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Nothing has been given on health. Since Truman, Presidents have always given health messages every year but not Carter.

Why is this? Is it because of the money that is involved in it?

I suppose so, maybe. But actually, he could urge people to go to their doctors and have blood pressure checks without any money. The money comes in when you want to get people treated who are only to have Medicare and Medicaid and have no other monty for out-patient doctors and drugs.

And now I've gone to -- last year in '77 I went to Senator Pepper, and he called a hearing about high blood pressure, but it wasn't definitive enough to make the basis for legislation. I persuaded him to ask for a commission, an advisory commission to his Committee on Aging, and to prepare legislation to amend the Medicaid and the Medicare Act.

Now, this will be a hard job to do, because it's going to cost between a billion, four and a billion, seven-fifty. But it's much better to spend this money to treat people than it is to take care of them in hospitals, with strokes and with heart attacks.

Wouldn't you guess that? But that they can't -- you know, the news is too good and people haven't really grasped it, but we're really going to start with this commission and many of my friends I hope will be on it.