Images (20)
Document
| id |
id
567827705
|
|---|---|
| contentType |
contentType
document
|
| source |
source
import
|
Source image fields (6)
Extracted text
OCR Page 1 of 20NOT FOR GENERAL RELEASE
JANUARY 5, 1973
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE
REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT
AT A RECEPTION FOR
NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS
THE EAST ROOM
6:07 P.M. EST
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice,
all of the Members of the Leadership and all the new Members
of the Congress:
We are very happy to welcome you here this first
week of the Congress, and particularly so because we recall --
my wife and I -- the time that we were first in this house 26
years ago.
I see some of the ladies have long gowns on tonight,
and that allows me to tell a little story about our first visit.
It was the 80th Congress. There were a lot of new Members.
President Truman, of course, was President, and on that occasion
a reception was given for all the new Members, as well as some
of the leaders, as is being given tonight.
We didn't know whether to go or not, because the
reception was black tie and long gowns, and that required the
purchase of a long gown at that point. Congressmen at that
time received the paltry salary of $12,500 a year, which wasn't
a great deal. But we made the decision to buy it.
As my wife said on that occasion, "Look, I am going
to buy the gown because this may be the only time we get in
this White House."
In talking to the Speaker at breakfast this morning,
I found that he is having the usual problems that the Speaker
in the leadership has in finding the choice committee assign-
ments that everybody likes to have when he comes as a new Member
of the House, and I am sure that Mike Mansfield has had some
of the same problems with the new Members of the Senate, and that
allows me to tell you a second story, and we will go on to the
balance of the reception.
I remember when I came to the Congress I was 33 years
of age, a lawyer, and they asked for my committee preference.
I requested the Judiciary Committee first, the Interstate and
Foreign Commerce Committee second, and that was all. So I
got Labor.
There was another freshman Congressman on that occa-
sion from Massachusetts. He was 30 years of age and he re-
quested the Foreign Affairs Committee first, he told me later.
I think his second choice was also Interstate and Foreign Com-
merce. He got Labor also.
MORE
Relations
belongs_to