[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 31, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H15-H19]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

  The PRESIDENT. Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of 
Congress, members of the Supreme Court and Diplomatic Corps, 
distinguished guests and fellow citizens:
  Today our Nation lost a beloved, graceful, courageous woman who 
called America to its founding ideals and carried on a noble dream. 
Tonight we are comforted by the hope of a glad reunion with the husband 
who was taken from her so long ago, and we are grateful for the good 
life of Coretta Scott King.
  Every time I am invited to this rostrum, I am humbled by the 
privilege, and mindful of the history we have seen together. We have 
gathered under this Capitol dome in moments of national mourning and 
national achievement. We have served America through one of the most 
consequential periods of our history, and it has been my honor to serve 
with you.
  In a system of two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches, 
there will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can 
be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to 
harden into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act 
in a spirit of good will and respect for one another, and I will do my 
part. Tonight the state of our Union is strong, and together we will 
make it stronger.
  In this decisive year, you and I will make choices that determine 
both the future and the character of our country. We will choose to act 
confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom, or retreat from our 
duties in the hope of an easier life. We will choose to build our 
prosperity by leading the world economy, or shut ourselves off from 
trade and opportunity. In a complex and challenging time, the road of 
isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting, yet it ends 
in danger and decline. The only way to protect our people, the only way 
to secure the peace, the only way to control our destiny is by our 
leadership, so the United States of America will continue to lead.
  Abroad, our Nation is committed to a historic, long-term goal. We 
seek the end of tyranny in our world. Some dismiss that goal as 
misguided idealism. In reality, the future security of America depends 
on it. On September 11, 2001, we found that problems originating in a 
failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and 
destruction to our country. Dictatorships shelter terrorists, feed 
resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction. 
Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their 
citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror. Every 
step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer, and so we 
will act boldly in freedom's cause.

  Far from being a hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great 
story of our time. In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely 
democracies in the world. Today, there are 122. And we are writing a 
new chapter in the story of self-government, with women lining up to 
vote in Afghanistan, and millions of Iraqis marking their liberty with 
purple ink, and men and women from Lebanon to Egypt debating the rights 
of individuals and the necessity of freedom. At the start of 2006, more 
than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do 
not forget the other half, in places like Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, North 
Korea, and Iran, because the demands of justice, and the peace of this 
world, require their freedom as well.
  No one can deny the success of freedom, but some men rage and fight 
against it. And one of the main sources of reaction and opposition is 
radical Islam, the perversion by a few of a noble faith into an 
ideology of terror and death. Terrorists like bin Laden are serious 
about mass murder, and all of us must take their declared intentions 
seriously. They seek to impose a heartless system of totalitarian 
control throughout the Middle East and arm themselves with weapons of 
mass murder. Their aim is to seize power in Iraq and use it as a safe 
haven to launch attacks against America and the world. Lacking the 
military strength to challenge us directly, the terrorists have chosen 
the weapon of fear. When they murder children at a school in Beslan, or 
blow up commuters in London, or behead a bound captive, the terrorists 
hope these horrors will break our will, allowing the violent to inherit 
the Earth. But they have miscalculated: we love our freedom, and we 
will fight to keep it.

[[Page H16]]

