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Press Conference No. 24 of the President of the United States
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Press Conference No. 24 of the President of the United States
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Digitized from Box 19 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
PRESS CONFERENCE NO. 24
of the
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
2:08 P.M. EST
December 20, 1975
Saturday
In the Briefing Room
At the White House
THE PRESIDENT: Well, this morning I spent about
three hours in the next to the last budget review process
with a number of appeals and tomorrow I expect to spend
approximately three hours on the final decisions on the
budget.
We have a number of bills, of course, down from
the Hill -- some easy, some controversial -- but we expect
to get an awful lot of work done over this weekend.
With those very general observations, I would
be glad to answer any questions.
QUESTION: What are some of the hardest budget
decisions you are making right now?
THE PRESIDENT: They are all hard, Ann, because
even though the budget will reflect an increase over the
current fiscal year, it will reflect a $28 billion cutback
in the growth of Federal spending and, therefore, you have
to make hard decisions in practically every department, but
if we are going to get a $28 billion tax cut, we have to
have a $28 billion cutback in the growth of Federal spending,
and we are going to have a $395 billion spending budget
for the next fiscal year and that will permit me to recommend
to the Congress a bigger tax reduction than the Congress
passed and which I will sign Monday when the bill gets
down here.
The American people need and deserve a larger tax
cut and I am delighted that the Congress after a lot of
pulling and hauling finally agreed that we would have in
principle a tax reduction and a spending limitation on a
one-for-one basis. That, I think, is a very sound principle.
That is what I have been fighting for, and now that the
Congress' has made a good faith commitment I think my larger
tax recommendations to cut taxes more than the Congress
passed means that we will get a firm handle on the growth
of Federal spending.
QUESTION: Is the $28 billion what you will
propose again next month as far as the tax cut goes?
MORE
(OVER)
Page 2
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the tax bill that I intend
to sign reduces taxes on a full year basis of about $18
billion. My tax reduction proposal will add another
$10 billion in additional tax cuts and it will all be
predicated on a restraint, a control, in the growth of
Federal spending of a like amount.
QUESTION: What are you going to do on the energy
bill, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: I have recommendations from
people on the outside on both sides of the issue. I have
recommendations from my top advisers on both sides of the
issue and I am going to spend a good part of this weekend
analyzing the pros and cons. We have had an Economic
Policy Board meeting on that issue and I will make the
final decision probably on Monday.
QUESTION: Mr. President, have you decided on
situs picketing?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I have not. That is another
measure that I will be working on this weekend. There is,
of course, in the Administration differing views. The
American people have very strong convictions on both sides
of that issue and we have gotten a tremendous amount of mail
in opposition to it. We are getting some mail in favor of
it. I am going to try and make an honest judgment over
this weekend.
Now, of course, that bill, as of this moment, has
not come down from the Congress; I hope it will be here
so that the difficult decision can be made.
QUESTION: Is there a difference in the mail,
Mr. President? I mean the mail that is against that bill,
does it seem to be more from organized forces?
THE PRESIDENT: I can't tell but the last count
I showed there were something like 620,000 communications
against the common situs picketing bill and something less
than 10,000, as I recall, for it.
QUESTION: Mr. President, you have been working
very hard on this budget and had a hard time getting Congress
to agree to any spending cuts. Do you have any opinion
on this proposal of former Governor Reagan's to cut $90
billion from the Federal budget by turning this over to the
States and local communities? What do you think of that
idea?
THE PRESIDENT: I met with I think it was nine
Governors -- Democrats as well as Republicans -- several
days ago and I got recommendations from them because the
Governors, I think, played a very important role, not only
in running their own States but in working with the Federal
Government, and the consensus -- well, the unanimous view
of all of those Governors was, don't put any extra burdens
on us and our taxpayers in each State.
MORE
Page 3
I gather from that that any reduction in the
Federal budget of $90 billion, turning all of that extra
responsibility over to each of the 50 States, would not
be acceptable and would not be supported by the 50
Governors.
QUESTION: Mr. President, now that we are in the
field of politics tangentially, can you --
THE PRESIDENT: I didn't answer it on that basis.
QUESTION: No, I know you didn't, but we were
trying to get in there so I will try again. (Laughter)
Can you tell us anything about your campaign
plans for next year? Are you going into New Hampshire and
Florida, for example?
