unanimous.
-3-
To agree with George Meany and Leonard Woodcock, one would have to adopt the
view that
the Pay Board should always acquiesce in the demands
of the Labor members, no matter how extreme those demands are.
Do the majority of Americans hold that view? I don't believe it for one
minute.
What we must resolve now is that the Pay Board will go on functioning and
Phase II will
go on working despite the disruptive attitude of Mr. Meany and
Mr. Woodeock.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's capital.
I'M be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
######
FORD
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS, WEEKEND OF APRIL 8-9, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from W shington.
It's time for a bit of stock-taking on the overall program the President
has laid before Congress as his National Health Strategy.
Within the past year, Congress has approved the Comprehensive Health Manpower
Land the Nurse Training Act of 1971.
Training Act of 1971 which will attract medical personnel to areas where shortages
exist and draw more young people into medicine and nursing.
Congress salso has enacted another part of the President's program--the National
Cancer Act. This will see $470 million budgeted for an a ttack on cancer in fiscal
1973, as compared with the $185 million spent on cancer research in
1969.
The President and the Congress are making certain that this No. 1 killer disease will
be attacked with a coordinated and extensive program of research, guided at the Federal
level.
Congress
has approved creation of a National Health Service Corps to serve
the many rural and inner city areas critically short of health care personnel.
Congre SS has upgraded veterans' care facilities, following up on a request by
the President in 1970.
While these bills are desirable, they
a really hard-hitting
national program of health care.
Within the near future, Congress will act on bills dealing directly with
our national health care crisis--the deficiencies in our health care
delivery
system.
The President has proposed the National Health Insurance Partnership Act, the
Health Maintenance Organization Assistance Act, and changes in the welfare program to
improve
Medicare and Medicaid.
GERALD LIBRARY
-2-
The National Health Insurance Partnership Act builds on the present system
of private health insurance. It would require employers to provide their workers with
adequate health insurance and to pay 65 per cent of the premiums initially-75 per cent
after 2 years. There would be special coverage of $50,000 for each family to
insure illness
therepense against catastrophic of
which today can wipe out a family's savings.
The Health Maintenance Organization program would assemble doctors, laboratories
and clinics in one package, with a fixed annual cost instead of the traditional case fee
basis. This concept provides for a system based not on how much the patient is sick
but how much he is well.
The President's plan is aimed at keeping costs down while providing
quality health care.
The other major health care plan being considered by the Congre SS is S. 3, the
Health Security Act sponsbred by Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
The Health Security Act proposes nationalization of health care-turning over to
all
the Federal Government the job of keeping Americans healthy. It would federalize
medical personnel, institutions and procedures. It would be paid for 50 per cent by
payroll
taxes on employes, employers and the self-employed, with the other 50
per cent to come out of the Federal Treasury. It is my firm belief that this plan
would require an increase in personal income taxes as well as a special payroll tax.
I
feel
that
Sen. Kennedy's Health
Security Act would worsen the problems
involved in providing quality health care and would eventually become an overwhelming
financial burden for every taxpayer. It is estimated that the Kennedy plan would
require the average household to pay more than $1,000 a year to cover its share of the
annual Federal expenditure of some $77 billion.
GERALD LIBRARY
On the other hand, the Presi dent's plan would provide a package of health care
that has long been needed by the American public. It is well planned. It will provide
-3-
quality health care without a correspondingly huge jump in medical expenses.
I feel we should pass the President's program and get moving on doing the
job of giving
Americans the best possible health care at the lowest possible cost.
Illness does not wait-and the American people should not have to wait years for
Congre SS to acts on a clearly demonstrated need.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
#######
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
SCREPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF APRIL 15-16, 1972.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from W a shington.
Now, with the North Vietname SB invasion of South Vietnam under way, is a good
time to take a look at what is happening in the Vietnam War.
To put the current situation in the proper perspective, we must remember that the
1954 Geneva Accords provided for a demilitarized buffer zone between North and South
Vietnam which has come to be known as the IMZ.
In 1968, then-President Johnson entered into an agreement with North Vietnam
which led to
a halt in U.S. bombing of North Vietnam. This 1968 Understanding
provided
that the status of the DMZ would be respected by both sides.
We made clear in negotiations leading to the bombing halt that we considered
respect for the IMZ as a situation in which there would be no firing of artillery,
rockets or mortars from, across, or within the DMZ
and there would be no movement
of troops acro SS or within the IMZ.
Hanoii is
invasion of the DMZ, which began Marchi 30, is the clearest,
most blatant and most
outrageous violation of these 1968 bombing halt understandings.
Twelve of North Vietnam S 13 regular army divisions are now engaged in aggre ssions
outside its borders against Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam.
Hanoi currently is engaged in a three-division offensive against the northern part
of South Vietnam. Most of these forces--including sophisticated armor, artillery and
anti-aircraft equipment--have come directly across the demilitarized zone.
Hanoi has constructed a major infiltration route across the DMZ, extending far
into the northern part of South Vietnam. Hundreds of tons of military supplies have
been moved on this route.
