Statement by the President Upon Appointing a Special Consultative Committee on Federal, State, and Local Cooperation on Manpower Problems.

IN MY SPEECH at Dayton, Ohio, on September 5, 1966, I said:

"I am asking a group of Governors and mayors to meet and study ways in which city, State, and Federal governments can cooperate in developing a manpower service program that could work at every level of our society."

To explore fully the ways in which opportunities for such service can be provided at the State and local level, I have asked the officers of the Governors' Conference, the National Association of Counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National League of Cities to serve as a special consultative committee to the National Advisory Commission on Selective Service, the President's Committee on Manpower, and the National Advisory Committee on Health Manpower.

Members of this consultative committee will include Governor William L. Guy of North Dakota, chairman of the Governors' Conference; Governor Richard J. Hughes of New Jersey, chairman of the Governors' Committee on Human Resources; County Supervisor Edward Connor of Wayne County (Detroit) and County Commissioner Ed Munro of King County, Seattle, president and vice president respectively of the National Association of Counties; Mayor Jerome Cavanagh of Detroit, president of both the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities; Mayor Joseph M. Barr of Pittsburgh, vice president of the Mayors' Conference, and Mayor Harold M. Tollefson of Tacoma, vice president of the National League of Cities.

It is my hope that these distinguished public servants will point out ways in which city, State, and Federal governments can cooperate in developing a manpower program to serve the needs of our society. In addition, this panel will provide guidance as we seek to insure that every level of government-Federal, State, and local--is adequately staffed with qualified personnel.

The importance of meeting the need for competent personnel at every level of government cannot be overemphasized. We look to the combined wisdom of this consultative committee for ways to meet that need.