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10/1/75 - Remarks at a White House Conference held in Omaha, Nebraska
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1252530
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10/1/75 - Remarks at a White House Conference held in Omaha, Nebraska
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President's Speeches and Statements Reading Copies (Ford Administration)
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1975
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1975-10-01
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1975
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The original documents are located in Box 17, "10/2/75 - Arrival Statement: The Emperor
and Empress of Japan" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 17 of President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Omaha
Kemarks 10/2/75
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEF
THANK YOU, BILL (Bill Baroody introduces you)
GOVERNOR EXON
SENATOR CURTIS
SENATOR HRUSKA
MR. KENEFICK (President of Omaha Chamber of Commerce)
PRESIDENT VARNER (President of University of Nebraska)
and the HEADS OF THE CO-SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS
-
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
- 1 -
(ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS)
IT IS ALWAYS A THRILL TO COME BACK TO THE TOWN
WHERE YOU WERE BORN AND MEET WITH so MUCH WARMTH AND
ENTHUSIASM.
ALTHOUGH, I DO HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I COULDN'T
HELP BUT NOTICE THAT AD IN THIS MORNING'S WORLD HERALD.
THE ONE THAT OFFERED TO TRADE EIGHT TICKETS TO THIS WHITE HOUSE
CONFERENCE -- FOR STANDING ROOM AT THE NEBRASKA - - MIAMI GAME.
NEVERTHELESS -- LET ME JUST THANK THE REST OF YOU
FOR HANGING IN THERE.
- la -
I AM HERE TODAY TO LISTEN AND TO LEARN FROM YOU.
AS A NATIVE OF OMAHA, IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK.
ALTHOUGH
I LEFT HERE WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG -- AND DON'T REALLY
in 1975
REMEMBER MUCH ABOUT IT -- I LIKE WHAT I SEE OF OMAHA NOW.
- 1b -
I AM PARTICULARLY PLEASED TO BE IN THIS GREAT
HEARTLAND OF AMERICA.
THE AMERICAN FARMER HAS PRODUCED
A MIRACLE OF ABUNDANCE WHICH IS THE ENVY OF THE REST OF THE
WORLD.
- 2 -
THINK OF IT
LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT OF THIS COUNTRY'S
POPULATION FEEDS THE REMAINING 95 PERCENT -- WITH ENOUGH
LEFT OVER TO SIGNIFICANTLY SUPPLEMENT THE FOOD NEEDS OF MUCH
OF THE REST OF THE WORLD!
- 3 - -
LAST YEAR ALONE, THE UNITED STATES EXPORTED NEARLY
22 BILLION DOLLARS IN VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
WITHOUT THESE EXPORTS, OUR COUNTRY WOULD HAVE HAD A HUGE
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEFICIT.
OUR DOLLAR WOULD HAVE BEEN
WEAKENED ABROAD AND WE WOULD BE PAYING HIGHER PRICES FOR ALL
THE ITEMS WE IMPORT FROM FOREIGN LANDS.
- 4 -
THE AMERICAN FARMER NOT ONLY RAISES CROPS --
HE RAISES THE OVERALL STANDARD OF LIVING OF ALL AMERICANS.
YET, THE AMERICAN FARMER HAS TOO OFTEN BEEN MADE
THE SCAPEGOAT OF MANY OF OUR ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.
THE PRICE
OF MEAT GOES UP -- -- BLAME THE FARMER.
THE PRICE OF MILK GOES
UP -- -- BLAME THE FARMER.
WELL, YOU KNOW AND I KNOW THE
FARMER IS NOT TO BLAME FOR THE HIGH PRICES WE HAVE TODAY.
- 5 -
FORTUNATELY, WE ARE MAKING SOME PROGRESS IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST INFLATION.
THE LATEST FIGURES SHOW THAT
THE COST OF LIVING RO SE ONLY TWO-TENTHS OF ONE PERCENT IN
AUGUST -- THE SMALLEST MONTHLY INCREASE IN MORE THAN
THREE YEARS.
CONTRARY TO THE FINGER-POINTING AT THE
FARMER, FOOD PRICES HELD STEADY.
THE SMALL RISE WAS
ACCOUNTED FOR BY OTHER COMMODITIES AND SERVICES.
