I am pleased to submit to the Congress Part I of a two-part study of Railroad-Highway Safety in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-458).

I request that any definite legislative action on this subject be deferred until Part II of the Report has been transmitted to the Congress.

I urge the Congress to act favorably upon them.

I will urge the Congress to enact welfare reform and higher social security benefits to meet this need.

Further, the Congress may wish to consider revision of the 'turn-of-the-century' work schedules and procedures that now obtain on Capitol Hill.

Congress' failure to enact them, however, in no way diminishes the desirability of the Administration's commitment.

To the Members of the 92d Congress I say: Let us open the New Year in a new spirit.

The 91st Congress of the United States has now passed into history.

Even a partial listing of the vital legislation rejected, or left unenacted, by the departing 91st Congress provides a yardstick of just how far this Congress fell short of the mark of becoming the Great Congress--that might have been.

In signing this legislation which provides comprehensive authority to help solve a very difficult problem, I must note that the bill contains some deficiencies which I believe warrant corrective action by the Congress.

I thank the Congress, and the country owes a debt to the Congress in its closing days, for acting in this particular field.

Usually at an occasion like this the President stands up and says, 'I did it,' or the Congress says, 'I did it,' or the Democrats say they did it, the Republicans say they did it, or labor takes the credit, or management takes the credit.

In my press conference on December I o, I stated that a health program will be one of the highest priority proposals I will submit to the Congress next year.

I can only say to his successor, Congressman Bush, that he has big shoes to fill, but that I am sure that he will meet that challenge.

When the chips were down a majority of the Congress voted to increase wages sharply without increasing productivity--in plain words, to speed up the rise in costs and prices.

I call upon the Congress now to complete its work of hope for millions of Americans who now look to it for action.

It looks easy now, but we spent more than 20 years in the Congress battling for this breakthrough.

We are trying to withhold the appropriated funds that Congress gave us to the extent of $1 billion.