Speech Transcript:

First, I extend cordial greetings to the 84th Congress. We shall have
much to do together; I am sure that we shall get it done--and, that
we shall do it in harmony and good will. At the outset, I believe it
would be well to remind ourselves of this great fundamental in our
national life: our common belief that every human being is divinely
endowed with dignity and worth and inalienable rights. This faith,
with its corollary--that to grow and flourish people must be
free--shapes the interests and aspirations of every American. From
this deep faith have evolved three main purposes of our Federal
Government:

First, to maintain justice and freedom among ourselves and to
champion them for others so that we may work effectively for enduring
peace;

Second, to help keep our economy vigorous and expanding, thus
sustaining our international strength and assuring better jobs,
better living, better opportunities for every citizen;

And third, to concern ourselves with the human problems of our people
so that every American may have the opportunity to lead a healthy,
productive and rewarding life.

Foremost among these broad purposes of government is our support of
freedom, justice and peace.

It is of the utmost importance, that each of us understand the true
nature of the struggle now taking place in the world. It is not a
struggle merely of economic theories, or of forms of government, or
of military power. At issue is the true nature of man. Either man is
the creature whom the Psalmist described as "a little lower than the
angels," crowned with glory and honor, holding "dominion over the
works" of his Creator; or man is a soulless, animated machine to be
enslaved, used and consumed by the state for its own glorification.

It is, therefore, a struggle which goes to the roots of the human
spirit, and its shadow falls across the long sweep of man's destiny.
This prize, so precious, so fraught with ultimate meaning, is the
true object of the contending forces in the world.

In the past year, there has been progress justifying hope, both for
continuing peace and for the ultimate rule of freedom and justice in
the world. Free nations are collectively stronger than at any time in
recent years.

Just as nations of this Hemisphere, in the historic Caracas and Rio
conferences, have closed ranks against imperialistic Communism and
strengthened their economic ties, so free nations elsewhere have
forged new bonds of unity. Recent agreements between Turkey and
Pakistan have laid a foundation for increased strength in the Middle
East. With our understanding support, Egypt and Britain, Yugoslavia
and Italy, Britain and Iran have resolved dangerous differences. The
security of the Mediterranean has been enhanced by an alliance among
Greece, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. Agreements in Western Europe have
paved the way for unity to replace past divisions which have
undermined Europe's economic and military vitality. The defense of
the West appears likely at last to include a free, democratic Germany
participating as an equal in the councils of NATO.

In Asia and the Pacific, the pending Manila Pact supplements our
treaties with Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Korea and
Japan and our prospective treaty with the Republic of China. These
pacts stand as solemn warning that future military aggression and
subversion against the free nations of Asia will meet united
response. The Pacific Charter, also adopted at Manila, is a milestone
in the development of human freedom and self-government in the Pacific
area. Under the auspices of the United Nations, there is promise of
progress in our country's plan for the peaceful use of atomic
energy.

Finally, today the world is at peace. It is, to be sure, an insecure
peace. Yet all humanity finds hope in the simple fact that for an
appreciable time there has been no active major battlefield on earth.
This same fact inspires us to work all the more effectively with other
nations for the well-being, the freedom, the dignity, of every human
on earth.

These developments are heartening indeed, and we are hopeful of
continuing progress. But sobering problems remain. The massive
military machines and ambitions of the Soviet-Communist bloc still
create uneasiness in the world. All of us are aware of the continuing
reliance of the Soviet Communists on military force, of the power of
their weapons, of their present resistance to realistic armament
limitation, and of their continuing effort to dominate or intimidate
free nations on their periphery. Their steadily growing power
includes an increasing strength in nuclear weapons. This power,
combined with the proclaimed intentions of the Communist leaders to
communize the world, is the threat confronting us today.

To protect our nations and our peoples from the catastrophe of a
nuclear holocaust, free nations must maintain countervailing military
power to persuade the Communists of the futility of seeking their ends
through aggression. If Communist rulers understand that America's
response to aggression will be swift and decisive--that never shall
we buy peace at the expense of honor or faith--they will be
powerfully deterred from launching a military venture engulfing their
own peoples and many others in disaster. This, of course, is merely
world stalemate. But in this stalemate each of us may and must
exercise his high duty to strive in every honorable way for enduring
peace. The military threat is but one menace to our freedom and
security. We must not only deter aggression; we must also frustrate
the effort of Communists to gain their goals by subversion. To this
end, free nations must maintain and reinforce their cohesion, their
internal security, their political and economic vitality, and their
faith in freedom.

