Remarks at the Airport, Port Columbus, Ohio

Mayor Burt, Senator Lausche, Congressman Moeller, Congressman Love, Mayor Sensenbrenner, Secretary of Labor Wirtz, Mr. John Bush, Chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, Mr. Frazier Reams, Democratic candidate for Governor, Mr. Robert Van Heyde, Mr. Robert Shamansky, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls:

Two years ago I came here to see you in Columbus. I asked you for a favor. I asked all of Ohio to give me their help. I asked you to help me, to help your country, and to help yourself by giving us a great new Congress in Washington.

Tonight I have come back here to thank you for doing exactly that. In fact, you have given us the greatest Congress in the history of this country.

When the 89th Congress first convened, less than 2 years ago, I went before them. I spoke of my dream of enlarging the meaning of life for every American. To that dream, the Congress added substance. It has passed into law more major legislation; it has met more national needs; it has disposed of more national issues than any five Congresses combined in the history of this country.

There isn't a single American whose life has not been enriched by what this Congress has done. Two years ago I asked the Congress for decent health care for our elderly people. Tonight they have Medicare.

Today we launched an all-out attack on heart, cancer, and stroke.

Two years ago I asked for the best education that a rich nation could possibly give our young boys and girls. The Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Higher Education Act of 1965.

Two years ago your President said that the rights of all of our citizens must be protected. Tonight 20 million of our Negro fellow citizens have the power of the United States Government behind their right to vote for the first time in the history of this land.

Two years ago I said that every American family is entitled to a decent home. Tonight we have a revolutionary new program of housing and rent supplements for the needy which is going to bring the whole power of free enterprise to bear on this problem.

Two years ago I said that all Americans are entitled to clean water, pure air, parks and open country. Tonight we are doing more to fight pollution and to bring open space to the people of our crowded cities than has ever been done in the history of America.

Two years ago I called for a fair deal for the men and the women who grow our food. Tonight we are putting more income into the farmer's pocket than ever before. And we are doing it without saddling our taxpayers with huge surpluses of unheeded commodities.

Two years ago I called for the repeal of discriminatory immigration laws. Tonight we have an immigration law that no longer asks a man, "Where do you come from?" It asks, "What can you do?"

So these are just a few--a dozen or so-of the accomplishments of a hundred or more of the fabulous 89th Congress. And the record is not yet closed.

In the next few days, with your help, with your support, with your assistance, and with the help of your Congressmen, we will enact into law and I will sign at the White House a bill to make all of our highways safer for all of you. A bill that will make all the ,automobiles you drive safer for all of you. A bill that will make our mines safer. A bill that will build new mass transportation for our cities. A bill for our traffic-choked cities. A bill to provide a higher minimum wage for the American workers who need it most.

And before this session of Congress comes to an end, I hope to sign into law the third historic civil rights bill of the Johnson administration.

So I think you can see that we have been busy working for you and for your children and for your children's children. We have been busy working for Akron and for Columbus and for all of the other cities in this great State. We have been working for all America.

Now we are going to Lancaster and make the last speech of a long, busy day. We have come, we have seen, we believe. We know that America is on the march. We know that people appreciate prosperity. We know that they want better jobs, they like better pay, that they know when they have high wages, when they have high employment. And they know that their National Government is going to be a government of the people, a government by the people, and most of all, a government for the people.

So to Senator Lausche, Congressman Moellet, and the other officials with me, I say to the people of Dayton where we have come from, to the people of Columbus where we are, to the people of Lancaster where we are going, that this has been a great and a glorious day in beautiful Ohio and we thank you all very much.