Box 7, Folder 13, Complete Folder

Box 7, Folder 13, Complete Folder

,/
THE URBA t-:J COALJTION A CTIOl'-J COUNCIL
J O HN W: G AR D NER
C H Am M A N
I B l !l H S TR EET , N . W.
J une 27 , 1968
W ASH IN G TON, D . C. _20006
Honorab l e
U. S. Hous e of Re pres e n tat ive s
Wa shi ngton , D. C.
20515
Dear
r ·am wr i t i rg to y ou out of personal coriviction and a d e ep
conce rn for t he futu re o f our cou n t ry . But also I write
on the express in stru ction of 38 promi n e nt Ame r ic ans who
f orm the Urba n Coa l it i on Act i o n Coun c il. A l is t of t h eir
n ame s is attached .
We a r e unit e d in the cer ta inty tha t this n a tion is going
t h rough a n u nprecede n ted cr i s is - - a c r i s i s that -could tear
i t apart .
No o ne h as a perfect u nder sta n ding o f t he c ris i s . No o ne
kn ows all the a n swe r s . Bu t ther e are some p osi ti ve measur e s
that we can take a nd it i s of s u preme i mpor ta nce tha t we
t ake the m promptly . We canno t allow t h is gr~ a t n ation to
fa l t er whi l e things that can r eas on ab l y b e don e go u ndone .
We: mu s t n ot bi c k e r and equ i vo c,;:i t e wh e n the n a tion ' s fate
h ang s in the bala nc e .
..
We must act . And we must act i n a constru ctive spiri t .
It
i s unthink ab l e that we wou ld tu rn our b acks on this na t ion ' s
gr ea t tradition of positive p r obl em- s olving a nd retreat into
fearful in act ion.
We mu s t tac e forward. We mu st do the t h ing s we c a n do now
to so l ve real probl e ms , correct rea l in j us t i c e s, _ alleviate
r e a l suffering .
T E L EP H O N E: 202 293 ·1 530
cC>@
�-
2 -
At this writing no group more surely holds the key to the
nation's futur~ tha n the Congress of the United States.
Uniquely, Congress has the power to take i~nediate . ind
eff ec tive action.
It must not l eave undone the significant
thing s it can do. ·
The nation watches.
This is not just any year. This is a year of sorrow, of
confusion, of explosive anger.
Congress must lead, and the
only path · compatible with our future greatness as a nation
is thG path of constructive act ion t o combat .known evi ls -crippling poverty , in adequ a t e hou sing, educational disparities,
discrimination and all the conditions that blight individual
lives·.
There are some m~as ur es that see~ t o us espec ially critical.
The proposed $75 mill ion s upplementa l appropriation for
sum.mer j obs is one . Another is the $25 million supp l e mental
for Head Sta rt.
The Congress should cr ea te at this session a public service
employment program with the furiding to make it effective . It
should pass the Administration ' s housing bill . Budget cuts
should not be made in ~rograms aimed at h e lping the n at ion's
deprived with jobs, housing and e ducation.
The men who make up the Urba n Coalition Action Council repres e nt many diff erent segments of Amer ican li fe . They are
r ea lists who know the cos ts of the programs they are asking
you to support . . But they know the far greater costs to the
na tion of unproductive human beings and decay ing citie~.
They appreciate as you do the vast range of require~e nts
which you must consider as you set the priorities a nd a llocate
the resou rces of this country.
But they b e li eve t h at this is
a time for e xtraordi n a ry meas ur es i n behalf o f the nation.
Sincere ly,
John W. Gardner
Chairman
Att c1 chment
,~r'
! '
i I
I I
I I





�THE URBAN COAL ITION ACT IO N COUNCIL
I .W. ABEL
Pr,-esident, United Stee lworkers of America
HONORABLE JOHN V. LI NDSAY
!1ayor of New York
HONORABLE IVAN ALLEN, JR.
Mayor of Atlanta
GEORGE MEAN Y
President, AFL- CIO
JOSEPH H. ALLEN
President, McGraw-HiU Publications
J. IR\,/I N MILLER
President, Cummins Engine Company
ARNOL D ARON SON
Leade1°ship Conference on Civil Rights
National Community Re lations
Advisory Counci l
HONORABLE ARTHUR NAFTALIN
Mayor of Minneapolis
ROY ASH
President, Litton indus t ries
JO RDAN BAND .
Chairman, National Community
Relations Advisory Counci l
JAMES F. OATES
Chairman of the Board
Equitable Life Assurance Society
GERALD L. PHILLIPPE
Chairman of the Board
General Electric Company
HO NORABLE JOSEPH M. BARR
Mayor of Pittsburgh
A. PHILIP RANDOLPH
International Brotherhood of Sleeping
Car Porters
HONORABLE JEROME P. CAVANAGH
Mayor of Detroit
\,/ALTER RE UTHER
United Auto Workers
FREDER ICK J. CLOSE
ChaiY'l71an of the Board, ALCOA
DAVID ROCKEF ELLER
President, Chase Manhattan Bank
HONO RAB LE J OHN F. COLL INS
Massachu setts Institute of Technology
JAMES ROUSE
President, The Rouse Company
HO NORABLE RICHARD J. DALEY
Mayor of Chicago
RABBI JACOB P. RUDIN
President, Synagogue Council of America
ARCHB ISHO P J.F. DEARDEN
Archbis hip of Detroit
THEODORE SCHLE SINGE R
President, AUied Stores Corporation
DR. ARTHUR FLEMMING
Presi dent, National Counci_l of Churches
President~ University of Oregon
HENRY FORD, I I
ChaiY'l71an, Ford Motor Company
ASA T. SPAU LDI NG
Pr esi dent, North Carolina Mutual
Insuranc~ Company
DAVID SU LLIVAN
President , Building Service Employees
Inter national Union
HONORAB LE MILTON GRAHAM
Mayor of Phoenix
HONORABLE JAMES H. J . TATE.
Mayor of Philade lphia
BISHO P GEORGE GU ILFOYLE
Di ocese of Camden
JOHN WHEE LER
President, Mechanic s and FaY'171ers Bank
President, Southern Regiona l Council
DR . EDL ER G. HAWK INS
St. Augustine Presbyteri an Chur ch
ANDR EW HE ISKE LL
Chairman of the Boar d, Time , I nc.
JOHN H. JO HNSO N
President, Johnson Publishing Company
JO SEP H D. KEE NAN
Secretary, International Brotherhood
of. E'lectrical ~lorker s
ROY \.JILK INS
Executive Director, National Association
fo1° t he Advancement of Color ed People
WH ITNEY M. YOUNG, JR.
Execu"tive Di rector, Nationa l Urban Leaguff
�THE URBAl
COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W. GA RDN ER
CH A IRM AN
18 19 H ST REET. N. W.
WASHINGTO N . D. C. 200 06
June 28, 1968
Memorandum To:
Chairmen and Executive Dire ctors of
Loc a l Urb an Coalitions
Cong ress will recess July 3 for a long weekend and retu rn
July 8.
We are asking loc a l Urban Co a lition members to
contact the ir Congressme n and Senators while they are home
and urge that they s upport meas ure s vital to cities .
Enclosed with the weekly Legislative Re port i s a letter
sent this week to e ach membe r o f Congress from Ch airman
Gardner , u rging passage o f progr ams that are i mpor tant to
cities and specifying pr i oriti es. Also enc lo sed i s a sum..~ ary
o f the ma jor provisions of the Ho using and Urban Dev elopment
Act of 1968 which you may find u sef ul.
The outlook for the housing bill i s generally good ,
however emphasis should b e p l a c ed on c e rtain ke y areas such
as b r o ad income e li gib ili ty st a ndards for low income hou sing ,
an e xpand ed re nt s u pp l ement p rogram , and f ull f unding for
Mode l Cities.
Se vere appropriation cuts have been made b y the House
o f Represen tatives in education_ programs , the .Teache r Cor ps
and the Office of Economic Oppor tunity.
Se n a tors s hould b e
u rged to restore these cuts.
Your assistance will be v ery helpful and ver y much
appreciated.
Sincere ly yours,
Lowe ll R. Be c k
Executive Director
LRB:m
TEL E PHON E: 20 2 29.3·15 30
· ®
�MAJOR PROVISIONS OF THE
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ACT
OF 1968
11
·(H. R, 17989, as ortlered reported by the House
Connittee on Banking and Currency on June 20,
1968)
TITLE I -- Sales Housing-- Low and Moderate Income Families
Home Ownership





Income Eligibility--families of "low and moderate"income.





Subsidy--Difference between 20 percent of homeowner's income
after. deducting $200 for each minor child and monthly mortgage
payment. Market interest rates may be subsidized down to a
minimum of one percent.
-!
ESTl ,', \A HD ~18 '1THL Y AS SISTANCE p; _v:-<Eli TS unDER SEC . 21 5. BY :,, ORTG,\r,£ AMOW:T M D HO ~lEi)'.','IER S
M,NUA L 1::co.'.: E 8.\SED 011 6',- PERCE/:T 35-Y [AR :,:u?.] G,, GE WITH , ... prn~EtlT MOUGAGE IIISUR.\,'iCE
PR EMIUM
•
20 ~e ;cz .1t
Ac!ju o;lcd annu.?r rnc n11 1c 1 or monthl ·,
income
--
n ano.
S).60J .
s.:,2c;a_
~ ~ . ~ ~IJ .
. ... . . . . . . . .
..
S~:':O..
~ ... ...v) _.
~!'> ~'1C_
51 .lcO.
S7_!;;0 .
~101•1,:y ~ayme ., t de~ th~
n:or~i~ s-?e
Mai,murr. s•1bs 1 df .. ..
-
Mort, ,;:~ amGunt
- ---- -- - - - ·- - - -- - ---··-13,CCO
SI O,CcO
SIZ.r.ca
s: -:.CGJ
SI 5.C~G
- - --
s,0
60
70
~o
SI 7. 63
7. 63
.. ..
.
s;2. s 1
22 . SJ
12. 2J
SJ5. 7l
3-i. f:h
(-')
90
IC:J
I tO
t 21l
8?. BJ
38. \()
( .)
( !)
s·,1. Ji
19. 06
.: ~. )~
t9. %
9. 5G
l, . 52
?~. ~~
1CJ . ~ I
6. 5~
~S7. 15
SJ. 83
J4
9 3. F6
JS. i2
e;;
3t ss
8,
2l
H . ~;
( ;)
.. .
. . ... . .
130
67, 63
JU. -\ 8



17,500




·- - ··-·- - - - - ·- ---- -- - -
t 1€. Sc
53 . , .1
--·------ - - - --- -- - - - --- --·-·--- ---·- ·--- -
.
lZ t. SS
5i. 1l
n
(')
~oo. 68
65. 77


c 2?


J<;. ?7
15. i7
2G. 2/
(!)
(')
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("
S76. 20
7&. 20
61 . 12
\ 6. ,1
5i. sz
JI . 52
37. 52
l .!") 27
F.G. ~~
l &i . S2




b l






· -·· - -·- --·
t Tct JI i ri,: .1 r,~ , f ! 1111i !y lc:ss ~?C::1 for !Kh l':"', iici : :~: H ar. 1 aw, i nCl'j'l: ? e-1 ·n1? d b, a rr- ::J~ d: :1-d .
~ Co•! t·) ::-•r; ~r ,·:JJ!.i e1-:,;~ d t.1 perce nt ot his n1 G1Hhl1 1ric,:1: e 1n a 1j1\1on !J ,1 3Srs unce ~l;,-r.e ,; ts in or:J~r to r.. 1~t
pa:,m~ :-: ~e; on :h1 5 m:, ;trl;;:~ ar;:our.t.
'L ess than SS
So"rce : Ceprl ,1'./J.it of liou:, oz J nj L' rbae Ce·,~lor.. i, en t.





Maximum mortgage amounts-$15, 000 per unit generally, but $17,500
for families of five or more (additional $2,500 in high cost area.)





Structures eligible--new construction, substantial r ehab ilitation,
and existing housing.





Contract Authorization--$75 nillion for FY 1969; $100 million for
FY 1970; $125 million for FY 1971 . (subject to appropriations.)
Special Mortgage Risks





Special FHA mortgage insurance :for 'low and moderate income 11 families
who cannot meet regular credit standard.s, but who are "reasonably
satisfactory" risks with budget and related counseling.





Authorizes Y-tl.A mort[,rage insurance in older, declining urban areas
on the basis of "acceptable risk."
Aid to Nonprofit Sponsors





Technical assistance and infonnation.
�- 2-







80 percent interest-free l0&ns to cover preconstruction costa.
$7. 5 million authorization tor 1st year; $10 million in 'f'Y 1970.
National Home Ownership Foundation





A corporation to provide techn1.cal and limited financial &asiatance





Appropriation of $10 million authorized.
to help provide housing for lower incane :families •
Insurance Protection for Home Owners





Secretary to develop insurance plan in cooperation with private .
industry against foreclosure because incane curtailed.
TITLE II-- Rental Housing for Low and Moderate Income Families







Sponsors--nonprofit, limited dividend or cooperatives.
Incane levels and authorir.ation--.... as in ~itle I Hoaaovnerahip
ESTIMATED REDUCTION IN MONTHLY RENT AL UNDER SEC. 236, BY MORTGAGE AMOUNT AND TENANT'S MlNUAL
INCOME BASED ON 6' , -PERCENT 40-YEAR MORTGAGE WITH , , .PERCENT MOP.TGAGE INSURANCE PREMIUM
20 percent
ol monthly
Annual i ncome
income
Mortga~e amo un t
- ----- --·-- - - ---SB, 000
$10,000
S\2, 000
$14, C,00
$15.00Q
~L' ,C00
·---$3,000 . ..
SJ.400
$4,000 .
54,600.
S5,2i10 . .
55.300.
\ 6.400 .
S7.GOQ.
$7.600 .
-····- · ·· ·· -··
. . . . . .. . .
B.:is1i: re ntJI ch=trg~
·
Fai:-- marke~ ccn:a 1 chari~ - _
$50
57
67
77
87
97
107
11 7
127
$31. 45
JI. 45
31.45
25. 27
15. 27
5. 27
70. 82
102. 27
(')
$39. JI
39. 31
39. 31
36. 15
26. 15
16. 15
6. 15
83, 84
123 15
0
(')
(')
547 . 18
47. 18
47. 18
40. 79
30. 79
20. 79
100. 6\
,4 7. 79
(')
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555. 04
55. 04
55. 04
55. 04
45. 40
11 1. 36
172 40
(')
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(.
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$59. 97
58. 97
58. 9)
58. S7
53. 33
lZ I. 36 .
180. 33
(:)
5f,r,. 61
6C. 53
F.6. 3,;
€'.i. 23
56. ?,3
121. 53
194. , 2
1 Rounded.
'Casi to tenant would exceed JO percent of his monthly income in order.ta meet buic rental on this mortga11e amount .
Sou rce: Depa rtment of Housing and Urban Development.
...





Subsidy--Same as in Title I; occupants would pay 20 percent ot
income toward rent.
'
Rent Supplements





A two-year authorization;
for FY 1971.
$40
million for FY 1970; $100 mill.ion
Public Housing
three-year authorir.aticm; $100 aUlion on date of' enactment;
$150 million in P'Y 1970 and $150 m1111on FY 1971.





A





Authorization of up to $20 milliOB tor improved manageMnt act1vit1e•
and tenant services in FY 1969; awl up to $40111:1.llion i n n 1970.
�I
- 3TITLE III -- FHA I nsurance Operations





Home Jm.provement Loans--increases loan limitation :rraa $3, 500
to $5,000; extends maturity fran five to seven years. fhal.1
i ncrease in financing char ge.





Other technical FHA amendments•
TITLE IV - - Urban Reneval





Neighborhood Development Program--nev financing approach for renewal
projects funded by annual. increments.





Increase authorizati on f or renewal projects by $1.4 billion in FY
1970; f or renewal projects in model cities, $350 million for FY 1969.





Rehabilitati on Grant s--increased fran $1 ,500 to $3,000 to low-income
home owners.







Rehabilitation Loans--program extended to June 30, 1973.





Interim Assistance--nev grant program for alleviating harm:f'ul
condit i ons i n blighted a reas where renewal. or code ent'orcement
planned but immediate a cti on needed.
Majority of housi ng unit s in a community's future residentially
redeveloped projects ~ t be f or low and moderate families and
persons, but at l east 20 percent of' the units must be for low
income families.
TITLE V -- Urban Planning and Facilities





Comprehensive urban planning grants for rural areas through State
planning agencies ; authori zation increased $35 million for FY 1969;
$125 million :for FY 1970.





Planned Areawide-Devel opnent--extends to non-met ropolitan areas
supplementary planning grants up t o 20 percent of proj ect cost
if planning and coordinat ing standards met .





Wa ter and Sewer Facilities--Interim planning requirements extended
to October 1, 1969; and previous unused authorizati on r estored,
plus an additional $300 million for FY 1968 and FY 1969. Total
available authorization for FY 1970 $ 885 million.





Open Space land--$150 million authorization for FY 1970.
TITLE VI -- Ur ban Mass Transportation







Authorizes $190 million for a F'Y 1970 total of $230 million •
- from November 1,
Emergency!)hss.·Transportation Program extended
to October 1, 1969.
1968
�I
-4-
TITLE VII - - Secondary Mortgage Market





FNMA's prese nt Secondary Market operation would be turned over to
a Government chartered private corporation know as FNMA.





The present special a s sistance and management and l iqui dating


functions to be operated by t he new Oovernment Nati onal Mortgage


As sociation. (GNMA)





Increase of $500 million special a ssi s tance on July 1, 1969.





GNMA authorized to guarantee securities backed by FHA and VA
mortgage and loans insured by Farmers Home Administration .
TITLE VIII -- National Hous ing Partnership (NHP)





NHP would j oin with local investors to moblize private capi tal
and business skills to build low and moderate incane housing .





Investors as limited partnership have no liability beyond i nvestment;
investors do have possible tax advantage on any partnership l osses.
TITLE IX - - Rural Housing





Authorizes direct and insured loans in rural areas for low and
moderate inccme families a nd to coops for rental housing where
Title I or Il as sistance not available. Interest supplements
available .





Grants and loans administered by Secretary of Agriculture to
assistmutual and self help housing.
TITLE X -- National Insurance Development Corporation





Federal program of reinsurance against property loss frcm riots to
private insurance ccmpe.nies so as to continue regular line coverage
against extraoroinary losses.





Losses to be shared by ccmpe.nies, the State, and by the corporation.





FAIR plans required to assure property owners fair access to property
insurance.





Rehabilitation loans and grants would be available to property
owners to assist them in bringing their property up to insurable
standards (amendment in Title IV).
TITLE XI -- Flood Insurance





Amends House passed Flood Insurance Bill to provide a ceiling of
$150 million in borrowing authority.
�- 5TITLE XII -- FHA Mortsae;e Insurance for Nonprofit Hospitals





New FHA mortgase insurance program for nonprofit groups to
build and rehabilitate hospitals .





Maximum mortgage amount not to exceed $25· million and 90 percent
replacement cost.
.
TITLE XIII - - Housing Goals and Annual Housing Report







Congress affinns national housing goals in 1949 Housing Act.
Congress detennines the need within next 10 years for construction and rehabilitation of 26 million units , 6 million
of which a r e for l ow and moderate income families.