In such a world, America's course is clear: We must tirelessly labor
to make the peace more just and durable.

We must strengthen the collective defense under the United Nations
Charter and gird ourselves with sufficient military strength and
productive capacity to discourage resort to war and protect our
nation's vital interests.

We must continue to support and strengthen the United Nations. At
this very moment, by vote of the United Nations General Assembly, its
Secretary-General is in Communist China on a mission of deepest
concern to all Americans: seeking the release of our
never-to-be-forgotten American aviators and all other United Nations
prisoners wrongfully detained by the Communist regime.

We must also encourage the efforts being made in the United Nations
to limit armaments and to harness the atom to peaceful use.

We must expand international trade and investment and assist friendly
nations whose own best efforts are still insufficient to provide the
strength essential to the security of the free world.

We must be willing to use the processes of negotiation whenever they
will advance the cause of just and secure peace to which the United
States and other free nations are dedicated.

In respect to all these matters, we must, through a vigorous
information program, keep the peoples of the world truthfully advised
of our actions and purposes. This problem has been attacked with new
vigor during the past months. I urge that the Congress give its
earnest consideration to the great advantages that can accrue to our
country through the successful operations of this program.

We must also carry forward our educational exchange program. This
sharing of knowledge and experience between our citizens and those of
free countries is a powerful factor in the development and maintenance
of true partnership among free peoples.

To advance these many efforts, the Congress must act in this session
on appropriations, legislation, and treaties. Today I shall mention
especially our foreign economic and military programs.

The recent economic progress in many free nations has been most
heartening. The productivity of labor and the production of goods and
services are increasing in ever-widening areas. There is a growing
will to improve the living standards of all men. This progress is
important to all our people. It promises us allies who are strong and
self-reliant; it promises a growing world market for the products of
our mines, our factories, and our farms.

But only through steady effort can we hope to continue this progress.
Barriers still impede trade and the flow of capital needed to develop
each nation's human and material resources. Wise reduction of these
barriers is a long-term objective of our foreign economic policy--a
policy of an evolutionary and selective nature, assuring broad
benefits to our own and other peoples.

We must gradually reduce certain tariff obstacles to trade. These
actions should, of course, be accompanied by a similar lowering of
trade barriers by other nations, so that we may move steadily toward
greater economic advantage for all. We must further simplify customs
administration and procedures. We must facilitate the flow of capital
and continue technical assistance, both directly and through the
United Nations, to less developed countries to strengthen their
independence and raise their living standards. Many another step must
be taken in and among the nations of the free world to release forces
of private initiative. In our own nation, these forces have brought
strength and prosperity; once released, they will generate rising
incomes in these other countries with which to buy the products of
American industry, labor and agriculture.

On January 10, by special message, I shall submit specific
recommendations for carrying forward the legislative phases of our
foreign economic policy.

Our many efforts to build a better world include the maintenance of
our military strength. This is a vast undertaking. Major national
security programs consume two-thirds of the entire Federal budget.
Over four million Americans--servicemen and civilians--are on the
rolls of the defense establishment. During the past two years, by
eliminating duplication and overstaffing, by improved procurement and
inventory controls, and by concentrating on the essentials, many
billions of dollars have been saved in our defense activities. I
should like to mention certain fundamentals underlying this vast
program.

First, a realistic limitation of armaments and an enduring, just
peace remain our national goals; we maintain powerful military forces
because there is no present alternative--forces designed for deterrent
and defensive purposes alone but able instantly to strike back with
destructive power in response to an attack.

Second, we must stay alert to the fact that undue reliance on one
weapon or preparation for only one kind of warfare simply invites an
enemy to resort to another. We must, therefore, keep in our armed
forces balance and flexibility adequate for our purposes and
objectives.

