John F. Kennedy photo

Remarks to the Committee on Youth Employment in Response to Its Report.

April 24, 1963

I WANT to express my great appreciation to the members of the Cabinet who worked on this matter--Mr. Wirtz, Mr. Freeman, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Celebrezze--and also to Jim Reynolds and others in the Government. But of course our great appreciation goes to Dr. Conant and to the distinguished citizens who were part of this study group, who represent both management and labor and the general public.

I hope that this report will be read not merely by the members of the press and a few Government officials, but by all interested citizens across this country. Because I would suggest that this represents one of the most serious challenges which this country faces, the ability to use our most valuable resource, which is our young people, in a way which serves their interest in the country and does not permit them to live in a social exile which denies them an opportunity to participate usefully in the growth of our society.

This report therefore should be read in the United States Government in order that we may determine our policies more effectively in the Congress and, as Dr. Conant suggested, also in private industry, private companies. I would hope that it would be read in the unions of this country, by school boards, by PTA's, by all those who are concerned about the future of our country.

This report deserves the most careful attention. It suggests a national challenge to us which will not be met unless we take action on a national scale. I want to express our thanks to this Committee and to inform them that the work that they put into this is most useful, most appreciated, and will serve as a basis for new efforts by the National Government and, I hope, by all of our citizens.

Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10 a.m. in the Flower Garden at the White House following introductory remarks by Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz, Chairman of the Committee, and the presentation of the report by Dr. James B. Conant, Vice Chairman. The report, dated April 1963, is entitled "The Challenge of Jobless Youth" (Government Printing Office, 20 pp.).

During his remarks the President referred to Orville L. Freeman, Secretary of Agriculture; Robert F. Kennedy, the Attorney General; Anthony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; and James J. Reynolds, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor-Management Relations.
See also Item 142, below.

John F. Kennedy, Remarks to the Committee on Youth Employment in Response to Its Report. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/235834

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