[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 39 (Thursday, March 22, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H1097-H1102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE 49TH ANNUAL NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House and Senate Prayer 
Groups, it was an honor to chair the 49th Annual National Prayer 
Breakfast held on February 1, 2001.
  This annual breakfast is a time when leaders and guests from around 
the world gather in respect and civility to celebrate our common 
denominator as children of God and to pray for unity, peace, and 
direction as we put our differences aside and come together as people. 
This is a special and unique opportunity for fellowship across 
ideological, ethnic, political, and religious divides.
  Chairing the National Prayer Breakfast was one of the greatest 
privileges of my life. The thoughts and prayers shared at this year's 
breakfast were a blessing to those who heard them, and I believe they 
will be so to many more in the future. I am therefore including the 
program and transcript to be printed in the Record. The program and 
transcript follow:

         National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, February 1, 2001

                  (Chairman: Representative Zach Wamp)

       Representative Zach Wamp (R-TN). Good morning. You may be 
     seated. You can see why I am so proud of the Chattanooga 
     Singers, from my hometown, this morning. (Applause.)
       I would like to call on Admiral Vernon Clark, the chief of 
     staff of the United States Navy, for our opening prayer. 
     Admiral.
       Admiral Vernon Clark (Navy Chief of Staff). Let us bow our 
     heads in prayer.
       Eternal Father, we come to You today with thanksgiving for 
     Your creation, this land we love, the seas that we sail. And 
     we thank You, Lord, for the abundance which blesses our 
     nation, this land of prosperity and freedom. On this day, we 
     are grateful for the strength that we have as one people from 
     many faiths, many backgrounds, even many cultures, but still 
     one nation, under God. We also thank You for the fellowship 
     of those from beyond our shores who are gathered here with us 
     today from other nations, with diverse faiths and backgrounds 
     and cultures. We pray that this moment of sharing will 
     strength all of us together in the cause of peace and 
     justice.
       We know that You are the bedrock of all that is good and 
     lasting. And so, for all our many gifts and blessings, we 
     praise You and we thank You. Almighty God, look upon us with 
     favor as we gather together in prayer, as we bow our heads 
     and raise our hearts to Thee.
       We approach You, Lord, with humility and confidence, as You 
     have taught us to do. But we are also mindful of Your 
     Scripture which teaches us: We have not because we ask not. 
     And so, we ask You, for all of our leaders, for guidance, 
     guidance for all of us as we seek to serve. And we ask You 
     for wisdom and we ask You for courage, the courage to 
     preserve

[[Page H1098]]

     our country as a beacon of freedom, justice and opportunity.
       And finally, we ask You to bless the sustenance that is 
     placed before us this day. May it strengthen us in our faith, 
     in our fellowship, and strengthen us in our service to You 
     and to your creation.
       It is in Your Holy Name that we pray. Amen.
       Rep. Wamp. I realize that most of you have already had your 
     breakfast, but if you will enjoy the fellowship at your table 
     while we give the head table a brief opportunity to eat, we 
     will be back with you at 8:20.
       (Break for breakfast.)
       Rep. Wamp. Good morning again. My name is Zack Wamp. I am 
     from the great state of Tennessee and I am the chairman of 
     this year's National Prayer Breakfast. I want to welcome each 
     one of you to what I consider the best day every year in 
     Washington, D.C. The first Thursday of February for 49 years, 
     we have hosted the National Prayer Breakfast, which has 
     evolved into an international event today, when we have 
     friends from 170 countries around the world. Each Thursday 
     morning in the House of Representatives, I have the privilege 
     of presiding over the weekly bipartisan Prayer Breakfast 
     Group in the House, and every week, I begin that meeting by 
     saying to my colleagues--usually there are 50 or 60 there, 
     equally divided among Democrats and Republicans--``Welcome to 
     the best hour of the week.''
       It is a time where we come together in respect and love and 
     full appreciation of each other, and it is blessed and 
     anointed, I believe we are there in the spiritual sense. 
     Relationships are forged for life.
       I think of one relationship that was forged about 35 years 
     ago in the House. A young congressman from Texas, named 
     George Herbert Walker Bush, a Republican, came to be friends 
     with a young congressman from the state of Mississippi, 
     General Sonny Montgomery. To this very day, they are best of 
     friends, and it all started with that weekly commitment to 
     meet in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and come to know 
     each other in a miraculous way. Great things happen and 
     relationships are forged.
       When you ask members of the House who are heading to 
     retirement what their most special time in the House was, if 
     they came to our prayer breakfast, ladies and gentlemen, they 
     always say it is that special hour on Thursday morning when 
     we come together in civility and love and the Spirit does the 
     work.
       I want to mention, as we welcome our foreign leaders here 
     this morning as well, that our speaker of the House, Dennis 
     Hastert, who sits in front of me here, is the most active 
     member of our weekly prayer group of any speaker in its 
     history. We thank you for your faithfulness, Mr. Speaker. 
     (Applause.)
       We have excellencies and heads of state and leaders from 
     around the world. We have the top leadership from our 
     executive branch, our legislative branch, our judicial branch 
     here this morning. We are so grateful for each and every one 
     of you. Secretary Powell, thank you, sir, for being here this 
     morning. We have the president of the Republic of Congo. 
