For the sixth and the last time, I present to the Congress my assessment of the State of the Union. I shall speak to you tonight about challenge and opportunity--and about the commitments that all of us have made together that will, if we carry them out, give America our best chance to achieve the kind of great society that we all want. Every President lives, not only with what is, but with what has been and what could be. Most of the great events in his Presidency are part of a larger sequence extending back through several years and extending back through several other administrations. Urban unrest, poverty, pressures on welfare, education of our people, law enforcement and law and order, the continuing crisis in the Middle East, the conflict in Vietnam, the dangers of nuclear war, the great difficulties of dealing with the Communist powers, all have this much in common: They and their causes--the causes that gave rise to them--all of these have existed with us for many years. Several Presidents have already sought to try to deal with them. One or more Presidents will try to resolve them or try to contain them in the years that are ahead of us. But if the Nation's problems are continuing, so are this great Nation's assets: --our economy, --the democratic system, --our sense of exploration, symbolized most recently by the wonderful flight of the Apollo 8, in which all Americans took great pride, --the good commonsense and sound judgment of the American people, and --their essential love of justice. We must not ignore our problems. But .neither should we ignore our strengths. Those strengths are available to sustain a President of either party--to support his progressive efforts both at home and overseas. Unfortunately, the departure of an administration does not mean the end of the problems that this administration has faced. The effort to meet the problems must go on, year after year, if the momentum that we have all mounted together in these past years is not to be lost. Although the struggle for progressive change is continuous, there are times when a watershed is reached--when there is--if not really a break with the past--at least the fulfillment of many of its oldest hopes, and a stepping forth into a new environment, to seek new goals. I think the past 5 years have been such a time. We have finished a major part of the old agenda. Some of the laws that we wrote have already, in front of our eyes, taken on the flesh of achievement. Medicare that we were unable to pass for so many years is now a part of American life. Voting rights and the voting booth that we debated so long back in the fifties, and the doors to public service, are open at last to all Americans regardless of their color. Schools and school children all over America tonight are receiving Federal assistance to go to good schools. Preschool education--Head Start--is already here to stay and, I think, so are the Federal programs that tonight are keeping more than a million and a half of the cream of our young people in the colleges and the universities of this country. Part of the American earth--not only in description on a map, but in the reality of our shores, our hills, our parks, our forests, and our mountains--has been permanently set aside for the American public and for their benefit. And there is more that will be set aside before this administration ends. Five million Americans have been trained for jobs in new Federal programs. I think it is most important that we all realize tonight that this Nation is close to full employment--with less unemployment than we have had at any time in almost 20 years. That is not in theory; that is in fact. Tonight, the unemployment rate is down to 3.3 percent. The number of jobs has grown more than 8 1/2 million in the last 5 years. That is more than in all the preceding 12 years. These achievements completed the full cycle, from idea to enactment and, finally, to a place in the lives of citizens all across this country. I wish it were possible to say that everything that this Congress and the administration achieved during this period had already completed that cycle. But a great deal of what we have committed needs additional funding to become a tangible realization. Yet the very existence of these commitments--these promises to the American people, made by this Congress and by the executive branch of the Government--are achievements in themselves, and failure to carry through on our commitments would be a tragedy for this Nation. This much is certain: No one man or group of men made these commitments alone. Congress and the executive branch, with their checks and balances, reasoned together and finally wrote them into the law of the land. They now have all the moral force that the American political system can summon when it acts as one. They express America's common determination to achieve goals. They imply action. In most cases, you have already begun that action--but it is not fully completed, of course. Let me speak for a moment about these commitments. I am going to speak in the language which the Congress itself spoke when it passed these measures. I am going to quote from your words. In 1966, Congress declared that "improving the quality of urban life is the most critical domestic problem facing the United States." Two years later it affirmed the historic goal of "a decent home . . . for every American family." That is your language. Now to meet these commitments, we must increase our support for the model cities program, where blueprints of change are already being prepared in more than 150 American cities To achieve the goals of the Housing Act of 1968 that you have already passed, we should begin this year more than 500,000 homes for needy families in the coming fiscal year. Funds are provided in the new budget to do just this. This is almost 10 times--10 times--the average rate of the past 10 years. Our cities and our towns are being pressed for funds to meet the needs of their growing populations. So I believe an urban development bank should be created by the Congress. This bank could obtain resources through the issuance of taxable bonds and it could then lend these resources at reduced rates to the communities throughout the land for schools, hospitals, parks, and other public facilities. Since we enacted the Social Security Act back in 1935, Congress has recognized the necessity to "make more adequate provision for aged persons . . . through maternal and child welfare . . . and public health." Those are the words of the Congress--"more adequate." The time has come, I think, to make it more adequate. I believe we should increase social security benefits, and I am so recommending tonight. I am suggesting that there should be an overall increase in benefits of at least 13 percent. Those who receive only the minimum of $55 should get $80 a month. Our Nation, too, is rightfully proud of our medical advances. But we should remember that our country ranks 15th among the nations of the world in its infant mortality rate. I think we should assure decent medical care for every expectant mother and for their children during the first year of their life in the United States of America. I think we should protect our children and their families from the costs of catastrophic illness. As we pass on from medicine, I think nothing is clearer to the Congress than the commitment that the Congress made to end poverty. Congress expressed it well, I think, in 1964, when they said: "It is the policy of the United States to eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty in this nation." This is the richest nation in the world. The antipoverty program has had many achievements. It also has some failures. But we must not cripple it after only 3 years of trying to solve the human problems that have been with us and have been building up among us for generations. I believe the Congress this year will want to improve the administration of the poverty program by reorganizing portions of it and transferring them to other agencies. I believe, though, it will want to continue, until we have broken the back of poverty, the efforts we are now making throughout this land. I believe, and I hope the next administration--I believe they believe--that the key to success in this effort is jobs. It is work for people who want to work. In the budget for fiscal 1970, I shall recommend a total of $3.5 billion for our job training program, and that is five times as much as we spent in 1964 trying to prepare Americans where they can work to earn their own living. The Nation's commitment in the field of civil rights began with the Declaration of Independence. They were extended by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. They have been powerfully strengthened by the enactment of three far-reaching civil rights laws within the past 5 years, that this Congress, in its wisdom, passed. On January 1 of this year, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 covered over 20 million American homes and apartments. The prohibition against racial discrimination in that act should be remembered and it should be vigorously enforced throughout this land. I believe we should also extend the vital provisions of the Voting Rights Act for another 5 years. In the Safe Streets Act of 1968, Congress determined "To assist state and local governments in reducing the incidence of crime." This year I am proposing that the Congress provide the full $300 million that the Congress last year authorized to do just that. I hope the Congress will put the money where the authorization is. I believe this is an essential contribution to justice and to public order in the United States. I hope these grants can be made to the States and they can be used effectively to reduce the crime rate in this country. But all of this is only a small part of the total effort that must be made--I think chiefly by the local governments throughout the Nation--if we expect to reduce the toll of crime that we all detest. Frankly, as I leave the Office of the Presidency, one of my greatest disappointments is our failure to secure passage of a licensing and registration act for firearms. I think if we had passed that act, it would have reduced the incidence of crime. I believe that the Congress should adopt such a law, and I hope that it will at a not too distant date. In order to meet our long-standing commitment to make government as efficient as possible, I believe that we should reorganize our postal system along the lines of the Kappel  report. Frederick R. Kappel, Chairman of the Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries. I hope we can all agree that public service should never impose an unreasonable financial sacrifice on able men and women who want to serve their country. I believe that the recommendations of the Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries are generally sound. Later this week, I shall submit a special message which I reviewed with the leadership this evening containing a proposal that has been reduced and has modified the Commission's recommendation to some extent on the congressional salaries. For Members of Congress, I will recommend the basic compensation not of the $50,000 unanimously recommended by the Kappel Commission and the other distinguished Members, but I shall reduce that $50,000 to $42,500. I will suggest that Congress appropriate a very small additional allowance for official expenses, so that Members will not be required to use their salary increase for essential official business. I would have submitted the Commission's recommendations, except the advice that I received from the leadership--and you usually are consulted about matters that affect the Congress--was that the Congress would not accept the $50,000 recommendation, and if I expected my recommendation to be seriously considered, I should make substantial reductions. That is the only reason I didn't go along with the Kappel report. In 1967 1 recommended to the Congress a fair and impartial random selection system for the draft. I submit it again tonight for your most respectful consideration. I