Political gifts-1974 National organizations: Republican Senate House Dinner, Washington, D.C___ 1,000 State organizations: Congressional Black Caucus Dinner, Washington, D.C. 3,000 1,000 New York Republican State Dinner Committee, New York, N.Y_ 3,000 6,000 New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, New 6,000 Friends of the Rockefeller Team__ 1599 Washington State Republican Central Committee_. Arkansas State Republican Committee, Little, Rock, Ark.... 1,000 1,000 Individual campaigns-Committees for Local organizations: Metropolitan Republican Club, New York, N.Y_. New York Republican County Committee, Inc., New York, N.Y__ Ossining Republican Town Committee, Ossining, N.Y_ 3,000 100 1,500 250 12 2,000 Committee to Reelect Jacob Javits (New York Senate). 5,000 Javits Finance Committee (New York Senate) 5,000 Friends of Senator Javits (New York Senate). 5,000 Lewisohn Campaign Committee (New York City Council). 100 Peyser, Peter, various committees- Peyser, Peter (Westchester County, Congress) various com- 1,000 3,000 2,000 Citizens for Tom Petri (Wisconsin Senate) __ 500 Stephens Campaign Committee (Westchester County, Congress) 1,000 Cohen Victory 72, Victory 74 Committee (Maine, Congress) --. Friends to Reelect District Attorney Carl Vergari Committee Peter Sullivan Campaign Committee (New York, Westchester League of Women Voters of Maine Citizens for Good Government (supported Frank Hogan for New York City district attorney).. 3,000 8/8 3,000 8/8 100 8/16 League of Women Voters, Albany County. Women's National Republican Club Mr. ROCKEFELLER. A great deal of the information which I had originally submitted to the various Federal investigators has found its way piecemeal into the press, where it has been variously interpreted. Therefore, I especially welcome this opportunity to clarify the record, which has become somewhat confused since my last appearance before you 7 weeks ago. May I take this opportunity, first, Mr. Chairman, of expressing my appreciation to you and the other members of your committee, and to your extremely able staff, for your cooperation, your courtesy and consideration throughout this period. As I mentioned before I recognize the tremendous responsibility that you have as members of the Rules Committee, as do the other Members of Congress under the 25th amendment, representing the American people in passing upon my qualifications to become Vice President of the United States. These are difficult days for everyone. Since I appeared before you in September, the situation in the world has become even more serious. There is growing concern about inflation and unemployment throughout the industrial and developing nations of the world. These concerns weigh heavily upon every American family-particularly those on fixed incomes. The governments of all free nations are wrestling with these problems. Past solutions have seemed inadequate in the face of the continuing acceleration of change throughout the world. Frustration and pessimism are prevalent. Despite all this, Mr. Chairman, I am optimistic about the future. Americans have traditionally responded to crises with faith and courage, imagination and vision. Americans have a unique capacity to come up with new conceptual thinking and creative solutions. Free people, with a heritage of deep religious faith, have the inner strength and the will necessary to face the unknown and meet new problems. The great upheavals around the world today, caused by the crises and dislocations in energy, food, raw materials, balance of payments, and inflation, have created unprecedented problems. But we should not overlook the fact that these critical upheavals are creating, at the same time, unique opportunities to achieve a better future for all. The very process of meeting and solving these new problems provides in itself the most extraordinary challenge and opportunity. If we move intelligently and decisively on all fronts: We can deal with the political aspects of the problems both at home and abroad: We can restore sound growth and protect the ecology; We can increase employment opportunities; We can bring back the balance between production and demand; We can control inflation; And we can continue to improve the quality of life for all. It is not going to be easy. It is going to take self-discipline and sacrifice. But it is the most important and exciting challenge America has ever faced. It can be done and, in my opinion, it will be done. And I am convinced that a better Nation and a better world will emerge. I have abiding faith in the American people; in our system of democracy and individual initiative; in the limitless potentials of science and technology; in our organizational genius and productive capacity; and in our national destiny as the champion of respect for human dignity and freedom in the world. I love this country, and I have tried to serve it throughout my life, and I hope that I have the privilege again. I have worked in government at Federal, State, and local levels. In addition I have served the people of New York State as their Governor for 15 years, from 1959 through 1973, I have had the privilege of working closely with and for six Presidents of the United States: For President Roosevelt as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs and Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs. For President Truman, as Chairman of his Advisory Committee on International Economic Development-a blueprint to carry out. his Point Four program; For President Eisenhower, as Chairman of his Committee on Government Reorganization, as Under Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and as Special Assistant to the President for International Affairs; For President Johnson, as a member of his Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations; For President Nixon, as head of an official mission to 20 Latin American countries to review and recommend U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere and as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board; And, now, President Ford has done me the great honor of nominating me under the 25th amendment to be his Vice President. In these varied public capacities, as well as in my private activities, I have always tried to approach the problems of people, whether as individuals, or as groups, or as a Nation, with understanding, but with imagination and within a conceptual framework that would reflect the best interests of all. All during these years, like anyone else, I have had some successes and some failures. But, I have always tried to do my best. When I first appeared before you at the start of these hearings, I submitted a statement of my personal and family background and of the philosophy of responsibility and stewardship in respect to wealth that has been our family ethic. As you will recall from my earlier testimony, that ethic consisted of religious feeling, hard work, and the recognition that "Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity an obligation; every possession a duty." As children we were taught to share with others. That family heritage is essential to any fair understanding of my lifetime of giving to charity and of helping on a personal basis friends and those in need. I have been more fortunate in material things than most and, therefore, felt a greater sense of responsibility to use material assets to help others and to commit myself to the service of the people. Unfortunately, the tradition of sharing with others seems now to have become a political issue. However, comparatively, millions of other Americans give more, in terms of personal sacrifice and generosity than either myself or my family. This is all within the framework of our great and distinctively American tradition of personal charity, of sharing and of love for each other. You are familiar with the extent of the submissions I have made with respect to my finances, tax returns, business ventures, loans, gifts, investments, and the like. In the course of this process, I have voluntarily yielded up, in an extraordinary measure, the right of privacy that is a protected privilege in our society. This does not mean that I do not prize my own privacy. Rather, it is that I recognize that no individual's right of privacy is absolute. The claim to privacy must yield in the presence of a compelling public interest. But no one of us will have served our Nation well if, in the process of these hearings, we are insensitive to the values of personal privacy which are fundamental to our form of society. What I must say to you now, and what I do say to you now is that |