Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
135839036
label
JGR/Presidential Remarks, [Statements, & Addresses] (03/13/1985-03/31/1985)
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
135839036
contentType
document
title
JGR/Presidential Remarks, [Statements, & Addresses] (03/13/1985-03/31/1985)
citationUrl
identifierLocal
485
collections
Records of the Office of Counsel to the President (Reagan Administration)
John Roberts' Subject Files
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
135839036
coverageEndDate
logicalDate
1986-12-31
year
1986
coverageStartDate
logicalDate
1982-01-01
year
1982
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
687489efe9835689
ocrText
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Roberts, John G.: Files
Folder Title: JGR/Presidential Remarks,
[Statements, & Addresses] (03/13/1985-03/31/1985)
Box: 41
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 25, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks for Meeting With
Corporate and Economic Leaders in
New York on March 28, 1985
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks,
and finds no objection to them from a legal perspective. On
page 1, line 19, should "spending" be inserted between "and"
and "over"?
CC: David L. Chew
ID #
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
0 . OUTGOING
H - INTERNAL
. I INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent:
Dave Chew
MI Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject:
w/ corporate and economic leaders in
Presidential remarks for meeting
new york on 3/28/85,
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CUHOLL
ORIGINATOR 85103122
/
/
Referral Note:
CUAT18
R
85103123
85103125
Referral Note:
3pm
/
/
/ /
Referral Note:
/
/
/
/
Referral Note:
/
/
/ /
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A - Appropriate Action
I Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C Comment/Recommendation
R. Direct Reply w/Copy
B - Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S For Signature
F Furnish Fact Sheet
X Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/22/85
3:00 P.M. MONDAY 3/25
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
REMARKS: MEETING WITH CORPORATE AND ECONOMIC LEADERS
SUBJECT:
(3/22 - 7:00 p.m. draft)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McMANUS
REGAN
MURPHY
DEAVER
OGLESBY
STOCKMAN
ROLLINS
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHEW
P
S
SVAHN
FIELDING
TUTTLE
FRIEDERSDORF
VERSTANDIG
FULLER
WHITTLESEY
HICKEY
CEA
HICKS
ELLIOTT
KINGON
HENKEL
McFARLANE
REMARKS:
Please provide any edits directly to Ben Elliott by 3:00 p.m. Monday,
March 25th, with an information copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Robinson/BE)
March 22, 1985
7:46
7:00 p.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MEETING WITH CORPORATE AND
ECONOMIC LEADERS
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1985
Thank you and good afternoon. It's an honor to join you in
this historic room, and I might add that it's refreshing to speak
in a place where the word "capitalism" doesn't have to be
whispered.
Now, before we get to your questions, permit me to say a few
words about an issue that affects each of you directly -- the
Federal budget.
When we took office in 1981, the American economy, once
vigorous, had become moribund. To bring the economy back to
life, we made the first attempt in many years to restrain the
growth and power of Government and free enterprise to do what it
does best: we slowed the pace of spending and regulations,
supported a sound monetary policy, and proposed an
across-the-board personal income tax rate cut of 25 percent with
new incentives for business investment. Our reasoning on this
was straightforward. Throughout the seventies, effective tax
rates had risen relentlessly, eroding incentives and driving
millions to choose leisure over work, conformity over innovation,
2
and over savings and investment. And, the impact of inflation on
outdated depreciation schedules was eroding capital investment.
A tax cut, we believed, would reverse the process, giving our
economy new vigor.
Page 2
At the time, you will remember, our policies were received
with less than universal acclaim. In October 1982, John Kenneth
Galbraith stated, "We have
an unprecedented experiment in
economic policy. It has failed." Mr. Galbraith was correct that
it was an experiment, but he should have waited for the results
to come in.
Since the day our tax rate reductions became fully
effective, we have seen 27 straight months of economic growth;
the strongest rate of business investment in 35 years; the lowest
rate of inflation in 18 years; a sharp rise in productivity; and
the creation of some 7 million new jobs -- more than were created
by all the nations of Western Europe during the past 10 years.
But the way I really knew our program was working was when
they didn't call it Reaganomics anymore.
