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Gerald Ford on Education

President of the U.S., 1974-1977; Republican Rep. (MI)

 


OpEd: School segregation has increased in the Northeast

Q: Your campaign has run ads in black newspapers saying that "for black Americans, President Ford is quietly getting the job done." Yet, study after study has shown little progress in desegregation and, in fact, actual increases in segregated schools and housing in the Northeast.

FORD: I am very proud of the record of this administration. The Department of Justice is fully enforcing, and enforcing effectively, the Voting Rights Act--the legislation that involves jobs, housing for minorities, not only blacks but all others. The Department of HUD is enforcing the new legislation that takes care of redlining. The office of small business has a very massive program trying to help the black community.

CARTER: The description just made of this administration's record is hard to recognize. This country changed drastically in 1969 when Nixon and Ford became the Presidents. [Under JFK and LBJ] there was hope for those who were poor and downtrodden or in minority groups. That time has been gone.

Source: The Third Carter-Ford Presidential Debate , Oct 22, 1976

Favors constitutional amendment for voluntary school prayer

Q: In the nearly 200-year history of the Constitution, there have been only 25 amendments, most of them on issues of the very broadest principle. Now we have proposed amendments in many highly specialized causes like gun control, school prayer, abortion, things like that.

CARTER: I would not work hard to support any of those.

FORD: [On school prayer] I think this is a reasonable and proper way to proceed. I believe also that there is some merit to an amendment that Senator Everett Dirksen proposed very frequently, an amendment that would change the Court decision as far as voluntary prayer in public schools. It seems to me that there should be an opportunity, as long as it's voluntary, as long as there is no compulsion whatsoever, that an individual ought to have that right. I think such a constitutional amendment would be proper. [On amendments for both school prayer and abortion], they are matters of very deep conviction, and in those two cases I would favor them.

Source: The Third Carter-Ford Presidential Debate , Oct 22, 1976

Increase federal spending on education, but not by $30B

We feel that in education we can have a slight increase--not a major increase. It's my understanding that Governor Carter has indicated that he approves a $30 billion expenditure by the federal government as far as education is concerned. At the present time we're spending roughly $3.5 billion. I don't know where that money would come from.
Source: The First Carter-Ford Presidential Debate , Sep 23, 1976

Tuition tax credit at private grade schools

Rep. Ford co-sponsored H.R.1176: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to allow a credit against the individual income tax for tuition paid for the elementary or secondary education of dependents.
Source: Bill sponsorship archives from the Library of Congress , Jan 3, 1973

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Barack Obama(D,2009-2017)
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Jimmy Carter(D,1977-1981)
Gerald Ford(R,1974-1977)
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