 The President's press conference from the Cabinet Room of the White House, September 21, 1966. When all the bills are in Congress, you will know what the fiscal situation will be. You seem to be indicating that this may involve a tax increase. Is that so? No, I haven't indicated that. I have said that when the authorization bills are passed, the appropriations are made. We'll then see how much we can adjust to those measures and we'll carefully review them and arrive at the total it'll be spent. Then we'll calculate our revenues and we'll do our best to bring our revenues in line with our expenditures. Mr. President, one of the factors that has been mentioned in trying to arrive at these final figures is how much more the war in Vietnam is going to cost. Could you tell us how you're going to arrive at that and at what time you expect to be able to make that decision? We have appropriated enough funds to run us through June of 1967, assuming that the war would be over at that time. We are carefully reviewing that each day. We are determining what our expenditures are there in the way of the materials and planes and helicopters and men. We'll be making constant reviews of that every week, every month. I've been discussing it some this morning with Admiral Sharp, who's a commander in that area. I'll be asking Secretary McNamara and his people for figures through the fall. We can't tell now how much we're going to get from the Congress, because the Defense Department bill of the nature of some 60 billion has not been sent to us yet. After we get that, we'll see how much of it is for what purposes and making the adjustments we can. And then we hope to make the best estimates we can as to what additional monies we'll need and so inform the Congress. Mr. President, can you tell us how much the war has cost today? Mr. Bailey. Sir, when you signed the auto safety bill recently, you expressed the hope that the companies would absorb the cost of new safety devices. Ford came out yesterday with price increases and said that the new safety equipment was a substantial part of it. Can we get your comment on that? I am having a Council of Economic Advisers study, the statement that Ford released. They have not made a report to me yet. I naturally regret that it was necessary to have any increase in prices. I would have hoped that these businessmen could have foregone the necessity of increasing prices. I ask that they do that, but they are free to make their own prices and they did. And we're now analyzing what effect they'll have on the economy. Mr. President, the Republican House leadership issued a lengthy document which in effect says Vietnam War is Johnson's war. But you're not leveling with the American people on how far you intend to go. Could you comment on that report? I made a comment on that report and others like it to one of my recent press conferences. You're going to hear a good many political partisan statements from some of the House members between now and November. I don't think that you serve the nation or the world by debating statements of that kind with these particular individuals. Mr. President, there are reports now that North Vietnamese may be interested in pursuing Lutheran's proposal for peace. Could you tell us, sir, your reaction today to the Lutheran's proposal? We're very anxious to pursue any proposal that would interest the North Vietnamese. We have no indication that they are interested in sitting down and talking. But we welcome any opportunity to do that as we have all along. Mr. President, in that connection, Pope Paul VI has proclaimed October as the month of prayer for peace. You have reiterated again your desire for unconditional peace talks. Do you see any chance of these two proclamations coming together and leading to a bombing clause in October? I am very happy to see the Pope take the interest that he has. I want to do anything I can to encourage that interest and to support him in any moves that he may make. So far as the United States is concerned and our allies are concerned, we are very anxious to participate in any negotiations that the aggressors are willing to participate in. And I think it's the general feeling of all the nations of the world with the possible exception of two. And we will do anything we can to encourage the Pope to cooperate with him to support the negotiations. Mr. President, do you still hope to visit most of the 50 states before the November elections? I would, of course, like to be in all the states all the time. Your implication, your question is that I've stated that I plan to. I think I stated that at the rate that we had visited other states in the time left for us, it was possible to go into all of those states. We have no plans to. We want to visit every state that we can, whenever we can. But until we have schedule clear here, and I can be away from Washington, I'm not going to firm up any engagements. When I do, I will announce those engagements and go every place I can. Mr. President? Mr. President? Mr. President? Senator Dirksen said yesterday that you haven't really tried very hard to persuade him to drop his opposition in civil rights. Would you comment on that, sir? No. I haven't read Senator Dirksen's statement, and I think the President's position in connection to that measure is abundantly clear. I have tried to persuade the Congress to embrace my viewpoint. I'm very happy that a majority of both houses in a democracy where a majority rule should prevail have supported the measure that we recommended, and I believe in due time that measure will be again considered and favorably acted upon and will become the law of the land, and justice to all of our citizens will not only be guaranteed, but will prevail. Mr. President? Several times recently, you've talked about bringing expenditures in line with revenues. Are you planning on a balanced budget for 67? I think that we'll have to see