[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 125 (Thursday, September 18, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1785-E1790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     1996 NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL BARRETT

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 17, 1997

  Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year the 
transcript of the 1997 National Prayer Breakfast, held here in 
Washington, DC, was printed in the Congressional Record. It has come to 
my attention that the transcript of the previous year's National Prayer 
Breakfast was inadvertently not submitted in the Record. The 
Challenging and moving message brought to us that morning by our former 
Senate colleague, Sam Nunn, should be available for everyone. 
Therefore, I request that a copy of the program and of the transcript 
of the 1996 proceeding be printed in the Congressional Record at this 
time.

                       National Prayer Breakfast


                  Chairman: The Honorable Bob Bennett

       Pre-Breakfast Prayer: The Honorable Daniel Akaka, U.S. 
     Senator, Hawaii.
       Opening Song: Pine Valley Choir.
       Opening Prayer: General John M. Shalikashvili, Chairman, 
     Joint Chiefs of Staff.


                               Breakfast

       Welcome: The Honorable Bob Bennett, U.S. Senator, Utah.
       Remarks--U.S. House of Representatives: The Honorable Pete 
     Geren, U.S. House of Representatives, Texas.
       Old Testament Reading: The Honorable Tom Lantos, U.S. House 
     of Representatives, California.
       Remarks--U.S. Senate: The Honorable Al Simpson, U.S. 
     Senator, Wyoming.
       Solo: Mr. Van Cliburn.


                The Vice President of the United States

       New Testament Reading: The Honorable Sonny Montgomery, U.S. 
     House of Representatives, Mississippi.
       Prayer for National and International Leaders: Dr. Billy 
     Graham.
       Message: The Honorable Sam Nunn, U.S. Senator, Georgia.
       Introduction of the President: The Honorable Bob Bennett.


                   The President of the United States

       Closing Song: Ms. Ariel Bybee.
       Closing Prayer: Dr. Dorothy Height, National Council of 
     Negro Women.


     
                                  ____
              National Prayer Breakfast, February 1, 1996

       Senator Bennett. Good morning. My name is Bob Bennett. I am 
     the leader of the Senate Prayer Breakfast, and in the 
     tradition of the National Prayer Breakfast, this is the year 
     of the Senate to conduct this activity so that it becomes my 
     happy lot to greet you here on behalf of both the Senate and 
     the House to this special occasion.
       General John Shalikashvili, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
     Staff, will offer the opening prayer.
       General Shalikashvili. Today as we gather here in 
     Washington, we are joined by countless and countless 
     Americans all across our nation in prayer and in fellowship. 
     And on every base, on every post and on every ship, we are 
     joined as well by our men and women in uniform who have 
     answered our nation's call to serve.
       Just across the Potomac on Ft. Myer, across the Pacific at 
     Misawa Air Base, aboard the USS America, in Haiti and Kuwait, 
     in South Korea and Bosnia, in all of these places and 
     hundreds more, America's sons and daughters are taking to 
     their knees and solemnly asking God for strength.
       They are rededicating themselves to freedom, to the freedom 
     that can be found in a nation loosed from the chains of 
     oppression. They are rededicating themselves to peace, the 
     peace that can now be heard in the silent hills of a nation 
     that for years knew only war and destruction. And they are 
     rededicating themselves to the love of God that you see in 
     the eyes of a cold and frightened child, held in the 
     reassuring arm of an American soldier in a faraway place 
     called Tuzla.
       And so I ask you now to join them and to bow your heads in 
     prayer.
       Almighty God, our Creator and Sustainer, we do affirm here 
     and now how wonderful it is to join together today in Your 
     name, for today we bow in prayer as those who, as individuals 
     and as a nation, have been magnificently and prodigiously 
     blessed. We are thankful for the opportunity we have been 
     given to act as Your servants, and as servants of the people.
       We are also grateful for this opportunity to pray as a 
     nation for our sons and daughters in the United States Armed 
     Forces here and around the world who represent our heritage 
     and continued resolve to ever uphold what is right and to 
     ever oppose what is wrong and would threaten liberty and 
     justice, and of a certainty to do Your will.
       Our Father, we join in prayer breakfasts throughout the 
     world and we ask Your blessing upon all who have united in a 
     spirit of genuine fellowship and kinship. We are grateful for 
     all Your blessings and for our liberty, and we ask that You 
     strengthen our hearts and give us a continued resolve to work 
     together in the cause of freedom and peace throughout the 
     globe. And in a world threatened by discord and fear, we ask 
     that You watch over our President and all of our nation's 
     leaders, that You continue to help them cope with the crucial 
     problems of our time.
       Father, we ask now that You bless our nation, our nation's 
     leader and all leaders here today. We ask that You bless this 
     breakfast gathering of fellowship, and we ask that You bless 
     this food for Your honor and for Your glory.
       In Your name we pray, Amen.
       Senator Bennett. Thank you, General Shalikashvili. We'll 
     now enjoy the breakfast and pick up the program when 
     presumably you're through eating. Thank you.
       [Breakfast.]
       Senator Bennett. In the Senate prayer group we always bang 
     the glass at the stroke of 8:30 and get started, whether 
     you're finished eating or not, so we will follow that 
     tradition here today.
       We welcome you all here today and you should be aware of 
     the fact that in addition to the President and his wife and 
     the Vice President and his wife, there are in attendance 
     members of the Senate and the House, members of the 
     President's Cabinet. Of course General Shalikashvili and 
     other members of the Joint Chiefs and the military command. 
     We have prime ministers and heads of state, leaders of giant 
     corporations and organizations from all over the world and we 
     welcome all of you.
       Allow me to quickly introduce to you the people who are 
     sitting at the head table, most of whom will participate and, 
     therefore, will be introduced in their own right. But for 
     those who do not participate, so that you know who is here, I 
     will start with my colleague, Senator Akaka from Hawaii. Next 
     to him, Ariel Bybee, who will sing to us later. General 
     Shalikashvili, whom you've heard from in the opening prayer, 
     and his wife, Joan.
       Senator Simpson, who will represent the Senate prayer 
     group, and his wife Ann. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, and 
     I'll tell you why she's here at the appropriate time. Becky 
     Geren, the wife of Congressman Pete Geren, who heads the 
     House prayer group. Of course you know the Vice President and 
     his wife. You know this fellow with a full head of hair next 
     to me and his wife.
       My wife, Joyce, next to Mrs. Clinton. Senator Nunn and his 
     wife, Colleen, and we of course will hear from him. Dr. 
     Dorothy Height, we will hear from her. Van Cliburn, who will 
     provide music. Annette Lantos and Congressman Tom Lantos from 
     California, and then Sonny Montgomery from Mississippi. So, 
     those are the folks who are here before you. [Applause.]
       In the New Testament it records an occasion where a lawyer 
     came before Jesus in an attempt to tempt Him and trap Him in 
     His words. As I read that, I realize that the behavior of 
     lawyers maybe hasn't changed too much in the centuries from 
     then until now, but just some lawyers, I assure you.
       In an attempt to trip Him up, the lawyer asked Jesus a 
     question that he was fairly sure Jesus would have trouble 
     with because it was the question that has been widely 
     debated, and certainly had been widely debated in that time: 
     what is the greatest commandment in the law, and perhaps with 
     a bit of derision in his voice, he prefaced the question by 
     saying, ``Master, what is the greatest commandment?''
       Jesus was more than prepared and He quoted from 
     Deuteronomy, ``Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
     heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might'' And then 
     went further, quoting from Leviticus, said to the lawyer, 
     ``and to the second is like unto it.'' Quoting from the 19th 
     chapter of Leviticus, he said, ``Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
     as thyself.'' And then He gave the lawyer this magnificent 
     summary. He said, ``On these two hang all the law and the 
     prophets.''
       I can think of nothing better than that summary as the 
     theme of the prayer breakfast. All of us have our own 
     interpretation of who is the Lord our God. All of us strive 
     to do the best we can to understand who that is and to love 
     Him with all our hearts, souls and minds. But all of us, 
     regardless of our religious tradition, can recognize the 
     importance of learning to love our neighbor as ourselves, and 
     it is in that spirit that we gather here this morning and in 
     countless groups around the world.
       We gather that way in the Senate of the United States every 
     week. We also do that in the House every week and it is my 
     privilege