know that all of us recognize that most of the things we do to meet all of these commitments I talk about will cost money. If we maintain the strong rate of growth that we have had in this country for the past 8 years, I think we shall generate the resources that we need to meet these commitments. We have already been able to increase our support for major social programs--although we have heard a lot about not being able to do anything on the home front because of Vietnam; but we have been able in the last 5 years to increase our commitments for such things as health and education from $30 billion in 1964 to $68 billion in the coming fiscal year. That is more than double. That is more than it has ever been increased in the 188 years of this Republic, notwithstanding Vietnam. We must continue to budget our resources and budget them responsibly in a way that will preserve our prosperity and will strengthen our dollar. Greater revenues and the reduced Federal spending required by Congress last year have changed the budgetary picture dramatically since last January when we made our estimates. At that time, you will remember that we estimated we would have a deficit of $8 billion. Well, I am glad to report to you tonight that the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, this June, we are going to have not a deficit, but we are going to have a $2.4 billion surplus. You will receive the budget tomorrow. The budget for the next fiscal year, that begins July 1--which you will want to examine very carefully in the days ahead--will provide a $3.4 billion surplus. This budget anticipates the extension of the surtax that Congress enacted last year. I have communicated with the President-elect, Mr. Nixon, in connection with this policy of continuing the surtax for the time being. I want to tell you that both of us want to see it removed just as soon as circumstances will permit, but the President-elect has told me that he has concluded that until his administration, and this Congress, can examine the appropriation bills, and each item in the budget, and can ascertain that the facts justify permitting the surtax to expire or to be reduced, he, Mr. Nixon, will support my recommendation that the surtax be continued. Americans, I believe, are united in the hope that the Paris talks will bring an early peace to Vietnam. And if our hopes for an early settlement of the war are realized, then our military expenditures can be reduced and very substantial savings can be made to be used for other desirable purposes, as the Congress may determine. In any event, I think it is imperative that we do all that we responsibly can to resist inflation while maintaining our prosperity. I think all Americans know that our prosperity is broad and it is deep, and it has brought record profits, the highest in our history, and record wages. Our gross national product has grown more in the last 5 years than any other period in our Nation's history. Our wages have been the highest. Our profits have been the best. This prosperity has enabled millions to escape the poverty that they would have otherwise had the last few years. I think also you will be very glad to hear that the Secretary of the Treasury informs me tonight that in 1968 in our balance of payments we have achieved a surplus. It appears that we have, in fact, done better this year than we have done in any year in this regard since the year 1957. The quest for a durable peace, I think, has absorbed every administration since the end of World War II. It has required us to seek a limitation of arms races not only among the superpowers, but among the smaller nations as well. We have joined in the test ban treaty of 1963, the outer space treaty of 1967, and the treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons in 1968. This latter agreement--the nonproliferation treaty--is now pending in the Senate and it has been pending there since last July. In my opinion, delay in ratifying it is not going to be helpful to the cause of peace. America took the lead in negotiating this treaty and America should now take steps to have it approved at the earliest possible date. Until a way can be found to scale down the level of arms among the superpowers, mankind cannot view the future without fear and great apprehension. So, I believe that we should resume the talks with the Soviet Union about limiting offensive and defensive missile systems. I think they would already have been resumed except for Czechoslovakia and our election this year. It was more than 20 years ago that we embarked on a program of trying to aid the developing nations. We knew then that we could not live in good conscience as a rich enclave on an earth that was seething in misery. During these years there have been great advances made under our program, particularly against want and hunger, although we are disappointed at the appropriations last year. We thought they were woefully inadequate. This year I am asking for adequate funds for economic assistance in the hope that we can further peace throughout the world. I think we must continue to support efforts in regional cooperation. Among those efforts, that of Western Europe has a very special place in America's concern. The only course that is going to permit Europe to play the great world role that its resources permit is to go forward to unity. I think America remains ready to work with a united Europe, to work as a partner on the basis of equality. For the future, the quest for peace, I believe, requires: --that we maintain the liberal trade policies that have helped us become the leading nation in world trade, --that we strengthen the international monetary system as an instrument of world prosperity, and --that we seek areas of agreement with the Soviet Union where the interests of both nations and the interests of world peace are properly served. The strained relationship between us and the world's leading Communist power has not ended--especially in the light of the brutal invasion of Czechoslovakia. But totalitarianism is no less odious to us because we are able to reach some accommodation that reduces the danger of world catastrophe. What we do, we do in the interest of peace in the world. We earnestly hope that time will bring a Russia that is less afraid of diversity and individual freedom. The quest for peace tonight continues in Vietnam, and in the Paris talks. I regret more than any of you know that it has not been possible to restore peace to South Vietnam. The prospects, I think, for peace are better today than at any time since North Vietnam began its invasion with its regular forces more than 4 years ago. The free nations of Asia know what they were not sure of at that time: that America cares about their freedom, and it also cares about America's own vital interests in Asia and throughout the Pacific. The North Vietnamese know that they cannot achieve their aggressive purposes by force. There may be hard fighting before a settlement is reached; but, I can assure you, it will yield no victory to the Communist cause. I cannot speak to you tonight about Vietnam without paying a very personal tribute to the men who have carried the battle out there for all of us. I have been honored to be their Commander in Chief. The Nation owes them its unstinting support while the battle continues--and its enduring gratitude when their service is done. Finally, the quest for stable peace in the Middle East goes on in many capitals tonight. America fully supports the unanimous resolution of the U.N. Security Council which points the way. There must be a settlement of the armed hostility that exists in that region of the world today. It is a threat not only to Israel and to all the Arab States, but it is a threat to every one of us and to the entire world as well. Now, my friends in Congress, I want to conclude with a few very personal words to you. I rejected and rejected and then finally accepted the congressional leadership's invitation to come here to speak this farewell to you in person tonight. I did that for two reasons. One was philosophical. I wanted to give you my judgment, as I saw it, on some of the issues before our Nation, as I view them, before I leave. The other was just pure sentimental. Most all of my life as a public official has been spent here in this building. For 38 years-since I worked on that gallery as a doorkeeper in the House of Representatives--I have known these halls, and I have known most of the men pretty well who walked them. I know the questions that you face. I know the conflicts that you endure. I know the ideals that you seek to serve. I left here first to become Vice President, and then to become, in a moment of tragedy, the President of the United States. My term of office has been marked by a series of challenges, both at home and throughout the world. In meeting some of these challenges, the Nation has found a new confidence. In meeting others, it knew turbulence and doubt, and fear and hate. Throughout this time, I have been sustained by my faith in representative democracy--a faith that I had learned here in this Capitol Building as an employee and as a Congressman and as a Senator. I believe deeply in the ultimate purposes of this Nation--described by the Constitution, tempered by history, embodied in progressive laws, and given life by men and women that have been elected to serve their fellow citizens. Now for 5 most demanding years in the White House, I have been strengthened by the counsel and the cooperation of two great former Presidents, Harry S. Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower. I have been guided by the memory of my pleasant and close association with the beloved John F. Kennedy, and with our greatest modern legislator, Speaker Sam Rayburn. I have been assisted by my friend every step of the way, Vice President Hubert Humphrey. I am so grateful that I have been supported daily by the loyalty of Speaker McCormack and Majority Leader Albert. I have benefited from the wisdom of Senator Mike Mansfield, and I am sure that I have avoided many dangerous pitfalls by the good commonsense counsel of the President Pro Tem of the Senate, Senator Richard Brevard Russell. I have received the most generous cooperation from the leaders of the Republican Party in the Congress of the United States, Senator Dirksen and Congressman Gerald Ford, the Minority Leader. No President should ask for more, although I did upon occasions. But few Presidents have ever been blessed with so much. President-elect Nixon, in the days ahead, is going to need your understanding, just as I did. And he is entitled to have it. I hope every Member will remember that the burdens he will bear as our President, will be borne for all of us. Each of us should try not to increase these burdens for the sake of narrow personal or partisan advantage. Now, it is time to leave. I hope it may be said, a hundred years from now, that by working together we helped to make our country more just, more just for all of its people, as well as to insure and guarantee the blessings of liberty for all of our posterity. That is what I hope. But I believe that at least it will be said that we tried.