what the Congress appropriates and what our review indicates. Of course, I can't tell at this time because I don't know whether there will be any add-ons to that budget or not. I don't know what the needs of Vietnam will be, and it will just be sheer speculation that I think would have little value. Mr. President? A long list of petitioners, including some fairly common people, have expressed the fear that West Germany might get a finger on the nuclear trigger as a result of your upcoming talks with Chancellor Erhardt. What are your responses? I don't have any such fear, and I will have a full discussion with Chancellor Erhardt on the problems of high-respected countries, but I don't anticipate any agreement of the nature they fear being contemplated. Mr. President, could you please give us your assessment of the war in Vietnam, how it compares with the situation a year ago and are there any chances of having it finished by June 67? I don't think that I can add much to what you already know, and whatever I said I think would probably be held against me if I didn't just hit it on the nose. I think that you can observe from the papers each day what's happening. Admiral Sharp and General Westmoreland think that we're going about as they had expected. They're very pleased with the successes that our men have achieved out there. They feel very good about the results that they've been able to obtain, and we have definite plans that we believe will be achieved, but just to precisely say what day these plans will be achieved is a very difficult thing in war, and I don't think any Commander-in-Chief has ever been able to do that. We seek peace. We'd like to see the shooting stop tomorrow. We'd like to talk this thing out instead of fight it out, but as I've said so many times, unless the aggressor is willing to give up his aggression and sit down and talk, we have no choice except to try to defend and to protect these liberty-loving free people. Now we're going to do that, and how long the aggressor will maintain his aggression will depend on his decision more than ours. Mr. President. The Latin American nations which originated the idea seem to be getting together on plans for the summit conference, which you expect to attend, I understand. I wonder if you could give us your idea of what the accomplishments of such a meeting might be. I think that we're now working on the plans and the proposals that are being formulated. They're not concrete yet. I think that when the heads of nations come together, it's always necessary to have an agenda and to have the matter pretty well planned out in advance. Our people are doing that now. We think that there are good many subjects that are deserving of the consideration of the heads of state. They will of course be explored by the foreign ministers in their meeting and later if we think desirable by the head of state, but we haven't reached the point yet where we could announce an agenda or could even outline for you what proposals will be made by individual countries. That's being worked upon by the staffs and the foreign ministers and state departments of the various nations. Mr. President. Mr. President, there's a little debate here about what you meant the other evening when you said you wanted to... Who is debating now? Let me see. I don't see which side to get on. You're from work up to work. The vice president reported up there that you had mentioned the labor leaders the other evening. As long as you were president, you wanted him by your side. There's been some debate in the newspapers about whether that meant... If I would get in that hue, I'd just let y'all go on and debate. Mr. President. Speaking today and yesterday about new recommendations in terms of the economy to Congress, did you have in mind the hope that you'd get something together before they go home for election to call them back after or next year? I didn't have any timetable, Max. Mr. President. I have in mind that as soon as we can get the authorization bill and as soon as the appropriation bills are available, they will be carefully reviewed. Then we'll make our judgment, then we'll immediately submit it to the Congress. Now, if you can tell me when those bills will be received and when the departments will be able to conclude their study of them, I can tell you it won't take me very long. Mr. President, are you going to submit a new civil rights bill to the next session of Congress, sir? And if so, will it contain an open housing provision? I will tell you in my state of the Union message our program for the next session of Congress. I think that you can be reasonably sure if no action is concluded between now and the state of the Union message that I will have recommendations in that field. But I don't really know that we ought to try to spell them out this morning because we'll be working on that from now until January. And we'll spell out all of our recommendations for the 90th Congress in the January message. Mr. President, will the administration seek to salvage any of the other titles like federal juries or anti-terrorism sections in this session of Congress? I don't know. I don't know what the action of the Congress will be. I haven't reviewed that with the Attorney General or the leadership on the Hill. All I know is the vote took place on cloture and whether the Congress would be disposed to again consider civil rights, I don't know. You can get the answer to your question about the possibility of further moves in that direction more from the Congress. Mr. President, sir, we really have not been told how much the war in Vietnam is costing and how much it's been costing from day to day. This question has been put to Mr. McNamara earlier in the year. He said it's almost impossible to tell. And lately US officials again said that they couldn't quite tell us. Don't you think the American people ought to be told? And I'm sure you know. I think