[[Page E1786]]

     to introduce to you the Honorable Pete Geren, Congressman 
     from Texas, who is the leader of the House prayer breakfast, 
     to bring us their greetings.
       Representative Geren. Senator, thank you. I'm not sure your 
     lawyer comment was in the spirit of the occasion but we'll 
     let that one pass. [Laughter.]
       Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice President, Mrs. Gore, 
     and distinguished guests, one and all. I bring you greetings 
     from the prayer breakfast of the United States House of 
     Representatives. My charge today is to tell you about our 
     prayer breakfast, with the hope and prayer that perhaps you 
     can build on our experience in your nation, your state, your 
     place of work, or perhaps even in your neighborhood.
       In the book of Matthew Jesus told us, ``Where two or three 
     are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of 
     them.'' Today those gathered in His name number in the 
     thousands and we thank Him for His message.
       Every Thursday morning that the House is in session we 
     gather, 40 to 50 members strong, in His name. Our gathering 
     is extraordinary by Capitol Hill standards, for so many 
     reasons, and truly a blessing for those who have chosen to 
     make it a part of their lives. I say extraordinary by Capitol 
     Hill standards. In a supercharged environment where most all 
     meetings are restricted by party membership, or even more 
     narrowly by philosophical subsets within the party, by race, 
     by religion, by region, by state, by cause, our meetings are 
     interfaith, ecumenical, multiracial, nonpartisan, and about 
     as diverse as this great land of ours.
       The Irish brogue of south Boston, the syrupy drawl of South 
     Georgia, the sharp and clipped tongue of Brooklyn, the twang 
     of Texas, and the flat tones of the Midwest fill the room 
     every Thursday morning. Extraordinary. There are no guests, 
     not even family members, no camera, no press, no record of 
     the proceedings. It is as private as Capitol Hill can be and 
     members share their hearts.
       I said no guests. Well, there is one exception. Legislators 
     or parliamentarians from around the world will join us to 
     learn about our breakfast and on occasion return years later 
     to tell about the breakfasts that they have started in their 
     land.
       Today prayer breakfasts are held in over 100 countries 
     around the world, in countries as far-flung as India, Peru, 
     Mongolia, Japan. So, in a way, our breakfast engages in 
     outreach to the world, but that's not our main purpose. Our 
     focus is internal, on the lives and hearts and souls of our 
     colleagues. It is fellowship. It is an eye in the storm of 
     the swirling world of politics.
       There is a saying in Washington that if you want a friend 
     in Washington, buy a dog. Our breakfast belies that 
     expression. Breakfast begins at eight, and I think it's the 
     only three dollar breakfast left in Washington. It probably 
     violates the gifts ban, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure.
       We visit informally for most of the first half hour. When 
     we are called to order, we begin our day's program with a 
     scripture reading. Our very own general, Congressman Sonny 
     Montgomery, then brings us to date on the lives, and too 
     often of late, the deaths of our friends and House members, 
     past and present. He shares with us celebrations such as 
     recent births and the trials and tribulations of others.
       We than life up our colleagues and their families in prayer 
     with rejoiceful prayers of thanksgiving, prayers for healing, 
     for comfort, and for the blessing of our name and our 
     leaders. We follow the prayer with a hymn, long on enthusiasm 
     and sometimes short on harmony.
       Congressman Jake Pickle of Texas used to regale us with the 
     history of each hymn, or at least the history according to 
     Jake. Jake is now retired and we all miss him.
       Following the hymn, a House member tells us about his or 
     her life story, about the influences that changed his life, 
     his values, his philosophy, his faith, his politics. On these 
     occasions members offer a window into their souls that I 
     suspect few others ever see. Through this sharing, each of us 
     so often is surprised that beyond the accent, the geography, 
     and the political label, surprised at how much we all have in 
     common.
       After hearing Joe Moakley of Massachusetts talk of his 
     South Boston childhood, Charlie Rangel, who grew up in 
     Harlem, said, ``Joe, we really grew up in the same 
     neighborhood. We just never knew it.'' Regarding our 
     differences, and they are many, we grow to understand them 
     and appreciate them.
       We close with another prayer. We pray that we may be salt 
     and light in this world. Each of us truly is blessed by our 
     participation and pray that somehow our Congress and our 
     nation, one nation under God, could be blessed as well. Thank 
     you very much. [Applause.]
       Senator Bennett. We will now hear an Old Testament reading 
     by the Honorable Tom Lantos from California, after which Al 
     Simpson, retiring but not really very retiring, Senator from 
     Wyoming, will speak on behalf of the Senate prayer group.
       Representative Lantos. President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton, 
     Vice President and Mrs. Gore, ladies and gentlemen. We all 
     know why everybody is here at the head table. No one knows 
     why I am here. I am here as a reminder that we are slow 
     learners. Bob Bennett said, ``Thou shall love thy neighbor.'' 
     I am the only survivor of the Holocaust ever elected to the 
     Congress of the United States, which I take as the most 
     poignant reminder of how profoundly we have failed to learn 