For the sixth and the last time, I present to the Congress my assessment of the State of the Union. I shall speak to you tonight about challenge and opportunity--and about the commitments that all of us have made together that will, if we carry them out, give America our best chance to achieve the kind of great society that we all want. Every President lives, not only with what is, but with what has been and what could be. Most of the great events in his Presidency are part of a larger sequence extending back through several years and extending back through several other administrations. Urban unrest, poverty, pressures on welfare, education of our people, law enforcement and law and order, the continuing crisis in the Middle East, the conflict in Vietnam, the dangers of nuclear war, the great difficulties of dealing with the Communist powers, all have this much in common: They and their causes--the causes that gave rise to them--all of these have existed with us for many years. Several Presidents have already sought to try to deal with them. One or more Presidents will try to resolve them or try to contain them in the years that are ahead of us. But if the Nation's problems are continuing, so are this great Nation's assets: --our economy, --the democratic system, --our sense of exploration, symbolized most recently by the wonderful flight of the Apollo 8, in which all Americans took great pride, --the good commonsense and sound judgment of the American people, and --their essential love of justice. We must not ignore our problems. But .neither should we ignore our strengths. Those strengths are available to sustain a President of either party--to support his progressive efforts both at home and overseas. Unfortunately, the departure of an administration does not mean the end of the problems that this administration has faced. The effort to meet the problems must go on, year after year, if the momentum that we have all mounted together in these past years is not to be lost. Although the struggle for progressive change is continuous, there are times when a watershed is reached--when there is--if not really a break with the past--at least the fulfillment of many of its oldest hopes, and a stepping forth into a new environment, to seek new goals. I think the past 5 years have been such a time. We have finished a major part of the old agenda. Some of the laws that we wrote have already, in front of our eyes, taken on the flesh of achievement. Medicare that we were unable to pass for so many years is now a part of American life. Voting rights and the voting booth that we debated so long back in the fifties, and the doors to public service, are open at last to all Americans regardless of their color. Schools and school children all over America tonight are receiving Federal assistance to go to good schools. Preschool education--Head Start--is already here to stay and, I think, so are the Federal programs that tonight are keeping more than a million and a half of the cream of our young people in the colleges and the universities of this country. Part of the American earth--not only in description on a map, but in the reality of our shores, our hills, our parks, our forests, and our mountains--has been permanently set aside for the American public and for their benefit. And there is more that will be set aside before this administration ends. Five million Americans have been trained for jobs in new Federal programs. I think it is most important that we all realize tonight that this Nation is close to full employment--with less unemployment than we have had at any time in almost 20 years. That is not in theory; that is in fact. Tonight, the unemployment rate is down to 3.3 percent. The number of jobs has grown more than 8 1/2 million in the last 5 years. That is more than in all the preceding 12 years. These achievements completed the full cycle, from idea to enactment and, finally, to a place in the lives of citizens all across this country. I wish it were possible to say that everything that this Congress and the administration achieved during this period had already completed that cycle. But a great deal of what we have committed needs additional funding to become a tangible realization. Yet the very existence of these commitments--these promises to the American people, made by this Congress and by the executive branch of the Government--are achievements in themselves, and failure to carry through on our commitments would be a tragedy for this Nation. This much is certain: No one man or group of men made these commitments alone. Congress and the executive branch, with their checks and balances, reasoned together and finally wrote them into the law of the land. They now have all the moral force that the American political system can summon when it acts as one. They express America's common determination to achieve goals. They imply action. In most cases, you have already begun that action--but it is not fully completed, of course. Let me speak for a moment about these commitments. I am going to speak in the language which the Congress itself spoke when it passed these measures. I am going to quote from your words. In 1966, Congress declared that "improving the quality of urban life is the most critical domestic problem facing the United States." Two years later it affirmed the historic goal of "a decent home . . . for every American family." That is your language. Now to meet these commitments, we must increase our support for the model cities program, where blueprints of change are already being prepared in more than 150 American cities To achieve the goals of the Housing Act of 1968 that you have already passed, we should begin this year more than 500,000 homes for needy families in the coming fiscal year. Funds are provided in the new budget to do just this. This is almost 10 times--10 times--the average rate of the past 10 years. Our cities and our towns are being pressed for funds to meet the needs of their growing populations. So I believe an urban development bank should be created by the Congress. This bank could obtain resources through the issuance of taxable bonds and it could then lend these resources at reduced rates to the communities throughout the land for schools, hospitals, parks, and other public facilities. Since we enacted the Social Security Act back in 1935, Congress has recognized the necessity to "make more adequate provision for aged persons . . . through maternal and child welfare . . . and public health." Those are the words of the Congress--"more adequate." The time has come, I think, to make it more adequate. I believe we should increase social security benefits, and I am so recommending tonight. I am suggesting that there should be an overall increase in benefits of at least 13 percent. Those who receive only the minimum of $55 should get $80 a month. Our Nation, too, is rightfully proud of our medical advances. But we should remember that our country ranks 15th among the nations of the world in its infant mortality rate. I think we should assure decent medical care for every expectant mother and for their children during the first year of their life in the United States of America. I think we should protect our children and their families from the costs of catastrophic illness. As we pass on from medicine, I think nothing is clearer to the Congress than the commitment that the Congress made to end poverty. Congress expressed it well, I think, in 1964, when they said: "It is the policy of the United States to eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty in this nation." This is the richest nation in the world. The antipoverty program has had many achievements. It also has some failures. But we must not cripple it after only 3 years of trying to solve the human problems that have been with us and have been building up among us for generations. I believe the Congress this year will want to improve the administration of the poverty program by reorganizing portions of it and transferring them to other agencies. I believe, though, it will want to continue, until we have broken the back of poverty, the efforts we are now making throughout this land. I believe, and I hope the next administration--I believe they believe--that the key to success in this effort is jobs. It is work for people who want to work. In the budget for fiscal 1970, I shall recommend a total of $3.5 billion for our job training program, and that is five times as much as we spent in 1964 trying to prepare Americans where they can work to earn their own living. The Nation's commitment in the field of civil rights began with the Declaration of Independence. They were extended by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. They have been powerfully strengthened by the enactment of three far-reaching civil rights laws within the past 5 years, that this Congress, in its wisdom, passed. On January 1 of this year, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 covered over 20 million American homes and apartments. The prohibition against racial discrimination in that act should be remembered and it should be vigorously enforced throughout this land. I believe we should also extend the vital provisions of the Voting Rights Act for another 5 years. In the Safe Streets Act of 1968, Congress determined "To assist state and local governments in reducing the incidence of crime." This year I am proposing that the Congress provide the full $300 million that the Congress last year authorized to do just that. I hope the Congress will put the money where the authorization is. I believe this is an essential contribution to justice and to public order in the United States. I hope these grants can be made to the States and they can be used effectively to reduce the crime rate in this country. But all of this is only a small part of the total effort that must be made--I think chiefly by the local governments throughout the Nation--if we expect to reduce the toll of crime that we all detest. Frankly, as I leave the Office of the Presidency, one of my greatest disappointments is our failure to secure passage of a licensing and registration act for firearms. I think if we had passed that act, it would have reduced the incidence of crime. I believe that the Congress should adopt such a law, and I hope that it will at a not too distant date. In order to meet our long-standing commitment to make government as efficient as possible, I believe that we should reorganize our postal system along the lines of the Kappel report. Frederick R. Kappel, Chairman of the Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries. I hope we can all agree that public service should never impose an unreasonable financial sacrifice on able men and women who want to serve their country. I believe that the recommendations of the Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries are generally sound. Later this week, I shall submit a special message which I reviewed with the leadership this evening containing a proposal that has been reduced and has modified the Commission's recommendation to some extent on the congressional salaries. For Members of Congress, I will recommend the basic compensation not of the $50,000 unanimously recommended by the Kappel Commission and the other distinguished Members, but I shall reduce that $50,000 to $42,500. I will suggest that Congress appropriate a very small additional allowance for official expenses, so that Members will not be required to use their salary increase for essential official business. I would have submitted the Commission's recommendations, except the advice that I received from the leadership--and you usually are consulted about matters that affect the Congress--was that the Congress would not accept the $50,000 recommendation, and if I expected my recommendation to be seriously considered, I should make substantial reductions. That is the only reason I did not go along with the Kappel report. In 1967 1 recommended to the Congress a fair and impartial random selection system for the draft. I submit it again tonight for your most respectful consideration. I know that all of us recognize that most of the things we do to meet all of these commitments I talk about will cost money. If we maintain the strong rate of growth that we have had in this country for the past 8 years, I think we shall generate the resources that we need to meet these commitments. We have already been able to increase our support for major social programs--although we have heard a lot about not being able to do anything on the home front because of Vietnam; but we have been able in the last 5 years to increase our commitments for such things as health and education from $30 billion in 1964 to $68 billion in the coming fiscal year. That is more than double. That is more than it has ever been increased in the 188 years of this Republic, notwithstanding Vietnam. We must continue to budget our resources and budget them responsibly in a way that will preserve our prosperity and will strengthen our