Third, to keep our armed forces abreast of the advances of science,
our military planning must be flexible enough to utilize the new
weapons and techniques which flow ever more speedily from our
research and development programs. The forthcoming military budget
therefore emphasizes modern airpower in the Air Force, Navy and
Marine Corps and increases the emphasis on new weapons, especially
those of rapid and destructive striking power. It assures the
maintenance of effective, retaliatory force as the principal
deterrent to overt aggression. It accelerates the continental defense
program and the build-up of ready military reserve forces. It
continues a vigorous program of stockpiling strategic and critical
materials and strengthening our mobilization base. The budget also
contemplates the strategic concentration of our strength through
redeployment of certain forces. It provides for reduction of forces
in certain categories and their expansion in others, to fit them to
the military realities of our time. These emphases in our defense
planning have been made at my personal direction after long and
thoughtful study. In my judgment, they will give our nation a defense
accurately adjusted to the national need.

Fourth, pending a world agreement on armament limitation, we must
continue to improve and expand our supplies of nuclear weapons for
our land, naval and air forces, while, at the same time, continuing
our encouraging progress in the peaceful use of atomic power.

And fifth, in the administration of these costly programs, we must
demand the utmost in efficiency and ingenuity. We must assure our
people not only of adequate protection but also of a defense that can
be carried forward from year to year until the threat of aggression
has disappeared.

To help maintain this kind of armed strength and improve its
efficiency, I must urge the enactment of several important measures
in this session.

The first concerns the selective service act which expires next June
30th. For the foreseeable future, our standing forces must remain
much larger than voluntary methods can sustain. We must, therefore,
extend the statutory authority to induct men for two years of
military service.

The second kind of measure concerns the rapid turnover of our most
experienced servicemen. This process seriously weakens the combat
readiness of our armed forces and is exorbitantly expensive. To
encourage more trained servicemen to remain in uniform, I shall, on
the thirteenth of this month, propose a number of measures to
increase the attractions of a military career. These measures will
include more adequate medical care for dependents, survivors'
benefits, more and better housing, and selective adjustments in
military pay and other allowances. And third--also on January 13--I
shall present a program to rebuild and strengthen the civilian
components of our armed forces. This is a comprehensive program,
designed to make better use of our manpower of military age. Because
it will go far in assuring fair and equitable participation in
military training and service, it is of particular importance to our
combat veterans. In keeping with the historic military policy of our
Republic, this program is designed to build and maintain powerful
civilian reserves immediately capable of effective military service
in an emergency in lieu of maintaining active duty forces in excess
of the nation's immediate need.

Maintenance of an effective defense requires continuance of our
aggressive attack on subversion at home. In this effort we have, in
the past two years, made excellent progress. FBI investigations have
been powerfully reinforced by a new Internal Security Division in the
Department of Justice; the security activities of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service have been revitalized; an improved and
strengthened security system is in effect throughout the government;
the Department of Justice and the FBI have been armed with effective
new legal weapons forged by the 83rd Congress.

We shall continue to ferret out and to destroy Communist subversion.

We shall, in the process, carefully preserve our traditions and the
basic rights of our citizens.

Our civil defense program is also a key element in the protection of
our country. We are developing cooperative methods with State
Governors, Mayors, and voluntary citizen groups, as well as among
Federal agencies, in building the civil defense organization. Its
significance in time of war is obvious; its swift assistance in
disaster areas last year proved its importance in time of peace.

An industry capable of rapid expansion and essential materials and
facilities swiftly available in time of emergency are indispensable
to our defense. I urge, therefore, a two-year extension of the
Defense Production Act and Title II of the First War Powers Act of
1941. These are cornerstones of our program for the development and
maintenance of an adequate mobilization base. At this point, I should
like to make this additional observation.

Our quest for peace and freedom necessarily presumes that we who hold
positions of public trust must rise above self and section--that we
must subordinate to the general good our partisan, our personal pride
and prejudice. Tirelessly, with united purpose, we must fortify the
material and spiritual foundations of this land of freedom and of
free nations throughout the world. As never before, there is need for
unhesitating cooperation among the branches of our government. At this
time the executive and legislative branches are under the management
of different political parties. This fact places both parties on
trial before the American people. In less perilous days of the past,
division of governmental responsibility among our great parties has
produced a paralyzing indecision. We must not let this happen in our
time. We must avoid a paralysis of the will for peace and
international security.

In the traditionally bipartisan areas--military security and foreign
relations--I can report to you that I have already, with the leaders
of this Congress, expressed assurances of unreserved cooperation.
Yet, the strength of our country requires more than mere maintenance
of military strength and success in foreign affairs; these vital
matters are in turn dependent upon concerted and vigorous action in a
number of supporting programs.