     that central, profound, and powerful message.
       This is my birthday and I didn't expect it to be this 
     elaborate. [Laughter, applause]. But as always, I want to 
     express my appreciation to my wife Annette, and I want to 
     tell all of you that as I blow out the candles tonight on my 
     birthday cake, I will have a simple wish, that all of our 17 
     grandchildren and all the children all across the globe 
     should have an opportunity to grow up in peace and dignity 
     and friendship.
       I'd like to share with you a psalm you all know, Psalm 19.
       ``The Heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim 
     the work of His hand. Day after day, they pour forth speech, 
     night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech 
     or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes 
     out into all the earth, their works to the end of the world. 
     In the heavens, He has pitched a tent for the sun, which is 
     like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a 
     champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of 
     the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is 
     hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect.''
       Senator Simpson. Mr. President and First Lady Hillary, and 
     Vice President and President of our Senate, Al and Tipper. 
     Distinguished guests, greetings to my fellow seekers and 
     discoverers and wanderers, not necessarily in that order.
       It is always a grand morning. One of the great honors of my 
     life was to give the principal address at this National 
     Prayer Breakfast in 1989. I was filled with trepidation that 
     a seeker like me would be asked. The night before, the 
     Reverend Billy Graham, one of the most loving, inspirational, 
     caring men in this world, called and said, ``Alan, we are 
     praying for you.'' I said, ``You're praying for me? I'm doing 
     plenty of that for myself.'' But that's very typical of the 
     Reverend Billy Graham.
       Long ago in public life I learned where to turn when I 
     didn't know where to turn. There's only one source for that.
       The Senate prayer breakfast group gathers every Wednesday 
     morning for a convivial hour between 8 and 9. Our leaders, 
     Bob Bennett, Republican from Utah, Danny Akaka, Democrat from 
     Hawaii, rare people, both of them. The presenter of the day, 
     after an opening prayer, shares about themselves with us for 
     15 or 20 minutes, followed by a time of discussion and 
     fellowship. Promptly at the hour of nine we close with a 
     prayer as we stand with hands joined around the tables.
       Sometimes the theme is the Bible. Sometimes it's public 
     life. Sometimes it's about family and our jobs, but always 
     it's about ourselves and the impact of that greater force in 
     our lives, a higher being. All faiths there, all 
     philosophies, all believers.
       Those are always very moving times and we share much with 
     each other and we gain much from each other. It helps us 
     endure in the partisan and political world in which we have 
     chosen to labor. Kindness, civility, tolerance, and 
     forgiveness are all part of the essence of our gatherings. We 
     try to put aside harsh judgment and criticism. I remember the 
     words of a wonderful couplet that my mother used to share: 
     ``There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in 
     the best of us, that it ill behooves any of us to find fault 
     with the rest of us.'' I like that one. I knew you would.
       We also talk about our human frailties. We talk about how 
     easy it is to fall for the blandishments of flattery and be 
     overcome by ego. I've often said that those who travel the 
     high road of humility in Washington, D.C. are not troubled by 
     heavy traffic. [Laughter.]
       It is always a very uplifting time. And yes, actually too a 
     time of sharing our own vulnerabilities. It was Will Rogers, 
     our great American humorist, who said, ``It's great to be 
     great but it's greater to be human.''
       We are very privileged to be able to serve in the United 
     States Senate, a special obligation. People do observe us. We 
     are scrutinized, and we hope to do more than just talk a good 
     game. We need to live the things we learn and share.
       Let me close with a poem that is something we try to take 
     from the weekly Senate prayer breakfast group and something 
     we might hope to remember from this marvelous convocation 
     today. That little poem, ``We'd rather see a sermon than hear 
     one any day. We'd rather you would walk with us than merely 
     show the way. The eye is a better pupil and more willing than 
     the ear. Fine counsel is confusing, but example always clear. 
     We can soon learn how to do it if you all let us see it done. 
     We can watch you well in action but your tongue too fast may 
     run. And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true, 
     but we'd rather get our lessons by observing you.''
       There's the word for the day. God bless you all.
       Senator Bennett. Senator Al Gore was a regular attender at 
     the Senate prayer breakfast. Vice President Al Gore gets 
     there as often as he possibly can. We are poorer for the fact 
     that that is not as often as it used to be, but we're always 
     glad to see the President of the Senate when he does show up 
     at our prayer breakfast and we're honored and pleased to hear 
     from him now. The Vice President of the United States.
       Vice President Al Gore. Thank you, Senator Bennett and Mrs. 
     Bennett, and Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Speaker, 
     Congressman Geren and Mrs. Geren, Senator Nunn, who will 
     deliver the message, and Mrs. Nunn, other members of the 
     House and Senate here at the dais, other distinguished

