Statements by the President on the Last Day of the Republican Legislative Conference.

[The agenda for the final sessions]

AT THE MORNING SESSION, the following subjects were scheduled for discussion.

The Attorney General will discuss several proposals designed to provide more effective investigation and prosecution, not only of subversive elements in our society, but also of criminals who presently take advantage of certain loopholes in the law. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, Chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee; Senator Alexander Wiley, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Representative Chauncey W. Reed, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; and Representative Harold H. Velde, Chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, are to participate in these discussions.

The Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare will discuss reorganization plans for the Executive Branch of the Government. Representative Clare Hoffman, Chairman of the House Government Operations Committee, and Senator McCarthy will take part in this discussion.

A general discussion of interstate and foreign commerce is then scheduled to be presented by the Secretary of Commerce and Senator John Bricker, Chairman of the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee.

Representatives of the State and Justice Departments are scheduled to discuss the Bricker Amendment with Senator Bricker and Congressional leaders.

The final subject on the schedule for the morning is a discussion of home rule for the District of Columbia. The President of the Board of District Commissioners and the Chairmen of the Senate and House District of Columbia Committees, Senator Francis Case and Representative Sid Simpson, will participate in this discussion.

At the afternoon session, the subjects to be discussed are postal rates, Civil Service, and Veterans affairs.

The Postmaster General and the Chairman of the-Civil Service Commission, together with Senator Frank Carlson and Representative Edward H. Rees, Chairmen of the Senate and House Post Office and Civil Service Committees, will discuss the first two subjects.

The Veterans Administrator and Representative Edith Nourse Rogers, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, will participate in the discussion of Veterans affairs.

[Statement at the conclusion of the conference]

FOR THREE DAYS, I have discussed with the Congressional leaders and with the Chairmen of the standing committees of the Senate and the House the legislative program which I propose to submit to the Congress in January.

We have made much progress at these Conferences. The Executive Branch of the Government, the Congressional leaders and the Committee chairmen will cooperate fully in carrying out this program. As a result, I know that the people of this country will see the Republican Party continuing to enact progressive programs serving the welfare of all 160 million Americans.

During our discussions, representatives of the Executive Branch of the Government--Cabinet officers and Heads of important agencies--outlined certain phases of the program to be presented in January and reviewed the accomplishments of the Administration during this past year. We covered a wide range of topics-although not all-inclusive of the recommendations that I shall submit to the Congress. These topics were fully discussed. In virtually every instance it was agreed by all to press for their enactment by the Congress.

The fundamental principles that have guided the Administration in the development of the program can be stated simply:

The program will be based, in principle and in philosophy, on the 1952 Republican platform. In that platform, the Party pledged itself to carry out certain obligations to the American people and to the community of free nations. If we are to continue to deserve public support, we must live up to these declared pledges and bring to our people a sound, constructive and comprehensive program which will:

1. Use as a measure of every element of American foreign policy the one simple rule: does it advance the interests of America? In that vein, it is clear that we must continue to strengthen the unity of the free world to resist Communist aggression.

2. Present a domestic program that will give our people a guarantee that they can depend on this Administration to protect the security, the welfare, and the economic stability of each individual citizen.

The program will soon be ready for presentation to the Congress. I am confident that it will be supported by the great majority of our citizens.