Here in New York, the stock exchange has come back to life.
Perhaps of greater significance, the number of Americans who own
stocks has increased from million in 197_ to today's record
I
million, as more and more of our citizens have choosen to
purchase a stake in our growing economic enterprise, each of them
making himself -- oh, that word -- a capitalist.
As for Government revenues, the expansion spurred by the tax
cuts has actually caused them to mount. Indeed, the Treasury's
monthly statements for the first 4 months of the current fiscal
year show that, compared to the same period last year, receipts
have risen more than 11 percent. This means that remarkably
enough, revenues are growing more quickly than the rates of
inflation and real growth combined.
Page 3
Today, with the effects of our tax cuts being fully felt,
the American people have new opportunities with rising incomes;
American business is growing, with more capital and higher rates
of return. John Kenneth Galbraith, where are you now?
Unfortunately, even with Government revenues up, Government
spending is up even higher. I know you agree: this year, the
deficit must be cut. There are three options for doing so.
Option one is a tax increase. A tax hike, however, would
once again dampen economic activity. Indeed, Government revenues
might actually fall. A tax increase is out.
Option two is a radical cut in defense spending. Yet
already during the past 4 years, defense spending has been
reduced by more than $150 billion below the 5-year plan we
proposed in 1981. Indeed, our projected defense expenditures for
1985 are already almost $16 billion less than the figure the last
Administration projected for this year. The military threats we
must face, however, have not been reduced. They have grown.
At this point, it is a simple necessity to continue to bring
our Armed Forces up to date. I've told the Senate leadership
that I'm willing to consider proposed savings on defense, but I
cannot compromise on funding for weapons systems, either
conventional or strategic, vital to our security.
That brings us to option three, cuts in domestic spending.
It is here that we must make our greatest efforts.
Yes, it will prove difficult -- indeed, to paraphrase
Dr. Johnson, watching the Congress cut deficit spending is like
Page 4
seeing a dog walk on its hind legs. The remarkable thing is not
that it gets done poorly, but that it happens at all.
The deliberations of the Senate Budget Committee, for
example, have in their way been encouraging. At first the
Committee proposed shallow spending cuts and considered a tax
increase. Then they rejected the tax increase and proposed
deeper cuts -- not all of them good cuts, by any means, but- cuts.
This represents progress, and I am confident that this session of
the Congress will begin to bring deficit spending under control.
Permit me to close by suggesting an idea that is, perhaps, a
little revolutionary -- namely, that there just might be a fourth
option for reducing the deficit
another cut in tax rates.
Our tax reform proposal is at present undergoing substantial
revision, but we know that it will simplify our tax code, broaden
the base, and cut both personal and corporate tax rates. On
static analysis, it is revenue neutral. But I fully expect that,
by adding to the incentives our first tax cuts produced, it will
spur further economic growth -- and add to Government revenues.
Some say that chances for the passage of such a bill during
this session of the Congress are virtually nil. Please, don't
believe it. As the remarkable results of our first tax cuts
begin to sink in, it will become clear to Members of the Congress
that, if they want to share the credit for economic growth in the
1986 elections, a good way to do so would be by supporting
another cut in tax rates.
Page 5
Growth -- growth is what we have already fostered; growth is
what we continue to seek; growth, I am confident, is what,
together, we shall achieve.
Thank you and God bless you.
And now I'd be happy to answer your questions.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 25, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS 222R
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Remarks: Open New York Stock Exchange
(Thursday, March 28, 1985)
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks,
and finds no objection to them from a legal perspective.
As a matter of taste, however, I question whether the humor
at the top of page 2 is sufficiently Presidential.
