CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE

April 14, 1967

Page 9662

PRESIDENT JOHNSON AND DYNAMIC CREATIVE FEDERALISM

Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, when the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States, they wrote it for their times and, hopefully, for the future of the Nation they had helped to create. Yet they could not foresee, and we could not expect them to foresee, the tremendous growth in governmental responsibilities which would occur in a 20th-century industrial urban America of 200 million people.

Government has not grown larger because it wants to impose an alien bureaucracy upon the people. Government -- Federal, State, and local -- has grown because the Nation has grown.

Government has taken on more responsibilities because the people -- business, labor, the farmer and consumer -- wanted it to assume such new responsibilities. Government has expanded its social, educational, and economic services because the expectations of the American people have risen to new heights, and because this Nation is now the most prosperous in history.

In this great period of changing expectations, the relationship between the States and the Federal Government has changed -- although the structure of federalism remains what it was in the beginning.

The United States has reached a point where "creative federalism" must search for new initiatives, new ways of solving old and new social and economic problems.

As chairman of the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations, and as a member of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, I have been particularly impressed with the seriousness and dynamism with which President Johnson has approached the Federal state process.

President Johnson has not been content with theoretical statements about how perfect federalism could be. He has vigorously and effectively worked to strengthen the role of States and their Governors in every cooperative Federal program from crime control to water and air pollution control; from economic opportunity to natural beauty; from transportation to education; from metropolitan planning to highway safety; from health to housing; from economic development to the arts.

Since January of this year, a handpicked Presidential team led by the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning, Gov. Farris Bryant, has visited 22 States -- with others scheduled in the weeks ahead. In each of those States, 20 to 25 top Federal administrators discussed every possible Federal-State program in lengthy sessions with Governors, their staffs, and State cabinet officials. Major problems were analyzed. Hundreds of technical problems were solved on the spot. The Governors unanimously had the highest praise for the spirit and positive results of the meetings.

The visits have already had significant effects. First, Federal officials have gained a new awareness of needed improvements in Federal programs tailored to local needs and local problems. For example, a consolidated catalog outlining all Federal grant and aid programs is now being prepared for future distribution to all Governors. The Bureau of the Budget is studying possible consolidation of numerous Federal grant programs to improve their efficiency and impact.

Another important result of these face-to-face discussions with Federal officials is that Governors have become more aware of the need for new Federal-State machinery at the State level. Some States have already created offices or departments to handle Federal-State programs. Others are considering them.

In addition to reaching out to the States, we all know that President Johnson is strongly supporting new laws which would help States improve the capabilities of public servants who now administer new Federal-State programs. I had the honor of recently introducing the Intergovernmental Manpower Act of 1967 -- S. 1485 -- which embodies the President's proposals in this area and clearly parallels my own Intergovernmental Personnel Act -- S. 699. These proposals would improve intergovernmental cooperation on grant-in-aid programs. They would help State governments train and improve staffs in administration. They would permit interchange of personnel between all levels of government. The value of such an approach for government all over the country is incalculable.

Today, creative federalism has given us a magnificent opportunity to adapt the illustrious federal system to meet the needs of the people and the needs of the times. President Johnson has taken vigorous steps, in cooperation with the Congress, to perfect the tools of government. He has written:

Today we are clearly moving into another era of our Federal system -- an era of the revitalization of our States. A fresh generation of energetic Governors and reactivated legislatures is on the move. They are thinking and acting to meet their people's needs.

I commend the President for looking into the future and acting to fulfill the high potential of creative federalism.