  In a time of testing, we cannot find security by abandoning our 
commitments and retreating within our borders. If we were to leave 
these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone. They 
would simply move the battlefield to our own shores. There is no peace 
in retreat. And there is no honor in retreat. By allowing radical Islam 
to work its will, by leaving an assaulted world to fend for itself, we 
would signal to all that we no longer believe in our own ideals, or 
even in our own courage. But our enemies and our friends can be 
certain: the United States will not retreat from the world, and we will 
never surrender to evil.
  America rejects the false comfort of isolationism. We are the Nation 
that saved liberty in Europe, and liberated death camps, and helped 
raise up democracies, and faced down an evil empire. Once again, we 
accept the call of history to deliver the oppressed, and move this 
world toward peace.
  We remain on the offensive against terror networks. We have killed or 
captured many of their leaders. And for the others, their day will 
come. We remain on the offensive in Afghanistan, where a fine president 
and national assembly are fighting terror while building the 
institutions of a new democracy.
  And we are on the offensive in Iraq, with a clear plan for victory. 
First, we are helping Iraqis build an inclusive government, so that old 
resentments will be eased and the insurgency will be marginalized. 
Second, we are continuing reconstruction efforts and helping the Iraqi 
government to fight corruption and build a modern economy, so all 
Iraqis can experience the benefits of freedom. Third, we are striking 
terrorist targets while we train Iraqi forces that are increasingly 
capable of defeating the enemy. Iraqis are showing their courage every 
day, and we are proud to be their allies in the cause of freedom.
  Our work in Iraq is difficult because our enemy is brutal. But that 
brutality has not stopped the dramatic progress of a new democracy. In 
less than 3 years, that nation has gone from dictatorship, to 
liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to national elections. 
At the same time, our coalition has been relentless in shutting off 
terrorist infiltration, clearing out insurgent strongholds, and turning 
over territory to Iraqi security forces. I am confident in our plan for 
victory. I am confident in the will of the Iraqi people. I am confident 
in the skill and spirit of our military. Fellow citizens, we are in 
this fight to win, and we are winning.
  The road of victory is the road that will take our troops home. As we 
make progress on the ground, and Iraqi forces increasingly take the 
lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels; but those 
decisions will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians 
in Washington, D.C.
  Our coalition has learned from our experience in Iraq. We have 
adjusted our military tactics and changed our approach to 
reconstruction. Along the way, we have benefited from responsible 
criticism and counsel offered by Members of Congress of both parties. 
In the coming year, I will continue to reach out and seek your good 
advice.
  Yet there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for 
success and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure. 
Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy.
  With so much in the balance, those of us in public office have a duty 
to speak with candor. A sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq would 
abandon our Iraqi allies to death and prison, put men like bin Laden 
and Zarqawi in charge of a strategic country, and show that a pledge 
from America means little. Members of Congress: however we feel about 
the decisions and debates of the past, our Nation has only one option: 
we must keep our word, defeat our enemies, and stand behind the 
American military in its vital mission.
  Our men and women in uniform are making sacrifices and showing a 
sense of duty stronger than all fear. They know what it is like to 
fight house to house in a maze of streets, to wear heavy gear in the 
desert heat, to see a comrade killed by a roadside bomb. And those who 
know the costs also know the stakes. Marine Staff Sergeant Dan Clay was 
killed last month fighting in Fallujah. He left behind a letter to his 
family, but his words could just as well be addressed to every 
American. Here is what Dan wrote: ``I know what honor is. It has been 
an honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure 
knowledge that you would not have to. Never falter. Don't hesitate to 
honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that 
which is worth protecting.''

  Staff Sergeant Dan Clay's wife, Lisa, and his mom and dad, Sara Jo 
and Bud, are with us this evening. Welcome. Our Nation is grateful to 
the fallen, who live in the memory of our country. We are grateful to 
all who volunteer to wear our Nation's uniform; and as we honor our 
brave troops, let us never forget the sacrifices of America's military 
families.
  Our offensive against terror involves more than military action. 
Ultimately, the only way to defeat the terrorists is to defeat their 
dark vision of hatred and fear by offering the hopeful alternative of 
political freedom and peaceful change. So the United States of America 
supports democratic reform across the broader Middle East. Elections 
are vital, but they are only the beginning. Raising up a democracy 
requires the rule of law, protection of minorities, and strong, 
accountable institutions that last longer than a single vote. The great 
people of Egypt have voted in a multiparty presidential election, and 
now their government should open paths of peaceful opposition that will 
reduce the appeal of radicalism. The Palestinian people have voted in 
elections, and now the leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel, disarm, 
reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace. Saudi Arabia has taken 
the first steps of reform. Now it can offer its people a better future 
by pressing forward with those efforts.
  Democracies in the Middle East will not look like our own, because 
they will reflect the traditions of their own citizens. Yet liberty is 
the future of every nation in the Middle East, because liberty is the 
right and hope of all humanity.
  The same is true of Iran, a nation now held hostage by a small 
clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people. The regime 
in that country sponsors terrorists in the Palestinian territories and 
in Lebanon, and that must come to an end. The Iranian government is 
defying the world with its nuclear ambitions, and the nations of the 
world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons. 
America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats. And 
tonight, let me speak directly to the citizens of Iran: America 
respects you, and we respect your country. We respect your right to 
choose your own future and win your own freedom. And our Nation hopes 
one day to be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran.
  To overcome dangers in our world, we must also take the offensive by 
encouraging economic progress, fighting disease, and spreading hope in 
hopeless lands. Isolationism would not only tie our hands in fighting 
enemies; it would keep us from helping our friends in desperate need. 
We show compassion abroad because Americans believe in the God-given 
dignity and worth of a villager with HIV/AIDS, or an infant with 
malaria, or a refugee fleeing genocide, or a young girl sold into 
slavery. We also show compassion abroad because regions overwhelmed by 
poverty, corruption, and despair are sources of terrorism, organized 
crime, human trafficking, and the drug trade.
  In recent years, you and I have taken unprecedented action to fight 
AIDS and malaria, expand the education of girls, and reward developing 
nations that are moving forward with economic and political reform. For 
people everywhere, the United States is a partner for a better life. 
Shortchanging these efforts would increase the suffering and chaos of 
our world, undercut our long-term security, and dull the conscience of 
our country. I urge Members of Congress to serve the interests of 
America by showing the compassion of America.
  Our country must also remain on the offensive against terrorism here 
at home. The enemy has not lost the desire or capability to attack us. 
Fortunately, this Nation has superb professionals in law enforcement, 
intelligence, the military, and homeland security. These men and women 
are dedicating their lives to protecting us all, and they deserve our 
support and our

