Grand Cordon Order of Rising Sun of Japan; commander, Order of Thousand Elephants and White Parasol, Laos; Lasker Award in Planned Parenthood, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 1961; U.S. Presidential Citation for the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, 1967; Margaret Sanger Award for Public Service in Family Planning, Planned Parenthood-World Population, 1967; Citation for Distinguished Service, American Medical Association, 1969. Mr. BOLAND. The committee is aware of your interest in this Commission. This Commission was established in 1970, on March 16, as I recall. Mr. ROCKEFELLER. That is right. Mr. BOLAND. Almost a year has passed since its founding. It was first funded in the second supplemental for fiscal 1970. At that time this committee approved, I think, $965,000 for fiscal 1970 and 1971. You are requesting, in 1972, an appropriation of $635,000. That will bring the total up to $1,600,000. As I understand it, that is the amount of the authorization. Is that correct? Mr. ROCKEFELLER. That is the amount approved by the White House and the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. BOLAND. We are delighted to have you, Mr. Rockefeller, and we will be very pleased to hear you. GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today as chairman of the Commission on Population Growth and the American Future and in support of our request for funds for fiscal 1972. We are just getting out our interim report that the Congress requested and that will be out in a couple of weeks. The membership of the Commission, announced last June, included four distinguished Members of Congress: Congressmen John A. Blatnik and John N. Erlenborn, and Senators Robert W. Packwood and Joseph D. Tydings. That same month the Commission held its first meeting and we have met monthly since that time. We have assembled a capable staff and launched our research program. The Commission is charged by its enabling legislation to examine the probable course of population growth and distribution in this country between now and the year 2000, to assess the problems this will pose for our Government, our economy, and our resources and environment, and to make recommendations on how the Nation can best resolve these problems. We all know of the population problem in the developing nations where death rates have dropped rapidly and populations have exploded. Only recently has it become recognized that America may have a population problem of its own. Some say that it is a problem of crisis proportions-that the growth of population is responsible for pollution of our air and water, depletion of our natural resources, and a broad array of social ills. Others point to recent declines in the birth rate and assert that the problem is going away. Still others say that our problems are not caused by population growth but by the way our population is concentrated in metropolitan areas, by the amounts an affluent people consume and discard, by new products and technologies, or by inequities in access to the good things of life. The Commission is examining the merits of these and other points of view. At this stage in our inquiry the Commission's tentative view is that population growth of the magnitude we have had since World War II has aggravated many of the Nation's problems and made their solution more difficult. We see growth as having an intensifier or multiplier effect on a wide range of problems facing our country and on the quality of life in America. The longer we delay addressing the issue the more costly and arduous the task becomes, because the population—and the number of potential future parents will have grown that much more in the intervening years. The Commission's research program is exploring what such population growth implies for demands on the various levels of Government. Emphasis is being given to future needs for health and welfare services, schools, housing, and transportation. We are also assessing the effects of population growth on resource utilization, environmental pollution, business and the economy. The Commission's research will provide the basis for determining what population-related pressures must necessarily be accommodated over the short run. It will also enable us to form a judgment as to whether formulation of a national policy on population seems appropriate and desirable at this time. While focusing on the overall rate of population increase, the Commission is not overlooking the regional character of many population problems. The pressure of population is felt locally in suburban sprawl, crowded slums, traffic congestion and pollution of air and water as well as in the depopulation of rural areas. In its research program, the Commission is examining internal migration and the future trend of metropolitan growth and population redistribution, and probing their effects on Government, public services, resources and the environment. In order to accomplish its mission in the short time available, the Commission is conducting its research by contracting for the services of organizations that have demonstrated competence in the fields of the Commission's responsibilities. The Commission considers it essential to have the maximum public contribution to its deliberations. To insure this it will hold a series of public hearings around the country and also conduct a national survey to collect information on the level of public understanding of and attitudes toward population issues. The work the Commission is doing will enable us to present the American people, as we were charged to do, with information and education regarding a broad range of problems associated with population growth and America's future. We believe that our work will contribute to making the country aware of the issues involved, and that it will enable the United States to prepare for its future in such a way as to maximize the quality of life for all its people. The request for fiscal year 1972 of $635,000 brings to $1.6 million the estimated total available, for all of the Commission's activities over its 26-month lifespan, to remain available until expended. This request represents the minimum requirements in order for us to discharge our responsibilities to the President, the Congress and the people. I thank you Mr. Chairman. |