CC: David L. Chew
ID #
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
o OUTGOING
H * INTERNAL
I - INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent: Dave Chew
MI Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: Remarks: Open new York Stoch Exchange
(Thursday march 28,1985)
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CUNOLL
ORIGINATOR 85,03,22
/ /
Referral Note:
CUAT 18
R 15,13,22
585,03,25
12N
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
-
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A Appropriate Action
I Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C Comment/Recommendation
R Direct Reply w/Copy
B . Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D - Draft Response
S For Signature
F Furnish Fact Sheet
X Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
3/22/85
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
NOON MONDAY, 3/25
SUBJECT:
REMARKS: OPEN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
(3/22/85 - 12:30 p.m. draft)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McMANUS
REGAN
MURPHY
DEAVER
OGLESBY
STOCKMAN
ROLLINS
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHEW
P
85
SVAHN
FIELDING
TUTTLE
FRIEDERSDORF
VERSTANDIG
FULLER
WHITTLESEY
HICKEY
ELLIOTT
HICKS
CEA
KINGON
HENKEL
McFARLANE
REMARKS:
Please provide any edits directly to Ben Elliott by noon Monday,
March 25th, with an information copy to this office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
1985 MAR 22 PH 2:02
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Gilder/BE)
March 22, 1985
12:30 p.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: OPEN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1985
Thank you. Thank you all.
This is a great view from up here -- kind of like ring side
at a Saturday night tag-team wrestling match at the Garden. In a
few moments I'll ring the bell and the action will begin. But in
this lull before the storm, I'd like to say a few words about
where this country has been and where we'll be going from here.
The last time I visited the New York Stock Exchange was in
1980, and the mood sure was different back then. But in the last
5 years, we've moved from malaise to hope, confidence, and
opportunity. We knew that malaise for what it really was.
Government, with its high taxes, excessive spending, and
over-regulation, had thrown a wrench in the works of our free
markets. In essence, Government was trying to run the economy,
but was ruining it instead.
So we cut tax rates and counter-productive regulations and
moved to limit spending growth. And I think we've seen some
healthy results on this trading floor. As soon as the tax cut
began to take effect, the stock market surged ahead. An enormous
rush of new equity issues, venture capital, and new investment
became the driving force behind an economic expansion stronger
than any we'd seen in over a generation -- an expansion SO strong
it catapulted the United States once again into the position as
the world's leading economic power. And for all those who say we
can't repeat the dramatic growth record of the past 2 years for
Page 2
the rest of the decade, we have only one thing to say:
bull
market.
The American economy is like a race horse that's begun to
gallop in front of the field. Other nations, hobbled by high tax
rates and weighed down by oversized Government spending, have
been slow to catch up. This has caused some painful
dislocations, especially for America's exporting industries. But
the answer is hardly to hamstring the American economy to make it
drop back with the others. The solution is for our trading
partners to throw off the dead weight of government -- cut their
own tax rates, spending, and over-regulation -- so that they can
catch up with us in our race to the future.
There's one sure method to cut the expense and price of
American-made goods and increase our export sales. The surest
way to make American products more competitive is to cut the cost
of Government to our private sector by cutting tax rates yet
again. And that's exactly what we intend to do.
It's about time, too, that Congress took a serious look at
itself and figured out why it is unable to cut spending. I saw
Senators on the news state publicly that Amtrak was wasteful and
unaffordable, but that they still couldn't bring themselves to
vote to end Federal subsidies. If Congress can't bring itself to
do what's right, they should give the President what 43 Governors
have, a line-item veto. I can tell you, it would really make my
day.
With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free
to expand to its full potential; the bears will go back into
Page 3
their caves for a permanent hibernation, and this bull market
will continue to hit new, history-making highs. That's our
economic program for the next 4 years -- we're going to turn the
bull lose.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 26, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Remarks: Meeting with Corporate
and Economic Leaders (NY)
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks,
and finds no objection to them from a legal perspective.
CC: David L. Chew
ID #.
