Secret White House Tapes

895-020b

About this recording

895-020a
  • President Richard M. Nixon
  • Peter J. Brennan
  • Kenneth R. Cole
  • White House photographer
April 13, 1973
Conversation No. 895-20

Date: April 13, 1973
Time: 11:53 am - 12:59 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Peter J. Brennan and Kenneth R. Cole, Jr. The White House
photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.

Cole’s health

-Chicken pox

-Daughters


Cabinet officers

-Forthcoming Cabinet meeting

-General issues

-Role of Brennan in Cabinet

-Compared to President’s meeting with Rogers C. B. Morton in California
-Alaska Pipeline
-Indians
-Separate meetings with President
-Elevation of issues to Cabinet level meetings
-Other departments interested
-Economic policy
-George P. Shultz

-George [Surname unknown] [Meany] [?]

-Conflicts with Brennan [?]

-Earl L. Butz

-Option papers
-Brennan’s arguments
-President’s support for Brennan’s advocacy on issues

Youth differential

-Administration’s proposal

-George Meany’s reaction

-Youth employment compared to adult employment
-Adult disenfranchisement
-35-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Child labor

-Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration

-Proposal

-Meany’s proposal

-Minimum wage

-Public enemies

-Domestic workers

-Congressional support for President

-Support for Meany

-President’s role in legislation

-Veto
-Brennan’s role in administration

-Advocacy for beliefs

-Support for President

-President’s schedule

-San Clemente, California

-Newspaper interviews

-Meeting with Nguyen Van Thieu
-Brennan’s support for President

-Former career with organized labor

-Progress

-Business community

Public employees
-State and local employees
-President’s interaction with unions
-Federal government
-Problems

-New York State

-Decentralization

-Return to local governments

Anti-discrimination law
-Role of states

-Civil Rights Act

-Discrimination of Age Act

-Economic issue
-36-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Merits

Minimum wage law
-States’ reaction

-Rise in taxes

-Brennan’s defense of President

-Chamber of Commerce’s reaction

-Meany’s reaction

-National Association of Manufacturers [NAM]


Butz
-Credibility with farmers
-Prices

President’s schedule
-April 16, 1973

-President’s greeting

-Avoidance of speechmaking

-Brennan

-Attendance with President

-Meany

-New Orleans, Louisiana

-Audience

-Attacks on Brennan


Meany
-Attacks on President and Brennan
-Miami [?]
-Mental state
-Compared to Gen. Charles A. J. M. de Gaulle, Konrad Adenauer, Jawaharlal Nehru
-Intellectual rigidity

Building Trades Union
-Support for President’s policies
-Meany’s background
-Diversity of opinion
-Support for President’s Vietnam policies
-37-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Prisoners of War [POWs]

President’s speech at April 16, 1973, meeting
-National defense
-Defense budget
-Domestic issues
-Administration’s “open door” policy
-Brennan
-Roles in administration

-Defense of labor

-Debates within the administration

-Team mentality

Building Trades
-Control Board on Wages [CSRC]
-Price levels
-Fairness
-Construction
-Review of labor laws
-Situs picketing reform

-Support of previous President’s

-Taft-Hartley Act

-Problems with subcontracting

-Discriminatory nature

-Prior legislation
-Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. [?]
-Congress of Industrial Organizations [CIO]

President’s April 16, 1973, speech
-Common situs picketing

-Brennan

-President’s position

-Position paper

-Brennan’s leadership

-Meany [?]

-President’s addressing of issue

-Follow through
-38-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Length of conference

-Common situs picketing

-Role of Congress

-William E. Timmons


Building Trades
-Support for President’s policies

-1972 election

-Budget

-National defense

-Vietnam
-POWs

-Emotions

-Rehabilitation

-Job creation

-Brennan’s role

-President’s April 16, 1973, speech

-POWs

-Labor

-Mike Donovan

-Death of son

-Attendance at meeting

-President’s April 16, 1973, speech
-President’s appreciation for support

-Trade

-National security

-Goals

-Brennan

-Administration’s respect for labor’s view

-President’s availability

-Discussions

-Compromise

-Disagreements

-Balance between labor and business
-Brennan’s role

-Honesty compared to pandering

-Brennan’s role

-39-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Independence

-Resignation

-Press coverage

-Leslie E. Carpenter
-Washington Star
-Meany’s opposition to Brennan, President
-President of unknown organization
-Reactions to Meany’s opposition to administration

Industrial Peace Commission
-Dave Coleman
-Brennan’s credibility

Meany’s attack on Brennan
-Business reaction
-Effects
-Administration’s progressive actions

-Cole’s role

-Administration’s highlighting of pro-business attacks


Brennan’s appointments
-Brennan’s concerns
-Ken Gould [?]
-President’s April 13, 1973, conversation with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-George P. Shultz

-[First name unknown] Jones

-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] checks

-Confirmation process

-Future FBI Director

-Duration

-Richard F. Schubert

-Appointment as Under Secretary

-Background

-Solicitor
-Bethlehem Steel

-Honesty, religiosity

-Paperwork

-40-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)


Brennan’s visit to Boston
-Protests against President
-Black leaders
-Brennan’s address

-Newtown, Massachusetts

-Funding

-Labor Department’s programs

-Expansion of successful programs

-School programs

-Julie Nixon Eisenhower

-Reaction

-Boston Community Development Corporation

-Collaborative effort

-Funding of programs

-Federal funding

-Program funding

-Office of Economic Opportunity [OEO]
-Local funding
-Research for additional funding
-Closing of Boston Navy Yard
-Conversation with Kevin D. White

-Federal budget

-Support for President

-Partisanship

-Gubernatorial prospects

-Closing of bases

-Unemployment

-Brooklyn, New York


President’s national defense policy
-Ending of Vietnam War
-Closing of bases
-Budget cuts

Agenda for forthcoming Cabinet meeting
-Energy
-41-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Forthcoming Presidential message

-Congressional leaders [?]