The North Vietnamese now have abandoned any pretense that the war in Vie
GERAL tnam R. FORD is LIBRARY
civil war. Their current offensive is an outright and massive conventional military
inviron
secault supported by the most sophisticated military equipment.
-2-
The United States is doing the only thing it can do under the circumstsmees--providing
its ally, South Vietnam, with the greatest possible air and naval support. I fully
insure The
concur in the decision to use our air and naval power
to help bum back the
continued withdrawal forces Between mow -
current invasion of South Vie then by the North Villtnamese. Our air power is ssential
may 1st 21,000 more N.J. Trops will be withdraw
americans him of fn the continued 7 amm Horms 1
survival of South Vietnam. Omr an interting t writed
While the North Vietnamese were preparing for their April offensive, the United
States showed great restraint. We offered a comprehensive eight-point peace proposal
which was fair to both sides even though we knew preparations for the offensive were
under way.
We leaned over backwards to show our will for peace and a genuine desire to bring
the conflict to an honorable end.
bouth population centers an the begalared x meal the
Hanoi's resp onse has been the invasion across the DMZ. They have also attached
the South Vietnamese, with U.S. air and naval support, will succeed in know
stopping the North Vietnamese invasion.
Meantime, the United States remains committend to a negotiated solution as the
quickest and best way to end the Vietnam War. Certainly the South Vietnamese Gov ernment
is
prepared to let its local opponents participate fully and peacefully
in the political process through internationally supervised elections run by an independent
electoral commission.
But cannot assent the Henor has given the goodwill
K
As long as Hanoi persists in its invasion, Saigon's forces will resist--and WB will
support them with air and naval power.
If the North Vietnamese will the U.S. and South Vietnam ask nothing more
BRAR,
than to negotiate seriously on the basis of proposals advanced by both sides. But the
invasion has made senseless any talk of serious negotiations at this time. This makes
-3-
the record absolutely clear as to who is responsible for the interruption in the
so-called Paris peace talks.
This
is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting from the nation's capital.
I811 be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
######
FORD LIBRARY
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKENDER OF APRIL 22-23, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
I am pleased to tell you that at this time prospects for Federal aid to
nonpublic schools are the brightest they have ever been in the nearly 24 years I
have served in Congress.
As you may know, Congre ssman John Byrnes of Wisconsin and I have introduced a bill
which provides a personal income tax credit of up to $400 pers child for the tuition
paid to send a child to nonpublic school.
The reason the outlook for legislation of this kind is much improved is that
Federal aid for nonpublic schools has the support of the President and House Ways
and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills of Arkansas.
Mills has introduced the Ford-Byrnes Bill, and the Pre sident has pledged his
help to nonpublic schools in a speech before the National Catholic Educational
Association.
1#
In addition, a Presidential panel has recommended Federalaid to nonpublic
schools through tuition subsidies, tax credits and construction loans.
group
The
I refer to is the Panel on Nonpublic Education made up of four members
of the President's School Finance Commission. One of those members is Ivan Zylstra,
government relations administrator for the National Union of Christian Schools in
Grand Rapids.
In his speech before the National Catholic Educational Association on April 6,
the President for the first time pledged to include in his school finance reforms
specific proposals to assure the financial survival of private and parochial schools.
Said the President: "I am irrevocably committed to the proposition that America
ORD
needs her nonpublic schools, that those nonpublic schools need help, and that
LIS
therefore we must and will find ways to provide that help."
BERALD
ARY
-2-
The President will base his specific proposals on the report made by the Panel
on Nonpublic Education on which Mr.
Zylstra serves.
That panel's major recommendations include: Federal income tax credits, based on a
fixed percentage of tuition paid to a nonpublic school, with a
ceiling on the
maximum credit per child and a limitation on the credits available to higher-income
families. That is exactly the thrust of the bill Congre ssman
Byrnes and I
introduced last February 8.
Other recommendations are that we provide a supplementary income allowance for
urban welfare recipients and the working poor to pay tuition at nonpublic
schools,
and that we make available Federal construction loans to build, enlarge or remodel
nonpublic
classroom buildings.
The panel further recommended that the Federal Government help states assume a
greater share of the school finance burden, and that allocations of Federal aid to the
states be based on nonpublic as well as public school enrollments.
The panel proposed that the states establish separate accounts for paying Federal
tuition reimbursements to parents of nonpublic school students. Such reimbursements
would equal the full tuition cost or the Federal per-capita allotment, whichever W as
lower.