     (Applause.) We have the president of Macedonia with us this 
     morning. (Applause.) We have the president of Rwanda her this 
     morning. (Applause.) The prime minister of the Slovak 
     Republic is here with us this morning. (Applause.) I have 
     been coming to these breakfasts long enough to know better 
     than to try to pronounce their names. (Laughter.) So we are 
     honored that you are here, and I am glad that that part of 
     the program is behind me!
       May I introduce our head table. I will start from your 
     right, and my left. Congressman Eliot Engel and his wife, 
     Pat. Please hold your applause until I finish across the 
     table, please--with two exceptions. We also have the Reverend 
     Fred Steelman, my pastor, and his wife, Becky, who is a 
     school teacher. We have Carolyn and the Honorable Andrew 
     Young. We have Mrs. Susan Baker, the spouse of Secretary 
     James Baker. We have Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona. We have 
     Elizabeth Edwards, the spouse of Senator John Edwards from 
     North Carolina. This is where we waive that rule--a leader 
     among leaders, the wife of the vice president of the 
     United States, Mrs. Lynne Cheney. (Applause.) The Vice 
     President of the United States of America, Dick Cheney. 
     (Applause.) The Senator from the state of North Carolina, 
     John Edwards. (Scattered applause.) Starting at this end--
     we will get back to the rule. (Laughter.) All the way on 
     your left, Wintley Phipps, a Grammy-nominated vocalist, 
     who will sing for us later today, and his wife, Linda. We 
     have Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who is on the 
     program with her husband, Ed. You heard from Admiral 
     Vernon Clark, the chief of staff of the United States 
     Navy, and his wife, Connie. Our keynote speaker this 
     morning: the Senator from the great state of Tennessee, 
     Bill Frist and his wife, Karyn. And eagerly awaiting the 
     arrival of THE first lady is my first lady, my awesome 
     wife, Kim. And now you may applaud the entire head table. 
     (Applause.)
       We have a special treat this morning, because bringing 
     greetings from the United States Senate prayer group is a 
     pair of senators, a Democrat from North Carolina and a 
     Republican from Arizona. They are co-chairmen of the Senate 
     prayer group. Please welcome Senator John Kyl and Senator 
     John Edwards. (Applause.)
       Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ). Thank you, Zach.
       Mr. Vice President, distinguished friends, in his letter to 
     the Romans, the apostle Paul urged, ``Be kindly affectioned 
     one to another, with brotherly love.''
       Well, once a week, just as in the House of Representatives, 
     as Zach mentioned, we join in the United States Senate, men 
     and women of different religious faiths, for our weekly 
     prayer breakfast. We set aside our differences. Christians 
     and Jews, Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and 
     liberals, we focus on things we have in common.
       I believe the Senate is a more civil place because we are 
     ``kindly affectioned'' to each other, in Paul's words.
       Just as with our much smaller group of senators, by meeting 
     here today in faith, we all enhance our appreciation of each 
     other, of the meaning of our calling and of our faith. As St. 
     Augustine wrote, faith opens a way for the understanding.
       God bless you all, and welcome. (Applause.)
       Sen. John Edwards (D-NC). We bring you greetings from the 
     Senate and from the Senate Prayer Breakfast. While Jon Kyl 
     and I are co-chairs of the Senate Prayer Breakfast, we are 
     not in charge of the Senate Prayer Breakfast. The Lord is in 
     charge of the Senate Prayer Breakfast. (Applause.)
       Two years ago my friend Connie Mack, who is seated right 
     down here, invited me to come to the prayer breakfast for the 
     first time, when I was first elected to the Senate, and asked 
     me to come and share my personal faith journey with the 
     group. Well, I was nervous. It is a very personal thing, as 
     you all know. My relationship with the Lord is very personal 
     to me. So I came to the prayer breakfast. The other senators 
     were extraordinarily kind to me. But as always seems to 
     happen, there was a very familiar presence in that room. The 
     Lord was present.
       Every week we walk into that room as United States 
     senators, no matter how contentious or how important the 
     debate may be on the floor of the United States Senate, and 
     we become what every person in this room is, which is a child 
     of God and a member of His family.
       It is an extraordinary blessing for us to be able to share 
     on a weekly basis. I would urge those of you from around the 
     country and around the world, if you have an opportunity, to 
     form groups of faith, with people whom you can share with. 
     You will find it to be a wonderful, rewarding, and 
     extraordinary experience.
       May the Lord bless you all. (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. For those of you who may not be in elected 
     office, you may think that people recognize us often. I have 
     to tell you that even though I am in my seventh year in the 
     House, many times I am at home at the mall or out to dinner 
     with my family and somebody will walk up to me and they will 
     look at me, and they will say, ``Aren't you --?'' And I will 
     say, ``Yes, yes.'' ``Aren't you --?'' and I know they are 
     about to say it, and they will say, ``I know, aren't you the 
     weather man on Channel 12?'' (Laughter.) So I am really 
     watching to see which way the wind is blowing, whether there 
     is a shower coming in so that I can be of assistance to my 
     constituents, and that is a way to keep us close to the 
     ground. (Laughter.)
       A reading from the Scriptures this morning will be read by 
     the congressman from New York, a great friend and a brother, 
     a real gentleman, Eliot Engel. (Applause.)
       Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY). My colleague, Congressman Wamp, 
     Mr. Vice President, ladies and gentlemen. We heard a lot of 
     talk this morning, as well we should, about prayer and 
     getting together and national healing. I want to say that 
     after a hard-fought election, this is a time of healing and a 
     time of bipartisanship for the country. I am honored to be 
     able to read from the Scriptures this morning.
