Editing Hubert Humphrey (section)

=== Fourth Senate term ===
L. Edward Purcell wrote that upon returning to the Senate, Humphrey found himself "again a lowly junior senator with no seniority" and that he resolved to create credibility in the eyes of liberals.<ref>{{cite book|title=Vice Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary|pages=[https://archive.org/details/vicepresidents00ledw/page/370 370–372]|publisher=Facts on File|year=2001|isbn=978-0816046157|url=https://archive.org/details/vicepresidents00ledw/page/370}}</ref> On May 3, 1971, after the [[Americans for Democratic Action]] adopted a resolution demanding Nixon's impeachment, Humphrey said they were acting "more out of emotion and passion than reason and prudent judgment" and that the request was irresponsible.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/04/archives/humphrey-assails-ada-on-impeachment-of-nixon.html|title=Humphrey Assails A.D.A. On Impeachment of Nixon|date=May 4, 1971|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> On May 21, Humphrey said ending hunger and malnutrition in the U.S. was "a moral obligation" during a speech to International Food Service Manufacturers Association members.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/05/22/page/9/article/mcgovern-humphrey-assail-hunger-malnutrition-in-u-s|title=McGovern, Humphrey Assail Hunger, Malnutrition in U.S.|first=Donna|last=Gill|date=May 22, 1971|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=June 19, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918064548/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/05/22/page/9/article/mcgovern-humphrey-assail-hunger-malnutrition-in-u-s/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In June, Humphrey delivered the commencement address at the [[University of Bridgeport]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/1971/05/19/archives/humphrey-to-address-class.html|title=Humphrey to Address Class|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 19, 1971}}</ref> and days later said that he believed Nixon was interested in seeing a peaceful end to the Vietnam War "as badly as any senator or anybody else."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/06/10/page/38/article/hubert-raps-kennedys-charge-nixon-plays-politics-with-war|title=Hubert Raps Kennedy's Charge Nixon Plays Politics with War|date=June 10, 1971|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=May 8, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918064811/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/06/10/page/38/article/hubert-raps-kennedys-charge-nixon-plays-politics-with-war/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On July 14, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Arms Control, Humphrey proposed amending the defense procurement bill to place in escrow all funds for creation and usage of multiple‐missile warheads in the midst of continued arms limitations talks. Humphrey said members of the Nixon administration needed to remember "when they talk of a tough negotiating position, they are going to get a tough response."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/15/archives/humphrey-muskie-ask-missile-curb-freeze-by-us-and-soviet-proposed.html|title=HUMPHREY, MUSKIE ASK MISSILE CURB|first=John W.|last=Finney|date=July 15, 1971|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> On September 6, Humphrey rebuked the Nixon administration's wage price freeze, saying it was based on trickle-down policies and advocating "percolate up" as a replacement, while speaking at a [[United Rubber Workers]] gathering.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/09/07/page/5/article/new-fair-deal-urged-by-humphrey|date=September 7, 1971|title=New 'Fair Deal' Urged by Humphrey|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=June 19, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918154335/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/09/07/page/5/article/new-fair-deal-urged-by-humphrey/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On October 26, Humphrey stated his support for removing barriers to voting registration and authorizing students to establish voting residences in their college communities, rebuking the refusal of [[United States Attorney General]] [[John N. Mitchell]] the previous month to take a role in shaping voter registration laws as applicable to new voters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19711026.2.5|title=Humphrey Urges Student Vote|newspaper=Desert Sun|date=October 26, 1971}}</ref> On December 24, 1971, Humphrey accused the Nixon administration of turning its back on the impoverished in the rural U.S., citing few implementations of the relief recommendations of the 1967 National Advisory Commission; in another statement he said only three of the 150 recommendations had been implemented.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/25/archives/humphrey-asserts-nixon-turns-back-on-rural-poor.html|title=Humphrey Asserts Nixon Turns Back on Rural Poor|date=December 24, 1971|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> On December 27, responding to antiwar protesters in [[Philadelphia]], Humphrey said the Nixon administration was responsible for an escalation of the Southeast Asia war and requested complete cessation of North Vietnam bombing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/28/archives/humphrey-urges-halt-in-bombing-says-nixon-escalates-war-hecklers.html|title=HUMPHREY URGES HALT IN BOMBING|date=December 28, 1971|newspaper=The New York Times|first=John Noble|last=Wilford}}</ref>

