Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 031-120
Date: Wednesday, October 18, 1972 at 5:28 PM
Participants: Ehrlichman, John D.; White House operator; [Unknown person(s)]; Timmons, William E.; Nixon, Richard M. (President)
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-120

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Mr. Tim, he's on.
[0:06] Is John Ehrlichman around?
[0:16] Mr. Ehrlichman, he's on the phone.
[0:18] We'll interrupt you.
[0:19] Thank you.
[0:50] Oh, the old president's wondering what your Congress is doing.
[0:54] Oh, God.
[0:55] What?
[0:56] Oh, I was afraid somebody was going to ask.
[0:58] What's going on?
[1:00] Well, the House moves along pretty good.
[1:07] I got debt passed without spending.
[1:13] I sent it over.
[1:13] They passed an adjournment signing diet to close the business today.
[1:17] Jerry Ford and Tip O'Neill called the president and said, we're prepared to adjourn.
[1:22] He said, no, but come down for coffee about four.
[1:25] I'm going to invite Mike and Margaret Smith to come down and speak here and whatever, you know.
[1:30] which I had greased up beforehand.
[1:32] So then they had to go back in to, they recessed and went back in because the highways bill came out of conference.
[1:43] But Jerry is going to object to it.
[1:44] There's no quorum in the House, and the Speaker, we think, will not want to vote on it because there'll be no quorum and they'll go out overnight.
[1:52] You know, it's over.
[1:53] So we think we'll bluff them down with Jerry Ford.
[1:57] In the meantime, in the upper body, they had highways up.
[2:04] They have set that aside temporarily.
[2:06] to take up a silly securities bill, which is finding an objection.
[2:12] And we think they'll knock securities down.
[2:15] It's a fight between the banks and the SEC on some damn thing.
[2:18] But because they don't have a quorum either, they don't have to vote.
[2:21] And when somebody raises an objection, they just take it off the calendar to hell with it.
[2:26] They go back on highways.
[2:27] We were trying to find somebody in the Senate to take on highways, just like Jerry's going to do in the House.
[2:31] But we can't find anybody.
[2:32] Nobody's around.
[2:33] Wallace Minnitz there and a few others, but they said they're doing other stuff and just couldn't do it.
[2:39] But we think protected in the house unless Ford keeps it.
[2:42] Well, are they going to bounce back and forth?
[2:43] Well, and then they've got debt, the debt bill.
[2:47] So they haven't done that.
[2:48] They haven't done it.
[2:49] Oh, my God.
[2:49] And Javits is holding Ford, saying that they came out.
[2:54] You remember Ryder was on that one, Extended Employment Conversation.
[2:56] Yeah, Magnuson.
[2:58] Yeah.
[2:59] They get their pound of flesh by getting the House passed a version of that as opposed to the Senate version in return for spending.
[3:06] Yeah.
[3:07] And he's saying, the hell with that.
[3:08] He said, you pass my pins and needles bill.
[3:12] Oh, Lord.
[3:12] Which has got the big, that tax thing?
[3:15] Yeah.
[3:16] What, there's an amendment to it?
[3:17] Yeah, it's already on there.
[3:19] Magnuson's big unemployment thing that covers New York is on the pins and needles bill.
[3:25] So he says, you house, pass my pins and needles bill, and I'll take the whole lot for this damn thing.
[3:30] Consequently, they're dragging on.
[3:33] God knows what's going to happen.
[3:34] I called Butterfield a few minutes ago and said, the president ought to make a deadline for me at 6 o'clock or something.
[3:41] If no action, let me call him and say, forget it, gang.
[3:44] Well, it's 5.30 now, Bill.
[3:47] Why don't you do that?
[3:50] Okay?
[3:51] Just knock it off.
[3:54] Well, should I ask Alex to check with the president?
[3:57] Should I just go ahead and knock it off anyway?
[3:58] Well, the president said he'll wait over at the house for a call.
[4:02] Okay.
[4:03] And just forget the coffee if they're in that much disarray.
[4:06] Okay.
[4:07] I'll do it.
[4:08] Will you?
[4:08] Yeah.
[4:08] Okay.
[4:09] Bye.
[4:09] Good.