Parma, Ohio Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Community Leaders and Senior Citizens.

What I'd like to do this afternoon, Mayor Petruska and other mayors and ladies and gentlemen, my friends, is to speak just for a few minutes to you and save some time at the end to answer a few questions that you might have on your mind and on your heart. It's really a delightful experience for me to be back here and to be with you and to see your friends outside, who can't get in, and to have a chance personally to visit with you.

I thought, as I prepared for this particular visit, about the best brief message I could bring to you. And I thought, just in a short period of time, I would try to put the challenges that we face in perspective, because quite often in our great country, there is too much of an overemphasis on the negative side of life. People complain about temporary inconveniences; they're concerned about being disturbed just temporarily. We have hot debates about issues that are important to all of us, but we must remember that in a democratic society, those kind of things are inevitable.

You represent many things in your own life: first a full life—a life of experience, a life of commitment, a life of sacrifice, a life of love—and in this particular community, you represent a life that has believed in the closeness of families and the closeness of communities and intense patriotism.

Our Nation is a nation of immigrants. People have come here from all over the world. We've come here for different reasons-my own family looking for a better chance in life, for religious freedom from Europe; perhaps yours for the same basic reasons. And after we got here, we were still proud of what our families had been. We were proud of our religion; we were proud of our habits and our customs; we were proud of our blood relatives who still live in our old mother countries. But we wanted to give up those things at least where we formerly lived to bring the best parts of it to this great new country.

The United States is the strongest nation on Earth. We are strong because our people are strong; we are strong because we believe in the value of every single human life; we're strong because we believe in freedom, that each person should have a right to take whatever talent or ability God might have given that person and develop and to use it for one's own family, for one's own friend, for one's own self, but not ever forgetting the kind of large and small community in which we live, in Parma, in Ohio, in the United States, in the entire world.

We do have problems. Our country has problems that we can handle. The challenges that face us today are not nearly so severe as the ones that have been faced in the past. We don't know what's going to happen next. My ancestors had no idea what was going to happen next when they landed from Europe on the Atlantic Coast. The future was uncertain. But they had courage, and they had conviction, and they had confidence, and they had hope. And as they melded themselves together to form a new nation, they realized the dreams of their lives.

That's still going on. After 200 years or 300 years or 20 years or 2 years of living in this country, that concept does not change. We strive for a better life for ourselves, but we're also looking down the road in the future when our children and my grandchildren and your grandchildren will have an even better life—more opportunity, more time to be with each other, more time to love, a stronger country, more time to serve.

These kinds of things are still with us. Energy: difficult. The price of oil has been going for the last number of months, more than a year, an average of 10 percent a month. Oil's gone up in price in the last 18 months much more than it ever had in all the years since oil was first discovered. But our country has been strong enough to accommodate that and to make the change.

One thing that we're very proud of in our Nation is our ability to take care of those who need help. Most of that help has been provided ourselves, particularly the senior citizens who retire after a long year, a long lifetime of service, and an investment is made in our Nation in social security and other programs to give us security during our senior years. But those years must be productive, because our Nation cannot afford to waste the tremendous human resources represented by you in this room and by others like you all over the Nation.

Our country's budget is very large. More than one-third of it goes for programs for senior citizens. As we developed the budget for next year, we were very careful not to cut those programs one penny. In fact, they've all been increased—social security, SSI, Meals on Wheels, the Government programs to give better housing. Those kinds of things have been expanded and they ought to be expanded from year to year to accommodate the increased needs and also the increased investments that you have made.

So, to summarize, our Nation is strong; it's getting stronger. We face challenges now; we've faced more difficult challenges in the past. Our Nation is united, and you have a tremendous offering still to make to your own families and friends and to your small community here, to the Cleveland area, to Ohio, and to the Nation, and we cannot afford to waste what you have to offer.

As President, I'm very proud to be here. I don't know how many other Presidents have been in this hall—maybe not very many—but I hope some will be able to come back in the future. But I'm sorry I waited so long to come here as President. I was in this community when I was running for President.

Well, I'm not going to talk today about politics, although you might know that Tuesday there will be a very important election in Ohio— [laughter] —I just don't want you to forget. And I would like to point out that I'm a student of Ohio history as it relates to the Presidency. I'm not going to name how many Presidents have come from Ohio, but I'll start in 1976, because in 1976, one State put me over the top on the last primary day of the season, and that was Ohio.

When we got to the convention and they were calling the roll of the States, you remember, there was one State whose delegate votes gave me a majority and the Democratic nomination, and that State was Ohio. And then, in the general election in 1976, in November—it was a very close election, but there was one powerful State that gave me its votes again and put a Democrat in the White House, and that was Ohio again.

So, without making a political speech, but just making a historical speech, I want to make sure that Ohio does not break its record. And Tuesday, and also the first Tuesday in November, just remember what you did in '76—do the same thing in 1980, and I'll be perfectly satisfied, okay?

I've learned a lot since I've been in the White House. One thing is to make brief speeches. I've got a timer on my speaking platform, and I've spoken now for 8 minutes and 56 seconds, and I wanted to speak about 9 minutes. So, I'll stop and see if any of you have any questions that you'd like to ask me about domestic matters or foreign affairs. And I'll do the best I can to answer your questions. Does anybody have a question?

Mary Rose Oakar, isn't she great?

Q. I don't know whether everybody can hear me.

THE PRESIDENT. I'll repeat your question if I can hear it.

