Remarks at a Ceremony Inaugurating a Program of Community Service Projects for Older Americans.

Secretary Wirtz, my distinguished friends:

One of our great poets had this to say about getting older: "The years between 50 and 70 are the hardest. You are always being asked to do things, and yet you aren't ancient enough to turn them down."

Well, today we are giving a great many older citizens a chance to do a great many things. And I'm willing to bet that we won't get turned down.

Today we are launching a program to provide work in community service projects for retired or unemployed citizens who are 55 and over.

The three contracts that were referred to by Secretary Wirtz that we will sign will create more than 3,000 job opportunities in the coming year. These jobs will be in schools, hospitals, in beautification projects, and other efforts that will improve life for all of us.

There are a good many of us in this room today who can remember seeing people grow old 20 or 30 years ago--seeing what old age did to them.

Too often, it meant being alone. Too often, it meant being dependent on someone else--their children or their sons-in-law. It meant that as the years mounted up, their savings dwindled down. And worst of all, it meant being sick and afraid because they just didn't seem to be able to afford to be sick.

Things have changed some since then, largely because of leadership that people like you have provided.

In March, more than 17 million older citizens will receive a social security increase of some 13 percent. When the benefit checks go out, another 1 million Americans will be lifted above the poverty line--a goal that we are working toward.

Medicare--that for many, many years was not seriously considered and after it was considered and passed, many said would not work at all--is now flourishing. More than 20 million senior citizens have its protection. Last year, 7 l/2 million of these senior citizens received help in paying their medical bills. That is a fact--not a fantasy.

But beyond all of this, we all have another goal. That goal is to guarantee to every older American not only security, but the pride of being able to be active and being able to be productive.

Last year we took a major step toward that goal.

We passed a law forbidding age discrimination in employment.

We renewed and strengthened the Older Americans Act. It promised a new sense of involvement and usefulness to hundreds of thousands of our citizens.

And that is only a small part of the story. More than 4,000 Foster Grandparents in 38 States, nearly 300 older VISTA volunteers, 500 older Peace Corps volunteers, more than 3,000 members of SCORE--the Service Corps of Retired Executives--have already learned what it is to have a feeling of pride in serving others, regardless of one's age.

Now we meet here again this morning in another good cause. Soon, after the signing of these three contracts, thousands of older citizens will know what it is to have a long life. They will know what it is to have a full life; to know what the wise Frenchman meant when he said: "Growing old is nothing more than a habit which a busy man has no time to form."

In this day of trouble and trial for our people, I want to salute those representatives, who are here in the Cabinet Room this morning, of the older Americans in our country, for your objectives, for your goals, for your persistence, and for the manner in which you have represented those for whom you speak.

You have spoken where it counts; you have been represented in the rooms where there is a payoff.

In December we signed a social security bill. It affected the lives of millions of people directly; it affected the lives of all of us-all 200 million--indirectly.

President Truman proposed Medicare. But you testified for it--and you worked for it-and you presented your opinion--and your concern--and your dissent--and your voice--and your logic--and your argument before the committees.

Those committees listened and they learned. And as a consequence, 7 1/2 million of your fellow citizens have benefited.

There will be hearings in the days to come--hearings on poverty, hearings on education, hearings on health, hearings on security for older Americans.

While we have made great progress, we have just gone a few steps up a long road. I had three figures in my mind that were brought to me by the Budget Director this year when we signed the budget.

The first one was on manpower training that is very important to you. In 1960, our budget was $3 billion--$3 billion for manpower training.

By fiscal year 1964--just before I took office--that had increased to $4 billion plus.

From 1964 to 1968, largely through help that you and other concerned citizens have rendered in the Congress, in the precincts, and in the election, the Congress---by an overwhelming vote--increased that $3 billion in 1960 and that $4 billion in 1964 to $12 billion in this year's budget.

In poverty, which affects us all, but affects no one more than the older American--one million were removed from the poverty level by the last social security bill alone--that poverty group was receiving a little over $9 billion in the year 1960.

We had moved that $9 billion up to $12 billion by the fiscal year 1964. In 1964, we renewed our pledges that were made and our promises of 1960 when President Kennedy went from one end of this Nation to the other. We pleaded with the members of the appropriate committees to try to move forward with the New Frontier and the Great Society.

From 1964, when we had $12 billion, to '68, this year, we have $28 billion--more than double the amount of Federal funds spent for those below the level of $3,000.

Now, finally, if there is anything that is vital to every citizen of this land, it is health. It doesn't make any difference how many Ph.D.'s he has if he is bedridden and can't get out of his room and requires the care of other people.

Education is one of the reasons, I think, that America leads the world. I was reading a book last night; Europe was very concerned about our industrial management. They felt that we were taking the place that some of their citizens should be taking. But they said we have this great ingenuity and this great industrial management system primarily because of the education of our people.

So health, education, and social security: In 1960 we were spending $19 billion in that field. Fiscal 1964--a little over 3 years later--we were spending $23 billion in that field.

We moved it up $4 billion. Since 1964, to 1968, we moved it not 1 billion, not 4 billion--but we have more than doubled it from $23 billion to $47 billion in the budget this year.

The social security bill, the poverty bill, the training bill--all of these items overlap. But the important thing is that we are moving along.

Now that is not nearly what we ought to do. That is not nearly as much as we want to do. But it is a sign when you can triple manpower and when you can more than double aid to poverty in one administration. When you can go in health, education, and social security from $23 billion to $47 billion, it is something that you are not justified in saying is being completely neglected.

So to those of you who have manned the ramparts--to those of you who have marched in the committee rooms--to those of you who have written the letters and talked to your Congressmen and your Senators of both parties, and the leaders of both parties, I salute, congratulate, and thank you for what you have done for your fellow man.

Thank you, very much.