I WANT to congratulate and thank all those who have made possible the beginning of construction of the new subway system for Washington. The people of the area, and indeed of the Nation, owe appreciation to many persons who have labored so many years to make this day possible, but of course special thanks are due to Members of the Congress, to the Mayor [Walter E. Washington] and Council of the city of Washington, and to the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority.
More than a subway will begin in December. A city will begin to renew itself; a metropolitan area to pull itself together. That the Nation's Capital is involved makes this an event of national significance.
Note: The statement followed an announcement by Representative William H. Natcher, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, that he would recommend that appropriations be made which would enable subway construction to begin.
Richard Nixon, Statement on the Subway System for the District of Columbia. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239683