Remarks on Signing Executive Order 12160 on Federal Consumer Programs

Thank you. First I'll do my duty, and then I'll explain why.

[At this point, the President signed the Executive order.]

Congressman Rosenthal and Esther Peterson, distinguished representatives of consumer groups /tom all over the Nation:

I've just signed an Executive order entitled "Providing for Enhancement and Coordination of Federal Consumer Programs." This is a result of a lot of work by me and by 50 leaders in our Government, who represent the major agencies, by many consumer groups throughout the country, by Members of Congress, who have 'been in the forefront of the fight for consumer rights, and, I think, above everyone else, by Esther Peterson, who deserves and who has the gratitude of everyone here.

The longer I've been in the White House as President, the more I have recognized the importance of each individual person in our country. Traveling around the Nation during the long campaign years and since then, it's been a striking thing for me to have brief encounters with and conversations with Americans. Quite often, as they touch a President's hand or pass me in a corridor or on the street, they impart to me, in that brief, rare moment. their deepest thoughts. And quite often I'm struck with how distant they are from government and how many of the decisions of government that are made that impact that person's life are never known or understood by them. They have no direct representative within an agency or within a decisionmaking body that's relatively obscure but vital.

I think it's particularly important that their voices be heard in government on a continuing, sustained basis, and that's the reason for this Executive order.

As you know, the first year I was in office I proposed to the Congress, and we fought to the last vote, to get an independent agency established—an independent office established to protect consumers' rights. We have not yet been able to get that legislation passed. It is still absolutely important. And this Executive order does not supplant the need for a coordinated, single consumer protection agency. It's important for all of us to remember that. But at the same time, I've had to turn to alternative means by which I, as President, could help to protect consumers' interests in the most effective way.

I asked Esther Peterson to join my staff. She is at my right hand. She works with other members of the White House staff and with every agency in this Government in the most highly effective way. She's been assisted by large numbers of volunteers, who have confidence in her and who share her determination to protect the consumers in our Government.

We have now come to a point of realization that her presence in the White House, no matter how effective, is not enough. There are so many agencies in the Government. And I asked her a few months ago to consult with the Office of Management and Budget, with the agencies themselves, to see how we could expand her influence. And the result of all that work is this Executive order, which is now effective.

It prescribes a standard for the protection of consumer interests throughout Government—a single, carefully drafted, comprehensible standard that will provide coherence and unity and a better understanding of the purposes that we want to accomplish. And it also establishes a strong leader within each agency, who will be designated by the head of each agency, to protect consumer interests.

Esther, of course, will continue to represent me directly in these relationships. But in this process of evolving the Executive order, I think we've aroused to a high pitch of interest the leaders throughout Government who will be affected by the order itself.

OMB is extremely reluctant to expand the bureaucracy or to make an ineffective Government effort possible, and they are extremely important to save taxpayers' funds. They are enthusiastic supporters of this Executive order, because they see that this is a contribution to the efficiency of Government and does not create additional bureaucracy nor delay decisions in their final judgments.

I might add one other thing, and that is that recent trends in Government have been very disturbing to me, particularly on Capitol Hill. The attacks that are being made against the Federal Trade Commission, the recent effort in the Senate to have every regulatory decision be subjected to proof in court before it can go into effect, the efforts to block sections of bills that would directly give consumers a stronger voice in Government, the trend toward increasing one-house vetoes over decisions made by agencies responsible for protecting consumers' rights—these kinds of trends are a bad omen. And I would like to ask all of you to monitor very care. fully what goes on in Government to prevent these unwarranted encroachments on the basic rights of every American citizen.

We have worked together in the past. Many of you have been in the forefront of battles to make the civil service system more effective. You've helped me greatly in the progress that we've made so far in hospital cost containment, to reduce the inflationary pressures on American citizens, and of course, you've helped me with the evolution of the concept of the cooperative bank and many other items on which we share a major interest. We are in this fight together. And I welcome your support and the partnership that we share.

And I'm particularly grateful to your leader and to my leader, Esther Peterson, who will continue the fight, with us as her army. And I'm very grateful to serve in this capacity under one of the greatest leaders in Government. And now I'd like to introduce to you Esther Peterson.