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White House - Congressional Leadership Meeting, 1/25/71
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1551013
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White House - Congressional Leadership Meeting, 1/25/71
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Robert T. Hartmann Papers
House of Representatives Subject Files
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Legislative liaison
Revenue sharing
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These documents were scanned from Box 107 of the Robert T. Hartmann Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 25, 1971
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE
PRESS CONFERENCE
OF
FORD a GERALD LIBRARY
SENATOR HUGH SCOTT
AND
CONGRESSMAN GERALD R. FORD
THE BRIEFING ROOM
10:20 A.M. EST
MR. ZIEGLER: The meeting this morning, which lasted
from 8 o'clock until 10 o'clock, was the first meeting of
the Republican Leadership in the 92nd Congress.
As you know, the President held a bipartisan
leadership meeting on Saturday. But this was the first
Republican Leadership meeting to be held in this session.
Senator Scott and Congressman Ford are here to give
you a rundown on that meeting.
Senator Scott.
SENATOR SCOTT: The President this morning, in
summarizing the goals, the six important goals in his State
of the Union Message, expressed the hope and desire that this
Congress would give a hearing and a vote on all of these
matters. And the President, the Vice President, Cabinet
Officers, and various Republican Members of Congress will,
or course, be explaining this program in many places in many
parts of the country in speeches during the forthcoming
months.
It is important, it seems to me, that all of these
goals be supported in a bipartisan sense by the Congress.
This is bold and daring and this is a new American
revolution in its concept. It has struck a very favorable
note in my opinion in the press and I hope that as the program
is more fully explained and details developed in numerous
meetings to be held here in the White House, for example,
that public opinion will rally to this chance for a new order
of things in Government.
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I would simply supplement what
Senator Scott has said by saying that the President considers
the total package of six proposals all equally important.
And he believes, and I certainly subscribe and I think there
is unanimity among the Leadership, that the Congress this year
and next year has a great opportunity for the title of an
action Congress, action in welfare, in full employment,
budgetary action, in health, in environment, in reorganization,
and in revenue-sharing.
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- 2 -
These are basic improvements in the overall picture,
both structurally as well as substantively, and the Congress
can and I hope will be known as an action Congress in
1971 and 1972. And this is the whole thrust of the proposed
visits of the President around the country, the Vice
President in various areas of the country, and the efforts
R.
that will be made by those of us in the Leadership in
selling this program to the American people.
GERALD
FORD
LIBRARY
Q
Could you tell us any more details about the
President's plans to sell this to the people?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: There was no discussion of where
he would go or how many visits he would make around the
country, but, as you may have noticed in the morning paper
here in Washington today, the Vice President in conjunction
with one organization of local government is going to make
at least four appearances specifically. I think this is
an indication of the attitude of the President and the Vice
President to sell the program to the American people.
SENATOR SCOTT: And, as you know, there are meetings
at 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock today with bipartisan leadership of
the House and Senate. There are meetings set regularly now
with the Chairmen and ranking members of the Committees.
There will be a great deal of elucidation to the pecple's
representatives in the first instance so that the program
will be pretty well understood by the time the specific
legislation comes up in the near future.
Q
What will be the first message and what do you
mean the meetings are set regularly? You mean Committee
Chairmen are going to meet with the President every week?
SENATOR SCOTT: I don't believe there is a formal
arrangement of that kind, but they are beginning with
meetings promptly, this very week, as you know.
And the President's message tomorrow will, I believe,
be something of a wrap-up of uncompleted legislation -- isn't
that Right, Ron? -- from the 91st Congress. This is what
I called the "wish.list" last time, and I think this time
the action list.
Q
Then you won't have to resubmit the Welfare
Reform?
SENATOR SCOTT: My understanding is that that is
pending. It will be H. R. 1, introduced by Representative
Byrnes.
CONGRESSMAN FORD: It has been introduced, I under-
stand, by both Chairman Mills and by Representative Byrnes.
It was given the designation of H. R. 1. I am told hearings
will be held, those that are necessary, in the House Ways
and Means Committee at a very early date as soon as the
House Committee or Committees are established.
2
Is that tied to the Social Security?
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- 3 -
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I can't tell you off-hand
whether the two are included in H. R. 1, but my general
R.
GERALD
FORD
impression is that it is put together in that particular
bill.
