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    "label": "Exchange of Remarks between President and Governor of Iowa and Question and Answer Session [Ford Speech or Statement]",
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    "title": "Exchange of Remarks between President and Governor of Iowa and Question and Answer Session [Ford Speech or Statement]",
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            "logicalDate": "1976-06-03",
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 27 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nJUNE 3, 1976\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nEXCHANGE OF REMARKS\nBETWEEN THE PRESIDENT\nAND\nROBERT D. RAY\nGOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF IOWA\nAND\nQUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION\nTHE NORTH GROUNDS\n4:15 P.M. EDT\nTHE PRESIDENT: I thought it would be helpful\nto give you a report in part on the meeting that we held\nthis afternoon. Many of you were there at the outset.\nThe meeting, of course, was called, as I indicated, at\nthe request of the New Coalition, composed of the Governors,\nthe city officials, county officials and others in order\nto convince the Members of the House of Representatives\non both sides of the aisle the need and necessity for\ngeneral revenue sharing.\nThe meeting did indicate that the legislation\nwould be on the floor of the House most likely next week.\nThere are some serious differences of opinion, differences\nthat I hope can be worked out. The question was asked,\nwould I support the bill that came out of the full\ncommittee of Government Operations, and I said it was\ndrastically different than the legislation I had recommended,\nand I would have to reserve judgment as to whether or not\nI would sign it, depending of course on what the final\nversion was.\nIt is a very serious matter that involves local\nservices. It involves State taxation and local taxation.\nI was pleased to be on the side of those who have faith\nand trust in the Governors of our various States, the\nmayors of our cities and the county officials. Whether\nthey are Democratic or Republican, I think they can do a\ngood job.\nIt is my hope and trust that the Congress will\nrespond with good legislation.\nBob, do you want to add anything?\nMORE\nPage 2\nGOVERNOR RAY: I might just add to what the\nPresident said, that we were very pleased that the President\nresponded as he did at the White House and had the members\nof the New Coalition meet with him and the Members of\nthe House of Representatives. I think aga. n we found\nthere is much more resistance to revenue st aring in\nCongress than we would ever dream possible coming from our\nStates and/or local communities because there--in some\n39,000 communities where revenue sharing is SO important--\nwe get the feeling that it is the right thing and we have\ngreat faith that the money is being used and would be\nused, continue to be used, in a wise fashion.\nThen we come back here and we find Congress wants\nto add restrictions and limitations and all of the things\nthat we are trying to get away from in this small amount\nof money that goes back to the local communities, so I\nthink the meeting was worthwhile from the benefit of\nboth us and Members of Congress.\nI can't, of course, speak for them, but at least\nthey know that we feel this is extremely important and\nwe heard people say that undoubtedly taxes would have to\nbe raised on the local level if we don't get revenue\nsharing. In most communities around this country,\nproperty taxes are very regressive and are a great burden,\nand that is very frightening, if they would have to raise\nproperty taxes, because revenue sharing would stop and\ncease to continue.\nQUESTION: Governor, what kind of deadline do\nyou have? When do you think you should know if there is\ngoing to be revenue sharing or not?\nGOVERNOR RAY: Well, in a sense one deadline\nis almost past and that is that most legislatures now have\nadopted some kind of a budget. If we don't get it soon,\nof course, I think in some jurisdictions they are going\nto have to look to other ways to raise more taxes.\nThere is a deadline now, and this meeting is\nvery timely because we understand if something does not\nhappen and it doesn't come out soon, they will get into\nthe appropriation bill and it will be very difficult for\nthem to find a spot on the calendar.\nQUESTION: Is there any assurance that both\nparty platforms will include revenue sharing as it is\nnow?