It is expected that the President's aid-to-nonpublic schools proposals will be
part of a broad legislative package for revamping and enlarging the Federal role in
public school support. This would
include property tax relief.
the
Pressure to raiseAproperty tax locally also will be reduced if Congress acts promptly
on a
revenue-sharing bill
approved by the House Ways and Means
FORD
Committee. That bill will provide the cities and states with $5.3 billion a year for
five years. Of that amount, $3.5 billion would go to local units of government and
$1.8 billion to state governments. Michigan would receive $243.1 million, with $152.7
-3-
million the local share and $90.4 million the State share.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
#######
GERALD R.FORD
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT REDIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF APRIL 29-30, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
As I talk with you, returns are pouring in from the questionnaire I sent to
every household in Kent and Ionia Counties. I am really pleased with the responsie
A number of people are not just sending back the questionnaire. They are al so
writing me about problems of greatest concern to them--and this is good.
One of these problems is the need of our senior citizans for an increase in
Social Security benefits. I have strongly supported
a Social Security
increase, and I am pleased to report that the time is not too far distant when the
increase will materialize.
The House
last June passed legislation which included an increase in Social
Security benefits, and this bill is pending in the United States Senate. Meantime,
House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills has endorsed an increase of 20 per cent,
and Senate Finance Committee 6hairman Russell Long has suggested an increase of 10
per cent. So the outlook is promising for an increase of at
least 10 per cent.
It is now only a question of time--and I certainly will vote in favor of whatever
figure
is
finally
decided
upon by a House-Senate conference committee.
Another interest of much concern to my constituents is busing--forced busing to
achieve racial balance. I personally believe we should be focusing on the need for
quality education. That should be our goal-quality education--mot
forced busing
to achieve racial balance.
Advocates of forced busing contend that busing is necessary to achieve quality
education. Many opponents of forced busing believe it would prevent quality education.
Most who take a position on the busing issue do so in the name of quality education.
FORD
Yet the Florida
presidential primary and some influential polls taken
RALD
acro SS the country indicate that people at the state and local
b vel yiew busing
-2-
and quality education as two separate issues. By that I mean that 75 per cent of
Flor lida's voters
said they were opposed to forced busing but an even larger
per cent
expressed their support for quality education for all.
This
much is clear. Quality education is
something received or not
received in a classroom--and not during a bus ride.
Quality education for all should be our goal. We should work harder toward that
goal, turning more of our intellect and resources toward its achievemånt.
Busing children long distances does not guarantee quality education. It is also
apparent that this goal will require more than merely the allocation and expenditure
of funds. What we need is a clear conception of what it is we are trying to achieve.
We should begin with a sound definition of the term, quality education.
education
Educators define as the process by which man's culture is transmitted, enriched and
preserved.
By "culture" the educators do not refer to the "establishment," as many people
refer to the current social, political and economic framework. They refer to man's
his
development from the beginning of time,
accumulated wisdom through the ages.
In practical terms, how do we achieve quality education? We must begin by seeing
it in its three basic elementss-A teacher, a learner, and something to teach.
We need not worry about number two, the learner. We have a good supply of
students. Number three-something to teach--is the prerogative of number one, the
teacher.
This leaves the average citizen with the mostr promising area for a contribution
to quality education. The teacher. Quality education depends upon quality teachers.
And this is where I think special Federal aid to disadvantaged schools can help. Such
funds could be used tox obtain the best possible teachers for inner city schools.
This, I think, is the way to achieve quality education-to hire outstanding teachers
-3-
and to use them where educational deficiencies
are the
greatest. I believe
our citizens should
make
every effort to see that teachers are adequately
paid and that they measure up to high standards of competency. This is the way to
achieve quality education.
I
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation S capital.
Be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
######
CRLD FORD LIBRANK
layton
7485
P.7.t.
SCRIPT FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF APRIL 29-30, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
As I talk with you, returns are pouring in from the questionnaire I sent to
every household in Kent and Ionia Counties. I am really pleased with the responsi
A number of people are not just sending back the questionnaire. They are al so
writing me about problems of greatest concern to them--and this is good.
One of these problems is the need of our senior citizans for an increase in
Social Security benefits. I have strongly supported
a Social Security
increase, and I am pleased to report that the time is not too far distant when the
increase will materialize.
The House
last June passed legislation which included an increase in Social
Security benefits, and this bill is pending in the United States Senate. Meantime,
House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills has endorsed an increase of 20 per cent,
and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Russell Long has suggested an increase of 10
per cent. So the outlook is promising for an increase of at
least 10 per cent.
It is now only a question of time--and I certainly will vote in favor of whatever
figure is finally decided upon by a House-Senate conference committee.
Another interest of much concern to my constituents is busing--forced busing to
achieve racial balance. I personally believe we should be focusing on the need for
quality education. That should be our goal-quality education-mot
forced busing
to achieve racial balance.
Advocates of forced busing contend that busing is necessary to achieve quality
education. Many oppoments of forced busing believe it would prevent quality education.
Most who take a position on the busing issue do so in the name of quality education.
Yet the Florida
presidential primary and some influential podls
FORD taken LIBRARY
acro SS the country indicate that people at the state and local
b vel view busing
-2-
and quality education as two separate issues. By that I mean that 75 per cent of
Flordida's voters
said they were opposed to forced busing but an even larger
per cent
expressed their support for quality education for all.