Q
Is that good or bad?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I think it is good.
Q Mr. Ford, there is real skepticism, apparently,
among some powerful members of Congress particularly about
the revenue-sharing and the Government reorganization proposals
of the President. How do you see the outcome?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I am optimistic about this
Congress acting affirmatively on both revenue-sharing and
the Governmental reorganization. There is a great ground
swell throughout the country with local officials and State
officials for action on revenue-sharing. I think this will
be effective in getting the Congress not only to hold early
hearings but I hope affirmative action.
Of course, the reorganization program will take
a little longer, but obviously we cannot go on in the
future with a governmental structure that has not necessarily
done a good job in the past. And I believe that the
proposed reorganization will strike a responsive cord with
the American people and this Congress, I think in the final
analysis, will act affirmatively.
Q
Senator Scott, what do you think are the
realistic prospects for those two proposals?
SENATOR SCOTT: I share Jerry's feeling that during
the course of this 92nd Congress that action should be had
and I think there is a very good chance that it will be had.
It is natural at the beginning that there are many points of
view heard, as you referred to skepticism. In my opinion,
the President is entitled to hearings and the country, the
people, are entitled to hearings and are entitled to decisive
votes on all of these matters. And I believe it will be
the bipartisan position of the Congress to provide that;
and if it is provided, there is a strong pulse within the
nation for the achievement of these better things.
Q
Congressman Ford, the key Committee on
revenue-sharing, I assume, is going to be Mr. Mills' Committee,
which the ranking Republican is Mr. Byrnes. Both of these
men have indicated they are opposed to revenue-sharing. How
are you going to get it out of Committee?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: As I understand it, President
Nixon is meeting both with Chairman Mills and with Congressman
Byrnes this morning to discuss with them the need and some of
the details of the program.
I am confident that that Committee, which is a
very responsible Committee in the House, will hold hearings
on revenue-sharing. And when the case is made before that
Committee and with the ground swell of public opinion back
of it, I have great optimism that revenue-sharing will
come out of the Committee on Ways and Means and will pass the
House of Representatives.
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- 4 -
Q
After this "wish list" message, which is
coming down in a day or two, what is the schedule then -- as
you referred to it, the action list or whatever you want to
call it?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I believe that the next one is
revenue-sharing. The ones that will follow after that,
and I can't give you the precise dates, will be health,
environment; of course, the budget which is the full employment,
non-inflationary budget proposal, will come up on Friday.
So that is five of the six on the basis that Welfare
Reform is already before the Congress. So the only one
R.
that is not coming immediately, but is coming shortly, is
GERALD
FORD
the one on reorganization of the Government.
LIBHARY
Q April?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: We hope it will be earlier and
the pressure is to get it up earlier, and I trust that it can
be before the Congress prior to that time.
Q
Congressman Ford, in what form will the bill
come out of House Ways and Means Committee on revenue-sharing?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I think it will come out in the
final analysis much like the one that will be submitted.
But I think that will be determined on the basis of the
presentation by the Administration, the views of the Governors,
and the views of the local officials. But the basic
thrust of the President's program will be contained in the
version that will come before the House.
Q
In the list tomorrow, will it be all the
bills that were not acted on the last time?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: As I understand it, it will be
a good portion or at least the major ones that were not
acted affirmatively on by the Congress in the last session.
Q
But would it not include revenue-sharing
and Welfare Reform?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: No, they will be separated
because they are a part of the President's new legislative
package for 1971 and 1972.
I How extensively will the President travel
and do you know when he will start?
MR. ZIEGLER: There has been no final determination
as to what extent the President will travel. I think the
point that the President was making this morning and the
point the Leaders are making is that it is important for
the Congress, who has to act on this new program, to have
complete and full details and that is why the briefings are
taking place throughout this week and will continue.
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- 5 -
It is also extremely important that the American
people understand the scope of these proposals, and that is why
the President will hold, as Congressman Ford referred to, a
series of regional briefings in the coming months. We have
not determined the dates or where those briefings will be held.
But they will be somewhat similar to the sessions
which the President has held from time to time to discuss
foreign policy with the various news media executives and
personnel in various parts of the country.
As soon as these details are firm, we will give
them to you.