· Report by mm Secretary annually to President and Council of


Economic Advisors of number of new and rehabilitated units in
the past year, whether 10 year goal is being met, and
legislative and administrative recommendations.
TITLE XIV -- Miscellaneous


$1


billion authorization for Model Cities for FY 1970 and
$12 million planning authorization for FY 1969.





A new College Housing program, involving grants to reduce the
cost of borrowing from privat e sources. Grants limited to
$10 million a nnually ($20 million annually after June, 1969.)





A new Assistant HUD Secretary for Research and Development.





A limited expansion of lending
loan institutions.
powers of savings and
�I
,
I
THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W. GARDNER
CHAIR MAN
1819 H STREET, N. W.
July 12, 1968
WASHINGTON. D. C. 20006
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT
(Current as of July 12, 1968)
FROM:
THE STAFF
rrHE STATUS OF SUBSTANTIVE LEGISLATION
The Emergency Employme nt and Training Act of 1968
The bill lies in th e Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee.
The Committe e will hold one more executive ses s ion, but it
is almost certain it will take no action on th e measure this
session.
The extension of th e Manpower Deve lopme nt and Training Act
has be e n report e d b y the full Committe e (Labor and Public
Welfar e ) and will be taken up on the Senate floor during the
we e k of July 15th.
There may be an attempt to amend MDTA, adding the Emergency
Employme nt Act to it, on the floor.
Status of House Legislation
Th e Se l ec t Subcommittee on Labo r has no plans to mark-up
the JOBS bill at this time.
The MDTA exte nsion, unl e ss th e r e is obj e ction, will be
take n up on th e Suspe nse Calendar (thi s avoids the n eed to
g e t a rul e from the Rules Comm ittee) . The Ca l e nd a r · is
call ed the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month or th e l as t 6
l egis l at i ve days o f th e session. MDTA could b e called up
July 15th .
TELEPHO NE : 2 02 2 93 · 1530
�:;
-2-
The Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968
(formerly the Tax Adjustment Act o f 1968)
The ten p ercent tax surcharge and the $6 billion in budget
cuts is now Public Law 90-364. The President signed the
measure on June 28th.
Prevailing sentiment in Congress is for making every possible
effort to ·accomplish as much of the $6 billion cut as possible.
Many members view the cuts as basically a Congressional re sponsibility.
Housing and Urba n Developme nt Ac t of 1968
Senate
Tqe bill h as p assed both hous es and will now go to the
Con ference Committee . Conferees are scheduled to meet at
2:00 p.m., July 15th.
The problem sections for the Confe rence Committee will include
a saving and loan s ec tion del eted by th e House , f lood insurance,
the eligibility formula for the subsidization o f home acqui s ition b y p e rsons with l ow a nd moderate incomes .
One particula rly thorny issue is an amendment allowing
for FHA funding and supervision of private ho sp ital construction. This s quare l y cros ses jur i sdictiona l lines
b etween th e Banking & Cur rency Committees and th e Labor a nd
Public We l fare Committee which h as always h ad jur i s diction
over Hill-Burton hospit a l construction . HUD is not t hat
interes t ed in supervising such a p r ogram and HEW is opposed.
One possible compromi se is to l et HUD finance construction
and HEW provide a ll the t e chnical assistance.
THE STATUS OF APPROPRIATIONS MEASURES
The proposed schednle of a ction on Approp riat ion bills
conce rning l e gis l at ion of inte r est to the Action Counsel is:
1.
The Housing and Urban Deve lopment Appropriations
bill fo r Fiscal Year 1969 .passed the house on
May 8th.
�I
-3-
The Senate Appropriations Committee has reported the
Independent Offices Appropriation (includes HUD funding).
The earliest it might be taken up on the Senate floor is
July 17tho
2.
The Labor-HEW (including OEO) Appr opriations bill
pas sed · the House on June 26th. The Whitten Amendment, passed by a Telle r (unrecorded ) vote , prohibits the use of funds appropr i ated by the bill
to force busing of school children, to abolish
any schoo l or to force secondary school students t o
att end a particular school aga in s t th e choice of
pa rents.
The House also app roved serious cuts in Title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (aid to schools in
impoverished areas ), t he Teacher Corp s and the Off ic e o f
Economic Opportunity.
The S enate Appropr i at ion s Subcommittee on Labor-HEW (including OEO ) hope s to complete mark-up of th e bill b y the middle
of the week beginning July 15th. The ful l Comm i ttee will
act the following week.
Floor a ction is still at least two
weeks away.
Restoration of House Cut s of OEO and HEW r eques ts, incl uding
Teacher Corps, and d efeat of th e Whitten Amendment should b e
accomplish ed within the Committee.
It i s crucial that every
. effort be mad e in th e Sena t e to restore the amounts cut by
the House.
3.
The Second (r egular ) Suppleme11.tal Appropriations
bil l for Fiscal Year 1968 went i nto confer ence
where House conferees reduc ed the $75 million
requested for summer j obs to $13 million and r educ ed the $25 million requested for Headstart to
$5 million. The bill as amended by the conferees
was subsequently passed by both the House and
Senate and is now waiting the Pr es i dent's signature.
�I
THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
J OH N W . G A RDN ER
CHA I RMA N
18 19 H S T R EET . N . W ,
20 June 1968
. WAS HI N GTO N, D . C . 2 0006
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE RE PO RT
(Curre nt a s o f June 20 , 1968 )
THE STAFF
FROM:
THE STATUS OF SUBSTANTIVE LEGISLATION
The Eme r ge ncy Emp loy me nt and Trainin g Act of 1968
(Pub lic Ser vice Employme nt Bill )
Senate he a ri n gs hav e b e e n comp leted.
Subco mmittee Ch a i r ma n Cl a r k e xp ects to comp l e t e ma rk-up the
we e k of June 2 4th of a b i- par tis a n pub lic se r v ice e mp loyme nt
bill. No dec isi on h as bee n made on str ate gy - wh e th e r to
ame n d t h e Manp ower Ac t e x t e n si o n o r tes t Eme rgency Emp loy me nt in a v o te str ic t l y on its mer its.
St at u s of Ho use Le gis l at ion
Th e Se l e c t Subcommitte e on Lab or h a s schedul e d its
l a s t he a rings f o r J u ne 26 t h and 27th. No de cision
h as b ee n made on mark i ng up t h e b ill.
The Reve n ue and Expe nditu re Co n trol Act o f 19 6 8
( f o r me r l y t he Tax Ad jus t me nt Act o f 1968 )
The b ill contai n s a ten perce n t t a x s urch a rge a n d $6 billion
i n budge t cut s .
The Ho use pas sed the Confere nce re p o r t (th e b ill as agree d
t o by t h e Confe r ees ) on J u ne 20 t h b y a vot e o f 26 8 to 150.
The Se nat e comp l e t e d favor ab l e action on it on t h e 21s t,
c l e a ring it for th e Pres i de nt ' s s i gn a t u re.
The Pre si de nt h as r e lucta nt l y agree d to a c cep t t he $6 b ill ion
in budge t cuts .
Indications are a s ubs t a ntia l amo u nt of this
will be out of n o n -essent ial de f e n se a nd spac e p rogr a ms . Al though ' Ways and Means Commi ttee Ch a irman Mills info rme d u s
t hat the f ul l $6 bi l lion of cuts c oul d h e take n without a ff ec ti n g the urban a n d p over t y p ro gr ams, th e Ho u se Appro p ri a tions
Cammi t t ee is pro_cee di n g t o ma k e si g ni f i can t cuts in th e se
v it a l pro g r ams.
TELEPHONE : 202 293- 153 0
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Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968
Senate
The Senate filed a clean bill, S.3497, and passed it
substantially as introduced on May 28th.
House
The bill has been ordere d reported by the full
committee and the report should be filed on
Tuesday, June 25th.
The House Committee dropped Title IV (bonding
for New Communities) wh ich the Senate had retained at ·a $250 million level. This is one
issue to be resolved in Con fere nce.
Target d ate for House action is still mid-July.
The Status of Appropr iations Measures
The proposed schedule of action on the par t of the
Appropriations Subcommittees concerning l egislation of
interest to the Action Council _ is:
1.
The Housing a nd Urban Development Appropriat ions
bill for Fis c a l Year 1969 pass e d the House on
May 8th.
It is in the Senate Appro pri at ions
Subcommittee on Indep e ndent Offices. Final
hearings are sch edul ed f or June 24th to hear
NASA officials. The Subcommittee will then
begin mark- up.
The appr o priations proce ss for HUD is complicated
by the fact that HUD is ask i ng the Senate Committee to approve appropriations which a re authorized
in this year 's pending Housing Act:
$1.4 billion
for Urban Re newal (including projects in Model
City areas ) for Fiscal Year 1970 plus $350 million
in renewa l grants for Model City areas for Fiscal
Year 1969.
To avoid the need for a suppl e men tal appropriation ,
the Administr at i o n would prefer holding up action
on the Appropr i ati ons hill until the Housing Act
of 1968 is passe d and signed.
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2.
The Labor-HEW (including OEO) Appropriat ions bill
has been completed by the full Conuni ttee in the
House and is sch e duled for House action on June
25th.
Congre ss man Jamie Whitten (D-Miss.). amended
the bill in the Committe e to prohibit use of funds
app r opri a t e d by the bill to force busing of school
children, to abolish any school or to f orce
secondary school students to attend a particular
school against the choice of parents.
Every effort
should be made to strike this amendrne nt on the
floor of the House.
Seve re cuts were ma de in the bill t h a t will a ffect
e ffo r ts in gh e t t o schools. One o f these is the ·
cut in the Teacher Corps, $2.3 million below the
approved level in 1968.
The Administrati on budge t r e que st was $31.2 million
(th e Hous e Committee approve d $15 million), but the
Teach e r Corps could conti nue i t s pro g rams (including
f o rward funding) with $24 million.
3.
Th e Regular Supp lemental fo r Fiscal Year 1968 passed
th e House and h a s b een re porte d by t he Senate
Appropriations Commi t tee .
Se n ato r s Yarbo rough and
J avits su c ces s f ully ma n age d to amend t h e b ill in t he
Commi ttee t o provi de $25 million for Head- S tart and
$75 million fo r SunLme r Jobs p rogr ams.
Many Co a lition members as si sted t h is e f fo r t by
wi res and te l e phone calls t o k ey Commi ttee members.
The b ill is schedul ed for Senate acti o n after th e
Military Construction b ill - probab l y J u ne 25th.
The House kill e d fundin g f o r these two programs
when money for them was p u t in th e Urge nt Supp lemental two mon t h s ago.
Key members i n the Hous e
who wi ll l ike l y be Conferees are Represe n tatives
F l ood , Natch er , Ne il Smith, Hull, Cas ey , Mahon,
Laird , Mich e l , Shri v er , and Bow .
I f the Senate does no t retain funds for t h ese t wo
programs i n the Supp l emental appropriations bi l l ,
i t is unlike l y any other effort wi ll s u cceed .
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W . GARDNER
CHAIRMAN
1819 H STREET. N . W .
WASHINGTON . D. C . 20006
14 June 1968
WEEKLY LEGISIATIVE REPORT
(Current as of June 14, 1968)
FROM:
The Staff
The Status of Substantive Legislation
The Emergency Employment and Training Act of 1968
Senate hearings have been completed.
Subcommittee Chairman Clark has not been able to set
up a meeting to discuss the broad, bi-partisan approach
to this legislation (with Javits and Prouty), thus
mark-up will be delayed.
Administration Position
There is no change in the Administration's position
of opposition to the bill expected to be evidenced
during debate.
Status of House Legislation
The Select Subcommittee on Labor intends to schedule
more hearings, but it is not definite as to when.
There is a remote possibility that hearings can be
completed before the end of the month.
The Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968
(forme rly the Tax Ad justment Act of 1968)
As pre v iously reported, the Senate -House Conferees
agreed on a 10 per cent tax surcharge with $6 billion
in budget cuts.
TELEPHONE : 202 2 93·1530
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The President has reluctantly agreed to accept
the $6 billion in budget cuts.
Indications are
a substantial amount of this will be out of nonessential defense and space programs.
Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968
Senate
The Senate filed a clean bill, S. 3497, and
passed it substantially as introduced on May 28.
House
The Housing Subcommittee of the House Banking
and Currency Committee has reported out its
version of the bill.
The bill is being marked-up by full Committee.
Titles I through V have been acted on, with
Title IV (bonding for New Communities) dropped
altogether. The Senate allowed $250 million
for Title IV.
Realistically, the bill will not come up for
passage in the House until mid-July.
The Status of Appropriations Measures
The proposed schedule of action on the part of the
Appropriations Subcommittees concerning legislation
of interest to the Action Council is:
1. The Housing and Urban Development Appropriations
bill for Fiscal .Year 1969 passed the House on May 8.
It is in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on
Independent Offices. Hearings have been completed
but the bill will not go to mark-up until the NASA
authori zation bill clears the Conference Committe e
(NASA's appropriation is part of the HUD appropriation
bill) .
The appropriations process for HUD is complicated
by the fact that. HUD is asking the Senate Committee
to approve appropriations which are authoriz ed in
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this y ear's Housing Act: '$1. 4 billion for
Urban Re n ewa l (including projects in Model Ci ty
areas) for Fiscal Ye ar 1970 plus $350 million in
renewal grants for Model City areas for Fiscal
Year 1969.
To avoid the n e ed for a s uppleme ntal appropriatio~,
the Administra tion would pre f er hold ing up action
on the Appropri a tions bill until the Housing Act
of 1968 is passed and signed.
2. The Labor-HEW (including OEO) Appropriations
bill ha s not ye t b een marke d-up in Subcommittee .
The bi l l is sta lle d b e c a u se of a n a ppreh e n s ion it
will be cut up if reported soon. Strong efforts
are warranted now to get the bill out and preserve
the vital appropriations for education and antipove rty.
3. The Regul a r Supp l eme n ta l f o r F i s c a l Year 1 968
has bee n pass ed b y the House and is in mark-up
in the S e nate Appropr iations subcommittee on
Supple mentals, cha ire d b y Se n a tor Pas tore .
No f unds f o r Head Start o r Summe r Jobs programs
were inc lud e d i n the Hou se b i ll.
An attempt will b e ma d e b y Se n a tor Yarborough on
June 17 to a d d $2 5 million fo r Head Start in Sub commi ttee . Se nato r J avits , wh o attempted to add
$ 5 1 million for Summe r Jobs and $25 mi ll ion for Head
Start t o the Highway Appropriations bill on June 13
(the mot i on to tab l e .carr i e d b y o n l y 44 to 32, mak ing
his effort close though uns u c c ess ful) , will like l y
join i n th i s effo rt a n d may try to get f u nding for
Summe r J obs als o .
If the Se n ate does not add f und s f or t h ese two prog rams in the Supp l ementa l appropriat i ons b ill , it is
u nlike ly any othe r effort wi l l succeed.
4 . The Ur gent Supplemental Appropr iat ion bill f or
1968 is sti ll technically in Conferen ce Committee.
Al though it conta ins the funding f o r Head Start and
Summer Jobs, for all p ractica l purposes, this measure
is d ead. No one s hould be misled bec a use the
Conference Committee ·h as been holding meetings on the
bill. They are mere ly going through the motions.
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W. GARDNER
CHAIRMAN
1819 H STREET. N . W.
WASHINGTON. D. C . 20006
14 June 1968
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT
(Current as of June 14, 1968)
FROM:
The Staff
The Status of Substantive Legislation
The Emergency Employment and Training Act of 1968
Senate hearings have been completed.
Subcommittee Chairman Clark has not been able to set
up a meeting to discuss the broad, bi-partisan approach
to this legislation (with Javits and Prouty), thus
mark-up will be delayed.
Administration Position
There is no change in the Administration's position
of opposition to the bill expected to be evidenced
during debate.
Status of House Legislation
The Select Subcommittee on Labor intends to schedule
more hearings, but it is not definite as to when.
There is a remote possibility that hearings can be
completed before the end of the month.
The Revenue and Ex penditure Control Act of 1968
(formerly the Tax Adjustment Act of 1968)
As p _r eviously reported, the Senate-House Conferees
agreed on a 10 per cent tax surcharge with $6 billion
in budget cuts .
TEL E PHON E : 20 2 293 -1530
.
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The Preside nt has relucta ntly a gree d to a ccept
the $6 billion in budge t cuts. Indications are
a substantial amount of this will b e out of nonessential d e fense and space programs.
Housing and Urban Developme nt Act of 1968
Se n a te
The Senate filed a clean bill, s. 3497, and
pass e d it substantially as introduced on May 28.
House
The Housing Subcommittee of the House Banking
and Currency Committee has reporte d out its
version of the bill.
The bill is b e ing mark e d- up b y full Committee .
Titles I t hrou gh V h ave b een acted on, with
Title IV (bonding for New Communities) droppe d
altoge ther. The Senate allowed $250 million
for Title IV.
Rea listica lly , the b ill will not come up f or
p assage in t h e House unt il mid-July .
The Status of Appr o p riations Measure s
The p r oposed s che d u l e o f acti on on the p art o f t he
App ropriations Subcommi t t ees concern i n g l egi s l at ion
o f intere st to the Action Council is:
1. The Hous ing and Urban Deve lopme nt Appropriations
b ill for F i sca l Year 1 969 passed t he Hou se on May 8 .
I t i s in t h e Senate Appropriations Subcommit tee on
Indepe nde nt Offices . . Hearings have been comp l e ted
but the bill will not go to mark-up until the NASA
aut horization b ill c lears the Conference Committee
(NASA's appropriation is part o f t h e HUD appropriat ion
bill )
0
The appropriat ions process f or HUD i s complicate d
by the fact that HUD is asking the Se n a te Committee
to approve appropriations which are authoriz e d. in
..
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this year's Housing Act: '$1.4 billion for
Urban Renewal (including projects in Model City
areas) for Fiscal Year 1970 plus $350 million in
renewal grants for Model City areas for Fiscal
Year 1969.
To avoid the need for a supplemental appropriatio~,
the Administration would prefer holding up action
on the Appropriations bill until the Housing Act
of 1968 is passed and signed.
2. The Labor-HEW (including OEO) Appropriations
bill has not yet b een marked-up in _Subcommittee.
The bill is stalled because o f an apprehension it
will be cut up if reported soon. Strong efforts
are warranted now to get the bill out and preserve
the vital appropriations for education and antipoverty.
3. The Regular Suppleme ntal for Fisca l Year 1968
has been passed by the House and is in mark-up
in the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on
Supplementa ls, chaired by Senator Pastore.
No funds for Head Start or Summe r Jobs programs
we re included in the House bill.
An attempt will be made by Senator Yarborough on
June 17 to add $25 million f o r He ad Sta rt in Subcommittee . Se nator J avits , who attempted to add
$51 million for Summe r Jobs and $25 million for Head
Start to the Highwa y Appropri a tions bill on June 13
(the motion to table.carried by only 44 to 32, making .
his effort clos e though unsuccessful), will likely
join in this effo rt and may try to get funding for
Summe r Jobs a l s o.
I f the Senate does not add f unds f o r thes e two p rograms in the Supplemental appropriations bill, it is
unlike ly any other effort will succeed.
4. The Urgent Supplemental Appropriation bil l for
1968 is sti ll technically in Confe r e nce Committee.
Although it contains the funding for -Head Start and
Summer Jobs, for al l practical purposes, this measure
i s d ead. No one s hould be misled because the
Conference Committee has b een holding meetings on the
bill. They are mere l y going through the motions .
...
�I
THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W. GARDNER
CHAIRMAN
1819 H STREET, N . W .
WASHINGTON , D . C. 20006
6 June 1968
. WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT
(Current as of June 6, 1968)
FROM:
The Staff
The Status of Substantive Legislation
The Emergency Employment and Training Act of 1968
Senate heari~gs were completed Friday, May 24th.
Subcommittee Chairman Clark is anxious to move ahead
on the bill but full accord with Senators Javits and
Prouty has not yet been reached. Such an accord does
not appear to be an obstacle but until it is reached,
the subcommittee will not attempt to mark-up the bill.
If all moves well, mark-up will be before the end of
June , It is still up in the air whether the subcommittee will attempt to amend the Manpower Act extension or report a clean bill.
Administration Position
There is no change in Administra~ion position opposition
to the bill expected to be evidenced during debate.
Status of House Legislation
The Select Subcommittee on Labor intends to schedule
more hearings, but it is not definite as to when. There
is a possibility that hearings can be completed before the
end of the month.
The Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968
(formerly the Tax AdJustment Act of 1968)
As previously r eported, the Senate - House Conferees agreed
on a 10 per cent tax surcharge with $6 billion in b udget
cuts.
TELEPHpNE , 202 293-1530
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Majority Leader Carl Albert has indicated on the floor
of the House that the Administration will support the
Conference report.
The Conference Report is expected to be brought to the
floor of the House on the 19th or 20th of June.
Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968
Senate
The Senate filed a clean bill, S.3497, and passed
it substantially as introduced on May 28th.
House
The Housing Subcommittee of the House Banking and
Currency Committee has reported out its version of the
bill.
The measure as reported by the Subcommittee is now
being reviewed and is expected to be, in some instances,
amended by the full Banking and Currency Committee.
Title I of the bill has been covered by the Committee and consideration of Title II will begin next Tuesday,
June 11th. Mark-up sessions are expected to continue
through the week.
The Status of Appropriations Measures
The proposed schedule of action on the part of the Appropriations Subcommittees concerning legislation of interest
to the Action Council is:
1. The Housing and Urban Development Appropriation
