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Alfred University, Alfred, NY, April 24, 1972
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Alfred University, Alfred, NY, April 24, 1972
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
Speeches
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Government reorganization
Health
Inflation (Finance)
International relations
Revenue sharing
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Welfare
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The original documents are located in Box D32, folder "Alfred University, Alfred, NY,
April 24, 1972" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
Digitized from Box D32 of The Ford Congressional Papers:
Since Press Bonth Secretary
Viet Nam can not
defend itself and
Vietmam ization
airaid while decreasing
equals increasing
ground aid how
much closer to place
are we SINDCE Nixon
tooh office? Perhaps
the U.S. should
change its blanket
and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
anti Communistic
attitude IN SE Asia,
Comment?
-
FORD 2 LIBRARY OFFICE
ALFRED UNIVERSITY. ALFRED, N.Y., 8.15 P.
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1972.
some
Whare withing we had
In the part W+ hope you
IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE
win whe
TONIGHT. IN THIS ATMOSPHERE, I FEEL LIKE wh into
A STATESMAN AND NOT A POLITICIAN.
standard
BUT ACTUALLY A MAN MUST BE A
GOOD POLITICIAN IF HE IS GOING TO BE A
STATESMAN, AND THAT IS THE BASIC THRUST
OF WHAT I AM GOING TO TALK ABOUT TONIGHT.
MY SUBJECT IS NEW DIRECTIONS
FOR THE SEVENTIES -- CHALLENGES FACING
THE POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE NATION IN
THE 1970'S. THE CHALLENGES THAT FACE
THE NATION ARE INDEED THE CHALLENGES
FACING THE POLITICAL PARTIES. THE
POLITICAL PARTY THAT IS MOST SUCCESSFUL
DURING THE SEVENTIES WILL BE THE PARTY
GERALO FORD LIBRARY
-2-
THAT BEST MEETS THE CHALLENGES OF OUR
TIMES AND SELLS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ON
ITS STEWARDSHIP.
IN A POLITICAL SENSE, THERE IS
ONE PROBLEM THAT CURRENTLY UNDERLIES ALL
OF THE OTHERS. THAT PROBLEM IS MAKING
GOVERNMENT SUFFICIENTLY RESPONSIVE TO
THE PEOPLE. IF WE DON'T MAKE GOVERNMENT
RESPONSIVE TO THE PEOPLE, WE DON'T MAKE
IT BELIEVABLE. AND WE MUST MAKE
GOVERNMENT BELIEVABLE IF WE ARE TO HAVE
A FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACY
WE HAVE ALL SEEN MANY AMERICANS
BECOME INCREASINGLY SKEPTICAL OF OUR
POLITICAL SYSTEM -- AND I SPEAK NOW NOT
ONLY OF THE YOUNG BUT OF COUNTLESS OLDER
AMERICANS. THEY QUESTION WHETHER IT
MATTERS IF THEY DO NOT GO TO THE POLLS.
-3-
AND THIS KIND OF QUESTIONING THREATENS
OUR DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM.
THERE IS AN ANSWER TO THIS
QUESTIONING -- AND THAT ANSWER IS TO MAKE
GOVERNMENT WORK IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE
CAN SEE AND FEEL
THE OTHER PARTY MAY COME FORWARD
WITH ITS OWN IDEAS BUT I PERSONALLY FEEL
THE BEST CURES FOR POPULAR LETHARGY AND
VOTER APATHY LIE IN RETURNING POWER TO
THE PEOPLE AND RESTRUCTURING THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
I AM TALKING SPECIFICALLY
ABOUT NO-STRINGS SHARING OF FEDERAL
REVENUE WITH STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
AND ABOUT AN OVERHAUL OF FEDERAL CABINET
DEPARTMENTS.
THIS IS NOT VERY SEXY STUFF,
BUT IT'S WHAT IS NEEDED TO CLOSE THE GAP
-4-
BETWEEN PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE IN THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND THE
PEOPLE.
FEDERAL REVENUE SHARING IS A
CONTINUING FINANCIAL TRANSFUSION THAT
CAN SAVE OUR FEDERAL SYSTEM AND BRING
NEW STRENGTH TO GOVERNMENT AT THE
GRASSROOTS LEVEL.