dollar. Greater revenues and the reduced Federal spending required by Congress last year have changed the budgetary picture dramatically since last January when we made our estimates. At that time, you will remember that we estimated we would have a deficit of $8 billion. Well, I am glad to report to you tonight that the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, this June, we are going to have not a deficit, but we are going to have a $2.4 billion surplus. You will receive the budget tomorrow. The budget for the next fiscal year, that begins July 1--which you will want to examine very carefully in the days ahead--will provide a $3.4 billion surplus. This budget anticipates the extension of the surtax that Congress enacted last year. I have communicated with the President-elect, Mr. Nixon, in connection with this policy of continuing the surtax for the time being. I want to tell you that both of us want to see it removed just as soon as circumstances will permit, but the President-elect has told me that he has concluded that until his administration, and this Congress, can examine the appropriation bills, and each item in the budget, and can ascertain that the facts justify permitting the surtax to expire or to be reduced, he, Mr. Nixon, will support my recommendation that the surtax be continued. Americans, I believe, are united in the hope that the Paris talks will bring an early peace to Vietnam. And if our hopes for an early settlement of the war are realized, then our military expenditures can be reduced and very substantial savings can be made to be used for other desirable purposes, as the Congress may determine. In any event, I think it is imperative that we do all that we responsibly can to resist inflation while maintaining our prosperity. I think all Americans know that our prosperity is broad and it is deep, and it has brought record profits, the highest in our history, and record wages. Our gross national product has grown more in the last 5 years than any other period in our Nation's history. Our wages have been the highest. Our profits have been the best. This prosperity has enabled millions to escape the poverty that they would have otherwise had the last few years. I think also you will be very glad to hear that the Secretary of the Treasury informs me tonight that in 1968 in our balance of payments we have achieved a surplus. It appears that we have, in fact, done better this year than we have done in any year in this regard since the year 1957. The quest for a durable peace, I think, has absorbed every administration since the end of World War II. It has required us to seek a limitation of arms races not only among the superpowers, but among the smaller nations as well. We have joined in the test ban treaty of 1963, the outer space treaty of 1967, and the treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons in 1968. This latter agreement--the nonproliferation treaty--is now pending in the Senate and it has been pending there since last July. In my opinion, delay in ratifying it is not going to be helpful to the because of peace. America took the lead in negotiating this treaty and America should now take steps to have it approved at the earliest possible date. Until a way can be found to scale down the level of arms among the superpowers, mankind cannot view the future without fear and great apprehension. So, I believe that we should resume the talks with the Soviet Union about limiting offensive and defensive missile systems. I think they would already have been resumed except for Czechoslovakia and our election this year. It was more than 20 years ago that we embarked on a program of trying to aid the developing nations. We knew then that we could not live in good conscience as a rich enclave on an earth that was seething in misery. During these years there have been great advances made under our program, particularly against want and hunger, although we are disappointed at the appropriations last year. We thought they were woefully inadequate. This year I am asking for adequate funds for economic assistance in the hope that we can further peace throughout the world. I think we must continue to support efforts in regional cooperation. Among those efforts, that of Western Europe has a very special place in America's concern. The only course that is going to permit Europe to play the great world role that its resources permit is to go forward to unity. I think America remains ready to work with a united Europe, to work as a partner on the basis of equality. For the future, the quest for peace, I believe, requires: --that we maintain the liberal trade policies that have helped us become the leading nation in world trade, --that we strengthen the international monetary system as an instrument of world prosperity, and --that we seek areas of agreement with the Soviet Union where the interests of both nations and the interests of world peace are properly served. The strained relationship between us and the world's leading Communist power has not ended--especially in the light of the brutal invasion of Czechoslovakia. But totalitarianism is no less odious to us because we are able to reach some accommodation that reduces the danger of world catastrophe. What we do, we do in the interest of peace in the world. We earnestly hope that time will bring a Russia that is less afraid of diversity and individual freedom. The quest for peace tonight continues in Vietnam, and in the Paris talks. I regret more than any of you know that it has not been possible to restore peace to South Vietnam. The prospects, I think, for peace are better today than at any time since North Vietnam began its invasion with its regular forces more than 4 years ago. The free nations of Asia know what they were not sure of at that time: that America cares about their freedom, and it also cares about America's own vital interests in Asia and throughout the Pacific. The North Vietnamese know that they cannot achieve their aggressive purposes by force. There may be hard fighting before a settlement is reached; but, I can assure you, it will yield no victory to the Communist because. I cannot speak to you tonight about Vietnam without paying a very personal tribute to the men who have carried the battle out there for all of us. I have been honored to be their Commander in Chief. The Nation owes them its unstinting support while the battle continues--and its enduring gratitude when their service is done. Finally, the quest for stable peace in the Middle East goes on in many capitals tonight. America fully supports the unanimous resolution of the YOU.N. Security Council which points the way. There must be a settlement of the armed hostility that exists in that region of the world today. It is a threat not only to Israel and to all the Arab States, but it is a threat to every one of us and to the entire world as well. Now, my friends in Congress, I want to conclude with a few very personal words to you. I rejected and rejected and then finally accepted the congressional leadership's invitation to come here to speak this farewell to you in person tonight. I did that for two reasons. One was philosophical. I wanted to give you my judgment, as I saw it, on some of the issues before our Nation, as I view them, before I leave. The other was just pure sentimental. Most all of my life as a public official has been spent here in this building. For 38 years-since I worked on that gallery as a doorkeeper in the House of Representatives--I have known these halls, and I have known most of the men pretty well who walked them. I know the questions that you face. I know the conflicts that you endure. I know the ideals that you seek to serve. I left here first to become Vice President, and then to become, in a moment of tragedy, the President of the United States. My term of office has been marked by a series of challenges, both at home and throughout the world. In meeting some of these challenges, the Nation has found a new confidence. In meeting others, it knew turbulence and doubt, and fear and hate. Throughout this time, I have been sustained by my faith in representative democracy--a faith that I had learned here in this Capitol Building as an employee and as a Congressman and as a Senator. I believe deeply in the ultimate purposes of this Nation--described by the Constitution, tempered by history, embodied in progressive laws, and given life by men and women that have been elected to serve their fellow citizens. Now for 5 most demanding years in the White House, I have been strengthened by the counsel and the cooperation of two great former Presidents, Harry S. Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower. I have been guided by the memory of my pleasant and close association with the beloved John F. Kennedy, and with our greatest modern legislator, Speaker Sam Rayburn. I have been assisted by my friend every step of the way, Vice President Hubert Humphrey. I am so grateful that I have been supported daily by the loyalty of Speaker McCormack and Majority Leader Albert. I have benefited from the wisdom of Senator Mike Mansfield, and I am sure that I have avoided many dangerous pitfalls by the good commonsense counsel of the President Pro Tem of the Senate, Senator Richard Brevard Russell. I have received the most generous cooperation from the leaders of the Republican Party in the Congress of the United States, Senator Dirksen and Congressman Gerald Ford, the Minority Leader. No President should ask for more, although I did upon occasions. But few Presidents have ever been blessed with so much. President-elect Nixon, in the days ahead, is going to need your understanding, just as I did. And he is entitled to have it. I hope every Member will remember that the burdens he will bear as our President, will be borne for all of us. Each of us should try not to increase these burdens for the sake of narrow personal or partisan advantage. Now, it is time to leave. I hope it may be said, a hundred years from now, that by working together we helped to make our country more just, more just for all of its people, as well as to insure and guarantee the blessings of liberty for all of our posterity. That is what I hope. But I believe that at least it will be said that we tried.
for the sixth and the last time i present to the congress my assessment of the state of the union i shall speak to you tonight about challenge and opportunity and about the commitments that all of us have made together that will if we carry them out give america our best chance to achieve the kind of great society that we all want every president lives not only with what is but with what has been and what could be most of the great events in his presidency are part of a larger sequence extending back through several years and extending back through several other administrations urban unrest poverty pressures on welfare education of our people law enforcement and law and order the continuing crisis in the middle east the conflict in vietnam the dangers of nuclear war the great difficulties of dealing with the communist powers all have this much in common they and their causes the causes that gave rise to them all of these have existed with us for many years several presidents have already sought to try to deal with them one or more presidents will try to resolve them or try to contain them in the years that are ahead of us but if the nation problems are continuing so are this great nation assets our economy the democratic system our sense of exploration symbolized most recently by the wonderful flight of the apollo 8 in which all americans took great pride the good commonsense and sound judgment of the american people and their essential love of justice we must not ignore our problems but should we ignore our strengths those strengths are available to sustain a president of either party to support his progressive efforts both at home and overseas unfortunately the departure of an administration does not mean the end of the problems that this administration has faced the effort to meet the problems must go on year after year if the