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7346987
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Presidential statement on inefficient Federal regulation [Ford Speech or Statement]
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1
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7346987
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document
title
Presidential statement on inefficient Federal regulation [Ford Speech or Statement]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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7346987
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14
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1977-01-14
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1977
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Digitized from Box 35 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
[1977]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 1976
Office of the White House Press Secretary
THE WHITE HOUSE
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Government cannot expect the trust and confidence of
its people unless it enacts and enforces laws that are
effective, efficient and fair. When I took office in 1974,
I found many of our regulatory laws outdated and unintelligible.
Government agencies charged with their administration had
become less effective than Congress or the people had origi-
nally intended. At the Economic Summit Conference, business
and labor leaders, academics, consumers and government
officials agreed that inefficient Federal regulation was
contributing to the country's economic ills.
We have not solved all of these problems. But we have
made an effective beginning. Important administrative and
legislative reform has been achieved during my Administration,
but more must be done to build upon these accomplishments.
I have received and reviewed a report from the Domestic
Council Review Group on Regulatory Reform outlining the scope
and complexities of the regulatory problem. It emphasizes
the need for continued work on this important domestic issue.
The report highlights what I believe are the two basic
challenges facing reform efforts in the future.
First, regulation differs from other devices used by
government to achieve our national goals because the costs
are hidden from public view. Often, government decision-
makers do not know what the effect of new regulations will
be in terms of costs or benefits. As a consequence, agencies
are rarely forced to make trade-offs between competing de-
mands, an essential management discipline central to the
annual budget process.
Second, the general public is unaware of its stake in
better regulation and therefore unable to form an effective
constituency for change. Members of the public know very
little about the complex economic effects of Federal
regulations and are therefore at a distinct disadvantage
when trying to counter the organized efforts of special
interest groups seeking to preserve the status quo or to
enact new laws serving their special interests. Sometimes
these "special interests" are counter to the interests of
the public at large.
Although I may not agree with all of the observations
made in this report, I believe it presents a candid appraisal
of what we have learned and what remains to be done. We
must make the regulatory debate a more intelligent discussion
of issues and alternatives. I am confident that this report
will be a valuable contribution to future reform efforts.
I want to thank the Members of Congress and those
individuals in the Executive Branch and the public who have
worked with me on this important initiative. They have
made a significant contribution to restoring the trust of
our people in the institutions of their government, and I
urge them to continue their good work.
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