Statement on Congressional Action Extending the General Revenue Sharing Program.

I AM most pleased that Congress has today passed the extension of the general revenue sharing program.

General revenue sharing has proven to be a triumph of the conviction that State, county, city, and local government can be far more responsive and flexible in serving citizens than distant bureaucracies and special interest programs.

Revenue sharing has only one special interest: the return of tax dollars to local authorities so they can best determine how to solve community problems with community solutions.

Without the passage of this program, county executives would have been faced with cutting essential services or raising property taxes; States, which use the majority of their funds for education, would have been confronted with the possibility of severe reductions in school aid; and cities would have had their already tight fiscal condition further burdened.

I proposed the extension of general revenue sharing on April 25, 1975, and have worked closely and continuously since then with State and local officials to secure passage of this legislation. While the bill passed by Congress today is not all that I and the mayors, county executives, and Governors had hoped for, it does assure continued growth of this vital program.

Today's action is a most significant accomplishment, and all who participated in bringing about this victory are to be congratulated.