Bill for Fiscal Year 1969 passed the House on May 8th.
Also, Subcommittee hearings have been completed in the Senate for HUD officials. The Committee has scheduled further
hearings on other agencies for the 11th and 12th of June.
On the 13th, for one day only, outside witnesses will be
heard on all appropriations requests . before the Committee ,
including HUD. At that time Mayors and members of Congress
are e x pected to testify . Other interested parties to fol low .
Mar k - up is e x pected to take place the following
week . with a tar get date for floo r action before the 4th of
July whi ch seems unlik ely.
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The appropriations process for HUD is complicated
by the fact that HUD is asking the Senate Committee to approve appropriations which are authorized in this year's
Housing Act:
$1.4 billion for Urban Renewal (including
projects in Model City areas) for Fiscal Year 1q70 plus
$350 million in renewal grants for Model City areas for
Fiscal Year 1969.
To avoid the need for a supplemental appropriation,
the Administration would prefer holding up action on the
Appropriations bill until the Housing Act of 1968 is passed and signed.
2. The Labor-HEW (including OEO) Appropriations bill
has not yet been marked-up in Subcommittee. The bill is
stalled because of an apprehension i t will be cut up if
reported soon. Strong efforts are warranted now to qet
the bill out and preserve the vital appropriations for
education and anti-poverty.
3. The Regular Supp lemental Appropriation (FY 1q68)
is expected to be reported on June 7, 1968 by the full
House Appropriations Committee.
It does not, nor is i t
likely to, contain appropriations for Head Start ($25
million) and the Summer Job Program ($75 million).
It
will be necessary to press for Senate amendments to the
bill to get these funds.
4. The Urgent Supplemental Appropriation bill for
1968 is still technically in Conference Committee. Although i t contains the funding for Head Start and Summer
Jobs, for all practical purposes, this measure is dead.
No one should be mislead because the Conference Committee
has been holding meetings on the bill. They are merely
going through the motions.
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W . GARDNER
CHAIRMAN
1819 H STREET, N. W .
WASHINGTON. D . C . 20006
May 31, 1968
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT
lCurrent as of May 31, 1968)
FROM:
The Staff
The Status of Substantive Legislation
The Emergency Employment and Training Act of 1968
Senate hearings were completed Friday, May 24th.
Subcommittee Chairman Clark is anxious to move ahead
and bring the measure to the floor of the Senate by
the end of June. No problems are anticipated in developing an employment bill mutually acceptable to
Chairman Clark and Senators Javits and Prouty. However, the original strategy of taking the employment
amendments to the floor as part of the Manpower Act
extension is now being ~eevaluated.
Administration Position
Secretary of Labor Wirtz testified in opposition to
the bill saying that such legislation could not be
enacted until a "national will to do more about these
problems has been created." Indications are that the
Administration will actively oppose the bill on the
floor of the Senate.
Coordination with House of Representatives
House and Senate leaders are working together in an effort
to develop bi ll s substantially identical in all major
respects.
Status of House Legislation
The Select Subcommittee on Labor expects to schedule
additional hearings during the early part of June.
TELEPHONE: 2 0 2 293· 1530
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Several groups in favor of the legislation, including
the Farmers' Union, have yet to testify. Witnesses
representing the private business sector will be invited, as well as individuals and organizations experienced in problems of job creation.
Hearings on extension of the Manpower Development and
Training Act (MDTA) have been completed. The Subcommittee has not yet met to mark-up the bill but is expected to do so by the second week in June.
The Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968
(formerly the Tax AdJustment Act of 1968)
As previously reported, the Senate-House Conferees agreed on a 10 percent tax surcharge with $6 billion in
budget cuts.
The final Conference Report, however, has been delayed
pending provision of additional back-up material on
the tax exempt reve nue bond financing p r ovision.
Majority Leader Carl Albert has announced that the Conference Report will not be debated on the floor of the
House until June 12th. When the Conference Report is
debated, no amendments will be permitte d -- the House
mus t vote the r e port up or down.
Representative - Burke of Massachusetts, a member of
the House Ways and Means Committee, sought to amend
the Conference Committee bill on Wednesday, May 29 to
l i mit budge t cuts to $4 billion , but los t the moti on
b y a vote o f 259 to 1 37.
Hous ing a nd Urba n De v e lopme nt Act of 1 96 8
Sen ate
The Sen a t e fi l e d a clean bill , S.34 97 , a n d passed
it substantially as introduced o n May 2 8th .
House
The Hous i ng Subcommittee of the House Banking and
Currency Committee comp l e t ed mark-up of the bill last
week. Full committee action is expected next week.
Indications are that the House Committee will report out
a bill substantially similar to the measure approved
by the Senate Committee .
House debate will. not begin until after Senate
action on the bill has been completed.
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The Status of Appropriations Measures
The proposed schedule of action on the part of the Appropriations Subcommittees concerning legislation of interest
to the Action Council is:
1. The Housing and Urban Development Appropriation
Bill for Fiscal Year 1969 passed the House on May 8th.
Subcommittee hearings have been completed in the Senate.
2. The Labor-HEW-OEO Appropriation Bill has been marked
up by the House Subcommittee. Expectations are that the bill
will not be reported out until around mid June.
It probably
will not be debated on the floor of the House until after
the Fourth of July.
3. The Regular Supplemental Appropriation Measure for
1968, we understand, is still held up pending receipt of the
Federal Pay Supplemental. No full committee action is scheduled yet.
The chances of seeing the Urgent Supplemental Conferees report out the additional $75 million for OEO Summer Programs
and the additional $25 million for the year-round Head Start
are growing increasingly dim.
If the Congress is to approve
these badly needed additional funds, efforts to persuade
"swing" members from the House Appropriations Committee will
need to be intensified .
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W, GARDNER
CHAIRMAN
1619 H STREET, N . W .
May 24, 1968
WASHINGTON , D. C . 20006
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT
(Current as of May 23, 1968)
The Staff
FROM:
The Status of Substantive Legislation
The Emergency Employme nt and Training Act o f 1968
Senate hearings will have been completed as of Friday,
May 24.
The Subcommittee is expec ted to s tart ma r k -up sessions
next week. Subcommittee Chairman Clark is a n x ious to
move ahead and bring the measure to the floor of the
Sena te b y the end of June. No problems are anticipated
in developing an employment b i ll mutually a cceptable to
Chairman Clark and Senators Javits and Prouty. However ,
the original strategy of taking the e mployment amendments
to the floor as part of the Manpowe r Act extension is now
being reevaluated.
Administration Pos ition
S e cre tary of Labor Wirtz t e stified in opposition to the
bill s aying th at such legislati on could not be e n a cted
until a "national will to do more about these problems
has been created." Indications a r e that the Administration
will actively opp os e the bill on t he floo r o f the S e nate.
Coo r d i n ation with House o f Represen tatives
House and S en a te le ade rs a re working together i n an effort
to d e ve l o p bill s s ubstant ially identic al i n all major respects.
Status of House Legislation
The Select Subcommittee on Labor expects to schedule
additional hearings during the early p a rt o f June. Several
groups in favor of the legislation, including the Farmers'
TELEPHONE: 202 293-15 3 0
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Union, have yet to testify. Witnesses representing the
private business sector will be invited, as well as
individuals and organizations experienced in problems
of job creation.
Hearings on extension of the Manpower Development and
Training Act (MDTA) have been completed. The Subcommittee
is scheduled to go into Executive Session for three days
beginning Monday, May 27, and may decide to report out
the MDTA bill alone at that time.
The Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968 (formerly
the Tax Adjustment Act of 1968)
As previously reported, the Senate-House Conferees agreed on
a 10 percent tax surcharge with $6 billion in budge~ cuts.
The final Conference Report, however, has been delayed
pending provision of additional back-up material on the
tax exempt revenue bond financing provision.
Majority Leader Carl Albert has announced that the Conference
Report will not be debated on the floor of the House until
some time after Memorial Day. When the Conference Report
is debated, no amendments will be permitted -- the House
must vote the report up or down.
However, Representative Burke of Massachusetts, a membe r
of the House Ways and Means Committee, will seek to amend
the Conference Committee bi ll on Wednesday, May 29, before
it is brought to the floor for final action by offering a
motion ins tructing the House Conferees to insist that spending
cuts be held to the $4 billion which President Johnson
has sai d is acceptable.
The Burke motion dese r ves Action Council support.
Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968
Senate
The Senate has completed hearings on the measure
and has filed a clean bill, S.3497. Debate was scheduled
to begin on Thursday, May 23.
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While the bill apparently enjoys generally favorable
support in the Senate, spending issues are certain to be
raised by more conservative membe rs. The Administration
will need all possible resources to sustain the Banking
and Currency Committee recommendations and pass the bill
substantially as reported out.
House
The Housing Subcommittee of the House Banking and
Currency Committee began mark-up of its version of the bill
on Tuesday, May 21. Mark-up sessions are e x pected to be
completed b y the midd le of nex t we ek.
Indications are
that the House Committee will report out a bill substantially
similar to the measure approved by the Senate Committee.
House debate will not begin until after Senate action
on the bill has b e en comple ted.
The Status of Appropriations Measure s
The proposed sche dule of action on the part of the Appropriations
Subcommittees concerning legislation of interest to the Action
Council is:
1.
The Housing and Urban De v elopment Appropriation Bill
for Fiscal Year 1969 passed the House on May 8 . Subcommitte e
hearings have been completed in the Senate .
2 . The Labo r-HEW- OEO Approp r i ati on Bi ll is st i l l i n mark- up
in t he Hou se Subcomm i t t ee. Exp ectat i o ns a r e that t he bill will
n ot be r epo r ted out until around mid June .
It p r obably will n ot
be debated on the f l oo r o f the Hous e u ntil after t he Fourth of July.
3. The Re gu lar Supp l e ment al Appropri at i o n Me asu re f o r 1968,
we u nderst and, i s still h eld up p ending r e c e i pt o f the Federal
Pay Su pplemental.
Th e cha nces o f seeing the Ur g ent Supplemental Conferees report
out the additional $75 millio n for OEO Summer Programs a nd the
additional $25 million for th e year- round Head Start are growing
increasingly dim.
If the Congress is to approve these badly
needed additional funds, efforts to persuade "swing" members
from the House Appropriations Committee will need to be intensified.
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W . GARDNER
CHAIRMAN
1819 H STREET. N . W .
WASHINGTON. D. C . 20006
May 16, 1968
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT
(Current as of May 16, 1968)
The Staff
FROM:
Action Council Legislative Goals
The present legislative goals of the Action Council's program
for this year are:
Substantive Legislation
1.
Passage of the Administration's tax increase as part
of the Tax Adjustment Act of 1968.
(H.R. 15414)
2.
Passage of the Administration's Housing and Urban Development bill substantially as introduced.
3.
Passage of
of 1968 as
reconciled
Javits and
the Emergency Employment and Training Act
introduced by Senator Clark and alternately
to similar bills introduced by Senators
Prouty.
Appropriations
1.
Full funding for OEO 's Poverty Program with $75 million
in additional funds authorized for summer job programs
and an additional $25 million appropriated for yearr ound Head Start programs.
2.
Full funding of programs, particularly Rent Supplements ,
Public Housing, Model Cities, and Urban Renewal.
3.
Exemption of all education programs from budget cuts and
additional funding for Title I of the Elementar y and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Teache r Cor ps .
T E L EPHONE: 2 0 2 293-1530
�-
2 -
The Status of Substantive Legislation
The Emergency Employment and Training Act of 1968
Senate hearings are already in progress. Spokesmen for
the Poor People's Campaign appeared before the Committee
on May 8. Further hearings ended May 15 .
The following parties, among others, have been asked to
appear before the Subcommittee and testify on the proposed
legislation: the Secretary of Labor; the Secretary of
Commerce; Mr. Leo Beebe, the Coordinator of the national
JOBS Program; Mr. I. W. Abel of the United Steelworkers;
Whitney Young; William Zisch; Robert F. Cannagen of
General Dynamics; the National Association of Manufacturers;
and the u. s. Chamber of Commerce.
The Subcommittee will hold its Ex ecutive Ses sion during
the last week in May. The target date for Senate floor
action is late June -- before the July 4 recess.
The basic st r ate g y is to amend the Administr ation's bill
S.2938 (with 33 co-sponsors) which is, in e ffect, a simple
extension of the Manp ower De v e lopme nt a n d Training Ac t
Program. The bill will be a Clark-Javits- F~outy compromise
which, in effect, amends the National Manpower Act.
Subcommittee members expe c t the compromi se manpowe r b i ll
t o b e voted unanimous l y out o f Committee .
Administration Position
Al l indic ations are t hat the Administrat ion will take
n o action to suppo rt t h e Clark-Javi ts-Pro uty bill.
Coordination with House of Representatives
At t his poin t, the Senat e has moved o n t he leg islation
witho ut any specific reference to similar legislation
which has been introduced in the Ho use and has not
made any effort to coordinate its activities with the
House Education and Labor Committee.
�- 3 -
The Status of House Legislation
The Select Subcommittee on Labor scheduled hearings
on H.R. 12280, the Guaranteed Employment Act, sponso r e d
by Congressman James O'Hara {plus 80 others) , beginni ng
Tuesday, May 7, for a week; to be continued May 20,
for a week, with one additional week scheduled sometime
during the month of June.
Witnesses who have testified before the Subcommittee
are as follows: May 7, George Meany ; May 8, Bayard
Rustin and representatives of religious groups; and
May 9, Ron M. Linton, representing John W. Gardner,
Chairman of the Urban Coalition Action Council.
The Subcommittee has scheduled separate hearings on
H.R. 15045 which is the Administration's bill introduced
by Represent a tive Elmer Holland to e x tend the Manpower
Development and aTraining Act.
The hearings took place
on May 15 and 16.
The outlook in the House for enactment of this legislati o n
a ppears quite grim, a ccording t o Hous e propone nts .
The Tax Adjustment Act of 1968
The Senate-House Conferees a greed on a 10 per cent tax sur c harge
with $6 billion in bud get cuts. They have comple t e d a cti o n
on the r e port a nd i t i s e viden t t h at if t h e $ 6 bil l ion is
cut f r om t h e budge t, i t wi ll serious l y affect man y of the
programs in which the Coalition is i nterested .
Included in the Conferen ce r e port are other impo r tant measures
in the Soc ial Sec urity f i e l d.
(1 ) The freeze on aid to dependent children (AFDC)
whi ch would have gone into e f f ect July 1, 1 968 is postponed
o ne year to July l, 196 9.
( 2 ) Unemployed fathers will be entitled to receive AFDC
(welf are ) benefits for those weeks in a month f or which they
do not receive unemployment compens ation. Under existing
law they cannot receive payments under both programs in the
same month .
�- 4 -
The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968
Hearings have been completed on both the Senate and House
versions of urban development legislation.
The Senate filed the report on the bill (S.3497-S.Report
1123) on May 15.
However, the Omnibus crime bill now
before the Senate probably precludes action on the Housing bill for a week.
The Housing Subcommittee of the House begins its executive
mark-up of the bill on May 21.
The subcommittee hopes to complete its mark-up of the bill
that week, then go to full committee consideration the week
of June 3.
It should be reported out on or about June
15.
House floor action will most likely be delayed until the
Senate has a chance to pass the bill.
Appropriations
The proposed schedule of action on the part of the Appropriations Subcommittees concerning legislation of interest to
the Coalition is:
1.
The Housing and Urban Development Appropriation
bill for fiscal year 1969 was passed on May 8,
in the House of Representatives. Our objective
was to hold to the Committee reported bill with
$400 million for Model Cities, $100 million for
Urban Renewal add-on, and $25 million for Rent
Supplement . We achieved our objective .
2.
The House Labor - HEW Appropriation bill for fiscal
year 1969 is being marked - up in the subcommittee
now with the hope of reporting it out of the full
committee the first week of June .
3.
The committee is holding up the Regular Supplementa l Appropriation for 1968 until it r ece ives the
Federal Pay Supplemental.
It is in this latter
bill we hope to get fu n ding included for Head
Start and summer job programs.
The House Appropriations Committee is probably
20-40% mor e conservative by v o ting rec o rd than
the House as a whole. To the e xtent that the
Urban Coalition Actiqn Council members , parti cular ly those from the business sector, c an persuade " swing" members of the Hous e Appropriations
Committee of the need for the OEO appropriat i ons ,
�-
5 -
the Housing Appropriations, etc., and also
persuade them that they are willing to see
cuts in other less critical domestic areas,
there is some possibility that the 90th
Congress could close having provided the
narrow minimum of resources needed to meet
the most pressing urban needs.
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
MEMORANDUM
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
April 30, 1968
All Concerned Parties
Staff - Urban Coalition Action Council
The following is a list of all the members of the House of
Appropriations Committee. Those names which are underlined are
key votes on the Committee. Please save this list.
APPROPRIATIOI:-:S
(Suite H218, phone 2771, meets upon call of chairman)
Frank T. Bow, of Ohio.
George H. Mahon , of Tex as.
Mich ael J. Kirwan, of Ohio.
Cha rle s R. Jonas ,
Jamie L. Whitten , of Mississipi.
of North Ca rolina.
Melvin R. Laird, of Wisconsin.
George W. Andrews, of Alabama.
John J. Rooney, of New York.
Elford A. Cederberg, of Mich1.g-,:.:i .
Rob e rt L . F . Sike s , of Florid a. Glenar d P. Lip scomb,
Ot to E. Passman, of Louisiana.
of California.
Joe L. Evins , o f Tenne s s e e.
John J. Rhodes, of Ariz ona.
William E. Minsha ll, of Ohio.
Edward P . Boland , of Ma ssachuse tts.
William H. Na tcher , of Kentucky.
Robert H. Michel , of Illinois.
Daniel J . Flood , of Pennsylvan ia.
Silvio 0. Conte, of
Tom Steed , o f Oklahoma .
of Mas sa.c h uset.t s.
George E. Shipl ey , o f Illinois.
Od in La nge~, of Minnesota.
J'ohn M. Slack , J r ., o f West Vir g i n ia. Ben Reifel , of South Dakota .
Joh n J . F lvn t, Jr . , o f Ge or gia.
Glenn R. Davis, o f Wiscons in.
N~a l Smith, of Iowa.
Howar d W. Robi s on, of New York .
Robe r t N. Giaimo , o f Connecticut
Garner E. Shr ive r , of Kan sas.
J ulia But ler Hansen , of Washington .
Joseph M. McDade, of
Char l es S. J oelson, o f New Jersey.
Pennsylvania.
Mark Andrews, of North Dakota.
~oseph P. Addabbo, o f New York.
John J. McFa l l, of Cali f or nia.
Will iam H. Harrison, o f Wyoming.
W.R. Hull, Jr., of Missouri.
Lou i s C. WyIT'.an, of New Hampshire ~
Jeffery Cohelan, of California.
Burt L. Talcott , of Califo:;:r..ia.
Tr.omas G. Morris_, of New Mexico.
Charlotte T. Reid, of Illinois .
Edward J . Patte n, of New Jersey.
Donald W. Ri egle , J r . ,
Clarence D. Long, of Maryland.
of Michigan.
John O. Marsh, Jr ., of Virginia.
Sidney R. Yates, of Illinois.
Bob Casey, of Texas.
David Pryor, of Arkansas.
Kenneth Sprankle, Clerk and Staff Director.
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
JOHN W . GARDNER
CHAIRMAN
1819 H STREET. N . W .
WASHINGTON. D. C . 20006
May 16, 1968
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT
(Current as of May 16, 1968)
The Staff
FROM:
.•
Action Council Legislative Goals .
The present legislative goals of the Action Council's program
for this year are:
Substantive Legislation
1.
Passage of the Administration's tax increase as part
of the Tax Adjustment Act of 1968.
(H.R. 15414)
2.
Passage of the Administration's Housing and Urban Development bill substantially as introduced.
3.
Passage of
of 1968 as
reconciled
Javits and
the Emergency Employment and Training Act
introduced by Senator Clark and alternately
to similar bills introduced by Senators
Prouty.
Appropriations
1.
Full funding for OEO's Poverty Program with $75 million
in additional funds authorized for summer job programs
and an additional $25 million appropriated for yearround Head Start programs.
2.
Full funding of programs , particularly Rent Supplements,
Public Housing, Model Cities, and Urban Renewal.
3.
Exemption of all education programs from budget cuts and
additional funding for Title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Teacher Corps.
TELEPHONE: 202 293-1530
�'
-
2 -
The Status of Substantive Legislation
The Emergency Employment and Training Act of 1968
Senate hearings are already in progress. Spokesmen for
the Poor People's Campaign appeared before the Committee
on May 8. Further hearings ended May 15.
The following parties, among others, have been asked to
appear before the Subcommittee and testify on the proposed
legislation: the Secre tary of Labor; the Se cret ary of
Commerce ; Mr. Le o Beebe , the Coo r dinator of the nation a l