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
0 . OUTGOING
H INTERNAL
I INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent: Dave chew
M1 Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: Remarks: meeting with Carparate and
Economic Cenders (N.V)
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
cultoce
ORIGINATOR $5,03,26
/
/
Referrat Note:
CUAT 18
R
85,03126
5 85,03,06
12N
Referral Note:
/ /
/
/
-
Referral Note:
/
/
/ /
Referral Note:
/
/
/
/
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A * Appropriate Action
1. . Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C - Comment/Recommendation
R. - Direct Reply w/Copy
B . Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S For Signature
F - Furnish Fact Sheet
X Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 3/25/85
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON TOMORROW, 3/36
SUBJECT:
REMARKS: MEETING WITH CORPORATE AND ECONOMIC LEADERS
(3/25 - 7:30 p.m. draft)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McMANUS
REGAN
MURPHY
DEAVER
OGLESBY
STOCKMAN
ROLLINS
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHEW
P
SS SVAHN
à
FIELDING
TUTTLE
FRIEDERSDORF
VERSTANDIG
FULLER
WHITTLESEY
HICKEY
ELLIOTT
HICKS
HENKEL
KINGON
RYAN
McFARLANE
REMARKS:
Please provide any edits directly to Ben Elliott by noon tomorrow,
March 26th, with an information copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
1985 MAR 26 III 7: 17
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Robinson/BE)
March 25, 1985
7:30 p.m.
Received SS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 2 MEETING WITH CORPORATE AND
1005
PINA
ECONOMIC LEADERS
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1985
Thank you and good morning. It's an honor to join you in
this historic room. Don Regan used to preside over meetings here
when he served as president of the New York Stock Exchange, and
he tells me this is one place where the word "capitalism" doesn't
have to be whispered.
Now, before we begin our give-and-take, permit me to say a
few words about an issue that affects each of you directly -- the
Federal budget.
When we took office in 1981, the American economy, once
vigorous, had become moribund. To bring the economy back to
life, we made the first attempt in many years to restrain the
growth and power of Government and to set enterprise free. We
slowed the growth of Government spending and regulations,
supported a sound monetary policy, and proposed an
across-the-board personal income tax rate cut of 25 percent with
new incentives for business investment.
On the tax cut, our reasoning was straightforward.
Throughout the seventies, effective tax rates had risen
relentlessly, eroding incentives and driving millions to choose
leisure over work, conformity over innovation, and immediate
gratification over savings and investment. At the same time, the
impact of inflation on outdated depreciation schedules was
Page 2
eroding capital investment. A tax cut, we believed, would
reverse the process, giving our economy new vigor.
At the time, you will remember, our policies were received
with less than universal acclaim. In October 1982 John Kenneth
Galbraith stated, "We have
an unprecedented experiment in
economic policy. It has failed." Mr. Galbraith was correct that
it was an experiment. He should simply have waited for the
results to come in.
Indeed, the results are historic. Since our tax rate
reductions became fully effective, we have seen 28 months of
economic growth; the strongest recovery of business investment in
35 years; the lowest rate of inflation in 18 years; a sharp rise
in productivity; and the creation of some 7 million new jobs --
more than were created by all the nations of Western Europe
during the past 10 years.
But I really knew our program was working when they didn't
call it Reaganomics anymore.
Here in New York, the stock exchange has come back to life.
Just as significant, the number of Americans who own stocks has
increased from 25 million in 1975 to today's record 42 million,
as more and more of our citizens have chosen to purchase a stake
in our growing economic enterprise, each of them making
himself -- oh, that word -- a capitalist.
As for Government revenues, they appear to be on the rise.
While revenues in 1984 held steady, the Treasury's statements for
the first 4 months of the current fiscal year months show that,
compared to the same period last year, receipts have risen more
Page 3
than 11 percent. Remarkably enough, this suggests that revenues
are growing more quickly than the rates of inflation and real
growth combined.
With the effects of our tax cuts being fully felt, today the
American people have new opportunities and rising incomes;
American business is growing, with more capital and higher rates
of return; and the Government is watching its revenues rise.
John Kenneth Galbraith, where are you now?
Unfortunately, even with Government revenues up, Government
spending is up even higher. Deficit spending this fiscal year is
expected to top $200 billion, absorbing vast sums of resources
that could be used far more efficiently in the private sector. I
know you agree: this year, deficit spending must be cut. There
are three options for doing SO.
Option one is a tax increase. Yet a tax hike would squander
our hard-won progress by placing a new damper on economic
activity. Indeed, Government revenues might actually fall. A
tax increase is out.
Option two is a radical cut in defense spending. Already
during the past 4 years, however, defense spending has been
reduced by more than $150 billion below the 5-year plan we
proposed in 1981. Indeed, our projected defense expenditures for
1985 are almost $16 billion less than the figure the last
administration projected for this year. Yet the military threats
we must face have not been reduced. They have grown.