This
much is clear. Quality education is
something received or not
received in a classroom--and not during a bus ride.
Quality education for all should be our goal. We should work harder toward that
goal, turning more of our intellect and resources toward its achievemänt.
Busing children long distances does not guarantee quality education. It is also
apparent that this goal will require more than merely the allocation and expenditure
of funds. What we need is a clear conception of what it is we are trying to achieve.
We should begin with a sound definition of
the term, quality education.
education
Educators define as the process by which man&s culture is transmitted, enriched and
preserved.
By "culture" the educators do not refer to the "establishment," as many people
refer to the current social, political and economic framework. They refer to man's
his
development from the beginning of time,
accumulated wisdom through the ages.
In practical terms, how do we achieve quality education? We must begin by
seeing
it in its three basic elements- teacher, a learner, and something to teach.
We need not worry about number two, the learner.
We
have a good supply of
students. Number three-something to teach--is the prerogative of number one, the
teacher.
This leaves the average citizen with the most promising area for a contribution
to quality education. The teacher. Quality education depends upon quality teachers.
And this is where to schools can help. Such
you think should special Federal frems aid our disadvantaged funds
We should
funds
could
be
ased bos obtain the best possible teachers for inner city schools.
This, I think, is the way to achieve quality education-to hire outstanding teachers
-3-
and to use them where educational deficienciesm are the greatest. I believe
our citizens should make every effort to see that teachers are adequately
paid and that they measure up high standards of competency. This is the way to
are fully supported m Their more difficult job.
achieve quality aducation. Wh give Them a chance with fewer
pupils, + better through Compunsatory Education
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation s capital.
Be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
Nather than found
######
lusing
FORD LIBRANK
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OFM MAY 6-7, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you From Washington.
At last there is hope for some relaief from constant increases in property taxes.
In recent years, the American citizien has been hit hard by tax increases at both
the state and local levels. Now Congre SS is about to act to deal with the
financial
plight of the states, cities and rural areas--the situation that has brought on the
rise in local taxes.
State and local governments have borne the brunt of the demand for governmental
service since the end of World War II. Despite tax hikes, these governments are
finding it difficult to meet
higher costs for welfare,
school facilities,
transportation,
public safety,
and environmental problems
Many local governments are literally
on the verge of going broke.
Early in the Nixon Administration, the President asked Congress to approve a
Federal revenue sharing plan as a
means
of giving states and
cities a chance to finance important
local programs. The President's proposal
also recognized the fact that property and sales taxes have
pushed through the roof.
After more than two years of stalling and debate, the House Ways and Means
Committee has completed action on a Federal revenue sharing bill which is expected
to
reach the House floor sometime this month. The bill provides $5.3 billion in
aid to states and local units of government each year for five years. This year
Michigan would receive $243 million. Of this year's allocation, the State government
would get slightly more than $90 million and Michig m's local units of government would
get nearly
$153 million.
FORD LIBRAR &
According to figures released by the House Ways and Means Committee <Kent
County
-2-
local units of government would receive $7,853,000, and Ionia County units would
receive $565,500, roughly.
This distribution of Federal funds would be a boon to our local units of government.
For instance, the City of Grand Rapids would receive nearly $3 million this year and
the Kent County Government would receive slightly over $3 million. Wyoming would get
$874,000; Grandville, $160,000; and East Grand Rapids, $141,000.
In Ionia County, the County Government would receive $271,000; the City of Ionia,
$71,000; Belding, $59,600; and Portland,
nearly $42,000.
There would be some restrictions on what the money could be used for. It
would have to be spent for public safety or enfironmental protection or public
transportation. But that
provides many areas where the funds can go--
police and fire protection, building inspection, sewage disposal, garbage collection,
transit systems and pavement construction.
The State's
slice of these Federal ey sharted revenues is based on how
much of its revenue is raised from state and local taxes. This encourages a responsible
and progressive state tax structure. The local allocations are based on population
and average per capita income. Urban and poor counties thus would get proportionately
more money than other areas.
Nobody is pretending that Federal revenue sharing dollarado not come from the
taxpayer's pockets. They do. Congress is merely recognizing that the Federal tax
structure is more
equitable, broader-based and more productive of revenue than
taxes at lower levels of government.
In a state like Michigan, an economic slump
places extremely heavy demands
FORD
on state and local government. When formerly productive workers are on unemployment
and welfare rolls, the cost of these programs is added onto the already high costs
of state and local government. It is also obvious
that our local citizens cannot
-3-
be asked to shoulder any more tax burdens.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again
next
week--same time,
same station.
######
GLRALD FORD LIBRANK
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF MAY 13-14, 1972.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, speaking to you from the Nation's capital.
The flood of questionnaires being returned to me has
slowed down to a trickle,
and so I have turned them over to a computer firm to compile the
answers. I
should have the results back
within a few days. I will make the results known
through the news media in Kent and Ionia Counties and through my newsletter.
