REMARKS TO ASSOCIATION OF STATE PLANNING
AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

May 11. 1966

it is a particular pleasure to speak to you in my two-{old capacity as
Director at the Office of Emergency Planning and liaison for the President
with the Cow rnors oi the fifty states. Both these roles should be of inter-
.-st to you. Both can hav.- a signicant impact on state development in the
years ahead.

First. let me tell you what Emergency Planning is all about. It has
been going on. in one form or another. since World War I. The partici-
pation of the states in a direct and crucial way is a consequence of the
nuclear age. No longer can we rely solely on the war production plans and
programs of the Federal Government simply because a situation could
dew-lop in which the Federal Government is. at least temporarily. cut off
Irum the status. Such a prospect is. of course. improbable; but it is not
impossible. So for several years now, the Federal Government has
~~ncouraged the States to develop what is called a Comprehensive Program
-- that is, :i deiinitivr plan to assure continuity of government and economic
mobilization capability at the state level. Forty-nine of the fifty states.
including Florida. are now engaged in this important enterpriSe. Its Feder-
.il sponsors are every Federal Department and agency under the coordina-
tion of the Office of Emergency Planning. As its Director. I serve as a
statutory member of the National Security Council. In this capacity. 1 help
to bridge the gap between broad national security requirements and the
Governors of the iiity states.

Fortunately. the. Comprehensive Program. while it has a national secur
ity orientation and objective. produces other dividends which can be used in
the busimBSe ul promoting industrial development and [or other peacetime
aims. In my years as Governor of Florida. I learned how much there was
to learn about the economic potential of my State. In my meetings with other
(Love more. particularly as regional concepts were developed and regional
l (impacts came into being. it became evident that in too many instances the
potential and promise of the. individual state was held back not so much by
lack of initiative as by lack of knowledge. It is not enough merely to know
what your state produt es. its major resources. its tributaries and highways.
This is elemental information available to all of us. But economic potential
extends beyond the adding machine inventory to which I allude. It takes a
wide assortment of experts, working together. to guage the true potential of
.i state's development. and I suspect that each of you believes deeply that your
State. however prosperous and successful. has barely tapped the hidden well-
springs of progress.

The Comprehensive Program. which involves the. establishment of Task
Forces in urtuslly every resource area -- manpower. fuel. water. produc-
tion. const ruction. food. etc. -- really represents the most definitive effort
to guagc a state's potential yet to be devised.

It was founded to meet a clear need in total national planning against the
ultimate peril of our age. It has proved to be a boon for peacetime planning
as well. This makes the circle complete. For let us remember our princi-
pal purpose is to maintain. under the most severe trial. a viable and produc-
live economy. It stands to reason that the stronger the economy is. the
m-tter able it would be to withstand an event we devoutly pray will never occur.

There is another aspuct of my work as Director of the Office of Emer-
gency Planning of direct into rest to you. I. refer to OEP's responsibility for
the administration of the Federal Disaster Act of l950. To date more than
smo milliOn has been allocated to 4| states and two territories which became
victims of hurricanes. storms. earthquakes and other natural catastrophes
our the past sixteen years. This program was designed. and is administered.
as a supplement to a state's own effort. It is invoked at the appeal of the
State. Governor when it can be shown a disaster has gone beyond the resources
ml the State. As Governor of Florida during Hurricane Betsy and Hurricane
Dura. I asked for and we received n such assistance. Its importance to the
health. safety and well-being of the people of our State is, of course. obvious.
Hut it can be extremely helpful to state economic development as well. These
lutlds are used for repair and rehabilitation of essential public facilities such
45 roads. bridges. dams. health and sanitation systems and the. like. 1
needn't remind you that such facilities. so often taken for granted by the
.wvragc citizvn, are among the things which make a state or a community a
good place in which to live and an attiactive location for new industry. 80. as
sun can appreciate. emergency planning in many areas is bound up with yOur
(lay-to-day efforts to strengthen the economy of your states and improve. the
prospects for your people.