[[Page E1787]]

     guests at the dais and in the audience and in the overflow 
     room. Let me especially welcome the international dignitaries 
     who are with us this morning.
       As Tipper and I stood outside the hotel early this morning, 
     it was so cold that those who didn't know me well thought I 
     was frozen stiff. [Laughter.] Three years ago at 
     Christmastime I received from one of my children a gift that 
     almost drove me to distraction. It was a book of graphic 
     designs generated by a computer technique that contain a 
     hidden pattern. How many of you have ever seen such designs? 
     Those of you who have not, what I'm about to say won't mean 
     much to you, but ask your chiuldren. They will tell you about 
     these designs.
       You're supposed to hold them very close to your face and 
     focus your eyes on a distant point beyond the page. Then 
     after a little time has passed, slowly take them away from 
     your eyes, and if you do it just right, a design will spring 
     into view in three dimensions.
       I don't think I was doing it just right, and it took a 
     number of tries before I finally resolved the technique. My 
     children, by contrast, would flip through the pages, yep, 
     there's that one, yep, there's that one. I would still be on 
     the first one, trying to bring it into view.
       I think prayer is a little bit like that experience. We try 
     to focus on a more distant reality that has a deeper meaning, 
     but it's difficult to be still and be patient and avoid the 
     distraction of the business in our lives.
       Men see on the surface. We're taught God sees on the 
     inside. Jesus taught the kingdom of God is within. In 
     Ecclesiastes we find the passage, ``I applied mine heart to 
     know and to search and to seek out wisdom and the reason of 
     things.''
       In a world awash in information and busyness, there is 
     always so much more we can know: the reason a child is 
     suffering ten blocks from this hotel, the dreams of a nation 
     an ocean away, the condition of our planet as it circles the 
     sun. We seek wisdom wherever it may be.
       Ecclesiastes also reminds us that, ``wisdom strengthened 
     the wise more than ten mighty men.'' With wisdom we may 
     glimpse the future and shape its contours. We can fulfull 
     responsibilities to neighbors and honor obligations to our 
     children. With wisdom we can protect our earth and preserve 
     its treasures.
       So we ask God to give us the wisdom and courage to act on 
     that which we have learned and give us too the strength to 
     move forward. Give us the grace to be still, to lift up our 
     eyes unto the hills, to take the time to ask, what would 
     Jesus do, and to remember that He said, ``Whatsoever you do 
     to the least of these, you do to me.'' [Applause.]
       Senator Bennett. As Congressman Geren indicated, Sonny 
     Montgomery, Congressman from Mississippi, has been one of the 
     pillars around which the House prayer breakfast group has 
     been built over the years. Sonny has announced his retirement 
     from the Congress, so we asked him to give the New Testament 
     reading here at the National Prayer Breakfast.
       Sonny, when you're through, don't leave because we have 
     something we'd like to give you as a memento.
       Representative Montgomery. Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
     Vice President, Mrs. Gore, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Senator 
     Bennett, for giving me the opportunity to read two passages 
     from the New Testament.
       A few minutes ago Pete Geren talked about the House prayer 
     breakfast group, and Thursday is the best day of the week for 
     me because of the prayer breakfast. I could have not made it 
     up here for 30 years without the House prayer breakfast being 
     in the Congress.
       Now, to do what I'm supposed to do, two readings from the 
     New Testament. From the Living Bible, I Corinthians, chapter 
     13, verses 11 through 13. It is like this. ``When I was a 
     child,I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does, but 
     when I became a man, my thoughts grew far beyond those of my 
     childhood, and now I have put away childish things. In the 
     same way we can see and understand only a little about God 
     now, as if we were peering at His reflection in a poor 
     mirror. But some day we are going to see Him in His 
     completeness, face to face. Right now, all that I know is 
     hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, 
     just as clearly as God sees into my heart today. There are 
     three things that remain: faith, hope, and love, and the 
     greatest of these is love.''
       Now from the King James version, II Timothy, chapter 4, 
     verses 6 through 8. Paul is writing to his spiritual son 
     Timothy. ``I am already being poured out as a drink offering 
     and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the 
     good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 
     Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, 
     which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that 
     day, and not to me only but to all who have loved His 
     appearing.'' Amen, amen. [Applause.]
       Representative Geren. On behalf of the House prayer 
     breakfast we have a presentation to make to Sonny. Sonny is 
     truly the heart and soul of the House prayer breakfast. 
     Sonny, I don't know what we're going to do without you. 
     [Presents a Bible and reads the inscription]
       ``Sonny Montgomery, our wonderful friend and mentor for so 
     many years. You help us with the things that count most in 
     life. We are forever in your debt. Presented to Sonny 
     Montgomery on the occasion of the 1996 National Prayer 
     Breakfast by the House of Representatives breakfast group.''
       Sonny, thank you very much. [Applause.]
       Senator Bennett. After the program was printed, I received 
     the following letter, addressed to the National Prayer 
     Breakfast. ``I deeply regret that my doctors, in spite of 
     great improvement and the promise that I will be totally 
     recovered within the next month, have urged me not to attend 
     the meeting today. This will be one of the few times I have 
     ever missed the National Prayer Breakfast since its 
     inception, and I am going to greatly miss it.''
       ``It is my prayer that uniting in the spiritual atmosphere 
     will bring us together as a people, whatever our backgrounds, 
     and strengthen the moral and spiritual values that we are 
     dangerously close to losing. May God bless you all.''
       We assume, Dr. Graham, that you are watching on television, 
     and we miss you. But we tell you you are in our prayers and 
     thoughts and that we pray your recovery is as complete as you 
     indicate the doctors have promised you it will be.
       Now faced with this kind of a hole to fill, I did what you 
     always do when you have a real problem. You go to your 
     friends. Carol Moseley-Braun, Senator from Illinois, after 
     her initial ``whoo'' at the suggestion that she would be 
     standing in for Billy Graham, proved just how much of a 
     friend she really is when she said, ``Yes, Bob, I will do 
     it.''
       In the tradition of the National Prayer Breakfast, where we 
     always have a prayer for national and international leaders, 
     we will now have the honor of having that prayer offered by 
     the Senator from Illinois, Carol Moseley-Braun.
       Senator Moseley-Braun. Thank you. Senator Bennett assured 
     me that the charity of the people at the prayer breakfast 
     would keep me from being run out of town while trying to 
     substitute for the great Dr. Graham. Our prayers go out to 
     him for his speedy recovery and full health.
       Mr. President and Mrs. President, Mr. Vice President and 
     Mrs. Vice President, Senator Bennett, honored guests, ladies 
     and gentlemen, let us pray.
       Oh Lord, You have always called forth leaders in the world 
     and we look to You to lift up among us those who will lead in 
     righteous ways. Your servant Moses saw an oppressed people 
     and, though he first fled from the path, led his people from 
     oppression to freedom, from slavery into nationhood. Your 
     servant David heard the taunting cry of an evil-spirited 
     giant whose tyranny threatened to crush the struggling forces 
     for good. Against such seemingly impossible strength but 
     armed with your spirit, he brought justice.
       Your servant, Your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, armed with 
     only the truth of His teaching, showed His followers the 
     light which has been the salvation of and the model for self-
     sacrificing and humble leadership for countless generations.
       Lord, we seek Your face. Your world needs leaders who see 
     oppression and lead us away from it, who can cut tyrants down 
     to size and place their taunts behind us, who will offer not 
     only their wisdom and their words but indeed, themselves in 
     the service of people everywhere.
       Clothe those who gather under the mantle of leadership in 
     the world today with a proper scorn for tyranny, a priestly 
     reverence for the lives of those for whom they speak, and the 
     tender touch of the shepherd lifting up those who need him 
     most.
       Strengthen their eyes, make wise their minds, and fill 
     their house with the resolve to seek and find an act upon the 
     truth as they are privileged to know it in the service of the 
     world You have created, and of the people whom You love.
       Then shall the nations all rejoice in the reality of Your 
     promise to heal this land and to grant peace on earth, good 
     will to all. Father, we thank You for your grace and guidance 
     and for Your many blessings. Make plain Your way and 
     straighten our path, that our service and stewardship--that 
     our stewardship of Your earth and our service of Your people 
     may be pleasing in Your sight.
       Bless the leaders here assembled, Your clergy, our 
     President and Vice President, the leadership and membership 
     of the Congress, the administration, the military, the 
     international community all here assembled. May our prayers 
     this day create an atmosphere for good all over your world, 
     and the leaders of our time do honor to you.
       These things in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
       Senator Bennett. When the time came to make the decision as 
     to whom we would call upon for the principal address at this 
     prayer breakfast, we considered a number of names, and 
     debated them and got excited about this one and that one, and 
     then, well, maybe, and back and forth.
       We would pray and then get back and talk again. Then in the 
     midst of all of this conversation the name of Sam Nunn was 
     mentioned, at which point we knew we didn't have to pray 
     about it any more. He did, but we didn't. We knew we had the 
     right fellow. It took a few weeks for him to decide that that 
     was the case.
       When I called the President to run the name by him--as a 
     courtesy we always do that, to make sure that we get somebody 
     that the President would feel comfortable with--I caught the 
     President on a perhaps bad day. I'm not sure he has too many 
     of the other kind, but while the President is always 
     courteous, I could tell from the edge in his voice a little 
     bit that there had been a lot of people who had been having 
     that day. He

