BOARD02203

• Board Meeting Date: 3/20/1975
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Resolution
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

on.

I can only say that, serving in a session of Congress that is going to
be faced with a deficit of at least $50 billion, and pe~haps more
realistically closer to $80, or $90 billion, that if I am going to do
the job that you all sent me back here to do with Senator Haskell and
the members on the House side of the delegation, we are going to have
to be extremely careful with every single item of appropriations that
Congress is requested to make, including project expenditures in our own
State.

One of the reasons, I think, why this nation has run into a deficit in
the 23 of the last 25 years is that individual delegations and repre-
sentatives are too inclined to support projects in their own states in
return for the support of others for their projects, to get their support
for projects in their states; and that has been somewhat of a problem
of bargaining any Congress has been guilty of.

I am committed to do the best I can for the State of Colorado with the
advice and counseling of people like yourself, not only on resource
matters, but all matters which affect our citizens. I am also mindful
of the fact that obligation extends to not driving this nation further
into debt.

I

So, all I am saying is, it is extremely difficult from where I am to
promise to make an affirmative commitment to every interest that is
represented in our state for support for every project. To vote for
every cent they request, I don't think is fair to them, to you, to me,
or to the people of this country.

I have involved myself through my years in the state as much as possible
in the efforts, the work you are talking about here and the individual
specific projects. Many of them I have a lot more self-education to
do on. That will continue and I seek your help in that regard. I will
do the best I can, based upon that advice and counsel here on your
behalf, on behalf of all the people of the state, individual projects
on your entire agenda. I want to particularly keep the. lines of
communication open. I hope that on my part at least this is not a once-
a-year endeavor; that I will be hearing from you through your officers,
through the officials of this Board, through each of you as individual
representatives of particular interest in this project. That is the only
way we can do our job back here. I can't think of any other way that
we can carry out our mandate to the people in the state.

We welcome your phone call, letters and visits, and I promise you, you
will not have to come to Washington to find me. I am going to make I
every effort I can to spend as much time as possible back in the state,
allover the state, not just the Denver area, but throughout the ~tate.
That is one firm commitment I did make during the election.

It is a pleasure to be here, and until we have to take off in a few
minutes, I would be happy to answer questions, or hear comments from
any of you.

~56-