Statement by the President on the Establishment of Permanent Task Forces To Assist Communities Faced With Plant Closings.
ALTHOUGH rapid economic growth during the past several years has sharply lowered the level of unemployment, and reduced the incidence of plant closings, individual cases of large-scale layoffs will undoubtedly continue to occur in a dynamic economy. The Federal Government must be prepared to move quickly to the assistance of communities affected by such layoffs.
Note: The statement is part of a White House release announcing that the President had taken steps to establish a permanent task force to assist the economic recovery of communities faced with defense plant closings. The task force, working in cooperation with State and local officials, would, as outlined in the release:
1. Draw up emergency and long-range programs to open job opportunities through the creation of new industries and the expansion of existing ones.
2. Conduct an industrial procurement conference to be attended by officers of local firms and representatives of Federal procurement agencies, so that all firms in the area would be fully informed on the possibilities of and requirements for Government contracting.
3. Arrange for training programs under the Manpower Development and Training Act.
4. Expand the surplus food disposal program of the Department of Agriculture.
5. With the Federal Housing Administration and the Veterans Administration, arrange for the approval of mortgage forbearance agreements.
6. Determine the possibility of establishing special programs for the employment of older workers.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on the Establishment of Permanent Task Forces To Assist Communities Faced With Plant Closings. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/242133