JOBS Program; Mr. I. W. Abel of the United Steelworkers;
Whitney Young; William Zisch; Robert F . Cannagen of
General Dynamics; the National Association of Manufacturers;
and the U. s. Chamber of Commerce .
The Subcommit t ee wi ll hold its Ex ecutive Ses sion during
the last week in May . The target date for Senate floor
action is late June - - before the July 4 recess.
Th e b a sic st rat e g y i s to ame n d the Admin i str ati on's bill
S.2938 (wit h 33 co- s p ons o rs ) wh i ch is, in effect , a simple
exten s ion of t he Ma np ower De v e lopment and Trai nin g Act
Program. The bill will be a Clark-Javits -F~outy compromise
wh ich, in effe ct , amends the Na t i o nal Manpower Act.
Subcommitte e members exp e c t t h e compr omis e manpowe r bill
to b e v o ted unanimously o u t o f Committee.
Admin i st ration Pos i tion
All indi c a t i o ns are that the Administration wil l take
no act i on to suppor t the Cla r k-J a vits- Pr o uty b i ll .
Co o rdination with House of Represen tativ es
At thi s point , t h e Senate has moved o n the legislation
witho ut any specific reference to similar legislation
whi ch has been i n tro d u ced in the House and has not
made any effort to coordinate its activities with the
Hous e Education and Labor Committee.
�-
3 -
The Status of House Legislation
The Select Subcommittee on Labor scheduled hearings
on H.R. 12280, the Guaranteed Employment Act , sponsored
by Congressman James O'Hara {plus 80 others), beginning
Tuesday, May 7, for a week; to be continued May 20,
for a week, with one additional week scheduled sometime
during the month of June.
Witnesses who have testified before the Subcommittee
are as follows: May 7, George Meany ; May 8, Bayard
Rustin and representatives of religious groups; and
May 9, Ron M. Linton, representing John W. Gardner,
Chairman of the Urban Coalition Action Council .
The Subcommittee has scheduled s e parate hear i ngs on
H.R. 15045 which is the Administration's bill introduced
by Representative Elmer Holland to e x tend the Ma npowe r
Development and aTraining Act. The hearings took place
on May 15 and 16.
The outlook in the House fo r e nactment of this legis lat i on
appears quite grim , a ccording to Hou s e p r oponen ts .
The Tax Adjustment Act of 1968
Th e Senate-House Con ferees agreed on a 10 pe r cent tax sur c harge
with $6 billion in budget cuts . Th e y h a ve comp l eted act i on
on the repo r t and it is evident that i f the $6 bill i on is
cut f r om the b udge t, it will seri ously affect many o f the
p r og r ams in wh ich t h e Co al ition i s inte r ested .
I nc l uded i n the Confere nce r epo r t a re o ther impo r tant me asures
i n the Soc ial Sec uri ty fi e l d .
(1 ) The fre e ze on aid t o dependent children (AFDC)
whi c h wou ld have g one into effe ct J uly 1, 1968 is postponed
one year t o J uly 1, 1 969.
(2) Une mploye d fathers will be entitled to receive AFDC
(welfare) benefits for those weeks in a month for which they
do not receive unemployment c ompensation. Under e xi sting
law they cannot receive payments under both prog r ams in the
same month.
�-
4 -
The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968
Hearings have been completed on both the Senate and House
versions of urban development legislation.
The Senate filed the report on the bill (S.3497-S.Report
1123) on May 15.
However, the Omnibus crime bill now
before the Senate probably precludes action on the Housing bill for a week.
The Housing Subcommittee of the House begins its e x ecutive
mark-up of the bill on May 21.
The subcommittee hopes to complete its mark-up of the bill
that week, then go to full committee consideration the wee k
of June 3.
It should be reported out on or about June
15.
House floor action will most likely be delayed until the
Senate has a chance to pass the bill .
Appropriations
The proposed schedule o f action on the part of the Appropri ations Subcommittees concerning legislation of interest to
the Coalition is :
1.
The Housing and Urban Dev elopment Appropriation
bill for fiscal year 1969 was passed on May 8 ,
in the House of Represen t a tive s . Our objective
was to hold to the Committee reported bill with
$400 million for Model Cities , $100 million fo r
Urban Renewal add-on, and $25 million for Rent
Supplement . We achieved our o b jecti ve .
2.
The Hou s e Labor -HEW Appropr iat i o n bill f o r fiscal
ye ar 1 969 is being mark ed - up i n t he sub committee
n ow wi th the hop e of r epo r ting i t out o f t he f ull
commi ttee the f ir st we ek o f Jun e .
3.
The c ommittee is h o lding up the Regular Supplemental Appr o pr ia tion for 1968 until it r e ceives the
Fe deral Pay Suppl e mental.
I t is in this latter
bill we h o p e to get funding inc lude d f or Head
Start and summer job pro grams.
The House Appropriations Committee is probably
20 - 40% more conservative by voting r ecord than
the House as a whole. To the e xten t that the
Urban Coalition Action Council members, particularly those from the business sector , c an per s uade " swing " members of the House Appropriations
Committee of the need for the OEO a ppropriations,
�-
5 -
the Housing Appropriations, etc., and also
persuade them that they are willing to see
cuts in other less critical domestic areas,
there is some possibility that the 90th
Congress could close having provided the
narrow minimum of resources needed to meet
the most pressing urban needs.
�THE URBAN COALITION ACTION COUNCIL
MEMORANDUM
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
April 30, 1968
All Concerned Parties
Staff - Urban Coalition Action Council
The following is a list of all the members of the House of
Appropriations Committee. Those names which are underlined are
key vot es on the Committ ee. Please save this list.
APPROPRIATIONS
(Suite H218, phone 2771 , meets upon call of chairman)
George H. Mahon, of Tex as.
Frank T. Bow, of Ohio.
Michael J. Kirwan, of Ohio.
Char l e s R. Jonas,
Jamie L. Whitten , of Mi.ssissipi.
of North Ca r olina.
George W. Andrews, of Alabama.
Me lvin R. Laird, of Wisconsin.
John J . Rooney, o f New York.
Elford A. Cederberg, o f Michiga!1.
Robert L. F . Sikes , o f Florida.
Glenard P. Lipscomb,
Ot to E. Passman, of Louisiana.
of California.
Joe L. Evins, of Tennessee .
John J. Rhodes, of Arizona.
Edward P. Boland . of Massachusetts.
William E. Minsh all, of Ohio.
Wi lliam H. Na tcher, of Kentucky.
Robert H. Michel , of Illinois.
Daniel J. Flood, of Pennsylvania.
Silvio 0. Conte , of
Tom Steed, o f Oklahoma .
of Massachuse t ts.
George E. Shipley, of Illinois.
Odin La ngen , of Minnesota.
J ohn M. Slack, J r . , of West Virginia. Ben Re i fel , of Sout h Dakot a.
J ohn J . F l ynt, Jr ., o f Geor gia .
Glenn R. Da vis, o f Wis consin.
Nea l Smith, of Iowa .
Howar d W. Robi son , o f New Yor k.
Robert N. Giaimo, of Connect icut
Garne r E . Shr i ver, o f Kansas.
Julia But l er Hansen, of Washington.
Jos e ph M. McDade, of
Charles S . Joelson , o f New J er sey .
Pennsylvania .
Joseph P . Addabbo , of New York.
Mark Andrews, of North Dakota.
John J . McFall, of Cali f ornia .
Wi l l i am H. Harrison, of Wyoming .
W.R. Hu l l, Jr., of Missouri.
Loui s C. Wyman, of New Hampshire~
Jeffery Cohelan, of California .
Burt L . Talcott, of California.
'1'1'.omas G. Morris, of New Mexico.
Charlotte T. Reid, of Illinois.
Edward J. Patten, of New Jersey.
Donald W. Riegle , Jr.,
Clarence D. Long, of Maryland.
of Michigan.
John O. Marsh, Jr., of Virginia.
Sidney R. Yates , of Illinois .
Bob Casey , of Texas.
David Pryor, of Arkansas.
Kenneth Sprankle, Clerk a~d Staff Director.
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
March 1, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
LEGISLATION
During the week Senators Javits (R-NY) and Yarborough (D-Tex)
introduced a bill (S3013) to provide $150 million for summer
jobs and anti-poverty programs. They were joined by 19 co- ·
sponsors from both parties. The bill was referred to the
Senate Appropriations Committee, which held hearings on Wednesday. Sponsors of the measure hope for early action.
Attached is a fact sheet dealing with the need for a supplemental appropriation for the Office of Economic Opportunity
and special summer jobs, education, and recreation programs.
LOCAL COALITIONS
Niagara Falls, New York, held an urban coalition organizational
meeting this week. Associate National Coordinator Elbert Ransom,
Jr., addressed the meeting to explain the national program and
review programs and activities of other local coalitions. The
participa nts, representative of all segments o f the community,
ple dge d s uppor t to the new organization . Task f orces we re
e sta b lish e d in s i x a r eas --housing, e ducation , rec r e a tion , job
training, job d e velopment and communications and public suppor t - and an e x ecutive d irector was named. The executive , Lester
Ni es z, i s a r etired consultan t to t he Car borund um Compa ny and
is serving as an unp aid vo l unteer. Two other people o ffered
their assistance as volunt eer staff members, the Hotel Niagara
agreed t o donate o ffice space , and a local furniture store is ·
lending office equipment.
COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC SUPPORT
Public Relations Directors of organizations represented on the
Steering Committee are urged to attend a meeting arranged especially for them in the Time-Life Building in New York City,
Friday, March 8. Invitations giving the time and other details
of the meeting have been sent to the individuals. John w. Gardner,
new e x e c utive head of the Urban Coalition, is scheduled to meet
wi th the group.
National Coordinators .: John Feild./ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293 - 1530
�Page Two
With regard to the second Administration decision, America's fifty
largest cities have already received, in the aggregate, $1.5 million
in planning grants for constructive summer programs. Comments by
,representatives of local government and community agencies at the
recent national conference held by the President's Council on Youth
Opportunity clearly indicated that cut-backs in available federal
assistance are already aggrevating community frustrations and tensions.
In summary, community leaders in the country's largest cities are
now faced with the dual problem of dollar cut-backs in existing working programs and the financial inability to meet summer unrest with
soundly planned and thought out courses of action.
It is apparent that the federal funds now available are inadequate
to meet even minimal program needs in employment, education and
recreation, if urban areas are to avoid serious discontent and disturbances this summer. The supplemental appropriation proposed
below would substantially meet known program needs if enacted soon
enough to be put to work before the summer commences.
The Proposal
To meet the basic needs requires a supplemental appropriation combining the amount of last year's supplemental appropriation ($75
million) with a level of financial commitment based on the most
recent needs assessment for poverty programs.
An appropriate measure would acknowledge the reasonableness of the
Administration's fiscal '68 budget request for poverty programs,
restore NAB diverted funds to about-to-be-cut programs, and make
use of already expended planning dollars to improve the special
programs of last year.
Such a proposal would include:
1. $104 million to upgrade the current OEO appropriation to the
requested authorization level for fiscal '68 (pro-rated for the remainder of the fiscal year);
2.
$100 million to replace funds diverted to the NAB program;
3.
The $75 million special summer supplemental for a total
supplementary appropriation of $279 million .
This amount would ostensibly give OEO sufficient dollars to meet ongoing program needs and meet the minimum commitment of last year's
summer programs.
�A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION FOR
THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
FACTS AND A PROPOSAL
The Current Situation
In the past few weeks the Administration has made public two decisions
that will have substantial immediate impact on urban programs to fight
poverty and which may materially affect such programs for some time to
come.
These decisions were:
1. To fund the National Alliance of Businessmen (NAB) program
primarily out of e x isting Office of Economic Opportunity
appropriations;
2. To not seek supplemental funds for special summer programs
as was done last year .
The first of these decisions will have the greatest impact. The NAB
program will channel $100 million from such activities as Head Start ,
Neighborhood Youth Corps, and Job Corps into efforts to train and
place hard-core unemployed.
The NAB effort, if effective, would result in the training/placement of about 28,000 hard-core unemployed
during this fiscal year. However, the funding method used will substantially reduce , if not negate, t he effectiveness of the program
as it will :
1. Reduce the number of fundable Job Corps Centers by si x teen ,
thereby reducing available enrollee openings by 6 , 800;
2 . Lower Neighborhood Youth Corps enrollment by 170 , 000 schoo l age youths from low-income families;
3 . Reduce Head Start capacity for accepting t he very young
chi ldren of poverty by 13 , 000 student places .
The mult i p l i e r e ff e ct of the se reductions is substanti al . Community
p r ogr ams , e x clus ive of Head Start wi ll be forced to lay- off 7, 000
n on- p r ofess i o n a l p e ople, most of whom were previously membe r s of th e
p ove r t y pop u l ati o n. Head Star t wi ll be fo r ced to lay- off 2,5 00 n o nprofes si o nal s fr om t h at same group.
There is n o estima t e o f the n umbe r of moth e r s who will r e vert to welfare roll s beca use they have bee n deprived of t he day-care s e rvices
inherent in He ad Start.
The impact of OEO cut- backs on individual c ommunities is exemplified
in the cases of New York and Atl a nta. Summer Youth Corps openings in
New York City are to be reduced from last year's 24,000 to 8,000. In
Atlanta, the community action pro grams are to be cut back 32% and
Head Start 25%. By the above stated program cuts the Administration
has been forced to fund the creation of about 28,000 potential jobs
at a cost of 9,500 lay-offs of adults, the cut-back of 170,000 training places for Neighborhood Youth Corps students, the reduction of
13,000 studen t s in Head Start, and the elimination of sixteen Job
Corps Centers .
�PAGE TWO
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF BUSINESSMEN
The National Alliance of Businessmen, whose membership contains
many individuals also active in the Urban Coalition, met in
Washington this week. Christopher Mould, Deputy National
Coordinator and Staff Director of the Coalition, addressed the
group and stressed the need for the two organizations to complement each other's efforts in securing assistance for the
hard-core unemployed. Mould will also speak to the first of
three AFL-CIO conferences on social security on Saturday, March
2, to explain the work of the Coalition.
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT
Printing of the proceedings of the very productive Regional
Private Employment Conference held by the Coalition on December
13, 1967, in Atlanta has been accomplished. 'rhe booklet, entitled "'rhe Urban Coalition, Phase II, Expanding Employment
Opportunities," is being mailed to the entire Coalition mailing list.
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D.
Stee,;ng CommHtee Co-cha;,men.- And,ew He;ske// / A. PMHp Randolph
LEGISLATION
20006
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0I:)\ ~J /[;]/
March 1
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
V
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During the week Senators Javits (R-NY} and Yarborough (D-Tex)
introduced a bill · (S3013} to provide $150 million for summer
jobs and anti-poverty programs. They were joined by 19 c.osponsors from both parties. The bill was referred to the
Senate Appropriations Committee, which held hearings on Wednesday. Sponsors of the measure hope for early action.
Attached is a fact sheet dealing with the need for a supplemental appropriation for the Office of Economic Opportunity
and special summer jobs, education, and recreation programs.
LOCAL COALITIONS
Niagara Falls, New York, held an urban coalition organizational
meeting this week. Associate National Coordinator Elbert Ransom,
Jr., addressed the meeting to explain the national program and
review programs and activities of other local coalitions. The
participants, representative of all segments of the community,
pledged support to the new organization. Task forces were
established in six areas--housing, education, recreation, job
training, job development and communications and public support-and an executive director was named. The executive, Lester
Niesz, is a retired consultant to the Carborundum Company and
is serving as an unpaid volunteer. Two other people offered
their assistance as volunteer staff members, the Hotel Niagara
agreed to donate office space, and a local furniture store is
lending office equipment.
COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC SUPPORT
Public Relations Di r ectors of organi zations represented on the
Steering Committee are urged to attend a meeting arranged especially for them in the Time-Life Building in New York City,
Friday, March 8. Invitations giving the time and other details
of the meeting have been sent to the individuals. John w. Gardner,
new executive head of the Urban Coalition, is scheduled to meet
with the group •
National Coordinators: John Feild,/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�Page Two
With regard to the second Administration decision , America's fifty
largest cities have already received, in the aggregate, $1 . 5 million
in planning grants for constructive summer programs . Comments by
representatives of local government and community agencies at the
recent national conference held by the President's Council on Youth
Opportunity clearly indicated that cut-backs in available federal
assistance are already aggrevating community frustrations and tensions.
In summary, community leaders i n the coun try ' s lar gest cities are
now faced with the dual problem of dollar cut-backs in existing working programs and the financial inability to meet summer unrest with
soundly planned and thought out courses of action.
It i s apparent that the federal funds now available are inadequate
to meet even min imal program needs i n e mployme nt, education and
r e c re ation , i f urban a r e as are to avoid serious d i scon tent a n d disturbances this summer. The supplemental appropriation proposed
below would substantially meet known program needs if enacted soon
enough to be put to work before the summer commences.
The Proposal
To meet the b asi c need s requ ires a supple me ntal a ppr opr i a t i on combining the amount o f last year's supplemental appropriation ($75
million) with a leve l of financial commitment based on the most
r e cent nee ds ass essment f o r poverty programs .
An a p pro priate meas u re would a c k nowledg e the reas o nableness o f t he
Administration's fis c a l '68 b udget request f o r poverty pro grams,
resto re NAB diverted f u nds t o a bout- to - be-cu t p r ograms, and make
use of already e xpended plann ing dollar s t o improve the special
programs o f l ast year.
Such a propo sal would include:
1. $104 million to upgrade the current OEO appro priation to the
requested authorization level for fiscal '68 (pro-rated for the remainder of the fiscal year ) ;
2.
$1 00 million to replace funds diverted t o the NAB program;
3. The $75 mil l ion special summer supple mental f o r a total
supplementary appropriation of $279 million.
This amount would ostensibly give OEO sufficient dollars to meet ongoing program ne eds and meet the minimum commitment of last year's
summer programs.
�A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION FOR
THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
FACTS AND A PROPOSAL
The Current Situation
In the past few weeks the Administration has made public two decisions
that will have substantial immediate impact on urban programs to fight
poverty and which may materially affect such programs for some time to
come.
These decisions were:
1. To fund the National Alliance of Businessmen (NAB) program
primarily out of existing Office of Economic Opportunity
appropriations;
2. To not seek supplemental funds for special summer programs
as was done last year.
The first of these decisions will have the greatest impact. The NAB
program will channel $100 million from such activities as Head Start,
Neighborhood Youth Corps, and Job Corps into efforts to train and
place hard-core unemployed.
The NAB effort, if effective, would result in the training/placement of about 28,000 hard-core unemployed
during this fiscal year. However, the funding method used will substantially reduce, if not negate, the effectiveness of the program
as it will:
1. Reduce the number of fundable Job Corps Centers by si x teen,
thereby reducing available enrollee openings by 6,800 ;
2. Lower Neighborhood Youth Corps enrollment by 170,000 schoolage youths from low-income families;
3 . Reduce Head Start capacity for accepting the very young
children of poverty by 13,000 stud~nt places .
The multiplier effect of these reductions is substantial . Community
programs, exclusive of Head Start will be forced to lay- off 7 , 000
non-professional people, most of whom were previously members of the
poverty population . Head Start will be forced to lay- o ff 2,5 00 nonprofessionals from that same group .
There is no estimate of the number of mothers who will revert towel fa re r olls because they have been deprived of the day - care services
inherent in Head Start.
The impact of OEO cut-backs on individual communities is exemplified
in the cases of New Yo rk and Atlanta. Summer Youth Corps openings in
New York City are to be reduced from last year's 24,000 to 8,000. In
Atlanta, the community action programs are to be cut back 32% and
Head Start 25%. By the above stated program cuts the Administration
has been forced to fund the creation of about 28,000 potential jobs
at a cost of 9 ,500 lay- off~ of adults, the cut-back of 170 , 000 training places for Neighborhood Youth Corps stude nts, the reduction of
13,000 students in Head Start, and the elimination of six teen Job
Corps Centers.
�PAGE TWO
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF BUSINESSMEN
The National Alliance of Businessmen, whose membership contains
many individuals also active in the Urban Coalition, met in
Washington this week. Christopher Mould, Deputy National
Coordinator and Staff Director of the Coalition, addressed the
group and stressed the need for the two organizations to complement each other's efforts in securing assistance for the
hard-core unemployed. Mould will also speak to the first of
three AFL-CIO conferences on social security on Saturday, March
2, to explain the work of the Coalition.