At this point, it is a simple necessity to continue to bring
our Armed Forces up to date. I've told the Senate leadership
Page 4
that I'm willing to consider proposed savings on defense, perhaps
stretching out the acquisition of such items as food, fuel, and
munitions. But I cannot compromise on funding for weapons
systems, either conventional or strategic, that are vital to our
security.
That brings us to option three, cuts in domestic spending.
It is here that we must make our greatest efforts.
Yes, this will prove difficult -- indeed, to paraphrase
Dr. Johnson, watching the Congress cut deficit spending is like
seeing a dog walk on its hind legs. The remarkable thing is not
that it gets done awkardly, but that it happens at all.
The deliberations of the Senate Budget Committee, for
example, have in their way been encouraging. At first the
Committee proposed shallow spending cuts and considered a tax
increase. Then they rejected the tax increase and proposed
deeper cuts -- not all of them good cuts, by any means, but cuts.
This represents progress. Earlier this week, moreover, I held
budget discussions with the Senate leadership, and we made still
further progress. If the House cooperates, I am confident, this
session of the Congress will begin to bring deficit spending
under control.
Permit me to close by suggesting an idea that is, perhaps, a
little revolutionary. There just might be a fourth option for
reducing the deficit: a major tax reform that would
include
another cut in tax rates.
Today, Treasury's tax reform proposal is undergoing
revision, but I can tell you this much about it for certain: it
Page 5
will simplify our tax code, broaden the base, and cut both
personal and corporate tax rates. Of course, absolutely nothing
can take the place of major reductions in spending. But with
those cuts made, a tax reform could add to the incentives our
first tax cuts provided, foster still more economic growth, and
even increase Government revenues.
Some say that chances for the passage of such a bill during
this session of the Congress are nil. Please, don't believe it.
As the remarkable results of our first tax cuts begin to sink in,
it will become clear to Members of the Congress that, if they
want to share the credit for economic growth in the 1986
elections, a good way to do so would be by supporting another cut
in tax rates.
Growth -- growth is what we have already fostered; growth is
what we continue to seek; growth, I am confident, is what,
together, we shall achieve.
Thank you and God bless you.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 26, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS 02R
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Remarks: Open New York Stock Exchange
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks,
and finds no objection to them from a legal perspective.
CC: David L. Chew
ID #
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
0 . OUTGOING
H - INTERNAL
I . INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent:
Dave chew
MI Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: Remarks Open new York stoch Eschange
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CUNTOLL
ORIGINATOR
85,03,26
/ /
Referral Note:
CUAT 18
R
85,03,26
S 85,03,26
12N
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
/
/
/ /
Referral Note:
/
/
/ /
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A Appropriate Action
1 Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C Comment/Recommendation
R Direct Reply w/Copy
B Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S For Signature
F - Furnish Fact Sheet
X Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/25/85
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON TOMORROW, 3/26
SUBJECT:
REMARKS: OPEN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
(3/25 - 6:00 p.m. draft)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McMANUS
REGAN
MURPHY
DEAVER
OGLESBY
STOCKMAN
ROLLINS
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHEW
P
55 SVAHN
FIELDING
TUTTLE
FRIEDERSDORF
VERSTANDIG
FULLER
WHITTLESEY
HICKEY
ELLIOTT
HICKS
HENKEL
KINGON
RYAN
McFARLANE
REMARKS:
Please provide any edits directly to Ben Elliott by noon tomorrow,
March 26th, with an information copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
1985 HAR 26 AM 7: 17
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Gilder/BE)
March 25, 1985
6:00 p.m.
ReceivedSS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: OPEN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
1935 HAR 26 AM 7:
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1985
Thank you. Thank you all.
This is a great view from up here -- kind of like ringside
at a Saturday night tag-team wrestling match at the Garden. In a
few moments I'll ring the bell and the action will begin. But in
this lull before the storm, I'd like to say a few words about
where this country has been and where we'll be going from here.
The last time I visited the New York Stock Exchange was in
1980, and the mood sure was different back then. But in the last
5 years, we've moved from malaise to hope, confidence, and
opportunity. We knew that malaise for what it really was.