- 6 -
BUT LET ME EMPHASIZE THIS: THE GOOD NEWS OF ONE
MONTH DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE BATTLE AGAINST INFLATION HAS BEEN
WON.
IT DOES MEAN WE CAN -- AND WE WILL -- WIN THIS FIGHT
AGAINST INFLATION IF WE KEEP THE PRESSURE ON.
LET ME ASSURE
YOU OF THIS: THE VICTORY WILL NOT BE ACHIEVED AT THE EXPENSE
OF THE NATION'S FARMERS.
- 7 -
NOR WILL FARMERS SUFFER ON THE INTERNATIONAL GRAIN
MARKET FROM ACTIONS OF MY ADMINISTRATION.
I KNOW
THERE HAS BEEN CRITICISM BY SOME FOR THE TEMPORARY HALT
IN GRAIN SALES TO THE SOVIET UNION.
LET ME BRING YOU
UP TO DATE.
- 8 -
LAST YEAR, IN A VISIT TO LINCOLN, I URGED
THE FARMERS OF THIS STATE TO PLANT FULL CROPS.
I ADVOCATED
A POLICY OF FULL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION FOR THE ENTIRE NATION.
I AM HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT YOUR CROPS WILL BE SOLD --
AND AT FAIR MARKET PRICES.
- 9 -
BUT, JUST AS IMPORTANT, WE MUST GET THE FARMER OFF THE
ROLLER-COASTER OF UP-AND-DOWN PURCHASES WHICH HAS BEEN
THE RUSSIAN PATTERN OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
- 10 - -
THE UNITED STATES ENJOYS FRUITFUL AND RELATIVELY
PREDICTABLE GRAIN TRADING RELATIONS WITH JAPAN AND EUROPE.
FARMERS KNOW APPROXIMATELY HOW MUCH WILL BE SOLD AND
CAN PLAN FOR IT.
STABLE TRADE HELPS THE FARMER AND
THE CONSUMER.
- 11 -
THAT'S WHY WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF NEGOTIATING A LONG-TERM
AGRICULTURAL AGREEMENT WITH THE SOVIET UNION -- AN AGREEMENT
ALONG THE LINES OF THE ONE WE ARE NOW CONCLUDING WITH POLAND.
WE MUST AND WILL BRING STABILITY -- PREDICTABILITY -- TO THE
PLANNING PROCESS OF THE AMERICAN FARMER.
- 12 -
LET ME ILLUSTRATE: SOVIET GRAIN PURCHASES FROM
THE UNITED STATES HAVE FLUCTUATED CONSIDERABLY IN THE LAST
FIVE YEARS FROM AS LOW AS ABOUT 74 MILLION BUSHELS IN ONE
CROP SEASON TO AS HIGH AS 524 MILLION BUSHELS IN ANOTHER.
so FAR THIS SEASON, 399 MILLION BUSHELS HAVE BEEN SOLD
TO RUSSIANS AND MORE SALES ARE EXPECTED.
- 13 -
UNDER THE AGREEMENT WE SEEK, FIXED MINIMUM
GRAIN PURCHASES EACH SEASON BY THE SOVIETS WILL BE
ESTABLISHED FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD AND THE GOING MARKET PRICE
WILL PREVAIL.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, THESE AGREEMENTS
WILL BE IN THE LONG-TERM BEST INTERESTS OF THE FARMER
AND THE CONSUMER.
- 14 -
I AM ALSO DETERMINED THAT OUR ENERGY CRISIS
WILL BE SOLVED IN THE LONG-TERM BEST INTERESTS OF THE
FARMER AND OF ALL AMERICANS.
THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF CONTINUED DELAY IN
ACHIEVING ENERGY INDEPENDENCE WERE DRAMATICALLY HEADLINED
JUST THE OTHER DAY WHEN THE OPEC OIL PRODUCING CARTEL
RAISED OIL PRICES BY TEN PERCENT.
- 15 -
THE ARBITRARY AND EXCESSIVE OPEC PRICE INCREASES
OF 1973 AND 1974 SERIOUSLY DEPRESSED ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY
AND ACCELERATED INFLATION, NOT ONLY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES
BUT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
THE LATEST PRICE INCREASE
WILL WORSEN INFLATION AND HINDER ECONOMIC RECOVERY EVERYWHERE.
