Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 70 › Conversation 070-001
Nixon, Agnew & Mansfield
Tuesday, August 17, 1971 · 10:39 AM–12:54 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 2 hr 13 min
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
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part A, 3:30
070a.mp3
070b.mp3
NARA Description
On August 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and bipartisan Congressional leaders, including Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield, Robert P. Griffin, Milton R. Young, Allen J. Ellender, John J. Sparkman, John G. Tower, Wallace F. Bennett, Russell B. Long, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, William B. Widnall, Wilbur D. Mills, John W. Byrnes, John B. Connally, Charls E. Walker, Paul W. McCracken, Arthur F. Burns, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Peter G. Peterson, William L. Safire, and Kenneth E. BeLieu, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 10:39 am to 12:54 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 070-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 70-1
Date: August 17, 1971
Time: 10:39 am - 12:54 pm
Location: Cabinet Room
The President met with Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield, Robert
P. Griffin, Milton R. Young, Allen J. Ellender, John J. Sparkman, John G. Tower, Wallace F.
Bennett, Russell B. Long, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, William B. Widnall, Wilbur D.
Mills, John W. Byrnes, John B. Connally, Charls E. Walker, Paul W. McCracken, Arthur F.
Burns, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Peter G. Peterson, William L.
Safire, and Kenneth E. BeLieu; members of the press were present at the beginning of the
meeting
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[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 08/19/2019.]
[Unintelligible]
[070-001-w001]
[Duration: 3m 2s]
General conversation
Greetings
The President’s schedule
-Golf
-Score
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Attendees’ schedule
National economy
-President’s program
-Preparation
-Wage-price freeze
-Investment tax credit
-International monetary situation
-Banking and currency
-Treasury Department
-Council of Economic Advisors
-ShultzShow the rest of the log (375 more lines)
-Burns
-Import surcharge
-Floating of the dollar
-Exchange rates
-Possible impact on inflation
-US trade policy
-Exchange rates
-Agricultural exports
-Productivity
-Labor
-Industry
-Investment tax credit
-Expenditures cuts
-Automobile excise tax
-Competitiveness
-Federal budget
-Revenue sharing
-Welfare reform
-Foreign economic aid cuts
-Federal payroll cuts
-President’s authority
-Import surcharge
-General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade [GATT]
-Wage-price freeze
-Investment tax credit
-Congress’s role
-Development
-Secretary of Treasury
-Burns, McCracken, Shultz
-Congress’s role
-Importance of cooperation
-Changes in tax laws
-Automobile industry
-Importance
-Jobs
-President’s program
-Repeal of excise tax
-McCracken’s conversations
-Connally’s conversation with James M. Roche, August 16, 1971
-Automobile prices
-Effect of President’s program
-George W. Romney’s comment, August 16, 1971
-President’s program
-Personal income tax exemptions
-Mills
-Investment tax credit
-Long
-Purpose
-Machine tools
National defense
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[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[070-001-w001]
[Duration: 36s]
National defense
-US naval capabilities
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] naval capabilities
******************************************************************************
National economy
-Steel
-Automobiles
-Efficiency in industry
-Investment tax credit
-President’s program
-Political credit
-Mills and Long
-Investment tax credit
-Wage-price freeze
-Implementation
-Congress
-Investment tax credit
-Four-year lien time
-Previous tax reform
-Real estate industry
-Interest rates
-President’s program
-Tax law changes
-Excise, investment and personal income taxes
-Possible Congressional action
-Interest rates
-Effect of President’s program
-Real estate
-Automobile
-Connally’s forthcoming letter to American Bankers’ Association
-Automobile excise tax
-Highway Trust Fund
-President’s program
-Implementation
-Trade Expansion Act of 1962
-Congress’s role
-Import surtax
-Possible foreign retaliation
-US agricultural exports
-President’s program
-Import surtax
-Possible foreign retaliation
-GATT
-Application
-US trade policy
-Non-duty items
-Quotas
-GATT
-Possible foreign retaliation
-President’s program
-Mexico, Canada
-Cattle
-President’s program
-Wage-price freeze
-Interest rates
-Profits
-Bonuses of industry
-Mansfield
-Dividends
-Profit margins
-Interest rates
-Bankers and corporations
-Mortgages
-Federal Reserve Board
-Interest rates
-Inflation
-Fluctuations
-Competitive market
-Banking industry
-Prime rate
-Consumer loans
-Markets
-Possible tax
-President’s program
-Consumer lending legislation
-Effect
-President’s program
-Military pay increase
-Connally’s press conference
-Public works
-Waterways
-Tulsa, Oklahoma
-Railroads
-Financial status
-Pending legislation
-September, 1971
-Goals
-Fight inflation
-Budget deficits
-Federal budget
-Pending legislation
-Revenue sharing and welfare reform
-Federal pay
-Federal employment
-Attrition
-Office of Economic Opportunity [OEO]
-Sewer and water grants
-Public housing
-Impoundment
-Office of Federal Housing
-Reductions in tax revenues
-Personal income tax reduction
-National defense
-Fiscal year [FY] 1972 project commitments