MORE
FORD R. GERALD LIBRARY
- 6 -
Q
When will the Vice President start his meetings
with the public on SST?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I haven't seen any public
announcement of that. I did see the announcement in the paper
this morning of the regional meetings that are aimed at working with
local officials on the revenue-sharing program. But I have not
seen the schedule on the SST.
Q
What are these meetings throughout the week
that you keep referring to?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: There is a meeting this afternoon
with the bipartisan leadership on the program ---
/ GERALD FORD
Q
You mean a Presidential meeting?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: It is with George Shultz and with the
others who have specific jurisdiction over the programs that were
in the six-package program of the President, starting, I think
it is tomorrow or Wednesday. There will be breakfasts with
Republican members of the House of Representatives and, as I
understand it, there will be other meetings with a bipartisan
group, committee chairmen and ranking Republicans over the next
week or ten days.
Q
Are these with the President or with somebody else?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: Some will be with the President and
some will just be with George Shultz and the others who have specific
responsibility for the implementation of the program.
Q
Will the one this afternoon be with the President?
CONGRESMAN FORD: The one this afternoon, I believe,
is at 2 o'clock with the Senators and at 4 o'clock with the
House Leadership.
Q
Mr. Ford or Senator Scott, I believe some of
the questioning in Congress about revenue sharing is as to whether
the other levels of government can really spend the money wisely and
also the fact that the Federal Government needs some money.
How do you answer such questions?
SENATOR SCOTT: Everybody needs the money. That
is the first answer. The second answer, the Federal Government
has the broader tax base, that States and municipalities are
right up against situations, up against the wall, in fact, fiscally.
And there will be some general revenue sharing and then there
will be a series of specific proposals in addition to that and
these will be designed to provide a somewhat more equitable
distribution of the revenue than the present unequal tax base
permits.
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I believe if you look at the budget
that will come up on Friday, you will see that under the full
employment budget, the Federal Government can sustain the $5
billion proposed for Fiscal '72 in revenue sharing, and $10
billion in the broader area of funds for States and local
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- 7 -
communities aside from revenue sharing, plus the $1 billion with
some readjustments in categorical grants.
The Federal Government in Fiscal '72 can sustain that
financial burden to a better degree than State and local
governments in the comparable period of time.
Q
If there are no strings attached to this
$5 billion revenuersharing money the President is recommending,
do you think that the States and the counties and the
cities can be counted upon as spending it wisely?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I am absolutely confident that the
locally-elected officials or the State-elected officials can
use that $5 billion in a proper assessment of their priorities.
I think their judgment on these matters is infinitely
better than some of the decisions that are made by the bureaucracy
in Washington.
And, if over a period of time these local officials
and State officials don't use that money wisely, the people at
those levels will make changes in their various officials.
SENATOR SCOTT: The President made that point very
strongly in the State of the Union Message. It is also a
Republican promise being kept. It was in the '68 platform
FORD R. GERALD LIBRARY
and in the modified form with reference to block grants, I
believe, in the '64 platform.
Q
Is this program of general revenue sharing, this
$5 billion, conceived of as a permanent program or is this a
temporary program in this year when we need an expansionary
budget?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: In my judgment, from listening to
the presentation, it is a permanent program that will grow as
our nation grows and as the tax revenues from our progressive
income tax makes more money available.
I have forgotten exactly the figure. But by 1980, I
think it would grow to approximately $10 billion a year on the
basis of the anticipated Federal revenues and the anticipated share
that would be returned to the States and local governments.
Q
Mr. Ford, is this about the first time we have
had the President and the House leaders going back to the
people to present the programs in Congress?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: This may be a new way of doing it,
but I think the leadership in the House and the Senate over
a period of years have gone out and sought to sell the President's
programs.
His approach may be broader and more active, but I
think the need is fully justifying the expanded effort.
Q
Did he indicate to you that this would be just the
press or would it be sort of like town meetings on a regional
basis or what?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: We didn't get into that detail.
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- 8 -
Q
What time is the President seeing Representative
Mills?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: I believe that the President is
meeting with Mr. Mills and Mr. Byrnes at the present time.
Q
Did the President, Mr. Ford, confirm the budget
figure of $229.2 billion?
CONGRESSMAN FORD: There was no discussion of that
figure.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END
(AT 10:37 A.M. EST)
LIBRARY GERALD P. FORD