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State of the Union Address [Ford Speech or Statement]
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Digitized from Box 35 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 12, 1977
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
OF
PRESIDENT GERALD R. FORD
TO A JOINT SESSION OF THE CONGRESS
THE HOUSE CHAMBER
9:10 P.M. EST
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of the 95th
Congress and distinguished guests:
In accordance with the Constitution, I come before
you once again to report on the State of the Union.
This report will be my last -- maybe.
But for the Union, it is only the first of such reports
in our Third Century of Independence, the close of which none
of us will ever see. We can be confident, however, that 100
years from now a freely elected President will come before a
freely elected Congress chosen to renew our great Republic's
pledge to Government of the people, by the people, for the
people.
For my part, I pray the Third Century we are beginning
will bring to all Americans, our children and their children's
children, a greater measure of individual equality, opportunity
and justice, a greater abundance of spiritual and material
blessings, and a higher quality of life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness.
The State of the Union is a measurement of the many
elements of which it is composed -- a political union of
diverse states, an economic union of varying interests, an
intellectual union of common convictions and a moral union of
immutable ideals.
Taken in sum, I can report that the State of the Union
is good. There is room for improvement as always, but today we
have a more perfect union than when my stewardship began.
As a people, we discovered that our Bicentennial was
much more than a celebration of the past; it became a joyous
reaffirmation of all that it means to be Americans, a con-
firmation before all the world of the vitality and durability
of our free institutions.
I am proud to have been privileged to preside over
the affairs of our Federal Government during these eventful
years when we proved, as I said in my first words upon assuming
office, that "our Constitution works; our Great Republic is a
Government of laws and not of men; here, the people rule."
The people have spoken; they have chosen a new
President and a new Congress to work their will; I congratulate
you -- particularly the new members -- as sincerely as I did
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Page 2
President-elect Carter. In a few days, it will be his duty
to outline for you his priorities and legislative recommenda-
tions. Tonight, I will not infringe on that responsibility,
but rather wish him the very best in all that is good for our
country.
During the period of my own service in this Capitol
and in the White House I can recall many orderly transitions
of governmental responsibility -- of problems as well as of
position, of burdens as well as of power. The genius of the
American system is that we do this so naturally and so normally;
there are no soldiers marching in the streets except in the
Inaugural Parade; no public demonstrations except for some of
the dancers at the Inaugural Ball; the opposition party doesn't
go underground but goes on functioning vigorously in the
Congress and the country; and our vigilant press goes right on
probing and publishing our faults and follies, confirming the
wisdom of the framers of the first amendment.
Because the transfer of authority in our form of
government affects the state of the union, and of the world,
I am happy to report to you that the current transition is
proceeding very well. I was determined that it should; I
wanted the new President to get off on an easier start than I had.
When I became President on August 9, 1974, our Nation
was deeply divided and tormented. In rapid succession, the
Vice President and the President had resigned in disgrace.
We were still struggling with the after-effects of a long,
unpopular and bloody war in Southeast Asia. The economy was
unstable and racing toward the worst recession in 40 years.
People were losing jobs. The cost of living was soaring. The
Congress and the Chief Executive were at loggerheads. The
integrity of our Constitutional process and other institutions
was being questioned.
For more than 15 years, domestic spending had soared
as Federal programs multiplied and the expense escalated
annually. During the same period, our national security needs
were steadily shortchanged.
In the grave situation which prevailed in August, 1974,
our will to maintain our international leadership was in doubt.
I asked for your prayers, and went to work.
In January 1975, I reported to the Congress that the
state of the union was not good. I proposed urgent action to
improve the economy and to achieve energy independence in ten
years. I reassured America's allies and sought to reduce the
danger of confrontation with potential adversaries. I pledged
a new direction for America.
Nineteen seventy-five was a year of difficult decisions,
but Americans responded with realism, common sense and self-
discipline.
By January 1976, we were headed in a new direction,
which I hold to be the right direction for a free society. It
was guided by the belief that successful problem-solving requires
more than Federal action alone; that it involves a full partner-
ship among all branches and levels of government, and public
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Page 3
policies which nurture and promote the creative energies of
private enterprises, institutions and individual citizens.
A year ago, I reported that the state of the union
was better -- in many ways a lot better -- but still not good
enough.