As I mentioned in a recent newsletter, the balloting on the multiple choice
question involving Vietnam definitely showed those responding to my questionnaire
rejecting an unconditional pullout of U.S. forces from Vietnam. An overwhelming
majority of those answering the question favored a pullout only
if it was
tied to the return of American prisoners of war, a cease-fire throughout Indochina,
and the holding of an internationally supervised election in Vietnam. That,
essentially, is the offer made to North Vietnam by the President a year ago.
Now, as the Nation learned last Monday night, the President has opened still
another avenue to peace. He has modified his peace offer to omit the call for an
election. He has simply offered to
stop all U.S. acts of war and
pull out all of our troops once the other side gives us back our prisoners of war
and agrees to an Indochina cease-fire.
North and South Vietnam then would be
left to work out a political settlement between themselves.
I
think this is a most generous peace offer. It is a peace offer the other
side should accept if they are at all interested in any other solution to the
conflict than a military takeover of South Vietnam.
Meantime, think all Americans should rally behind the President on his
decision to
choke off the supplies which make possible a continuation of the
FORD
North Vietnamese invasion
of South Vietnam.
think Shutting off the flow of supplies to the North Vietnamese will end
-2-
the war. I want to see the war ended as quickly as possible. on honorable terms.
and generous Nov I pear be negotiation
I think his is the way to do it, and 50 I am supporting the
President in
this action.
Dean Acheson, a lifelong Democrat and President Harry Truman's Secretary of
State, has said he is
inclined to "support the President whatever the issue,
until we come to the
quadrennial donnybrook (meaning the Presidential election)
and get it out of our system."
I think Dean Acheson ns right, and so I was saddened last week to see many
Democrats in the Congre SS attack the President for his
military decision
aimed at ending the war by shutting off Hanoi's supplies.
Of all the Democratic members of the House taking the floor
last Tuesday
or placing a statement in the Congressional Record, eight supported the President, 10
spoke against him, and two simply expressed the hope he had made the right decision.
not
Senate Democratsm, meeting in caucus,
di approved the
President's decision and made plans to proceed with a vote on writing into law a
pullout of U.S. troops by a date certain, conditioned only on return of our POW's.
In my view, the President chose between surrender in Vietnam and a decisive
action aimed at endoing the war. I was proud that he chose the latter course of
action. think all Americans should be If we slink out of Vietnam like a beaten
dog with his tail between his legs, the cause of peace will suffer a setback throughout
the world. Aggressors everywhere will be encouraged to invade neighbor ting territory.
The world will have lost a champion of peace.
There was risk, of course, in the President's action. But I think he made an
FORD
informed judgment that the risk was not as great as feared by many Americans.
I noted with great interest a comment made on the House floor last Tuesday by
-3-
Rep. Wayne Hays of Ohio, high-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Said Hays: "I think it is significant there has been no reaction from the Kremlin
so f ar except for the
usual propaganda statements. I think they are waiting
to see how much support they are going to get from the U.S. Congress."
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington. I'll be
talking with you next week--same time, same station.
#######
GERALD LIBERTY FORD
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF MAY 20-21, 1972.
This is your congressmen, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's capital.
It was a thrill for me and other members of the Congress to congratulate personally
the members of the Apollo 16 crew on their recent journey to the moon. The three
astronauts
visited both the House and Senate chambers at the
Capitol last Tuesday. We
welcomed them and expressed our appreciation for the
they had
splendid performances turned in.
It was appropriate that the House--minutes after hearing the astronauts report
on their lunar expedition--completed congre ssional action on the fiscal 1973
Aeronautics and Space Administration authorization bill and sent it to the
President for his signature.
The most important item in this bill, from the standpoint of the future space program,
authorization
is an
for
early development of the space shuttle. The Senate
and
House both had overwhelmingly rejected attempts to scuttle the space
shuttle, which is the next logical step in our space effort.
The space shuttle means the development of rous able spacecraft. It makes great
good sense if we intend to continue space exploration. It will cut the costs of
rocketing payloads into space by nearly 90 per cent. It will greatly increase the
United States' capability to conduct, economically, space experiments which will
greatly benefit all mankind in the years ahead.
The space shuttle will take off like rocket, fly like a spacecraft and land
like an airplane. It is scheduled to fly for the first time in 197.
Work done with the space shuttle should help solve many of our problems on earth.
Thus far, all of our space work has involved a "throwaway" philosophy. In order
to
acquire the information we have gained through ou
space
mi
sions,
We
have used up billions of dollars worth of rockets, spaceships and delicate equipment.
Now, all that will change. The space shuttle will consist of a stack of rockets
-2-
with a sweptwing airliner on top of it. After the rocket stack has done its work,
it will parachute into the ocean to be retrieved by waiting recovery ve ssels. The
rocket stack will be cleansed, repaired if necessary, and refueled for another flight.
The airliner that the rocket boosts into orbit will carry out its mission and
then fly back into earth's atmosp here and land at an airport.