       I read from Micah 4. There is a plaque in front of the 
     United Nations in my home city of New York City with part of 
     this, Micah 4.
       ``In the days to come, the mount of the Lord's house shall 
     stand firm above the mountains, and it shall tower above the 
     hills. The people shall gaze on it with joy, and the many 
     nations shall go and shall say, come, let us go up to the 
     mount of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he 
     may instruct us in his ways and that we may walk in his 
     paths. For instructions shall come forth from Zion, the word 
     of the Lord from Jerusalem. Thus he will judge among the 
     many peoples and arbitrate for the multitude of nations, 
     however distant. And they shall beat their swords into 
     plowshares and their spares into pruning hooks. Nations 
     shall not take up sword against nation. They shall never 
     again know war. But every man shall sit under his grape 
     vine or fig tree with no one to disturb him, for it was 
     the Lord of Hosts who spoke. Though all the peoples walk 
     each in the names of its gods, we will walk in the name of 
     the Lord our God forever and ever.''
       Thank you and God bless you all. (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. To sing a wonderful song which I will speak to 
     when it is complete, please welcome Wintley Phipps to sing 
     ``Heal Our Land.'' Wintley? (Applause.)
       (Song is sung.) (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. Isn't that a beautiful song? What if I told you 
     that it was written and composed by United States Senator 
     Orrin Hatch? (Applause.) (To Senator Hatch.) Stand! 
     (Continuing applause.) He has written over 300 songs, and he 
     gave Wintley the rights to sing that one, and I am so 
     grateful that he did.
       At this time, a Scripture will be read by the immediate 
     past chairwoman of the Hispanic Caucus in the House, 
     Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard.
       Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). First of all, I would 
     like to thank my friend

[[Page H1099]]

     and colleague Zach Wamp for asking me to participate in this 
     very, very special breakfast. This truly is an honor to be 
     here.
       And I would like to welcome all of you to this national 
     prayer of unity for a strong and effective leadership for our 
     country, and for peace and prosperity for everyone throughout 
     the world.
       A reading from Matthew, chapter 22, verses 35 through 40. 
     ``Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, 
     tempting Him and saying, `Master, which is the great 
     commandment in the law?' Jesus said unto him, `Thou shalt 
     love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy 
     soul and with all thy mind.' This is the first and great 
     commandment, and the second is like unto it. `Thou shalt love 
     thy neighbor as thyself.' Of these two commandments hang all 
     the law and the prophets.''
       Thank you. (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. Ladies and gentlemen, he exudes confidence and 
     strength. Please welcome the vice president of the United 
     States, Dick Cheney. (Applause.)
       Vice President Richard Cheney. Thank you very much.
       Congressman Wamp, Senator Edwards, friends from across 
     America, and distinguished visitors to our country from all 
     over the world: Lynne and I are honored to be with you all 
     this morning. I have always counted myself fortunate to have 
     been raised in a part of the country where the Almighty chose 
     to do some of His finest work. Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, 
     the Big Horn Canyon, Devil's Tower. He made them. I did not 
     say he named them. (Laughter.)
       Such grand surroundings have a way of keeping us humble. 
     They help you remember that the Earth and all of us are here 
     by the design of an intelligent and gracious Creator, and 
     each of us has a purpose that He has set and that we must 
     seek. We seek that purpose through prayer, and we set aside 
     this event each year to offer our prayers together.
       We do so today at a very promising moment in our nation's 
     history, yet the true importance of gatherings like this was 
     best stated during one of our darkest hours by one of our 
     greatest presidents. In his second inaugural address, Abraham 
     Lincoln chose to give something of a sermon. Americans were 
     living through a terrible war that divided the country and 
     tested their faith. To many it seemed that their prayers had 
     gone unanswered. Lincoln offered what was for him a point of 
     fact: Although we may petition The Almighty on our own 
     behalf, His judgments will be made according to his own 
     purposes, and unwelcome consequences often result when we 
     turn away from Him.
       Then the good news. Echoing the Psalmist, Lincoln observed 
     that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous 
     altogether. In perils of war, he had the sure knowledge that 
     the hand of a just God moves in the affairs of mankind.
       So it is even in more tranquil times. Every great and 
     meaningful achievement in this life requires the active 
     involvement of the One who placed us here for a reason, who 
     knows our names and cares about what we do, and is ever 
     deserving of our trust and our devotion.
       Our aim as a country is always, as Lincoln put it, to be at 
     peace among ourselves and with the people of all nations. It 
     is a goal of high purpose, so high that we cannot hope to 
     reach it alone.
       So we come together on this day, people of many faiths, to 
     speak with one voice, humbly asking the Creator for a measure 
     of His grace as we carry out the duties given to us, 
     gratefully counting His blessings on the land we cherish and 
     the families we love, and asking that we shall see His will 
     be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
       Thank you. (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. One of the most important roles in civil 
     government is the spouse of an elected leader, in any country 
     of the world. One of the most influential spouses ever in 
     Washington, D.C., is Mrs. Susan Baker, the wife of Secretary 
     of States James Baker. She will bring a prayer for national 
     leaders. Good morning, Susan. (Applause.)
       Susan Baker. O Lord, our God, we give thanks today for the 
     people that You have called to leadership. In the spirit of 
     Jesus, we ask a special blessing on each man and woman who 
     has the responsibility for governing our cities, our states, 
     and our countries.