\nGOVERNOR RAY: I don't think there is any\nassurance that anything will appear in either party plat-\nform on any subject, but I think both parties are certainly\nin favor of revenue sharing, and I would expect them to\ndeal with it, particularly if something happens that does\nnot come through this Congress. We just deem it extremely\nimportant.\nMORE\nPage 3\nQUESTION: Mr. President, did your objections\nto the House Government Operations Committee bill go\nbeyond the time element?\nTHE PRESIDENT: My objections are the short\ntime. I think it ought to be extended for five and three-\nquarter years. I think the provision that existed in the\npresent general revenue sharing legislation for the\nhandling of the financing is the right approach. It was\npointed out in a meeting by Governors as well as mayors\nthat if we went through the regular appropriation process\nit would be very difficult for them to handle the prospect\nor the lack of prospect of money in the future.\nIn addition, it seems to me that I recommended\nthe growth of $150 million a year, which takes into\naccount the inflationary aspects that we would anticipate\neach year for the next five and three-quarter years.\nThe full committee bill does not provide for any growth.\nIn fact, it freezes the amount at the present level, so\nthere are other objections besides the two that you\nmentioned.\nQUESTION: Mr. President, just as Jack Brooks\ngot up to speak our microphones went dead down here. We\ndid not hear what he had to tell you.\nTHE PRESIDENT: I think Congressman Brooks' views\nare well known. He has been against general revenue\nsharing. He was in 1972. He is opposed to it in 1976.\nI don't think you needed any amplification of Congressman\nBrooks' views. He holds them very strongly, and we\nrespect them. We just think he is wrong.\nQUESTION: Mr. President, how important was\nthis meeting in your strategy to secure the revenue\nsharing bill that you think will be accepted?\nTHE PRESIDENT: I think it was very important\nbecause the request for the meeting came from the New\nCoalition, which indicates their concern, and it gave\nme an opportunity to put in the same room the people who\nare strongly urging the extension of the legislation as\nI recommended it, and some of the people in the Congress\nwho either want to cripple it or defeat it altogether.\nQUESTION: Mr. President, may I ask you a\nquestion? Are you displeased with what Mr. Reagan has\npurportedly said about publicly getting involved in\nRhodesia, possibly sending troops to Rhodesia? How do\nyou feel about that?\nMORE\nPage 4\nTHE PRESIDENT: I feel that it was responsible\nfor me to send the Secretary of State to Southern Africa\nto try and negotiate the settlement of those problems.\nThey are serious, and it was far more responsible for me\nto send our Secretary of State there, as I said, to\nsolve those problems by negotiation rather than to\nthreaten or to indicate the possibility of sending\nAmerican troops to settle the problem.\nQUESTION: So, you disagree with Governor Reagan?\nTHE PRESIDENT: I would say yes, I do, if what\nI understand he has said is his personal viewpoint. I\nbelieve that the action that I took to send the Secretary\nof State to Southern Africa to settle those problems by\nnegotiation is the responsible thing to do, and that is\nwhy I did it and any indication that a President might\nsend troops to Southern Africa -- American troops -- I\nthink is irresponsible.\nQUESTION: How does that differ from your\nstatement in the campaign that you would provide absolute\nguarantees to protect minority rights in Rhodesia?\nTHE PRESIDENT: I think we can take care of that\nby negotiation.\nQUESTION: You weren't talking about sending\ntroops, you were talking about absolute guarantees?\nTHE PRESIDENT: That is correct.\nQUESTION: Is Mr. Reagan's rhetoric dangerous?\nTHE PRESIDENT: I would not want to comment on\nhis rhetoric, I simply wanted to indicate my view was\ndifferent from his.\nQUESTION: He said something about using\nAmerican troops as a possible peacekeeping force in the\nMiddle East. How do you feel about that?\nTHE PRESIDENT: I haven't seen that comment by\nhim, but I don't believe that it is necessary to involve\nU.S. troops in Southern Africa. I think we can accomplish\nthe necessary solutions of those problems by skillful\ndiplomacy, and that was the purpose of my sending the\nSecretary of State to Southern Africa.\nQUESTION: Has there been any result of his\nmission there?\nTHE PRESIDENT: I think they have been very\nconstructive.\nTHE PRESS: Thank you, gentlemen.\nEND\n(AT 4:27 P.M. EDT)"
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