momentum that we have all mounted together in these past years is not to be lost although the struggle for progressive change is continuous there are times when a watershed is reached when there is if not really a break with the past at least the fulfillment of many of its oldest hopes and a stepping forth into a new environment to seek new goals i think the past 5 years have been such a time we have finished a major part of the old agenda some of the laws that we wrote have already in front of our eyes taken on the flesh of achievement medicare that we were unable to pass for so many years is now a part of american life voting rights and the voting booth that we debated so long back in the fifties and the doors to public service are open at last to all americans regardless of their color schools and school children all over america tonight are receiving federal assistance to go to good schools preschool education head start is already here to stay and i think so are the federal programs that tonight are keeping more than a million and a half of the cream of our young people in the colleges and the universities of this country part of the american earth not only in description on a map but in the reality of our shores our hills our parks our forests and our mountains has been permanently set aside for the american public and for their benefit and there is more that will be set aside before this administration ends five million americans have been trained for jobs in new federal programs i think it is most important that we all realize tonight that this nation is close to full employment with less unemployment than we have had at any time in almost 20 years that is not in theory that is in fact tonight the unemployment rate is down to percent the number of jobs has grown more than 8 million in the last 5 years that is more than in all the preceding 12 years these achievements completed the full cycle from idea to enactment and finally to a place in the lives of citizens all across this country i wish it were possible to say that everything that this congress and the administration achieved during this period had already completed that cycle but a great deal of what we have committed needs additional funding to become a tangible realization yet the very existence of these commitments these promises to the american people made by this congress and by the executive branch of the government are achievements in themselves and failure to carry through on our commitments would be a tragedy for this nation this much is certain no one man or group of men made these commitments alone congress and the executive branch with their checks and balances reasoned together and finally wrote them into the law of the land they now have all the moral force that the american political system can summon when it acts as one they express america common determination to achieve goals they imply action in most cases you have already begun that action but it is not fully completed of course let me speak for a moment about these commitments i am going to speak in the language which the congress itself spoke when it passed these measures i am going to quote from your words in 1966 congress declared that improving the quality of urban life is the most critical domestic problem facing the united states two years later it affirmed the historic goal of a decent home for every american family that is your language now to meet these commitments we must increase our support for the model cities program where blueprints of change are already being prepared in more than 150 american cities to achieve the goals of the housing act of 1968 that you have already passed we should begin this year more than homes for needy families in the coming fiscal year funds are provided in the new budget to do just this this is almost 10 times 10 times the average rate of the past 10 years our cities and our towns are being pressed for funds to meet the needs of their growing populations so i believe an urban development bank should be created by the congress this bank could obtain resources through the issuance of taxable bonds and it could then lend these resources at reduced rates to the communities throughout the land for schools hospitals parks and other public facilities since we enacted the social security act back in 1935 congress has recognized the necessity to make more adequate provision for aged persons through maternal and child welfare and public health those are the words of the congress more adequate the time has come i think to make it more adequate i believe we should increase social security benefits and i am so recommending tonight i am suggesting that there should be an overall increase in benefits of at least 13 percent those who receive only the minimum of 55 should get 80 a month our nation too is rightfully proud of our medical advances but we should remember that our country ranks 15th among the nations of the world in its infant mortality rate i think we should assure decent medical care for every expectant mother and for their children during the first year of their life in the united states of america i think we should protect our children and their families from the costs of catastrophic illness as we pass on from medicine i think nothing is clearer to the congress than the commitment that the congress made to end poverty congress expressed it well i think in 1964 when they said it is the policy of the united states to eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty in this nation this is the richest nation in the world the antipoverty program has had many achievements it also has some failures but we must not cripple it after only 3 years of trying to solve the human problems that have been with us and have been building up among us for generations i believe the congress this year will want to improve the administration of the poverty program by reorganizing portions of it and transferring them to other agencies i believe though it will want to continue until we have broken the back of poverty the efforts we are now making throughout this land i believe and i hope the next administration i believe they believe that the key to success in this effort is jobs it is work for people who want to work in the budget for fiscal 1970 i shall recommend a total of billion for our job training program and that is five times as much as we spent in 1964 trying to prepare americans where they can work to earn their own living the nation commitment in the field of civil rights began with the declaration of independence they were extended by the 13th 14th and 15th amendments they have been powerfully strengthened by the enactment of three civil rights laws within the past 5 years that this congress in its wisdom passed on january 1 of this year the fair housing act of 1968 covered over 20 million american homes and apartments the prohibition against racial discrimination in that act should be remembered and it should be vigorously enforced throughout this land i believe we should also extend the vital provisions of the voting rights act for another 5 years in the safe streets act of 1968 congress determined to assist state and local governments in reducing the incidence of crime this year i am proposing that the congress provide the full 300 million that the congress last year authorized to do just that i hope the congress will put the money where the authorization is i believe this is an essential contribution to justice and to public order in the united states i hope these grants can be made to the states and they can be used effectively to reduce the crime rate in this country but all of this is only a small part of the total effort that must be made i think chiefly by the local governments throughout the nation if we expect to reduce the toll of crime that we all detest frankly as i leave the office of the presidency one of my greatest disappointments is our failure to secure passage of a licensing and registration act for firearms i think if we had passed that act it would have reduced the incidence of crime i believe that the congress should adopt such a law and i hope that it will at a not too distant date in order to meet our commitment to make government as efficient as possible i believe that we should reorganize our postal system along the lines of the kappel report frederick kappel chairman of the commission on executive legislative and judicial salaries i hope we can all agree that public service should never impose an unreasonable financial sacrifice on able men and women who want to serve their country i believe that the recommendations of the commission on executive legislative and judicial salaries are generally sound later this week i shall submit a special message which i reviewed with the leadership this evening containing a proposal that has been reduced and has modified the commission recommendation to some extent on the congressional salaries for members of congress i will recommend the basic compensation not of the unanimously recommended by the kappel commission and the other distinguished members but i shall reduce that to i will suggest that congress appropriate a very small additional allowance for official expenses so that members will not be required to use their salary increase for essential official business i would have submitted the commission recommendations except the advice that i received from the leadership and you usually are consulted about matters that affect the congress was that the congress would not accept the recommendation and if i expected my recommendation to be seriously considered i should make substantial reductions that is the only reason i did not go along with the kappel report in 1967 1 recommended to the congress a fair and impartial random selection system for the draft i submit it again tonight for your most respectful consideration i know that all of us recognize that most of the things we do to meet all of these commitments i talk about will cost money if we maintain the strong rate of growth that we have had in this country for the past 8 years i think we shall generate the resources that we need to meet these commitments we have already been able to increase our support for major social programs although we have heard a lot about not being able to do anything on the home front because of vietnam but we have been able in the last 5 years to increase our commitments for such things as health and education from 30 billion in 1964 to 68 billion in the coming fiscal year that is more than double that is more than it has ever been increased in the 188 years of this republic notwithstanding vietnam we must continue to budget our resources and budget them responsibly in a way that will preserve our prosperity and will strengthen our dollar greater revenues and the reduced federal spending required by congress last year have changed the budgetary picture dramatically since last january when we made our estimates at that time you will remember that we estimated we would have a deficit of 8 billion well i am glad to report to you tonight that the fiscal year ending june 30 1969 this june we are going to have not a deficit but we are going to have a billion surplus you will receive the budget tomorrow the budget for the next fiscal year that begins july 1 which you will want to examine very carefully in the days ahead will provide a billion surplus this budget anticipates the extension of the surtax that congress enacted last year i have communicated with the nixon in connection with this policy of continuing the surtax for the time being i want to tell you that both of us want to see it removed just as soon as circumstances will permit but the has told me that he has concluded that until his administration and this congress can examine the appropriation bills and each item in the budget and can ascertain that the facts justify permitting the surtax to expire or to be reduced he nixon will support my recommendation that the surtax be continued americans i believe are united in the hope that the paris talks will bring an early peace to vietnam and if our hopes for