Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 001-074
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 1971 at 9:36 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Lincoln, George A. (Gen.)
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-074

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] though general lincoln yes yes mr president i was asking going to ask about the texas disaster thing did we get something done on that or are we going to do something yes sir uh i talked to the secretary of agriculture this morning about this yeah and uh uh he is having a meeting right now i think of his people i had a long meeting yesterday but principally with his people right and uh
[0:24] I believe that he should make an agricultural disaster declaration immediately, which will make available their emergency grain program and will also make available their FHA loans.
[0:40] And I also believe that he should press along on what these people are already doing, which
[0:47] use their extension services in Texas and probably in Colorado to start, be a catalytic agent to get hay, which they say is in Colorado, moving to Texas.
[1:03] I have on my desk to think about what I'm going to send you.
[1:10] I question very seriously that we should make full disaster declaration.
[1:16] A full disaster declaration triggers everything in that law.
[1:21] It triggers unemployment compensation.
[1:24] And the estimate is that we get 65,000 applications.
[1:29] I have that from the Department of Labor.
[1:31] They wouldn't be able to distinguish whether they were due to the droughts or not.
[1:36] We get all these workers down there in the south, the migratory workers who they want to migrate north.
[1:44] And
[1:46] So I have to determine.
[1:49] Let me ask you to do this.
[1:51] I noticed the governor had to do it.
[1:53] Why don't you have Hardin give the governor a call?
[1:55] And I think the main thing is swiftness.
[1:57] So if they don't build it up, he could give the governor a call and tell him where.
[2:01] See what I mean?
[2:02] I will.
[2:02] Yes, sir.
[2:03] And get that done.
[2:05] I'll get that done right away.
[2:08] So that we get that much.
[2:09] I'll say we were doing this emergency, so forth and so on.
[2:12] And then the other thing, I noticed you used the small business type of thing.
[2:16] I just want to be sure that Texas is there really squealing down there.
[2:19] Yes, sir.
[2:20] Well, with an FHA declaration, that immediately triggers the SBA.
[2:27] It does.
[2:28] Yes, sir.
[2:28] Well, if you could, would you see that Hardin or you or somebody get to the governor on it?
[2:35] And the other one that I would inform would be...
[2:38] uh, the, uh, tower.
[2:40] Yes, sir.
[2:41] We're a tower.
[2:41] No, we're in touch from him.
[2:43] Well, what I mean is so that he can, I tell tower first so that, and then, and then let the governor know.
[2:49] See what I mean?
[2:50] Yes, sir.
[2:50] All right.
[2:51] It might be better as a matter of fact, just to, just to give it, just to give it the proper buildup is to have tell tower and let him pass the word back.
[2:59] See what I mean?
[3:00] Let's, let's let it, let's make a little politics out of this.
[3:02] Tell John tower.
[3:05] Yes, sir.
[3:05] And have Hardin give Tower a call and tell him what's available, and then Tower can...
[3:11] can make the release from here, because it's mainly a political problem.
[3:15] It's a political problem.
[3:16] It's a disaster, too.
[3:16] Would you do that, please?
[3:17] Yes, sir.
[3:18] I should make clear, sir, that our estimate of the situation is that this is not yet a disaster.
[3:23] Right, I understand that.
[3:24] But it might be very tough in three or four weeks if they don't get havens.
[3:29] Right, and if they don't get some rain.
[3:30] In any event, you tell, if you could have Hardin call Tower, so that Tower could then say what we're going to do, right?
[3:37] I will raise that, sir.
[3:39] I'll get that done right away.