       May each one know that they are Your beloved child, so they 
     will govern from abundance and not from need. May they treat 
     the power of their position with reverence and not use it to 
     exploit. May they see their role as that of a servant, rather 
     than a master, of the people.
       May their policies bring hope to the disadvantaged and the 
     oppressed, and may they call for justice with a loud voice.
       May they foster forgiveness and reconciliation, in order to 
     bring healing. May they have the courage to champion truth 
     and integrity, even when it is not politically correct.
       May they seek You daily, Lord, so to rule with wisdom and 
     love, that we, the people, may live peaceful and quiet lives 
     that will bring honor to You, our God. Amen. (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. Thank you, Susan.
       Many of you know that the Reverend Billy Graham really 
     wanted to be with us this morning once again, but he is 
     unable to because of his health. I am told that out of 49 
     National Prayer Breakfast meetings, this is only the fourth 
     that he has missed. He wanted to come and share a message 
     with you this morning. But we will pray for him and send he 
     and his family the very best. And our message this morning 
     will be delivered by my fellow Tennessean, Senator Bill 
     Frist.
       When I called Senator Frist and I asked him if he would 
     bring a message to us this morning, I told him it was no bad 
     deal to be asked to stand in for the Reverend Billy Graham. 
     (Laughter.) When I talked about Senator Orrin Hatch being 
     such an extraordinary person outside of the Senate, there 
     have been few people as extraordinary as our guest speaker 
     this morning.
       Senator Bill Frist is not just a physician, he is a world-
     renowned heart and lung transplant surgeon. He is an author, 
     a scientist and a licensed commercial pilot who has actually 
     flown medical mission teams around the world while serving in 
     the United States Senate. He is very active in the Senate 
     group. He is a dedicated father and husband.
       Please welcome my fellow Tennessean, Senator Bill Frist. 
     (Applause.)
       Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN). Mr. Vice President, Mrs. Cheney, 
     friends. As Zach said, before coming to the United States 
     Senate, I was blessed with the opportunity to transplant 
     hearts. A typical night, the telephone rings 11:00, 12:00 at 
     night. A faceless voice on the other end of the line says, 
     ``Dr. Frist, we've got a heart for you, blood type A, 140 
     pounds. It may be a match for Mr. John Majors.''
       Karyn, my wife, has heard this call weekly, if not twice a 
     week, for the last 10 years before coming to the United 
     States Senate, a telephone call from the National Organ Donor 
     Transplant Registry. With that phone call, somebody's prayers 
     were answered.
       John was a 55-year-old man, a patient, a good friend with a 
     fatal heart disease. Every day he woke up with a prayer; his 
     prayer would be that he would make it through that day, or 
     that someone would give a gift so that he would be able to 
     make it through that week. And with that telephone call, that 
     became such a custom in our house, a blessing, a regular 
     occurrence, John's prayers had been answered, if the God-
     given vehicle of a transplant team and a medical facility and 
     our health profession worked in carrying a procedure out.
       Excited, the usual way I would get out of the bed, kiss 
     Karyn goodnight, go tell my three boys, who are here with us 
     today, goodbye. They would be sound asleep. Going to the 
     hospital to deliver that news to John personally, news that 
     he would wake up every day fearing that he would never hear.
       An hour later, I would be on a chartered airplane flying 
     that night to Chattanooga through the black night, going to a 
     hospital I had never been to, to operate alongside surgeons I 
     had never seen, who had flown elsewhere across the country. I 
     was there to remove the heart from a 23-year-old woman who, 
     unfortunately, had died tragically three hours before in an 
     accident. From the airplane we would jump into a waiting 
     ambulance, and with sirens whirling and blasting, we would go 
     to the hospital. I would scrub, I would open the chest, I 
     would look in and expose the heart. When you do this 
     operation, even though you are around surgeons and medical 
     personnel all the time, every bit of the attention there 
     focuses right on the heart itself--powerful, inspiring, 
     beating in perfect rhythm, pumping through thousands of miles 
     in capillaries. That miracle of God is in each one of you 
     right now.
       I cross-clamp the aorta, infuse what is called cold 
     cardioplegia into the aorta, and that heart which is beating 
     dynamically, powerfully, stops. Completely motionless, still, 
     quiet. That energy source of our physical being, which had 
     not missed a beat in over 75 million contractions, stopped. 
     The room is quiet. But that is when I have got to start 
     moving, because within four hours we have got to take the 
     heart out, get back on the airplane, get it back and start it 
     again. If I do not carry that out under the eyes of the Lord 
     who is guiding our steps along the way, that heart will never 
     start again.
       Within 10 minutes, I have taken that heart out, put it in 
     the ice chest, put it on an airplane, back on that ambulance 
     with lights flashing and sirens going, show up at the airport 
     over in Chattanooga, airplane's engines ready to go, on the 
     airplane, back in, land out at National Airport, take another 
     ambulance to the hospital, walk into the operating room. It 
     has been about two and a half hours, so we have about an hour 
     and a half to get the heart going. Carefully take out John's 
     old worn-out heart, and very respectfully take the new heart 
     and place it in this waiting chest, sewing the blood vessels 
     together.