Common sense told me to stick to the steady course
we were on, to continue to restrain the inflationary growth
of government, to reduce taxes as well as spending, to return
local decisions to local officials, to provide for long-range
sufficiency in energy and national security needs. I resisted
the immense pressures of an election year to open the flood-
gates of Federal money and the temptation to promise more than
I could deliver. I told it as it was to the American people
and demonstrated to the world that, in our spirited political
competition, as in this chamber, Americans can disagree with-
out being disagreeable.
Now, after 30 months as your President I can say
that while we still have a way to go, I am proud of the long
way we have come together.
I am proud of the part I have had in rebuilding
confidence in the Presidency, confidence in our free system
and confidence in our future. Once again, Americans believe
in themselves, in their leaders, and in the promise that
tomorrow holds for their children.
I am proud that today America is at peace. None of
our sons are fighting and dying in battle anywhere in the
world. And the chance for peace among all nations is improved
by our determination to honor our vital commitments in defense
of peace and freedom.
I am proud that the United States has strong defenses,
strong alliances and a sound and courageous foreign policy.
-- Our alliances with major partners, the great
industrial democracies of Western Europe, Japan, and Canada,
have never been more solid. Consultations on mutual security,
defense and East-West relations have grown closer. Collabora-
tion has branched out into new fields, such as energy, economic
policy and relations with the Third World.
We have used many avenues for cooperation, including
summit meetings held among major allied countries. The friend-
ship of the democracies is deeper, warmer and more effective
than at any time in 30 years.
-- We are maintaining stability in the strategic
nuclear balance, and pushing back the spectre of nuclear war.
A decisive step forward was taken in the Vladivostok Accord
which I negotiated with General Secretary Brezhnev -- joint
recognition that an equal ceiling should be placed on the
number of strategic weapons on each side.
With resolve and wisdom on the part of both nations,
a good agreement is well within reach this year.
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Page 4
The framework for peace in the Middle East has
been built. Hopes for future progress in the Middle East were
stirred by the historic agreements we reached and the trust
and confidence that we formed.
-- Thanks to American leadership, the prospects for
peace in the Middle East are brighter than they have been in
three decades. The Arab states and Israel continue to look
to us to lead them from confrontation and war to a new era of
accommodation and peace. We have no alternative but to
persevere -- and I am sure we will. The opportunities for a
final settlement are great, and the price of failure is a
return to the bloodshed and hatred that for too long have
brought tragedy to all of the peoples of this area, and repeat-
edly edged the world to the brink of war.
-- Our relationship with the People's Republic of
China is proving its importance and its durability. We are
finding more and more common ground between our two countries
on basic questions of international affairs.
In my two trips to Asia as President, we have re-
affirmed America's continuing vital interest in the peace and
security of Asia and the Pacific Basin, established a new
partnership with Japan, confirmed our dedication to the
security of Korea, and reinforced our ties with the free nations
of Southeast Asia.
-- An historic dialogue has begun between industrial
nations and the developing nations. Most proposals on the
table are the initiatives of the United States, including those
on food, energy, technology, trade, investment and commodities.
We are well launched on this process of shaping positive and
reliable economic relations between rich nations and poor nations
over the long-term.
-- We have made progress in trade negotiations and
avoided protectionism during recession. We strengthened the
international monetary system. During the past two years the
free world's most important economic powers have already
brought about important changes that serve both developed and
developing economies. The momentum already achieved must be
nurtured and strengthened, for the prosperity of the rich and
poor depends upon it.
-- In Latin America, our relations have taken on a
new maturity and a sense of common enterprise.
-- In Africa, the quest for peace, racial justice
and economic progress is at a crucial point. The United
States, in close cooperation with the United Kingdom, is
actively engaged in this historic process. Will change come
about by warfare and chaos and foreign intervention? Or will
it come about by negotiated and fair solutions, ensuring
majority rule, minority rights and economic advance? America
is committed to the side of peace and justice, and to the
principle that Africa should shape its own future free of
outside intervention.
-- American leadership has helped to stimulate new
international efforts to stem the proliferation of nuclear
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Page 5
weapons and to shape a comprehensive treaty governing the use
of oceans.
I am gratified by these accomplishments. They
constitute a record of broad success for America, and for the
peace and prosperity of all mankind. This Administration
leaves to its successor a world in better condition than we
found. We leave, as well, a solid foundation for progress on
a range of issues that are vital to the well being of America.
What has been achieved in the field of foreign affairs,
and what can be accomplished by the new administration, demon-
strate the genius of Americans working together for the common
good. It is this, our remarkable ability to work together,
that has made us a unique nation. It is Congress, the President,
and the people striving for a better world.
I know all patriotic Americans want this Nation's
foreign policy to succeed.
