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1252509
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9/17/75 - Talking Points: Meeting with Presidential Interchange Executives
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1252509
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document
title
9/17/75 - Talking Points: Meeting with Presidential Interchange Executives
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collections
President's Speeches and Statements Reading Copies (Ford Administration)
Reading Copies of Presidential Speeches and Statements
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President's Commission on Personnel Interchange. (01/19/1969 - 05/15/1979)
Speeches, addresses, etc.
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1252509
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17
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1975-09-17
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9
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1975
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17
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1975-09-17
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9
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1975
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The original documents are located in Box 16, "9/17/75 - Talking Points: Meeting with
Presidential Interchange Executives" of the President's Speeches and Statements: Reading
Copies 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. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 16 of President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
....
TALKING POINTS:
MEETING WITH PRESIDENTIAL INTERCHANGE EXECUTIVES
SEPTEMBER 17, 1975
- I -
WELCOME AND GOOD AFTERNOON.
THIS IS MY FIRST
MEETING AS PRESIDENT WITH PRESIDENTIAL INTERCHANGE EXECUTIVES
AND I'M VERY PLEASED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH YOU.
- 2 -
YOU ARE TACKLING ONE OF THE MOST FORMIDABLE
CHALLENGES ANYONE CAN FACE -- UNDERSTANDING GOVERNMENT.
BRAVE MEN HAVE DEVOTED THEIR LIVES TO THAT QUEST AND HAVE BEEN
LED AWAY MUMBLING.
BUT I AM CONFIDENT YOU WILL ESCAPE
THAT FATE.
- 3 -
YOU COME FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, A VARIETY OF
PROFESSIONS AND ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
BUT YOU HAVE ONE
THING IN COMMON: UNCOMMON ABILITY AND INITIATIVE.
- 4 -
I BELIEVE STRONGLY IN THE PRESIDENTIAL INTERCHANGE
PROGRAM BECAUSE I KNOW THAT NEITHER BUSINESS NOR GOVERNMENT
CAN SOLVE THIS NATION'S PROBLEMS BY ITSELF.
WE MUST WORK
AS PARTNERS.
YOU ARE AGENTS OF THAT PARTNERSHIP.
WHAT YOU LEARN ABOUT HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS -- AND WHY IT
SOMETIMES FAILS TO WORK -- CAN HELP US FORGE THAT PARTNERSHIP.
- 5 -
WE HAVE MANY PROBLEMS WE CAN SOLVE ONLY BY
BROADENING OUR PERSPECTIVES.
ONE PROBLEM OF PARTICULAR
CONCERN TO ME IS THE HEAVY BURDEN ON BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT
RED TAPE AND REGULATIONS.
IT THREATENS TO BURY BUSINESS
IN AN AVALANCHE OF FEDERAL FORMS.
- 6 -
LAST YEAR ALONE 5,146 DIFFERENT FEDERAL FORMS WERE
BEING SENT OUT FROM WASHINGTON.
I HAVE CREATED A FEDERAL
COMMISSION TO CUT THIS MOUNTAIN DOWN TO SIZE.
PERHAPS
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH SOME IDEAS OF YOUR OWN TO
REDUCE THIS PAPERWORK PROBLEM.
SOMETIMES THE ONLY WAY TO
SOLVE A PROBLEM IS TO LOOK AT IT FROM ANOTHER VANTAGE POINT.
- 7 -
I SOMETIMES WISH MY FRIENDS IN THE CONGRESS COULD
GET A PERSPECTIVE ON THE NATION'S PROBLEMS FROM THE VANTAGE
POINT OF THE OVAL OFFICE FOR A FEW WEEKS.
MANY OF THEM DO,
TOO -- BUT I THINK WHAT THEY HAVE IN MIND IS AN ARRANGEMENT
LASTING AT LEAST FOUR YEARS.
- 8 -
I DON'T THINK THERE WAS EVER A PERIOD WHEN YOUR
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A BROADER PERSPECTIVE ON OUR COUNTRY'S
PROBLEMS WERE NEEDED MORE.
IN THE MONTHS AHEAD, WE FACE
A CRITICAL CHOICE: SHALL BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT WORK
TOGETHER TO MAKE OUR FREE ENTERPRISE ECONOMY WORK BETTER?
- 9 -
OR SHALL WE DRIFT INTO AN ECONOMY IN WHICH VITAL DECISIONS
ARE MADE MORE AND MORE BY GOVERNMENT?
I AM COMMITTED TO THE PARTNERSHIP APPROACH.
I BELIEVE THAT OUR FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM HAS BROUGHT MORE
BLESSINGS TO MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER SYSTEM DEVISED BY
MAN.
-10-
I KNOW YOU JOIN WITH ME IN THAT COMMITMENT.
I AM GLAD YOU ARE HERE IN THAT PURPOSE.
I WANT TO WISH
YOU EVERY SUCCESS IN THE CHALLENGES THAT AWAIT YOU.
END OF TEXT