       Then the precious moment occurs. The wait for that heart to 
     come alive again. All the music goes off. Everybody stops 
     talking, because we have done our work. It is basically 
     mechanical work, but we have done our work. We wait for that 
     heart to come alive, and it is a very special, very precious 
     moment. In every case, it scares me to death. I have done 
     this operation hundreds of times. It strikes deep fear in my 
     soul. What if this heart does not start, or I took too long, 
     or the stitches were put too far apart, or somebody has got 
     the wrong blood type?
       Every time I reach this moment, I do what we all do when we 
     recognize--even with these unbelievable things we do today--
     that there is somebody else watching over, that there is some 
     other hand out there, and I say that prayer. The whole wait 
     is only a couple of minutes. It seems like an eternity. We 
     wait anxiously, but with a profound sense of humility, 
     peering down at this flaccid heart, spotlighted by these 
     bright lights. They are

[[Page H1100]]

     spotlighted right on that heart, waiting. Waiting for 
     rebirth. Waiting to be reborn.
       Now, is there a message to all of this? There are a lot of 
     messages--and, as you can imagine, this is a very spiritual 
     experience for me as I carry out, do what I am trained to do, 
     am given the opportunity to do--but let me just talk about 
     two real quickly.
       One is giving, one person to another. A gift, as we all 
     know, is that ultimate expression of love, and I would argue 
     that organ donation is one of those ultimate gifts. It went 
     very quickly, but who was that 23-year-old woman who died 
     tragically several hours before, who gave so selflessly of 
     herself so that another could live, somebody whom she would 
     never see, somebody whom she had never known.
       All of us try to find ways within our own power to give, 
     and we think about it. But the question we must ask is, do we 
     do it? Sometimes we just think about it and we just do not do 
     it. Let me say, as an aside, that organ donation is a way to 
     give something that costs you nothing. It costs no money. It 
     costs nothing in terms of convenience or inconvenience; a 
     gift greater than any--the gift of life. (Applause.)
       Jesus said, in John 15, that there is no gift greater than 
     this when he said, ``Greater love than this no man hath than 
     a man lay down his life for his friends.''
       But step back and think about the larger picture. He also 
     told us to give purely, to give freely, to give it away out 
     of love without reward for self. And in Matthew, ``Do not do 
     your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them; 
     when you give, do not announce it with trumpets; do not even 
     let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so 
     that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees 
     in secret, will reward you.''
       No gift, I would argue, is purer or more selfless than the 
     gift of a heart or a kidney or a lung or blood. Neither the 
     donor nor the family expects anything. They are not rewarded 
     in any way. Yet the donor gives an ultimate and, indeed, a 
     priceless gift--rewarded with something, I would argue, 
     equally as priceless, a gift that transforms a moment of 
     death into new life, that continues long after the physical 
     presence of that donor or the recipient.
       And not too dissimilar--the parallel is there--to what this 
     Prayer Breakfast is all about, where we all come together, 
     most of us do not know each other, but it is a little like 
     the light of the Lord, that once shared with one another, 
     radiates out from person to person, until all within reach 
     are lit by that fire of love. We come together, we pray 
     together for our leaders, for the burdens of great countries, 
     for the burdens of great communities. We share, but we leave 
     after this Prayer Breakfast, tomorrow, tonight, to light that 
     light and share, to radiate across this globe.
       Now, how many of you have ever signed an organ donor card? 
     I do not want to embarrass anybody, but has anybody signed an 
     organ donor card? Raise your hand. Not too bad. Probably one 
     out of every three tables, that is one out of 30, and that is 
     not bad, all in all.
       The message is that each of us has the capacity to give--
     and I would say in lots of ways, but also in one of the most 
     powerful ways, of ourselves, and we have probably even 
     thought about it, but we have not acted. And let's think 
     about the other gifts--this is the real message--of the 
     compliment to your child or the compliment to your spouse. We 
     may not have given that. The gift of encouragement to the 
     troubled, the meal to the hungry. We have thought about it, 
     but have we acted?
       This story says something else about miracles. In our 
     everyday lives we get up, we rush to work, we get the kids 
     off to school, we work hard, we come home, we buy the 
     groceries, and miracles really do seem like the stuff that 
     childhood dreams are made of, they are the great miracles--
     the great stories of the Bible, the blind see and the lame 
     walk and the dead rise. What my story, I hope, illustrates is 
     that miracles are the manifestation of God in our everyday 
     lives.
       Yes, I was a transplant surgeon. Had the privilege, the 
     blessing to see what I saw, what I just told you about. But 
     it is our everyday lives. How can an inert piece of muscle, 
     stored in an ice chest for four hours, separated entirely 
     from the blood supply, taken across the country, suddenly 
     explode back into life when placed in another person's body? 
     Now, that is not routine to you, but it is routine to me. It 
     occurs every single day in communities all across this 
     country. I can tell you, physicians can describe it, but they 
     can not explain it. I can tell you that scientists can define 
     it, but they can not understand it. But God knows. And with 
     God's help, we can give life and encourage miracles in other 
     ways as well. I say ``with God's help'' because God really 
     does guide us in those little and big ways, in those steps, 
     often without us realizing it.
       As a United States senator, as a physician, I have a lot of 
     opportunity for public service, as so many people in this 
     room do. But I would argue that where these miracles most 
     often happen is through those secret acts of love; the love 
     for each other that lights this room, and love to the Father.