I urge members of my party in this Congress to give
the new President loyal support in this area.
I express the hope that this new Congress will re-
examine its constitutional role in international affairs.
The exclusive right to declare war, the duty to advise
and consent on the part of the Senate, and the power of the
purse on the part of the House, are ample authority for the
legislative branch and should be jealously guarded.
But because we may have been too careless of these
powers in the past does not justify congressional intrusion
into, or obstruction of, the proper exercise of Presidential
responsibilities now or in the future. There can be only
one Commander-in-Chief. In these times crises cannot be
managed and wars cannot be waged by committee. Nor can peace
be pursued solely by parliamentary debate. To the ears of the
world, the President speaks for the Nation. While he is, of
course, ultimately accountable to the Congress, the courts and
the people, he and his emissaries must not be handicapped in
advance in their relations with foreign governments as has
sometimes happened in the past.
At home, I am encouraged by the Nation's recovery
from the recession and our steady return to sound economic
growth. It is now continuing after the recent period of
uncertainty, which is part of the price we pay for free elections.
Our most pressing need today and the future is more
jobs -- productive, permanent jobs created by a thriving
economy.
We must revise our tax system both to ease the burden
of heavy taxation and to encourage the investment necessary
for the creation of productive jobs for all Americans who want
to work. Earlier this month I proposed a permanent income tax
reduction of ten billion dollars below current levels including
raising the personal exemption from $750 to $1,000. I also
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Page 6
recommended a series of measures to stimulate investment,
such as accelerated depreciation for new plants and equipment
in areas of high unemployment, a reduction in the corporate
tax rate from 48 to 46 percent, and eliminating the present
double taxation of dividends. I strongly urge the Congress
to pass these measures to help create the productive, permanent
jobs in the private economy that are so essential for our
future. All of the basic trends are good; we are not on the
brink of another recession or economic disaster. If we follow
prudent policies that encourage productive investment and
discourage destructive inflation, we will come out on top -- and
I am sure we will.
We have successfully cut inflation by more than half:
when I took office, the Consumer Price Index was rising at
12.2 percent a year. During 1976, the rate of inflation was
five percent.
We have created more jobs; over four million more
jobs today than in the Spring of 1975. Throughout this
Nation today we have over 88 million people in useful, pro-
ductive jobs -- more than at any other time in our Nation's
history. But, there are still too many Americans unemployed.
This is the greatest regret that I have as I leave office.
We brought about with the Congress, after much delay,
the renewal of general revenue sharing. We expanded community
development and Federal manpower programs. We began a
significant urban mass transit program.
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Page 7
Federal programs today provide more funds for our
states and local governments than ever before, $70 billion
for the current fiscal year.
Through these programs and others that provide aid
directly to individuals, we have kept faith with our
tradition of compassionate help for those who need it. As
we begin our third century we can be proud of the progress
that we have made in meeting human needs for all of our
citizens.
We have cut the growth of crime by nearly 90 percent.
Two years ago, crime was increasing at the rate of 18 percent
annually. In the first three quarters of 1976, that growth
rate had been cut to two percent. But crime, and the fear
of crime, remains one of the most serious problems facing
our citizens.
We have had some successes. And there have been some
disappointments.
Bluntly, I must remind you that we have not made
satisfactory progress toward achieving energy independence.
Energy is absolutely vital to the defense of our
country, to the strength of our economy, and to the quality
of our lives. Two years ago I proposed to the Congress the
first comprehensive national energy program:
A specific and coordinated set of measures that would
end our vulnerability to embargo, blockade, or arbitrary
price increases, and would mobilize U. S. technology and
resources to supply a significant share of the free world's
energy after 1985.
Of the major energy proposals I submitted two years
ago, only half belatedly became law. In 1973, we were
dependent upon foreign oil imports for 36 percent of our
needs. Today we are 40 percent dependent, and we'll pay
out 34 billion dollars for foreign oil this year alone. Such
vulnerability at present or in the future is intolerable and
must be ended.
The answer to where we stand on our national energy
effort today reminds me of the old argument about whether
the tank is half full or half empty. The pessimist will say
we have half failed to achieve our ten-year energy goals,
the optimist will say that we have half succeeded. I am
always an optimist, but we must make up for lost time.
We have laid a solid foundation for completing the
enormous task which confronts us. I have signed into law
five major energy bills which contain significant measures
for conservation, resource development, stockpiling and
standby authorities.