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT
Printing of the proceedings of the very productive Regional
Private Employment Conference held by the Coalition on December
13, 1967, in Atlanta has been accomplished. '11he booklet, entitled "The Urban Coalition, Phase II, Expanding Employment
Opportunities," is being mailed to the entire Coalition mailing list.
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N. W. Washington , D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen : Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
March 29, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
This is the last of the National Coordinator's Weekly Reports,
initiated by John Feild and myself September 29. They were begun
because we felt that members of the Steering Committee should be
kept as currently advised as possible about action to implement the
policies of the Steering Committee.
John Feild returned to his duties at the u. S. Conference of Mayors
in January, but he has continued to provide invaluable assistance and
consultation to the Coalition. I have remained at my post to help as
much as I could in the transfer of responsibilities and duties to
Chairman John Gardner.
Having been associated with and having worked for John Gardner over
the past year and a half on special assignments at the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare, it has been especially gratifying to
continue that relationship; and, at his request, I will be available ,
at his call, to consult and assist on Coalition projects.
In the meantime, I shall devote my efforts to completing a book and
pursuing my normal professional activities in the environmental
management field.
However, I cannot relinquish my coordinator's title or cease the
issuing of this report without a strong and warm thank you to the
members of the Steering Committee and their representatives who have
been so supportive and helpful during the past seven months .
It has
been a most g r atifying experience working for the Steering Committee
and par ticularly working for Andrew Heiskell .
I look fo rwa r d to a
con tinuing i nvolvement in the Coalition.
COALITION STAFF ADDIT I ONS
Chairman Gardne r has announc ed that Lisle C . Carte r, J r., former
Assis t ant Se cre tary of Health , Educ ation and Wel f a r e , wi l l b e
Deputy Dire ctor o f t h e Urb a n Coal i t i o n.
Mr. Carter's resignation at HEW became e ffective March 23 . He had
been Assistant Secretary for Individual and Family Services. He
also served as Di rector of the Ce nter f o r Community Planni n g , where
he he l ped i mp l ement the Model Cities Program .
National Coordinators . John Feild/ Roi]··M. Linton
I
Telephone 293-1530
�WEEKLY REPORT
(2)
MARCH 29, 1968
Mr. Gardner also announced that Mrs. Sarah Collins Carey has been
appointed a Staff Associate of the Coalition. Mrs. Carey, an
attorney, served as Consultant to the National Advisory Commission
on Civil Disorders during the preparation of its report.
She has
been associated with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Arnold and
Porter since August, 1965.
Harold Levy and Robert Meier, assistants to Mr. Gardner at HEW, had
previously joined the staff of the . Coalition as Special Assistants
to the Chairman.
LEGISLATION
Chairman Gardner will testify in support of an emergency public
service employment program on April 1 before the Subcommittee on
Employment, Manpower and Poverty of the Senate Labor Committee.
�rhe
urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N .
w. Washington , D.
C. / 20006
S~eering Committee Co-chairmen : Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Ra ndolph
March 25, 1968
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Steering Committee and Working Committee Members
FROM:
The Urban Coalition Office
SUBJECT:
CORRECTION--Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
Enclosed you will find the fourth page of the Executive
Committee minutes which were sent to you as an attachment
to the last National Coordinator's Weekly Report.
Our
mailers inadvertently omitted this page.
National Coordinators: John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�MINUTES
March 11th Meeting
Page 4
Committee members, the Committee endorsed the proposal.
(The statement of the Urban Coalition Executive Committee
with regard to an OEO supplemental appropriation was sent
as an attachment to the last National Coordinator's Weekly
Report) .
The final legislative item considered was the need for further
action this Spring to support the passage by Congress of appropriate legislation creating a public service employment program
as called for in the Coalition's Statement of Principles, Goals,
and Commitments.
It was pointed out that a bill for this purpose had been recently
introduced by Senator Joseph Clark (D-Pa.) and that similar bills
were expected shortly from Rep. James O'Hara (D-Mich.) and Senator
Jacob Javits (R-NY).
The Committee then unanimously agreed to a restatement to the
public of the Coalition's position on public service employment
as previously expressed in a September statement supporting the
then-pending Clark-Javits bill.
(This statement was also an
attachment to the last Weekly Report).
Discussion then ensued concerning the possibility of a comprehensive public statement to be released by Chairman Gardner speaking
for the Ex ecutive Committee covering housing, employment and the
OEO supplemental appropriation . After considerable discussion,
i t was agreed that the Chairman should issue as soon as possible
a comprehensive statement combining the three separate documents
agreed upon by appending a single page summar
(Summary was sent
as attachment to last Weekly Report) .
The ne x t item of business considered was the report of the Pr e sident ' s Advi sory Commission on Civil Di so r ders . Mayo r J o hn Lindsay
shared with the Committe~ his perspective on the r eport as CoChai rman o f the Advisory Commission . Afte r hearing f r om Mayor
Lindsay and after a b r ief discussion , the Committee unani mously
v oted to go on r eco r d as str ongl y endors i ng the Commi ss i o n repo rt.
(A statement e ndo r s i ng the r epor t wa s a t t a c h ed t o the l a s t We ekly
Re p o rt).
The final acti o n taken by t he Exe cu t ive Commit t ee was to set April
8th as the d a te o f the n e xt mee ting s o f the Executive Committee
and of th e Steering Committee . Bo th me eti n gs will be in Washington--the Executive Committe e mee ting at 2: 00 p.m. (to further consider the organizational plans of Chairman Gardner) and the Steering Committee meeting at 4:00 p.m. (·to receive the recommendations
of the Executive Committee).
Chairman Gardner adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m.
�The Urban Coalition I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co -cha i rmen : Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
CORRECTION MEMORANDUM
TO :
Members of Steering Committee and Working Committee
FROM:
Urban Coalition Office
SUBJECT: Correction in March 1st Weekly Report
DATE:
March 4, 1968
PLEASE NOTE: Our printers inadvertently collated the Weekly
Report and its attachment in the wrong order ~
What appears now as Page Two of the Weekly Report is actually
Page 'Iwo of the "Proposal" and, conversely, what appears now
as Page Two of the "Proposal" is actually Page Two of the Weekly
Report.
National Coordinators: John Feild / Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building We s t / 1819 H Stre e t, N. w. Washington , D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heis kell/ A. Philip Randolph
March 8, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
LOCAL COALITIONS
Mayor Bruno Giordano of Stamford, Connecticut, called a
meeting this week of representatives of various segments
of the community to form the steering committee of an
urban coalition. Task forces were formed for housing,
recreation, employment, job training and communications
and public support. Charles Ukkerd, manager of community
relations for Pitney-Bowes, Inc., is on loan as special
aide to the Mayor to assist in the establishment of a
coalition.
Mayor Floyd Hyde of Fresno, California, has invited the
mayors of major California cities to a meeting on March 15
to discuss the formation of a statewide coalition. The meeting is a follow-up to the resolution passed last year by the
California League of Cities calling for the establishment of
coalitions in all cities of the state, and a statewide coalition.
SAVINGS INDUSTRY COMMITTEE
The United States Savings and Loan League and the National
Association of Mutual Savings Banks have announced the for mation of a Joint Savings Bank-Savings and Loan Committee on
Urban Problems . Representatives of the two associations met
with President Johnson on Wednesday to discuss the new program, and the announcement was made from the White House .
Chairman John W. Gardner represented the Urban Coalition at
the White House meeting . The Joint Committee will urge member ins t itutions to invest in housing and reconstruction
progr ams and in other ways parti cipate actively in efforts
to so lve urban p r oblems .
COMMUNICATIONS
Life magaz i n e this we ek p r ese nts a d r a mati c a nd moving acc o unt
of poverty in the citie s. Th e i ss ue a ls o h as an a rticl e by
Urban Coalitio n Ch airman John W. Gardne r .
National Coordinators : John Feild / Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�WEEKLY REPORT
(2)
MARCH 8, 1968
The complete text of the Report of the National Advisory
Commission on Civil Disorders is available on the newstands
in a Bantam Books paperback: price, $1.25.
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
Enclosed is a copy of the Weekly Legislative Report the
Coalition is now sending to leaders of local coalitions.
It is designed to provide them with current information
on the status of legislation important to the cities.
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
March 22, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
California Statewide Coalition
The Mayors of Fresno, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles _
and Compton -- and representatives of three other California
cities -- met at Fresno on March 14 and agreed to launch a
statewide urban coalition.
It will be the first such organization to be formed.
A statement released by the group invited other Mayors to
join in the new undertaking and called for a "comprehensive
effort to reorder the priorities by which our State resources
are being allocated to the resolution of urban problems."
Christopher Mould, Deputy National Coordinator of the Urban
Coalition, met with the group.
Educational Disparities
The Task Force on Educational Disparities met in Washington
on March 20. The members recommended to the Steering Committee
that the Coalition immediately initiate an effort to prevent
cut-backs in federal programs of assistance to education in
the current austerity drive.
Local Coalitions
Mayor Alfonso Cervantes of St . Louis , Missouri has informed
Chairman Gardner of that city's intention to form an urban
coalition.
At meetings last week , community representat i ves
of the city of Buffalo , New York decided to launch a coalitio n
immediatel y a n d formed an organi zing c ommittee fo r t hat pu r p o se .
Ex e cut ive Committee
Att a ched a r e the minut e s of the Executive Committee meeting
which was held on Monday, March 11, 1968 .
National Coordinators: John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N. w. Washington, D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
March 11, 1968
Time-Life Building
New York, New York
Attendees:
Mr. Arnold Aronson
Mayor Joseph M. Barr
Mr. Frederick J . Close
Dr. Arthur Flemming
Mr. Andrew Heiskell
Mr. Philip Sorenson (representing J. Irwin Miller}
Mr. Bayard Rustin (representing A. Philip Randolph}
Mr. Irving Bluestone (representing Walter Reuther}
Mayor James H.J. Tate (accompanied by Harry Galfan}
Mr. Whitney M. Young, Jr.
Mr. Joseph H. Allen
Mayor John V. Lindsay (accompanied by Jay Kriegel and Peter Tufo}
Rabbi Henry Siegman (representing Rabbi Jacob Rudin)
Mr. Theodore Schlesinger
Mr. John Gardner
Mr. Ron M. Linton (National Coordinator)
Mr. John Gunther (of the U. S. Conference of Mayors)
Mr. John Feild
(of the U. S. Conference of Mayors}
Mr. Christopher Mould (Deputy National Coordinator)
Co-Chairman Andrew Heiskell called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
He opened with a brief statement welcoming Mr. John Gardner as
Chairman and e x pressing his thanks to Committee members for the
support and cooperation h e had enjoyed in his role as Co-Chairman .
He then turned the meeting over to Cha irman Gardner.
Chairman Gardner indicated that he would be grateful if Messrs.
Heiskell and Randolph wou ld agree t o continue as Co - Chai rmen .
This suggestion was unanimously endorsed by the Executive Committee ,
and agreed to by Mr. Heiskell and by Mr. Rustin repre senting Mr.
Randolph .
Chairman Gardner then discussed his views on the appropriate func tions of the Urban Coalition at the nati o nal level.
(An outline
statement of these potential functions as developed by the Chairman is attached to and incorporated in these minutes).
The Committee , after discussion, endorsed the several functions delineated .
National Coordinators: John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�MINUTES
March 11th Meeting
Page 2
The Chairman then turned to the matter of reorganization of the
national Urban Coalition to carry out the functions agreed upon.
In this connection, Mr. Gardner suggested the creation of a subcommittee on reorganization to which he could refer for consultation as reorganization plans are developed.
The Executive Committee approved the designation of a subcommittee
on reorganization. The following Executive Committee members were
appointed to this subcommittee:
Co-Chairmen Heiskell and Randolph
George Meany
Walter Reuther
J. Irwin Miller
(Mr. Heiskell will serve as chairman)
Chairman Gardner will take up with this committee such matters as
potential expansion of Steering Committee membership, key appointments to the professional staff of the Coalition, the Coalition's
task force and committee structures, and related significant plans.
Mr. Gardner reported that consultation with legal counsel indicated
that there were no obstacles to the creation of two organizational
entities --one tax exempt and the other not, to carry out the work
of the Coalition. Both entities would be under the jurisdiction of
the Steering Committee and Executive Committee of the Coalition.
The tax-exempt e ntity would receive potential foundation grants
available to the Coalition as well as private contributions to carry
out the rendering of technical assistance to local coalitions and
non-legislative program efforts. The non- tax-exempt entity would
carry out the legislative work of the Coalition. The Executive
Committee unanimously authorized Chairman Gardner to proceed.
Mr. Gardner then reported that he was further developing the Coalition's cooperative working relationships with appropriate government
agencies and national organizations. To date, this has included
creating linkage with the White House through Mr. Joseph Califano,
and the National Alliance of Businessmen through Messrs. Henry Ford,
II, and Leo Beebe.
With respect to the National Alliance of Businessmen, the Chairman
reported that he had pledged to the NAB the support of the Urban
Coalition and given assurances that program efforts of the Coalition
would be complementary. These assurances included. the pledge that
every effort would be made to include NAB local chairmen in the de v e lopment and functioning of local coalitions.
�MINUTES
March 11th Meeting
Page 3
The next item discussed by the Committee was the matter of Coalition
finances . Mr. Gardner stated that in conversations with the Ford
Foundation he had received assurance of substantial support. For
the purpose of these conversations he had developed tentative plans
for an annual operating budget of $1.3 million.
In view of the s ~ ope
of our objectives, however, it seemed prudent to set a fund-raising
goal of $2 million. The $1.3 million figure reflected, Mr. Gardner
stated, an estimated need for a staff approximating fifty persons,
one half of that number to be professionals .
The Ford Foundation, Mr. Gardner reported, was prepared to match,
dollar for dollar, funds raised by the Coalition.
In this connection, Mr. Gardner indicated that he planned to include one professional on the staff devoting full time to fund raising.
The Ford
Foundation, he said, had agreed to provide "start-up funds" immediately for the period of March 1 to June 1, amounting to approximately $200,000.
Chairman Gardner requested and was unanimously given authority to
proceed to commit these funds for staff and office space and related
organizational needs.
The Ex ecutive Committee then considered the matter of Coalition
positions on a series of legislative items. Mr. Irving Bluestone,
representing Ex ecutive Committee member Walter Reuther, presented
a draft statement on housing and reconstruction, including the
Administration's pending hous i ng proposals, prepared by the three
co-chairmen, Walter Reuther, David Roc k efeller, and Joseph Keenan
of the Tas k Force on Housing, Reconstruction and Investment. Afte r
discussion i n the light of the imminent testimony in other capaci ties of Commi ttee members Heis k ell , Lindsay and Tate befor e t h e
Congr ess on Hous i ng legislati on, the Ex ecutive Committee wi th the
condition that a par agraph be added to the statement to emp ha s i z e
the impor tance of pursuing, as a nati onal objective , the goal of
a sin gle , i ntegrated soc i ety through all efforts in the hou si ng
sphere .
(Thi s s t atement, in its f i nal fo r m was sent to y ou as an
attachment with t he last Nati onal Coo r dinato r' s Weekly Re p o rt-dated Ma rc h 1 5, 1 968) .
The Co mmitte e then c o ns ide r ed a p r o p o s a l that the Coa li t i o n
s up p o rt the passage by Congr ess o f a s u pplemen ta l app ropriation
f o r the Office o f Eco n omi c Opp o r t unity in the amount o f $279
mi l lion. After hearin g a re po r t by Mr. J o hn Gunthe r o f the U.S.
Co nfere nce of Mayo rs, wi t h r e spe ct t o t h e l egis lat ive prospects
for a supplemental appro priatio n, and state ments on the need fo r
continuing year - round and spe ci a l summe r OEO pro grams from othe r
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D.
c. /
20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
March 15, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee met with Chairman Gardner in New York
on March 11. The Committee approved statements on the Report
of the President's Advisory Committee on Civil Disorders, a
supplemental appropriation for the Office of Economic Opportunity, emergency legislation for public service employment,
and e xpanded housing legislation.
These statements were released to the press on March 14.
Copies are attached, along with the Coalition news release.
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WILL MEET AGAI N AT THE MAYFLOWER HOTEL
IN WASHINGTON ON APRI L 8 AT 2:00 P.M., FOLLOWED BY A MEETING
OF THE STEERING COMMI TTEE AT 4:00 P.M. MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE
WILL RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF THE MEETING AND THE PLACE .
COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC SUPPORT
The Task Fo rce on Commun ica tion s and Publi c Suppor t spons o re d
a v ery p r o ductive meeting in New Yo rk o n March 8 wi t h publi c
relations dire ctors of organi z ations represented by Steer ing
Commi t t ee members . Chairman John Gar dner par t i c i pated in the
meeting, his firs t since joi n i ng t h e Co a l i tion.
Thirty- two p e ople attende d a nd freely exchanged i d eas and
views on the public a spe cts o f Coalition activities.
NATI ONAL ALLIANCE OF BUSINESSMEN
Severa l hundred bus inessme n associated wit h the National Alliance
o f Busin e s s me n will mee t in Washington on Ma rch 2 3. Cha i rman
Gardn er wi ll keyno te the session. Ma ny of the NAB me mbers a r e
also a c t ive in t h e Coali tio n .
NATI ONAL CONFERENCES
Th e National Confer ences planned for early April have been pos t pone d. Pla n ning requir ement s and inability to get facilities on
shor t not i ce f o rced a c hange in plans.
National Coordinators : John Feild/ Ron M . Linton
Telephone 293 - 1530
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N. w. Washington, D. C. / 20006
Steering Comm/ttee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M.,
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1968
The Executive Committee of the national Urban Coalition
today called for Congressional action on a supplemental appropriation for the Office of Economic Opportunity, expanded
housing legislation, and emergency legislation to provide at
least 1,000,000 new jobs through public service employment.
John W. Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare and new Chairman of the Urban Coalition, also released an Executive Committee statement which "strongly endorsed"
the Report of the President's Advisory Commission on Civil
Disorders.
For OEO, the Executive Conunittee urged an additional
$104 million to raise current appropriations to the level
authorized for fiscal 1968; $100 million to replace funds diverted . to the Job Opportunities in the Business Sector (JOBS)
program; and $75 million for special summer employment, education and recreation programs.
The statement said "Federal funds now available are inadequate to meet even minimal program needs in employment, educat ion a n d recreation".
It said such programs "can contr i b u te s i g -
nifica n t l y t o enhanced opportunity for young people in the
impoverish e d a r eas of our cities, espe cially during the s choo l
vacation period. "
National Coordinators : John Feild / Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293 - 1530
�Page Two
The Coalition's Executive Committee endorsed in principle
legislative proposals for a public service employment program .
aimed at creating at least 1,000,000 "socially useful" new jobs
through a combination of public and private efforts.
In _the housing field, the Committee commended President
Johnson's proposal for a Housing and Urban Development Act of
1968 and described as "major contributions" a number of other
Administration efforts, including flexible interest subsidies,
rent supplements and fair housing.
However, the Committee urged a "mix of public and private
r esources" to carry out a "massive and carefully coordinated" .
program to assure each American of a decent home and a suitable
living environment.
Specifically, Congress was urged to take steps to minimize
land speculation, assure that "workable program" r equir ements
i n Federa lly- aided programs do not ser ve as a barrier to low and
modera te i ncome housing, eliminate r ed tape and establish
ind e pen dent pr ogram evaluation pr ocesses .