       Let's shift gears real quick. Imagine yourself flying in 
     deepest Africa in a small plane loaded chock-full up to what 
     is called gross weight, with medical supplies, flying at 400 
     feet above the tree tops, to go to a small, makeshift 
     hospital in a war-torn part of Africa. We are flying low to 
     avoid actually being seen by other aircraft, who 
     indiscriminately and regularly bomb the villages below. We 
     are on a medical mission trip with World Medical Mission--
     my good friend, Dr. Dick Furman--and Samaritan's Purse, 
     which is a Christian relief organization run by my good 
     friend Franklin Graham.
       We land on a dirt strip, we drive five miles on a bumpy 
     road. There is an old closed down hospital on the right, 
     which has not been used in 12 years because there are land 
     mines all around. There has been no health care in that area 
     in the last 12 years. We finally arrive at a dilapidated old 
     two-room school house that had been converted into a clinic.
       As I think of this story, Proverbs 16:9 tells me, ``In his 
     heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines those 
     steps.'' When I came to the United States Senate six years 
     ago, I did not know that we had the Prayer Breakfast, that 
     you heard about, every week. The Lord took me to that Prayer 
     Breakfast. I came to the United States Senate to serve in my 
     heart the United States of America in the same way but in 
     some shape or form, ended up in Africa, in the Congo, and in 
     Uganda on these medical mission trips.
       Six weeks prior to our arrival on this first trip to the 
     Sudan, Samaritan's Purse had courageously opened up a 
     hospital, a little medical clinic where over two million 
     people, as you know, have died in the war and four million 
     people have been displaced. We performed surgery where no 
     care, no care, no care had been delivered in over two 
     decades. There were very few instruments and no electricity, 
     and no running water. Patients would walk or be carried for 
     days just because they knew that there was some medical care 
     there.
       But the real image that I want to share with you occurred 
     in a small, one-room building that was about 100 yards away 
     from the little medical clinic. It was used as a recovery 
     room for the sick and the injured. It was there, to me, that 
     the real evidence of God's power at work in our lives came 
     alive. It was late, we were just finishing an operation, and 
     to be honest with you, I was very, very tired. I remember 
     vividly that we were operating under hand-held flashlights.
       We were going to go back to the United States the next day, 
     but then a call came from the recovery room 100 yards away. 
     Somebody said that they wanted to see the American doctor. I 
     was ready to go back to the United States. This was not a 
     patient of mine, nobody I had operated on, but I went anyway.
       I remember so vividly--dusk had settled in--going into this 
     building, pulling the curtain aside, still dark, really could 
     not see, but back in the corner could see this vague 
     silhouette of a man in a bed. Could not see very much, but 
     could see some big white bulky dressings on a right hand, on 
     the stump of a left leg, big white bulky dressing peering out 
     through this dark, dark room. Then I saw one other thing, and 
     that one other thing was a huge smile, a luminous smile, a 
     smile that really almost filled the room with light. As I 
     looked away from the smile, I saw a little bible on the other 
     side of the patient, on a little table on the other side, and 
     I saw the interpreter who began to relay this story.
       I asked him, ``Why do you want to see the American 
     doctor?''
       He told me that two years ago his wife and two children had 
     been murdered in the war.
       ``Yes,'' I nodded. That captivating smile, as he told this 
     story of death in his family, grew even larger and more 
     friendly, a smile of caring, a smile of love. Then he said, 
     through the interpreter, ``Eight days ago I lost part of my 
     hand and my leg to a land mine.''
       ``Yes,'' I nodded, listening, wondering to myself: How in 
     the world could anyone who has lost so much to a war, that is 
     so hard to understand, still smile? And yet his smile grew 
     bigger and bigger as he told this story.
       Finally, I asked, as any of you would, ``Why? Why are you 
     smiling? How in the world could you possibly have gone 
     through this and be smiling and have that smile grow while 
     I'm there?''
       He said, ``Number one, because you came to share with us in 
     the spirit of Jesus of Nazareth, and second, because you are 
     the American doctor.''
       I have just told you I transplant hearts and lungs, and 
     people appreciate what our team does in the spirit of the 
     Lord in transplantation. So I am used to people saying, 
     ``You're the doctor. Thank you for allowing me to be entered 
     into a new life.'' But I had never, ever had someone come and 
     say, ``Thank you for being the American doctor.''
       I said, ``What do you mean?''
       As he lifted up his right arm--again, a big, old, white 
     bulky bandage--and picked up his left stump and showed it to 
     me, he said, ``Everything--everything I've lost--meaning my 
     family, my leg, my hand--will be worth the sacrifice if my 
     people can someday have what you have in America: freedom and 
     liberties, the freedom to be and to worship as we please.''
       Well, right then--and when Admiral Clark opens this prayer 
     with the comment of the beacon that this country represents--
     it became clear to me that the freedoms and liberties which 
     this nation have come to enjoy were obviously not bestowed by 
     men; they have been endowed by our Creator. Our freedom is 
     not based on anything that we in government really do but on 
     the inalienable rights bestowed on us by God.
       I have been back to the Sudan and have operated again. The 
     hospital has grown. Unfortunately, the area still continues 
     to be bombed. I never say that Dinka man again.

[[Page H1101]]

     He was from the Dinka tribe. But I will always carry with me 
     that smile. When you hear Wintley's words and he talks about 
     the healing, I think of that smile and those words.
