We believe in the right of every country to be free from interference in its own internal affairs by another country. And we believe that world peace… - Jimmy Carter

The civil rights of handicapped persons is not the only element of the laws that have been put into effect. We have got more than a hundred different programs in the Federal Government already for the handicapped. They are administered by many different agencies. There are a lot of different kinds of definitions for the handicap of the same person, and that means that many of you who have sought for a long time to take advantage of these programs, which the Congress and my predecessors in the White House have passed, have often had to go to four or five or six different agencies to get the simple treatment or opportunities which you deserved under the law. It's time for us to change that, and one of the very good benefits of the reorganization authority that Congress has now given me is to bring all those programs for the handicapped together into one agency so you can understand them and take advantage of them.

The difficulty in addressing this many major proposals from me and my administration is very difficult for them to assimilate. It's almost as bad in the Senate, in the Finance Committee, where they handle most of the same questions. But we're determined to proceed expeditiously, and Joe Califano, Ray Marshall, Mike Blumenthal, Charlie Schultze, Bert Lance, and others are doing an extraordinarily good job so far in putting together an analysis of what we have and recommending what we ought to have in the future. We've also had good response from the Governors and local administrators in trying to give us advice on how administration of the program could be improved. I would like to ask Joe Califano now to describe to you in more detail what we will do specifically between now and the first week in August and to answer your questions about the principles that I have outlined this afternoon. Secretary Califano. I'd like for Joe also to show you what books and all they've presented to me. I can't claim that I've read them all.

The same thing applies to basic welfare reform that's going to be presented to the Nation on the 1st of May; energy policy, the 20th of April. Another very major effort that we are undertaking this year on which I need your help is basic tax reform, income tax reform. This will be presented to the American people by the end of September. There are many other major goals that I tried to express as a commitment to the American people during the long campaign. They all touch your lives in one way or the other. I don't claim to know all the answers. I need you to help me with your support when you agree, with your advice when we're evolving policy, and with your criticism when you think I've made a mistake. I need all three. And I pledge to you a continuing, unswerving, never-diminishing commitment on my part, as your President, to the goals that you and I know are crucial to a better life for all Americans, including of course the majority of Americans who happen to be women. Thank you very much. I love all of you, and I appreciate it. Thank you.