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Kiwanis Club, East Grapids Rapids, MI, September 3, 1970
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4526311
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Kiwanis Club, East Grapids Rapids, MI, September 3, 1970
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The original documents are located in Box D30, folder "Kiwanis Club, East Grapids
Rapids, MI, September 3, 1970" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and
Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
all Fifth District News media Only
Office Copy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON--
Thursday, September 3, 1970
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the East Grand Rapids Kiwanis Clt
The whole direction of our national policy has been turned around. In spite
of critics and prophets of doom and the peace-at-any-price people, we are making
great progress on the two major problems confronting us Vietnam and inflation.
Although many difficulties lie ahead, we are getting out of Vietnam and the
pace of inflation has been slowed. Ironically, the same kind of people who got us
deeply involved in Vietnam and set us on the road to runaway inflation are now
advising extreme solutions to extricate us from those troubles.
These people are extremists--recognized for what their actions demonstrate.
They supported President Lyndon Johnson when he escalated the Vietnam War. Now they
want to cut and run, making a mockery of our sacrifices in Vietnam. They supported
Lyndon Johnson's policy of guns and butter, which touched off and fed our inflationary
spiral. Now they want to put Americans into the costly bureaucratic straitjacket of
wage and price controls.
Steady as she goes is more than just a seaman's call. It can be, and should
be, a trait of government. And this is the kind of national government we have
now--a government which is hewing firmly to sound policies. These policies, let it
be emphasized, are taking us out of Vietnam on a sound basis and dampening down
the fires of inflation.
At the same time, the Nation must deal with still another great problem--the
need for basic reform in our national government, the need to restore faith in
government by making government effective through reform.
The opposition party long has worn the mantle of reform but currently they
are resisting it, apparently because the White House is held by the Republican Party.
Yet we are achieving reform--achieving it in spite of the heel-draggers.
Reform isn't easy; opponents of any change in the status quo are always
vigorous and loud, especially in defense of policies which they have advocated for
years but which simply haven't worked. Yet progress is being made. I have personally
been involved with the two major reforms of the 91st Congress--postal reform, which
has already been enacted, and welfare reform, which has passed the House. I also
expect that broad changes in Social Security, including my proposal for automatic
cost-of-living benefit increases, will be enacted this year.
While the job of reforming government programs and institutions has only
(more)
Digitized from Box D30 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
begun, we are on the way toward making government more effective.
Unfortunately, the Democratic-controlled Congress has refused to move on a
key element in making government work better at all levels. This is what is called
revenue sharing, a program I and others advocate to return a percentage slice of
Federal income tax revenue to the States and local units of government to use on their
problems as they see fit. This plan would work something like the sales tax rebate
in Michigan except that it would be far more flexible nad have greater impact.
Congress itself, as an institution, cannot stand still either. It must
adapt its procedures to the needs of 20th Century America, to the new complexities
of the legislative role and to new technologies. I have long sought legislative
reform, and this effort now is bearing fruit. The House has been considering a
legislative reorganization bill after a long delay, and it may be that this session
will see the adoption of the first congressional reforms since 1946. If it doesn't
happen, it won't be the fault of House Republicans.
Much will remain to be done to fully modernize Congress. Congress, for
example, has not developed a workable mechanism for controlling the overall amount
of government spending. This is why we find the Democratic-controlled Congress
imposing a $205 billion spending limitation on the President and then proceeding to
bust his budget.
This also has given rise to the great myth that America is spending most of
its money on the military while neglecting social programs.
As a matter of fact, fiscal 1971 expenditures for health, education and
welfare, retirement and related programs will exceed $83 billion while defense is
moving down to only $71.2 billion.
The education budget includes $3 billion for elementary and secondary schools,
$1.5 billion for higher education, $1.2 billion for vocational, science and other
special education programs, and $2.7 billion for manpower training. The health
programs in the Federal budget add up to $14.9 billion.
Public assistance funds in the Federal budget total $5.4 billion. Food and
nutrition will cost $1.5 billion and welfare services another $1.5 billion. This
adds up to more than $32 billion for direct health, education and welfare expenditures
To that sum you can add $41.8 billion in Social Security, Civil Service and military
retirement payments, and $8.5 billion in benefits and pensions for our veterans.
