Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 556 › Conversation 556-005
Nixon, Ford & Griffin on Economic Policy and Congressional Relations
Friday, August 6, 1971 · 11:39 AM–12:02 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Republican congressional leadership, including Gerald R. Ford, Hugh Scott, and Robert P. Griffin, to coordinate legislative strategy on pressing domestic economic issues and sensitive foreign policy matters. The discussion focused on securing congressional cooperation for trade and tax policies, addressing unemployment and inflation, and managing public perception regarding the Vietnam War. Additionally, Nixon emphasized the necessity of maintaining strict confidentiality in diplomatic negotiations, particularly regarding his administration’s opening to the People's Republic of China and future discussions with the Soviet Union.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 29.8 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:14:32 into the tape and ends around 01:47:30.
Transcript (AI-generated)
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On August 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Leslie C. Arends, Gerald R. Ford, Robert P. Griffin, Hugh Scott, William E. Timmons, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:39 am to 12:02 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 556-005 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 556-5
Date: August 6, 1971
Time: 11:39 am - 12:02 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Leslie C. Arends, Gerald R. Ford, Robert P. Griffin, Hugh Scott, and
William E. Timmons; the White House photographer was present at the beginning of the
meeting.
[Rudolph A. Peterson]
-United Nations [UN]
Press
Congressional session
-President’s appreciation
John B. Connally
-Recent press conference
-Comments
-President’s opening to People’s Republic of China [PRC]
Instructions for griffin
-Automobile industry
-Prices
-Taxes
-Need for Congressional cooperation
-Wilbur D. Mills
-Discussion with the President and Connally
-Foreign competition
-Budget
-Charles E. Chamberlain
[Photograph session]
-Unknown person’s trip to New Orleans
Economy
-Possible actions
-Political effect
-Republican National Committee [RNC]
-Meeting with Senators
-President’s press conference
-Possible action
-Effect
-Business and labor
-Enforcement
-Analogy to Office of Price Administration [OPA]
-Arthur F. Burns
-Retail sales figures
-Home sales
-Unemployment rate
-Full-time workers
-Part-time workers
-Michigan, California, Illinois, Ohio
-Gordon L. Allott
-Draft
-Time limitation
-Bill
-Cloture
-Timing
Congressional action
-Michael J. Mansfield
-Appropriation bill
-Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [HEW]
-Employment
-House Resolution [H R] 1
-Family assistance
-Campaign spending bill
-Jurisdictional dispute
-Interstate Commerce, House Administration, Ways and Means
Committees
-Carl B. Albert, Harley O. Staggers, Mills, Wayne L. Hays
-Bill
-Interstate
US concerns
-President's trip throughout country
-Ohio and New York
-Generation of peace theme
-Public reception
-Vietnam
-Casualties
-Current figure compared to previous one
-President’s recent press conference
-Unemployment
-Relationship to Vietnam War
-Economy
-Foreign policy
-Pentagon Papers
-Effect on PRC trip
-Henry A. Kissinger's role
-Need to maintain secrecy
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Great Britain
-France
-Japan
-Okinawa
-Negotiations
-Confidentiality
-Foreign visitors
-Senate
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-Berlin
-Vietnam
-PRC
-Press
-PRC
-Lawyer-client privilege
Scott’s forthcoming trip to USSR
-Possible meeting with Aleksei N. Kosygin
-President’s recommendations
-PRC
-Confidentiality of channels
-State Department
-SALT
-Berlin
-Mutual and balanced force reductions
-President’s possible visit to USSR
-PRC
Foreign policy
-The President’s record compared to previous administrations
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
-Goals
-Timing
-Griffin’s campaign
-Vietnam
-Economy
-Employment
Economy
-Employment
-Survey
-Public opinion
-Foreign policy compared to domestic policy
Foreign policy
-Vietnam war policy
-Public support
-PRC
-Public support
-Recommendations for Congressional speeches
-Vietnam
-PRC
-Taiwan
-United Nations [UN]
-US goal
-Averting threat to peace
-Long-term benefit
Economy
-Inflation
-Unemmployment
-Administration’s intention to act
-President’s recent press conference
-Connally
-Contact with Congressmen
-Automobile sales
-Trade
-Most Favored Nation [MFN] status
-Romania and Bulgaria
-Vietnam War
-Romania
-Nicolae Ceausescu
-Bulgaria
-East-West trade
-Vietnam War
Kama River truck plan contract with Mack Trucks, Inc.
-Kissinger
-President’s approval
-Peters G. Peterson
-USSR
-Middle East
-Kissinger's briefing
-Griffin, Ford, and Arends
Gift
-Golf balls
Arends and Timmons left at 11:59 am.
HEW appropriation bill
Busing
-Administration's position
-Blacks
Lockheed vote
-William V. Roth, Jr. and J. Caleb Boggs
-Connally
-President's call to Boggs
-Clark MacGregor
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Dow chemical
Ford, Griffin, and Scott left at 12:02 pm.Also recorded on August 6, 1971
- 556-006 12:02 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm.
- 556-007 12:02 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm.
- 007-064 12:06 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:06 pm.
- 007-065 12:06 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:06 pm.
- 556-008 12:06 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:06 pm.
- 556-009 12:06 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John C. Whitaker, Russell E. Train, Robert Cahn, Gordon J. F. MacDonald, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:06 pm to 12:13 pm.
- 556-010 12:13 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:13 pm and 12:15 pm.
- 556-011 12:13 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:13 pm and 12:15 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 556-005, August 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/556-005 (accessed October 12, 2026).