Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-177
Nixon phone call with Mahon on public employment bill and appropriations
Wednesday, July 21, 1971 · 4:40 PM–4:46 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 min
AI Summary
President Richard M. Nixon spoke with Congressman George H. Mahon to discuss the legislative strategy for passing a public employment bill before the upcoming August congressional recess. Nixon emphasized the urgency of the funding to combat unemployment during the summer months, arguing that delaying the appropriation would diminish the program's economic impact. Mahon agreed to coordinate with key congressional leadership and staff to expedite the necessary hearings, with Nixon committing to provide the relevant administration experts to testify.
- public employment bill
- appropriations
- legislative strategy
- unemployment
- George H. Mahon
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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Congressman Mahon, sir.
Mr. President.
Hi, George.
How are you?
Well, Ken Spiegel and I were talking about you about three minutes ago.
You were?
With our unveiling of Tabor's and Canna's portrait on the 28th.
I'm going to be there.
Yeah, and one of your boys had been in touch with Ken as to a little information.
Good.
We're going to have...
Mike Boyd and I are going to take about a minute or two, and so will the speaker and Jerry Ford, and then unveil the pictures, and then you say a few words or whatever you want to say.
Great, great.
And it'll be great.
I'll be there.
Take a lot of your time.
Oh, don't you worry about that.
I'll come down and shake a few hands, you know.
Well, that's good.
I've got to get acquainted with some of the rank and file guys, too.
I see all your big shots all the time.
Yeah.
Let me ask you this.
One thing I wanted to ask you about that is very important.
I know with all the things you've got in the committee, you know that employment, public employment bill?
Yeah, that $1 million.
Yeah.
It would be very helpful if we could get that
appropriation through before the august recess for the reason that let me put this way that it takes time to get the money geared up and put into the place and we want to i'd like to get the money put out at a time when it's needed because you see as you get into the fourth quarter
this year, I mean, and everybody is guessing about what's going to happen in the economy, the fourth quarter, you're likely to have the unemployment thing will start to go down.
You see what I mean?
It'll start to go down.
But right now is when you need it, you see.
We need it in this
this period of August and September and October, that's the period when we ought to try to, for it to be useful.
I agree with you.
And is there any way that you could get that thing done before this, before the August recess?
We've been worrying about this, trying to figure out a way to do it.
Now, we've got
We've got the HEW bill tomorrow, but it won't become the law, you know, maybe for weeks.
And if we're going to do anything before August the 6th when we take time out for the recess, I have mentioned this, I've talked to the staff, we've argued about what to do, I've talked to the Speaker about it.
Let me go over and talk to...
uh to alan ellender right have you talked to alan no i haven't but let me say this i have talked only to you and i haven't talked to frank and so you can and you can you talk to frank but if if after you have talked to ellender and or beau or the speaker if you think it would be useful for me to talk to you know to the three of you i will be glad to but if but i would appreciate it i mean i've called you because i know you know the moves and
I think it's very important.
Here's the whole point.
There's no sense in having the money spent, well, it'll be useful perhaps even a year from now, but it's more important to have it done right now, you know, particularly in these summer months.
I'll tell you what, all of yours is off the record.
You want it that way?
I think it would be good, all right.
Fine.
At this stage.
Whatever you like.
All right.
Let me talk to the folks.
Right.
I think it's obvious to all of us that you need the money beforehand.
Right.
We just haven't decided what to do, and we haven't, you know, this guidance from you would be helpful.
You see, if you waited until afterwards, and so you get back after Labor Day, and then it'll take another two or three weeks and so forth, and you wouldn't get this program started until October, and by that time you got the fourth.
at that time you may have a thing moving along and it isn't the right time to do it.
Right now is the time we ought to, if it's going to be useful, it ought to be put in right now.
And we have, incidentally, let me say that it just happens the way that the states work out and it isn't because
texas but uh but the first two states on the list are california and texas uh california first because of its airframe thing and texas because of some special considerations in certain areas yeah so it's uh it's very it'd be awful useful to let me say as far as my talking to you is concerned it's perfectly right for you to say that you that i've called you if it's useful in other words i think maybe you just should say that i called nothing it might be good
and then and then you see you we're supposed to originate over here anyway sure it's your thing and i want to understand folks together i need to i need for somebody on your staff to call me or call my staff yeah paul wilson yeah and say that the person who can give us a dope and one two three on that for a hearing we'd have to have a brief hearing is blah blah you know whoever he is yeah that would be helpful we'd have to have some sort of hearing you know in self-defense right
But it shouldn't be extensive, and somebody, of course, will know considerable about the details.
You want somebody who can call you as to who can testify about the appropriation bill?
Yes, on short notice, and if they could do it this afternoon, if they could call this afternoon, it would be good, or tomorrow.
And, well, no, it'll be this afternoon, don't worry.
Who do you want to tell on your staff?
Who would you like to?
Well, Paul.
Paul Wilson is a man.
Of course, call for me if they can find me, but if I should be at a... Well, we don't bother you.
What's his name?
Wilson?
Yeah, Paul Wilson.
Paul Wilson.
All right.
He'll be called.
Yeah.
Paul Wilson on me at 2771.
All right.
2771.
Yes.
And I will move on this, Mr. President, as fast as I can.
I think we'll do something about it.
I sure will.
It would be that we just have a special resolution about just handling this one thing.
You see, it's a pretty simple thing, and the Labor Department is already going.
It's probably the Secretary of Labor who would testify as to how the money...
Yes, and some people who could give us details.
That's right.
You can tell them how the money is to be distributed and the formula and all that sort of thing.
Good.
Good.
I'm in touch.
Fine.
You bet.
Thanks, Fred.
NARA Description
On July 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and George H. Mahon talked on the telephone from 4:40 pm to 4:46 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-177 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 6-177
Date: July 21, 1971
Time: 4:40 pm - 4:46 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with George H. Mahon.
[See Conversation No. 541-2B]
Mahon's conversation with Kenneth Sprankle
-Unveiling of portraits
-John Taber
-Clarence Cannon
-President's schedule
-Frank T. Bow, Carl B. Albert, Gerald R. Ford
Public employment bill
-Necessity for passage
-Date of passage
-Timing of spending
-Legislative strategy
-Allen J. Ellender's forthcoming conversation with Mahon
-Mahon's possible conversation with Albert, Bow
-Legislative strategy
-Timing of spending
-California, Texas
-Hearings
-Paul Wilson
-Possible call from White House staff
-Legislative strategy
-Possible testimony
-Wilson
-Possible testimony
-Secretary of LaborAlso recorded on July 21, 1971
- 006-178 4:46 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 5:14 pm.
- 006-179 4:46 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 5:14 pm.
- 541-003 5:04 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:04 pm and 5:07 pm.
- 541-004 5:04 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:04 pm and 5:07 pm.
- 541-005 5:07 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:07 pm to 5:15 pm.
- 006-180 5:14 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:14 pm.
- 541-006 5:15 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 5:15 pm.
- 541-007 5:15 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:21 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 006-177, July 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-177 (accessed October 11, 2026).