To indicate the size of the Government commitment, to spur energy research and development, we plan to spend $10 billion in Federal funds over the next 5 years.  That is an enormous amount.  But during the same 5 years, private enterprise will be investing as much as $200 billion—­and in 10 years, $500 billion—­to develop the new resources, the new technology, the new capacity America will require for its energy needs in the 1980’s.  That is just a measure of the magnitude of the project we are undertaking.

But America performs best when called to its biggest tasks.  It can truly be said that only in America could a task so tremendous be achieved so quickly, and achieved not by regimentation, but through the effort and ingenuity of a free people, working in a free system.

Turning now to the rest of the agenda for 1974, the time is at hand this year to bring comprehensive, high quality health care within the reach of every American.  I shall propose a sweeping new program that will assure comprehensive health insurance protection to millions of Americans who cannot now obtain it or afford it, with vastly improved protection against catastrophic illnesses.  This will be a plan that maintains the high standards of quality in America’s health care.  And it will not require additional taxes.

Now, I recognize that other plans have been put forward that would cost $80 billion or even $100 billion and that would put our whole health care system under the heavy hand of the Federal Government.  This is the wrong approach.  This has been tried abroad, and it has failed.  It is not the way we do things here in America.  This kind of plan would threaten the quality of care provided by our whole health care system.  The right way is one that builds on the strengths of the present system and one that does not destroy those strengths, one based on partnership, not paternalism.  Most important of all, let us keep this as the guiding principle of our health programs.  Government has a great role to play, but we must always make sure that our doctors will be working for their patients and not for the Federal Government.

Many of you will recall that in my State of the Union Address 3 years ago, I commented that “Most Americans today are simply fed up with government at all levels,” and I recommended a sweeping set of proposals to revitalize State and local governments, to make them more responsive to the people they serve.  I can report to you today that as a result of revenue sharing passed by the Congress, and other measures, we have made progress toward that goal.  After 40 years of moving power from the States and the communities to Washington, D.C., we have begun moving power back from Washington to the States and communities and, most important, to the people of America.