reaches toward consummation, and life is the servant of life. In this work, we plan to discharge our duty to the people whom we serve. This is the State of the Union. But over it all-wealth, and promise, and expectation-lies our troubling awareness of American men at war tonight. How many men who listen to me tonight have served their Nation in other wars? How very many are not here to listen? The war in Viet-Nam is not like these other wars. Yet, finally, war is always the same. It is young men dying in the fullness of their promise. It is trying to kill a man that you do not even know well enough to hate. Therefore, to know war is to know that there is still madness in this world. Many of you share the burden of this knowledge tonight with me. But there is a difference. For finally I must be the one to order our guns to fire, against all the most inward pulls of my desire. For we have children to teach, and we have sick to be cured, and we have men to be freed. There are poor to be lifted up, and there are cities to be built, and there is a world to be helped. Yet we do what we must. I am hopeful, and I will try as best I can, with everything I have got, to end this battle and to return our sons to their desires. Yet as long as others will challenge America's security and test the dearness of our beliefs with fire and steel, then we must stand or see the promise of two centuries tremble. I believe tonight that you do not want me to try that risk. And from that belief your President summons his strength for the trials that lie ahead in the days to come. The work must be our work now. Scarred by the weaknesses of man, with whatever guidance God may offer us, we must nevertheless and alone with our mortality, strive to ennoble the life of man on earth. Thank you, and goodnight. We have not yet resolved the problem of what the Communist world calls "wars of national liberation." We have not yet achieved a situation in which small as well as large countries can live securely in peace, safe from outside threat or attack by subversion or the infiltration of men and arms. That is why this situation in Southeast Asia is so very important. But I think the general trend has been toward sobriety, toward prudence, and I would hope that that can continue. I think that one of the most important tasks in front of us is to make more headway in the settlement of disputes and in getting on with the great prospect of disarmament. Far too many of the world's resources are consigned to arms and based upon the possibility of armed conflict. We ought to somehow free mankind from this burden. But I must say that in the longer range I am optimistic about where people are going, where nations are going, because I think that the decent purposes of ordinary men and women Department of State Bulletin, Feb. 7, 1966, pp. 193-194. It provides the funds we now foresee as necessary to meet our commitments in Southeast Asia. If our efforts to secure an honorable peace bear fruit, these funds need not be spent. Yet it would be folly to present a budget which inadequately provided Presidential Documents, Jan. 31, 1966, pp. 82-83, 87-89, 94. The portions printed here are taken from pt. 1 and pt. 4 of the budget. The total budget for fiscal year 1967 was $112.8 billion, with an expected deficit of $1.8 billion. for the military and economic costs of sustaining our forces in Vietnam. And those costs are substantial. In this setting I have sought to frame a balanced program. • We are a rich nation and can afford to make progress at home while meeting obligations abroad-in fact, we can afford no other course if we are to remain strong. For this reason, I have not halted progress in the new and vital Great Society programs in order to finance the costs of our efforts in Southeast Asia. • But even a prosperous nation cannot meet all its goals all at once. For this reason, the rate of advance in the new programs has been held below what might have been proposed in less troubled times, many older and lower priority activities have been reduced or eliminated, and economies have been sought in every operation of the Government. • At this same time, I want to insure that the necessary increase in budget expenditures is so financed as to promote economic stability. For this reason, I am proposing several tax measures designed to increase Federal revenues. With this balanced program we can: • Meet our international responsibilities with firmness. • Maintain continued prosperity and economic stability at home. • Raise the productivity, earnings, and living standards of our poorer citizens. Improve the quality of life for all citizens. • Preserve and protect our national resources for the generations to come. And we can achieve these ends without unduly straining our economic resources or impairing our steady economic expansion. NATIONAL DEFENSE."-Aggressive forces are now testing our will and commitment to help a brave ally 11 Total expenditures for the military functions of the Department of Defense were estimated in the budget at $57.2 billion; the appropriation amounted to $58,067,472,000 (see Public Law 89-687, Oct. 15, 1966; 80 Stat. 980). under attack. This Nation will continue to seek a just settlement in Vietnam. At the same time, we must provide the funds and forces required to sustain us until that goal is reached. The 1967 budget meets those requirements as we now see them. The costs will not be light. Defense expenditure necessary to meet the special requirements in Southeast Asia will amount to $4.6 billion in 1966 and $10.3 billion in 1967. If early settlement is secured, many of these expenditures need never be made. But prudence requires that we budget for them at this time. We must also continue to maintain defense forces equal to possible challenges elsewhere. The funds recommended in this budget provide for maintaining and improving the broad range of forces we need to meet all our defense requirements. In 1967, we will: • Improve our strategic forces with additional Minuteman II and Polaris A-3 missiles, with further development of the Poseidon submarinelaunched missile, and