MONEY IS POWER, AND THE
IDEA IS TO PUT MORE OF THE MONEY WHERE MORE
OF THE POWER OUGHT TO BE -- AT THE LOCAL
LEVEL THE IDEA IS TO PUT THE MONEY WHERE
THE PROBLEMS ARE, AND IN THAT WAY TO
SOLVE THEM.
IF WE CAN SOLVE PROBLEMS INSTEAD
OF JUST TALKING ABOUT THEM, PEOPLE WILL
BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT.
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
THIS IS WHY WE NEED A
REORGANIZATION OF THE VERY FRAMEWORK OF
-5-
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT -- TO MAKE IT
BETTER ABLE TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEMS OF
OUR PEOPLE. UNDER THE PLAN I HAVE IN
MIND, SIX OF THE PRESENT 11 CABINET
DEPARTMENTS WOULD BE CONSOLIDATED INTO
FOUR NEW DEPARTMENTS: HUMAN RESOURCES,
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES,
AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS. HEARINGS HAVE BEEN
CONDUCTED IN THE CONGRESS, AND IT IS
SAFE TO PREDICT THAT AT LEAST THE NEW
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT WILL SEE
THE LIGHT OF DAY THIS YEAR.
I SAID EARLIER THAT THE ONLY
WAY TO MAKE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BELIEVERS
IN THEIR GOVERNMENT IS TO LICK OUR
PROBLEMS. SURELY ONE OF THE BIGGEST
PROBLEMS OF ALL IS THE PRESENT WELFARE
SYSTEM, WHICH IS LIKE POURING MONEY
GERALD
THROUGH A SIEVE.
-6-
WE MUST REFORM OUR ANTIQUATED
AND DEMEANING WELFARE SYSTEM. THE
PRESENT SYSTEM IS A SCANDAL. IT JUST
ISN'T WORKING. NOBODY IS FOR A SYSTEM
THAT MAKES IT MORE ATTRACTIVE TO BE ON
WELFARE THAN TO WORK.
THE ANSWER, I THINK, IS THE
ADMINISTRATION'S NEW FAMILY ASSISTANCE
PLAN -- A PLAN TIED TO THE WORK ETHIC,
A PLAN THAT ENCOURAGES FAMILIES TO STAY
TOGETHER, A PLAN THAT WOULD PUT A FLOOR
UNDER THE INCOME OF EVERY FAMILY IN
AMERICA. IT IS THE KEY TO TAKING PEOPLE
OFF WELFARE ROLLS AND PUTTING THEM ON
PAYROLLS. IT IS THE MEANS TO A LIFE OF
DIGNITY FOR LOW-INCOME AMERICANS.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MOVING
PEOPLE FROM WELFARE ROLLS TO PAYROLLS,
-7-
IT IS ONLY NATURAL WE SHOULD SPEAK ALSO
OF WHAT I CALL "THE NEW PROSPERITY" --
PROSPERITY IN PEACETIME.
SELDOM IN THE HISTORY OF THE
UNITED STATES HAVE WE HAD PEACE AND
PROSPERITY AT THE SAME TIME. PROSPERITY
HAS USUALLY COME WITH A WARTIME ECONOMY,
A BOOMING DEFENSE INDUSTRY. WE ARE NOW
TRYING TO ACHIEVE PROSPERITY AT THE SAME
TIME THAT WE END OUR INVOLVEMENT IN A
COSTLY AND TRAGIC WAR.
WHAT ARE WE DEALING WITH? WE
ARE SEEKING TO BRING UNDER CONTROL AN
INFLATION THAT ROARED AHEAD ALMOST
UNCHECKED BETWEEN 1965 AND 1969. WE ARE
SEEKING TO STIMULATE AN ECONOMY THAT HAS
BEEN THROTTLED BACK AS WE HAVE FOUGHT
FORD
INFLATION, HAVE PARTIALLY SHUT DOWN OUR
LIBRARY
-8-
DEFENSE INDUSTRIES AND HAVE CUT OUR
FIGHTING FORCES BY A MILLION MEN.
THE CHALLENGE THAT FACES THE
TWO MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE
SEVENTIES IS WHETHER WE MAKE
INFLATION-FIGHTING WORK WHILE AT THE
SAME TIME STIMULATING THE ECONOMY TO
BRING ABOUT PEACETIME PROSPERITY.
WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS TOWARD
PRICE STABILITY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
DESPITE POLITICAL IN-FIGHTING AND THE
NATURAL RELUCTANCE OF SOME AMERICANS TO
SEE A PRESIDENT OF THE OPPOSITE POLITICAL
PERSUASION SUCCEED IN MEETING ONE OF THE
BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF OUR TIMES.
I THINK PHASE 2 OF OUR
INFLATION FIGHT IS WORKING. IT HAS A
FORD LIBRARY
LOT GOING FOR IT, DESPITE OBSTRUCTIONISM
-9-
ON THE PART OF ORGANIZED LABOR. AT THE
SAME TIME, WE HAVE THE STIMULUS OF THE
TAX CUTS REQUESTED BY PRESIDENT NIXON AND
ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS. THIS SHOULD
ULTIMATELY MEAN THE CREATION OF THOUSANDS
OF NEW JOBS.
CERTAINLY ONE OF OUR KEY
PROBLEMS -- AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF
BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES -- IS THE
RESTORATION OF OUR ENVIRONMENT. WE HAVE
ALREADY TAKEN GIANT STEPS TOWARD CLEANER
AIR THROUGH PASSAGE OF THE CLEAN AIR
AMENDMENTS OF 1970. NOW WE MUST FOCUS
ON THE NEED TO CLEAN UP THE NATION'S
WATERWAYS. WE MUST TAKE EVERY FEASIBLE
ACTION NECESSARY TO MAKE OUR LAKES AND
STREAMS CLEAN AGAIN. IN SUM, WE MUST
ENTER UPON A NEW "GET TOUGH" ERA IN THE
-10-
EFFORT TO RESTORE CLEAN AIR, CLEAN WATER
AND OPEN SPACES -- SO THAT THESE ELEMENTS
WILL, AS THE PRESIDENT PUTS IT, "ONCE
AGAIN BE THE BIRTHRIGHT OF EVERY
AMERICAN."
THERE ARE OF COURSE, MANY
OTHER URBAN ILLS -- CRIME, POVERTY,
UNEMPLOYMENT INADEQUATE HOUSING AND
TRANSPORTATION. THESE MUST BE ATTACKED
ON A REGIONAL BASIS, RATHER THAN IN
PIECEMEAL FRAGMENTED FASHION.
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN WORK
TOGETHER AS ONE IN ATTACKING CRIME,
IMPROVING TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING,
FINDING JOBS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED THROUGH
METROPOLITAN AREA JOB CENTERS.
NEW ATTITUDES ARE ALSO NECESSARY
AT OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.
-11-
STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS
MUST COME TO REALIZE THAT THE PROBLEMS
OF THE CITY GO FAR BEYOND SPECIFIC SLUM
AREAS AND SOCIAL ILLS. CITY METROPOLITAN
AREA GOVERNMENTS MUST BE GIVEN THE
RESOURCES -- MONEY AND AUTHORITY -- TO
SOLVE THE LARGER PROBLEMS OF THE WHOLE
COMMUNITY.
FEDERAL REVENUE SHARING IS
THE KEY TO SUCH LOCAL PROBLEM-SOLVING.
AND THERE MUST BE A CUTTING OF CONTROLS
FROM WASHINGTON AND STATE CAPITOLS IF
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE TO HAVE THE
FLEXIBILITY TO GET THE JOB DONE.
THERE IS STILL ANOTHER KEY
PROBLEM WHERE INITIATIVE MUST BE TAKEN
AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. THAT IS THE
PROBLEM OF HEALTH CARE. PROGRESS IS
GERALD R. LIBRARY FORD
-12-
BEING MADE. WITH BIPARTISAN SUPPORT
THE CONGRESS LAST YEAR ENACTED THE MOST
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH MANPOWER
LEGISLATION IN THE NATION'S HISTORY.
THIS NEW HEALTH MANPOWER PROGRAM IS
DESIGNED TO WIPE OUT THE ESTIMATED
SHORTAGE OF 50,000 DOCTORS BY 1978 AND TO
INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NURSES BY 400,000
BY 1980.
