PRESIDENT JOHNSON today noted the fifth anniversary of Statehood for Hawaii by hailing the Nation's newest State as "a symbol to people everywhere of what it is possible to achieve within the American system of Government."
The President observed that Hawaii's five years of Statehood have been marked by unprecedented growth and prosperity and he called attention to the fact that in this period it has risen from 22d in per capita income to 17th among the 50 States.
The President also applauded Hawaii for its position on civil rights.
The President disclosed that the Bureau of the Budget has determined that 285 additional acres of U.S. Government property on the island of Oahu in Hawaii are no longer needed by the Federal Government and arrangements are being made to transfer title to the State. All the land being returned to the State was originally donated to the United States by Hawaii.
Note: The statement was made public as part of a White House release announcing the completion of the Budget Bureau's review of Federal lands to be conveyed to Hawaii under the Statehood Act of 1959 (73 Stat. 4).
The release added that in the course of its review the Bureau of the Budget had thoroughly analyzed and assessed Federal needs for land in Hawaii. A major consideration in this review, the release noted, was the disposition of thousands of acres of State lands which were used under license by the Armed Forces. The Statehood Act authorized setting such lands aside in Federal ownership. However, by negotiating satisfactory long-term leases for these lands it was possible to leave ownership of more than 30,000 acres with the State.
Another major result of the review, the release further stated, was the enactment of Public Law 88-233 of December 23, 1963, which would overcome an inequity created by provisions of the Hawaii Statehood Act by recognizing Hawaii's claim to certain lands which the Republic and Territory of Hawaii had given to the United States without charge.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of Statehood for Hawaii. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241852