- 16 -
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION
FOR THIS LATEST PRICE INCREASE.
IT PROVES BEYOND ANY
FURTHER ARGUMENT THAT THIS NATION MUST MOVE QUICKLY
TO CHART ITS OWN ENERGY DESTINY.
- 17 -
TIME AFTER TIME -- STARTING LAST JANUARY --
I WARNED MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS THAT THE UNITED STATES
WAS BECOMING MORE AND MORE VULNERABLE TO THE PRICE INCREASES
IMPOSED BY OTHER COUNTRIES.
I HAVE APPEALED TO THE
CONGRESS TO APPROVE MY PROGRAM -- OR COME UP WITH ITS
OWN PROPOSALS -- TO FREE AMERICA FROM ITS DEPENDENCE
ON FOREIGN OIL SUPPLIERS.
- 18 - -
I OFFERED TO COMPROMISE AGAIN AND AGAIN.
TWO DAYS AGO, I AGREED ONCE MORE TO SUCH A COMPROMISE
SOLUTION TO THE DECONTROL OF DOMESTIC OIL PRICES.
BY SIGNING A BILL EXTENDING TO NOVEMBER 15 THE EXPIRED
CONTROLS ON DOMESTIC PETROLEUM, I GAVE THE CONGRESS 47
MORE DAYS TO ACT RESPONSIBLY.
- 19-
THE CONGRESS CAN EITHER ARRIVE AT A SOUND AND MUTUALLY
ACCEPTABLE PLAN FOR PHASED DECONTROL OR, AS AN ALTERNATIVE,
PASS EMERGENCY LEGISLATION I HAVE RECOMMENDED TO CUSHION
THE EFFECT OF IMMEDIATE DECONTROL ON CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF
OUR DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
- 20 -
I PROPOSE TO ASSURE ADEQUATE PROPANE GAS
FOR THE MILLIONS OF FARMERS AND OTHERS LIVING IN RURAL AREAS
AND IN MOBILE HOMES;
- 21 -
I PROPOSE TO PROTECT HEATING OIL AND INDEPENDENT
RETAIL GASOLINE DEALERS FROM ARBITRARY CURTAILMENT AND
CUTOFFS FROM SUPPLIERS;
I PROPOSE TO ASSURE INDEPENDENT REFINERS OF
ADEQUATE CRUDE OIL SUPPLIES AT REASONABLE PRICES;
- 22 -
AND I PROPOSE TO PROTECT THE PURCHASING POWER
OF CONSUMERS THROUGH A CONSUMER REFUND PROVISION IN A
WINDFALL PROFITS TAX ON OIL COMPANIES.
THE CLAIM BY SOME PROCRASTINATING MEMBERS OF
THE CONGRESS THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO HOLD CONSUMER PRICES
DOWN IS NONSENSE.
- 23 -
OBVIOUSLY THE CONGRESS CANNOT HOLD OPEC OIL PRICES DOWN.
THEY ARE GOING UP.
THERE IS NO END IN SIGHT.
AND WE ARE ALREADY DEPENDENT ON FOREIGN OIL FOR ABOUT
40 PERCENT OF OUR TOTAL NEEDS.
- 24 -
THE CONGRESS IS MERELY POSTPONING HARD CHOICES THAT MUST
BE MADE AND IS ATTEMPTING TO BLAME HIGH FUEL PRICES ON
EVERYONE BUT THEMSELVES.
- 25 -
SINCE CONTROLS ON DOMESTIC OIL WENT INTO EFFECT IN 1971,
OUR BILL FOR IMPORTED OIL HAS INCREASED MORE THAN 700 PERCENT.
YET A MAJORITY IN THE CONGRESS DOES NOTHING TO REVERSE
OUR GROWING OIL DEPENDENCE AND INCREASING VULNERABILITY
TO THE WHIMS OF FOREIGN OIL PRODUCERS.
- 26 -
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SHOULD RECOGNIZE -- IF
THE CONGRESS WILL NOT -- THAT THE REAL ISSUE OVER PRICE
CONTROLS ON OIL IS NOT BETWEEN CHEAP ENERGY AND EXPENSIVE
ENERGY.