BUT THE HEALTH MANPOWER SHORTAGE
IS ONLY PART OF THE CHALLENGE THAT FACES
US. THE FACTS ARE THAT OUR ENTIRE
HEALTH DELIVERY SYSTEM NEEDS IMPROVING.
ONE OF THE MAJOR PARTIES
WOULD MEET THE CHALLENGE BY PUTTING THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN CHARGE OF THE
ENTIRE HEALTH DELIVERY SYSTEM AND
UNDERWRITING ALL HEALTH CARE THROUGH
GERALD FORD VIBRARY
-13-
THE FEDERAL TREASURY. MY PARTY WOULD
EXPAND THE GOVERNMENT ROLE OF FINANCING
CARE FOR THE HELPLESS AND NEEDY WHILE
IMPROVING BASIC HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
FOR ALL OTHERS.
EMPI
OVERO
WOULD
THE
DULK
OF THE
HEALTH
EMPLOYERS WOULD PAY THE
BULK OF THE HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS
FOR THE WORKING POPULATION. CATASTROPHIC
ILLNESSES WOULD BE COVERED UP TO
$50,000 FOR EACH FAMILY MEMBER. THE
PLAN ALSO WOULD STRESS PREVENTIVE
MEDICINE -- KEEPING PEOPLE HEALTHY
INSTEAD OF SENDING THEM INTO HOSPITALS
WITH MINOR AILMENTS AND THUS ESCALATING
THE NATION'S HEALTH CARE BILL.
MY PARTY BELIEVES THE HEALTH
FORD
CARE PROBLEM CAN BEST BE MET BY IMPROVING
LIBRARY
-14-
THE PRESENT SYSTEM, NOT BY SCRAPPING IT
AND ERECTING A FEDERAL BUREAUCRATIC
STRUCTURE IN ITS PLACE.
WE HAVE BEEN TALKING SOLELY
ABOUT CHALLENGES ON THE DOMESTIC SCENE.
LET US TURN NOW TO THE FOREIGN ARENA.
THE CHALLENGE IN FOREIGN
AFFAIRS IS TO BUILD A FOUNDATION FOR
FUTURE PEACE WHILE REPELLING EFFORTS BOTH
ON THE RIGHT AND ON THE LEFT TO SHUNT
AMERICA OFF INTO A NEW POSTURE OF
ISOLATIONISM. WE MUST MAINTAIN OUR
POSITION OF LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD IF
THE WORLD IS TO HAVE ANY CHANCE TO LIVE
IN PEACE.
A NEW QUALITY OF REALISM NOW
DOMINATES AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY. WE
HAVE AGREED TO ACCEPT MAINLAND CHINA AS A
-15-
SOVEREIGN NATION, ADJUSTING OUR POLICIES IN
ASIA TO MEET CHANGED ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL
CONDITIONS THERE. FOLLOWING OUR MILITARY
WITHDRAWAL FROM VIETNAM, WE WILL CONTINUE
TO PROVIDE SUPPORT UNDER THE NIXON
DOCTRINE FOR OUR NON-COMMUNIST FRIENDS IN
ASIA.
IN OUR RELATIONS WITH THE
SOVIET UNION, NEW REALISM ON BOTH SIDES
HAS RECOGNIZED A MUTUAL INTEREST IN
REDUCING THE RISK OF NUCLEAR WAR. THERE
ARE SIGNS THAT AN AGREEMENT ON THE
DEPLOYMENT OF NUCLEAR MISSILES WILL
RESULT FROM THE STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION
TALKS. SHOULD THESE TALKS INDEED PROVE
SUCCESSFUL, THEY WILL SHOW THAT WITH
HARD BARGAINING AND DILIGENT NEGOTIATION
ORD
WE CAN AVOID A NEW UPWARD SPIRAL OF THE
LIBRARY
NUCLEAR ARMS RACE.
-16-
THE FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE
UNITED STATES HAVE CHANGED DRASTICALLY
WITH PRESIDENT NIXON'S
VISIT
TO CHINA AND HIS PLANNED TRIP TO THE
SOVIET UNION ON
MAY
IN ANNOUNCING HIS VISIT TO
MOSCOW, THE PRESIDENT REFERRED TO
"RECENT ADVANCES IN BILATERAL AND
MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS INVOLVING THE
TWO COUNTRIES." IT IS SAFE TO ASSUME
THIS INCLUDED THE SALT TALKS.