I say, therefore, to the 84th Congress:

In all areas basic to the strength of America, there will be--to the
extent I can insure them--cooperative, constructive relations between
the Executive and Legislative Branches of this government. Let the
general good be our yardstick on every great issue of our time.

Our efforts to defend our freedom and to secure a just peace are, of
course, inseparable from the second great purpose of our government:
to help maintain a strong, growing economy--an economy vigorous and
free, in which there are ever-increasing opportunities, just rewards
for effort, and a stable prosperity that is widely shared.

In the past two years, many important governmental actions helped our
economy adjust to conditions of peace; these and other actions created
a climate for renewed economic growth. Controls were removed from
wages, prices and materials. Tax revisions encouraged increased
private spending and employment. Federal expenditures were sharply
reduced, making possible a record tax cut. These actions, together
with flexible monetary and debt management policies, helped to halt
inflation and stabilize the value of the dollar. A program of
cooperation and partnership in resource development was begun. Social
security and unemployment insurance laws were broadened and
strengthened. New laws started the long process of balancing farm
production with farm markets. Expanded shipbuilding and stockpiling
programs strengthened key sectors of the economy, while improving our
mobilization base. A comprehensive new housing law brought impressive
progress in an area fundamental to our economic strength and closed
loopholes in the old laws permitting dishonest manipulation. Many of
these programs are just beginning to exert their main stimulating
effect upon the economy generally and upon specific communities and
industries throughout the country.

The past year--1954--was one of the most prosperous years in our
history. Business activity now surges with new strength. Production
is rising. Employment is high. Toward the end of last year average
weekly wages in manufacturing were higher than ever before. Personal
income after taxes is at a record level. So is consumer spending.
Construction activity is reaching new peaks. Export demand for our
goods is strong. State and local government expenditures on public
works are rising. Savings are high, and credit is readily available.

So, today, the transition to a peacetime economy is largely behind
us.

The economic outlook is good.

The many promising factors I have mentioned do not guarantee
sustained economic expansion; however, they do give us a strong
position from which to carry forward our economic growth. If we as a
people act wisely, within ten years our annual national output can
rise from its present level of about $360 billion to $500 billion,
measured in dollars of stable buying power.

My Budget Message on January 17, the Economic Report on the 20th of
this month, and several special messages will set forth in detail
major programs to foster the growth of our economy and to protect the
integrity of the people's money. Today I shall discuss these programs
only in general terms.

Government efficiency and economy remain essential to steady progress
toward a balanced budget. More than ten billion dollars were cut from
the spending program proposed in the budget of January 9, 1953.
Expenditures of that year were six and a half billion below those of
the previous year. In the current fiscal year, government spending
will be nearly four and a half billion dollars less than in the
fiscal year which ended last June 30. New spending authority has been
held below expenditures, reducing government obligations accumulated
over the years.

Last year we had a large tax cut and, for the first time in
seventy-five years a basic revision of Federal tax laws. It is now
clear that defense and other essential government costs must remain
at a level precluding further tax reductions this year. Although
excise and corporation income taxes must, therefore, be continued at
their present rates, further tax cuts will be possible when justified
by lower expenditures and by revenue increases arising from the
nation's economic growth. I am hopeful that such reductions can be
made next year.

At the foundation of our economic growth are the raw materials and
energy produced from our minerals and fuels, lands and forests, and
water resources. With respect to them, I believe that the nation must
adhere to three fundamental policies: first, to develop, wisely use
and conserve basic resources from generation to generation; second,
to follow the historic pattern of developing these resources
primarily by private citizens under fair provisions of law, including
restraints for proper conservation; and third, to treat resource
development as a partnership undertaking--a partnership in which the
participation of private citizens and State and local governments is
as necessary as Federal participation.

This policy of partnership and cooperation is producing good results,
most immediately noticeable in respect to water resources. First, it
has encouraged local public bodies and private citizens to plan their
own power sources. Increasing numbers of applications to the Federal
Power Commission to conduct surveys and prepare plans for power
development, notably in the Columbia River Basin, are evidence of
local response.