THE PRESIDENT: We have a lot of open dates in
those months because we first felt that the most important
thing was to do the business of the Federal Government,
I am sure that we will participate to some degree in
various primary campaigns but I emphasize and say it very
strongly that the principal responsibility of a President
of the United States is to make sure that he exercises
his full responsibilities as President. If there is time
for any campaigning, and only time can tell, then I will
do what I can, but I have no concrete plans at this moment.
QUESTION: Mr. President, could you give us a
sense of how you feel you are doing politically right now,
especially in view of that poll that showed Ronald Reagan
ahead of you by a substantial margin among both Republicans
and Independents?
THE PRESIDENT: The way I judge it is whether I
think I am doing a good job as President. I am concentrating
on that responsibility. I think we have made substantial
progress in the last 16 or 17 months in straightening
out a very serious economic problem, in carrying on a
sound foreign policy and, in my opinion, the American people
in the final analysis will judge whether I should be
nominated and/or elected on the basis of how I conduct
myself in this office and that is where the concentration
will be?
QUESTION: Just to follow up on that, sir, in
view of the fact, of course, you have been President,
what do you think is the significance of that poll?' What
does it tell you, if anything?
THE PRESIDENT: I am not sure I understand the
intent of the question.
QUESTION: Well, since you have been functioning
as President and doing the best job you know how, as you
say, what is the importance of the poll that shows you
trailing Mr. Reagan politically even so?
MORE
Page 4
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the final answer,
of course, comes in the ballot box and if I do the job --
and I think we have made some great progress certainly
in solving economic problems and I think we have done a
very good job on foreign policy -- that will be the test,
not any interim polls.
QUESTION: Mr. President, after Mr. Callaway
stirred up a bit of a storm in Houston with criticizing
Mr. Reagan's record as Governor, you talked to him the
next day. Did you tell him to lay off this, and what do
you think of the way he is running the campaign?
THE PRESIDENT: I think overall that Bo Callaway
has done a good job. I get weekly reports on the status
of our organization in the various States and when I look
at that I am convinced that we are in good shape in most
States and we are working to improve in those where we are
not.
QUESTION: But, Mr. President --
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me just a minute.
Now I think both Bo Callaway and I agree that
there should be no personal attacks on Mr. Reagan and I
understand he feels the same way about any campaign on his
behalf. The thing that I think we are going to emphasize --
myself particularly and I hope Bo and the others -- is
my record, which is one that is examined on a day-to-day
basis by literally millions and millions of people, and
I will stand on that record and Bo is going to accentuate,
as I and others will, the success of this record. If the
public as a whole wants to examine not only my record but
the Governor's record, that of course is the option that
they have.
MORE
Page 5
QUESTION: Mr. President, yesterday you issued a
statement about your sentiments on what the Senate has done
on Angola.
THE PRESIDENT: I said it fairly strongly.
QUESTION: You sure did. After you did it,
Dr. Kissinger said something a little more even stronger
over at the State Department around five o'clock. He said
the responsibility of the conduct of foreign policy is not
altered or affected simply because Congress has taken an
action. I don't know quite how to read that but I can read
that once you spend the money that is in the pipeline there
is not any more. What is the United States policy toward
Angola going to be given the fact that you are going to run
out of money in about two months?
THE PRESIDENT: Our fundamental purpose in Angola
was to make sure that the people of Angola decide their own
fate, establish their own government and proceed as an
independent nation. We think it is fundamentally very
unwise, very harmful for any foreign power such as the
Soviet Union is obviously doing and as Cuba is doing to
try to dominate any government in that country. All we want
is for the majority of the people in Angola to decide for
themselves what they want.
Now unfortunately because the Soviet Union has
spent literally millions and millions of dollars and
unfortunately because Cuba has anywheres from 4,000 to 6,000
combat troops in Angola, we think this is a setback for the
people in Angola.
Now I take this problem very seriously.
QUESTION: Well, what is to be done with your hands
tied, so to speak?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the Congress unfortunately
has tied our hands and I think it is a serious mistake. I
feel very strongly that a great country like the United
States should have flexibility to help those people in any
one country to decide their own fate and the action of the
Congress is crucial in that it has deprived us of helping a
majority of the people in Angola to make their own decisions.
