[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H431-H434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ADDRESS TO THE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
                                 STATES

  The PRESIDENT. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress:
  It is a great privilege to be here to outline a new budget and a new 
approach for governing our great country.
  I thank you for your invitation to speak here tonight. I know 
Congress had to formally invite me and it could have been a close vote. 
So, Mr. Vice President, I appreciate you being here to break the tie. I 
want to thank so many of you who have accepted my invitation to come to 
the White House to discuss important issues. We are off to a good 
start. I will continue to meet with you and ask for your input. You 
have been kind and candid, and I thank you for making a new President 
feel welcome.
  The last time I visited the Capitol, I came to take an oath. On the 
steps of this building, I pledged to honor our Constitution and laws, 
and I asked you to join me in setting a tone of civility and respect in 
Washington. I hope America is noticing the difference. We are making 
progress. Together, we are changing the tone in the Nation's capital. 
And this spirit of respect and cooperation is vital, because in the end 
we will be judged not only by what we say or how we say it, we will be 
judged by what we are able to accomplish.
  America today is a Nation with great challenges, but greater 
resources. An artist using statistics as a brush could paint two very 
different pictures of our country. One would have warning signs: 
increasing layoffs, rising energy prices, too many failing schools, 
persistent poverty, the stubborn vestiges of racism. Another picture 
would be full of blessings: a balanced budget, big surpluses, a 
military that is second to none, a country at peace with its neighbors, 
technology that is revolutionizing the world, and our greatest

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strength, concerned citizens who care for our country and care for each 
other.
  Neither picture is complete in and of itself. And tonight I challenge 
and invite Congress to work with me to use the resources of one picture 
to repaint the other, to direct the advantages of our time to solve the 
problems of our people.
  Some of these resources will come from government, some but not all. 
Year after year in Washington, budget debates seem to come down to an 
old, tired argument: on one side those who want more government, 
regardless of the cost; on the other, those who want less government, 
regardless of the need.
  We should leave those arguments to the last century and chart a 
different course. Government has a role, and an important role. Yet too 
much government crowds out initiative and hard work, private charity 
and the private economy. Our new governing vision says government 
should be active but limited, engaged but not overbearing.
  My budget is based on that philosophy. It is reasonable and it is 
responsible. It meets our obligations and funds our growing needs. We 
increase spending next year for Social Security and Medicare and other 
entitlement programs by $81 billion. We have increased spending for 
discretionary programs by a very responsible 4 percent, above the rate 
of inflation. My plan pays down an unprecedented amount of our national 
debt, and then when money is still left over, my plan returns it to the 
people who earned it in the first place.
  A budget's impact is counted in dollars, but measured in lives. 
Excellent schools, quality health care, a secure retirement, a cleaner 
environment, a stronger defense, these are all important needs, and we 
fund them.
  The highest percentage increase in our budget should go to our 
children's education. Education is my top priority. Education is my top 
priority, and by supporting this budget, you will make it yours as 
well.
  Reading is the foundation of all learning, so during the next 5 years 
we triple spending, adding $5 billion to help every child in America 
learn to read. Values are important, so we have tripled funding for 
character education to teach our children not only reading and writing, 
but right from wrong.
  We have increased funding to train and recruit teachers, because we 
know a good education starts with a good teacher.
  And I have a wonderful partner in this effort. I like teachers so 
much, I married one. Laura has begun a new effort to recruit Americans 
to the profession that will shape our future: teaching. She will travel 
across America to promote sound teaching practices and early reading 
skills in our schools and in programs such as Head Start.
  When it comes to our schools, dollars alone do not always make the 
difference. Funding is important, and so is reform. So we must tie 
funding to higher standards and accountability for results.
  I believe in local control of schools. We should not and we will not 
run public schools from Washington, DC. Yet when the Federal government 
spends tax dollars, we must insist on results. Children should be 
tested on basic reading and math skills every year, between grades 
three and eight. Measuring is the only way to know whether all our 
children are learning, and I want to know, because I refuse to leave 
any child behind in America.
  Critics of testing contend it distracts from learning. They talk 
about ``teaching to the test.'' But let us put that logic to the test. 
If you test a child on basic math and reading skills and you are 
``teaching to the test,'' you are teaching math and reading, and that 
is the whole idea.