SOURCES CLOSE TO THE TALKS
INDICATE A GOOD PROSPECT FOR A LIMIT ON
OFFENSIVE MISSILES.
GERALD RIFORD LIBRARY
-17-
I AM CONVINCED THE BARGAINING
FROM STRENGTH CARRIED ON BY THE
ADMINISTRATION AT SALT HAS EARNED THE
RESPECT OF THE RUSSIANS. THE PROSPECTS
FOR AGREEMENT TODAY ARE RELATED, IN MY
VIEW, TO OUR OWN DECISION TO PROCEED
WITH STRATEGIC WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT --
INCLUDING THE ABM SYSTEM -- DURING THESE
TALKS.
WE ARE TURNING FROM AN ERA OF
CONFRONTATION TO AN ERA OF NEGOTIATION.
BUT THERE IS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND THAT
NEGOTIATION WILL PROVE FRUITFUL ONLY IF
WE NEGOTIATE FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH.
THIS IS THE LESSON WHICH IS LOST ON
THE NEO-ISOLATIONISTS.
WE ARE ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN
FOREIGN AFFAIRS BECAUSE WE ARE CONTINUING
-18-
TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT WE ARE DETERMINED
TO DISCHARGE AMERICA'S RESPONSIBILITIES.
WE DID NOT WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM
EUROPE IN THE ABSENCE OF AN AGREEMENT FOR
MUTUAL TROOP WITHDRAWAL.
WE STOOD UP TO RUSSIA IN THE
SYRIA-JORDAN CRISIS IN OCTOBER OF 1970.
WE REINFORCED THE SIXTH FLEET TO
COMPENSATE FOR RUSSIAN MOVES.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET RUSSIAN
EXPANSIONISM IN THE INDIAN OCEAN GO
UNANSWERED.
CURRENTLY WE ARE RESPONDING TO
THE CHALLENGE POSED BY THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
INVASION OF SOUTH VIETNAM. THIS WAS A
CHALLENGE THAT COULD NOT GO UNANSWERED.
WE COULD NOT ABANDON OUR ALLY IN
THE FACE OF AN INVASION THAT BLATANTLY
-19-
VIOLATED THE GENEVA ACCORDS OF 1954 AND
THE "UNDERSTAND INGS" WHICH LED TO THE
U.S. BOMBING HALT OF 1968. WE COULD NOT
ALLOW THE INVASION TO GO UNCHECKED WHILE
THOUSANDS OF U.S. TROOPS STILL ARE IN
VIETNAM.
WHAT AMAZES ME IS THE FACT THAT
SOME MEMBERS OF CONGRESS CONDEMN THE
PRESIDENT FOR GOING TO THE AID OF SOUTH
VIETNAM WITH AIR AND SEA POWER INSTEAD
OF CONDEMNING THE NORTH VIETNAMESE FOR
INVADING THE SOUTH.
IT IS ALSO DISHEARTENING THAT
THE UNITED NATIONS HAS UTTERED NOT ONE
WORD OF PROTEST CONCERNING THE INVASION
STAGED BY NORTH VIETNAM AGAINST ANOTHER
SOVEREIGN STATE.
FORD LIBRARY & GERALD
-20-
IN MY VIEW, THE VERBAL ATTACKS
MADE ON THE PRESIDENT BY CRITICS OF HIS
VIETNAM POLICY ARE COMPLETELY
IRRESPONSIBLE. FOR THOSE WHO LABEL
THE VIETNAM WAR IMMORAL TO COMPLETELY
IGNORE THE IMMORALITY OF THE NORTH
VIETNAMESE INVASION OF SOUTH VIETNAM
IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.
WHERE DOES THE FAULT LIE FOR
THE PRESENT ESCALATION OF FIGHTING IN
THE VIETNAM WAR? IT CERTAINLY DOES NOT
LIE WITH A PRESIDENT WHO HAS REDUCED THE
NUMBER OF U.S. TROOPS IN VIETNAM FROM
543,000 TO 85,000 AND IS INTENT ON
REDUCING THE NUMBER TO 69,000 OR LESS BY
MAY 1. IF WE ARE TO PROPERLY ASSIGN THE
BLAME, WE MUST LOOK ELSEWHERE. WE MUST
LOOK AT THE AGGRESSOR, NORTH VIETNAM, AND
-21-
ITS CHIEF MILITARY SUPPLIER, THE SOVIET
UNION.