The problem that I foresee on a broader basis is a good many
countries throughout the world consider the United States
friendly and helpful and we have over a period of time
helped to maintain free governments around the world. Those
countries that have depended on us, and there are many,
can't help but have some misgivings because the Congress
has refused any opportunity for us in Angola to help a
majority of the people and they canft help but feel that
the same fate might occur as far as they are concerned in
the future.
I hope the House of Representatives will have a
different view and we are certainly going to try and get
the House of Representatives to reverse the Senate action.
MORE
Page 6
QUESTION: If not, are we through there?
THE PRESIDENT: I never say we are through but
the action of the Senate has seriously handicapped any
effort that we could make to achieve a negotiated settlement
so that the people of Angola could have a free and independent
government.
QUESTION: Mr. President, on that subject why did
we not start earlier in making public our opposition to what
the Soviet Union was doing there and telling this country how
much money and what effort we were making there, and can you
tell us how much money we spent there?
THE PRESIDENT: I don't think it is wise for me to
discuss in any detail what we have done or contemplated doing.
It was a legitimate covert operation where not one American
military personnel was involved in the operation and we had
no intention whatsoever of ever sending any U. S. military
personnel there, but to discuss any further details than
that I think in this case as in any other covert action case
the President just should not discuss it publicly.
QUESTION: Mr. President, now that the Soviet Union
is persisting despite what the Congress did on our side in
pouring equipment and material into Angola, do you see now
the possibility that this might seriously harm any chance
for a completion of SALT 2?
THE PRESIDENT: The persistence of the Soviet
Union in Angola with a hundred million dollars or more worth
of military aid certainly does not help the continuation of
detente. Now I will add another comment. As I said earlier,
there are between 4,000 and 6,000 Cuban combat military
personnel in Angola. The action of the Cuban government in
sending combat forces to Angola destroys any opportunity for
improvement in relations with the United States. They have
made a choice in effect and I mean very literally has
precluded any improvement in relations with Cuba.
QUESTION: Mr. President, do you see any possibility
that this matter could be taken to the United Nations or
worked on from the diplomatic standpoint now?
THE PRESIDENT: We certainly intended to try to
get diplomatic efforts underway and to help in the diplomatic
area but I think our influence in trying to get a diplomatic
solution is severely undercut by the action of the United
States Senate.
Now there is a meeting in early January of the
Organization of African Union, the foreign ministers of that
organization. They are meeting the first week or so in
Africa. We hope that they will take some action to let the
Angolans themselves decide this. In addition, there is a
meeting later in January of the heads of government of the
OAU. That body, of course, is the one that could do the
most and I know that there are a number of African states
who have apprehension about a foreign power dominating a
country as rich and potentially strong as Angola and so I
MORE
Page 7
can assure you to the extent that we can have any impact
in diplomatic areas we are certainly going to maximize our
efforts, but I repeat that what the Senate did yesterday
undercuts very, very seriously any impact we can have in
the diplomatic field.
MR. NESSEN: Jim Lynn has a lot of tough questions
waiting for you, too.
THE PRESIDENT: Two more.
Aldo.
QUESTION: Mr. President, a couple months ago there
were some efforts by the Administration to try and warm rela-
tions with Cuba; Dr. Kissinger made some statements, I believe.
It is apparent now that at that very time the Cubans had to
be gearing up or knew that they were probably at least consid-
ering sending troops to Angola. Did our intelligence pick up
this fact and was there any cause and effect? Were we in
effect trying to persuade them not to participate in Angola
and were we offering friendship to them in return for their
not participating?
THE PRESIDENT: The sending of military personnel
via Cuba to Angola is a rather recent development in any
magnitude. The statements made by the Secretary indicating
that there was a softening, a change on the part of Cuba, it
would be reciprocated by us, was made before there was any
significant military involvement by Cuba in Angola. I wanted
to be on the record, and as forceful as I can say the action
of the Cuban government in the effort that they made to get
Puerto Rico free and clear from the United States and the
action of the Cuban government to involve itself in a
massive military way in Angola with combat troops ends as
far as I am concerned any efforts at all to have friendlier
relations with the government of Cuba.
MORE
Page 8
QUESTION: Sir, I don't think you answered my
question. Can you tell me if the efforts were connected
in any way with the Cuban efforts?
