On September 27, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty. To this commission, he delegated the responsibility of making a comprehensive study and appraisal of the current economic situations and trends in American rural life. In fulfilling this responsibility, the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty conducted public hearings in Tucson, Arizona; Memphis, Tennessee; and Washington, D.C. The verbatim transcript contained in this volume is a result of the 3-day public hearing in Washington, D.C., on Febraury 15-17, 1967. Two additional volumes contain the proceedings of the hearings in Tucson (RC 001 975) and Memphis (RC 001 945). All 3 volumes of hearings conducted by this commission are verbatim transcripts of the respective hearing proceedings. Based upon these public hearings and other extensive research, the commission presented a final report to President Johnson on September 27, 1967. The final report, which is contained in another volume (ED 016 543), describes the poverty in America in 1967 and recommends "the most efficient and promising means of providing opportunities for the rural population to share in America's abundance." (LS)