—­That, in cooperation with other nations, we launch a new hemispheric attack on illiteracy and inadequate educational opportunities to all levels; and, finally,

—­That a Food-for-Peace mission be sent immediately to Latin America to explore ways in which our vast food abundance can be used to help end hunger and malnutrition in certain areas of suffering in our own hemisphere.

This Administration is expanding its Food-for-Peace Program in every possible way.  The product of our abundance must be used more effectively to relieve hunger and help economic growth in all corners of the globe.  And I have asked the Director of this Program to recommend additional ways in which these surpluses can advance the interests of world peace—­including the establishment of world food reserves.

An even more valuable national asset is our reservoir of dedicated men and women—­not only on our college campuses but in every age group—­who have indicated their desire to contribute their skills, their efforts, and a part of their lives to the fight for world order.  We can mobilize this talent through the formation of a National Peace Corps, enlisting the services of all those with the desire and capacity to help foreign lands meet their urgent needs for trained personnel.

Finally, while our attention is centered on the development of the non-communist world, we must never forget our hopes for the ultimate freedom and welfare of the Eastern European peoples.  In order to be prepared to help re-establish historic ties of friendship, I am asking the Congress for increased discretion to use economic tools in this area whenever this is found to be clearly in the national interest.  This will require amendment of the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act along the lines I proposed as a member of the Senate, and upon which the Senate voted last summer.  Meanwhile, I hope to explore with the Polish government the possibility of using our frozen Polish funds on projects of peace that will demonstrate our abiding friendship for and interest in the people of Poland.

Third, we must sharpen our political and diplomatic tools—­the means of cooperation and agreement on which an enforceable world order must ultimately rest.

I have already taken steps to coordinate and expand our disarmament effort—­to increase our programs of research and study—­and to make arms control a central goal of our national policy under my direction.  The deadly arms race, and the huge resources it absorbs, have too long overshadowed all else we must do.  We must prevent that arms race from spreading to new nations, to new nuclear powers and to the reaches of outer space.  We must make certain that our negotiators are better informed and better prepared—­to formulate workable proposals of our own and to make sound judgments about the proposals of others.

I have asked the other governments concerned to agree to a reasonable delay in the talks on a nuclear test ban—­and it is our intention to resume negotiations prepared to reach a final agreement with any nation that is equally willing to agree to an effective and enforceable treaty.