Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 015-170
Date: Monday, November 29, 1971 at 5:47 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Timmons, William E.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-170
National Archives Catalog: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/417191185 (NAID 417191185)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[4:41:15] Operator, I called McGregor, but he's in New York.
[4:41:17] Get Timmons for me, please.
[4:41:18] Yes, sir.
[4:41:22] Yeah.
[4:41:22] Mr. Timmons.
[4:41:24] Yeah.
[4:41:24] And Mr. President.
[4:41:25] Hi, Bill.
[4:41:26] With regard to that, did some of our boys go forward with trying to reintroduce the Senate bill?
[4:41:33] They're going to do it tomorrow, Mr. President.
[4:41:35] After we got the McGregor news today, then tomorrow they will reintroduce the bill trying to position us for them.
[4:41:44] I wonder if they could... On one thing, of course, another possibility is to just introduce the...
[4:41:51] I mean, the repeal of the automobile thing, and basically the best of both worlds.
[4:41:55] I mean, the investment tax credit we could really get along without.
[4:41:58] But if we get the automobile thing, plus the, you know, personal exemption thing, that'd be a pretty good bill.
[4:42:08] Just the two points?
[4:42:09] That'd be enough, yeah.
[4:42:10] Okay.
[4:42:11] The investment tax credit being controversial, to hell with it, leave it out.
[4:42:16] But the automobile thing is the must.
[4:42:19] Okay.
[4:42:20] Access tax and a personal exemption.
[4:42:22] Yeah.
[4:42:22] That would be one way to do it.
[4:42:25] Well, that would make it attractive, I would think.
[4:42:28] The conference broke up just a little while ago, and they were fighting over little technicalities.
[4:42:32] They made no decisions, and they were late getting started because Wally Bennett, you know, went to the hospital.
[4:42:37] Yeah.
[4:42:38] How sick is he?
[4:42:39] I think it's just an ulcer.
[4:42:40] He's out at Bethesda for checkups, and he'll be back in a couple of days.
[4:42:44] And Carl Curtis has his proxy, but they were late getting started, and they were fighting over little technical things, and they go into 10 o'clock in the morning.
[4:42:51] And we'll have this bill introduced tomorrow.
[4:42:55] Now, were we able to line up some of our troops to stand up for the McGregor position?
[4:43:01] Yes, sir.
[4:43:01] I haven't seen much on the wires, unfortunately, but... Yeah, but you did call them.
[4:43:06] Yes, sir, and we called a bunch of them, and they were going to get out with one-minute speeches and put some stuff up in the press galleries, but they just don't carry it much.
[4:43:13] I know they don't.
[4:43:14] Well, just so we have a few lip-cutters and take on the opposition.
[4:43:19] Fine.
[4:43:20] We got stuck in the Senate, you know, this afternoon with a McGee-Fong thing on the raises.
[4:43:26] Five and a half?
[4:43:27] Yes, sir.
[4:43:29] For government employees?
[4:43:31] For beginning now, I'll bet January.
[4:43:33] January, uh-huh.
[4:43:36] Well, we'll stay there on that.
[4:43:40] What's the line?
[4:43:41] Will that go to the House?
[4:43:42] Yes, sir.
[4:43:42] It was just added on the Senate on the Economic Stabilization Act.
[4:43:47] And, of course, the House hasn't yet got that on the floor.
[4:43:50] So it'll be considered in the House and then go to conference.
[4:43:54] So we're some days away from... That may make it possibly the Economic Stabilization Act.
[4:44:01] To move through, yeah.
[4:44:02] Yeah, yeah.
[4:44:04] God damn, these guys aren't going to get out of here for Christmas, are they?
[4:44:08] It looks like that.
[4:44:09] Mansfield keeps talking about, you know, the end of this week, and most everybody expects the end of next week, but in truth, I don't see how they can get out of here before damn near Christmas.
[4:44:18] Yeah, yeah.
[4:44:21] Well, particularly if they fool around with this tax bill, they're going to...
[4:44:25] I think we have no choice but the extra session, don't you think so?
[4:44:29] I think so.
[4:44:30] If they go out, if you release your statement this week when the conference reports, they may just stay in, and so they're not embarrassed being called back.
[4:44:39] You know, they may just stay in.
[4:44:41] Strange enough, one of the guys in the conference reported out that Wilbur Mills, when he read McGregor's statement with your authority in there, said, well, that's not a bad statement because I think he misread it, thinking that either clean up the budget deficit or the checkoff rather than both.
[4:44:59] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[4:45:03] Well, he sure misread it.