Texts of Statements Attached .
For further Information:
Maurer, Fleisher, Zon & Associates
337-8070









�March 14, 1968
STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE URBAN COALITION
The Executive Committee of the Urban Coalition
strongly endorses the Report of the President's Advisory
Corpmission on Civil Disorders.
We commend the Report
to the Nation's citizens and believe it merits the most
serious consideration of leadership at all levels of
both the public and private sectors.
�STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE URBAN COALITION
ON
PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT
The Urban Coalition Executive Committee calls upon the
Congress to enact urgently needed emergency legislation to
provide at least one million jobs through public service
employment.
In support of this objective, The Urban Coalition's
Statement of Principles, Goals, and Commitments, endorsed in
August, 1967 by 1,000 representatives of business, labor,
religion, civil rights, and local government, calls for action
consistent with the following principles:
--The federal government must enlist the cooperation of
government at all levels and of private industry to assure
that meaningful, productive work is available to everyone
willing and able to work.
-~To create socially useful jobs, the emergency work program
should concentrate on tpe huge backlog of employment needs
in parks, streets, slums, countryside, schools, colleges,
libraries, and hospitals . To this end, an emergency work
program should be initiated and should have as its first
goal putting at least one million of the presently unemployed into productive work at the earliest possible
moment .
--The program must provide meaningful jobs--not dead-end,
make work projects--so that the employment e x per ience
gained adds to the capabilities and broadens the opportunities of the employees to become pr oductive members
of the permanent wo rk force o f our nation.
--Basic education , training, and counseling must be an
integral part of the program to assure extended opportunities for upward job mobility and to improve employee
�STATEMENT
March 14, 1968
Page 2
productivity. Funds for training, education, and counseling should be made available to private industry as
well as to public and private nonprofit agencies.
--Funds for employment should be made available to local
and state governments, nonprofit institutions, and federal
agencies able to demonstrate their ability to use · labor
productively without reducing existing levels of employment or undercutting existing labor standards or wages
which prevail for comparable work or services in the
area but are not less than the federal minimum wage.
--Such a program should seek to qualify new employees to
become part of the regular work force and to meet normal
performance standards.
--The operation of the program should be keyed to specific,
localized unemployment problems and focused initially on
those areas where the need is most apparent.
The Clark-Javits Emergency Employment Act proposed in the
last session of Congress was responsive to these principles and
was endorsed by The Urban Coalition.
It is now even mor e urgent
for the Congress to respond to the conditions of unemployment
despair revea l ed in hearings held by the Senate Sub-Committee on
Unemployment.
The pr inciples endo rsed by The Urban Coalition
are consistent with the findings and recommendations o f the
National Committee on Technology Automation and Economic Progress
(Feb. 1966), the White Hous e Conference to Fulfill These Rights
(June, 1966), and The National Advisory Commission on Food and
Fiber (July, 1967).
The Re port of the President's Commission on
Civil Disorders leaves no doubt as to the nation's responsibilities .
�STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE URBAN COALITION
ON
HOUSING AND URBAN RECONSTRUCTION
The Urban Coalition Executive Committee calls upon Congress
and the nation to take bold and immediate action to fulfill the
national need stated in the Housing Act of 1949 for "a decent
home and suitable living environment for every American family"
with guarantee s of equal acces s to all hous i ng, new and e x isting.
We believe that the President's urban affairs message and
the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 are important contributions t o this end- -both in clearly statin g the urge ncy o f
the needs and in creating new avenues of public and private cooperati on.
A long-range program is vital if we are to h ave the
continu i ty o f e f f o rt to p l a n, coor dinate a nd imple me n t t he r econs t r ucti on o f our c ities wi th maximum effe c t i v e n e s s.
We strong l y
urge Congress and all Amer icans to support the steps that are so
e s sential to the g r owth and progress of our n a t i o n and its c iti z e ns.
A number o f meas u r e s set forth are major c o ntributions t o
i mp r oving e ffici e ncy , inc r easing sca l e and encour a g ing greater
i n volvement o f t he res ource s o f the priv a t e s e c tor .
In p articu lar
we cite :
--The pla n s to provide home owne r s hip opportuniti es f o r low
and moderate income families throu gh fle x ible inter e s t
subs idie s linked to f a mily i ncomes and finan c e d i n the
p r ivate sector .
--The steps t o expand rental and cooperative hou sing for
low and moderate inc ome f amilies through flexibl e interest subsidie s l i nked to famil y income and the greate r
encouragement o f private sector financing .
�STATEMENT ON HOUSING AND URBAN RECONSTRUCTION
March 14, 1968
Page 2
--The provisions for technical assistance and advice to
nonprofit sponsors .
--The proposed extension and strengthening of the rent
supplement program.
--The extension of the public housing program with increased
emphasis on quality and vital related social services .
These are much needed improvements.
--The New Communities Act which can be an important step
in creating new and balanced living environments.
--The creation of Neighborhood Development Programs to
expedite the planning and implementation of urban renewal
a nd rehabilitation.
--The proposed National Housing Partnerships which respond
to the need for imaginative vehicles through which private
corporations may join together and become more deeply involved in the social and physical aspects of urban development.
--The proposed expansion of the Model Cities Progr am.
--The emphasis by t he President on the need for t he passage
of effective fair housing legislation.
- ~The efforts to make the mortgage more attractive and competitive as a financial instrument .
--The e x pansion and improvement of research and development
activ ities which are crucial to reduce the cost of housing
and increase productivity .
Th e measur es outlined by the Pr esident are essen t i a l if h o u si n g
a n d u r ban r e c o ns t r uction are to hav e thei r just a n d proper p ri o rity.
Howe v e r, we mu st r emembe r that the r econ s t ruct ion o f o u r c iti e s
involves all aspect s o f our s o cie ty and d irect l y affe c ts the lives
and well-being o f eve ry ci t izen.
The be st o f ideas are no better
than their implementation, and achieving the g o als set forth will
require a host of
other factors.
�STATEMENT ON HOUSING AND URBAN RECONSTRUCTION
March 14 , 1968
Page 3
Efforts to improve the competitive position of the mortgage
are beneficial, but in themselves they will not produce a dramatic increase overnight in the availability of funds.
Sound
national monetary and fiscal policies are essential if the
financial resources necessary for new housing are to be forthcoming from the private sector, and if we are to provide essential
public services .
Success will also demand a deep personal commit-
ment and a dedication to innovation by all Americans whether in
the public or private sectors.
We also believe there are additional considerations vital
to achieving the goals of the Housing and Urban Development Act
of 1968.
We urge Congr ess and the Ameri can people to consider the
following recommendations:
-- To mi nimi ze land speculation and related problems , a conce rted e ffo r t must be made t o develop new means fo r the
acquisition of property so that e x isting and proposed p r ograms can be imp l emented. Attention should be paid to
ideas such a s creating f ede r a l , sta te and loc al multi p u rpo s e authori ties and quasi - public a genc i es to und ert ake land a nd property acquisition and site de v elopment
fo r lar ge s c ale ventures .
--Steps must be t aken to assur e t h at the "wo rk ab l e program "
requirements, a s a c o nditi o n o f urb an a ss istance in
federally-aid ed pro grams, d o no t serve as a barrier to
low and mo derate inco me housing.
--Further steps are necessary to assure that regulations,
especially concerning cost and income limits, are realistic in terms of local area conditions.
--Continuing efforts to eliminate red tape and to streamline
operations are of paramount importance to the success of
all existing and proposed programs.
�STATEMENT ON HOUSING Al.~D URBAN RECONSTRUCTION
March 1 4, 1968
Page 4
--Continuing, independent evaluation processes should be
established to measure the effectiveness of government
programs against their goals. We must break the longestablished tradition of building one program on top
of another and assure that the various programs are combined in the most efficient and effective manner.
A major national effort must include a primary emphasis _ on
people and their needs--with respect for the community and full
provision of all necessary commercial and social facilities and
services.
It must also include h i gh architectural standards and
first-class construction for attractive homes and neighborhoods.
As part of an overall effort to rebuild our urban areas, new and
rehabilitated low-rent housing should be located in both the c i ty
and the suburbs and interspersed with other types of rental and
private housing for the creation of balanced neighborhoods .
We
must strive for dynamic communities in which all residents can
share a sense of dignity and security .
We recognize that, at best , the dissolution of the r ac i al
ghettos in our large cities is a long range task .
Pe n d ing d i s s o -
l ut i on , t h e intolerable conditions that e x ist in the ghettos mu st
b e all e vi ated a n d r equired funds mus t be p r ovi ded .
We a gree, h ow-
ever, with t h e Pr es i den t's Advi so ry Commi ss ion on Civil Diso rders
that "This can be n o mo r e t h an a n i n te ri m s t r a tegy."
We shall
achieve neither equality no r s o cial peace by building physically
improved but apartheid c ompo unds.
single, integrated society.
Our primary goal must be a
To this end, we urge that in allo -
�STATEMENT ON HOUSING AND URBAN RECONSTRUCTION
~arch 14, 1968
Page 5
eating public funds for housing, education, recreation and
other facilities, preference be given to programs that embrace
a metropolitan or regional area including a city and its environs
and that will demonstrably advance integration.
We have come to a time when we must realize that existing
housing markets and housing programs simply do not meet the
needs of millions of Americans.
A long-run solution requires
both technological progress to lower housing development costs
and broad social, educational and economic efforts to raise income levels for all Americans.
But time is short, and we must
begin to solve our housing problems now.
Having recognized the
urgency of our housing needs, we must strive to develop the most
effective mix of public and private resources for carrying out a
broad cooperative program.
We must apply wide vision and hard
realism if our goals are to be realized and if we are not to
have new aspirations become further frustrations.
Only a massive
and carefully coordinated endeavor will achieve the scale required
if each American is to have the long-denied opportunity of a
d e cent home and suitable living e nvironment.
�STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE
URBAN COALITION ON A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION
FOR THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
The Executive Committee of the Urban Coalition recommends
the prompt passage of a supplemental appropriation of $279
million for the Office of Economic Opportunity.
If t h e nation is going to begin to meet the l egitimate
need s of its d e p r i ved cit ize ns, this a ppropriation is necessary
to offset the impact on federally-supported programs of two
recent budgetary decisions.
These decis i ons were:
1.
To divert e x isting OEO appropriations to the
fund i ng of t h e "Job Opportunities in the
Business Sector"
· 2.
(JOBS) program, and
To refrain from seeking supplemental funds for
special summer programs of employment, education
and r ecreation in urban areas .
Prompt passage of a supplemental appropr iation is r e q ui r ed
to con t i n ue e x i s ting prog r ams and to fun d spec i al s umme r programs.
Fede r a l fu nds n ow a v a i lable a re i nadequat e to meet e v e n minimal
OEO program needs i n e mployment, educatio n and recreati o n.
The
Executive Committee o f the Urban Coalition believes these programs
can contribute significantly to enhanced opportunity for young
people in the impoverished areas of our cities, especially during
the school vacation period.
Only last week the report of the
�Page Two
President's Commission on Civil Disorders warned of the perils
at hand in the cities unless such opportunity is provided.
The Executive Committee therefore calls upon the Congress
to enact a supplemental appropriation of $279 million to give
the Office of Economic Opportunity sufficient funds to realistically meet on-going program needs and to sustain the minimum
commitment of last year's summer programs.
The supplemental
appropriation should include:
1.
$104 million to upgrade the current OEO appropriation to the requested authorization level for
fiscal '68 (prorated for the remainder of the
fiscal year);
2.
$100 million to replace funds diverted to the JOBS
program :
3.
$75 million for special summer programs.
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
March 22, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
California Statewide Coalition
The Mayors of Fresno, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles
and Compton -- and representatives of three other California
cities -- met at Fresno on March 14 and agreed to launch a
statewide urban coalition.
It will be the first such organization to be formed.
A statement released by the group invited other Mayors to
join in the new undertaking and called for a "comprehensive
effort to reorder the priorities by which our State resources
are being allocated to the resolution of urban problems."
Christopher Mould, Deputy National Coordinator of the Urban
Coalition, met with the group.
Educational Disparities
The Task Force on Educational Disparities met in Washington
on March 20. The members rec ommended to the Steering Committ ee
that the Coalition immediately initiate an effort to prevent
cut-backs in feder al programs of assistance to education in
the current austerity drive.
Local Coalit i ons
Mayor Alfonso Cervantes of St. Louis, Missouri has informed
Chairman Gardner of that city's intention to form an urban
coalition. At meetings last week, community representativ es
of the c i ty of Buffalo , New York decided to launch a coalition
immediately and formed an organizing c ommittee for that pu r pose.
Ex ecutive Committee
At tached a r e t he minut es of the Executive Committee meeting
whi ch was h e ld o n Monday , March 11~ 1968.
National Coordinators: John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
March 11, 1968
Time-Life Building
New York, New York
Attendees:
Mr. Arnold Aronson
Mayor Joseph M. Barr
Mr. Frederick J. Close
Dr. Arthur Flemming
Mr. Andrew Heiskell
Mr. Philip Sorenson (representing J. Irwin Miller)
Mr. Bayard Rustin (representing A. Philip Randolph)
Mr. Irving Bluestone (representing Walter Reuther)
Mayor James H.J. Tate (accompanied by Harry Galfan)
Mr. Whitney M. Young, Jr.
Mr. Joseph H. Allen
Mayor John V. Lindsay (accompanied by Jay Kriegel and Peter Tufo)
Rabbi Henry Siegman (representing Rabbi Jacob Rudin)
Mr. Theodore Schlesinger
Mr. John Gardner
Mr. Ron M. Linton (National Coordinator)
Mr. John Gunther (of the u. S. Conference of Mayors)
Mr. John Feild
(of the U. S. Conference of Mayors)
Mr. Christopher Mould (Deputy National Coordinator)
Co-Chairman Andrew Heiskell called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
He opened with a brief statement welcoming Mr. John Gardner as
Chairman and expressing his thanks to Committee members for the
support and cooperation he had enjoyed in his role as Co-Chairman.
He then turned the meeting over to Chairman Gardner.
Chairman Gardner indicated that he would be grateful if Messrs.
Heiskell and Randolph would agree to continue as Co-Chairmen.
This suggestion was unanimously endorsed by the Executive Committee ,
and agreed to by Mr . Heiskell and by Mr. Rustin representing Mr.
Randolph .
Chairman Gardner then discussed his views on the appropriate func tions of the Urban Coalition at the national level.
(An outline
statement of these potential functions as developed by the Chairman is attached to and incorporated in these minutes).
The Committee , after discussion , endorsed the several functions delineated .
National Coordinators: John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�MINUTES
March 11th Meeting
Page 2
The Chairman then turned to the matter of reorganization of the
national Urban Coalition to carry out the functions agreed upon.
In this connection, Mr. Gardner suggested the creation of a subcommittee on reorganization to which he could refer for consultation as reorganization plans are developed.
The Executive Committee approved the designation of a subcommittee
on reorganization. The following Executive Committee members were
appointed to this subcommittee:
Co-Chairmen Heiskell and Randolph
George Meany
Walter Reut her
J. Irwin Miller
(Mr. Heiskell will serve as chairman)
Chairman Gardner will take up with this committee such matters as
potential e x pansion of Steer ing Committee membership, key appoi ntments to the p r o fe ssional s t aff of t h e Coalition, t he Coalit ion's
task force a nd committee structure s, a nd r e late d s ign i f i cant pla ns .
Mr. Gardner reported that consultation with legal counsel indi cated
that there were no obstacles to the creation of t wo organizational
enti t ies --one t ax exempt a nd the othe r not , to carry out the work
o f t h e Coali t ion . Both e n tities would be under t h e juri sdicti on o f
the Steer ing Commi t t ee a n d Exe cut ive Committee o f t he Coa l ition.
The tax -exempt e n t ity would r e c e ive pote nti a l f oundation grants
available to the Coalition as well as private contributions to carry
out the r e ndering o f technic a l assistance to local coa litions and
non-legi sla t i v e p r ogr am e ffo rts. The non- tax-e x empt enti ty would
c arry out the legislat i v e wo rk o f the Coa liti o n. The Exe c u ti ve
Commi ttee unanimo usly autho rize d Chairman Gard ner t o pro ceed.
Mr. Gardner then repo rted that he was further deve loping the Coali tion ' s coope rat ive work ing re l a t i ons hip s wi th appr o priate governme nt
age nc i es and national orga n izations. To d a t e, t his h as inc luded
creating linkage with t h e White Ho use thro ugh Mr. Joseph Califano,
and t h e National Alliance of Businessmen through Messrs. Henry Ford,
II, and Leo Beebe.
With respect to the National Alliance o f Businessmen, the Chairman
reported that he had pledged to t h e NAB the suppo rt of the Urban
Coalition and given assurances that program efforts of the Coalition
would be complementary. These assurances included the pledge that
every effort would be made to include NAB local chairmen in the development and functioning of local coalitions.
�MINUTES
March 11th Meeting
· Page 3
The next item discussed by the Committee was the matter of Coalition
finances.
Mr. Gardner stated that in conversations with the Ford
Foundation he had received assurance of substantial support. For
the purpose of these conversations he had developed tentative plans
for an annual operating budget of $1.3 million.
In view of the s~ope
of our objectives, however, it seemed prudent to set a fund-raising
goal of $2 million. The $1.3 million figure reflected, Mr. Gardner
stated, an estimated need for a staff approximating fifty persons,
one half of that number to be professionals.
The Ford Foundation, Mr. Gardner reported, was prepared to match,
dollar for dollar, funds raised by the Coalition.
In this connection, Mr. Gardner indicated that he planned to include one professional on the staff devoting full time to fund raising.
The Ford
Foundation, he said, had agreed to provide "start-up funds" immediately for the period of March 1 to June 1, amounting to approximately $200,000.
Chairman Gardner requested and was unanimously given authority to
proceed to commit these funds for staff and office space and related
organizational needs.
The Executive Committee then considered the matter of Coalition
positions on a series of legislative items. Mr. Irving Bluestone,
representing Executive Committee member Walter Reuther, presented
a draft statement on housing and reconstruction, including the
Administration's pending housing proposals, prepared by the three
co-chairmen, Walter Reuther, David Rockefeller, and Joseph Keenan
of the Task Force on Housing, Reconstruction and Investment. After
discussion in the light of the imminent testimony in other capacities of Committee members Heiskell; Lindsay and Tate before the
Congress on Housing legislation, the Executive Committee with the
condition that a paragraph be added to the statement to emphasize
the importance of pursuing , as a national objective, the goal of
a single, integrated society through all efforts in the housing
sphere .
(This statement, in its final form was sent to you as an
attachment with the last National Coordinator's Weekly Report-dated March 15 , 1968).
The Committee then considered a proposal that the Coalition
support the passage by Congress of a supplemental appropriation
for the Office of Economic Opportunity in the amount of $279
million. After hearing a r eport by Mr. John Gunther of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors , with respect to the legislative prospects
for a supplemental appropriation, and statements on the need for
continuing year -round and special summer OEO programs from othe r
�The urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington , D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen : Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
February 23, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT
More than 200 people from 13 states participated in a one-day
action conference on private employment in Kansas City, Mo., this
week.
The meeting was the last in a series of three dealing with
private employment problems and opportunities.
J. A . Hosford, general manager of Western Electric Company's plant
at Lee's Summit, Missouri, described the imaginative employment program being carried out by the Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas)
Urban Coalition.
It features pledges by major employers to hire
and train "marginally-qualified" people. The goal is about 1000
jobs for such people each year.
Both Hosford and Francis Keppel, chairman of the board of General
Learning Corporation, pointed out that there is some degree of risk
for business in carrying out such employment programs. But Keppel
added:
The disadvantaged residents of the big city ghettos are
proving that underneath all of that misery and desperation lies a
great deal of intelligence and latent ability just yearning for a
chance to e xpress itself."
NATIONAL CONFERENCES
Preliminary arrangements have been made for the national conferences
discussed in last week's report . The national conference of local
coalitions will be held on April 2, followed on April 3 by the
natio n al legislative conference on employ ment . Both meetings will
be held at the Shoreham Hotel i n Washington .
LOCAL COALITIONS
Co -Cha irma n And r e w Heis k e l l addr essed a t wo - day meet i ng o f the
Phi l a del phia Urban Coalition last wee k, a s did The o d o r e Mc Kelde n ,
chairman of t he Ba l timo r e Co a lition . All r epo r ts i ndicat e t he
Phil a delphi a Coaliti o n h a s ma de a v e ry s tro ng b eginnin g . Na t i o nal
Coordinato r Ro n Linto n spo k e t o a c o mmuni t y mee ting o f the Tacoma ,
Washingto n Coalition. En glewo od , N. J. , is the latest city to
r eport the f o r mation o f a Co alitio n.
National Coordinators : John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293 -1530
�7he Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West
I 1819 H Street, N. w.
Washington , D. C.
I 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
February 17, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
John W. Gardner this week advised Co-Chairmen Heiskell and
Randolph that he accepted the invitation of the Executive
Committee to become chief executive officer of the Coalition.
Mr. Gardner, who recently resigned as Secretary of Health,·
Education and Welfare, will assume his Coalition duties on
March 1. He will serve concurrently as a consultant to the
Carnegie Corporation of New York, with offices in Washington,
