White House Conference on Balanced National Growth and Economic Development Remarks at a White House Ceremony.

THE PRESIDENT. Both I and the Nation are very grateful at the results of the White House Conference on Balanced Growth that was held last year. More than a thousand people actually came to Washington to participate in this Conference, representing many other thousands of Americans who are deeply interested in resolving the apparent present and inevitable future conflicts as we see the progress of our Nation economically progress.

Typical of the leaders who came and representative of them are Governor Jay Rockefeller, who was the Chairman, representing State and local officials; Senator Jennings Randolph, representing the Congress; and Secretary Kreps, representing the executive branch of Government.

Today, I'll be sending to the Congress recommendations and also an analysis of the findings of this group. I think they've been very constructive. I and my entire staff and Cabinet have studied with great attention and appreciation the results of the Conference and their recommendations to us.

The recommendations are broad-based. They encompass many elements of decisionmaking which have been made much easier because of their fine work. And I think the messages that I will send, although brief, are certainly worthy of the examination of all those interested in the future of our country.

One of the most important decisions that everyone reached was the necessity for government to do everything it can to strengthen the American private economy and to minimize any adverse effect of government action or regulation which might work counter to a strong free enterprise system.

We have studied with care the need for the continuation of the regional commissions and decided that they are needed. We've analyzed many major programs that the Congress has been considering the first 2 years of my own administration, like energy impact, and made recommendations accordingly.

We are determined to improve the quality of life in our Nation. Foreign exports have not been adequately encouraged in our country. There's not a sense within the business community or the general populace, my administration, or the Congress, even, of the importance of enhanced and increasing exports of American goods.

I think we have made substantial progress in agricultural products. But I asked the chairman of the National Governors' Association, this past year, to consider forming a special committee comprised of Governors, who would work closely with me, with the Secretary of Commerce, with the State Department, and others, to concentrate on improving trade with foreign nations. And this committee has now been established. It's already being briefed and instructed, and I'm sure it will be a new addition to the American political scene which will be very valuable.

Governor George Busbee has been appointed by the Chairman to head up this committee. We've asked the Governors and mayors and county officials particularly to concentrate on energy conservation and development of our own energy resources, to build up the economic base of individual communities, and also to assure that transportation facilities are adequate, both now and in the future.

We trust that the regional commissions will continue to encourage better coordination of efforts among States who occupy a particular region of our country. Obviously, there will be some competition among States—that's inevitable—for new industry, for jobs, for export opportunities. But the benefits to be derived jointly among States by cooperation and consultation and common planning are substantial.

I think the recommendations of this White House Conference were potentially very divisive, but because of their sound and constructive approach and the close consultation that was held not only in Washington but prior to the conference itself, throughout the country, the recommendations are very sound. They are substantive and aggressive and innovative and helpful. But they're not radical enough to cause a complete aversion among Americans to their recommendations.

The final thing I'd like to say is that we have substantially enhanced the degree of strength of the system of federalism in our country. The mayors and Governors are now playing a much stronger role in their interrelationship with the Federal Government in all its aspects. This has not always been the case in the recent past. But as we evolve programs now that affect the growth of our country, balanced growth, even in the formative stages of legislative proposals, mayors, county officials, Governors are intimately involved.

I think there's a remarkable degree of harmony, which I value very highly. They recognize that there is a difficulty between environmental quality and sustained growth. They recognize that there is a potential conflict between rapidly improving employment opportunities and the control of inflation. And my ability to counsel with these wise and experienced leaders, who are close to the people who receive government services, is certainly very valuable.

Under Jack Watson's leadership here in the White House, the Interagency Coordinating Council will help to bring increasing order out of the chaos that did exist in harmonizing the efforts and the regulations and policies of different Federal agencies who deal with a single subject. And now there's a renewed commitment that these confusing statements, policies, regulations, administrative attitudes will be resolved. And this is an avenue, too, for Governors and others at the local level to feed back into the system, to say, "This program is working well, but it can work better if we make a certain change."

So, I want to express my deep thanks to all those who are assembled here from the Congress, from State and local governments, and from my own administration, for the fine work that they have done. They've brought in a wide range of interested groups of a nongovernmental nature-business, labor, education, and others—and I think this is a wonderful product of a very fine and dedicated effort among these responsible and competent and unselfish individuals who have contributed so much.