Each space shuttle should be good for from 100 to 500 flights, according to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The space shuttle can carry 16 peopley-a crew of four and 12 passengers involved
in various scientific experiments.
By observing earth from a little distame away, man can better understand the
ecology of his home
planet. Space shuttle knowledge should help us live on
earth more wisely, monitor its current condition and inventory its resources.
A space shuttle flight should be able to c arry along
two or more satellites
to be
launched after the flight is in orbit satellites that would be used for
communications, weather
monitoring, pollution detection, measurements of the
earth's resdurces and military surveillance.
which
Nations
cannot afford a complete space program of their own can be part of
our space shuttle program. A nation would be able to send its scientists along on
a U.S. flight or launch a satellite from an American shuttle.
Our space shuttle program offers the best hope of predicting and averting
estimated
natural disasters. It has been
that if weather could be predicted
accurately five days in advance,
we could save
$6 billion a
year--nearly twice the cost of the space program.
FORD LIBRARY
There is also the prospect that the space shuttle can solve our energy needs,
-3-
which are now at the crisis stage. The shuttle can put into orbit large-scale
selar energy collectors that may provide earth with abundant power
and eliminate
much ofthe pollution of our planet.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington. I'll
be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
#######
GERALD FORD
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF MAY 27-28, 1972.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the nation's capital.
On May 19, a front-page story in the Washington Post carried the headline,
"Economy Expands Strongly. The thrust of the story was that "the economy is
recovering as fast as the administration had hoped."
The reason back of thi S good news is that consumers are finally beginning to
what
loosen up on their spending. This is
economists have been looking
for. While the economy has been steadily setting new
records in gross
national product and consumershave had more pocket money, the push in
consumer spending for goods, travel, services, etc.,
has not been the mushroom
that many had expected.
The latest figures now show, however, that consumers
are beginning to move
into the market place. This signifie S to
economists that the priceless
in
ingredient of confidence
the future has been regenerated.
Sales in retail establishments for the first three months of this year are well
above any stimulus that inflation could have provided. Truck salesare heading for
a record. Business is spending money on plant and equipment. Orders are coming in.
This is despite over-withholding of income taxes, which was expected to put an
$8
billion crimp in the economy. Economists say that most taxpayer realize they are
being over ithheld and simply regard it as a form of savings and not a loss in
earnings. Tet me say, however, 2 de not approve of the Intered t Revenue
have high withholding schedules V have sought memedial nation the common
The Wall Street Journal teports on Ane one survey which shows that optimism
whiten
why meliable
extends throughout the business community. And this means jobs. Busine ssmen are
making
decisions to go ahead with expansion plans, to market
new products, to return to e xpanded production. These decisions must show up in LIBRATO the
job market within a months. One factor is a return to research and development
-2-
projects that were laid aside a year or so ago.
The Presidents his economic advisers have consistently maintained that they
were taking measures which would lead to a more solid economy. The economy has
been making steady gains right along. Businessmen and consumers are waking up to
the fact that much of the downgrading of the economy which has been heard was
mostly politics
not based on fact, but was just plain politics.
Now, things are beginning to jell. Newspaper advertising linage is up. Television
has sold out its third quarter ad time three months shead of schedule. The housing
surge seems destined to continue, although the form of housing is changing from single
family dwelling units to townhouses, mobile homes and modular construction to get
around high land costs in
urban areas.
Some people have criticizned the Pre sident for keeping Federal spending ats
a
fairly high level althought
the budget h as become unbalanced due to a shortfall
in revenue. This is not a trend. This simplya is policy of backing up the
economy at a time when it was regrouping for a move upward. Indications now are
our governments
pouring in that the President economic policies have done the job intended, for them.
a
We appear to be on the
path to solid progress and growth.
may be scheduled for House floor
Let me turn now to the revenue sharing bill which
action the week of June 5.
I would like to point out that Federal revenue sharing will not drastically
down
cut taxes at the local level but it should serve to hold
state and local
taxes
With a flow of Federal revenue-sharing dollars in prospect, the state
and local units of government should hesitate to enact politically unpopular tax
hikes. hat is the chief purpose of Federal refenue sharing in the first place--to
get a flow of Federally collected tax dollars going back into the areas where
the LIBRARY
money came from.
-3-
I strongly support Federal revenue sharing because I think the benefits to
local t axpayers will be great--both in holding down local taxes and meeting the
special needs of local communitie: So
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from Washington.
I'll be talking with you again next week--same time, same station.
######
FORD LIBRARY
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF JUNE 3-4, 1972.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's capital.
Last Thursday evening the President returned from his historic mission to Moscow.
It was
a triumphal return because the President has come back with some truly
prodigious achievements--the most notable being the landmark treaty freezing defensive
nuclear weapons development and limiting offensive nuclear weaponry.
But in addition to the SALT treaty, the President and the Russian leaders also
to
agreed to a joint space mission sametime in 1975, a halt
games of "chicken" at
sea by the navies of both our nations, cooperation in fighting environmental
pollution and in improving health and medical techniques, and collaboration in
science and technology. That adds up to no less than five other treaties
besides
the SALT treaty--a most remarkable record.