We have moved forward to develop the Naval Petroleum
Reserves; to build a five hundred million barrel strategic
petroleum stockpile; to phase-out unnecessary government
allocation and price controls; to develop a lasting relation-
ship with other oil consuming nations; to improve the
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Page 8
efficiency of energy use through conservation in automobiles,
buildings and industry; and to expand research on new
technology and renewable resources, such as wind power,
geothermal and solar energy.
All these actions, significant as they are for the
long term, are only the beginning. I recently submitted to the
Congress my proposals to reorganize the federal energy
structure, and the hard choices which remain if we are serious
about reducing our dependence upon foreign energy.
These include programs to reverse our declining
production of natural gas and increase incentives for domestic
crude oil production. I propose to minimize environmental
uncertainties affecting coal development, expand nuclear
power generation and create an energy independence authority
to provide government financial assistance for vital energy
programs where private capital is not available.
We must explore every reasonable prospect for meeting
our energy needs when our current domestic reserves of oil
and natural gas begin to dwindle in the next decade.
I urgently ask Congress and the new Administration to
move quickly on these issues. This Nation has the resources
and the capability to achieve our energy goals if its government
has the will to proceed, and I think we do.
I have been disappointed by inability to complete
many of the meaningful organizational reforms which I contem-
plated for the Federal Government, although a start has been
made.
For example, the Federal Judicial System has long
served as a model for other courts. But today it is threatened
by a shortage of qualified Federal judges and an explosion
of litigation claiming Federal jurisdiction.
I commend the new Administration and the Congress
for the recent report and recommendations of the Department
of Justice, undertaken at my request, on "the needs of the
Federal Courts." I especially endorse its proposals for a
new commission on the judicial appointment process.
While the Judicial Branch of our Government may
require reinforcement, the budgets and payrolls of the other
branches remain staggering. I cannot help but observe that,
while the White House Staff and the Executive Office of the
President have been reduced and the total number of civilians
in the Executive Branch contained during the 1970's, the
Legislative Branch has increased substantially, although the
membership of the Congress remains at 535. Congress now
costs the taxpayers more than a million dollars per member;
the whole Legislative budget has passed the billion dollar
mark.
I set out to reduce the growth in the size and
spending of the Federal Government, but no President can
accomplish this alone. The Congress sidetracked most of my
requests for authority to consolidate overlapping programs
and agencies, to return more decision-making and responsibility
to State and local governments through block grants instead
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Page 9
of rigid categorical programs and to eliminate unnecessary
red tape and outrageously complex regulations.
We have made some progress in cutting back the
expansion of Government and its intrusion into individual
lives -- but, believe me, there is much more to be done; and
you and I know it. It can only be done by tough and tempor-
arily painful surgery by a Congress as prepared as the
President to face up to this very real political problem.
Again, I wish my successor, working with a substantial
majority of his own party, the best of success in reforming
the costly and cumbersome machinery of the Federal Government.
The task of self-government is never finished. The
problems are great; the opportunities are greater.
America's first goal is and always will be peace
with honor. America must remain first in keeping peace in
the world. We can remain first in peace only if we are never
second in defense.
In presenting the State of the Union to the Congress
and to the American people, I have a special obligation as
Commander-in-Chief to report on our national defense. Our
survival as a free and independent people requires, above
all, strong military forces that are well-equippped and
highly trained to perform their assigned mission.
I am particularly gratified to report that over
the past two and a half years we have been able to reverse
the dangerous decline of the previous decade in real resources
this country was devoting to national defense. This was
an immediate problem I faced in 1974. The evidence was
unmistakable that the Soviet Union had been steadily
increasing the resources it applied to building its military
strength.
During this aame period the United States' real
defense spending declined. In my three budgets, we not
only arrested that dangerous decline, but we have
established the positive trend which is essential to our
ability to contribute to peace and stability in the world.
The Vietnam War, both materially and psychologically,
affected our overall defense posture. The dangerous anti-
military sentiment discouraged defense spending and unfairly
disparaged the men and women who serve in our armed forces.
The challenge that now confronts this country is
whether we have the national will and determination to
continue this essential defense effort over the long term,
as it must be continued. We can no longer afford to
oscillate from year to year in so vital a matter. Indeed,
we have a duty to look beyond the immediate question of
budgets, and to examine the nature of the problem we will
face over the next generation.
I am the first recent President able to address
long-term basic issues without the burden of Vietnam. The
war in Indochina consumed enormous resources, at the very
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time that the overwhelming strategic superiority we once
enjoyed was disappearing. In past years, as a result of
decisions by the United States, our strategic forces levelled
off. Yet, the Soviet Union continued a steady, constant build-
up of its own forces, committing a high percentage of its
national economic effort to defense.