an early settlement of the war are realized then our military expenditures can be reduced and very substantial savings can be made to be used for other desirable purposes as the congress may determine in any event i think it is imperative that we do all that we responsibly can to resist inflation while maintaining our prosperity i think all americans know that our prosperity is broad and it is deep and it has brought record profits the highest in our history and record wages our gross national product has grown more in the last 5 years than any other period in our nation history our wages have been the highest our profits have been the best this prosperity has enabled millions to escape the poverty that they would have otherwise had the last few years i think also you will be very glad to hear that the secretary of the treasury informs me tonight that in 1968 in our balance of payments we have achieved a surplus it appears that we have in fact done better this year than we have done in any year in this regard since the year 1957 the quest for a durable peace i think has absorbed every administration since the end of world war ii it has required us to seek a limitation of arms races not only among the superpowers but among the smaller nations as well we have joined in the test ban treaty of 1963 the outer space treaty of 1967 and the treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons in 1968 this latter agreement the nonproliferation treaty is now pending in the senate and it has been pending there since last july in my opinion delay in ratifying it is not going to be helpful to the because of peace america took the lead in negotiating this treaty and america should now take steps to have it approved at the earliest possible date until a way can be found to scale down the level of arms among the superpowers mankind can not view the future without fear and great apprehension so i believe that we should resume the talks with the soviet union about limiting offensive and defensive missile systems i think they would already have been resumed except for czechoslovakia and our election this year it was more than 20 years ago that we embarked on a program of trying to aid the developing nations we knew then that we could not live in good conscience as a rich enclave on an earth that was seething in misery during these years there have been great advances made under our program particularly against want and hunger although we are disappointed at the appropriations last year we thought they were woefully inadequate this year i am asking for adequate funds for economic assistance in the hope that we can further peace throughout the world i think we must continue to support efforts in regional cooperation among those efforts that of western europe has a very special place in america concern the only course that is going to permit europe to play the great world role that its resources permit is to go forward to unity i think america remains ready to work with a united europe to work as a partner on the basis of equality for the future the quest for peace i believe requires that we maintain the liberal trade policies that have helped us become the leading nation in world trade that we strengthen the international monetary system as an instrument of world prosperity and that we seek areas of agreement with the soviet union where the interests of both nations and the interests of world peace are properly served the strained relationship between us and the world leading communist power has not ended especially in the light of the brutal invasion of czechoslovakia but totalitarianism is no less odious to us because we are able to reach some accommodation that reduces the danger of world catastrophe what we do we do in the interest of peace in the world we earnestly hope that time will bring a russia that is less afraid of diversity and individual freedom the quest for peace tonight continues in vietnam and in the paris talks i regret more than any of you know that it has not been possible to restore peace to south vietnam the prospects i think for peace are better today than at any time since north vietnam began its invasion with its regular forces more than 4 years ago the free nations of asia know what they were not sure of at that time that america cares about their freedom and it also cares about america own vital interests in asia and throughout the pacific the north vietnamese know that they can not achieve their aggressive purposes by force there may be hard fighting before a settlement is reached but i can assure you it will yield no victory to the communist because i can not speak to you tonight about vietnam without paying a very personal tribute to the men who have carried the battle out there for all of us i have been honored to be their commander in chief the nation owes them its unstinting support while the battle continues and its enduring gratitude when their service is done finally the quest for stable peace in the middle east goes on in many capitals tonight america fully supports the unanimous resolution of the security council which points the way there must be a settlement of the armed hostility that exists in that region of the world today it is a threat not only to israel and to all the arab states but it is a threat to every one of us and to the entire world as well now my friends in congress i want to conclude with a few very personal words to you i rejected and rejected and then finally accepted the congressional leadership invitation to come here to speak this farewell to you in person tonight i did that for two reasons one was philosophical i wanted to give you my judgment as i saw it on some of the issues before our nation as i view them before i leave the other was just pure sentimental most all of my life as a public official has been spent here in this building for 38 i worked on that gallery as a doorkeeper in the house of representatives i have known these halls and i have known most of the men pretty well who walked them i know the questions that you face i know the conflicts that you endure i know the ideals that you seek to serve i left here first to become vice president and then to become in a moment of tragedy the president of the united states my term of office has been marked by a series of challenges both at home and throughout the world in meeting some of these challenges the nation has found a new confidence in meeting others it knew turbulence and doubt and fear and hate throughout this time i have been sustained by my faith in representative democracy a faith that i had learned here in this capitol building as an employee and as a congressman and as a senator i believe deeply in the ultimate purposes of this nation described by the constitution tempered by history embodied in progressive laws and given life by men and women that have been elected to serve their fellow citizens now for 5 most demanding years in the white house i have been strengthened by the counsel and the cooperation of two great former presidents harry truman and dwight david eisenhower i have been guided by the memory of my pleasant and close association with the beloved john kennedy and with our greatest modern legislator speaker sam rayburn i have been assisted by my friend every step of the way vice president hubert humphrey i am so grateful that i have been supported daily by the loyalty of speaker mccormack and majority leader albert i have benefited from the wisdom of senator mike mansfield and i am sure that i have avoided many dangerous pitfalls by the good commonsense counsel of the president pro tem of the senate senator richard brevard russell i have received the most generous cooperation from the leaders of the republican party in the congress of the united states senator dirksen and congressman gerald ford the minority leader no president should ask for more although i did upon occasions but few presidents have ever been blessed with so much nixon in the days ahead is going to need your understanding just as i did and he is entitled to have it i hope every member will remember that the burdens he will bear as our president will be borne for all of us each of us should try not to increase these burdens for the sake of narrow personal or partisan advantage now it is time to leave i hope it may be said a hundred years from now that by working together we helped to make our country more just more just for all of its people as well as to insure and guarantee the blessings of liberty for all of our posterity that is what i hope but i believe that at least it will be said that we tried
sixth last time present congress assessment state union shall speak tonight challenge opportunity commitments us made together carry give america best chance achieve kind great society want every president lives could great events presidency part larger sequence extending back several years extending back several administrations urban unrest poverty pressures welfare education people law enforcement law order continuing crisis middle east conflict vietnam dangers nuclear war great difficulties dealing communist powers much common causes causes gave rise existed us many years several presidents already sought try deal one presidents try resolve try contain years ahead us nation problems continuing great nation assets economy democratic system sense exploration symbolized recently wonderful flight apollo 8 americans took great pride good commonsense sound judgment american people essential love justice must ignore problems ignore strengths strengths available sustain president either party support progressive efforts home overseas unfortunately departure administration mean end problems administration faced effort meet problems must go year year momentum mounted together past years lost although struggle progressive change continuous times watershed reached really break past least fulfillment many oldest hopes stepping forth new environment seek new goals think past 5 years time finished major part old agenda laws wrote already front eyes taken flesh achievement medicare unable pass many years part american life voting rights voting booth debated long back fifties doors public service open last americans regardless color schools school children america tonight receiving federal assistance go good schools preschool education head start already stay think federal programs tonight keeping million half cream young people colleges universities country part american earth description map reality shores hills parks forests mountains permanently set aside american public benefit set aside administration ends five million americans trained jobs new federal programs think important realize tonight nation close full employment less unemployment time almost 20 years theory fact tonight unemployment rate percent number jobs grown 8 million last 5 years preceding 12 years achievements completed full cycle idea enactment finally place lives citizens across country wish possible say everything congress administration achieved period already completed cycle great deal committed needs additional funding become tangible realization yet existence commitments promises american people made congress executive branch government achievements failure carry commitments would tragedy nation much certain one man group men made commitments alone congress executive branch checks balances reasoned together finally wrote law land moral force american political system summon acts one express america common determination achieve goals imply action cases already begun action fully completed course let speak moment commitments going speak language congress spoke passed measures going quote words 1966 congress declared improving quality urban life critical domestic problem facing united states two years later affirmed historic goal decent home every american family language meet commitments must increase support model cities program blueprints change already prepared 150 american cities achieve goals housing act 1968 already passed begin year homes needy families coming fiscal year funds provided new budget almost 10 