[[Page E1788]]

     said after the pleasantries, ``You called me,'' kind of a 
     little bit defensive, like, what problem are we going to have 
     now?
       I said, ``Mr. President, I'm calling to get your reaction 
     to the possibility that we'll have Sam Nunn as the speaker 
     for the National Prayer Breakfast.'' I could tell from the 
     response in the President's voice that I had made his day; 
     immediately he relaxed and said, ``I think that's wonderful. 
     I think that's remarkable.''
       So do all of the rest of us who know and love Sam Nunn. 
     This is one of the outstanding public servants in America, 
     and it is going to be our great privilege to hear from him 
     now. [Applause.]
       Senator Nunn. Thank you very much, Bob. President and Mrs. 
     Clinton, Vice President and Mrs. Gore, fellow sinners--have I 
     left anyone out? [Laughter.]
       I say to my good friend Alan Simpson, Billy Graham called 
     me also, Alan, and he said as he did in his message, he was 
     praying for us all but he felt particularly compelled to pray 
     for Alan Simpson and for me. Alan, I don't know what he meant 
     by that, but you and I appreciate it.
       A few years ago during the Brezhnev era, Dr. Billy Graham 
     returned from a highly publicized trip to Moscow, and he was 
     confronted when he returned by one of his critics with these 
     words, ``Dr. Graham, you have set the church back 50 years.'' 
     Billy Graham lowered his head and replied, ``I am deeply 
     ashamed. I've been trying very hard to set the church back 
     2,000 years.'' [Laughter, applause.]
       Today we represent different political parties, different 
     religions, different nations, but as your invitation states, 
     we gather as brothers and sisters in the spirit of Jesus, who 
     lived 2,000 years ago and who lives in our hearts and minds 
     even today. The first prayer breakfast was held in 1953, in a 
     world of great danger. President Eisenhower was newly 
     inaugurated and had just returned from Korea where our young 
     soldiers were fighting desperately.
       World communism was on the move. Eastern Europe and the 
     Baltics were locked behind the Iron Curtain. All across the 
     globe the lights of religion, freedom, and individual right 
     were going out, and the specter of nuclear destruction loomed 
     over our planet.
       I wonder this morning how those who attended that first 
     National Prayer Breakfast 43 years ago would have reacted if 
     God had given them a window to see the world of the 1980s and 
     the 1990s. They would have seen truly amazing things. 
     Catholic nuns kneeling to pray in the path of 50-ton tanks, 
     the power of their faith bringing down the Philippine 
     dictatorship. The Iron Curtain being smashed, not by tanks of 
     war but by the hands of those who built it and those who were 
     oppressed by it. The Cold War ending not in a nuclear inferno 
     but in a blaze of candles in the churches of Eastern Europe, 
     in the singing of hymns and the opening of long-closed 
     synagogues.
       I believe that God gave Joseph Stalin the answer to his 
     question: How many divisions does the Pope have? They would 
     have also seen a black man in South Africa emerge from prison 
     after 26 years and become President of his nation, 
     personifying forgiveness and reconciliation; the first 
     hesitant but hopeful steps toward peace between Jews and 
     Arabs in the Middle East and between Catholics and 
     Protestants in Northern Ireland. They would see that in 1996, 
     we are blessed to live in a world where more people enjoy 
     religious freedom than at any other time in history. Can we 
     doubt this morning that a loving God has watched over us and 
     guided us through this dangerous and challenging period?
       During the early days of the Russian Parliament, known as 
     the Duma, I joined several other Senators in attending a 
     meeting with a number of newly elected members of that body. 
     The second day, a few of us were invited to a very small 
     prayer breakfast with a group of Duma members who were just 
     forming a fellowship. As in the larger meeting the day 
     before, the breakfast discussion started with a degree of 
     coldness and tension. One of the Russians, in obvious sadness 
     and a little embarrassment, remarked that Russia was in great 
     economic distress and that the United States was the only 
     remaining super power. It was clear that this was a very 
     sensitive point for them. It had been abundantly clear also 
     the day before. Senator Dirk Kempthorne and I then pointed 
     out that in a real sense there was only one real Super Power 
     in the world, our Heavenly Father who watches over us all. 
     The tension immediately eased, and the spirit of fellowship 
     was built. And we prayed together to that Super Power, the 
     God who loves us all.
       Our world is a strange and tragic place. It's very ironic 
     in many ways. The Cold War is over, but in a tragic sense, 
     the world has now been made safe for ethnic, tribal and 
     religious warfare and vengeance and savagery. Such tragedy 
     has come to the people of Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Burundi, 
     Sudan, and Haiti and others.
       At home, the pillar of our national strength, the American 
     family, is crumbling. Television and movies saturate our 
     children with sex and violence. We have watered down our 
     moral standards to the point where many of our youth are 
     confused, discouraged, and in deep trouble. We are reaping 
     our harvest of parental neglect, divorce, child abuse, teen 
     pregnancy, school drop-outs, illegal drugs and streets full 
     of violence. It's as if our house, having survived the great 
     earthquake we called the Cold War, is now being eaten away by 
     termites.