THERE IS A SIMPLE REMEDY FOR
THE UPSURGE IN FIGHTING IN VIETNAM. LET
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE STOP THE INVASION,
THE U.S. STOP THE BOMBINGS, AND LET BOTH
SIDES COME TOGETHER AGAIN AT THE PEACE
TABLE IN PARIS. THE PRESIDENT WOULD
WELCOME THIS OPPORTUNITY TO RESUME THE
NEGOTIATIONS.
THE CHALLENGE THAT FACES US IN
FOREIGN AFFAIRS IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO
ASSERT WORLD LEADERSHIP IN THE FACE OF
NEO-ISOLATIONISM, WELL-MEANING BUT
MISTAKEN PACIFISM AND RADICAL-LED PROTEST
MOVEMENTS AIMED AT HELPING THE OTHER SIDE.
THESE, THEN, ARE THE CHALLENGES
THAT FACE THE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES AND
-22-
THE NATION IN THE SEVENTIES.
WE MUST PUT THE NATION ON A NEW
COURSE, TAKE HER IN NEW DIRECTIONS THAT
POINT TOWARD A NEW ERA OF GREATNESS FOR
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
WE MUST LAY A FOUNDATION FOR
PROSPERITY WITHOUT WAR AND WE MUST BUILD
A NEW STRATEGY FOR PEACE.
OUR GOALS ARE CLEAR. OUR
PURPOSE IS STRONG. WITH THE HELP OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE, WE CANNOT FAIL.
-- END --
Reading Cpy Office Copy
ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AT acfred alpred.Uniessity PATHOLOGIC SOCIETY
alfred, n.y.
8:15p.m. monday, 15, 1972 april 24, 1972
8:15p.m.
FOR RELEASE AT
THEY
It is a pleasure to be here tonight. In this atmosphere, I feel like a
statesman and not a politician.
But actually a man must be a good politician if he is going to be a statesman,
and that is the basic thrust of what I am going to talk about tonight.
My subject is New Directions for the Seventies--challenges facing the
political parties and the Nation in the 1970's. The challenges that face the
nation are indeed the challenges facing the political parties. The political
party that is most successful during the Seventies will be the party that best
meets the challenges of our times and sells the American people on its stewardship.
In a political sense, there is one problem that currently underlies all of
the others. That problem is making Government sufficiently responsive to the
people. If we don't make government responsive to the people, we don't make it
believable. And we must make government believable if we are to have a functioning
democracy.
We have all seen many Americans become increasingly skeptical of our
political system--and I speak now not only of the young but of countless older
Americans. They question whether it matters if they do not go to the polls. And
this kind of questioning threatens our democratic system.
There is an answer to this questioning--and that answer is to make government
work in a way that people can see and feel.
The other party may come forward with its own ideas but I personally feel
the best cures for popular lethargy and voter apathy lie in returning power to the
people and restructuring the Federal Government.
I am talking specifically about no-strings sharing of Federal revenue with
state and local governments and about an overhaul of Federal cabinet departments.
(more)
GERALD LIBRARY FORD
-2-
This is not very sexy stuff, but it's what is needed to close the gap
between promise and performance in the relationship between government and the
people.
Federal revenue sharing is a continuing financial transfusion that can save
our federal system and bring new strength to government at the grassroots level.
Money is power, and the idea is to put more of the money where more of the power
ought to be--at the local level. The idea is to put the money where the problems
are, and in that way to solve them.
If we can solve problems instead of just talking about them, people will
believe in government.
This is why we need a reorganization of the very framework of the Federal
Government- to make it better able to deal with the problems of our people. Under
the plan I have in mind, six of the present 11 cabinet departments would be
consolidated into four new departments: Human Resources, Community Development,
Natural Resources, and Economic Affairs. Hearings have been conducted in the
Congress, and it is safe to predict that at least the new Community Development
Department will see the light of day this year.
I said earlier that the only way to make the American people believers in
their government is to lick our problems. Surely one of the biggest problems of
all is the present welfare system, which is like pouring money through a sieve.