Government, with its high taxes, excessive spending, and
over-regulation, had thrown a wrench in the works of our free
markets. In essence, Government was trying to run the economy,
but was ruining it instead.
So we cut tax rates and counter-productive regulations and
moved to limit spending growth. And I think we've seen some
healthy results on this trading floor. Those tax cuts helped
re-energize the stock market, with the volume of shares traded
hitting record highs, and more Americans than ever before
participating in the market. An enormous rush of new equity
issues, venture capital, and new investment became the driving
force behind an economic expansion as strong as any we'd seen in
20 years. And for all those who say we can't repeat the dramatic
Page 2
growth record of the past 2 years, we have only one thing to say:
bull
market.
The American economy is like a race horse that's begun to
gallop in front of the field. Other nations, hobbled by high tax
rates and weighed down by oversized Government spending, have
been slow to catch up. This has caused some painful
dislocations, especially for America's exporting industries. But
the answer is hardly to hamstring the American economy to make it
drop back with the others. The solution is for our trading
partners to throw off the dead weight of government -- cut their
own tax rates, spending, and over-regulation and join us in
opening up their markets to foreign competition -- so that they
can catch up with us in our race to the future.
There's one sure method to cut the expense and price of
American-made goods and increase our export sales. The surest
way to make American products more competitive is to spur
innovation, enterprise, and productivity by cutting tax rates yet
again. And that's exactly what we intend to do.
It's time, too, that Government got off its present spending
spree before it squanders our future prosperity. Senate
Republicans are trying to put together a package of meaningful
spending reductions, and they're going to need all of our support
and encouragement in the coming weeks. And let me repeat again,
if the political heat of budget cutting is too much for Congress,
they should give the President what 43 Governors have, a
line-item veto. If Congress can't cut, I will. Let me tell you,
it would really make my day.
Page 3
With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free
to expand to its full potential; the bears will go back into
their caves for a permanent hibernation, and this bull market
will continue to hit new, history-making highs. That's our
economic program for the next 4 years -- we're going to turn the
bull lose.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 26, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS JJR
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: National Space Club
Luncheon (3/26/85; 11:30 a.m. Draft)
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced draft
remarks. The joke in the first paragraph on page 3 plays
into the hands of those who seek to ridicule the Strategic
Defense Initiative as "Star Wars." It was my understanding
that we were trying to avoid use of that label; saying "the
force is with us" hardly helps.
The first sentence in the last paragraph on page 6 should be
changed. The National Commission on Space was created some
time ago by Public Law 98-361, 42 U.S.C. § 2451 note; the
sentence in question conveys the false impression that the
Commission was all the President's idea. Suggested alter-
native: "I am accordingly happy to introduce today the
members of the National Commission on Space, which will
devise an aggressive space strategy to carry America into
the 21st century."
cc: David L. Chew
ID #
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
O * OUTGOING
H - - INTERNAL
I - INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent:
David Chew
MI Mail Report.
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: Presidential Remarks: national Space
Club Luncheon (3/26/85, 11:30 am draft)
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CULtole
ORIGINATOR 85103 126
/
/
Referral Note:
CUAT18
R 85,03,26
S 85/03/27
Referral Note:
10:00 am am
/
/
/
/
-
Referral Note:
/
/
/ /
Referral Note:
/
/
/
/
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A Appropriate Action
I Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C Comment/Recommendation
R. * Direct Reply w/Copy
B - Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S For Signature
F Furnish Fact Sheet
X Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 3/26/85
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: 10:00 a.m. 3/27/85
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: National Space Club Luncheon
(3/26/85, 11:30 a.m. draft)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McMANUS
>
REGAN
MURPHY
DEAVER
OGLESBY
STOCKMAN
X
ROLLINS
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
D
CHEW
P
5S SVAHN
FIELDING
TUTTLE
FRIEDERSDORF
X
VERSTANDIG
FULLER
WHITTLESEY
HICKEY
ELLIOTT
HICKS
KINGON
X
McFARLANE
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments or edits directly to Ben Elliott,
with an information copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Rohrabacher/BE)
March 26, 1985
Received SS
11:30 a.m.