with initial procurement of the Minuteman III missile to be delivered in future years. Initiate procurement of the new, high performance FB-111 to replace older, less effective bombers. Begin to purchase giant C-5A transport aircraft to increase greatly our airlift capability. • Begin to build a new nuclearpowered aircraft carrier-our second-to augment the Navy's general purpose forces. • Add to the readiness, mobility, and staying power of our conventional war forces. • Continue the vigorous research and development programs vital to our continued ability to field the most modern and potent forces in the world. While meeting our requirements in Vietnam and bolstering our forces, we must maintain our unrelenting efforts to operate our defense establishment efficiently and economically. In 1967, we will continue to weed out those forces and installations which have served their purpose and which are no longer essential. The successful The Congress and the public rightly demand that our assistance programs be effective in achieving their objectives. In the past several months I have carefully reviewed these programs. As a result of that review I am proposing the following steps: First, I shall send to the Congress a special message proposing major initiatives in international health and education.19 Healthy and educated people are the most important resource a nation can possess. Therefore, the 1967 budget provides for expanded activities in education and health as next steps toward a better world. Second, I am proposing to expand and reorient our food and agricultural assistance to the hungry peoples of the developing countries.13 We will emphasize assistance to the recipient countries in raising their own agricultural production so that they may eventually lessen their dependence on 12 Post, docs. XII-21, XIII-1, 5. 13 See post, docs. XII-15-18. to maintain our firm support of the United Nations. SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY.Just over 60 years ago, man entered the age of controlled flight. Today, men orbit the earth at speeds measured in thousands of miles an hour. In 1967, less than 6 years after this Nation set the goal of a manned landing on the moon within the present decade, we will begin unmanned test flights of the giant Saturn V rocket and the Apollo spacecraft-the complete space vehicle required for achieving that goal. Later on in the 1960's, we will undertake the manned lunar mission itself. Our many space achievementsboth manned and unmanned-have dramatically advanced our scientific understanding and technological capabilities. They have also clearly demonstrated our remarkable progress in the peaceful exploration of space. In 1967, our large space projects will be progressing from the more expensive development phase into operational status, and new projects of equivalent cost will not be started. Accordingly, expenditures of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are estimated to decline by $300 million in 1967. This level will sustain our progress in space exploration and continue the advancement of science and technology. This Nation has committed itself to help defend South Vietnam against aggression. We are determined to fulfill that commitment. This Nation has also committed itself to a major effort to provide better economic, social, and cultural opportunities for all Americans. We are also determined to fulfill this commitment. Both of these commitments involve great costs. They are costs we can and will meet. The objectives we are seeking are interdependent. We cannot fight for peace and freedom in Vietnam, while sacrificing individual dignity and opportunity at home. For it would be a hollow victory if our pursuit of world peace were carried out at the expense of domestic progress. Yet we must also recognize that a truly Great Society looks beyond its own borders. The freedom, health, ures; fourth, a further concentration of our economic assistance in key developing countries, and fifth, a fiveyear authorization for economic assistance. Details of these proposals will be set forth in special messages. Conduct of foreign affairs.-The Department of State has primary responsibility for the conduct of foreign relations. To represent U.S. interests, the Department operates some 268 diplomatic and consular posts in 113 countries and expects to establish diplomatic relations with 4 newly independent nations in 1967. The budget provides for processing 1.5 million passport applications in 1967, 10% more than in 1966. In addition, approximately 1.3 million nonimmigrant visas are expected-a 7% increase over 1966. The budget also includes funds for better worldwide communications, increased security at overseas posts, administration of the recent amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act, and more adequate space for the Foreign Service Institute. Pending legislation should be enacted to provide a unified Foreign Service for the Department of State, the Agency for International Development, and the United States Information Agency.15 The United States will continue to share in the cost of supporting the United Nations and other international organizations of which this Nation is a member. Participation in these bodies is essential to increased cooperation among the countries of the world on matters of peace, security, economic and social progress, and scientific advancement. At the same time, we intend to play an increasingly active role in reviewing the program and budgetary proposals of the various international organizations. Agency for International Development. -The Agency for International Development administers economic aid programs to assist less developed countries in achieving economic and social progress, maintaining political stability, and resisting aggression or subversion. The United States supplements local resources and supports self-help efforts, in coordination with the programs of international organizations and other donor nations. The 1967 budget includes funds for new and expanded programs to be 15 Not enacted during 1966; see post, doc. XIV-3. |