Second, the Federal Government and local and private organizations
have been encouraged to coordinate their developments. This is
important because Federal hydroelectric developments supply but a
small fraction of the nation's power needs. Such partnership projects
as Priest Rapids in Washington, the Coosa River development in
Alabama, and Markham Ferry in Oklahoma already have the approval of
the Congress. This year justifiable projects of a similar nature will
again have Administration support.

Third, the Federal Government must shoulder its own partnership
obligations by undertaking projects of such complexity and size that
their success requires Federal development. In keeping with this
principle, I again urge the Congress to approve the development of
the Upper Colorado River Basin to conserve and assure better use of
precious water essential to the future of the West.

In addition, the 1956 budget will recommend appropriations to start
six new reclamation and more than thirty new Corps of Engineers
projects of varying size. Going projects and investigations of
potential new resource developments will be continued.

Although this partnership approach is producing encouraging results,
its full success requires a nation-wide comprehensive water resources
policy firmly based in law. Such a policy is under preparation and
when completed will be submitted to the Congress.

In the interest of their proper conservation, development and use,
continued vigilance will be maintained over our fisheries, wildlife
resources, the national parks and forests, and the public lands; and
we shall continue to encourage an orderly development of the nation's
mineral resources. A modern, efficient highway system is essential to
meet the needs of our growing population, our expanding economy, and
our national security. We are accelerating our highway improvement
program as rapidly as possible under existing State and Federal laws
and authorizations. However, this effort will not in itself assure
our people of an adequate highway system. On my recommendation, this
problem has been carefully considered by the Conference of State
Governors and by a special Advisory Committee on a National Highway
Program, composed of leading private citizens. I have received the
recommendations of the Governors' Conference and will shortly receive
the views of the special Advisory Committee. Aided by their findings,
I shall submit on January 27th detailed recommendations which will
meet our most pressing national highway needs.

In further recognition of the importance of transportation to our
economic strength and security, the Administration, through a Cabinet
committee, is thoroughly examining existing Federal transportation
policies to determine their effect on the adequacy of transportation
services. This is the first such comprehensive review directly
undertaken by the Executive Branch of the government in modern times.
We are not only examining major problems facing the various modes of
transport; we are also studying closely the inter-relationships of
civilian and government requirements for transportation. Legislation
will be recommended to correct policy deficiencies which we may find.
The nation's public works activities are tremendous in scope. It is
expected that more than $12 billion will be expended in 1955 for the
development of land, water and other resources; control of floods,
and navigation and harbor improvements; construction of roads,
schools, and municipal water supplies, and disposal of domestic and
industrial wastes. Many of the Federal, State and local agencies
responsible for this work are, in their separate capacities, highly
efficient. But public works activities are closely inter-related and
have a substantial influence on the growth of the country. Moreover,
in times of threatening economic contraction, they may become a
valuable sustaining force. To these ends, efficient planning and
execution of the nation's public works require both the coordination
of Federal activities and effective cooperation with State and local
governments.

The Council of Economic Advisers, through its public works planning
section, has made important advances during the past year in
effecting this coordination and cooperation. In view of the success
of these initial efforts, and to give more emphasis and continuity to
this essential coordination, I shall request the Congress to
appropriate funds for the support of an Office of Coordinator of
Public Works in the Executive Office of the President.

A most significant element in our growing economy is an agriculture
that is stable, prosperous and free. The problems of our agriculture
have evolved over many years and cannot be solved overnight;
nevertheless, governmental actions last year hold great promise of
fostering a better balance between production and markets and,
consequently, a better and more stable income for our farmers.

Through vigorous administration and through new authority provided by
the 83rd Congress, surplus farm products are now moving into
consumption. From February 1953 through November 1954, the rate of
increase of government-held surpluses has been reduced by our moving
into use more than 2.3 billion dollars' worth of government-owned
farm commodities; this amount is equal to more than seven percent of
a year's production of all our farms and ranches. Domestic
consumption remains high, and farm exports will be higher than last
year. As a result of the flexibility provided by the Agricultural Act
of 1954, we can move toward less restrictive acreage controls.

Thus, farm production is gradually adjusting to markets, markets are
being expanded, and stocks are moving into use. We can now look
forward to an easing of the influences depressing farm prices, to
reduced government expenditures for purchase of surplus products, and
to less Federal intrusion into the lives and plans of our farm people.
Agricultural programs have been redirected toward better balance,
greater stability and sustained prosperity. We are headed in the
right direction. I urgently recommend to the Congress that we
continue resolutely on this road.