1285 MAR 26 PM 12 40
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL SPACE CLUB LUNCHEON
FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1985
Thank you. Chuck, distinguished guests, ladies and
gentlemen. I would like to express my appreciation to the Board
of Governors for honoring me with this magnificent trophy. One
of the fun things about my current job is being able to get
personally involved in history-making endeavors, like the
American space program. Nancy and I have watched space shuttles
land and have spoken with the astronauts.
The space shuttle is now making it possible even for
politicians to be transported into the heavens. Not long ago,
the only way to do that was with hot air balloons. And
scientists say there is no such thing as perpetual motion.
Seriously, though, I am proud to have been selected as the
recipient of this coveted award. I accept it with thanks and on
behalf of those tens of thousands of individuals across our great
country who, with their hard work, creativity, and faith in the
future, have built the American space program and laid the
foundation for a better tomorrow.
Robert Goddard, for whom this award is named, exemplified
the ingenuity and perserverance of individuals who make lasting
contributions to their fellow countrymen and to mankind.
Dr. Goddard persevered for 17 years of imtense research and
development. As so often happens, his genius was not apparent to
many until after his success.
Page 2
Arthur C. Clarke, distinguished author of science and
fiction, says ideas often have three stages of reaction: first,
it's crazy, don't waste my time; second, it's possible, but it's
not worth doing; and finally, I always said it was a good idea.
In Dr. Goddard's case, the New York Times, claiming rockets
would never work in the vacuum of space, ridiculed his effort.
"He only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high
schools
" the Times editorialized. My, my, I seem to
remember when they were saying the same thing about Reaganomics.
Due to the efforts of Dr. Goddard and other individuals of
vision and tenacity, America is now on the edge of a new era. By
standing on the shoulders of giants like Robert Goddard, this
generation is moving forward to harness the enormity of space in
the preservation of peace, in increasing our economic well-being,
and in expanding the horizons of human freedom beyond the
greatest dreams of our Founding Fathers.
American freedom was once protected by musket and ball.
Today scientific advancements are changing the way we think about
our security. Two years ago, I challenged our scientific
community to use their talents and energies to find a method of
shielding us from attack with a totally defensive system. We
seek to render obsolete the balance of terror -- or Mutual
Assured Destruction, as it is called -- and replace it with
technology incapable of initiating armed conflict or causing mass
destruction, yet effective in preventing nuclear war. This is
not, and should never be misconstrued as, just a method of
protecting missile silos.
Page 3
The Strategic Defense Initiative has been labeled, "Star
Wars," but it isn't about war, it is about peace; it isn't about
retaliation, it's about prevention; it isn't about fear, it's
about hope -- and in that struggle, if you will pardon my
stealing a film line, "the force is with us."
The means to intercept ballistic missiles during the boost
phase of their trajectory would enable us to fundamentally change
our national security strategy, permitting us to rely on a system
based, not on offense, but on defense. What could be more moral
than a system designed to save lives rather than avenge them?
And S.D.I. research is not aimed only at protecting the
United States. Our security is inextricably linked with other
free peoples. An essential element of S.D.I. research is an
eventual ability to defend the United States and our allies from
both long and short range ballistic missiles. Thus we will not
only be consulting with our allies on S.D.I. research, but
working actively with them. In fact, we are extending formal
invitations to allied nations to join us in making S.D.I. a fully
cooperative research effort. The Secretary of Defense will be
establishing this program of allied cooperation on S.D.I.
Our activities in space are already helping keep the peace,
providing us early warning and also, through spy satellites,
enabling us to verify arms agreements. And far from being a
violation of existing arms agreements, once our adversaries fully
understand S.D.I., it will add new incentives to both sides in
Geneva to actually reduce the number of nuclear weapons
threatening mankind. By making missiles less effective, we make
Page 4
these weapons more negotiable. If we are successful, the
spiraling arms race will be a downward spiral.
Let history record that in our day America's best scientific
minds developed technology that helped mankind ease away from the
nuclear parapet, the ledge of a harrowing cliff upon which all
living things were perched. Let us move on to a happier chapter
in the history of man. And I would think any man of science
would be proud to help turn that page.