THE PRESIDENT: I thought I answered it.
QUESTION: I am sorry.
QUESTION: Mr. President --
THE PRESIDENT: To be very specific and short, no.
QUESTION: Mr. President, can we go back to the
tax cut a moment. As you probably know, there are a lot of
people in Washington, including a lot of Democrats, who are
saying you caved in, that you could have gotten the same
deal a week ago on this non-binding resolution and that with
an election year coming up you could not very well give
people the Christmas present of higher taxes. Was your
decision to accept this bill motivated in any part by elec-
tion year politics and do you think it caved in?
THE PRESIDENT: I think the compromise which was
achieved was a good tax bill for six months but I under no
circumstances believe that I backed off a very fundamental
principle which was if you are going to have a tax reduction
you have to have a corresponding limitation on the growth of
Federal spending. I won on that issue 100 percent, and if
you tie that principle which the Congress has agreed to with
the budget ceiling that I am going to submit of $395 billion,
it does mean that the Congress will have to respect their
good faith commitment and operate within the $395 billion
figure.
QUESTION: Sir, did you have the same deal offered
to you though a week or so ago and you didn't have the option
of taking the deal as some people say?
THE PRESIDENT: Not at all. Well, the evidence of
that is that the Republicans in the House of Representatives
roughly a week ago offered as a motion to recommit a
$395 billion ceiling for fiscal 1977 and virtually every
Republican voted for it and very few Democrats did. That,
in my opinion, was a rejection of the ceiling concept at
that time but after the veto of the tax bill and it being
sustained the Democrats in the Congress then came forward
with this dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes and a
dollar-for-dollar reduction in Federal spending. It was
their proposition but it followed the guidelines that was
within the perimeters of what we had long sought.
QUESTION: Mr. President, do you expect Congress
to go along with the $395 billion ceiling? They have not
said they will so far.
MORE
Page 9
THE PRESIDENT: We are going to submit a budget
for $395 billion or less and I think we-can justify
it fully. I believe there is a little different attitude
up on the Hill among Republicans as well as some Democrats
that that is a responsible figure. I think we have a fair
chance of achieving it. We are certainly going to try.
QUESTION: On John's question, he had asked about
political motivation as far as the tax cut. Taking that
a step further, what do you think when you look at the
cover of Newsweek and some of the other stories that have
your face, and says "Ford in Trouble"? Have you been
misjudged by some of the people who are covering politics?
THE PRESIDENT: I think the record is good and
I think time will prove it.
QUESTION: Time Magazine? (Laughter)
THE PRESIDENT: The passing of time -- and don't
take that wrong either. (Laughter)
I think when the record is laid out from August
a year ago and 1976, I think the public will support what
I have done and it will be done in the ballot box.
THE PRESS: Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Have a good
weekend.
Tom, you were going to ask a question. You have
been sitting there silently, and that is unusual. (Laughter)
Well, go ahead, one for you, Tom.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. I was going
to go back to situs picketing for just a second.
There is a lot of speculation around town that
Secretary Dunlop might resign if you veto the situs picketing
bill and some of the people standing over here kind of
get that same queasy feeling themselves. I am wondering
whether you and Secretary Dunlop have talked about that,
whether he has raised that possibility with you and whether
you think if you do veto the bill that that might happen?
Do you expect him to?
THE PRESIDENT: I would not want to speculate
on that aspect. I know that he feels very strongly about
the legislation. I feel very strongly that he is one of
the finest members of my Cabinet. We have had several
discussions in depth as to the merits, the substance of
the common situs picketing bill. There has been no
indication to me that he would resign, but since I have
not made a decision on the legislation yet I think any
discussion is a little academic.
MORE
Page 10
QUESTION: The only other thing I can say is
that you probably like the cover of Newsweek this week
better than last week since it -- (Laughter)
THE PRESIDENT: I understand that the better half
of the Ford family is going to be on it with a little more
complimentary cover. (Laughter)
QUESTION: That is what I meant.
THE PRESIDENT: I keep telling Betty that I get
embarrassed all the time with her polls and good pictures.
When they take a picture of her dancing, it is beautiful;
when they take a picture of me dancing and publish it, it is
not very complimentary. (Laughter)
THE PRESS: Thank you, Mr. President.
END (AT 2:36 P.M. EST)