but will be on loan to the Urban Coalition, to which he will
devote a major portion of his time.
In their announcement of Mr. Gardner's acceptance, the Co-Chairmen said the Coalition's Executive Committee agreed "enthusiastically and unanimously" last week to ask Mr. Gardner to take the
new position. Of Mr. Gardner, they said:
"Only a man with the
exceptional stature and the rare combination of executive ability,
intellect and idealism of John Gardner can provide the leadership
needed to achieve the Urban Coalition's goals."
Mr. Gardner said he had discussed the new position with the
President "and he urged and encourgaged me to accept." The day
following the announcement, . President Johnson said he was "gratified" by Mr. Gardner's new appointment and had assured him of
White House cooperation.
Mr. Gardner was president of the Carne gie Corporation at the
time of his appointment to the Cabine t by President Johnson on
July 27, 1965. A native Californian, h e holds A.B. and M.A.
degrees from Stanford University, a Ph.D. degree from the Uni versity of California, and honorary degrees from a number of
other c olleges and universities. Before World War II he taught
psychology at the University of California, Connecticut College
for Women and Mount Holyoke College.
Mr. Gardner has been chairman of a number of Presidential task
forces and commissions. He holds the U. S. Air Force Exceptional
Service Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest
civil honor in the United States.
Mr. Gardner is editor of President John F. Kennedy's book
To Turn the Tide, and is the author of the books Excellence
and Self~newaT.
National Coordinators : John Feild/ Ron M. Union
Telephone 293-1530
�( 2)
LOCAL COALITIONS
The expanded Task Force on Local Coalitions held a productive
meeting in Chicago on February 12. As a result of the meeting
the Task Force has called an April conference of local urban
coalitions to provide (1) an exchange of program and organizational experience, and (2) an opportunity to select representatives to the Steering Committee.
The Task Force recommended that the Executive Committee proceed
with its plans for a one-day National Legislative Conference on
Employment in conjunction with the one-day conference of local
coalitions, scheduling the legislative conference for the day
following the conference of local coalitions. This plan, the
Task Force concluded, would attract greater participation· from
local coalitions the first day and enhance the impact of the
legislative conference. These Washington conferences are tentatively scheduled for early April.
�The
LOCAL COALITIONS
Associate National Coordinator Elbert Ransom, Jr. met this . week
with the newly-formed "Committee of Fifty" in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Committee is presently representative of all segments of the community except local government. After Ransom's
e xplanation of the objectives and principles of The Urban Coalition, the Committee decided to issue an invitation to the Mayor
to attend a special meeting to discuss the possibility of members
of the city government joining t he Committee to make it a true
Urban Coalition.
The Boston Ur b a n Coalition reports g o od progress. At a meeting
l a st week, Robe r t Sla ter , p res ide n t, J o hn Hancock Mutual Li fe
Insurance Company , was elect ed chair man . Three task forces were
named--Emp l oyment a nd Entr e preneurship , Housing and Education-and a sked t o prepare action pro posals at t he earli est possibl e
date . A c ommittee was a l s o named to recommend a pe r manent o r g an i zatio nal structure.
LEGISLATION
At a meeting in Washin gto n this wee k, the Legislative Task Fo rce
decided to urge the Co alition Executive Committe e t o autho riz e
(1 ) moving ahead immediately to support the open housing l egislation now in the Senate, a nd ( 2 ) mobilizing s u pport for a supplemental appropriation to fund summer programs for the larger cities.
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT
The third in the series of regional meetings on private employment
will be held at the Hotel Muehlebach in Kansas City, Missouri, on
February 21. Scheduled speakers include Kansas City Mayor Ilus
w. Davis, William Flynn, director, STEP Program, National Association of Manufacturers, Rev. Thomas J . Ritter, executive director,
Opportunities Industrialization Center, Philadelphia, J. A. Hosford,
general manager, Western Electric Company, Lee's Summit, Missouri,
Mayor Joseph H. McDowell of Kansas City, Kansas, and Francis Keppel,
chairman of the board, General Learning Corporation and former U.S.
Commissioner of Education.
National Coordinators : John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293 - 1530
�( 2)
Concurrent workshops will be held on Organizing Local Employment
Campaigns, Recruiting, Training, and Placement of the Hard Core
Unemployed, Job Development and Upward Mobility and Reassessing
Underemployment.
STEERING COMMITTEE
James F. Oates, Jr., chairman of the board and chief executive
officer of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United
States has accepted an invitation to become a member of the
Urban Coalition Steering Committee.
The press of other commitments has made necessary the resignation
of Steering Committee member Gilbert W. Fitzhugh, president,
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West / 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D.
c. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell / A. Philip Randolph
February 9, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY REPORT
LOCAL COALITIONS
Associate National Coordinator Elbert Ransom, Jr. met this week
with the newly-formed "Committee of Fifty" in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Committee is presently representative of all segments of the community except local government. After Ransom's
e xplanation of the objectives and principles of The Urban Coalition, the Committee decided to issue an invitation to the Mayor
to attend a special meeting to discuss the possibility of members
of the city government joining the Committee to make it a true
Urban Coalition.
The Boston Ur b an Coalition r eports good progress. At a meeting
last week, Robert Sla ter , p re sident , John Ha ncock Mutua l Life
Insurance Company , was elected chair man . Three task forces were
named- - Employ ment and Entr epr e neur ship, Housing and Education-and asked to prepare act i on p r o po s als at the earliest possible
date. A c ommittee was also named to recommend a permanent organi z at ional s tructure .
LEGISLATION
At a meeting in Washi ngton this week, the Legis lat ive Ta s k For ce
decided to urge the Coalitio n Executive Co mmittee to autho r i ze
(1) moving ahead immediately to support the open h ousing l e gislation now in the Senate, and (2) mobilizing support for a s u pplemental appropriation to fund summer programs for the larger cities.
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT
The third in the series of regional meetings on private employment
will be held at the Hotel Muehlebach in Kansas City, Missouri, on
February 21. Scheduled speakers include Kansas City Mayor Ilus
w. Davis, William Flynn, director, STEP Program, National Association of Manufacturers, Rev. Thomas J. Ritter, executive director,
Opportunities Industrialization Center, Philadelphia, J. A. Hosford,
general manager, Western Electric Company, Lee's Summit, Missouri,
Mayor Joseph ff. McDowell of Kansas City, Kansas, and Francis Keppel,
chairman of the board, General Learning Corporation and former U.S.
Commissioner of Education.
National Coordinators : John Feild / Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293 -1530
�( 2)
Concurrent workshops will be held on Organizing Local Employment
Campaigns, Recruiting, Training, and Placement of the Hard Core
Unemployed, Job Development and Upward Mobility and Reassessing
Underemployment.
STEERING COMMITTEE
James F. Oates, Jr., chairman of the board and chief executive
officer of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United
States has accepted an invitation to become a member of the
Urban Coalition Steering Committee.
The press of other commitments has made necessary the resignation
of Steering Committee member Gilbert w. Fitzhugh, president,
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
�The lirban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington , D. C. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell / A. Philip Randolph
January 12, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATORS WEEKLY REPORT
At a meeting in Washington the night of January 8, the Coalition
Steering Committee authorized the creation of an Executive Committee
and charged i t with the responsibility for making an early recommendation on a permanent organizational structure for the Coalition.
The 15-man Ex ecutive Committee will be composed of representatives
of all groups active in t he Coalition . Membership will be allocated
as follows:
labor, civil rights, city government--two each; church
groups--three; business--four . The Co-Chairmen of the Steering
Committee will a lso serve on the Ex ecutive Committee.
Ea ch group wil l sele ct its own representati ves for the Executive
Commi ttee , subj e c t only to the con dition that each person s e lected
must agree with Coalition support of a three-point set of principles:
(1)
What the private sect or c a n do on its own ;
What the private sector can do i n conce r t wi t h g overnment .
What the g overnme n t must do t o meet nee d s b eyo nd
the reach o f pr i vat e eff orts.
LOCAL COALITIONS
(2 )
(3 )
The Tas k For c e
Committee that
the process of
and that there
on Lo cal Coalitions reported to the Ste ering
local coalitions h ave been o rganized , o r are in
being organized, in 27 cities (see attached list )
is active interest in 16 other cities.
Steering Committee Co-Chairman Andrew Heiskell c ommen ted :
"I
find it extremely encouraging that all sections of the country
are represented in the list. This is real progress. We rave
felt all along that the development of strong local groups is
of prime importance."
Indicative of the geographic spread of local coalitions was two
trips made during the week by the National Coordinators to meet
with local groups. John Feild went to Fresno, California, Ron
Linton to Bridgeport, Connecticut.
National Coordinators : John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293 -1530
�-2-
On Friday, some 350 representatives from 82 cities in 21 states
met in New York City for the third in the series of meetings on
Mobilizing Local Coalitions. The interest was high, the speakers
were excellent, and the overall staff consensus was that it was
the best meeting held to date.
Speakers included Co-Chairman Andrew Heiskell, the Most Rev. John
J. Maguire, Administrator of the Archdiocese of New York, Equitable
Life Assurance Society Board Chairman James F. Oates, Jr., Rabbi
Joseph P. Sternstein, Christian A. Herter, Jr. Chairman of the NewYork City Coalition, Mayor John Lindsay, Dr. Edler G. Hawkins,
AFL-CIO Legislative Representative Ray Denison, and National Urban
League Executive Director Whitney M. Young, Jr.
LEGISLATION
The Steering Committee authorized the release of a strong statement
of legislative goals of the Coalition to coincide with the opening
of the new session of Congress (see attachment).
The Washington Post commented in its Sunday edition: Much of the
impetus for any crisis legislation will come from the civicbusiness-labor-and civil rights forces organized as The Urban
Coalition, which yesterday warned Congress that "the hour is late."
�STATEMENT ON THE OPENING OF CONGRESS
by
The Ur ban Coalition
January 12 , 1968
/\s the new year begins and the second session of the 90th
Congress convenes , The Urban Coalition reaffirms its cal 1 for recor,n·i tion
of the compelling needs of the people of our nation's cities and for
immediate and positive action to meet those needs,
No longer can this
country tolerate the serious unemployment, housing deficiencies, educational disparities and urban decay which plague urban America.
The Urban
Coalition calls upon American citizens to insist that this session of
Congress enact the legislation necessAry to restore health to our cities.
The nation can no lon ge r ignore the intolerable conditions of
life which cripp l e too many of our fellow citizens and induce the widespread disconten t an d di_s order which have erupt eci year after year, warning America that it is not meeting its responsi bili ties to its own people .
The Urban Coalition, b roadly representative of American business, labor, religion, civil rights and local government, pledr,es its
firm and continued support for a re-ordering of nati onal priorities and
a commitment of national resources equal to meeting these responsibilities,
The substantial number of communities forming counterpart Urban Coalitions
all over the country is strong evidence that the citizens of our urban
areas share the Urban Coalition's concern and its commitment.
With the
commitment of its citizens this nation has the capacity now to resolve its
urban problems.
�-2-
We call upon the Conp,ress, the Administration and the nation
to move without delay on urban programs.
The Administration's Open
Housing legislation should be enacted into law now.
Definite steps should be taken now to assure government-P-enerated employment to every citizen able and willing to work but unable · to
find private employment.
The Administration's Safe Streets and Crime Control Act and
Juvenile Delinquency amendments were drastically altered in the House of
Representatives last year to channel the programs and funds through a
state planning and allocation process which would delay and frustrate
their effectiveness.
The original Administration version of these bills
should be passed by the Senate so as to mount an efficient and effective
attack on the root causes of violence, crime and delinquency coupled
with the development of improved local law enforcement.
A supplementary appropriation bill should be immediately introduced and enacted to fund fully the President's anti-povertv prorrams as
authorized for this fiscal year.
Programs for low and moderate income housing, urban development,
model cities, mass transportation and community facilities should be
extended, expanded and adequately funded now.
The repressive welfare program amendments enacted last year,
penalizing children born into one-parent homes and Rhifting the financinp.
burden to local government, should be repealed immediately.
�-3-
We know these legislative aims are more easily stated than
accomplished.
But we also know the needs are massive and urgent, and
the hour is late.
We pledge our full support for the legislative
action required and ask the help of Congress and the nation.
Andrew Heiskell
Co-Chairman, The Urban Coalition
Chairman of the Board, Time Inc.
A. Philip Randolph
Co-Chairman, The Urban Coalition
Vice President, AFL-CIO
�January 8, 1968
STATUS REPORT - LOCAL COALITIONS
Cities in which a coalition has been announced and/or
a steering or organizing committee is operative:
Atlanta, Ga.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Baltimore, Md.
Minneapolis, Minn.
Boston, Mass.
New York, N. Y.
Bridgeport, Conn.
Norfolk, va.
Dayton, Ohio
Oakland, Calif.
Denver, Colo.
Pasadena, Calif.
Detroit, Mich.
Plainfield, N. J.
Fresno, Calif.
Riverside, Calif.
Gary, Ind.
Saginaw, Mich.
Huntsville, Ala.
San Diego, Calif.
Indianapolis , Ind.
Stamford, Conn.
Joli e t, Ill.
Tacoma, Wash.
Kansas City, Kans.Kansas City, Mo.
Washington, D.
c.
Winston-Salem, N.
c.
�The Urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N. W Washington, D.
c. / 20006
Steering Co_mmittee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
February 2, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATORS WEEKLY REPORT
John Feild, who has served as National
Coalition, resumed February 1 his full
as Director of the Community Relations
States Conference of Mayors. John had
Coalition since its formation.
Co-Coordinator of the
time responsibilities
Service of the United
been on loan to the
Ron Linton will continue to serve as National Coordinator.
Christopher Mould has been promoted to Deputy National Coordinator and Staff Director. Chris, who holds a Doctor of Law
degree from the University of Chicago, has been Associate
National Coordinator working with the Task Force on Local Coalitions.
COUNCIL OF URBAN COALITIONS
Mayors and other leadership representatives of 37 cities met
in Washington last week and approved the concept of developing
a Council of Urban Coalitions. Membership on the Council would
be open to those cities which have formed Coalitions of their
own. It would give a voice to the local groups in national
discussions and would function as a part of The Urban Coalition.
Further discussions through the Task Force on Local Coalitions
are expected to lead to the formation of the Council this
Spring. The Task Force membership was expanded as a result of
the Washington meeting to include representives of urban coalitions in New York City; Plainfield, New Jersey; Gary, Indiana;
and Fresno, California with the possibility of other additions
subsequently. The expanded Task Force will meet on February 12th.
LEGISLATIVE PRESS CONFERENCE
Coalition Co-Chairman Andrew Heiskell held a press conference
in Washington last week to emphasize the urgency of congressional
action on urban problems. Participating with Mr. Heiskell in the
press conference were : Arnold Aronson, Leadership Conference on
Civil Rights; Joseph D. Keenan, International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers; Norman Hill, representing A. Philip Randolph;
Mayor James H.J. Tate of Philadelphia; and Christian Herter, Jr.,
Chairman of the New York Coalition and Vice p·r esident of Mobil
Oil Company.
National Ccordinators .- John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293 -1530
�-2-
Mr. Heiskell's prepared statement mainly covered the points
made in the legislative statement mailed to you two weeks
ago. He emphasized the need to "assure a job for every citizen able and willing to work" and expressed support for the
President's proposal in the State of the Union message to
reimburse employers for additional costs involved in hiring
and training the hard-core unemployed.
He emphasized, however,
that much more must be done, including government-generated
employment programs.
A copy of the Associated Press story of the press conference,
as carried in the New York Times, is attached. NBC television news and 16 reporters covered the event. Also atta~hed
is the New York Times column about the Coalition statement
by Tom Wicker.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The new Executive Committee of the Steering Committee will
hold its first meeting on February 9 in New York City. All
but two members of the Ex ecutive Committee have been named.
The list is:
Business: Joseph H. Allen, President, McGraw-Hill
Publications; Fredrick J . Close, Chairman of the
Board, Aluminum Company of America; J . Irwin
Miller, Chairman of the Board, Cummins Engine
Company; and Theodore Sc h lesinger, President,
Allied Store s Corporation .
Labor: George Meany, President, AFL-CIO; and
Walter Reuther, President , United Auto Work ers.
Church: Dr . Arthur Flemming, President , National
Coun cil of Ch urches "
Civil Ri g ht s: Arnold Aronson , Exe cutive Secre t a r y,
Le ade rship Council o n Civil Right s; a nd Whitney M.
Young , J r., Exe cutive Di r ector , National Urban
Le a g ue .
Local Governme nt : Ma y o r Joseph M. Barr o f P i t t s b u rgh;
and Ma y o r Jame s H. J . Ta t e of Philadel p hia .
The Co - Cha i rmen of The Urb an Co a lition , And rew
Hei s ke ll and A. Philip Randol p h , are e x o fficio
members of the Ex e c u t ive Co mmitt ee .
CORRECTION
In the Minutes o f the J anuary 8t h Steering Committee Meeting
which were mailed t o y o u with the las t we ekly report, under
the heading of Report of the Committee on Budget a n d Finance
and the Organizational Proposal , it was incorrectly stated
that " Staff support would require appro x imatel y $5 , 000 , 000 .
This should have read:
Staff support would requi r e appro x i mat~l y $500 , 000.
�NEW YORK TIMES
FEBRUARY 1, 1968
In The Nation: The Federal Mess
By TOM WICKER
The Advisory CC1mmission on
Intergovernmental Relations has
issued a timely and eloquent
warning that the deterioration
of living conditions in the great
American population centers is
threatening their tot:il domination by the National Government.
The commission's thesis is
chilling in its logic. So paralyzing is the overlap, disarray, inertia, antiquity and poverty of
state and local government in
America that it cannot begin to
cope with the swiftly changing
circumstances and demands of
the twentieth-century city. And
as the city therefnre spirals
downward into blight, disorder
and rioting, its residc>nts increasingly demand that the
powerful Federal Government
accept responsibility for their
security and well-being.
Jobs for All
On the same day this warning was issued, and as if to put
an exclamation point after it,
the Urban Coalitig!l.-a group
of the most powerful and public-spirited private interests in
the nation-called upon Congress to guarantee a job for
everyone able to work but unable to find private employment.
Th e coalition's appeal echoed
statements by President John-
son suggesting that the Government would have to provide
jobs for those not employed
privately. So far, hi s words
have been translated only into
a proposal for a $2.1 -hill ion
job-training program, to be
conducted in partnership with
business. Unless this shows
spectacular results-and it has
not yet even been approved in
Congress-there will be increasing pressure on Washington for
the Federal Government to step
in as an "employer of last
resort."
To Fill the Gap
This step would not be taken
in- usurpation of someone el se's
powers and prerogatives but in
simple desperation at the inability of private interests or of
state and local government to
provide either the energy or the
means for reaching the hardcore, urban unemployed.
This process becomc>s m·ost
ominous as it operates in police
affairs. Federal troops were
need ed to restore order, and
keep it, in Detroit last summer;
they probably would be needed
in any city in the nation where
outbreaks of such violence occurred. At some point, therefore, in the present cycle of outbreak and inadequate response,
the reliance of th e cities for
physical security will fall more
heavily upon the Federal Government than even upon the
state-controlled National Guard,
much less the hopelessly inadequate and · ill-trained police
forces of most cities.
So far, the Administration's
Federal crime legislation has
wisely concentrated on means
of improving local law enforcement-not merely giving it
more muscle but improving the
quality of its personnel and the
degree of its understanding of
the complex problems it faces.
The roar of approval that went
up in Congress when the Presi- .
dent denounced "crime in the
streets" in the State of the
Union message was striking
eviden ce of how easy it probably would be to get Jess enlightened, "strong-arm" legislation to deal with what too many
people seem to see as a mere
crime wave.
The Ad visory Commission's
parti cular emphasis is on a vital
dimen sion of the urban crisis
that has been missing from too
many studies. In essence, the
commi ssion has asked the truly
basic question whether American government today is organized and equipped to cope
with th e vast, complex, kaleidoscopic demands of an age of
technology and affluence.
It is not the "Frderal system"
of competing and cooperating
national, state and local governments that is being ques- ·
tioned; it is rather the organization and operation of the institutions and jurisdictions or
the Federal system "when
measured against present and
prospective needs and expectations" that are grossly inadequate. The fact is that many
of the institutions of American government are outmoded,
poorly manned, underfinanced,
socially unresponsive, and politically exploited. They lie atop
one another in an impenetrable
tangle of wards, boroughs, districts, townships, cities and
counties, within states that are
themselves primarily historical
accidents without real economic, social or sometimes even
geographical coherence.
Operational Adequacy
The Urban Coalition is certainly on sound grouna ·in urging immediate, emergency action to cope with the hard-core
unemployed. For the longer
run, however, ory!v a Federal
system reorgantz:ea and reinvigorated to cope with the twentieth century, and perhaps even
the beginning of the twentyfirst, is likely to preserve tha t
"political diversity" which the
Adviso ry Commission ri ghtly
sees as the guarantor of individual freedom .
�•
NEW YORK TIMES
JANUARY 31, 1968
IA Guaranteed Job j
\For Everyone Urged :
I By Ur~P.'-1: ~Qplµ/fP.:
.., .,.,...,. . ,; -r- r - I ; , ' ( • '
r
.•
-
' ""'-·I
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (AP) i
-The Urban Coalition urged
, Congress yesterday to guarantee a job for everyone willing
and ahle to work. It said that
President Johnson's new job
proposals fo r the poor were
only a partial answer to the l.
employment problem.
•
The coalition is a group of:
leaders in city governments,
business, labor, religion and I
rights. Mayors
and
1civi l
representatives from 37 cities ;
attended a coalition session
/ here yesterday.