  As standards rise, local schools will need more flexibility to meet 
them, so we must streamline the dozens of Federal education programs 
into five, and let States spend money in those categories as they see 
fit. Schools will be given a reasonable chance to improve, and the 
support to do so.
  Yet if they don't, if they continue to fail, we must give parents and 
students different options: a better public school, a private school, 
tutoring, or a charter school. In the end, every child in a bad 
situation must be given a better choice, because when it comes to our 
children, failure is simply not an option.
  Another priority in my budget is to keep the vital promises of 
Medicare and Social Security, and together we will do so. To meet the 
health care needs of all America's seniors, we double the Medicare 
budget over the next 10 years.
  My budget dedicates $238 billion to Medicare next year alone, enough 
to fund all current programs and to begin a new prescription drug 
benefit for low-income seniors. No senior in America should have to 
choose between buying food and buying prescriptions.
  To make sure the retirement savings of America's seniors are not 
diverted into any other program, my budget protects all $2.6 trillion 
of the Social Security surplus for Social Security and for Social 
Security alone.
  My budget puts a priority on access to health care, without telling 
Americans what doctor they have to see or what coverage they must 
choose. Many working Americans do not have health care coverage, so we 
will help them buy their own insurance with refundable tax credits. And 
to provide quality care in low-income neighborhoods, over the next 5 
years we will double the number of people served at community health 
care centers.
  And we will address the concerns of those who have health coverage 
yet worry their insurance company does not care and won't pay. 
Together, this Congress and this President will find common ground to 
make sure doctors make medical decisions and patients get the health 
care they deserve with a Patients' Bill of Rights.
  When it comes to their health, people want to get the medical care 
they need, not be forced to go to court because they didn't get it. We 
will ensure access to the courts for those with legitimate claims, but 
first, let us put in place a strong independent review so we promote 
quality health care, not frivolous lawsuits.
  My budget also increases funding for medical research, which gives 
hope to many who struggle with serious disease. Our prayers tonight are 
with one of your own who is engaged in his own fight against cancer, a 
fine Representative and a good man, Congressman Joe Moakley. I can 
think of no more appropriate tribute to Joe than to have the Congress 
finish the job of doubling the budget for the National Institutes of 
Health.
  My New Freedom Initiative for Americans with Disabilities funds new 
technologies, expands opportunities to work, and makes our society more 
welcoming. For the more than 50 million Americans with disabilities, we 
must continue to break down barriers to equality.
  The budget I propose to you also supports the people who keep our 
country strong and free, the men and women who serve in the United 
States military. I am requesting $5.7 billion in increased military pay 
and benefits, and health care and housing. Our men and women in uniform 
give America their best, and we owe them our support.
  America's veterans honored their commitment to our country through 
their military service. I will honor our commitment to them with a $1 
billion increase to ensure better access to quality care and faster 
decisions on benefit claims.
  My budget will improve our environment by accelerating the cleanup of 
toxic brownfields. I propose we make a major investment in conservation 
by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
  Our national parks have a special place in our country's life. Our 
parks are places of great natural beauty and history. As good stewards, 
we must leave them better than we have found them, so I propose 
providing $4.9 billion over 5 years for the upkeep of these national 
treasures.
  My budget adopts a hopeful new approach to help the poor and the 
disadvantaged. We must encourage and support the work of charities and 
faith-based and community groups that offer help and love, one person 
at a time. These groups are working in every neighborhood in America to 
fight homelessness and addiction and domestic violence, to provide a 
hot meal or a mentor, or a safe haven for our children. Government 
should welcome these groups to apply for funds, not discriminate 
against them.
  Government cannot be replaced by charities or volunteers. Government

[[Page H433]]

should not fund religious activities, but our Nation should support the 
good works of these good people who are helping their neighbors in 
need. So I propose allowing all taxpayers, whether they itemize or not, 
to deduct their charitable contributions. Estimates show this could 
encourage as much as $14 billion a year in new charitable giving, money 
that will save and change lives.