       Where should we turn this morning and in the days ahead? I 
     believe that our problems in America today are primarily 
     problems of the heart. The soul of our nation is the sum of 
     our individual characters. Yes, we must balance the budget. 
     And there are a lot of other things we need to do at the 
     federal level. But unless we change our hearts, we will still 
     have a deficit of the soul. The human inclination to seek 
     political solutions for problems of the heart is nothing new. 
     It's natural.
       Two thousand years ago another society found itself in 
     deeper trouble than our own today. An oppressive empire 
     strangled liberties. Violence and corruption were pervasive. 
     Many of the people of the day hoped for the triumphant coming 
     of a political savior, a long expected king to establish a 
     new, righteous government. Instead, God sent his son, a baby 
     born in a stable.
       Jesus grew up to become a peasant carpenter in a backwater 
     town called Nazareth. He condemned sin, but he made it clear 
     he loved the sinner. He befriended beggars and prostitutes 
     and even tax collectors, while condemning the hypocrisy of 
     those in power. He treated every individual with love and 
     dignity and taught that we should do the same. He died like a 
     common criminal on a cross and gave us the opportunity for 
     redemption and the hope of eternal life. He also put the role 
     of government in proper perspective when he said, ``Render 
     unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is 
     God's.''
       Shortly after I announced that I would not seek reelection 
     last fall, a reporter asked me, ``You've been in this 
     Congress for 24 years. What do you consider your greatest 
     accomplishment?'' I paused for a moment, and then I replied, 
     ``Keeping my family together and helping my wife Colleen 
     raise two wonderful children, Michelle and Brian.'' 
     [Applause.]
       Well, upon hearing that, the reporter scoffed, He said, 
     ``Don't give me that soft, sound bite stuff. What laws did 
     you get passed?'' When he said that, I had several thoughts, 
     only a couple of them I can share with you this morning. 
     [General laughter.]
       Four years ago, my daughter Michelle and a few of her 
     friends started an organization in Atlanta called Hands On 
     Atlanta, making it exciting and efficient and fun for young 
     people to volunteer their time to help those in need. Now, 
     about five years later, 10,000 volunteers each month render 
     about 20,000 hours of personal one-on-one service. Now what 
     laws have I passed that would have this impact?
       I also thought about the difference between being a Senator 
     and being a father. When we in the Senate make a mistake, we 
     have checks and balances, 99 other Senate colleagues, plus 
     the House of Representatives, plus the President, plus a 
     final review by the Supreme Court. But when we as parents 
     make a mistake, where are the checks and where are the 
     balances?
       Congress can pass laws cracking down on those who refuse to 
     support their children, but we cannot force husbands to honor 
     their wives, wives to love their husbands and both parents to 
     nurture their children. Congress can pass laws on civil 
     rights and equal rights, but we cannot force people of 
     different races to love each other as brothers. Congress can 
     promote fairness and efficiency in our tax code, but we 
     cannot force the rich to have compassion for the poor. We can 
     join with our Nato allies to separate the warring factions in 
     Bosnia, as we're doing, and give them a breathing space as 
     we're doing; but we cannot force Muslims, Croats and Serbs to 
     live together as brothers in peace.
       I recently heard a story on the radio. It happened in 
     Bosnia, but I think it has meaning for all of us. A reporter 
     was covering that tragic conflict in the middle of Sarajevo; 
     and he saw a young, little girl shot by a sniper. The back of 
     her head had literally been torn away by the bullet. The 
     reporter threw down his pad and pencil and stopped being a 
     reporter for a few minutes. He rushed to the man who was 
     holding the child. He helped them both into his car. As the 
     reporter stepped on the accelerator, racing to the hospital, 
     the man holding the bleeding child said, ``Hurry, my friend. 
     My child is still breathing.'' A moment later, ``Hurry, my 
     friend. My child is still warm.'' Finally, ``Hurry. Oh my 
     God, my child is getting cold.''
       When they got to the hospital, the little girl had died. As 
     the two men were in the laboratory, washing the blood of 
     their hands and their clothes, the man turned to the reporter 
     and said, ``This is a terrible task for me. I must go tell 
     her father that his child is dead. He will be heartbroken.'' 
     The reporter looked up in amazement. He looked up at the 
     grieving man and said, ``I thought she was your child.'' The 
     man looked back and said, ``No, but aren't they all our 
     children?''
       Aren't they all our children? Yes, they are all our 
     children. They are also God's children as well, as He 
     entrusts us with their care. In Sarajevo and Somalia, in New 
     York City, in Los Angeles and my home town of Perry, Georgia, 
     and right here in Washington, DC, they are all our children.
       In the book of Micah, the prophet asked, ``Shall I give my 
     firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the 
     sin of my soul?'' The cruelest aspects of our wars and our 
     sins is what they do to our children. Jesus said, ``Suffer 
     the little children to come unto me for of such is the 
     kingdom of God.'' Too often today we shorten that commandment 
     to: Suffer, little children. Mrs. Clinton, thank you for the 
     great emphasis