j Alluding to rioting in many !
American c ities, the coalition '
said in a statement, The needs I1
Iare massive and urgent, the 1
' hour is late and the times are 1
perilous."
The group sa id, "Congress
must pass IPgisla tion in this I
session to provide Government- ge nerated emplnyment to every
ci ti zen able a nd w illing to work
but unable to find private employment."
Ins tead of make-work .proi- 1
ects, the coalition said, the l
Gove rnment should guarantee " socialIv useful · jobs, which
would prov ide public services
now lacki ng in hospitals,
libraries, recreation programs
and other civic services."
Pres ident Johnson has proposed that the Government pro- 1
vide more reimbursement of
private employers for the added
expense of training and employing t he hard-core unemployed.
He set a goal of 500,000 such 1
jobs.
,
Leaders d
the coalition
acknowledged at a news conference that they would have
difficulty persuading Congress
to enact their proposals.
But Andrew M. Heiskell,
cha irman of t he board of Time,
Inc., and co-chairman of the
coalition. said, "When the cities
blow - if t hey blow - large
sums w ill be a llocated." And
he said much of t he money
then would be wasted because
it would be spent in a hurry
without adequate preparation.
A re latively· small allocation ·
of fu nds now would be more effective, Mr. Heiskell said.
i
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.
1
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The Urban Coalition I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D.
c. / 20006
Steering Committee Co-chairmen : Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
February 2, 1968
NATIONAL COORDINATORS WEEKLY REPORT
John Feild, who has served as National
Coalition, resumed February 1 his full
as Director of the Community Relations
States Conference of Mayors. John had
Coalition since its formation.
Co-Coordinator of the
time responsibilities
Service of the United
been on loan to the
Ron Linton will continue to serve as National Coordinator.
Christopher Mould has been promoted to Deputy National Coordinator and Staff Director. Chris, who holds a Doctor of Law
degree from the University of Chicago, has been Associate
National Coordinator working with the Task Force on Local Coalitions.
COUNCIL OF URBAN COALITIONS
Mayors and other leadership representatives of 37 cities met
in Washington last week and approved the concept of developing
a Council of Urban Coalitions. Membership on the Council would
be open to those cities which have formed Coalitions of their
own.
It would give a voice to the local groups in national
discussions and would function as a part of The Urban Coalition.
Further discussions through the Task Force on Local Coalitions
are expected to lead to the formation of the Council this
Spring. The Task Force membership was expanded as a result of
the Washington meeting to include representives of urban coalitions in New York City; Plainfield, New Jersey; Gary, Indiana;
and Fresno, California with the possibility of other additions
subsequently. The expanded Task Force will meet on February 12th.
LEGISLATIVE PRESS CONFERENCE
Coalition Co-Chairman Andrew Heiskell held a press conference
in Washington last week to emphasize the urgency of congressional
action on urban problems. Participating with Mr. Heiskell in the
press conference were : Arnold Aronson, Leadership Conference on
Civil Rights; Joseph D. Keenan, International Brotherhood of
El ectr ical Wo r kers ; Norman Hill, representing A. Philip Randolph ;
May or James H. J. Tate of Philadelphia; and Christian He r te r, Jr.,
Chairman o f t he New York Coaliti on and Vice Pr eside n t o f Mo b il
Oi l Company.
National Ccordinafors: John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�-2-
Mr. Heiskell's prepared statement mainly covered the points
made in the legislative statement mailed to you two weeks
ago. He emphasized the need to "assure a job for every citizen able and willing to work" and expressed support for the
President's proposal in the State of the Union message to
reimburse employers for additional costs involved in hiring
and training the hard-core unemployed.
He emphasized, however,
that much more must be done, including government-generated
employment programs.
A copy of the Associated Press story of the press conference,
as carried in the New York Times, is attached. NBC television news and 16 reporters covered the event. Also attached
is the New York Times column about the Coalition statement
by Tom Wicker.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The new Executive Committee of the Steering Committee will
hold its first meeting on February 9 in New York City. All
but two members of the Executive Committee have been name d.
The list is:
Business: Joseph H. Allen, President, McGraw-Hill
Publications; Fredrick J. Close, Chairman of the
Board, Aluminum Company of America; J. Irwin
Miller, Chairman of the Board, Cummins Engine
Company; and The odore Schlesinger, President,
Allied Stores Corpora tion.
Labor: George Meany, President, AFL-CIO; and
Walter Reuther, President, United Auto Workers.
Church: Dr. Arthur Fl e mming, Presid e nt , National
Council of Ch urches"
Civil Ri g ht s : Arnold Arons on, Exe cut ive Se c re t a r y ,
Lead e rship Council on Ci vil Rights ; a nd Whitne y M.
Young , Jr . , Executive Di re ctor , Nat ional Urba n
Leagu e .
Local Gove rnment : Mayor J o seph M. Barr of Pittsbu rgh;
and Mayor J a mes H.J. Tate of Philadelphia.
The Co - Chai r men o f The Urban Co a li tion , And rew
He i skell and A. Phil ip Randolph, are ex officio
members of t h e Exec u tive Committee.
CORRECTION
In the Minutes of the January 8th Steering Committee Meeting
whi ch were mailed to you with the last weekly report, under
the heading of Re port of the Committee on Budget and Finance
and the Organizational Proposal, it was incorre ctly stated
that "Staff support wo uld · requ ire approx imate ly $5, 000,00 0."
This s hould have r e ad:
"Staff support would require appr o x i mate ly $500, 000 .
�The urban Coalition
I
Federal Bar Building West/ 1819 H Street, N.
w.
Washington, D. C. / 20005
Steering Committee Co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell/ A. Philip Randolph
February 2, 1968
DAM SWEAT
NATIONAL COORDINATORS WEEKLY REPORT
John Feild, who has served as National
Coalition, resumed February 1 his full
as Director of the Community Relations
States Conference of Mayors. John had
Coalition since its formation.
Co-Coordinator of the
time responsibilities
Service of the United
been on loan to the
Ron Linton will continue to serve as National Coordinator.
Christopher Mould has been promoted to Deputy National Coordinator and Staff Director. Chris, who holds a Doctor of Law
degree from the University of Chicago, has been Associate
National Coordinator working with the Task Force on Local Coalitions.
COUNCIL OF URBAN COALITIONS
Mayors and other leadership representatives of 37 cities met
in Washington last week and approved the concept of developing
a Council of Urban Coalitions. Membership on the Council would
be open to those cities which have formed Coalitions of their
own.
It would give a voice to the local groups in national
discussions and would function as a part of The Urban Coalition.
Further discussions through the Task Force on Local Coalitions
are expected to lead to the formation of the Council this
Spring. The Task Force membership was expanded as a result of
the Washington meeting to include representives of urban coalitions in New York City; Plainfield, New Jersey; Gary, Indiana;
and Fresno, California with the possibility of other additions
subsequently.
The expanded Task Force will meet on February 12th.
LEGISLATIVE PRESS CONFERENCE .
Coalition Co-Chairman Andrew Heiskell held a press conference
in Washington last week to emphasize the urgency of congressional
action on urban problems.
Participating with Mr. Heiskell in the
press conference were: Arnold Aronson, Leadership Conference on
Civil Rights; Joseph D. Keenan, International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers; Norman Hill, repres.e nting A . Philip Randolph;
Mayor James H. J. Tate of Philadelphia; and Christian Herter, Jr.,
Chairman of the New York Coalition and Vice P~esident of M6bil
Oil Company.
National Ccordinafors : John Feild/ Ron M. Linton
Telephone 293-1530
�-2-
Mr. Heiskell's prepared statement mainly covered the points
made in the legislative statement mailed to you two weeks
ago. He emphasized the need to "assure a job for every c i tizen able and willing to work and expressed support for the
President's proposal in the State of the Union message to
reimburse employers for additional . costs involved in hiring
and training the hard-core unemployed.
He emphasized, however,
that much more must be done, including government-generated
employment programs.
A copy of the ·Associated Press story of the press conference,
as carried in the New York Times, is.attached. NBC television news and 16 reporters covered the event. Also attached
is the New York Times column about the Coalition statement
by Tom Wicker.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The new Executive Committee of the Steering Committee will
hold ·its first meeting on February 9 in New York City. All
but two members of the Executive Committee have been named.
The list is:
Business: Joseph H. Allen, President, McGraw-Hill
Publications; Fredrick J. Close, Chairman of the
Board, Aluminum Company of America; J. Irwin
Miller, Chairman of the Board, Cummins Engine
Company; and Theodore Schles inger, Pre sident,
Allied Stores Corpora tion.
Labor: Gecrge Meany, President, AFL-CIO; and
Walter Reuther, President, United Auto Workers.
Church: Dr. Arthur Flemming, Preside nt, National
Council of Churches .
Civil Rights: Arnold Aronso n, Executive Secretary ,
Leadership Council on Civil Rights; and Whitney M.
Young, Jr., Exe cutive Director, National Urban
League.
Local Governme nt: Mayor Jo seph M. Barr o f Pittsburgh;
and Mayor J ames H.J. Ta t e o f Philadelphia.
The Co-Chairmen of The Urban Coalition, Andrew
Heiske ll and A. Philip Ra ndolph, are ex offic io
me mbers of the Executive Committee.
CORRECTION
In the Minutes of the January 8th Steering Commi ttee Meeting
which were mailed to you with th e l ast week l y report, under
the heading of Report of the Committee on Budget and Finance
and the Organizational Proposal, it was incorre ct l y stated
that "Staff support would require approx imate ly $5,000,000."
This should have r ead:
"Staff support would ~e quire approxi mately $500,000.
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