times 10 times average rate past 10 years cities towns pressed funds meet needs growing populations believe urban development bank created congress bank could obtain resources issuance taxable bonds could lend resources reduced rates communities throughout land schools hospitals parks public facilities since enacted social security act back 1935 congress recognized necessity make adequate provision aged persons maternal child welfare public health words congress adequate time come think make adequate believe increase social security benefits recommending tonight suggesting overall increase benefits least 13 percent receive minimum 55 get 80 month nation rightfully proud medical advances remember country ranks 15th among nations world infant mortality rate think assure decent medical care every expectant mother children first year life united states america think protect children families costs catastrophic illness pass medicine think nothing clearer congress commitment congress made end poverty congress expressed well think 1964 said policy united states eliminate paradox poverty midst plenty nation richest nation world antipoverty program many achievements also failures must cripple 3 years trying solve human problems us building among us generations believe congress year want improve administration poverty program reorganizing portions transferring agencies believe though want continue broken back poverty efforts making throughout land believe hope next administration believe believe key success effort jobs work people want work budget fiscal 1970 shall recommend total billion job training program five times much spent 1964 trying prepare americans work earn living nation commitment field civil rights began declaration independence extended 13th 14th 15th amendments powerfully strengthened enactment three civil rights laws within past 5 years congress wisdom passed january 1 year fair housing act 1968 covered 20 million american homes apartments prohibition racial discrimination act remembered vigorously enforced throughout land believe also extend vital provisions voting rights act another 5 years safe streets act 1968 congress determined assist state local governments reducing incidence crime year proposing congress provide full 300 million congress last year authorized hope congress put money authorization believe essential contribution justice public order united states hope grants made states used effectively reduce crime rate country small part total effort must made think chiefly local governments throughout nation expect reduce toll crime detest frankly leave office presidency one greatest disappointments failure secure passage licensing registration act firearms think passed act would reduced incidence crime believe congress adopt law hope distant date order meet commitment make government efficient possible believe reorganize postal system along lines kappel report frederick kappel chairman commission executive legislative judicial salaries hope agree public service never impose unreasonable financial sacrifice able men women want serve country believe recommendations commission executive legislative judicial salaries generally sound later week shall submit special message reviewed leadership evening containing proposal reduced modified commission recommendation extent congressional salaries members congress recommend basic compensation unanimously recommended kappel commission distinguished members shall reduce suggest congress appropriate small additional allowance official expenses members required use salary increase essential official business would submitted commission recommendations except advice received leadership usually consulted matters affect congress congress would accept recommendation expected recommendation seriously considered make substantial reductions reason go along kappel report 1967 1 recommended congress fair impartial random selection system draft submit tonight respectful consideration know us recognize things meet commitments talk cost money maintain strong rate growth country past 8 years think shall generate resources need meet commitments already able increase support major social programs although heard lot able anything home front vietnam able last 5 years increase commitments things health education 30 billion 1964 68 billion coming fiscal year double ever increased 188 years republic notwithstanding vietnam must continue budget resources budget responsibly way preserve prosperity strengthen dollar greater revenues reduced federal spending required congress last year changed budgetary picture dramatically since last january made estimates time remember estimated would deficit 8 billion well glad report tonight fiscal year ending june 30 1969 june going deficit going billion surplus receive budget tomorrow budget next fiscal year begins july 1 want examine carefully days ahead provide billion surplus budget anticipates extension surtax congress enacted last year communicated nixon connection policy continuing surtax time want tell us want see removed soon circumstances permit told concluded administration congress examine appropriation bills item budget ascertain facts justify permitting surtax expire reduced nixon support recommendation surtax continued americans believe united hope paris talks bring early peace vietnam hopes early settlement war realized military expenditures reduced substantial savings made used desirable purposes congress may determine event think imperative responsibly resist inflation maintaining prosperity think americans know prosperity broad deep brought record profits highest history record wages gross national product grown last 5 years period nation history wages highest profits best prosperity enabled millions escape poverty would otherwise last years think also glad hear secretary treasury informs tonight 1968 balance payments achieved surplus appears fact done better year done year regard since year 1957 quest durable peace think absorbed every administration since end world war ii required us seek limitation arms races among superpowers among smaller nations well joined test ban treaty 1963 outer space treaty 1967 treaty spread nuclear weapons 1968 latter agreement nonproliferation treaty pending senate pending since last july opinion delay ratifying going helpful peace america took lead negotiating treaty america take steps approved earliest possible date way found scale level arms among superpowers mankind view future without fear great apprehension believe resume talks soviet union limiting offensive defensive missile systems think would already resumed except czechoslovakia election year 20 years ago embarked program trying aid developing nations knew could live good conscience rich enclave earth seething misery years great advances made program particularly want hunger although disappointed appropriations last year thought woefully inadequate year asking adequate funds economic assistance hope peace throughout world think must continue support efforts regional cooperation among efforts western europe special place america concern course going permit europe play great world role resources permit go forward unity think america remains ready work united europe work partner basis equality future quest peace believe requires maintain liberal trade policies helped us become leading nation world trade strengthen international monetary system instrument world prosperity seek areas agreement soviet union interests nations interests world peace properly served strained relationship us world leading communist power ended especially light brutal invasion czechoslovakia totalitarianism less odious us able reach accommodation reduces danger world catastrophe interest peace world earnestly hope time bring russia less afraid diversity individual freedom quest peace tonight continues vietnam paris talks regret know possible restore peace south vietnam prospects think peace better today time since north vietnam began invasion regular forces 4 years ago free nations asia know sure time america cares freedom also cares america vital interests asia throughout pacific north vietnamese know achieve aggressive purposes force may hard fighting settlement reached assure yield victory communist speak tonight vietnam without paying personal tribute men carried battle us honored commander chief nation owes unstinting support battle continues enduring gratitude service done finally quest stable peace middle east goes many capitals tonight america fully supports unanimous resolution security council points way must settlement armed hostility exists region world today threat israel arab states threat every one us entire world well friends congress want conclude personal words rejected rejected finally accepted congressional leadership invitation come speak farewell person tonight two reasons one philosophical wanted give judgment saw issues nation view leave pure sentimental life public official spent building 38 worked gallery doorkeeper house representatives known halls known men pretty well walked know questions face know conflicts endure know ideals seek serve left first become vice president become moment tragedy president united states term office marked series challenges home throughout world meeting challenges nation found new confidence meeting others knew turbulence doubt fear hate throughout time sustained faith representative democracy faith learned capitol building employee congressman senator believe deeply ultimate purposes nation described constitution tempered history embodied progressive laws given life men women elected serve fellow citizens 5 demanding years white house strengthened counsel cooperation two great former presidents harry truman dwight david eisenhower guided memory pleasant close association beloved john kennedy greatest modern legislator speaker sam rayburn assisted friend every step way vice president hubert humphrey grateful supported daily loyalty speaker mccormack majority leader albert benefited wisdom senator mike mansfield sure avoided many dangerous pitfalls good commonsense counsel president pro tem senate senator richard brevard russell received generous cooperation leaders republican party congress united states senator dirksen congressman gerald ford minority leader president ask although upon occasions presidents ever blessed much nixon days ahead going need understanding entitled hope every member remember burdens bear president borne us us try increase burdens sake narrow personal partisan advantage time leave hope may said hundred years working together helped make country people well insure guarantee blessings liberty posterity hope believe least said tried