We must reform our antiquated and demeaning welfare system. The present
system is a scandal. It just isn't working. Nobody is for a system that makes it
more attractive to be on welfare than to work.
The answer, I think, is the Administration's new Family Assistance Plan--a
plan tied to the work ethic, a plan that encourages families to stay together, a
plan that would put a floor under the income of every family in America. It is
the key to taking people off welfare rolls and putting them on payrolls. It is the
means to a life of dignity for low-income Americans.
When we talk about moving people from welfare rolls to payrolls, it is only
natural we should speak also of what I call "the new prosperity" prosperity in
peacetime.
Seldom in the history of the United States have we had peace and prosperity
at the same time. Prosperity has usually come with a wartime economy, a booming
defense industry. We are now trying to achieve prosperity at the same time that we
end our involvement in a costly and tragic war.
(more)
-3-
What are we dealing with? We are seeking to bring under control an inflation
that roared ahead almost unchecked between 1965 and 1969. We are seeking to
stimulate an economy that has been throttled back as we have fought inflation, have
partially shut down our defense industries and have cut our fighting forces by a
million men.
The challenge that faces the two major political parties in the Seventies is
whether we make inflation-fighting work while at the same time stimulating the
economy to bring about peacetime prosperity.
We are making progress toward price stability and economic prosperity despite
political in-fighting and the natural reluctance of some Americans to see a
President of the opposite political persuasion succeed in meeting one of the biggest
challenges of our times.
I think Phase 2 of our inflation fight is working. It has a lot going for
it, despite obstructionism on the part of organized labor. At the same time, we
have the stimulus of the tax cuts requested by President Nixon and enacted by the
Congress. This should ultimately mean the creation of thousands of new jobs.
Certainly one of our key problems--and one of the challenges of both
political parties--is the restoration of our environment. We have already taken
giant steps toward cleaner air through passage of the Clean Air Amendments of 1970.
Now we must focus on the need to clean up the nation's waterways. We must take
every feasible action necessary to make our lakes and streams clean again. In sum,
we must enter upon a new "get tough" era in the effort to restore clean air, clean
water and open spaces--so that these elements will, as the President puts it, "once
again be the birthright of every American. "
There are, of course, many other urban ills--crime, poverty, unemployment,
inadequate housing and transportation. These must be attacked on a regional basis,
rather than in piecemeal fragmented fashion.
Local governments can work together as one in attacking crime, improving
transportation and housing, finding jobs for the unemployed through metropolitan
area job centers.
New attitudes are also necessary at other levels of government.
State and federal officials must come to realize that the problems of the
city go far beyond specific slum areas and social ills. City metropolitan area
governments must be given the resources--money and authority-to solve the larger
problems of the whole community.
(more)
-4-
Federal revenue sharing is the key to such local problem-solving. And there
must be a cutting of controls from Washington and State capitols if local
governments are to have the flexibility to get the job done.
There is still another key problem where initiative must be taken at the
Federal level. That is the problem of health care. Progress is being made. With
bipartisan support, the Congress last year enacted the most comprehensive health
manpower legislation in the nation's history. This new health manpower program is
designed to wipe out the estimated shortage of 50,000 doctors by 1978 and to increase
the number of nurses by 400,000 by 1980.
But the health manpower shortage is only part of the challenge that faces
us. The facts are that our entire health delivery system needs improving.
One of the major parties would meet the challenge by putting the Federal
Government in charge of the entire health delivery system and underwriting all
health care through the Federal Treasury. My party would expand the government
role of financing care for the helpless and needy while improving basic health
insurance coverage for all others. Employers would pay the bulk of the health
insurance premiums for the working population. Catastrophic illnesses would be
covered up to $50,000 for each family member. The plan also would stress
preventive medicine--keeping people healthy instead of sending them into hospitals
with minor ailments and thus escalating the nation's health care bill.
My party believes the health care problem can best be met by improving the
present system, not by scrapping it and erecting a Federal bureaucratic structure
in its place.
We have been talking solely about challenges on the domestic scene. Let us
turn now to the foreign arena.
The challenge in foreign affairs is to build a foundation for future peace
while repelling efforts both on the Right and on the Left to shunt America off into
a new posture of isolationism. We must maintain our position of leadership in the
world if the world is to have any chance to live in peace.
