Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-032

Nixon phone call with MacGregor on Mansfield Amendment and Military draft

Tuesday, June 29, 1971 · 5:35 PM–5:39 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); MacGregor, ClarkConversation006-032 on Tape 6 (tape position 00:29:40–00:33:22)StartTuesday, June 29, 1971 at 5:35 PMEndTuesday, June 29, 1971 at 5:39 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Clark MacGregor discussed the status of a Congressional conference committee report regarding military pay and the controversial Mansfield Amendment. MacGregor reported a breakthrough on military pay but warned that Representative F. Edward Hébert’s firm opposition to the amendment risked a legislative stalemate through the July 4th holiday. To expedite a compromise that would protect the President's induction authority, MacGregor advised Nixon to call Hébert and advocate for language that avoids setting a terminal date for the draft.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Good afternoon, Mr. President.
What is the report on the conference briefly?
I've got Schultz coming here in a minute, but I can... Mr. President, the O.S.
Arons called me just before 5 o'clock to say that they would conclude approximately 5.30 on all points except Mansfield.
And the conference has reversed itself this afternoon and come out with a favorable agreement on military pay, which slips the effective date of the big pay increase to October 1st and helps us about $600 million budget-wise.
The Mansfield Amendment situation is this.
Eddie Hebert is expected just about now to take an absolutely adamant position.
And we'll cite his conversation with you on telephone on June 23rd, last Thursday or Friday, Wednesday or Thursday.
Les anticipates that that will produce a no-give attitude on the part of the Senate conferees.
And let's suggest that you consider at least a phone call to Eddie Hebert stating that you've appreciated very much his firm and effective stance in support of your position and how helpful that's been in Paris and elsewhere, but that you are concerned about the draft extension and you're concerned that the countries will break up and not go back to work again until a couple of days after the 4th of July, and you wonder if maybe they couldn't, by working tonight, get agreement on...
substitute for the mansfield language which would be supportive of your october 7th five-point proposal in your subsequent statements and of course les and john stennis have in hand substitute language which national security council believes would do no damage to and could even be supportive of your position
They want me to call Hebert out of the conference?
I suggest, Mr. President, that you not call him out of the conference, that you place a call to Eddie Hebert's office and let his office indicate that you have called him rather than using the conference number.
I have the number of where the conference is.
Well, if I call, if I put it in the White House operator, they'll get him at the conference.
So you'd want to do that.
Well, I wonder, I haven't any fixed opinion about that, Mr. President.
I am fearful that the conferees would break up tonight and not convene until July 6th, and we would lose almost a week on finally reaching an agreement.
I'm concerned about your power, Duke.
to induct under an extended system.
And I think that the conferees would accept, as a substitute for Mansfield, language which strikes any terminal date or deadline, which clearly does not infringe on your powers, which elevates the importance of a reciprocal ceasefire, and which is, in general, supportive of your position.
Of course.
The Senate will never take that, will it?
This morning, Mike Mansfield had a session with John Stennis, and John reported to me that if such a substitute were agreed upon, it would not gain Mansfield's approval, obviously, but that Mansfield was reluctant to join Gravel and Cranston in perpetuating a filibuster on the conference report.
That Mansfield would speak against the substitute, but would not join in the filibuster.
Yeah.
All right.
What do they want me to do then?
Call Hebert's office and ask him to call me?
Yes.
I have given a piece of paper to Higbee, and Higbee, I think, is walking it over to you, Mr. President.
And that would be the course that I suggest.
But you might want to take just a minute or two to read the paper before putting in the call.
Okay.

NARA Description

On June 29, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 5:35 pm to 5:39 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-32

Date: June 29, 1971
Time: 5:35 pm - 5:39 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Clark MacGregor.

[See Conversation No. 531-28J]

     Report on Congressional conference committee
         -President's forthcoming meeting with George P. Shultz
         -Leslie C. Arends’ call
         -Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield amendment
         -F. Edward Hébert's position
         -Conversation with President June 23
         -President's possible call
         -Language
         -Arends, John C. Stennis
         -President's communication with Hebert
         -Format
         -Draft extension
         -Mansfield's conversation with Stennis
         -Mike Gravel, Alan Cranston
         -Lawrence M. Higby

Also recorded on June 29, 1971

  • 006-027 5:06 PM · 7 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:06 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 006-028 5:06 PM · 59 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:06 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 006-029 5:06 PM · 5 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:06 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 006-033 5:39 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:39 pm and 5:44 pm.
  • 006-034 5:44 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Mary Swann talked on the telephone from 5:44 pm to 5:45 pm.
  • 006-035 5:45 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:45 pm.
  • 006-036 5:46 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:46 pm to 5:50 pm.
  • 531-029 5:50 PM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, James D. Hodgson, George P. Shultz, Manolo Sanchez, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:50 pm to 6:29 pm.

All 54 conversations from June 29, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-032, June 29, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-032 (accessed October 5, 2026).