Remarks on Signing Four Executive Orders Implementing Urban Programs

THE PRESIDENT. First of all, I want to thank all of you for coming here to join us again in evolving one of the most important programs that we have to face as leaders in our Nation and the private sector of our economy and the local, State, and Federal governments, the different agencies that are now being bound more closely together.

Three-fourths of the people in this country live in urban areas. And I think it's accurate to say, without casting blame on anyone, that in the past, before last year, the problems of the downtown central city and other urban areas were becoming much more crucial and critical, and people were disturbed and were losing confidence in the future.

Last week I went to New York City-and I spent a lot of time in New York during the campaign years—and there's a new attitude, a new spirit of confidence and cooperation, friendship there that's really inspirational. This is not different from the circumstance in many of our metropolitan areas.

Some of you were with us last March when we announced a comprehensive urban policy for our Nation. This was the policy evolved after months, thousands of hours of work, because we recognize that budget limitations don't let us pump 40 or 50 billions of dollars into massive new programs in urban areas. So, we tried to evolve a proposal that would create a new partnership where people, working together, could make the existing programs more effective and where a limited amount of additional funding in new programs would pay greatly magnified dividends to our country.

We've tried to cut tape and paperwork and root out waste that has in the past existed. We now have a carefully targeted, well-coordinated, and constantly more effective set of Federal programs.

Since last March, we have submitted to the Congress all fourteen legislative proposals that were encompassed in our recommendation. Most of them have made very good progress. Some of them are now on the verge of being passed in final form. Others are being hotly debated, and I think the public and the Congress are becoming better acquainted with the reasons for their passage. But I know and I'm sure you realize that a lot can be done without legislative action.

We've already initiated almost a hundred administrative decisions that are being put into effect now to change the programs to a closer focus on actual need, to consolidate divided programs, to simplify procedures, and in general, to improve the administration altogether.

Today I'm signing four Executive orders of major importance. The first one will help to put Federal buildings in urban areas, a simple thing, but symbolically and tangibly it will have a great beneficial impact. It will tend to move jobs and people and opportunities and growth down to the formerly abandoned central city areas or those that were being abandoned in a slow and inexorable way.

I hope that this Government action and I expect this Government action will take root in the private sector and that that might be an additional commitment on the part of business and industry, professional leaders, to take the same kind of action to strengthen the backbone of our major cities and to build up jobs and further investments there.

The second Executive order will direct all Federal agencies to buy more goods and services from areas of our country that have a high unemployment rate. This, of course, will, without costing the Government any more money, help to correct a very serious deficiency. In many instances, as you well know, the highest unemployment rate exists in our neglected or deteriorating urban centers—not always, but in general. And I've asked the Federal agencies to report to me every 6 months on the progress they have made in carrying out this order to purchase goods where the unemployment rate is high.

The third Executive order will help us to assess the impact of legislative proposals, not creating massive paperwork analyses, but just to make sure that when action is taken by the Congress, sometimes in haste, sometimes in committees that are not directly responsible for urban problems, that the inadvertent damage to downtown city areas can be avoided, quite often with a substantial saving in actual tax expenditures and an increase in efficiency at the same time.

And the fourth and final Executive order will create officially an Interagency Coordinating Council, not with a new bureaucracy, but a mechanism by which for the first time, really, we can continue close consultation among the major agencies in Government responsible for the solution of urban problems.

Jack Watson on my staff is already working with key leaders in Housing and Urban Development, in Labor, Commerce, HEW, Interior, and other major Federal agencies responsible for programs that in the past have not been adequately coordinated.

As Governor, I was sometimes blessed, always aware of the presence of the Federal Regional Office in Atlanta, just a few blocks from the State Capitol. But quite often those individual Federal agency representatives would not or could not work together. I now see in retrospect that they could not work together, because you can't expect a regional office to coordinate their efforts if there's an absence of coordination in Washington.

They cannot correct defects or mistakes made in Washington. And we are being sure that from now on, as a city has a serious problem, that here in the environment around the White House, led by Jack Watson, those different agencies that in the past in good conscience have gone in different directions because they have different responsibilities, now coordinate their work to make sure that their own efforts are magnified, not duplicated, because we do have limited facilities and limited money to expend.

Well, these Executive orders will bring us closer to a coherent, coordinated, more effective urban policy.

This is not the end of our efforts, but I think we've already had tangible demonstrations of the benefits of what we've undertaken so far. And a lot of the credit goes to you from Federal agencies and from communities all over our Nation who have confidence in American people, who recognize that our lifestyles, our life patterns, are not going to be dramatically changed, that we'll live lifetimes and even our children and grandchildren will live lifetimes in major urban centers. And it's our responsibility to assure that their quality of life is not worse in the future, but is greatly enhanced.

I believe that with this new partnership which we are going to sustain, that we'll be successful in all these efforts.

Again, let me thank you for being here, and now I'd like to sign the four Executive orders.

[At this point, the President signed Executive Order 12072.]

This is involving Federal space management directing that Federal buildings be located in urban areas.

This is Federal procurement in labor surplus areas where the unemployment rate is high.

[The President signed Executive Order 12075.]

This one is the analysis of urban and community impact for actions taken by Federal agencies, and also decisions made by the Congress.

[The President signed Executive Order 12074.]

And the last one, of course, is the creation of the Interagency Coordinating Council, under the leadership of Jack Watson, and with your participation.

[The President signed Executive Order 12075.]

CLARENCE M. MITCHELL, JR. Mr. President, I'd like to exercise a little seniority and say that after 30 years or more around Washington, this is one of the most magnificent things that I've seen done here. As a resident who commutes to the city, commutes to Washington and has been doing it for a long time, I have seen the devastating effect in our great cities where Federal agencies spend millions of dollars building outside of the city limits into virgin territory, and it causes tremendous unemployment and dislocation, everything else. Also, we have seen some awful things through the years—people being displaced for highways, dams, and things of that sort—just because there wasn't the kind of coordination that you envision here.

I must say, Mr. President, I don't think you get credit lots of times for many of the things that you do. That's why I'm exercising my seniority here.

THE PRESIDENT. I might interrupt to say I never have seen a more appropriate exhibition of the use of seniority. [Laughter]

MR. MITCHELL. I think you're great anyway, and I think today is another of a series of climaxes in your career as President. I think the people ought to let you know when they think you're doing a good job.

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you.

Let me just close by saying, before Pat Harris takes over and explains some further details, I really appreciate what Clarence Mitchell has said. Quite often not only myself but the members of the Cabinet, the Congress, the Federal Government, even State and local governments don't get an adequate recognition when they do make progress. My wife is going to be working for the next couple of years in trying to stimulate additional private input, aside from government, in making our urban centers more attractive.

I believe that if there's one characteristic that can describe what we have done and the characteristic of it, it would be to utilize common sense. We've not had pipe dreams, we've not put together hastily constructed, very expensive, doubtful programs to give the image of progress when the results might be counterproductive. We have made sure that they are practical and effective by letting the proposals evolve, beginning with those who are supposed to receive services and those who actually experience problems and want to correct their problems, right on up to Washington.

It hasn't been a program that was evolved in Washington and handed down to the local communities that need help. And I think if we can retain that degree of common sense, we can make sure that every time we spend the taxpayer's dollar that it's greatly magnified in its beneficial effect. That's what I want to do, and that's what your participation has helped to make progress.

Pat Harris is kind of the linchpin of making this thing work, and now I'd like to turn the program over to her, if you'll excuse me.