  Our budget provides more than $700 million over the next 10 years for 
a Federal Compassion Capital Fund with a focused and noble mission: to 
provide a mentor for the more than 1 million children with a parent in 
prison and to support other local efforts to fight illiteracy, teen 
pregnancy, drug addiction and other difficult problems.
  With us tonight is the Mayor of Philadelphia. Please help me welcome 
Mayor John Street. Hi, Mr. Mayor.
  Mayor Street has encouraged faith-based and community organizations 
to make a significant difference in Philadelphia. He has invited me to 
his city this summer to see compassion in action. I am personally aware 
of just how effective the mayor is.
  Mayor Street is a Democrat. Let the record show I lost his city, big 
time. But some things are bigger than politics. So I look forward to 
coming to your city to see your faith-based programs in action.
  As government promotes compassion, it also must promote justice. Too 
many of our citizens have cause to doubt our Nation's justice when the 
law points a finger of suspicion at groups, instead of individuals. All 
our citizens are created equal and must be treated equally. Earlier 
today, I asked John Ashcroft, the Attorney General, to develop specific 
recommendations to end racial profiling.
  It is wrong, and we will end it. It is wrong. In so doing, we will 
not hinder the work of our Nation's brave police officers. They protect 
us every day, often at great risk. But by stopping the abuses of a few, 
we will add to the public confidence our police officers earn and 
deserve.
  My budget has funded a responsible increase in our ongoing 
operations. It has funded our Nation's important priorities. It has 
protected Social Security and Medicare. And our surpluses are big 
enough that there is still money left over.
  Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. 
I listened, and I agree.
  We owe it to our children and our grandchildren to act now, and I 
hope you will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt during the next 
10 years.
  At the end of those 10 years, we will have paid down all the debt 
that is available to retire. That is more debt repaid more quickly than 
has ever been repaid by any nation at any time in history.
  We should also prepare for the unexpected, for the uncertainties of 
the future. We should approach our Nation's budget as any prudent 
family would, with a contingency fund for emergencies or additional 
spending needs. For example, after a strategic review, we may need to 
increase defense spending. We may need to increase spending for our 
farmers or additional money to reform Medicare. So my budget sets aside 
almost a trillion dollars over 10 years for additional needs, that is 
one trillion additional reasons you can feel comfortable supporting 
this budget.
  We have increased our budget at a responsible 4 percent. We have 
funded our priorities. We have paid down all the available debt. We 
have prepared for contingencies, and we still have money left over. 
Yogi Berra once said ``when you come to a fork in the road, take it.'' 
Now we come to a fork in the road. We have two choices. Even though we 
have already met our needs, we could spend the money on more and bigger 
government. That is the road our Nation has traveled in recent years.
  Last year, government spending shot up 8 percent. That is far more 
than our economy grew, far more than personal income grew and far more 
than the rate of inflation. If you continue on that road, you will 
spend the surplus and have to dip into Social Security to pay other 
bills.
  Unrestrained government spending is a dangerous road to deficits, so 
we must take a different path. The other choice is to let the American 
people spend their own money to meet their own needs. I hope you will 
join me in standing firmly on the side of the people.
  You see, the growing surplus exists because taxes are too high and 
government is charging more than it needs. The people of America have 
