Joint Statement of Senator John F. Kennedy and Senator Lyndon B. Johnson

We have discussed the legislative program for the forthcoming congressional session. This program includes 12 major items and a host of less-important bills. It will require long daily sessions, but we are confident that it will be productive.

We intend to devote our full energies to the enactment of this program and we will leave our principal campaigning until the end of the session. We hope the Republicans and their candidate will co-operate in the enactment of this legislation.

The list of major bills which we discussed is as follows:

(1) A bill to provide medical care for our older citizens which would incorporate the best features of the Forand bill, the McNamara bill, the Kennedy bill, and the Anderson bill.

(2) The Housing bill which is now on the Speaker's desk.

(3) The aid-to-education bill to which conferees have not yet been appointed.

(4) The minimum wage bills.

(5) The mutual security appropriation bill.

(6) The possibility of obtaining emergency legislation to protect our Nation's farmers against the economic perils facing them.

(7) The Labor-Health, Education, and Welfare appropriation bill which is in conference.

(8) The situs picketing bill on which hearings have been concluded and on which both parties promised action last year.

(9) The State-Justice-Judiciary appropriation bill.

(10) The small business loans bill to raise the lending authority of the Small Business Administration so that our small businessmen may be assisted in overcoming their problems of obtaining financing.

(11) The public works appropriation bill which has passed the House and has already been reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

(12) The Antarctic Treaty which we have committed ourselves to taking up as soon as possible.

This is an unfortunately heavy schedule. We hope that partisan considerations will not interfere with enactment of these desperately needed measures.