In January 1972, Humphrey said the U.S. would have been out of Vietnam by that point had he been elected president, saying Nixon was taking longer to withdraw American troops from the country than it took to defeat [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hubert-humphrey-criticizes-president-nixon|title=Hubert Humphrey criticizes President Nixon|publisher=History.com|date=January 10, 1973|access-date=September 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918021435/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hubert-humphrey-criticizes-president-nixon|archive-date=September 18, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> On May 20, Humphrey said Nixon's proposal to limit schoolchildren busing was "insufficient in the amount of aid needed for our children, deceptive to the American people, and insensitive to the laws and the Constitution of this nation", in a reversal of his prior stance, while in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/21/archives/humphrey-shifts-now-disapproves-nixon-busing-plan-backs-away-from.html|title=HUMPHREY SHIFTS, NOW DISAPPROVES NIXON BUSING PLAN|date=March 21, 1972|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Walter|last=Rugarer}}</ref> During a May 30 appearance in [[Burbank, California]], Humphrey stated his support for an immediate withdrawal of American forces from South Vietnam despite an invasion by North Vietnam.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/05/31/page/3/article/2d-debate-with-mcgovern|title=Humphrey Wants U.S. to Quit S. Viet Now|date=May 31, 1972|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=June 15, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918154336/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/05/31/page/3/article/2d-debate-with-mcgovern/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 1973, Humphrey said the Nixon administration was plotting to eliminate a school milk program in the upcoming fiscal year budget during a telephone interview.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1973/01/02/page/21/article/humphrey-sees-school-milk-subsidy-as-next-nixon-target|title=Humphrey sees school milk subsidy as next Nixon target|date=January 2, 1973|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=June 8, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918064700/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1973/01/02/page/21/article/humphrey-sees-school-milk-subsidy-as-next-nixon-target/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On February 18, 1973, Humphrey said the Middle East could possibly usher in peace following the Vietnam War ending along with American troops withdrawing from [[Indochina]] during an appearance at the New York Hilton.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/19/archives/humphrey-sees-new-chance-for-peace-in-mideast.html|title=Humphrey Sees New Chance for Peace in Mideast|first=Irving|last=Spiegel|work=The New York Times |date=February 19, 1973 }}</ref> In August 1973, Humphrey called on Nixon to schedule a meeting with nations exporting and importing foods as part of an effort to both create a worldwide policy on food and do away with food hoarding.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1973/08/10/page/5/article/humphrey-and-ford-discuss-nixon-agnew-and-watergate|title=Humphrey and Ford discuss, Nixon, Agnew and Watergate|date=August 10, 1973|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=May 8, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918154154/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1973/08/10/page/5/article/humphrey-and-ford-discuss-nixon-agnew-and-watergate/|url-status=dead}}</ref> After Nixon's dismissal of [[Archibald Cox]], Humphrey said he found "the whole situation entirely depressing."{{sfn|Solberg|1984|p=449}} Three days after Cox's dismissal, during a speech to the AFL-CIO convention on October 23, Humphrey declined to say whether he believed Nixon should be impeached, saying that his congressional position would likely cause him to play a role in determining Nixon's fate.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1973/10/24/page/2/article/hubert-wont-take-impeachment-stand|title=Hubert won't take impeachment stand|first=James|last=Strong|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=October 24, 1973|access-date=September 17, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918064243/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1973/10/24/page/2/article/hubert-wont-take-impeachment-stand/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On December 21, Humphrey disclosed his request of federal tax deductions of $199,153 for the donation of his vice-presidential papers to the Minnesota State Historical Society.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19731222&id=o6tVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3274,5893856|title=Humphrey releases tax data|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|date=December 22, 1973}}</ref>