Greater attention must be directed to the needs of low-income farm
families. Twenty-eight per cent of our farm-operator families have
net cash incomes of less than $1,000 per year. Last year, at my
request, careful studies were made of the problems of these farm
people. I shall later submit recommendations designed to assure the
steady alleviation of their most pressing concerns.

Because drought also remains a serious agricultural problem, I shall
recommend legislation to strengthen Federal disaster assistance
programs. This legislation will prescribe an improved appraisal of
need, better adjustment of the various programs to local conditions,
and a more equitable sharing of costs between the States and the
Federal Government. The prosperity of our small business enterprises
is an

indispensable element in the maintenance of our economic strength.
Creation of the Small Business Administration and recently enacted
tax laws facilitating small business expansion are but two of many
important steps we have taken to encourage our smaller enterprises. I
recommend that the Congress extend the Small Business Act of 1953
which is due to expire next June. We come now to the third great
purpose of our government--its concern for the health, productivity
and well-being of all our people.

Every citizen wants to give full expression to his God-given talents
and abilities and to have the recognition and respect accorded under
our religious and political traditions. Americans also want a good
material standard of living--not simply to accumulate possessions,
but to fulfill a legitimate aspiration for an environment in which
their families may live meaningful and happy lives. Our people are
committed, therefore, to the creation and preservation of opportunity
for every citizen to lead a more rewarding life. They are equally
committed to the alleviation of misfortune and distress among their
fellow citizens.

The aspirations of most of our people can best be fulfilled through
their own enterprise and initiative, without government interference.
This Administration, therefore, follows two simple rules: first, the
Federal Government should perform an essential task only when it
cannot otherwise be adequately performed; and second, in performing
that task, our government must not impair the self-respect, freedom
and incentive of the individual. So long as these two rules are
observed, the government can fully meet its obligation without
creating a dependent population or a domineering bureaucracy.

During the past two years, notable advances were made in these
functions of government. Protection of old-age and survivors'
insurance was extended to an additional ten million of our people,
and the benefits were substantially increased. Legislation was
enacted to provide unemployment insurance protection to some four
million additional Americans.

Stabilization of living costs and the halting of inflation protected
the value of pensions and savings. A broad program now helps to bring
good homes within the reach of the great majority of our people. With
the States, we are providing rehabilitation facilities and more
clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes for patients with chronic
illnesses. Also with the States, we have begun a great and fruitful
expansion in the restoration of disabled persons to employment and
useful lives. In the areas of Federal responsibility, we have made
historic progress in eliminating from among our people demeaning
practices based on race or color.

All of us may be proud of these achievements during the past two
years. Yet essential Federal tasks remain to be done. As part of our
efforts to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing for low-income
families, we must carry forward the housing program authorized during
the 83rd Congress. We must also authorize contracts for a firm program
of 35,000 additional public housing units in each of the next two
fiscal years. This program will meet the most pressing obligations of
the Federal Government into the 1958 fiscal year for planning and
building public housing. By that time the private building industry,
aided by the Housing Act of 1954, will have had the opportunity to
assume its full role in providing adequate housing for our low-income
families.

The health of our people is one of our most precious assets.
Preventable sickness should be prevented; knowledge available to
combat disease and disability should be fully used. Otherwise, we as
a people are guilty not only of neglect of human suffering but also
of wasting our national strength. Constant advances in medical care
are not available to enough of our citizens. Clearly our nation must
do more to reduce the impact of accident and disease. Two fundamental
problems confront us: first, high and ever-rising costs of health
services; second, serious gaps and shortages in these services. By
special message on January 24, I shall propose a coordinated program
to strengthen and improve existing health services. This program will
continue to reject socialized medicine. It will emphasize individual
and local responsibility. Under it the Federal Government will
neither dominate nor direct, but serve as a helpful partner. Within
this framework, the program can be broad in scope.

My recommendations will include a Federal health reinsurance service
to encourage the development of more and better voluntary health
insurance coverage by private organizations. I shall also recommend
measures to improve the medical care of that group of our citizens
who, because of need, receive Federal-State public assistance. These
two proposals will help more of our people to meet the costs of
health services. To reduce the gaps in these services, I shall
propose:

New measures to facilitate construction of needed health facilities
and help reduce shortages of trained health personnel;

Vigorous steps to combat the misery and national loss involved in
mental illness;

Improved services for crippled children and for maternal and child
health;

Better consumer protection under our existing pure food and drug
laws; and, finally,

Strengthened programs to combat the increasingly serious pollution of
our rivers and streams and the growing problem of air pollution.

