Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 54 › Conversation 054-003
Nixon, Agnew & Griffin
Tuesday, April 20, 1971 · 8:06 AM–9:44 AM ET · Cabinet Room · 1 hr 39 min
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
Listen to the full tape segment
part A, 1:26:35
054a.mp3
054b.mp3
NARA Description
On April 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and Republican Congressional leaders, including Hugh Scott, Robert P. Griffin, Margaret Chase Smith, Norris Cotton, Gordon L. Allott, Peter H. Dominick, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, Barber B. Conable, Jr., Richard H. Poff, Robert C. ("Bob") Wilson, Robert T. Stafford, Robert J. Dole, George P. Shultz, Peter G. Peterson, Peter M. Flanigan, Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, Kenneth E. BeLieu, Patrick J. Buchanan, Ernest Stern, C. Fred Bergsten, Jonathan C. Rose, Bryce N. Harlow, Herbert G. Klein, Ronald L. Ziegler, White House photographer, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 8:06 am and 9:44 am. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 054-003 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 54-3
Date: April 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:06 am and 9:44 am
Location: Cabinet Room
The President met with Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, Hugh Scott, Robert P. Griffin, Margaret
Chase Smith, Norris Cotton, Gordon L. Allott, Peter H. Dominick, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C.
Arends, Barber B. Conable, Jr., Richard H. Poff, Robert C. (“Bob”) Wilson, Robert T. Stafford,
Robert J. Dole, George P. Shultz, Peter G. Peterson, Peter M. Flanigan, Dr. James R.
Schlesinger, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, Kenneth E. BeLieu, Patrick J. Buchanan,
Ernest Stern, C. Fred Bergsten, Jonathan C. Rose, Bryce N. Harlow, Herbert G. Klein, and
Ronald L. Ziegler; the White House photographer and members of the press were present at the
beginning of the meeting
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
President’s speech on welfare
Economic indicators
-Shultz
-Stock market
President’s previous meeting with construction trades people
-Davis-Bacon Act
-Support for President
-Construction
-Housing starts
Economy
-March retail sales
-Housing starts
-Consumer confidence
-Automobile sales
-Stock market
-Investments
-Profits
-Output
-Productivity
-Interest rates
-Decline
-Long-term loans
-Inflation
-Gross National Product [GNP]Show the rest of the log (249 more lines)
-Rise
-Impact
-March retail sales
-Increase
-Housing starts
-Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD]
-Seasonal factor
-March figure
-Productivity
-Gain
-Labor costs
-Consumer Price Index
-Inflation
-Economic projections
-First quarter rise
-Budget
-Federal Reserve System
-Unemployment
-Numbers
-Projection
-Industrial production
-Figure
-Inventories
-Retail sales
-Plant and equipment figures
-Revised projections
-Economic policy
-Inflation
-Rate
-Democrats
-Accelerated public works bill
-Spending levels
-Reverse effect
-President’s position
-Appropriations
-Don Fossman [sp?], William H. Harsha
-Title I
-Policy
-Argument
-Consumer confidence
-Retail sales
-Stock market
-Economists
-Donald T. Regan
-Regan
-Mutual funds
-President’s economic policies
-Republican businessmen
-Consumers
-Economists
-Democrats
-Peterson
-United States’ economic policy
-Presentation
Foreign aid
-Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
-Present situation
-Less developed countries
-GNP
-Population
-Per capita income
-Employment
-Health
-Malnutrition
-Education
-Peace
-Political issues
-Economic growth
-GNP
-Exports
-Market for United States’ exports
-United States’ economic interests
-Quantity
-Private money
-Exports
-Military aid
-Task Force for International Development
-Rudolph A. Peterson
-Recommendations
-Agnew
-Military aid
-New authority
-Security assistance
-Guarantee to United States’ investments
-Latin American development
-R. A. Peterson’s task force
-President’s message, September 15, 1970 on foreign economic assistance
-Security assistance bill
-Military assistance program
-Department of Defense [DOD]
-Agency for International Development [AID]
