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State of the Union Address Gerald R. Ford January 15, 1975 Mr. Speaker, Mr.
This compares with less than a third in 1975. I have just concluded the process of preparing the budget submissions for fiscal year 1976. In that budget, I will propose legislation to restrain the growth of a number of existing programs. I have also concluded that no new spending programs can be initiated this year, except for energy.
By holding down the growth of Federal spending, we can afford additional tax cuts and return to the people who pay taxes more decisionmaking power over their own lives. Last month I signed legislation to extend the 1975 tax reductions for the first 6 months of this year.
At my request, the Congress enacted two extensions and two expansions in unemployment insurance which helped those who were jobless during 1975. These programs will continue in 1976. In my fiscal year 1977 budget, I am also requesting funds to continue proven job training and employment opportunity programs for millions of other Americans.
The national debt will rise to over $500 billion. Our plant capacity and productivity are not increasing fast enough. We depend on others for essential energy. Some people question their Government's ability to make hard decisions and stick with them; they expect Washington politics as usual. Yet, what President Truman said on January 5, 1949, is even more true in 1975.
In the grave situation which prevailed in August 1974, our will to maintain our international leadership was in doubt. I asked for your prayers and went to work. In January 1975 I reported to the Congress that the state of the Union was not good. I proposed urgent action to improve the economy and to achieve energy independence in 10 years.
Western civilization has been experiencing a population expansion or explosion that can be measured with a moderate degree of statistical accuracy. Planetary human population doubled from 500 million in 1650 to 1000 million in 1850. In 1975 the human population of the earth is close to 3,700 million.
Further, I will not hesitate to veto any new spending programs adopted by the Congress. As an additional step toward putting the Federal Government's house in order, I recommend a 5-percent limit on Federal pay increases in 1975.
At the beginning of the great revolution in 1750 the planet was occupied by the European empires, their colonies and dependencies, with a segment under the control of the crumbling Chinese and Turkish empires. The ensuing two centuries witnessed a political, economic and social transformation that reached across every continent. The revolutionary process is far from complete in 1975.
And so, 1975 was a year of hard decisions, difficult compromises, and a new realism that taught us something important about America. It brought back a needed measure of common sense, steadfastness, and self-discipline. Americans did not panic or demand instant but useless cures.
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