The United States can never tolerate a shift in
strategic balance against us, or even a situation where
the American people or our allies believe the balance is
shifting against us. The United States would risk the most
serious political consequences if the world came to believe
that our adversaries have a decisive margin of superiority.
To maintain a strategic balance we must look ahead
to the 1980's and beyond. The sophistication of modern
weapons requires that we make decisions now if we are to
ensure our security ten years from now.
Therefore I have consistently advocated and
strongly urged that we pursue three critical strategic programs:
the Trident missile launching submarine; the B-1 bomber,
with its superior capability to penetrate modern air defenses;
and a more advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that
will be better able to survive nuclear attack and deliver a
devastating retaliatory strike.
In an era where the strategic nuclear forces are
in rough equilibrium, the risks of conflict below the nuclear
threshold may grow more perilous. A major long-term
objective, therefore, is to maintain capabilities to deal
with, and thereby deter, conventional challenges and crises,
particularly in Europe.
We cannot rely solely on strategic forces to
guarantee our security or to deter all types of aggression.
We must have superior Naval and Marine forces to maintain
freedom of the seas, strong multi-purpose tactical Air
Forces, and mobile, modern ground forces.
Accordingly: I have directed a long-term effort
to improve our worldwide capabilities to deal with regional
crises.
-- I have submitted a five-year Naval building
program indispensable to the Nation's maritime strategy.
-- Because the security of Europe and the integrity
of NATO remain the cornerstone of American defense policy,
I have initiated a special, long-term program to ensure the
capacity of the alliance to deter or defeat aggression
in Europe.
As I leave office, I can report that our national
defense is effectively deterring conflict today. Our
Armed Forces are capable of carrying out the variety of
missions assigned to them. Programs are underway which will
assure we can deter war in the years ahead.
But I also must warn that it will require a
sustained effort over a period of years to maintain these
capabilities. We must have the wisdom, the stamina and the
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courage to prepare today for the perils of tomorrow, and
I believe we will.
As I look to the future -- and I assure you I
intend to go on doing that for a good many years -- I can
say with confidence that the State of the Union is good,
but we must go on making it better and better.
This gathering symbolizes the Constitutional
foundation which makes continued progress possible,
synchronizing the skills of three independent branches
of government, reserving fundamental sovereignty to the
people of this great land.
It is only as the temporary representatives and
servants of the people that we meet here -- we bring no
hereditary status or gift of infallibility and none
follows us from this place. Like President Washington,
like the more fortunate of his successors, I look forward
to the status of private citizen with gladness and
gratitude. To me, being a citizen of the United States
of America is the greatest honor and privilege in this
world.
From the opportunities which fate and my fellow
citizens have given me, as a member of the House, as Vice
President and President of the Senate, and as President of
all the people, I have come to understand and place the
highest value on the checks and balances which our
founders imposed on government through the separation of
powers, among co-equal Legislative, Executive and Judicial
Branches.
This often results in difficulty and delay, as
I well know, but it also places supreme authority under
God, beyond any one person, any one branch, any majority
great or small, or any one party. The Constitution is the
bedrock of all our freedoms; guard and cherish it; keep
honor and order in your own house; and the Republic will
endure.
It is not easy to end these remarks; in this
chamber, along with some of you, I have experienced many,
many of the highlights of my life. It was here that I stood
28 years ago with my freshman colleagues as Speaker Sam
Rayburn administered the oath -- I see some of you now:
Charlie Bennett, Dick Bolling, Carl Perkins, Pete Rodino,
Harley Staggers, Tom Steed, Sid Yates. and Clem Zablocki,
and I remember those who have gone to their rest.
It was here we waged many, many a lively battle,
won some, lost some, but always remaining friends. It was
here, surrounded by such friends, that the distinguished
Chief Justice swore me in as Vice President on December 6,
1973. It was here I returned eight months later as your
President to ask not for a honeymoon, but for a good
marriage.
I will always treasure those memories and
your many, many kindnesses. I thank you for them all.
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My fellow Americans, I once asked you for your
prayers, and now I give you mine: May God guide this wonder-
ful country, its people, and those they have chosen to lead
them. May our third century be illuminated by liberty and
blessed with brotherhood, so that we and all who come after
us may be the humble servants of thy peace. Amen.
Good night and God bless you.
END
AT 9:50 P.M. EST