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    "title": "Remarks of the President to the Members of the National Industrial Council [Ford Speech or Statement]",
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 12 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nJUNE 10, 1975\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nREMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT\nTO THE\nMEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL\nTHE EAST ROOM\n5:10 P.M. EDT\nLet me thank you all for coming, and let me most\nwarmly welcome you to the White House.\nI do like to meet with groups such as this, make\na few comments and then chat with you informally, so, when\nwe are through, I would like to invite you all into the\nState Dining Room for a little reception and maybe some\nrefreshments.\nIt is nice to meet with the National Industrial\nConference. I come from a family that was not a very big\nindustrial organization, but it was an organization that\nparticipated in our industrial society. My father started\na small paint factory back in 1929. (Laughter.)\nHe was lucky to survive, but he did because he\nseemed to have that knack of working hard and convincing\npeople that he had a good product. And he apparently was\na sufficiently good salesman to make enough to keep the\nbusiness going, and it never got very big, but it was a big\npart of the Ford family background.\nI used to go over there and clean cans and fill\ncans and get pretty dirty during the process, but I learned\na few things that did pay off later, as a part of my education\nin growing up. But at least, that was my first exposure to\nour industrial society, and it was significant to me. And\nit was a darn good education, as far as I am concerned.\nWhat I would like to say this afternoon involves\nthe three major issues that I think are on the country's\nagenda in 1975. Those three are in the domestic area,\nenergy, the economy and the budget.\nJim Lynn probably just filled you in on the details\nof the budget, but let me add one or two observations, if I\nmight. I never anticipated I would ever be in a position of\nendorsing a deficit of some $60 billion. It was totally con-\ntrary to my philosophy of fiscal or financial affairs, as\nfar as the Federal Government was concerned.\nMORE\nPage 2\nBut when we took a look at all the facts and the\nfigures, the existing laws, the status of the economy, we\ncame to the conclusion that there was no alternative for the\nsubmission of the budget in January of this year with any-\nthing other than a deficit of $52 billion, which has sub-\nsequently expanded to a figure of approximately $60 billion.\nWe are going to hold the line, and as of today, I think, we\nare, according to the latest figures, $59.9 billion. It is\npretty close, but we have drawn the line.\nWe have held the line as far as the Congress is\nconcerned, despite some of the tremendous efforts to go\nabove it. I hope that the veto that was sustained last\nweek will help to create an environment in a fiscal sense\nthat will keep us within the $60 billion deficit figure.\nMORE\nPage 3\nThe vote last week was very close. I think we\nprevailed with a margin of some five votes. That is not\nvery many when you are talking about the vote of 400-plus.\nBut I think the American people are beginning\nto realize that anything above a $60 billion deficit is\na real danger area, and when we look at some of the\nproposals that are coming from subcommittees and full\ncommittees in both the House and the Senate, unless we\nstop them we are going to have a $100 billion deficit,\nand that, of course, is an area which is really treacherous.\nSo I just hope and trust that as we struggle\nin trying to have a responsible and a reasonable\nrestraint on Federal spending, we can get some help\nand assistance from all of you.\nNow let me turn to energy. It is becoming\nmore and more obvious that we have to stimulate new\nsources of energy and we have to conserve the energy\nthat we have.\nI presented a very comprehensive program to the\nCongress in January. It is still the only energy program\nin town. (Laughter.) We started out with figuratively\n535 energy programs up on Capitol Hill. It has now been\nwinnowed down to roughly five, six, maybe ten. We are\ngoing to keep the pressure on because this country cannot\nstand increasing vulnerability to foreign sources of oil.\nNow we had a very close vote up there today.\n(Laughter.) We thought we would do better, but other\npressures that wanted to curtail coal production and make\nus more and more vulnerable to foreign sources of oil\nreally put the pressure on. We persuaded enough people\nto stand fast under this kind of pressure.\nNow, we do have to find an answer to the energy\nprogram. We are going to submit a recommendation for\ndecontrol of old oil which I think will be a reasonable\nand a responsible proposal. If we don't raise the price\nof old oil and stimulate additional production in this\ncountry, every day the clock ticks America becomes more\nand more vulnerable.\nNow we don't anticipate -- and we certainly\nwant to preclude -- any developments in the Middle East\nthat would end up with another oil embargo. But if you\nlook at the statistics that come to my desk and maybe\nto yours, we are much more vulnerable right today if an\ninternational cartel should impose another oil embargo\nthan we were in October, November and December of 1973.\nMORE\nPage 4\nWe are much more vulnerable. And it would have\nnot only serious implications to the strength of the\ncountry but it would have a terribly bad effect on our\ncapability to come out of the current recession and move\ninto a more prosperous economy in the months ahead.\nI just hope that you can help persuade Members\nof Congress that if they can't buy the good program\nthat we submitted, they ought to at least come up with\na program of their own. And as of today, there has been\nnothing but backward movement rather than forward movement.\nNow let's talk about the economy. I think that\nthe statistics today are encouraging. I don't mean to\nimply that every report that I get is the kind I want to\nsee, but when you look at the problems we have had for\nthe last five months and see where we are today, and look\nat the forecast for the months ahead, we have made a\nlot of headway.\nIn the last five months we have done very well\nin cutting back the inflationary problems that we have\ntoday; or over the last five months the rate of inflation\nhas been about 5.6, 5.7, which is roughly half of what\nit was in the last few months of 1974.\nUnemployment is too high. We had five months\nin a row where we lost approximately 400,000 employees,\ngainfully employed in our civilian economy. It was a\nprecipitous slide but the last two months, even though\nunemployment rates have increased, we started to climb\nup again with a total number of people gainfully employed.\nIn the last two months we have added approximately\n400,000 -- 450,000 to those gainfully employed,\nIt is the consensus that we are on our way out,\njust beginning to get out of this recession.\nMORE\nPage 5\nBut, if you look at the consumer confidence\nfigures, if you look at the wide range of other economic\nindicators, including those that came out of the Department\nof Commerce last week, there is good reason for us to\nbelieve the strength of this economy is such that we are\ngoing to be looking at a much better picture in the third\nand fourth quarters of 1975 and increasingly better in\n1976. This has been a hard, tough period, whether it is in\nthe budget, whether it is energy, or whether it is in the\neconomy, but wherever I go, I find the spirit of America\ngood.\nAdversity seems to strengthen us, gives us the\nfeeling that we will stand up to the pressures and meet\nthe challenges, and this is the kind of spirit that I think\nis essential and necessary if our country is to continue\nto be the leader at home as well as abroad.\nWe have got a great system. We have wonderful\npeople. We have an industrial capacity that is not matched\nby any elsewhere in the world, and if we keep the faith,\nI am convinced that America can and will be the leader in\nthe months and years ahead that we have been in the past.\nThank you very much.\nEND\n(AT 5:20 P.M. EDT)"
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