1604 WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, NOVEMBER 6, 1972

mendations—lowering requirements for Federal assistance, providing increased equity by enabling the Small 

Business Administration to purchase preferred stock in 

such a company, lowering interest rates on SBA loans to 

such companies, and allowing them to organize as nonprofit corporations so as to qualify for more favorable tax 

treatment. It also strengthens regular Small Business Investment Companies, permitting maximum utilization of 

the SBIC guarantee authority which this Administration 

had earlier sought, and which was enacted last year. As a 

result of this bill, more Americans—especially disadvantaged Americans—will be able to gain a piece of the 

economic action in our country, and we will be closer to 

our goal of providing an equal opportunity for every citizen to share fully in the great American adventure.

Meeting Health Needs

The Emergency Health Personnel Act Amendments of 

1972, S. 3858, will strengthen and extend the life of the 

National Health Service Corps which has been working 

for the last 2 years to meet the needs of areas with critical 

health manpower shortages. In order to improve recruitment for this program, the bill also authorizes a program 

of scholarships for students in the health professions. This 

legislation addresses a need which has concerned me for 

a long time, and I am pleased to sign it into law.

Another important initiative in the health field is H.R. 

15475, a bill which establishes a National Advisory Commission on Multiple Sclerosis to help determine the most 

effective means for finding the causes and cures for this 

disease. It represents a promising step in our battle against 

a terrible and elusive enemy, and I am happy to give it 

my approval.

Other Forward Steps

Among the many other bills receiving my approval are 

S. 2318, which will update and expand compensation 

benefits for longshoremen and harbor workers; S. 3843, 

which helps restore and replace essential railway facilities 

and equipment which were damaged during Hurricane 

Agnes and other natural disasters this past June; H.R. 

8273, which liberalizes the Immigration and Nationality 

Act; and H.R. 15461, which implements the boundary 

treaty which our Government signed with Mexico in 

1970. Another significant forward step is the creation, by 

H.R. 10751, of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development 

Corporation, a measure which I discussed in a separate 

statement last week.

One of the purposes of another of these bills, H.R. 

4678, is to prohibit the importation into the United States 

of precious pre-Columbian art treasures illegally removed 

from their countries of origin—our close friends and 

neighbors of Central America. It is with special pleasure 

that I sign this legislation. I am also very happy to sign H.R. 14911, which will 

allow prisoners-of-war and those who are missing in action 

to accumulate military leave time at the normal rate without limitation, so that they or their survivors can be more

generously reimbursed when they are returned from 

prisoner-of-war or missing status. This same bill also 

carries out another Administration recommendation by 

authorizing a second Deputy Secretary of Defense to be 

appointed by the President.

n o te: The list of bills referred to in the statement included the

following: H.J. Res. 733, H.J. Res. 912, H.R. 1, H.R. 1467, H.R.

3786, H.R. 4678, H.R. 7093, H.R. 8273, H.R. 10556, H.R. 10638,

H.R. 10751, H.R. 11563, H.R. 11773, H.R. 12807, H.R. 13158,

H.R. 14542, H.R. 14628, H.R. 14911, H.R. 15461, H.R. 15475,

H.R. 15735, H.R. 15763, H.R. 16074, H.R. 16804, H.R. 16883,

H.R. 16925, H.R. 17034, H.R. 17038, S. 216, S. 655, S. 909,

S. 1462, S. 1524, S. 1971, S. 2147, S. 2270, S. 2275, S. 2318,

S. 2469, S. 2714, S. 2741, S. 2753, S. 2822, S. 3055, S. 3230,

S. 3240, S. 3257, S. 3310, S. 3326, S. 3337, S. 3483, S. 3524,

S. 3545, S. 3583, S. 3671, S. 3822, S. 3843, S. 3858, S.J. Res. 204,

S.J. Res. 221.

For the public and private law numbers and the approval dates

of the bills, see page 1618 of this issue.

Vetoes of Legislation

The President’s Memorandum of Disapproval of Two

Bills Concerning Programs for the Elderly.

October 30, 1972

I have announced today the signing of H.R. 1—a bill 

which represents a tremendous forward step in improving 

the income position and health services for older Americans. Two other bills concerning the elderly have also 

come to me for signature—the Older Americans Comprehensive Service Amendments of 1972 (H.R. 15657) and 

the Research on Aging Act of 1972 (H.R. 14424). Although I support some of the goals of these two bills, 

careful review has persuaded me that neither bill provides 

the best means of achieving these goals. Both authorize 

unbudgeted and excessive expenditures and would also 

require duplications or fragmentations of effort which 

would actually impair our efforts to serve older Americans more effectively. I have decided therefore to withhold my approval from these two pieces of legislation.