In early January 1974, Humphrey checked into the [[Bethesda Naval Hospital]] for tests regarding a minute tumor of the bladder. His physician Edgar Berman said the next day that Humphrey "looks fine and feels fine" and was expected to leave early the following week.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1974/01/06/page/3/article/tested-after-x-ray-treatments|title=Humphrey hospitalized for tumor|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=January 6, 1974|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905050717/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1974/01/06/page/3/article/tested-after-x-ray-treatments/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In an interview conducted on March 29, 1974, Humphrey concurred with Senator [[Mike Mansfield]]'s assessment from the prior day that the House of Representatives had enough votes to impeach Nixon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/30/archives/humphrey-believes-impeachment-likely.html|title=Humphrey believes impeachment likely |date=March 30, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408191507/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/30/archives/humphrey-believes-impeachment-likely.html |archive-date= Apr 8, 2022 }}</ref> Humphrey was reportedly pleased by Nixon's resignation.{{sfn|Solberg|1984|p=449}}

In an April 1975 news conference at the spring education conference of the United Federation of Teachers, Humphrey cited the need for a national department of education, a national education trust fund, and a federal government provision for a third of America's educational expenses. He said the Ford administration had no educational policy and noted the United States was the only industrialized country without a separate national education department.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/20/archives/separate-us-unit-on-schools-urged-humphrey-proposes-a-split-of.html|title=Separate U.S. Unit on Schools Urged |first=C. Gerald|last=Fraser|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 20, 1975 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820144300/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/20/archives/separate-us-unit-on-schools-urged-humphrey-proposes-a-split-of.html |archive-date= Aug 20, 2020 }}</ref> In May, Humphrey testified at the trial of his former campaign manager Jack L. Chestnut, admitting that as a candidate he sought the support of Associated Milk Producers, Inc., but saying he was not privy to the illegal contributions Chestnut was accused of taking from the organization.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/06/archives/humphrey-denies-he-knew-of-gift-says-at-trial-he-sought-aid-of.html|title=Humphrey Denies He Knew of Gift|first=Ronald|last=Smothers|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 6, 1975}}</ref> Later that month, Humphrey was one of 19 senators to originate a letter stating the expectation of 75 senators that Ford would submit a foreign aid request to Congress meeting the "urgent military and economic needs" of Israel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/22/archives/75-senators-back-israels-aid-bids-they-sign-letter-to-ford-urging.html|title=75 Senators Back Israel's Aid Bids|date=May 22, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In August, after the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Ford had no authority to continue levying fees of $2 a barrel on imported oil, Humphrey hailed the decision as "the best news we've heard on the inflation front in a long time" and urged Ford to accept the decision because the price reduction on oil and oil‐related products would benefit the national economy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/12/archives/court-rebuffs-ford-on-oil-import-fee-court-in-rebuff-to-ford.html|title=Court Rebuffs Ford On Oil. Import Fee|date=August 12, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In October, after [[Sara Jane Moore]] attempted to assassinate Ford, Humphrey joined former presidential candidates Barry Goldwater, Edmund Muskie, and George McGovern in urging Ford and other presidential candidates to restrain their campaigning the following year to prevent future attempts on their lives.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/01/archives/miss-moore-tried-to-call-ford-guards-five-times-miss-moore-tried-to.html|title=Miss Moore Tried to Call Ford Guards Five Times|first=Richard D.|last=Lyons|date=October 1, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In October 1976, Humphrey was admitted to a hospital for the removal of a cancerous bladder,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/11/archives/humphrey-doing-very-very-well.html|title=Humphrey Doing 'Very, Very Well'|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 11, 1976}}</ref> predicted his victory in his reelection bid, and advocated for members of his party to launch efforts to increase voter turnout upon his release.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/31/archives/humphrey-gets-out-of-the-hospital.html|title=Humphrey Gets Out of the Hospital|date=October 31, 1976|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>