that the Congress through the Appropriations Committee and Authorizations Committee have had very full details on our expenditures and men and money and materials in Vietnam. And I would commend to you some homework. Go read the hearings. Mr. President, Mr. President, you mentioned that there seemed to be an indication among all nations of desire to seek a negotiated settlement or to talk peace except for two. Have you noticed any change of attitude on the part of the Soviet Union to aid in this process? I haven't noticed any change in attitude. I have felt all along that they would like to see a negotiated negotiation and discussions rather than what's happening. There are a number of vacancies in the State Department. Can you give any indication of when those will be filled? Well, one became vacant yesterday, the undersecretary, Mr. Ball. And that will be filled right now. The Attorney General, Mr. Nicholas Katzenback, will resign and become the new undersecretary when confirmed by the Senate. Can you tell us when you're going to appoint the Attorney General? No, I haven't reached a decision on that yet. I'm talking about the number of vacancies that Mr. Child referred to. Mr. Ball wrote me on the 17th and I promptly responded and accepted his resignation. He's had a very outstanding career and he will be available to work with us from time to time. We have known for some time that he wanted to leave in the fall and he established the date in his letter. And I've asked the Attorney General to accept this post and he has agreed to do so. I've asked Mr. Eugene Rostow to also become undersecretary of State in the position formally occupied in this administration by Secretary Harriman and Secretary Mann. As you know, Mr. Eugene Rostow is former dean of Yale Law School and he and Mr. Katzenback are both very interested in the international field. Mr. Katzenback was a professor of international history for a period of years. He has written in that field and he and Mr. Rostow work very closely together as the undersecretaries of the department. Mr. Rostow only concluded his arrangements with the Yale University last evening. I'm asking Mr. Foy Kohler to return from Moscow to succeed Mr. Alex Johnson in the deputy undersecretaries place and these nominations will go to the Senate very shortly. Mr. Frenzen, do you regard this as a promotion for Mr. Katzenback? I hadn't spent much time on what it was, it's a great opportunity to serve the country and the world and Mr. Katzenback's one of the most competent and most selfless men I know and he said to me shortly after I became president that he would serve the president in any capacity where the president thought he could be useful and he's not concerned with title or with promotions or demotions. He's concerned with serving the interests of the nation. Do you have a replacement for Mr. Kohler in mind yet, sir? No, I'll have to talk to Mr. Childs and get this little State Department straightened out and then we'll go down and talk to him later. Mr. President, is the fact that Ramsay Park's father is on the Supreme Court rule him out as an attorney general? I wouldn't get into that. I haven't made any decision on that, as I said to you before. Sir, the prospects for a treaty on outer space, which appeared fairly bright a month ago, seem to be a little bit clouded by some recent Soviet U.S. exchanges on particular provisions that remain to be negotiated. Do you still feel hopeful that the treaty can be signed this fall? I do. President, can you tell us what happened to your hopes announced last year for a new maritime policy and what recommendations do we expect and when? Well, they kind of want to stray in the House representatives in connection with the new transportation department. We hope that we'll be able to get the Senate to act next week on a new transportation department. When we do, we'll reconcile the differences between the Senate and the House bill and I hope to be able to name a new secretary of transportation whose job it will be to develop such a policy. President, do you expect to get any more recommendations from your Labor Management Advisory Committee on guideposts and do you plan to expand its work on anyone? Yes, I think that we'll be conferring with labor management people frequently from time to time. This is a very difficult problem when we have full employment. We know that when most people have jobs at good wages that we have problems with pricing and the Labor Management people are studying it. They're working on it. The individuals are making suggestions to me from time to time and they have made some collectively. We will look to them for their cooperation and I have no doubt about what we'll get it. I just hope that all the leaders of industry in this country and the leaders of labor in this country will not increase prices or increase wages beyond the increased productivity because when they do this it makes problems for the rest of the nation. And we are trying to do our best to practice restraint. Will that certainly be part of your discussion with the meeting later tonight? Yes, we'll discuss that along with a number of other matters. President, Senator Kennedy of New York has suggested that the mistake for you is well so much on the accomplishments of your administration and the prosperity of the country. Instead of focusing more on the things that still need to be done. Did you comment? Yes, we're trying to do that every day. We have submitted a program on things that need to be done and we're doing them. We have passed about 70 measures this year on things that need to be done and we have some ten yet to be acted upon. And I agree that we ought to have a program and that we ought to try to get it passed if possible. And I'm rather pleased that the success that we've achieved so far and I'm very grateful to the cooperation of all the members of the Congress. Thank you, Mr. President.