Neighborhood Development Remarks on Greeting Representatives of Neighborhood Groups.

THE PRESIDENT. To the members of our National Neighborhood Commission, and to the distinguished Members of the Congress assembled behind me, both Senators and Congressmen, and to all of you, I want to say welcome to the White House. This is a good day for us, and a new and innovative program has been launched now in the country that I think will stand us all in good stead in making better lives for Americans.

I grew up in a very small town, in fact it's still a very small town, with a total population of about 500. As a matter of fact, I didn't live there. I lived about 3 miles west of Plains. But I could see in my early life, and later on as a State senator, and then as a Governor, and now as President, how in a very small town the people naturally pull together to meet common problems and to meet common concerns and common opportunities. And exactly the same thing prevails in the urban neighborhoods, around a block or a few blocks, around a central park, around a stop on a rapid transit system, around a school or around a church, quite often, or around some center for congregation of people.

In the past, too many times the government has not recognized the inherent strength of a neighborhood, built on strong families who share common problems and common opportunities. We've concentrated on bricks and mortars; we quite often have not concentrated on the soul of a community. Under the great leadership and advice of the National Neighborhood Commission, headed by some of the people behind me, Joe Timilty and others, this concept in government has been changed substantially. I think the key to the revitalization of our cities lies in volunteer work within the neighborhoods, aided by and encouraged by the government, the Federal, State, and local governments.

I'm very proud that the Federal Government has taken the initiative here. In 1978 Congress passed the Neighborhood Self-Help Development Act. And today we are honoring the first 70 grantees under that program. This has been the result of an intense competition, and many neighborhoods, as you know, many leaders, fought for this first allocation of funds. You are the ones who have been successful, because of the superb work you've done and the good programs that you've presented.

I won't go down the list of all 70, you'll be glad to know. [Laughter] But they are very diverse in nature. A Portland, Oregon, group has created a low-income housing unit that'll help people who live in that region. A Harlem group is creating a mental health clinic. An Hispanic group in Hartford, Connecticut, is building a new market complex. And farmers in Waynesboro, Georgia, are building a cannery to utilize the products that they grow on the farms in their community. So, I could go down the lists with the other 66 projects that have been approved; I won't do it. But you can see how broad and how valuable these projects are.

There's nothing better than a new place to live, or a mental health clinic, or a new market to sell and to buy products that are produced or consumed in that neighborhood, and also a cannery, for instance, to utilize farm products. Overall you will be receiving a little more than $8 1/2 million in these neighborhood grant funds. That may not seem like an enormous amount on a nationwide basis, and it isn't, but each one of those dollars has attracted $17; a total of $145 million will be spent on these projects. That shows what can be done with cooperation from the private sector of our free enterprise system, working with interested citizens.

We have included Federal funds to provide that base. We've given technical aid or advice to people who want to take the initiative in their own communities. We've tried to prescribe policies for our country so that it will provide guidance for those in the future who seek these grants. And, of course, we'll be observing very closely to see how well you do. The ones that we trust in these first 70 grants—who quite often are experimental in nature, we can't guarantee success-but those that do work well, we'll find out why. And those that don't work so well, we'll also find out why, so that the future applicants can do an even better job and expend the money even better.

Another thing that we want is kind of a network of cooperating groups. I would hope that the ones in Hartford, Connecticut, and the ones in Oregon, the ones in Georgia, and the ones in Harlem, would share, maybe through Geno Baroni and others, your experiences, and kind of form an organization of helping not only your own neighborhood but other neighborhoods around you, in the same large city or perhaps even in adjacent cities.

The efforts that we've made have been initiated and invigorated by the neighborhood commission, the National Commission on Neighborhoods. This act, the Self-Help Development Act that provides these funds, is one of the results of their labor. We've extended the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. And we are now voting, today as a matter of fact, in the House, on amendments to the Fair Housing Act, to remove the discrimination that still exists in the finding of homes by American families. And the emphasis on this technical assistance that goes to help you prepare and to carry out your proposals, and the public and private partnerships that have been formed with industry and with investors in your community, all have been initiated by this very fine National Commission on Neighborhoods. I'm going to urge all the Federal agencies to continue to assess and to carry out the recommendations that this fine Commission has made.

Our country does face many challenges, many problems, many obstacles. We have to answer many questions. This is not unique in American history. We've always been kind of on the cutting edge of change. We've never been afraid of change. We've been eager to work together. We are different, one from another. Those differences don't make us weak; they make us stronger, when we can put them together, and that's what we're trying to do with this particular program. And I want you to join in with me in reaffirming our faith in the greatest nation on Earth, and also reaffirming our commitment in the future to make it even greater.

God bless you, everyone. Congratulations on your success. Best wishes for the future.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BARONI. Mr. President, we'd like to thank you for inviting all of us, and especially these neighborhood groups, to your neighborhood. And we hope that you're going to go and visit their neighborhoods and see the work they've done. And because of the special request, mostly of your wife and yourself, and because of your support for the neighborhood program, we've prepared a neighborhood self-help sampler, as you discussed, telling neighborhood groups what they can do, with government help, without government help. And these groups have autographed this first copy, which is being presented around the country today, to you and to Mrs. Carter.

Thank you very much.

THE PRESIDENT. Well, thank you very much.

Well, I appreciate this much. I won't comment to you on how much I like this neighborhood. I'd like to stay here a little bit longer. [Laughter]