ΙΟΙ IOI Message to the Congress Transmitting First Report on Marine Resources and Engineering Development. March 9, 1967 To the Congress of the United States: I am pleased to report on the marine science activities of the Federal Government. The resources of the oceans can help us meet many of the challenges that face our nation and the world today. -The vast food reserves of the sea must be developed to help end the tragic cycle of famine and despair. -The continuing pollution and erosion of our seashores, bays, estuaries and Great Lakes must be arrested and reversed to safeguard the health of our people and to protect the resources of the sea. -The influence of oceans on the environ ment must be understood so that we may improve the long-term forecasting of storms, weather and sea conditions; protect life and property in coastal areas; and improve the prediction of rainfall in the interior. -The wealth of the ocean floor must be freed for the benefit of all people. -Finally, the seas must be used as path ways to improved international understanding and cooperation. The great potential of the seas has not gone unnoticed. During the past six years, we have invested increasingly in the development of marine scientific and technical. manpower, ships, and facilities. The quality of our research fleet, deep sea vessels, and laboratories is unsurpassed. The small but growing corps of highly trained specialists provides a strong creative base for our marine science and technology. The 89th Congress also responded to the challenge of the oceans by enacting: -The Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act which provides a stronger policy and organization frame work and gives new momentum to our marine science activities. -The Sea Grant College and Program Act, which will improve our capabilities for training and research in marine sciences and engineering. -The Act authorizing pilot plants for the production of fish protein as a usable source of food.1 The new National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development, chaired by the Vice President, has made significant progress in carrying out its responsibilities for planning and coordinating the Nation's marine science activities. In consultation with the President's Science Advisory Committee, the National Academy of Sciences and other agencies of the Federal Government, the Council has reviewed our current work and has identified the areas in which action should be taken. We must: -Launch a pilot program to assist the protein-deficient countries of the world in increasing their capacity for using the fish resources of the seas. -Implement the Sea Grant College and Program Act to strengthen oceanographic engineering, expand applied research and improve technical information activities. -Accelerate studies to improve the collection, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of oceanographic data. -Expand ocean observation systems to improve near-shore weather prediction 'Fish Protein Concentrate Act (Public Law 89701; 80 Stat. 1089). 102 Remarks Upon Awarding the Medal of Honor to Specialist 6 Lawrence Joel, USA. March 9, 1967 Specialist Joel, members of your family, Mr. Vice President, Secretary Resor, distinguished Members of Congress, ladies and gentlemen, members of the press: We have come here today to honor the courage of a very brave soldier. His was a very special kind of courage-the unarmed heroism of compassion and service to others. 299 The conduct of Specialist 6 Lawrence Joel reflects, I believe, the role America itself must play on every battlefield of freedom. In the face of death, in the fury of ambush, he risked his life that other men might live. Wounded twice, Specialist Joel crawled for more than 12 hours, through unceasing enemy fire to bring others of his fellow men to safety. In those dark, dangerous hills, with the enemy only 30 feet away, he sustained the faith that our fighting men place in the medic-their constant comrade, always ready to back their courage and to bind their wounds. Today, in this quiet American garden, we acknowledge our great debt to Specialist Joel for his great dedication in that savage action. It is a terrible truth that suffering is so often the price of freedom. But freedom is indivisible: to protect it in distant Asia is to maintain it here in America. The willingness of Specialist Joel to die for freedom in the remote Vietnam province of Bien Hoa indicates, as nothing else could, the willingness of his country to sacrifice, to stand, and to persist in freedom's cause. As we salute the valor of this soldier, we salute the best in the American tradition. Just as he cared for his fellow men, so does freedom in War Zone D, so shall we. Just as he bound up their wounds, so shall we. Just as he cared for his fellow men, so does all America care for those with whom we share this planet. America, too, stands behind the fighter who is struggling to prevent subjugation; America is willing to make sacrifices in order that all men may know the joy of peace and security; America, too, is dedicated to the highest of all principles-that of serving mankind in its endless struggle toward a better, fuller life of dignity, devoid of tyranny. Specialist Joel, with this medal comes your Nation's enduring gratitude. We thank you for what you have done. You stand as a symbol-reminding all of us of our continuing responsibilities as citizens and our continuing obligations as a nation. If we are worthy of your sacrifice and the sacrifice of those of your comrades, then we shall never forget them. NOTE: The President spoke at 12:50 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White House. In his opening words he referred to Specialist 6 Lawrence Joel, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, and Secretary of the Army Stanley R. Resor, who read the citation. The text follows: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to SPECIALIST Six Lawrence JOEL, United States arMY for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Specialist Six Lawrence Joel (then Specialist Five) distinguished himself by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on November 8, 1965 while serving as a Medical Aidman, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry on a battlefield in the Republic of Vietnam. Specialist Joel demonstrated indomitable courage, determination, and professional skill when a numerically superior and well-concealed Viet Cong element launched a vicious attack which wounded or killed nearly every man in the lead squad of the Company. After treating the men wounded by the initial burst of gun fire, he bravely moved forward to assist others who were wounded while proceeding to their objective. While moving from man to man, he was struck in the right leg by machine gun fire. Although painfully wounded his desire to aid his fellow soldiers transcended all personal feeling. He bandaged his own wound and self administered morphine to deaden the pain enabling