These measures together constitute a comprehensive program holding
rich promise for better health for all of our people. Last year's
expansion of social security coverage and our new program of improved
medical care for public assistance recipients together suggest
modification of the formula for Federal sharing in old age assistance
payments. I recommend modification of the formula where such payments
will, in the future, supplement benefits received under the old age
and survivors insurance system.

It is the inalienable right of every person, from childhood on, to
have access to knowledge. In our form of society, this right of the
individual takes on a special meaning, for the education of all our
citizens is imperative to the maintenance and invigoration of
America's free institutions. Today, we face grave educational
problems. Effective and up-to-date analyses of these problems and
their solutions are being carried forward through the individual
State conferences and the White House Conference to be completed this
year. However, such factors as population growth, additional
responsibilities of schools, and increased and longer school
attendance have produced an unprecedented classroom shortage. This
shortage is of immediate concern to all of our people. Positive,
affirmative action must be taken now.

Without impairing in any way the responsibilities of our States,
localities, communities, or families, the Federal government can and
should serve as an effective catalyst in dealing with this problem. I
shall forward a special message to the Congress on February 15,
presenting an affirmative program dealing with this shortage.

To help the States do a better and more timely job, we must
strengthen their resources for preventing and dealing with juvenile
delinquency. I shall propose Federal legislation to assist the States
to promote concerted action in dealing with this nationwide problem. I
shall carry forward the vigorous efforts of the Administration to
improve the international control of the traffic in narcotics and, in
cooperation with State and local agencies, to combat narcotic
addiction in our country.

I should like to speak now of additional matters of importance to all
our people and especially to our wage earners. During the past year
certain industrial changes and the readjustment of the economy to
conditions of peace brought unemployment and other difficulties to
various localities and industries. These problems are engaging our
most earnest attention. But for the overwhelming majority of our
working people, the past year has meant good jobs. Moreover, the
earnings and savings of our wage earners are no longer depreciating
in value. Because of cooperative relations between labor and
management, fewer working days were lost through strikes in 1954 than
in any year in the past decade.

The outlook for our wage earners can be made still more promising by
several legislative actions.

First, in the past five years we have had economic growth which will
support an increase in the Federal minimum wage. In the light of
present economic conditions, I recommend its increase to ninety cents
an hour. I also recommend that many others, at present excluded, be
given the protection of a minimum wage.

Second, I renew my recommendation of last year for amendment of the
Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 to further the basic
objectives of this statute. I especially call to the attention of the
Congress amendments dealing with the right of economic strikers to
vote in representation elections and the need for equalizing the
obligation under the Act to file disclaimers of Communist
affiliation.

Third, the Administration will propose other important measures
including occupational safety, workmen's compensation for
longshoremen and harbor workers, and the "Eight Hour Laws" applicable
to Federal contractors. Legislation will also be proposed respecting
nonoccupational disability insurance and unemployment compensation in
the District of Columbia. In considering human needs, the Federal
Government must take special responsibility for citizens in its
direct employ. On January 11 I shall propose a pay adjustment plan
for civilian employees outside the Postal Field Service to correct
inequities and increase individual pay rates. I shall also recommend
voluntary health insurance on a contributory basis for Federal
employees and their dependents. In keeping with the Group Life
Insurance Act passed in the 83rd Congress, this protection should be
provided on the group insurance principle and purchased from private
facilities. Also on January 11 I shall recommend a modern pay plan,
including pay increases, for postal field employees. As part of this
program, and to carry forward our progress toward elimination of the
large annual postal deficit, I shall renew my request for an increase
in postal rates. Again I urge that in the future the fixing of rates
be delegated to an impartial, independent body.

More adequate training programs to equip career employees of the
government to render improved public service will be recommended, as
will improvements in the laws affecting employees serving on foreign
assignments.