A new quality of realism now dominates American foreign policy. We have
agreed to accept Mainland China as a sovereign nation, adjusting our policies in
Asia to meet changed economic and political conditions there. Following our
military withdrawal from Vietnam, we will continue to provide support under the
Nixon Doctrine for our non-Communist friends in Asia.
(more)
-5-
In our relations with the Soviet Union, new realism on both sides has
recognized a mutual interest in reducing the risk of nuclear war. There are signs
that an agreement on the deployment of nuclear missiles will result from the
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Should these talks indeed prove successful, they
will show that with hard bargaining and diligent negotiation we can avoid a new
upward spiral of the nuclear arms race.
The foreign relations of the United States have changed drastically with
President Nixon's upcoming visit to China and his planned trip to the Soviet
Union in late May. The President also has consulted with our Free World partners
in advance of his trips to the summit in Peking and Moscow.
In announcing his visit to Moscow, the President referred to "recent advances
in bilateral and multilateral negotiations involving the two countries." It is
safe to assume this included the SALT Talks.
Sources close to the Talks indicate a good prospect for limiting
anti-ballistic missile systems on both sides and a fair prospect for a limit on
offensive missiles.
I am convinced the bargaining from strength carried on by the Administration
at SALT has earned the respect of the Russians. The prospects for agreement today
are related, in my view, to our own decision to proceed with strategic weapons
development--including the ABM system--during these Talks.
We are turning from an era of confrontation to an era of negotiation. But
there is no question in my mind that negotiation will prove fruitful only if we
negotiate from a position of strength. This is the lesson which is lost on the
neo-isolationists.
We are achieving success in foreign affairs because we are continuing to show
the world that we are determined to discharge America's responsibilities.
We did not withdraw troops from Europe in the absence of an agreement for
mutual troop withdrawal.
We stood up to Russia in the Syria-Jordan crisis in October of 1970.
We reinforced the Sixth Fleet to compensate for Russian moves.
We are not going to let Russian expansionism in the Indian Ocean go unanswered
Smoet
we
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we
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(more)
AIFRED UNIVERSITY SPEECH INSERT
Currently we are responding to the challenge posed by the North Vietnamese
invasion of South Vietnam. This was
a challenge that could not go
unanswered.
We could not abandon our ally in the face of an invasion that blatantly
violated the Geneva Accords of 1954 and the "Understanding" which led to
the U.S. bombing halt of 1968. We could not allow the invasion to go unchecked
while thousands & U.S. troops still are in Vietnam.
What amazes me is the fact that some members of Congress condemn the
President for going to the aid of South Vietnam with air and sea power instead
of condemning the North Vietnamese for invading the South.
It is also disheartening that the United
Nathions has uttered not one
concerning
word of
protest
the invasion staged by North Vietnam against another
sovereign state.
In my view, the verbal attacks made on the President by critics of his Vietnam
policy are completely irresponsible. For those who label the Vietnam War immoral
to completely
ignore the immorality of the North Vietnamese
invasion
of South Vietnam is absolutely incredible.
Where does the fault lie for the present escalation of fighting in the V ietnam
War?
It certainly does not lie with a President who has reduced the number of
intenton
U.S. troops
in Vietnam from 543,000 to 85,000 and is
to reduce the
number to 69,000 or less by May 1. If we are to properly assign the blame, we
must look
elsewhere. We must look at the aggressor, North Vietnam, and its
chief military supplier, the Soviet Union.
There is a simple remedy for the upsurge in fighting in Vietnam. Let the North
5. stop the Combing
Vie thamese stop the invasion and let both sides come together again at the peace
table in Paris. The President would welcome this opportunity to resume the
negotiations.
-6-
K
the challenge that faces us in foreign affairs that we continue to
assert world leadership in the face of neo-isolationism, well-meaning but mistaken
pacifism and radical-led protest movements aimed at helping the other side.
These, then, are the challenges that face the major political parties and
the nation in the Seventies.
We must put the nation on a new course, take her in new directions that
point toward a new era of greatness for the American people.
We must lay a foundation for prosperity without war and we must build a
new strategy for peace.
Our goals are clear. Our purpose is strong. With the help of the American
people, we cannot fail.
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