-Inflation
-Appropriations in excess of requests
-Congressional action
-Goals
-Unemployment
-Possible service jobs
******************************************************************************
[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[070-001-w002]
[Duration: 42s]
National economy
-Canada
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National economy
-Administration
-Office of Emergency Preparedness [OEP] information centers
-Staffing
-McCracken’s role
-Wage-price freeze
-School tuition
-Effect
-Hospitals
-Unknown man in Little Rock, Arkansas
-Pay raises
-Rents
-No exceptions
-Administration
-Cost of Living Council [COLC]
-Success of previous programs
-World War II and Korean War
-Effective date
-Camp David meetings
-Import surcharge
-Application
-Products covered
-Administration
-Council of Economic Advisors [CEA]
-OEP
-McCracken, Herbert Stein
-Connally’s forthcoming meeting, August 18, 1971
-Bennett
-Import surcharge
-Procedures
-Duty
-Effect on automobile industry
-Jobs
-Excise tax
-Surcharge
-Equipment charge
-Consumers
-Employment
-Stockholders
-Goals
-Industrial competition
-Government revenues
-President’s program
-Effect
-Automobile industry
-Freeze price of new car models
-Mills’s conversation with reporter, August 16, 1971
-Roche
-Excise tax
-Import surcharge
-Applicability
-Automobile excise tax
-Reaction
-Burns’ comments
-International monetary system
-Paul A. Volcker’s and James Dewey Daane’s trip to Europe
-Goals
-Import surcharge
******************************************************************************
[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[070-001-w003]
[Duration: 10s]
National economy
-The President’s program
-Import surcharge
-Japan
******************************************************************************
National economy
-The President’s program
-Bipartisanship
-Congressional action
-Development
-Political credit
-Arthur H. Vandenberg’s cooperation with Harry S Truman
-Marshall Plan
-Franklin D. Roosevelt administration
-Necessity for Congressional cooperation
-Long
-Psychology
-Appropriations
-Federal expenditures
-Government projects
-Timing and effect
-Emergency Public Service Act
-Budget cuts
-President’s program
-Goals
-Revenue loss
-Offsets
-Budget cuts
-Import surcharge
-FY 1972 budget
-FY 1971 budget
-Expenditures
-Congressional action
-Revenue sharing
-Impoundment
-Office of Management and Budget [OMB]
-Highway Trust Fund
-Public works
-Contracts
-Federal budget
-Effect on Louisiana
-Public works
-Ellender’s efforts
-President’s program
-Congressmen’s views
-Need for congressional action
-Democrats’ previous views
-Partisan battle
-Long
-Possible change in minimum standard deduction
-Tax reform bill
-Possible congressional action
-Tax reduction
-Timing
-Voting on bills
-Procedures
-Witnesses
-Timing
-Tax bill
-Investment tax credit
-Personal exemption increase
-Procedures
-Revenue sharing
-Welfare reform
-Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [HEW]
-Revenue sharing
-House Resolution [HR] 1
-Federal budget
-Status of Congressional appropriations bills
-George H. Mahon
-President’s program
-Revenue sharing
-Welfare reform
-Congressional priorities
Mills’ schedule
Louisiana
-Power in Congress
-Mansfield
-F. Edward Hébert
-[Thomas] Hale Boggs
-Long
-Ellender
Arrangements for photo
National economy
-President’s program
-Importance
-Wage-price freeze
-Duration
-Follow-up
-Consumer interest rates
-Interest rates
-Federal Reserve Board
******************************************************************************
[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 08/19/2019.]
[Unintelligible]
[070-001-w002]
[Duration: 5m 54s]
General conversation
Arthur F. Burns
-Decision
-Recommendation
Gratitude
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The President, et al. left at 12:54 pmTranscript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation.
Also recorded on August 17, 1971
- 566-001 9:44 AM · 58 min — Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), Charles W. Colson, Stephen B. Bull, and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:44 am and 10:39 am.
- 566-021 10:39 AM · 39 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:39 am and 12:55 pm.
- 070-002 12:54 PM · 8 min — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:54 pm and 11:59 pm.
- 566-002 12:55 PM · 15 min — Stephen B. Bull, Roger Robb, Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Cora Schlesinger, Charles Schlesinger, Ann Schlesinger, William Schlesinger, Emily Schlesinger, Thomas Schlesinger, Clara Schlesinger, Laura Martin, William O. Doub, Joseph Doub, Albert Doub, Albert A. Doub, Mrs. Albert A. Doub, Mrs. George M. Radcliffe, George M. Radcliffe, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Gerald R. Ford, and Robert P. Griffin met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:55 pm to 1:10 pm.
- 566-003 1:10 PM · 4 min — Gerald R. Ford, Robert P. Griffin, President Richard M. Nixon, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:10 pm to 1:14 pm.
- 566-004 1:14 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles O. Finley, and Dick Williams met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:14 pm and 1:29 pm.
- 566-005 1:14 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:14 pm and 1:29 pm.
- 566-006 1:29 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:29 pm to 1:32 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 070-001, August 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417174243). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/070-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).