Housing programs, many of them welfare-related, add another $4.3 billion to the total
The Nixon Administration has trimmed defense spending by $12 billion. For the
first time in 20 years, spending for human resources will exceed defense spending.
# # #
Distribution
all
I yth
District
news
media
8/31/70
my/Mofice
Copy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON--
Thursday, September 3, 1970
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the East Grand Rapids Kiwanis Clt
The whole direction of our national policy has been turned around. In spite
of critics and prophets of doom and the peace-at-any-price people, we are making
great progress on the two major problems confronting us Vietnam and inflation.
Although many difficulties lie ahead, we are getting out of Vietnam and the
pace of inflation has been slowed. Ironically, the same kind of people who got us
deeply involved in Vietnam and set us on the road to runaway inflation are now
advising extreme solutions to extricate us from those troubles.
These people are extremists--recognized for what their actions demonstrate.
They supported President Lyndon Johnson when he escalated the Vietnam War. Now they
want to cut and run, making a mockery of our sacrifices in Vietnam. They supported
Lyndon Johnson's policy of guns and butter, which touched off and fed our inflationary
spiral. Now they want to put Americans into the costly bureaucratic straitjacket of
wage and price controls.
Steady as she goes is more than just a seaman's call. It can be, and should
be, a trait of government. And this is the kind of national government we have
now--a government which is hewing firmly to sound policies. These policies, let it
be emphasized, are taking us out of Vietnam on a sound basis and dampening down
the fires of inflation.
At the same time, the Nation must deal with still another great problem--the
need for basic reform in our national government, the need to restore faith in
government by making government effective through reform.
The opposition party long has worn the mantle of reform but currently they
are resisting it, apparently because the White House is held by the Republican Party.
Yet we are achieving reform--achieving it in spite of the heel-draggers.
Reform isn't easy; opponents of any change in the status quo are always
vigorous and loud, especially in defense of policies which they have advocated for
years but which simply haven't worked. Yet progress is being made. I have personally
been involved with the two major reforms of the 91st Congress--postal reform, which
has already been enacted, and welfare reform, which has passed the House. I also
expect that broad changes in Social Security, including my proposal for automatic
cost-of-living benefit increases, will be enacted this year.
While the job of reforming government programs and institutions has only
GERALD
(more)
begun, we are on the way toward making government more effective.
Unfortunately, the Democratic-controlled Congress has refused to move on a
key element in making government work better at all levels. This is what is called
revenue sharing, a program I and others advocate to return a percentage slice of
Federal income tax revenue to the States and local units of government to use on their
problems as they see fit. This plan would work something like the sales tax rebate
in Michigan except that it would be far more flexible nad have greater impact.
Congress itself, as an institution, cannot stand still either. It must
adapt its procedures to the needs of 20th Century America, to the new complexities
of the legislative role and to new technologies. I have long sought legislative
reform, and this effort now is bearing fruit. The House has been considering a
legislative reorganization bill after a long delay, and it may be that this session
will see the adoption of the first congressional reforms since 1946. If it doesn't
happen, it won't be the fault of House Republicans.
Much will remain to be done to fully modernize Congress. Congress, for
example, has not developed a workable mechanism for controlling the overall amount
of government spending. This is why we find the Democratic-controlled Congress
imposing a $205 billion spending limitation on the President and then proceeding to
bust his budget.
This also has given rise to the great myth that America is spending most of
its money on the military while neglecting social programs.
As a matter of fact, fiscal 1971 expenditures for health, education and
welfare, retirement and related programs will exceed $83 billion while defense is
moving down to only $71.2 billion.
The education budget includes $3 billion for elementary and secondary schools,
$1.5 billion for higher education, $1.2 billion for vocational, science and other
special education programs, and $2.7 billion for manpower training. The health
programs in the Federal budget add up to $14.9 billion.
Public assistance funds in the Federal budget total $5.4 billion. Food and
nutrition will cost $1.5 billion and welfare services another $1.5 billion. This
adds up to more than $32 billion for direct health, education and welfare expenditures
To that sum you can add $41.8 billion in Social Security, Civil Service and military
retirement payments, and $8.5 billion in benefits and pensions for our veterans.
Housing programs, many of them welfare-related, add another $4.3 billion to the total.
The Nixon Administration has trimmed defense spending by $12 billion. For the
first time in 20 years, spending for human resources will exceed defense spending.
# # #