       A Week and a half ago, on the West Front on the United 
     States Capitol, three miles from here, where we saw thousands 
     of people--very similar to this--sitting out in front of us, 
     and the Lincoln Memorial and the beautiful Washington 
     Monument, again, that smile and those words came back to 
     me as we observed the swearing-in and the peaceful 
     transition to this administration, listening to President 
     George W. Bush, who reminded us what a gift we had in 
     freedom and liberties under God. He said: ``Once a rock in 
     a raging sea, it is now a seed upon the wind, taking root 
     in many nations, an ideal we carry, but do not own; a 
     trust we bear and pass along.''
       As we come together for this prayer breakfast today, and as 
     we leave this room, as we leave this wonderful city, and many 
     of us leave this country, while freedom did not begin in 
     America, we have an obligation to pass it on.
       Mr. President and Mrs. Bush, Mr. Vice President and Mrs. 
     Cheney, may god continue to bless you and guide you now and 
     all the days of your life, as we together, as a nation and as 
     a world, pass it on.
       Let me say one other thing--I almost forgot. What about old 
     John in the operating Room? Remember when he was in the 
     operating room, we had the spotlight on him? We had just said 
     that prayer that a new heart would be infused with life. The 
     room was silent. It was hushed and all eyes were aimed 
     expectantly, focused on the motionless heart sitting in 
     John's chest. Suddenly, that heart--very slowly, inert, not 
     moving--began to quiver, and the quiver began to coarsen into 
     a stronger ripple. The ripple began to synchronize into a 
     beat. Then, bang! The heart jumped and took a strong and 
     powerful heave and the bold rhythm of life once again was 
     reborn.
       Just another miracle, but it all started with a gift.
       Thank you. God bless you all. (Applause).
       Rep. Wamp. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a high honor and my 
     greatest personal privilege to introduce the 43rd president 
     of the United States of America, George W. Bush, and our 
     first lady, Laura Bush. (Cheers, applause.)
       President Bush. Thank you. Thank you all very much for that 
     warm welcome. Laura and I are honored to be here this 
     morning. I did a pretty good job when it came to picking my 
     wife, by the way. (Laughter).
       President Bush. She is going to be a fabulous first lady. 
     (Applause.)
       Mr. Vice President, it is good to see you and, of course, 
     your wife, Lynne. I want to thank the members of my cabinet 
     who are here. I appreciate you, Senator Frist, for your 
     commitment and strong comments, and Zach, thanks for your 
     introduction, and thank you both for organizing this 
     important event. I want to thank the members of the House and 
     the Senate who are here. I appreciate the number of foreign 
     dignitaries who are here. It just goes to show that faith 
     crosses every border and touches every heart in every nation.
       Every president since the first one I can remember, Dwight 
     Eisenhower, has taken part in this great tradition. It is a 
     privilege for me to speak where they have spoken and to pray 
     where they have prayed. All presidents of the United States 
     have come to the National Prayer Breakfast, regardless of 
     their religious views. No matter what our background in 
     prayer, we share something universal--a desire to speak and 
     listen to our Maker and to know His plan for our lives.
       America's Constitution forbids a religious test for office, 
     and that is the way it should be. An American president 
     serves people of every faith and serves some of no faith at 
     all. Yet I have found that my faith helps me in the service 
     to people. Faith teaches humility. As Laura would say, I 
     could use a dose occasionally. (Laughter.) The recognition 
     that we are small in God's universe, yet precious in his 
     sight has sustained me in moments of success and in moments 
     of disappointment. Without it, I would be a different person 
     and, without it, I would I would be here today.
       There are many experiences of faith in this room, but most 
     of us share a belief that we are loved and called to love; 
     that our choices matter, now and forever; that there are 
     purposes deeper than ambition and hopes greater than success. 
     These beliefs shape our lives and help sustain the life of 
     our nation. Men and women can be good without faith, but 
     faith is a force of goodness. Men and women can be 
     compassionate without faith, but faith often inspires 
     compassion. Human beings can love without faith, but faith is 
     a great teach of love.
       Our country, from its beginnings, has recognized the 
     contribution of faith. We do not impose any religion; we 
     welcome all religions. We do not prescribe any prayer; we 
     welcome all prayer. This is the tradition of our nation, and 
     it will be the standard of my administration. (Applause.) We 
     will respect every creed. We will honor the diversity of our 
     country and the deep convictions of our people.
       There is a good reason why many in our nation embrace the 
     faith tradition. Throughout our history, people of faith have 
     often been our nation's voice of conscience. The foes of 
     slavery could appeal to the standard that all are created 
     equal in the sight of our Lord. The civil rights movement had 
     the same conviction on its side, that men and women bearing 
     God's image should not be exploited and set aside and treated 
     as insignificant.
       The same impulse, over the years, has reformed prisons and 
     mental institutions, hospitals, hospices and homeless 
     shelters. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., said this: 
     ``The church must be reminded that it is not the master or 
     the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the 
     state.'' As in his case, that sometimes means defying the 
     times, challenging old ways and old assumptions. This 
     influence has made our nation more just and generous and 
     decent, and our nation has need of that today.
       Faith remains important to the compassion of our nation. 
     Millions of Americans serve their neighbor because they love 
     their God. Their lives are characterized by kindness and 
     patience and service to others. They do for others what no 
     government program can really ever do--they provide love for 
     another human being. They provide hope, even when hope comes 
     hard.