been overcharged, and on their behalf, I am here asking for a refund.
  Some say my tax plan is too big. Others say it is too small. I 
respectfully disagree. This plan is just right.
  I did not throw darts at a board to come up with a number for tax 
relief. I did not take a poll or develop an arbitrary formula that 
might sound good. I looked at problems in the Tax Code and calculated 
the costs to fix them.
  A tax rate of 15 percent is too high for those who earn low wages, so 
we must lower the rate to 10 percent. No one should pay more than a 
third of the money they earn in Federal income taxes, so we lowered the 
top rate to 33 percent.
  This reform will be welcome relief for America's small businesses, 
which often pay taxes at the highest rate, and help for small business 
means jobs for Americans.
  We simplified the Tax Code by reducing the number of tax rates from 
the current five rates to four lower ones, 10 percent, 15 percent, 25 
percent and 33 percent. In my plan, no one is targeted in or targeted 
out. Everyone who pays income taxes will get relief.
  Our government should not tax and thereby discourage marriage, so we 
reduced the marriage penalty. I want to help families rear and support 
their children, so we doubled the child credit to $1,000 per child.
  It is not fair to tax the same earnings twice, once when you earn 
them and again when you die, so we must repeal the death tax.
  These changes add up to significant help. A typical family with two 
children will save $1,600 a year on their Federal income taxes. Now, 
1,600 may not sound like a lot to some, but it means a lot to many 
families.
  Sixteen hundred dollars buys gas for two cars for an entire year. It 
pays tuition for a year at a community college. It pays the average 
family grocery bill for 3 months. That is real money.
  With us tonight, representing many American families, are Steven and 
Josefina Ramos. They are from Pennsylvania, but they could be from any 
one of your districts. Steven is a network administrator for a school 
district. Josefina is a Spanish teacher at a charter school, and they 
have a 2-year-old daughter. Steven and Josefina tell me they pay almost 
$8,000 a year in Federal income taxes. My plan will save them more than 
$2,000.
  Let me tell you what Steven says, ``$2,000 a year means a lot to my 
family. If we had this money, it would help us reach our goal of paying 
off our personal debt in 2 years time.'' After that, Steven and 
Josefina want to start saving for Lianna's college education.
  My attitude is government should never stand in the way of families 
achieving their dreams. And as we debate this issue, always remember, 
the surplus is not the government's money, the surplus is the people's 
money.
  For lower-income families, my tax plan restores basic fairness. Right 
now, complicated tax rules punish hard work. A waitress supporting two 
children on $25,000 a year can lose nearly half of every additional 
dollar she earns above the 25,000. For overtime, her hardest hours, are 
taxed at nearly 50 percent. This sends a terrible message: You will 
never get ahead. But America's message must be different. We must honor 
hard work, never punish it.
  With tax relief, overtime will no longer be overtax time for the 
waitress. People with the smallest incomes will get the highest 
percentage reductions. And millions of additional American families 
will be removed from the income tax rolls entirely.
  Tax relief is right and tax relief is urgent. The long economic 
expansion that began almost 10 years ago is faltering. Lower interest 
rates will eventually help, but we cannot assume they will do the job 
all by themselves.
  Forty years ago and then 20 years ago, two Presidents, one Democrat 
and one Republican, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, advocated tax 
cuts to, in President Kennedy's words, ``get this country moving 
again.'' They knew then, what we must do now, to create economic growth 
and opportunity, we must put money back into