Presi dent Nixon and Soviet leaders had also hoped for an accord on mutual trade,
as
but this became stuck on the issue of how much the Soviet Union still owes the United
$
State S on its World War II debt. The two sides agreed to set up a joint commission
for further work on this problem, with the first meeting scheduled in Moscow for July.
Let me say this about the
SALT TREATY. The United States did not give anything
away. The agreement we reached with Russia comes about as close as possible to
spelling out nuclear parity between the two superpowers.
The important thing is not whether
one country or the other has more nuclear
weapdns launchers. What is important is equivalent megatonnage--and in that
respect
we have agreed on parity. There is no question that each of our countries has the
power to totally destroy each other. What sense does it make to keep adding to our
stockpile of nuclear weapons? As for the United States, we can still improve the
LISE
quality of our
nuclear weapons. The only limitation is on quantities--and
that limitation makes sense.
-2-
To all the charges that the United States has placed itself in a position of
nuclear weapons inferiority for decades to come, I say...ridictulous. This is simply
an invalid assumption. There is not an ounce of truth in it. President Nixon would
never have frozen the United States into such a position. The American people can
feel certain that we have simply taken a giant stride toward international stability
and world peace.
I would like now to make special mention of the
U.S. Soviet agreement to
cooperate in improving the environment.
If can think of few areas of cooperation that have greater longrange significance
than this environmental protection agreement.
the
Moscow agreement
will permit the two most powerful industrial nations in the world to work together
on research projects in a number of specific environmental areas. Further, the agreement
will encourage a mutual sharing of information, which will be vital to a fuller
understanding of world environmental problemsi
Now
I would like to say a
few words about the U.S.-Soviet agreement to
cooperate in space.
Mark the date June 15, 1975, on your calendar. That's probably the date that
three American astronauts will dock their Apollo spacecraft with a Salyut space lab
being flown
in earth orbit by three Soviet cosmonauts.
last
A scenario circulated at Houston's Manned Spacecraft Center
month
had
a Salyut space lab being put into earth orbit on June 10, 1975, with three
FORD
cosmonauts docking their Soyuz spacecraft with Salyut a day later. On June 14, three
astronauts would ride into space aboard an Apollo spacecraft, taking a northeasterly
-3-
path across the Atlantic Ocean that would put them into the same orbit of Earth as
their Soviet colleagues. A day dock the Apollo at the
- later, after the 13orbits- astronsuts would
other end of the Salyut space
lab.
I think what all of the agreements reached in Moscow
add up
to is
an end to the Cold War as we have known it.
This is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's
capital. I'll be talking with you again next week-same time, same station.
#######
GEBALD FORD VISRARY
SCRIPT TAPED FOR USE BY FIFTH DISTRICT RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF JUNE 10-11, 1972.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's capital.
There is probably no subject about which there is more misunderstanding today
than that of tax reform.
Certainly the Federal income tax laws need reviewing, and it may be they
need reforming. But unfortunately there are those who are seeking high political
office who are misleading the American people into believing that tax reform will
result
in deep and widespread tax cuts.
Tax reform is a political catch phrase with great popular appeal. It leads
millions of taxpayers to believe that everyone else's taxes will be reformed, but
that
HE will get a break.
What about so-called tax
leopholes? Did you
ever stop to think that
the deduction most of us take for interest we pay on our home mortgages is considered
a loophole by tax law writers? So is tax-free municipal bond interest. And medical
expenses, deductions for child care, personal exmptions, special occupational
expenses. There are a lot of
so-called "loopholest available to everyone
with any kind of taxable income.
These so-called loopholes were written into the tax laws simply because they
You stample the double evemptions for senior citizens over 65 yrs age
serve a social purpose. The ideal income tax law would put a straight tax on income,
Jame contend
from any source, without exceptions. We've never had it that way.
As
tax
rates grew, 80 did the various deductions. The home mortgage interest exemption
or
deduction was aimed at encouraging home ownership--and Ibelieve that
is an
excellent objective. My guess is that if the tax reformers try to throw out the
home interest
exemption, there will be a hue and cry all over the land.
LISTARY
Municipal bond interest exemptions were aimed at making it possible for States,
counties, cities and special housing, water and sewage districts to sell bonds at
-2-
low interest rates and thus borrow money cheaply. If
the interest on
such bonds were not tax-exempt,
taxpayers would have to come up with the
additional revenue needed to pay the higher interest rates on the bonds. The address
local revenue would have to come from higher local taxes
So every exemption has a purpose behind ite It's not just aimed at saving some
particular taxpayer some tax dollars without rhyme or reason.
But
of course every taxpayer figures his Federal
income tax
is too high.
It's amazing how many Americans are not even aware that their Federal income tax
has been cut three times since 1965-once under the Johnson Administration and twice
under the Nixon Administration.