[[Page E1789]]

     you have put on children and the spotlight you have shined on 
     our challenges. We are grateful. [Applause.]
       And so the world is watching America today. People around 
     the world are not just watching our President or our Congress 
     or our economy or even our military deployment. They are 
     watching out cities and our towns and our families to see how 
     much we value our children and whether we care enough to stop 
     America's moral and cultural erosion.
       Do we in America in 1996, love our neighbors as ourselves, 
     as explained by Bob Bennett as our theme for the morning and 
     by Tom Lantos and his personal example? Now, I don't have the 
     answer to these questions this morning, and I don't pretend 
     to. These problems can only be solved in the hearts and minds 
     of our people and one child at a time. I do have a few, 
     however, observations.
       The Cold War provided us with the clarity of purpose and 
     the sense of unity as a people. Our survival as a nation was 
     at stake. We came together, often in fear. The challenges 
     that confront us today are different, far different; but the 
     stakes are the same. I pray that our children, all of our 
     children, will be the bridge that brings us together as a 
     nation, not in fear, but in love.
       Each year millions of our children are abused, abandoned, 
     and aborted. Millions more receive little care, little 
     discipline, and almost no love. While we continue to debate 
     our deeply held belief as to which of these sins should also 
     be violations of our criminal code, I pray that we as 
     parents, as extended parents, and as communities, will come 
     together and find a way to provide love and spiritual care to 
     every mother and to every child, born or unborn. Government 
     at every level must play a role. But I do not believe it will 
     be the decisive role.
       What then are our duties as leaders, not just in the world 
     of politics and government, but in every field represented 
     here this morning and through our land? Like basketball stars 
     Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman, we are role models whether 
     we like it or not. I believe that the example we set, 
     particularly for our young people, may be the most important 
     responsibility of public service. We must demonstrate with 
     our daily lives that it is possible to be involved in 
     politics and still retain intellectual honesty and moral and 
     ethical behavior. We are all sinners, so we will slip. And, 
     yes, we will fall. But I have felt God's sustaining hand 
     through every phase of my life, growing up in Perry, Georgia, 
     raising a family, my relationship with my wife, Colleen, in 
     Senate floor debates, in committee meetings, visiting our 
     troops in war, or being a part of the mission for peace.
       In the years ahead, when I think back on my public service, 
     I am certain that the most cherished memories will be those 
     moments spent with my colleagues in the Senate Prayer 
     Breakfast and in my meetings with leaders from around the 
     world in the spirit of Jesus.
       I've also been blessed by many friends in the Senate and a 
     small fellowship with a group of Senate brothers, like the 
     late Dewey Bartlett, Republican of Oklahoma; Lawton Chiles, 
     Democrat of Florida, Pete Domenici, Republican of New Mexico; 
     Harold Hughes, Democrat of Iowa; and Mark Hatfield, 
     Republican of Oregon. No one can accuse that group of being 
     of like minds, politically. But these brothers have listened 
     to my problems, they've shared in my joys, they've held me 
     accountable, and they've upheld me in their prayers. 
     Fellowship in the spirit of Jesus does amazing things. It 
     puts political and philosophical differences, even profound 
     differences, in a totally different perspective.
       I believe that 2,000 years ago Jesus was speaking of each 
     of us when He delivered His Sermon on the Mount. And my 
     prayer this morning for our leaders, and indeed for our whole 
     nation, is the spirit of His words then. May we who would be 
     leaders always be aware that we must first be servants. May 
     we who compete in the arena of government and politics 
     remember that we are commanded to love our enemies and pray 
     for those who persecute us. And I can't find any exception 
     for the news media or for our opponents. May we who seek to 
     be admired by others remember that when we practice our piety 
     before men in order to be seen by them, we will have no 
     reward in Heaven. May we who have large egos and great 
     ambition recall that the kingdom of Heaven is promised to 
     those who are humble and who are poor in spirit. May we who 
     depend on publicity as our daily bread recall that when we do 
     a secret kindness to others, and when we don't try to tell 
     everyone, then our Father, who knows all of our secrets, will 
     reward us. May the citizens who we serve as stewards of 
     government be sensitive to the fact that while we need their 
     critiques, we also desperately need their prayers. May we 
     never forget that the final judgment of our tenure here on 
     earth will not be decided by majority votes and that an 
     election is not required to bring us home.
       God bless each of you. [Applause.]
       Senator Bennett. We did all right, didn't we? [Applause.]
       Thank you Sam, You have left us all in your debt.
       Those who know me know that I am the son of a Senator. My 
     father served for 24 years, and I ran his last two campaigns. 
     When the time came for me to run for the Senate, I thought I 
     understood what that was all about. I'd been all over the 
     state. I'd spoken in every little town. I had shaken all the 
     hands. And I'd done all of the things connected with managing 
     a senatorial campaign. Well, one of the great discoveries 
     that came to me when I became a candidate is that there is no 
     experience that can prepare you for what happens when you are 
     the candidate. It's entirely different. The pressures are 
     different. The circumstances are different. The hurts, 
     perhaps, are deeper when it's your name on the ballot than 
     when you're campaigning for somebody else.
       I have participated in a number of presidential campaigns. 
     I think I know a little bit about what it's like to manage a 
     presidential campaign. But from my own experience, I know 
     that there can be only one person in this room who 
     understands what it's like to be the President of the United 
     States. The pressures, the challenges, the difficulties, the 
     rest of us can only guess.
       And so, I share with you my memory of President Clinton at 
     his first National Prayer Breakfast, when I was sitting there 
     as the brand new Senator, wondering what this was all about. 
     He said something that I have hung onto ever since, and I 
     think has great value for all of us. He referred to his oath 
     of office, and then said when the oath was completed, he felt 
     like saying, ``So, help me, God.''
       That is a legitimate reading of that particular phrase, 
     that only the President can fully understand. It's a great 
     pleasure and honor for me now to pronounce the appropriate 
     words of introduction: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of 
     the United States. [Applause.]
       President Clinton. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank 
     you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
       Thank you very much, Senator Bennett, Vice President and 
     Mrs. Gore, Mr. Speaker, Senator Nunn and the Members of 
     Congress who are here, the Members of the Supreme Court, the 
     Joint Chiefs, the other public officials, to our guests from 
     around the world, and my fellow Americans.
       Let me begin by saying that most of what I would like to 
     have said on my best day was said better today by Sam Nunn. 
     [Applause.]
       All during his speech, I kept saying to myself, I'm more 
     glad today that I prayed for him not to leave the Congress 
     than I was the day I prayed for it, but I also know, with a 
     heart and a mind and a spirit like that, there is a great, 
     powerful service still awaiting Senator Nunn in whatever he 
     should decide to do.
       I thank Sam Nunn and Alan Simpson and my neighbor, Sonny 
     Montgomery, and all those who are here retiring from the 
     United States Congress this year for the service that they 
     have rendered to their constituents and to the American 
     people. [Applause.]
       Hillary and I join all of you in praying for Billy Graham 
     and for his wonderful wife, Ruth, and for their family.
       I'm still glad to be here even though I don't think I need 
     to say much now. I know one thing. We've got a lot to pray 
     about here in Washington. We've got a lot of conflicts, we've 
     got an abundance of cynicism, we have to worry about a loss 
     of trust in public institutions all across the country. I 
     disagree with Pete Geren. I think it was Harry Truman who 
     said, ``If you want a friend in Washington, you need to buy a 
     dog.'' I think it was Benjamin Franklin that said, ``Our 
     enemies are our friends when they show us our faults.'' Well, 
     as someone who has had more of his faults shown, real and 
     imagined, than anyone else--[laughter]--I think we all have a 
     lot of friends here in Washington. [Laughter and applause.]
       I was thinking last night about what we really want out of 
     this Prayer Breakfast, and I was up late reading, and I came 
     across something that King David said in the 4th Psalm. You 
     know, David knew something about leadership and courage and 
     human failing. He said in his psalm to God, ``Thou hast 
     enlarged me when I was in distress.''
       So I pray that when we leave here today, by the words of 
     Senator Nunn and the readings of the Scripture, the remarks 
     of others, we shall all be enlarged in spirit, not only for 
     our public work, but for our private trials. I look out here 
     and I see friends of mine in both parties whom I know today 
     have trials in their own families and challenges of the heart 
     they must face. And we leave here in the prayer that we will 
     be enlarged.
       Sam Nunn talked about the family and what government cannot 
     do. I ask that when we leave here, we say a prayer for our 
     families, to lift up those who are working hard to stay 
     together and overcome the problems they face, to lift up 
     those who are helping others to make and to build families. 
     It is a rewarding thing to see the divorce rate leveling off 
     and the teen pregnancy rate going down, and the first 
     indications that America may be coming back together around 
     the values that made this a great nation. But we need to 
     support those efforts.
       There may not be much we can do here as lawmakers. Hillary 
     said in her book that, ``* * * till death do us part'' has 
     often become, ``till the going gets tough.'' It may be that 
     it ought to be a little harder to get a divorce where 
     children are involved. But whatever we do with the law, we 
     know that ultimately this is an affair of the heart, an 
     affair of the heart that has enormous economic and political 
     and social implications for America, but most importantly, 
     has moral implications because families are ordained by God 
     as a way of giving children and their parents the chance to 
     live up to the fullest of their God-given capacities. And 
     when we save them and strengthen them, we overcome the notion 
     that self-gratification is more important than our 
     obligations to others. We overcome the notion that is so 
     prevalent in our culture that life is just a series of 
     responses