The second assignment from the President covers the entire range of
Federal -Stat.- relations and. as such. is bounded only by the Govm'nors them-
st'lVCS. In I963. Federal funds going to state and local governments in the
mrm of grants-in-aid. shared reVenues and loans. amounted to about 5. 5 bil-
hon. Wesmtmdbmotzsnhdummmapm

in 196!) We can antimpate in excess of $9 billion. exhlusive of the bene-
his of trust lunds. particularly highway construction. which should run to

about $3. 8 biliion in 1966.

These statistics. and the sharp increases in Federal-State programs.
pumt up the immense problems facing most Governors today as well its the in-
. reastng complexity of the Federal-State relationship. But I do believe we are
running toward a better balance in the Federal-State partnership. President

Johnson has called this Creative Federalism and in a larger sense n the
Great Society.

Ifl might shift into a philosophical vein for a moment. I think the Great
Society ought to be distinguished from predecessor efforts of another gener-
ation. We are not faced today with widespread. sweeping national poverty.
But we do see pockets of remaining poverty. a school system which. however
superior to its counterparts elsewhere on this globe, is still short of our
requirements; we can see evidence of urban blight and suburban sprawl. it
IS. in short. paverty tn the midst of plenty not to be denied or downgraded
simply because we are. for the most part. a prosperous nation.

The second distinction. as i see it. is that President Johnson has con-
u-ived a program which stresses not doles but deeds. not gifts but Opportun-
itws. It seems to me that we seek not the "holding actions" of yesteryear
when hunger stalked our land. but permanent solutions in the form of oppor-
tunities for those yet to share in the national abundance; permanent solutions
in the form of inducements to learn new skills and. in fact. change a way of

ltlt'.

Most significantly. 1 think creative federalism is distinguished by the
reliance we are placing on participation of the states in planning what is yet
to be. We uill be successful only to the extent that the states have a signifi-
rant report to make u and to the extent that we can achieve an integration of
state and national purpose. That the states have a significant impact there
t5 no doubt -- that we can achieve the integration -- well. that's our job and

we plan to do it.

I earnestly hope these objectives might be realized in an orderly. con-
structive way. As a lawyer. I have a particular reverence for law and for
the orderly process by which law evolves. This point is important to those
engaged in industrial deveIOpment for two reasons. First. because our heri-
Inge is lawful. As a people we have evolved from the ancient English
Common lav. And in a sense. our respect for law and the judicial process
ts very much like the Englishman's reverence for the King or Queen. The
English oath of allegiance 1s to the crown; ours is to the Constitution -- the
ultlt-St written constitution in the world.

But from a pragmatic standpoint. your interest in a stable society is even
more compelling. it is stable socieites that attract new industry and enable
yntt to break new paths for your state's progress. I would hope. therefore.
that the social strides this nation will take in the future. whatever they may
be. will be peaceful and orderly and always under the moderating restraint
which is so often lacking in other countries; but which has been so manifest

in America.

Finally, let me say a word about my approach to this matter of Federal-
State relations. I do not believe, and I shall never believe. that there is a
natural antagonism between State governments and the Federal Government,
or between State governments and municipal governments. It has been my
experience that such differences as may arise among the respective political
subdivisions need not lead to destructive clashes, and should engender con-
structive compromise. Always the solution lies in a reasonable and exible
approach on the part of all parties. Always the solution can be found with
patience and understanding. That is the posture I will assume in my relation-
ships with the Governors.

it was not long ago that I met with this group from the other side of the
fence. as a Governor who shared the problems of industrial development
wtth my fellow Governors. U 1 no longer exercise this responsibility in an
official sense. i am still deeply committed to finding better ways to help the
states in this area and others.

Time and again, President Johnson has referred to "Creative Federalism"
as the domestic challenge of our time. I accept that challenge in my official

capacity today with a conviction that Federalism, to survive. must be creative.
and that the States, to survive. must be participants in the creative process.

Mil

At Washington, D. C.