We have used and will continue to use space to make ours a
safer world. Space is also making a more prosperous world, and
in this endeavor we have only scratched the surface. Space
technology has already revolutionized communications and is
assisting everyone from farmers to navigators. Industries that
seem far removed from any direct tie with the space program have
benefited beyond expectation.
Recently, the Presidential Commission on Industrial
Competitiveness -- composed of leaders from business, labor,
government, and academia -- reported that America's leadership in
science and technology is the key to future U.S. competitiveness.
Space can give America the edge. This is true not only for "high
tech" industries like computers and biotechnology, but for mature
ones as well. Innovation -- often spurred on, if not inspired,
by the space program -- is vital to the modernization of our
steel, automobile, and textile industries.
The grandeur of the space shuttle taking off and then
landing after a successful mission has been a source of
Page 5
inspiration to America. We cannot put a price tag on this. And
we cannot take our achievements in space for granted.
Just 15 years ago, two Americans landed on the Moon and
captured the imagination of the world. In 1969, the space
program had momentum and we seemed on the verge of moving
permanently into space. Instead, in the 1970's, America
hesitated. It was almost like Columbus returning from
discovering the New World, only to hear Queen Isabella say:
"Well done, now let's break up the sailing ships for firewood.
We have more serious things to do."
That attitude, shortsighted and pessimistic, didn't take our
country anywhere. Investing in space and other frontiers of
technology is like planting seed corn; the more you plant, the
more you harvest.
Today we have an operating fleet of three -- soon to be
four -- space shuttles. And last year we took the next step
toward future achievements in space: a permanently-manned space
station. The space station will serve as an orbiting laboratory
for scientific and industrial research. It will give us vital
new capabilities to work and learn in space and provide us a
gateway to future space goals.
Our friends and allies have been invited to join us as
partners in the space station effort. The response has been very
exciting. We can fully expect that, in less than a decade, space
will shine as an outstanding area of cooperation between the free
peoples of this planet.
Page 6
But we expect more than inspiration from our commitment to
space. Space should and will become an increasing sphere of
investment and commercial activity, a center of attention for
entrepreneurs and businessmen. As free enterprise expands into
space, not only will innovative ways be discovered to produce the
goods and services we now enjoy, but new opportunities,
inconceivable in the confines of Earth, will come to light and be
acted upon. Before the end of the century, many billions of
dollars of commercial activity will be taking place in and
because of space. Government policies must be geared toward
encouraging this wherever they can.
Let us always remember that our space program, first and
foremost, belongs to and should address the needs of the American
people. To maximize our benefits, we must look beyond short-term
steps to develop a long-term strategy for our national space
enterprise.
I am, therefore, announcing today the formation of a
?
National Commission on Space that will devise an aggressive space
strategy to carry America into the 21st century. The commission,
with the participation of the brightest minds in and out of the
space community, will bring into focus a vision of America's
future opportunities and develop a strategy to ensure America is
ready for tomorrow. The commission will outline for us an
operational plan, including objectives, agents, and resources.
The members will talk with a broad sampling of Americans to keep
our space efforts on target with the hopes, dreams, and
aspirations of the people.
Page 7
It gives me great pleasure to announce to you that the
Chairman of the National Commission on Space will be Dr. Thomas
Paine.
We have other members of the commission with us today.
Could they please stand? I want to thank all of you for taking
on this task. We have faith in your dedication, in your
judgement, and your imagination. Thank you for being willing to
give of yourselves this way. You deserve a round of applause.
The challenge of pushing back frontiers is part of our
character and, as we face the vast expanses of space, let us
recapture those stirrings in our soul that make us Americans.
Space, like freedom, is a limitless, never-ending frontier on
which our citizens can prove that they are indeed Americans.
Dr. Goddard once wrote a letter to H. G. Wells. In it he
explained, "There can be no thoughts of finishing, for 'aiming at
the stars,' both literally and figuratively, is a problem to
occupy generations, so that no matter how much progress one
makes, there is always the thrill of just beginning."
Let us hope Americans never lose that thrill. Thank you for
letting me be with you today.