In the three years of the present Administration, individual income taxes have
been cut $18.9 billion while
excise taxes on cars and telephones have been
reduced $3.5 billion. At the same time-contrary to popular beliefy-taxes on corporations
have gone up $4.9 billion.
What about the idea that
the rest of us can get a tax break if we will
only "soak the rich." That slogan, so popular 50 years ago, is being revived by some
of our candidates for the Presidency.
Never mind what effect such tax change S would have on the economy, would it really
produce a lot more revenue and lead to tax cuts for everyone else? Past indicates
the some to protolly No
The truth is that 83 per cent of all taxable dollars are earned by people with
incomes between
$5,000 and $50,000 a year. And above $50,000 is only 6 per cent
of our taxable income. So that confiscating all the money of high-income people would
add only 6 per cent more taxable income.
DOB-FORD LIDRAWY
What about the proposal made by House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills to
gradually repeal 54 special provisi ons of the tax law and force Congre 88 to
This a drashs proceed
an
reenact each one, modify it or let
it die?
say this ist much too drasti action.
Cangress
116 can and should review all of the se-called loopholes without repealing them and upsetting
ny 2 belowe the Committee
-3-
m Ways of Means should start right Now on such a above
the modernigation ? our fishard the lows
the entire seenumy. I'm for tax reform, but not by using a sledgehammer on the
Internal
hit the Revenue Congras Code. should to This constructionly smoking t 2 please
my best Marto I that dosmable mouth.
This
is your congre ssman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the
Nation's capital. I'll be talking with you again next week-same time, same
station.
######
GERALD R. FORD
BY FIFTH DISTRICT
SCRIPT FOR USE
RADIO STATIONS THE WEEKEND OF JUNE 17-18, 1972.
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, reporting to you from the Nation's Capital.
When President Nixon was in Moscow-in late May--he signed a supplemental approp-
riation bill. That bill raised the number of summer jobs for American youth to
1,201,400.
That is 220,000 more summer jobs than were available for youth last stumer.
It's still not enough-but it is an all-time high.
The funds made available through the supplemental appropriation will bring the
total to be spent this summer to $377.6 million--also an all-time high--and $85 million
more than in any previous year.
Most of the Federally supported jobs for youth this summer will be in
the Neighborhood Youth Corps. The NYC summer program is providing nine weeks of
employment for 740,222 disadvantaged boys and girls, 14 through 21. The
jobs pay
$1.60 an hour for work in community service activities.
The supplemental appropriation not only sets up a larger-than-ever summer program,
but it also provided a record amount of lead time for local planners. Local governments
and agencie S were giveni initial allocations in March to help plan for the summer.
The $377.6 million in Federal fund 8 will be spent
through four programs providing
865, an additional
336,000 jobs will be provided mainly
in the private
sector
by busine 85 and industry, without Federal financial support.
The Federally supported summer jobs include the 740,222 in the Neighbbrhood Youth
Corps program, 63,000 in the Federal Summer Employment Program for Youth, 59,100 in
the Public Employment Program, and 3,000 in the Youth Conservation Corps.
The Federal Summer Employment Program will hire one disadvantaged youth through
FORD LIBRAN
GERAL
the Civil Service Commission for every 40 Federal employes for jobs in most agencies.
-2-
The Youth Conservation Corps selects participants through the Department of
Interior from all walks of life for environmental support work.
The Federal-State Employment Service plans to fill 161,000 jobs in:
its
Youth
Summer
Placement Program--an increase of 5,500 over last year. The Employment
Service will hire up to 600 special placement officers to help handle the influx of
summer job seekers.
The National Alliance of Businessmen deserves a special note of recognition.
In addition to its efforts in behalf of the disadvantaged and its additional and
nearly fulfilled pledge to find jobs for 100,000 veterans, the NAB has pledged to
hire 175,000 young people in 126 metropolitan areas=24,000 more than it did last
summer.
In another facet of the Administration's summer program, 2,228,000 recreational
opportunities for young people between 8 and 13 years of age will be provided. The
Summer Recreation Support Program will support 2,185,000 youngsters,and the National
Summer Youth Sports will handle an additional 43,000.
In many communities, the mayor's office will play a greater role than in past
years in coordinating summer activities for youth.
It may be of interest that Michigan's allocation of Neighborhood Youth Corps slots
is 30,979, one of the largest among the 50 states.
And now I must tell you that this
will be my
last
Washington Report
to you over this radio station
until after the 1972 election.
This comes about because, with the filing of my nominating petitions June 20,
I have become an
official candidate for reelection.
LIBRA
Under Federal la, the radio station to which you are listening would have to
grant equal time to my opponent in the 1972 election if these weekly reports were
-3-
to continue.
I therefore, at this time, tell you how much I have enjoyed bringing these reports
to you and e express SS the wish that you have enjoyed them
too. I look forward to
Let me also thank
renewing these weekly reports after the fall election.
This madia station for its' corporation in programming This public service proper
This is your congressman, Jerry Ford, saying "So long
until then."
######
GERALD FORD