-Underdeveloped areas
-State Department
-Responsibility for security assistance
-Coordinator of security assistance
-Military assistance
-Southeast Asia
-Legislation and programs
-Previous legislative briefing
-Limitations on disposal of excess equipment
-Amounts
-Request for increase
-Purposes
-Korea and Cambodia
-Operating principles
-United States’ International Development Corporation
-Composition
-Budget request
-R. A. Peterson’s task force
-Need for management know-how
-Bilateral development assistance
-Need for United States’ coordinator
-Accountability
-Responsibilities of coordinator
-Agencies
-Principles
-Budget request
-Bills and hearings
-Timing
-Dr. Thomas E. (“Doc”) Morgan and J. William Fulbright
-Expectations
-AID
-Funding and authority
-Security assistance legislative
-Development assistance program
-Legislative procedure
-Jurisdiction
-Procedures
-1972 budget
-Otto E. Passman
-William Proxmire
-Schlesinger
-Security assistance coordinator
-Accountability
-Attitudes
-Excess equipment
-Reorganization
******************************************************************************
United States/world position
[To listen to the segment (12m18s) declassified on 02/28/2002, please refer to RC# E-517.]
******************************************************************************
Military manpower bill
-Draft extension
-Military pay
-Draft extension
-Smith
-Manpower needs
-United States’ commitments
-Volunteers
-Military pay
-Volunteers
-Provisions
-Costs
-Effect on volunteers
-House proposal
-Administration’s position
-Bonus proposal
-Flexibility
-Amount
-Interim proposal
-House bill
-Draft reform
-Deferment
-Uniform national call
-Equitable
-Senate bill
-Pay levels
-Bonus provisions
-Elements
-Procurement
-Pay increment
-Proxmire
-Draft amendment
-Possible committee action
-Length
-Assessment of future congressional action
-Timing
-Republicans
-Sufficiency pay
-Bonus
-Pay and the other programs
-Effects
-Impetus
-Republicans
-Barry M. Goldwater and Mark O. Hatfield
-Draft extension
-President’s flexibility
-Volunteer army
-Need for adequate defense
-Flexibility
-Smith
-F. Edward Hébert
-Goldwater
-Volunteer army
-Flexibility
-Two-year extension
-Prospects
-Pay
-Re-enlistment
-Senate
-House
-Possible compromise
-1972 prospects
-John C. Stennis
-Draft extension
-World War II draft extension
-Popular sentiment
-World War II draft extension
-Republicans
-Vote
-Smith’s experience
-Pacifism
-Long-term view
-Neoisolationists
-Influence
-Nation’s responsibilities
-Vote
-Military aid
United States’ position in world
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Strategic Arms Limitations Talks [SALT]
-Soviet Union
-Communist nations
******************************************************************************
Germany, Japan, Soviet Union
[To listen to the segment (10m32s) declassified on 02/28/2002, please refer to RC# E-517.]
******************************************************************************
Rose Garden
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
Recording was cut off at an unknown time before 9:44 amTranscript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation.
Also recorded on April 20, 1971
- 054-002 7:55 AM · 9 min — Peter G. Peterson, Bryce N. Harlow, Richard H. Poff, and unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 7:55 am and 8:06 am.
- 483-001 7:55 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:55 am and 7:57 am.
- 483-002 7:55 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:55 am and 8:06 am.
- 483-003 8:06 AM · 30 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:06 am and 9:46 am.
- 483-004 9:46 AM · 1 hr 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:46 am to 11:15 am.
- 483-005 11:15 AM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:15 am and 11:20 am.
- 483-006 11:20 AM · 43 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:20 am and 11:50 am.
- 483-007 11:50 AM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:50 am to 12:15 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 054-003, April 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 647841928). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/054-003 (accessed November 2, 2026).