him to continue his dangerous undertaking. Throughout this period of time, he constantly shouted words of encouragement to all around him. Then, completely ignoring the warnings of others, and his own pain, he continued his search for wounded exposing himself to hostile fire; and, as bullets dug up the dirt around him, he held plasma bottles high while kneeling completely engrossed in his life saving mission. Then, after being struck a second time and with a bullet lodged in his thigh, he dragged himself over the battlefield and succeeded in treating thirteen more men before his medical supplies ran out. Displaying resourcefulness, he saved the life of one man by placing a plastic bag over a severe chest wound to congeal the blood. As one of the platoons pursued the Viet Cong, an insurgent force in concealed positions opened fire on the platoon and wounded many more soldiers. With a new stock of medical supplies, Specialist Joel again shouted words of encouragement as he crawled through an intense hail of gun fire to the wounded men. After the twenty-four hour battle subsided and the Viet Cong dead numbered four hundred and ten, snipers continued to harass the Company. Throughout the long battle, Specialist Joel never lost sight of his mission as a Medical Aidman and continued to comfort and treat the wounded until his own evacuation was ordered. His meticulous attention to duty saved a large number of lives and his unselfish, daring example under most adverse conditions was an inspiration to all. Specialist Joel's profound concern for his follow soldiers, his conspicuous gallantry, and his intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the armed forces of his country. LYNDON B. JOHNSON 103 Special Message to the Congress Recommending Reinstatement of the Investment Tax Credit and Accelerated Depreciation Investment Incentives. March 9, 1967 To the Congress of the United States: On September 8, 1966, I asked the Congress to suspend temporarily the 7 percent investment tax credit for machinery and equipment and the tax benefits of accelerated depreciation on buildings. That suspension was specifically designed to relieve excessive pressure on the overheated capital goods industries and the resulting strain on our financial markets. My economic advisers and I believed that the measures then proposed would relieve the acute inflationary pressures of the capital boom on the capacity of our machinery producers, the supplies of skilled workers, interest rates and the availability of credit for private homebuilding. The Congress promptly enacted the legislation. The legislation provided for automatic restoration of these special tax provisions on January 1, 1968. At the time I signed the bill into law, I stated: "If... any earlier reinstatement would be appropriate, I shall recommend prompt legislative action to accomplish that result." In enacting the law, the Congress and the Administration assumed the obligation to terminate this selective fiscal restraint and restore these tax incentives as soon as changes in the situation justified such action. The reports to the Congress of both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee stated: "If military requirements in southeast Asia should decrease before January 1, 1968, or if for some other reason it should become apparent that suspension of the investment credit and suspension of the use of the accelerated depreciation methods with respect to buildings are no longer necessary to restrain inflation, the Congress can promptly terminate the suspensions. The Administration has also indicated that it would recommend terminating the suspension period before January 1, 1968, under such conditions." In appearing before the Senate Finance Committee, the Secretary of the Treasury testified: "The Administration will be alert to any change in the situation and will be prepared to recommend terminating the suspension period before January 1, 1968, if a change in circumstances makes that at all possible, and I would hope that the Congress would, in turn, be willing to entertain such a recommendation." When I signed the bill last fall, I listed clearly what my economic advisers and I expected the legislation to accomplish. I said it would help: "-restore more normal interest rates and ease tight money and credit conditions; -free funds and resources for homebuilding and other essential uses; -trim down excessive backlogs of ma chinery orders; -curb upward pressures on prices and costs of capital goods; -guard against a needless repetition of the old pattern of boom and bust in capital spending; and -improve our current balance of pay ments positions." In the six months since Congress received the temporary suspension legislation it has already effectively done the job we hoped it would do. Interest Rates Since last September, aided by action of the Federal Reserve Board interest rates have fallen dramatically: 3-month Treasury billsdown 22.2 percent; Long-term Treasury securities-down 9.3 percent; New corporate Aa bonds-down 12.0 percent; New municipal bonds-down 15.1 percent. Funds for Homebuilding Funds are again flowing into our thrift institutions. Savings and Loan Associations— our key mortgage lenders-accumulated funds at an annual rate of only $100 million last spring and summer. Subsequent to our action last September, there has been a very sharp rise in their accumulation of funds. From October 1966 through January 1967, their accounts grew at an annual rate of $8 billion. Mortgage interest rates have started to come down, and new housing starts have now risen for the last 3 months in a row. Backlogs of Machinery Orders Last September, new orders for machinery and equipment were 18 percent higher than a year earlier, and order backlogs had grown 28 percent over that period. Order backlogs for machine tools were particularly large. Orders for machinery and equipment have declined steadily since September, by a total of 7 percent. Order backlogs have leveled off, and in January actually declined for the first time since June 1963. For machine tools, backlogs have fallen substantially, as shipments exceeded orders by 17 percent in December and January. Pressures on Prices and Costs of Capital Goods The machine industry had been straining their capacity-running close to 100 percent of maximum use—in August 1966. Between August and January the average utilization rate of capacity has declined to a healthier and more efficient rate. For makers of electrical machinery, the decline is from 97 percent to 91.5 percent. Acute shortages of skilled labor, that plagued the machinery industries last spring and summer, are gradually disappearing. Guarding Against Boom and Bust In 1965, plant and equipment spending rose 16 percent. In 1966, it rose 17 percent. That was an unsustainable pace. At that rate, the capital boom was headed for a bust. Now, the latest survey of investment plans for 1967, conducted by the Department of Commerce and the Securities and Exchange |