Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 9 › Conversation 009-044

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Military Procurement Act

Thursday, September 16, 1971 · 2:10 PM–6:21 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation009-044 on Tape 9 (tape position 01:30:31–01:32:38)StartThursday, September 16, 1971 at 2:10 PMEndThursday, September 16, 1971 at 6:21 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 009-044 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discuss the legislative strategy surrounding a critical vote on the Military Procurement Act. After Senate leaders failed to force a vote on a tabling amendment that day, the administration shifted its focus to securing support for the following morning. Nixon directed George P. Shultz to coordinate with congressional leaders F. Edward Hébert, Leslie C. Arends, Margaret Chase Smith, and John C. Stennis to ensure the amendment is defeated without the President needing to personally intervene.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mr. Haldeman, asking for you?
Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Well, just before three, Al had agreed to support the president and to have his troops move over to oppose the tabling amendment.
Then they tried to get Schweiker or somebody to move the tabling amendment this afternoon, knowing that we had the votes to defeat it.
And they couldn't get it moved.
So it will now come up at 11 tomorrow morning.
And then Alep will be gone, though.
Alep will be gone, but his troops will vote with us.
Other people will be gone, too, and they're starting now on a whole new head count on the basis of the absentees tomorrow as to what they have.
But Alep forced his price.
Well, in any event, we'll have to know.
Now, Schultz is to follow up with this directly with Hebert, okay?
just have him just talk to a baron aarons okay and margaret smith and senes with regard to that military procurement thing you understand that's the way it should be done at this point so that allot doesn't force me to have to i don't want to use up my chip with a bear unless this is lost right then i have to go to him see okay so schultz can follow up well that's good i'm glad to hear this
at least today.
But as of now, at least today, there will be nothing and you'll be asked that we couldn't get that goddamn Schweiker to play.
I mean, they won't even, even when they're against us, they won't help us, will they?
I guess not.
They don't want to be on record as making the motion, I guess.
Yeah.
It's a weird group.
Well, no, no, they didn't.
What Schweiker was doing was that he's going to vote.
It isn't Bob.
He doesn't give a shit about making the motion.
What he didn't want to do was to make the motion when he knew it would lose.
He's going to vote against it, so he'll be on record in any event.
So he's going to vote to table.
That's what I mean.
Some Republican who's for tabling would have moved it.
But they haven't got any loyalty at all.
Okay.
Thanks, Bob.

NARA Description

On September 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 6:21 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 009-044 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 9-44

Date: September 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 2:10 pm and 6:21 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the President.

     Draft issue
           -Gordon L. Allott
                 -Richard S. Schweiker
           -F. Edward Hébert and Leslie C. Arends, Margaret Chase Smith and John C. Stennis
                 -George P. Shultz
                      -Military Procurement Act
           -Schweiker
                 -Vote for tabling

Also recorded on September 16, 1971

  • 009-042 1:45 PM · 1 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 2:10 pm.
  • 278-066 1:45 PM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:45 pm to 2:10 pm.
  • 009-043 2:10 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 6:21 pm.
  • 278-068 2:10 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 278-069 2:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
  • 278-070 3:00 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:00 pm.
  • 278-071 3:00 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:41 pm.
  • 278-072 3:41 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:41 pm to 3:43 pm.

All 52 conversations from September 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 009-044, September 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/009-044 (accessed October 12, 2026).