Q. All right. Mr. President, I'm concerned about our social security program. It seems inflation is steadily—[inaudible].—increases that come along in July. Many senior citizens are falling behind all the time. Now there is talk of taxing social security. Many seniors can't make it on what they get now. With more dollars-[inaudible]—in social security income, it means less dollars

THE PRESIDENT. I'll repeat the question in a minute.

Q.—for much needed survival needs. On behalf of all senior citizens, is this tax really needed? This is not a popular tax for the senior citizens.

Taxing interest income is another sore spot. Interest income is used to supplement social security payments.

THE PRESIDENT. The question was about the stability of the social security system, what might happen in the future as far as meeting the increased cost of living by those depending on social security and whether or not social security income would be taxed.

When I was campaigning around this Nation in 1975 and 1976, I never met with a senior citizens group that the most important single concern was a bankruptcy that then seemed to be inevitable for the social security system. I promised then as a candidate, and Democratic Congress and I together, and with Republican help, I'll admit, have put the social security system back on a sound financial basis. It has resulted in increased payments into the social security system.

But you can rest assured that as long as I am President and as long as Vice President Mondale is in office with me, the social security system will stay sound. And we will also have in the social security system built-in, indexed increases to take care of the increased cost of living for you as the inflation rate goes up. And there will be no taxation of your social security income.

Q. What are your future plans for the Cuban refugees?

THE PRESIDENT. The question: What are my future plans for the Cuban refugees?

For the last 2 weeks, we have not permitted any boats to go from the Miami, Key West area down to Cuba for the purpose of picking up additional Cuban refugees. I do not intend to let additional boats go down there as long as Fidel Castro keeps his same inhumane and unacceptable and widely condemned practices which he has initiated.

So, I believe that this is the best way to handle it in accordance with American law, in a stable, sound basis with anyone who wants to come to our country from Cuba or any other nation being carefully screened before they leave Cuba. So, we have stopped that series of boats going to Cuba. I do not intend to permit that series to start again.

Q. [Inaudible]

THE PRESIDENT. I understand the question.

I don't think so. It is hard for me to answer that question, but there are no immediate plans now to lower the social security age. As you know, we have removed, since I've been in office, with the strong work of many deeply committed Members of Congress—like former Senator Claude Pepper, who's in the House-the mandatory retirement age, which was making people stop working before they wanted to. But I don't know of any plans now to change the social security age beyond what's built into the present law.

Q. Mr. President, what can we do about the medical and hospital bills that are—[inaudible]?

THE PRESIDENT. This is a place where you can help me a great deal. As you know, we have had before the Congress for a number of months a hospital cost containment legislation that would limit the charges that hospitals can levy against those who go there for medical treatment. In some cases, in some States, hospital charges have gone up sometimes as much as twice as much as the inflation rate. We are now bringing the inflation rate down. My prediction to you—and you watch what I say and see if I'm accurate—is that during the summer months and toward the end of this year, we'll have a sharp reduction in the inflation rate. It'll help us all.

But we need a nationwide, comprehensive national health insurance program with built-in hospital cost containment. And I need you to help me get that through the Congress, so that we can put it into effect for all of our people.

Q. Mr. President, after the city of Parma is instrumental in electing you June 3 and after, once again in November, when we're able to get you elected President again, will you please come back and visit us?

THE PRESIDENT. It's hard for me to make out my exact schedule that far in advance, but I will put Parma right at the top of my list of those to be considered.

Maybe one more question, because there's an overflow crowd in another room, and I want to go in and speak to them too for a few minutes. So, maybe one more question.

Q. What are your plans for the CETA program?

THE PRESIDENT. For what program?

Q. The CETA program.

THE PRESIDENT. Oh, I see. What we've done since I've been in office is to take the CETA program and magnify it tremendously. It's more than twice as great as it was when I was elected President. We are now facing a decision in the Congress about whether or not the CETA program, like title VI, will be eliminated or kept as a viable program. The Senate-and the House-passed first budget resolution does away with title VI CETA program jobs. I'm fighting to get that decision in the Congress reversed, because we would like to protect not only the CETA program but other aspects of public service employment.

In addition, for young people, we are particularly interested in seeing the programs not only protected but expanded. We'll have the money available this summer for at least a million summer youth jobs, for kids, I believe, who—15 years old or above. I believe it'll be adequate to take care of all their needs. And I've also asked the Congress for an additional program to be implemented over the next 2 years, that costs 2 billion more dollars, to provide jobs for youth, and also training for jobs for young people who are inclined to drop out of high school

So, we're trying to protect those job programs. We're going to have a difficult time in the Congress, particularly with title VI on CETA, and if you all have influence with other Members of the Congress, help me. Mary Rose Oakar, I'm sure, stands with us

REPRESENTATIVE OAKAR. I'm for it all the way.

THE PRESIDENT. All the way, she says.

Let me say this in closing to you: Nothing would please me more than to stay in here with you, because it's an enjoyable experience. And as I look in your faces, it's an inspirational thing for me to know what you mean to our Nation and what our Nation means to you. We've faced difficult problems. We've faced them before. United, and not forgetting the principles on which our Nation was founded and on which it still rests, we need have no fear of the future. In my judgment, the greatest nation on Earth, with your help, will be even greater in the years to come. And I hope you have many of them.

God bless you, everyone. Thank you very much.