Needed improvements in survivor, disability, and retirement benefits
for Federal civilian and military personnel have been extensively
considered by the Committee on Retirement Policy for Federal
personnel. The Committee's proposals would strengthen and improve
benefits for our career people in government, and I endorse their
broad objectives. Full contributory coverage under old-age and
survivors' insurance should be made available to all Federal
personnel, just as in private industry. For career military
personnel, the protection of the old-age and survivors' insurance
system would be an important and long-needed addition, especially to
their present unequal and inadequate survivorship protection. The
military retirement pay system should remain separate and unchanged.
Certain adjustments in the present civilian personnel retirement
systems will be needed to reflect the additional protection of
old-age and survivors' insurance. However, these systems also are a
basic part of a total compensation and should be separately and
independently retained.

I also urge the Congress to approve a long overdue increase in the
salaries of Members of the Congress and of the Federal judiciary to a
level commensurate with their heavy responsibilities.

Our concern for the individual in our country requires that we
consider several additional problems.

We must continue our program to help our Indian citizens improve
their lot and make their full contribution to national life.

Two years ago I advised the Congress of injustices under existing
immigration laws. Through humane administration, the Department of
Justice is doing what it legally can to alleviate hardships.
Clearance of aliens before arrival has been initiated, and except for
criminal offenders, the imprisonment of aliens awaiting admission or
deportation has been stopped. Certain provisions of law, however,
have the effect of compelling action in respect to aliens which are
inequitable in some instances and discriminatory in others. These
provisions should be corrected in this session of the Congress.

As the complex problems of Alaska are resolved, that Territory should
expect to achieve statehood. In the meantime, there is no
justification for deferring the admission to statehood of Hawaii. I
again urge approval of this measure. We have three splendid
opportunities to demonstrate the strength of our belief in the right
of suffrage. First, I again urge that a Constitutional amendment be
submitted to the States to reduce the voting age for Federal
elections. Second, I renew my request that the principle of
self-government be extended and the right of suffrage granted to the
citizens of the District of Columbia. Third, I again recommend that
we work with the States to preserve the voting rights of citizens in
the nation's service overseas.

In our determination to keep faith with those who in the past have
met the highest call of citizenship, we now have under study the
system of benefits for veterans and for surviving dependents of
deceased veterans and servicemen. Studies will be undertaken to
determine the need for measures to ease the readjustment to civilian
life of men required to enter the armed forces for two years of
service.

In the advancement of the various activities which will make our
civilization endure and flourish, the Federal Government should do
more to give official recognition to the importance of the arts and
other cultural activities. I shall recommend the establishment of a
Federal Advisory Commission on the Arts within the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare, to advise the Federal Government on
ways to encourage artistic endeavor and appreciation. I shall also
propose that awards of merit be established whereby we can honor our
fellow citizens who make great contribution to the advancement of our
civilization. Every citizen rightly expects efficient and economical
administration of these many government programs I have outlined
today. I strongly recommend extension of the Reorganization Act and
the law establishing the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations,
both of which expire this spring. Thus the Congress will assure
continuation of the excellent progress recently made in improving
government organization and administration. In this connection we are
looking forward with great interest to the reports which will soon be
going to the Congress from the Commission on Organization of the
Executive Branch of the Government. I am sure that these studies,
made under the chairmanship of former President Herbert Hoover with
the assistance of more than two hundred distinguished citizens, will
be of great value in paving the way toward more efficiency and
economy in the government.

And now, I return to the point at which I began--the faith of our
people.

The many programs here summarized are, I believe, in full keeping
with their needs, interests and aspirations. The obligations upon us
are clear:

To labor earnestly, patiently, prayerfully, for peace, for freedom,
for justice, throughout the world;

To keep our economy vigorous and free, that our people may lead
fuller, happier lives;

To advance, not merely by our words but by our acts, the
determination of our government that every citizen shall have
opportunity to develop to his fullest capacity.

As we do these things, before us is a future filled with opportunity
and hope. That future will be ours if in our time we keep alive the
patience, the courage, the confidence in tomorrow, the deep faith, of
the millions who, in years past, made and preserved us this nation.

A decade ago, in the death and desolation of European battlefields, I
saw the courage and resolution, I felt the inspiration, of American
youth. In these young men I felt America's buoyant confidence and
irresistible will-to-do. In them I saw, too, a devout America, humble
before God.

And so, I know with all my heart--and I deeply believe that all
Americans know--that, despite the anxieties of this divided world,
our faith, and the cause in which we all believe, will surely
prevail.