I believe the Congress this year will want to improve the administration of the poverty program by reorganizing portions of it and transferring them to other agencies.  I believe, though, it will want to continue, until we have broken the back of poverty, the efforts we are now making throughout this land.

I believe, and I hope the next administration—­I believe they believe—­that the key to success in this effort is jobs.  It is work for people who want to work.

In the budget for fiscal 1970, I shall recommend a total of $3.5 billion for our job training program, and that is five times as much as we spent in 1964 trying to prepare Americans where they can work to earn their own living.

The Nation’s commitment in the field of civil rights began with the Declaration of Independence.  They were extended by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.  They have been powerfully strengthened by the enactment of three far-reaching civil rights laws within the past 5 years, that this Congress, in its wisdom, passed.

On January 1 of this year, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 covered over 20 million American homes and apartments.  The prohibition against racial discrimination in that act should be remembered and it should be vigorously enforced throughout this land.

I believe we should also extend the vital provisions of the Voting Rights Act for another 5 years.

In the Safe Streets Act of 1968, Congress determined “To assist state and local governments in reducing the incidence of crime.”

This year I am proposing that the Congress provide the full $300 million that the Congress last year authorized to do just that.

I hope the Congress will put the money where the authorization is.

I believe this is an essential contribution to justice and to public order in the United States.  I hope these grants can be made to the States and they can be used effectively to reduce the crime rate in this country.

But all of this is only a small part of the total effort that must be made—­I think chiefly by the local governments throughout the Nation—­if we expect to reduce the toll of crime that we all detest.

Frankly, as I leave the Office of the Presidency, one of my greatest disappointments is our failure to secure passage of a licensing and registration act for firearms.  I think if we had passed that act, it would have reduced the incidence of crime.  I believe that the Congress should adopt such a law, and I hope that it will at a not too distant date.

In order to meet our long-standing commitment to make government as efficient as possible, I believe that we should reorganize our postal system along the lines of the Kappel[1] report.

[Footnote 1:  Frederick R. Kappel, Chairman of the Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries.]

I hope we can all agree that public service should never impose an unreasonable financial sacrifice on able men and women who want to serve their country.