Older Americans Comprehensive Service Amendments

of 1972 (H.R. 15657)

Last March, I submitted to the Congress a plan for 

strengthening and expanding service delivery programs 

under the Older Americans Act. This program would begin the development of more comprehensive and better 

coordinated systems for delivering services at the local 

level. In addition, I submitted a proposal to broaden the 

highly successful Foster Grandparents Program. The Administration will continue its vigorous pursuit of both 

these objectives.

However, the Congress added to the bill containing 

these provisions a range of narrow, categorical service 

programs which would seriously interfere with our effort 

to develop coordinated services for older persons. This is 

particularly the case with two categorical manpower pro­
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, NOVEMBER 6, 1972 1605

grams which were added on the floor of the Senate and 

were considered without regard to manpower programs 

already serving older persons. Furthermore, this bill would 

authorize new funding of more than $2 billion between 

now and fiscal year 1975—far beyond what can be used 

effectively and responsibly.

I cannot responsibly approve H.R. 15657.

Research on Aging Act of 1972 (H.R. 14424)

In my Special Message to the Congress on Older 

Americans last March, I also emphasized the need to 

develop a comprehensive, coordinated program of aging 

research—one which includes disciplines ranging from 

biomedical research to transportation systems analysis, 

from psychology and sociology to management science 

and economics. The Secretary of Health, Education, and 

Welfare has since appointed a new Technical Advisory 

Committee for Aging Research to develop a plan for 

bringing together all the resources available to the Federal 

Government in the aging research field.

H.R. 14424, however, would set up an entirely separate 

aging research institute that would duplicate these activities. This bill would create additional administrative 

costs without enhancing the conduct of biomedical research for the aging. In fact, it could even fragment existing research efforts. This bill also contains a new grant 

program for mental health facilities for the aging which 

duplicates the more general and flexible authorities contained in the Community Mental Health Centers Act.

In sum, I feel that both research and mental health 

programs for the aging should be carried out in the 

broader context of research on life-span processes and 

comprehensive mental health treatment programs now 

underway.

H.R. 14424 would not enhance and could inhibit Federal efforts to respond to the needs of the elderly, and I 

cannot give it my approval.

Richard Nixon

The White House,

October 30, 1972.

Commuter Train Wreck in Chicago

Statement by the President Following the Tragedy.

October 30,1972

I want to express my deepest sympathy and concern 

over the tragic accident in Chicago this morning which 

has cost so many lives and inflicted so much suffering. 

The heart of the Nation goes out to the victims of this 

tragedy and to the people of Chicago.

n o t e: Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler read the statement at his

afternoon news conference on Monday, October 30, 1972. It was

not issued in the form of a White House press release.

Mr. Ziegler announced that the President, shortly after the

accident, dispatched Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe

to Chicago to survey the damage first-hand. In addition, Mr. Ziegler

said that because of the tragedy, the President had canceled plans to

visit Chicago on Tuesday, October 31. The visit was later rescheduled for Friday, November 3.

Older Americans

The President’s Address on Nationwide Radio From

Camp David. October 30, 1972

Good afternoon.

A President signs many bills, but one that I signed 

today gave me special satisfaction because of the enormous 

impact it can have on the lives of millions of individual 

Americans.

I refer to the legislation known as H.R. 1—and especially to its provisions for helping older Americans. Many 

of these provisions grew out of recommendations which 

I have been urging the Congress to act on for several 

years.

Let’s look at some of the things H.R. 1 will do:

First, nearly 4 million widows and widowers will get 

larger social security benefits—the full 100 percent of 

what was payable to the individual’s late husband or wife. 

This will mean more than $ 1 billion in additional income 

for these deserving people in the next fiscal year.

Second, over a million and a half older Americans who 

are now working can earn more income without having 

their benefits reduced.

Until today, if you were receiving social security, every 

dollar you earned above $1,680 cost you 50 cents in 

benefits—and every dollar you earned above $2,880 cost 

you a full dollar. But under the new provision—which I 

have advocated for years—you can earn up to $2,100 

without losing a cent of social security, and every dollar 

you earn above that $2,100—no matter how many—will 

cost you only 50 cents in benefits. This will encourage 

more older Americans to work—helping them and helping the country.

Third, millions of older Americans who live in poverty, 

along with the blind and the disabled, will be helped by 

a new Federal floor under their income—a monthly minimum of $130 for an individual and $195 for a couple. 

Free of the inequities and red tape which plague the 

present system, this program will channel an estimated $1 

billion in the next fiscal year to those whose needs are 

greatest. For millions of older people, it can mean a big 

step out of poverty and toward a life of dignity and 

independence.

In addition, H.R. 1 will pay a special minimum benefit 

of $170 per month to 150,000 older persons who worked 

for long years a low wages. Men who retire at 62 will also 

be helped. Medicare coverage will be extended to cover 

100 percent and not just 80 percent of home health services, and to cover more of the cost of nursing home care,