       In my second week in office, we have set out to promote the 
     work of community and faith-based charities. We want to 
     encourage the inspired, to help the helper. Government cannot 
     be replaced by charities, but it can welcome them as partners 
     instead of resenting them as rivals. (Applause.)
       My administration will put the federal government squarely 
     on the side of America's armies of compassion. (Applause.) 
     Our plan will not favor religious institutions over non-
     religious institutions. As president, I am interested in what 
     is constitutional, and I am interested in what works. 
     (Applause.) The days of discriminating against religious 
     institutions simply because they are religious must come to 
     an end. (Cheers, applause.)
       Faith is also important to the civility of our country. It 
     teaches us not merely to tolerate one another, but to respect 
     one another; to show a regard for different views and the 
     courtesy to listen. This is essential to democracy. It is 
     also the proper way to treat human beings created in the 
     divine image.
       We will have our disagreements. Civility does not require 
     us to abandon deeply-held beliefs. Civility does not demand 
     casual creeds and colorless convictions. Americans have 
     always believed that civility and firm resolve could live 
     easily with one another. But civility does mean that our 
     public debate ought to be free from bitterness and anger and 
     rancor and ill-will. (Applause.)
       We will have an obligation to make our case, not to 
     demonize our opponents. (Applause.) As the book of James 
     reminds us, ``Fresh water and salt water cannot flow from the 
     same spring.'' I am under no illusion that civility will 
     triumph in this city all at once. (Laughter.) Old habits die 
     hard. (Laughter.) And sometimes they never die at all. But I 
     can only pledge to you this: that I will do my very best to 
     promote civility and ask for the same in return. (Applause.)
       These are some of the crucial contributions of faith to our 
     nation--justice and compassion and a civil and generous 
     society. I thank you all here for displaying these values and 
     defending them here in America and across the world. You 
     strengthen the ties of friendship and the ties of nation. And 
     I deeply appreciate your work.
       I believe in the power of prayer. It has been said I would 
     rather stand against the cannons of the wicked than against 
     the prayers of the righteous. The prayers of a friend are one 
     of life's most gracious gifts. My family and I are blessed by 
     the prayers of countless Americans. Over the last several 
     months Laura and I have been touched by the number of people 
     who come up and say, ``We pray for you''--such comforting 
     words. I hope Americans will continue to pray that everyone 
     in my administration finds wisdom and always remembers the 
     common good.
       When President Harry Truman took office in 1945 he said 
     this: ``At this moment I have in my heart a prayer. I ask 
     only to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord and my 
     people.'' This has been the prayer of many presidents, and it 
     is mine today. God bless. (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. Thank you, Mr. President.
       Our closing prayer will be given by a civil rights leader 
     at home and abroad; former member of Congress; former mayor 
     of Atlanta, Georgia; former ambassador to the United Nations. 
     Please welcome the Honorable Andrew Young. (Applause.)
       Andrew Young. Mr. President, for 49 years the people of the 
     Congress of this city and our nation have gathered at this 
     time to rally around God's elected, anointed, appointed 
     leadership in hope and in prayer that somehow, through us, 
     God's will will be done.
       May we pray. Oh, Lord, Thou art our father. We are the 
     clay, and Thou art the potter. We are all the work of Thy 
     hand. Be not exceedingly angry, oh Lord, and remember our 
     iniquity forever. Behold, consider--we are all Thy people. 
     You have blessed us far beyond our deserving. You have shared 
     with us the abundant life of this planet Earth. You have 
     worked through our ancestors and forebears and brought to 
     this continent some of the best of the ideas and the hopes 
     and dreams of this planet.
       Indeed, we are those to whom much has been given, and we 
     realize that of us is much required. You have brought us as a 
     nation through many dangerous toils and snares, and we have 
     survived only through faith and your amazing grace.
       As we embark on a new century, with new leadership, we give 
     particular thanks, and we

[[Page H1102]]

     ask Thy particular blessing and mercy on George and Laura 
     Bush. You have been working a long time on them, Father; you 
     started back in the Senate with Old Man Prescott, and you 
     came on through with George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara, 
     and blessed our nation with their leadership. And from their 
     family, you have created a legacy of love, a legacy of mercy, 
     a legacy of compassion, a legacy of peace, prosperity and 
     justice. These we see not as their achievements so much as 
     Your blessings.
       We ask that as they embark upon the whirlwind which is our 
     history, that You may strengthen them and guide them; 
     surround them--the Cabinet, the Congress, the governors, the 
     mayors, the ambassadors, the business leaders, all who are 
     brought together in this creative time, which indeed is Your 
     time--surround us with the guidance and love and strength of 
     Your angels. Keep us always mindful of the presence of Your 
     son.
       Bow us daily on our knees together as we break bread and as 
     we serve Thy holy name, to see to it that all of your 
     children everywhere might share in the freedom, the blessing, 
     the abundant life of grace and mercy that we so readily take 
     for granted in these United States. Grant us wisdom, grant us 
     courage for the living and serving of these days. In Jesus' 
     name, amen.
       (Applause.)
       Rep. Wamp. Our closing song was not written by Senator 
     Orrin Hatch, but it will be performed by Wintley Phipps. 
     Welcome him back, please. Wintley. (Applause.)
       (Song, ``It Is Well With My Soul'', is performed by Wintley 
     Phipps.)
       Rep. Wamp. I would ask the audience to please remain in 
     place while President Bush and our first lady, and the Vice 
     President and Mrs. Cheney leave the stage.
       Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)

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