Lyndon Baines Johnson

“ But Congress can never repeal inflation.
The leaders of American business and the leaders of American labor--those who really have power over wages and prices--must act responsibly, and in their Nation's interest by keeping increases in line with productivity. If our recognized leaders do not do this, they and those for whom they speak and all of us are going to suffer very serious consequences. ”

“ The economic outlook for this year is one of steady growth-if we are vigilant.
True, there are some clouds on the horizon. Prices are rising. Interest rates have passed the peak of 1966; and if there is continued inaction on the tax bill, they will climb even higher.
I warn the Congress and the Nation tonight that this failure to act on the tax bill will sweep us into an accelerating spiral of price increases, a slump in homebuilding, and a continuing erosion of the American dollar. ”

“ Tonight our Nation is accomplishing more for its people than has ever been accomplished before. Americans are prosperous as men have never been in recorded history. Yet there is in the land a certain restlessness--a questioning.
The total of our Nation's annual production is now above $800 billion. For 83 months this Nation has been on a steady upward trend of growth.
All about them, most American families can see the evidence of growing abundance: higher paychecks, humming factories, new cars moving down new highways. ”

“ This Congress--Democrats and Republicans--can earn the thanks of history. We can make this truly a new day for the American consumer, and by giving him this protection we can live in history as the consumer-conscious Congress.
So let us get on with the work. Let us act soon.
We, at every level of the government, State, local, Federal, know that the American people have had enough of rising crime and lawlessness in this country.
They recognize that law enforcement is first the duty of local police and local government. ”

“ This year I urge the Congress to honor my request for model cities funds to rebuild the centers of American cities by granting us the full amount that you in the Congress authorized--$1 billion.
The next essential is more housing--and more housing now.
Surely a nation that can go to the moon can place a decent home within the reach of its families. ”

“ Therefore we must call together the resources of industry and labor, to start building 300,000 housing units for low- and middle-income families next year--that is three times more than this year. We must make it possible for thousands of families to become homeowners, not rent-payers.
I propose, for the consideration of this Congress, a 10-year campaign to build 6 million new housing units for low and middle-income families. Six million units in the next 10 years. We have built 530,000 the last 10 years. ”

“ But the people also recognize that the National Government can and the National Government should help the cities and the States in their war on crime to the full extent of its resources and its constitutional authority. ”

“ We must try to reduce the travel deficit that we have of more than $2 billion. We are hoping that we can reduce it by $500 million--without unduly penalizing the travel of teachers, students, business people who have essential and necessary travel, or people who have relatives abroad whom they want to see. ”

“ But despite this progress, we must maintain a military force that is capable of deterring any threat to this Nation's security, whatever the mode of aggression. Our choices must not be confined to total war-or to total acquiescence. ”

“ And I report to you that I believe, with abiding conviction, that this people--nurtured by their deep faith, tutored by their hard lessons, moved by their high aspirations-have the will to meet the trials that these times impose. ”

“ And to give the consumer a stronger voice, I plan to appoint a consumer counsel in the Justice Department--a lawyer for the American consumer--to work directly under the Attorney General, to serve the President's Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs, and to serve the consumers of this land. ”

“ Our economy has created 7 1/2 million new jobs in the past 4 years. It is adding more than a million and a half new jobs this year.
Through programs passed by the Congress, job training is being given tonight to more than a million Americans in this country. ”

“ But we must also improve the lives of children already born in the villages and towns and cities on this earth. They can be taught by great teachers through space communications and the miracle of satellite television-and we are going to bring to bear every resource of mind and technology to help make this dream come true. ”

“ This would be a tragedy for every American family. And I predict that if this happens, they will all let us know about it.
We--those of us in the executive branch, in the Congress, and the leaders of labor and business--must do everything we can to prevent that kind of misfortune.
Under the new budget, the expenditures for 1969 will increase by $10.4 billion. Receipts will increase by $22.3 billion including the added tax revenues. Virtually all of this expenditure increase represents the mandatory cost of our defense efforts, $3 billion; increased interest, almost $1 billion ”

“ We conferred together and I recommended to the Congress and you subsequently approved taking 2 percent from payrolls and 10 percent from controllable expenditures. We therefore reduced appropriations almost $10 billion last session and expenditures over $4 billion. Now, that was in the budget last year.
I ask the Congress to recognize that there are certain selected programs that meet the Nation's most urgent needs and they have increased. We have insisted that decreases in very desirable but less urgent programs be made before we would approve any increases. ”

“ Our food programs have already helped millions avoid the horrors of famine.
But unless the rapid growth of population in developing countries is slowed, the gap between rich and poor will widen steadily. ”

“ A new college is founded every week. Today more than half of the high school graduates go on to college.
There are hundreds of thousands of fathers and mothers who never completed grammar school--who will see their children graduate from college. ”

“ Now the nations of the Middle East have the opportunity to cooperate with Ambassador Jarring's U.N. mission and they have the responsibility to find the terms of living together in stable peace and dignity, and we shall do all in our power to help them achieve that result. ”

“ They recognize that the frontline headquarters against crime is in the home, the church, the city hall and the county courthouse and the statehouse--not in the far-removed National Capital of Washington. ”

“ We have increased our judiciary by 40 percent and we have increased our prosecutors by 16 percent. The dockets are full of cases because we don't have assistant district attorneys to go before the Federal judge and handle them. We start these young lawyers at $8,200 a year. ”

“ Employment officials estimate that 500,000 of these persons are now unemployed in the major cities of America. Our objective is to place these 500,000 in private industry jobs within the next 3 years. ”