Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-035

Nixon phone call with Richardson on National Cancer Act and Legislation

Friday, December 24, 1971 · 5:29 PM–5:32 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Richardson, Elliot L.Conversation017-035 on Tape 17 (tape position 01:41:51–01:44:17)StartFriday, December 24, 1971 at 5:29 PMEndFriday, December 24, 1971 at 5:32 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-035 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Elliot L. Richardson exchanged Christmas greetings and reflected on the recent signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971. The President commended Richardson and his team for their role in securing favorable legislation for the initiative, expressing guarded optimism regarding its potential for medical progress. Nixon also briefly mentioned his upcoming travel to Florida, where he was scheduled to meet with West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 44% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Mr. President, Secretary Richardson's on the line.
Hello?
Hello?
I just called to wish you a Merry Christmas.
I know you're in Massachusetts and I hope it's a nice white Christmas up there.
Well, I hope it will be.
It's a, it's a wet one right now.
Oh, it's not, not snowing.
That's too bad.
Too bad.
Well, it'll be nice if it falls.
Yeah.
Yeah, I... You've got a lot of sand on you.
That was a fine ceremony, isn't it?
Well, I, my, that was, I didn't see you until the end of the ceremony.
I had you up there, but, uh... Well, I was late.
I, I guess that was it, because I, normally I would have, uh, picked you up, but...
Well, it's of course something that has a great appeal to people, and let's just hope that they do some good.
It'll do some good.
It'll do some good.
Whether there's a breakthrough, that of course is maybe too much to hope for, but they're going to make some slow progress, and maybe dramatic progress.
Who knows?
The way the legislation turned out left a pretty good taste in everybody's mouth.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Good.
Well, that's because you fellows pulled that together, I know.
I know that, uh...
But I think it worked.
I was pleased with it.
I was surprised we got that good a bill through.
Well, I hope you all have a fine Christmas.
Well, yes, and I'll go down.
I look forward to a great new year.
Yeah, I've got to go to Florida next week to see Brian.
But despite the fact that I'm involved in these foreign things, I still remember that you guys are doing the work.
Okay.
Bye.

NARA Description

On December 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 5:29 pm to 5:32 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-035 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-35

Date: December 24, 1971
Time: 5:29 pm - 5:32 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Call from Elliot L. Richardson

The President talked with Richardson.

     Christmas greetings

     Richardson's location

**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/21/2017.
Segment will remain closed.]
[Personal Returnable]
[017-035-w001]
[Duration: 8s]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

**********************************************************************

     National Cancer Act of 1971
          -Ceremony
          -John D. Ehrlichman
          -Richard S. Schweiker

                -Conference

     The President's schedule
          -Florida
                -Willy Brandt

Also recorded on December 24, 1971

  • 017-031 5:18 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Ralph H. Cake talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm.
  • 017-032 5:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 5:20 pm to 5:22 pm.
  • 017-033 5:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Stewart J. O. Alsop talked on the telephone from 5:22 pm to 5:24 pm.
  • 017-034 5:25 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Peter M. Flanigan talked on the telephone from 5:25 pm to 5:28 pm.
  • 017-036 5:32 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:32 pm.
  • 017-037 5:33 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 5:33 pm to 5:39 pm.
  • 017-038 5:40 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Maurice H. Stans talked on the telephone from 5:40 pm to 5:42 pm.
  • 017-039 5:43 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:43 pm.

All 54 conversations from December 24, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-035, December 24, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-035 (accessed October 12, 2026).