New York City, New York Remarks at a Reception for Community Leaders.

That's one of the best speeches I've ever heard Ed Koch make. Thank you very much. [Laughter]

Senator Pat Moynihan and Governor Hugh Carey, Governor Brendan Byrne, distinguished Members of the Congress, public officials representing New York City and New York State, and my friends:

I'm very glad to be back with you again.

The first time I came to New York, after I announced that I was a candidate for President, I told my wife when I got back home that it was a city that had lost its spirit. There was a sense of despair among many, but a sense of dedication and resolution and courage and a sense of unity that was a core of the strength that would tide New York City over a time of crisis.

I formed a partnership with New York City in my mind. And I've never headed toward this great place without a sense of warmth and friendship and pleasant anticipation, and I have never been disappointed. And I thank you for that.

I think in the last 2 1/2 or 3 years, we've come a long way. We still have a long way to go. The Congress has responded well to superb leadership.

And one day when I was in the Cabinet Room with Tip O'Neill and was, in a way, bragging about what we had done for New York City, he said, "Mr. President, I don't want to take anything away from you. You're a great man and a gentle person and a beautiful man. But," he said. "the Congress passed the bill establishing Federal credits for New York City loans because they had confidence in Ed Koch." And I said, "Well, that's the [applause]

But it's obvious that the entire New York delegation and Mayor [Governor] Hugh Carey and many friends throughout the Congress worked hard to make it possible for New York to get itself back on the side of strength and confidence in the future—and tangible accomplishments already. There can be no retreat from this course that we've set out together, because we still have a long way to go.

In public transit—I just spoke to the national convention of those who are intensely interested as professionals in public transit—we've made a lot of progress. I think the next 4 years, compared to the previous 4 years, will show at least a 50-percent increase in the allocation of Federal funds for public transit in your city. And we'll have continued improvements in other areas of life as well.

I've not been in office long—sometimes it seems like a long time—but just since I was inaugurated, we've had a 33-percent increase in the amount of Federal funds coming in aid of all kinds to New York City—a $700 million increase, net. However, this has not been confined to any special thing. It's been broad-gauged in its effect, and it has had to find a ready reception here and an eagerness among people to look forward to the future with confidence.

In education, in transportation, in housing, in recreation, in health, we're working with a close spirit of common purpose. On occasion there have been some instances of inadequate communication, recently between the Department of Transportation and Governor Carey. But that's a transient thing, and there's no problem in working that out.

And as I told those interested in public transportation, New York will not lose any Federal funds because we or the city or the State have failed to meet the technicalities of the law. We will make sure you get your money.

And these are also not cosmetic changes. I think that following the 1976 July Fourth great ships parade and then followed by another great event, the Democratic convention of 1976, I could see a new spirit in the city— [laughter] -that I think will be mirrored again next summer, when the Democratic convention comes back here.

And I would like to say in closing that we have proposals in the Congress now that will add a great deal more in opportunity for your city and your State to make even greater progress in the years to come.

Welfare reform has cleared the House Ways and Means Committee, and Pat Moynihan is working hard to get it through the Senate Finance Committee. Our proposal under the windfall profits tax will mean a tremendous increase in help for poor families to deal with the inordinately rising costs of energy, to give a better mass transit system, and to make our Nation energy-secure in the future.

We have an opportunity, I think, to be sure that there is a continued sense of common responsibility for your city and for your State. Every one of you in this room is a constituent of mine, and your well-being and the quality of life among those who look to you for leadership I consider to be my direct responsibility. I was not elected President to tell New York City to drop dead, and I will obviously never do so.

The political and the financial health of the greatest city on Earth is a sure sign of the political and the financial health of the greatest nation on Earth. And this Nation is my responsibility. And what you do here will have a direct effect on the quality of life throughout the whole Nation.

I want to recognize Mayor Abe Beame,¹ who I understand is here. Stand up, Abe. Abe's always too modest to stand up. Thank you very much, Abe. [Laughter]

Let me say this in closing: As this button says, I love New York.

Thank you very much.

¹ Abraham D. Beame, former mayor of New York City.