sixth last time present congress assessment state union shall speak tonight challenge opportunity commitment u make together carry give america best chance achieve kind great society want every president life could great event presidency part large sequence extend back several year extend back several administration urban unrest poverty pressure welfare education people law enforcement law order continue crisis middle east conflict vietnam danger nuclear war great difficulty deal communist power much common cause cause give rise exist u many year several president already seek try deal one president try resolve try contain year ahead u nation problem continue great nation asset economy democratic system sense exploration symbolize recently wonderful flight apollo 8 american take great pride good commonsense sound judgment american people essential love justice must ignore problem ignore strengths strength available sustain president either party support progressive effort home overseas unfortunately departure administration mean end problem administration face effort meet problem must go year year momentum mount together past year lose although struggle progressive change continuous time watershed reach really break past least fulfillment many old hope step forth new environment seek new goal think past 5 year time finish major part old agenda law write already front eye take flesh achievement medicare unable pas many year part american life vote right vote booth debate long back fifties door public service open last american regardless color school school child america tonight receive federal assistance go good school preschool education head start already stay think federal program tonight keep million half cream young people college university country part american earth description map reality shore hill parks forest mountain permanently set aside american public benefit set aside administration end five million american train job new federal program think important realize tonight nation close full employment less unemployment time almost 20 year theory fact tonight unemployment rate percent number job grow 8 million last 5 year precede 12 year achievements complete full cycle idea enactment finally place live citizen across country wish possible say everything congress administration achieve period already complete cycle great deal commit need additional funding become tangible realization yet existence commitment promise american people make congress executive branch government achievement failure carry commitment would tragedy nation much certain one man group men make commitment alone congress executive branch check balance reason together finally write law land moral force american political system summon act one express america common determination achieve goal imply action case already begin action fully complete course let speak moment commitment go speak language congress speak pass measure go quote word 1966 congress declare improve quality urban life critical domestic problem facing united state two year later affirm historic goal decent home every american family language meet commitment must increase support model city program blueprint change already prepared 150 american city achieve goal housing act 1968 already pass begin year home needy family come fiscal year fund provide new budget almost 10 time 10 time average rate past 10 year city town press fund meet need grow population believe urban development bank create congress bank could obtain resource issuance taxable bond could lend resource reduce rate community throughout land school hospital park public facility since enact social security act back 1935 congress recognize necessity make adequate provision age person maternal child welfare public health word congress adequate time come think make adequate believe increase social security benefit recommend tonight suggest overall increase benefit least 13 percent receive minimum 55 get 80 month nation rightfully proud medical advance remember country rank 15th among nation world infant mortality rate think assure decent medical care every expectant mother child first year life unite state america think protect child family cost catastrophic illness pas medicine think nothing clearer congress commitment congress make end poverty congress express well think 1964 say policy unite state eliminate paradox poverty midst plenty nation rich nation world antipoverty program many achievement also failures must cripple 3 year try solve human problem u build among u generation believe congress year want improve administration poverty program reorganizing portion transfer agency believe though want continue break back poverty effort make throughout land believe hope next administration believe believe key success effort job work people want work budget fiscal 1970 shall recommend total billion job train program five time much spent 1964 try prepare american work earn living nation commitment field civil right begin declaration independence extend 13th 14th 15th amendment powerfully strengthen enactment three civil right law within past 5 year congress wisdom pass january 1 year fair housing act 1968 cover 20 million american home apartment prohibition racial discrimination act remember vigorously enforce throughout land believe also extend vital provision vote right act another 5 year safe street act 1968 congress determine assist state local government reduce incidence crime year propose congress provide full 300 million congress last year authorize hope congress put money authorization believe essential contribution justice public order united state hope grant make state use effectively reduce crime rate country small part total effort must make think chiefly local government throughout nation expect reduce toll crime detest frankly leave office presidency one great disappointment failure secure passage license registration act firearm think pass act would reduce incidence crime believe congress adopt law hope distant date order meet commitment make government efficient possible believe reorganize postal system along line kappel report frederick kappel chairman commission executive legislative judicial salary hope agree public service never impose unreasonable financial sacrifice able men woman want serve country believe recommendation commission executive legislative judicial salary generally sound later week shall submit special message review leadership even contain proposal reduce modified commission recommendation extent congressional salary member congress recommend basic compensation unanimously recommend kappel commission distinguish member shall reduce suggest congress appropriate small additional allowance official expense member require use salary increase essential official business would submit commission recommendation except advice receive leadership usually consult matter affect congress congress would accept recommendation expect recommendation seriously consider make substantial reduction reason go along kappel report 1967 1 recommend congress fair impartial random selection system draft submit tonight respectful consideration know u recognize thing meet commitment talk cost money maintain strong rate growth country past 8 year think shall generate resource need meet commitment already able increase support major social program although heard lot able anything home front vietnam able last 5 year increase commitment thing health education 30 billion 1964 68 billion come fiscal year double ever increase 188 year republic notwithstanding vietnam must continue budget resource budget responsibly way preserve prosperity strengthen dollar great revenue reduce federal spending require congress last year change budgetary picture dramatically since last january make estimate time remember estimate would deficit 8 billion well glad report tonight fiscal year end june 30 1969 june go deficit go billion surplus receive budget tomorrow budget next fiscal year begin july 1 want examine carefully day ahead provide billion surplus budget anticipate extension surtax congress enact last year communicate nixon connection policy continue surtax time want tell u want see remove soon circumstance permit told conclude administration congress examine appropriation bill item budget ascertain fact justify permit surtax expire reduce nixon support recommendation surtax continue american believe unite hope paris talk bring early peace vietnam hop early settlement war realize military expenditure reduce substantial saving make use desirable purpose congress may determine event think imperative responsibly resist inflation maintain prosperity think american know prosperity broad deep brought record profit high history record wag gross national product grow last 5 year period nation history wage high profit best prosperity enable million escape poverty would otherwise last year think also glad hear secretary treasury informs tonight 1968 balance payment achieve surplus appear fact do well year do year regard since year 1957 quest durable peace think absorb every administration since end world war ii require u seek limitation arm race among superpower among small nation well join test ban treaty 1963 outer space treaty 1967 treaty spread nuclear weapon 1968 latter agreement nonproliferation treaty pending senate pending since last july opinion delay ratify go helpful peace america take lead negotiating treaty america take step approve early possible date way find scale level arm among superpower mankind view future without fear great apprehension believe resume talk soviet union limit offensive defensive missile system think would already resume except czechoslovakia election year 20 year ago embark program try aid develop nation know could live good conscience rich enclave earth seethe misery year great advance make program particularly want hunger although disappointed appropriation last year think woefully inadequate year ask adequate fund economic assistance hope peace throughout world think must continue support effort regional cooperation among effort western europe special place america concern course go permit europe play great world role resource permit go forward unity think america remain ready work unite europe work partner basis equality future quest peace believe require maintain liberal trade policy help u become leading nation world trade strengthen international monetary system instrument world prosperity seek area agreement soviet union interest nation interest world peace properly serve strained relationship u world lead communist power end especially light brutal invasion czechoslovakia totalitarianism less odious u able reach accommodation reduces danger world catastrophe interest peace world earnestly hope time bring russia less afraid diversity individual freedom quest peace tonight continue vietnam paris talk regret know possible restore peace south vietnam prospect think peace well today time since north vietnam begin invasion regular force 4 year ago free nation asia know sure time america care freedom also care america vital interest asia throughout pacific north vietnamese know achieve aggressive purpose force may hard fight settlement reach assure yield victory communist speak tonight vietnam without pay personal tribute men carry battle u honor commander chief nation owes unstinting support battle continue endure gratitude service do finally quest stable peace middle east go many capital tonight america fully support unanimous resolution security council point way must settlement arm hostility exist region world today threat israel arab state threat every one u entire world well friend congress want conclude personal word reject reject finally accepted congressional leadership invitation come speak farewell person tonight two reason one philosophical want give judgment saw issue nation view leave pure sentimental life public official spent build 38 worked gallery doorkeeper house representative know hall know men pretty well walk know question face know conflict endure know ideal seek serve leave first become vice president become moment tragedy president united state term office mark series challenge home throughout world meeting challenge nation find new confidence meeting others know turbulence doubt fear hate throughout time sustain faith representative democracy faith learn capitol building employee congressman senator believe deeply ultimate purpose nation describe constitution temper history embody progressive law give life men woman elect serve fellow citizen 5 demand year white house strengthen counsel cooperation two great former president harry truman dwight david eisenhower guide memory pleasant close association beloved john kennedy great modern legislator speaker sam rayburn assist friend every step way vice president hubert humphrey grateful support daily loyalty speaker mccormack majority leader albert benefit wisdom senator mike mansfield sure avoid many dangerous pitfall good commonsense counsel president pro tem senate senator richard brevard russell receive generous cooperation leader republican party congress united state senator dirksen congressman gerald ford minority leader president ask although upon occasion president ever bless much nixon day ahead go need understand entitle hope every member remember burden bear president bear u u try increase burden sake narrow personal partisan advantage time leave hope may say hundred year work together help make country people well insure guarantee blessing liberty posterity hope believe least say tried