[[Page H434]]

the hands of the people who buy goods and create jobs.
  We must act quickly. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve has 
testified before Congress that tax cuts often come too late to 
stimulate economic recovery. So I want to work with you to give our 
economy an important jump start by making tax relief retroactive.
  We must act now because it is the right thing to do. We must also act 
now because we have other things to do. We must show courage to 
confront and resolve tough challenges: To restructure our Nation's 
defenses, to meet our growing need for energy, and to reform Medicare 
and Social Security.
  America has a window of opportunity to extend and secure our present 
peace by promoting a distinctly American internationalism. We will work 
with our allies and friends to be a force for good and a champion of 
freedom. We will work for free markets and free trade and freedom from 
oppression. Nations making progress toward freedom will find America is 
their friend.
  We will promote our values, and we will promote peace. And we need a 
strong military to keep the peace. But our military was shaped to 
confront the challenges of the past. So I have asked the Secretary of 
Defense to review America's armed forces and prepare to transform them 
to meet emerging threats. My budget makes a down payment on the 
research and development that will be required. Yet, in our broader 
transformation effort, we must put strategy first, then spending. Our 
defense vision will drive our defense budget, not the other way around.

  Our Nation also needs a clear strategy to confront the threats of the 
21st century, threats that are more widespread and less certain. They 
range from terrorists who threaten with bombs to tyrants and rogue 
nations intent on developing weapons of mass destruction. To protect 
our own people, our allies and friends, we must develop and we must 
deploy effective missile defenses.
  And as we transform our military, we can discard Cold War relics, and 
reduce our own nuclear forces to reflect today's needs.
  A strong America is the world's best hope for peace and freedom. Yet 
the cause of freedom rests on more than our ability to defend ourselves 
and our allies. Freedom is exported every day, as we ship goods and 
products that improve the lives of millions of people. Free trade 
brings greater political and personal freedom.
  Each of the previous five presidents has had the ability to negotiate 
far-reaching trade agreements. Tonight I ask to give me the strong hand 
of presidential trade promotion authority, and to do so quickly.
  As we meet tonight, many citizens are struggling with the high costs 
of energy. We have a serious energy problem that demands a national 
energy policy. The West is confronting a major energy shortage that has 
resulted in high prices and uncertainty. I have asked Federal agencies 
to work with California officials to help speed construction of new 
energy sources. And I have directed Vice President Cheney, Commerce 
Secretary Evans, Energy Secretary Abraham, and other senior members of 
my administration to develop a national energy policy.
  Our energy demand outstrips our supply. We can produce more energy at 
home while protecting our environment, and we must. We can produce more 
electricity to meet demand, and we must. We can promote alternative 
energy sources and conservation, and we must. America must become more 
energy independent, and we will.
  Perhaps the biggest test of our foresight and courage will be 
reforming Medicare and Social Security.
  Medicare's finances are strained, and its coverage is outdated. 
Ninety-nine percent of employer-provided health plans offer some form 
of prescription drug coverage. Medicare does not. The framework for 
reform has been developed by Senators Frist and Breaux and Congressman 
Thomas; and now is the time to act. Medicare must be modernized. And we 
must make sure that every senior on Medicare can choose a health care 
plan that offers prescription drugs.
  Seven years from now, the baby boom generation will begin to claim 
Social Security benefits. Everyone in this Chamber knows that Social 
Security is not prepared to fully fund their retirement. And we only 
have a couple of years to get prepared. Without reform, this country 
will one day awaken to a stark choice: either a drastic rise in payroll 
taxes or a radical cut in retirement benefits. There is a better way.
  This spring I will form a Presidential commission to reform Social 
Security. The commission will make its recommendations by next fall. 
Reform should be based on these principles: It must preserve the 
benefits of all current retirees and those nearing retirement. It must 
return Social Security to sound financial footing, and it must offer 
personal savings accounts to younger workers who want them.
  Social Security now offers workers a return of less than 2 percent on 
the money they pay into the system. To save the system, we must 
increase that by allowing younger workers to make safe, sound 
investments at a higher rate of return.
  Ownership, access to wealth, and independence should not be the 
privilege of a few. They are the hope of every American, and we must 
make them the foundation of Social Security.
  By confronting the tough challenge of reform, by being responsible 
with our budget, we can earn the trust of the American people. And we 
can add to that trust by enacting fair and balanced election and 
campaign reforms.
  The agenda I have set before you tonight is worthy of a great Nation. 
America is a Nation at peace, but not a Nation at rest. Much has been 
given to us, and much is expected.
  Let us agree to bridge old divides. But let us also agree that our 
goodwill must be dedicated to great goals. Bipartisanship is more than 
minding our manners, it is doing our duty.
  No one can speak in this Capitol and not be awed by its history. At 
so many turning points, debates in these chambers have reflected the 
collected or divided conscience of our country. And when we walk 
through Statuary Hall and see those men and women of marble, we are 
reminded of their courage and achievement.
  Yet America's purpose is never found only in statues or history. 
America's purpose always stands before us.
  Our generation must show courage in a time of blessing as our Nation 
has always shown in times of crisis. And our courage, issue by issue, 
can gather to greatness and serve our country. This is the privilege 
and responsibility we share. And if we work together, we can prove that 
public service is noble.
  We all came here for a reason. We all have things we want to 
accomplish and promises to keep. Juntos podemos, together we can. We 
can make Americans proud of their government. Together we can share in 
the credit of making our country more prosperous and generous and just, 
and earn from our conscience and from our fellow citizens, the highest 
possible praise: well done, good and faithful servants.
  Thank you all. Good night. And God bless.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  At 9 o'clock and 59 minutes p.m. the President of the United States, 
accompanied by the committee of escort, retired from the Hall of the 
House of Representatives.
  The Deputy Sergeant at Arms escorted the invited guests from the 
Chamber in the following order:
  The members of the President's Cabinet;
  An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States;
  The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

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