-Utility to Cabinet

-Press coverage
-Reaction to President’s program

-Support

-Criticism to President’s program

-Business

President’s energy program
-Coal miners
-Support for President’s message
-Alaska pipeline
-Canada
-Robert F. Kennedy’s proposals
-Nuclear power
-Purchase from Canada
-Compared to building New York plants
-Brennan’s opposition
-Transit
-Grid
-Impact of conflict with US
-Pipeline issue
-Presidential obligations
-US people, labor
-Pierre E. Trudeau
-Radicals
-Potential for pipline sabotage
-Environmental impact of Alaska pipeline
-Reindeer

Environmentalism
-Brennan quotes
-New York Times
-New York City
-Housing, roads
-Robert Moses
-42-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Support for President

-Vietnam

-Invitation to White House

-Rose Mary Woods

-Moses’ vitality

-Brennan’s statement

-Public statement

-Publicity

-Moses’ ability

Nuclear power
-Popular fears
-Compared with Super Sonic Transport [SST]
-Reticence of public

-Soviet ingenuity

-Job creating potential

-George S. McGovern

-Opposition to SST

-Partisan tendencies


President’s April 16, 1973 speech
-Acknowledging constituents
-Brennan’s Oval Office visit

Forthcoming Cabinet meeting
-Attendees
-Undersecretaries
-Staff seating
-Undersecretary of Commerce
-Vacancy
-Undersecretary of Labor Department
-Need for confirmation

Frederick B. Dent
-Meeting with businessmen [?]

-Blair House

-Monthly basis

-43-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Unemployment insurance bill

-Meany

-New York, Rhode Island

-Pay for strikers

-Victims of lockout

-Pay for victims

-Jack T. Conway [?]

-President’s understanding of a “gray area”
-Language
-Congress members
-Strikers
-Meany battle

-President’s compassion

-New York law on strikers

-Unemployment insurance

-Activation timeline

-Victims of lockout

-Activation timeline
-Safeguard recommendations and provisions from Labor Department
-Verification of victim status

Veterans parade in New York
-Antiwar veterans

-New York Times

-Worker’s reactions

-Vietnam Veterans Against the War [VVAW]

-Back turning


Brennan’s statement at dinner
-Response to claim that draft dodgers are heroes
-Brennan’s conversation with veterans
-English veteran

-Admiration for President

-Pride

-Veteran’s father

-President’s role in world

-Draft dodgers

-44-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)


Prisoners of War [POWs]

-Torture


President’s schedule
-Address to Building Trades Department
-Brennan’s travel with President

Brennan left at 12:46 pm.

Cole’s conversation with George H. W. Bush
-William T. Cahill
-Campaign contributions
-Taxes
-Campaign manager
-Request for intervention with US Attorney
-Primary
-Leaks
-Cole’s decision
-Bush’s agreement
-Grand Jury

Veteran’s legislation

-William Jennings Bryan Dorn

-Cemeteries

-Conference committee
-Drug bill
-House of Representatives
-Inaction
-Medical Act
-American Medical Association [AMA]
-Vetoes

Older Americans Act
-Albert H. Quie
-White House social event, April 12, 1973
-Vetoes
-45-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Need for cooperation

-Democratic Party

-Nixon’s philosophy on cooperation

-Capitulation
-Cole’s conversation with William E. Timmons
-President’s relationship with Congress
-Compromised principles
-Work behind closed doors

Public Employment Act and Emergency Employment
-Appropriations
-House bill

-Status

-Budget

-Possible veto

-Employment statistics

-Labor unions

-Mayors


President’s vetoes
-Possibility
-Upholding
-Public response

-Congressional response

-Veterans bills


Urban community revenue sharing act
-James T. Lynn’s briefing
-Support
-Congress

-Bipartisanship

-Pressure

-Cutbacks

-Mayors

-Housing bill

-Passage

-46-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

Economic stabilization program
-Cole’s involvement
-Public perceptions
-Technicalities of program
-Effect of controls

-Congressional interpretation

-Labor unions

-Brennan

-Potential confrontation

-Price freezes

-Wage freezes

-Public perception

-Boom economy

-Inflation

-1971


Emergency Medical Services Act
-Budget
-Test program

-President’s veto

-Planning


Legal Services Corporation Bill
-Howard J. Phillips’s view

-Payments by states

-Opponents of President

-Public perception

-Congressional vote

-President’s conversation with Phillip Crane, April 12, 1973

-Budget


Taxes
-Harris Poll

-Hugh Scott’s and Gerald R. Ford’s projection

-News summary

-Congressional reaction

-President’s Vietnam speech
-47-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. April-2011)

Conversation No. 895-20 (cont’d)

-Higher prices, taxes

-Edmund S. Muskie

-Congressional tax bill

-Estate tax reform
-Capital gains

-Tax rate increases

-Wilbur D. Mills

-Possible vetoes

-Aid to parochial schools

-Estate tax reform

-Brennan’s constituency

-Extensions

-Demogoguery


Cole’s health

-Childhood diseases

-Measles


Cole left at 12:59 pm.
Secret White House Tapes |

895-020b

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