THERE IS NO CHEAP ENERGY ANYMORE.
- 27 -
THE REAL ISSUE IS TWO-FOLD: FIRST, WHETHER WE WILL ACHIEVE
ENERGY INDEPENDENCE TO PROVIDE US IN THE LONG RUN WITH THE
LOWEST POSSIBLE COMPETITIVELY PRICED ENERGY; AND SECOND,
WHETHER WE WILL KEEP AMERICA'S WEALTH IN AMERICA OR
SEND IT OVERSEAS IN EVER-INCREASING AMOUNTS.
- 28 - -
IN 1971, THE UNITED STATES PAID OUT THREE BILLION
DOLLARS TO FOREIGN PRODUCERS FOR OIL.
IN 1974,
THIS FIGURE JUMPED TO 25 BILLION DOLLARS -- ABOUT
360 DOLLARS FOR EVERY AMERICAN FAMILY.
THIS COULD TOP
32 BILLION DOLLARS WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS IF THE CONGRESS
DOES NOT ACT.
- 29 -
IF SPENT AT HOME, THIS 25 BILLION DOLLARS
WOULD EMPLOY ONE MILLION WORKERS.
IT WOULD SPEED OUR
ECONOMIC GROWTH.
- 30 -
THESE ARE AMERICAN JOBS AND AMERICAN SALARIES
I AM TALKING ABOUT -- FOR THAT'S WHAT AMERICA'S ENERGY
INDEPENDENCE WILL ACHIEVE FOR THIS COUNTRY.
LETTING
THE OPEC OIL CARTEL DICTATE AMERICA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH IS
ABSURD.
- 31 -
WHEN THE PRICE OF GASOLINE GOES UP AT THE PUMP,
I WANT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE BLAME
LIES.
UNTIL THE CONGRESS ACTS, THERE IS NOTHING THIS
COUNTRY CAN DO ABOUT ARBITRARY OPEC OIL PRICE HIKES --
AND THERE MAY BE STILL ANOTHER FUEL PRICE INCREASE NEXT JUNE.
- 32 - -
so FAR, I HAVE MET WITH THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS
AT THESE PRESIDENTIAL TOWN MEETINGS -- MEETINGS WHICH I HAVE
CHARACTERIZED AS "LISTEN AND LEARN" SESSIONS.
THEY HAVE
BEEN INVALUABLE TO ME AND TO MY ASSOCIATES.
- 33 -
DURING TODAY'S MEETINGS, YOU HAVE COVERED A
LOT OF ISSUES AND HEARD FROM A NUMBER OF KEY MEMBERS OF
THE ADMINISTRATION.
NOW, LET US HEAR FROM YOU.
I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
END OF TEXT
1 JOHN C. KENEFICK, PRESIDENT
OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
2 D. B. VARNER, PRESIDENT
3 WILLIAM BRENNAN, PRESIDENT
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
NEBRASKA STATE AFL-CIO
4 RAMONA 0. SALISBURY
5 FRED ROSE, PRESIDENT
NEBRASKA WOMEN'S POLITICAL CAUCUS
NEBRASKA PRESS ASSOCIATION
6 JOHN P. NELSON, PRESIDENT
7 JAMES EVANS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR URBAN
COUNCIL BLUFFS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA
8 THOMAS McFARLAND, SECRETARY-TREASURER
9 STEVE KAMPFE, PRESIDENT
TEAMSTERS UNION LOCAL #544
STATE FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA
10 DR. JOSEPH HOLTHAUS, M.D. DEAN OF
11 MORRIS MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL
OF AK-SAR-BEN
12 CARL C. SPELTS, PRESIDENT NEBRASKA
13 JAMES J. WENGERT, SECRETARY-TREASURER
ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
IOWA FEDERATION OF LABOR
14 WENDELL J. GANGWISH, Vice-President
15 PAUL AMEN, PRESIDENT LINCOLN
NEBR, FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
16 BEVERLY G. EVERTT, REPRESENTATIVE
17 CHARLES WILSON, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
FROM NAT'L ASSOCIATION OF AAUW
IOWA MANUFACTURER'S ASSOCIATION