[[Page E1790]]

     to impulses, and instead is a whole pattern with a fabric 
     that should be pleasing to our God.
       I applaud what Senator Nunn said about our children, for 
     with them it is more true than in any other area of our life 
     that it is in giving that we receive.
       I ask that we pray for those who are trying to make strong 
     our communities and our nation and our nation's connection to 
     people of like minds and real needs around the world, for 
     that, too, is a part of family life. We would be a better 
     country if our communities and our country acted more like 
     the best families, where we all played our part, including 
     the government, where we all did for ourselves and tried to 
     help each other.
       Humanity's impulse is to reach outward to the poor and 
     homeless in need; to the striving who seek a hand up, not a 
     handout; to the stricken from here to the Middle East to 
     Haiti to Bosnia; to the earth, which needs our help in 
     preserving the temple God gave us.
       Sometimes I think we forget in America how privileged we 
     are to be looked to to extend the bonds of family beyond our 
     border. When Hillary and I were served breakfast here today, 
     the gentleman who was serving us leaned over and he said, 
     ``Mr. President, I am so grateful for what the United States 
     did in Haiti. I came here 30 years ago from Haiti, but it is 
     still my country and now it's free.''
       When I met the foreign dignitaries as I was going through 
     the line, there standing before me was the mayor of Tuzla. 
     For every American in uniform, he is now our mayor and we are 
     a part of his family efforts to bring peace and freedom to 
     all the people of Bosnia.
       Galatians say, ``Let everyone bear his own burden,'' and 
     then just a couple of verses later says, ``Bear one another's 
     burden.'' Would God through St. Paul have given us such 
     contradictory advice? No, I don't think so. I think being 
     personally responsible and reaching out to others are the two 
     sides of humanity's coin, and we cannot live full lives--we 
     cannot be enlarged--unless we do both.
       So I ask all of you, beyond praying for our families, to 
     pray for us here in Washington to make the right decisions 
     about how we should enlarge and strengthen the family of our 
     communities, our nation and our ties to the world.
       Finally, I ask you to pray for us to have a more charitable 
     attitude toward one another, leaders and citizens alike. I 
     was aghast and deeply saddened yesterday when I read in one 
     of the newspapers all of us read around here, probably one we 
     shouldn't some days, that a citizen of a state of this 
     country had described one of his representatives in Congress 
     as a heathen, a representative who is a genuine, true 
     national hero. But I must say that the citizen would get a 
     lot of ammunition for that just by watching the fights here.
       What I want to say to all of you is that the disagreements 
     we have had here in this last year have been very important 
     and not just political and not just partisan. They have been 
     part of the debate America must have as we move into a new 
     era. But we need to conduct them with a great sense of 
     humility. We need to show the right attitude toward those 
     with whom we disagree, even when we feel wronged.
       I received a letter a few days ago from a very devout Jew 
     who is a good friend of the Vice President's and mine, and he 
     was talking about injustice. He said, ``In the matter of 
     injustice, as awful as it is, it is always, always better to 
     endure it than to inflict it.''
       We have to reach across these divisions. In these 50 hours 
     of budget discussions the Speaker and I had with the Vice 
     President and Senator Dole and Senator Daschle and Mr. 
     Gephardt and Mr. Armey, in some ways I wish all of you could 
     have seen it because they were remarkably free of cant and 
     politics. And I learned a lot; I owe them a lot. Believe it 
     or not, we're not supposed to talk about what happened, but 
     there were two different occasions where I found myself in 
     the minority, but in agreement with Mr. Armey--on two issues. 
     And I thought to myself, I can't let this get out, he'll lose 
     his leadership position. [Laughter.]
       Our friend Sonny Montgomery read that wonderful passage 
     from Corinthians in his first reading. I would ask you to 
     remember, all of you, how that passage is worded in the King 
     James Bible. ``Now we see through a glass darkly. Now I know 
     in part.'' Every one of us is subject to error in judgment as 
     a part of the human condition, and that is why the last 
     chapter of that magnificent verse says, ``Now abideth these 
     three--faith, hope and charity, and the greatest of these is 
     charity.'' We need a charitable outlook in our feelings and 
     our dealings toward those with whom we disagree because we do 
     not know, as we are known by God.
       So let us pray that our families will be stronger. Let us 
     pray that the impact of our families and these values will 
     help us as leaders to make our communities, our nation and 
     our work in the world stronger. Let us pray for a stronger 
     sense of humility in our own efforts and a much stronger 
     sense of charity toward the efforts of others. Let us know 
     always that the spirit of God is among us when we permit it 
     to be.
       When Hillary and I went to Ireland a few weeks ago and saw 
     the yearning for peace there in the eyes of the Catholics and 
     the Protestants, we had the honor to meet the Irish Nobel-
     Prize winning poet, Seamus Heaney, and I had the honor of 
     quoting one of his wonderful lines in hoping that I really 
     was there at a time when, to use his words, ``hope and 
     history rhyme.''
       This can be such a time, I am convinced, only --only--if we 
     are charitable, if we are family and if we act according to 
     the spirit of God. This is the day that the Lord has made. 
     Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you. [Applause.]
       Senator Bennett. Thank you, Mr. President, We are honored 
     by your words as well as your presence and your wisdom, and 
     we will try to live within the spirit of your counsel.
       Let me be sure I get this correct because this may be the 
     person with the most credentials of any of us in the room. 
     Dr. Dorothy Height is the president of the National Council 
     of Negro Women. Some study history, others debate it, but few 
     represent it with the dignity and grace and magnificence of 
     this living legend. She has been a close friend of both 
     Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. And she is 
     unique in her ability to work with the poor and the oppressed 
     while moving with grace and dignity among the leaders of our 
     time.
       Dorothy Height. Let us all join hands and lift our hearts 
     in prayer.
       God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who 
     has brought us thus far on the way, Thou who has by Thy might 
     led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, 
     lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met 
     Thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we 
     forget Thee. Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand 
     true to our God, true to our native land.
       Lord God, we thank You, for as we have gathered this 
     morning in the spirit of Jesus Christ, our hearts have been 
     touched, our souls invigorated, our lives challenged, our 
     minds renewed, and our vision made clearer of Your great love 
     for us all. Teach us to practice every day that same love 
     with one another across every line that for too long has 
     separated and divided us. We need each other. Help us to know 
     that we are of many nations, languages, tribes, cultures, but 
     one race, the human race, which You alone have created.
       Make us to see that if one of us is hungry, hurting, 
     impoverished, malnourished, or the victim of war and 
     violence, then as one people, that is where we all are. For 
     as Martin Luther King, Jr., once reminded us, ``Injustice 
     anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.''
       Instill in us this day, oh Lord, an even greater commitment 
     to love You, to love every neighbor as we love ourselves, and 
     to beat our plowshares into pruning hooks as we study war no 
     more.
       And for this day and for this experience and for this 
     challenge, we give You all the glory, the honor and the 
     praise, and shall we all say Amen.
       All. Amen.

       

                          ____________________