And now I'd like to sign my messages to the Congress outlining the recommendations of the White House Conference on Balanced Growth and also recommendations to the Congress on what we can do in the future, together, to carry out these beneficial commendations for congressional action that will help the American people have a better life.

Thank you all very much, and I'm deeply grateful to you.

I might ask Jay Rockefeller if he would respond briefly.

GOVERNOR ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I want to thank you for the fact that

you did not, as you said you would not, in any way take this White House Conference on Balanced Growth and shelve its recommendations. You have very specifically, in the case of the Title V Commissions, not only taken some of the suggestions from the White House Conference, but also through Jack Watson, the Interagency Coordinating Council, have worked, I think, extraordinarily closely and effectively with the National Governors' Association. Governor du Pont, Governor Judge were on a special task force which dealt with Title V. You worked very closely with them. The resolution of that is partly here before us today.

I think the process of the White House Conference was kind of a declaration of interdependence on the different sections of the country; people realizing that there could not be North, South, East, West; that there are common problems; we will have our differences, but we work to solve them together.

I think the presence of Governors, Senators-Senator Randolph, of course, fundamental to this whole process—so many of your own people—Juanita Kreps' outstanding leadership—helped make this possible. It was a successful conference and one that I might say was the most open process, the most participatory process that either I or most of the others who participated have ever had the chance to be in. So we thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT. I have to say that I approached the Conference with a great deal of trepidation— [laughter] —and concern. But the more we got into these analyses, the more we saw that we're all in the same boat together. And the early confrontations that did exist among disputing groups were very quickly resolved in a constructive way, in many instances even before the groups got to Washington, with a broad range of regional conferences throughout the country.

And I think this feeding back of local opinion and local experience into the Federal Government itself has been a single factor among many. But that single factor has made the White House Conference of much more benefit than all the cost and effort that went into it. Senator Jennings Randolph, please.

SENATOR RANDOLPH. Mr. President, Mr. Chairman, Secretary Kreps, I shall say only that we do believe that the Conference was constructive. The more than 1,000 persons who were there were not only there to listen but to participate and to bring their ideas and convictions and commitments and to form them into recommendations which have helped you, Mr. President, and others, to come now, at this point, not to—as the Governor of West Virginia has said—put something on the shelf, but to put something into being, into action. And in a sense, I speak for the colleagues who are here today, the Senate and House—the chairman over here, Bizz Johnson of California, and of course, Quentin Burdick, who chairs our Subcommittee on Economic Development, Chairman Williams, all who are here, of course, Huddleston, and many others, Applegate—I will not call the roll. But we do feel that what was done was an investment in America, in a coordinated effort of, let's say, moving forward, not to destroy but to build and even to rebuild.

Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you very much. I noticed that the key Members of the Congress who helped with the White House Conference, I believe without exception, were reelected last November- [laughter] —which is a good indication that participation was at least not politically fatal. [Laughter]

Thank you very much, Senator.

SENATOR RANDOLPH. Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT. Secretary Juanita Kreps.

SECRETARY KREPS. Well, it's my function later to sign the agreement for the three new regional commissions. But I would like to say to the members of the White House Conference Committee, and to Jay Rockefeller, in particular, that we are very grateful to them for their hard work, and to say also, Mr. President, that I think you have today written a new chapter in the history of intergovernmental relations. And I shall look forward to working with the Governors and with the White House in pushing ahead these recommendations.

THE PRESIDENT. Anyone assembled on this side of the table could very well make a fine presentation about their own contribution and their own ideas for the future. But I'd like to conclude the statements by saying that this is just the beginning of a long process. This gives us an outline or a plan for the future, and that's the purpose of the White House Conference. It was not to solve all the problems or to even assess the progress that had been made in the past, but to make sure that as we reach for the future, for a greater and more vital and more prosperous America, that every person who lives in our great country could have a better quality of life, not only 2 years in the future but 20 or 30 or even 50 years in the future.

And those long-range trends of transportation development—rail, other surface transportation, water transportation, air transportation—as it relates to economic growth and development, education, environmental quality—these kinds of things, the husbanding of our own natural resources, are so closely intertwined on a long-range basis that this just gives us a blueprint or basis from which we can now make much more substantive progress.

Again, my overwhelming sense of the moment is one of gratitude for all of you who've served with very little public recognition, but served in a way that's vital and very beneficial to our own country.

Thank you again.