[[Page H17]]

thanks. They also deserve the same tools they already use to fight drug 
trafficking and organized crime, so I ask you to reauthorize the 
PATRIOT Act.
  It is said that prior to the attacks of September 11, our government 
failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy. We now know that two of 
the hijackers in the United States placed telephone calls to al Qaeda 
operatives overseas. But we did not know about their plans until it was 
too late. So to prevent another attack, based on authority given to me 
by the Constitution and by statute, I have authorized a terrorist 
surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international 
communications of suspected al Qaeda operatives and affiliates to and 
from America. Previous Presidents have used the same constitutional 
authority I have, and Federal courts have approved the use of that 
authority. Appropriate Members of Congress have been kept informed. 
This terrorist surveillance program has helped prevent terrorist 
attacks. It remains essential to the security of America. If there are 
people inside our country who are talking with al Qaeda, we want to 
know about it, because we will not sit back and wait to be hit again.
  In all these areas, from the disruption of terror networks, to 
victory in Iraq, to the spread of freedom and hope in troubled regions, 
we need the support of our friends and allies. To draw that support, we 
must always be clear in our principles and willing to act. The only 
alternative to American leadership is a dramatically more dangerous and 
anxious world. Yet we also choose to lead because it is a privilege to 
serve the values that gave us birth. American leaders, from Roosevelt 
to Truman to Kennedy to Reagan, rejected isolation and retreat 
because they knew that America is always more secure when freedom is on 
the march. Our own generation is in a long war against a determined 
enemy, a war that will be fought by Presidents of both parties, who 
will need steady bipartisan support from the Congress. And tonight I 
ask for yours. Together, let us protect our country, support the men 
and women who defend us, and lead this world toward freedom.

  Here at home, America also has a great opportunity: we will build the 
prosperity of our country by strengthening our economic leadership in 
the world.
  Our economy is healthy and vigorous and growing faster than other 
major industrialized nations. In the last 2\1/2\ years, America has 
created 4.6 million new jobs, more than Japan and the European Union 
combined. Even in the face of higher energy prices and natural 
disasters, the American people have turned in an economic performance 
that is the envy of the world.
  The American economy is preeminent, but we cannot afford to be 
complacent. In a dynamic world economy, we are seeing new competitors 
like China and India. This creates uncertainty, which makes it easier 
to feed people's fears. And so we are seeing some old temptations 
return. Protectionists want to escape competition, pretending that we 
can keep our high standard of living while walling off our economy. 
Others say that the government needs to take a larger role in directing 
the economy, centralizing more power in Washington and increasing 
taxes. We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy, 
even though this economy could not function without them. All these are 
forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction, toward 
a stagnant and second-rate economy.
  Tonight I will set out a better path, an agenda for a Nation that 
competes with confidence, an agenda that will raise standards of living 
and generate new jobs. Americans should not fear our economic future, 
because we intend to shape it.
  Keeping America competitive begins with keeping our economy growing, 
and our economy grows when Americans have more of their own money to 
spend, save, and invest. In the last 5 years, the tax relief you passed 
has left $880 billion in the hands of American workers, investors, 
small businesses, and families; and they have used it to help produce 
more than 4 years of uninterrupted economic growth. Yet the tax relief 
is set to expire in the next few years. If we do nothing, American 
families will face a massive tax increase they do not expect and will 
not welcome.
  Because America needs more than a temporary expansion, we need more 
than temporary tax relief. I urge the Congress to act responsibly and 
make the tax cuts permanent.
  Keeping America competitive requires us to be good stewards of tax 
dollars. Every year of my Presidency, we have reduced the growth of 
nonsecurity discretionary spending, and last year you passed bills that 
cut this spending. This year my budget will cut it again and reduce or 
eliminate more than 140 programs that are performing poorly or not 
fulfilling essential priorities. By passing these reforms, we will save 
the American taxpayer another $14 billion next year and stay on track 
to cut the deficit in half by 2009. I am pleased that Members of 
Congress are working on earmark reform, because the Federal budget has 
too many special interest projects. And we can tackle this problem 
together, if you pass the line-item veto.
  We must also confront the larger challenge of mandatory spending, or 
entitlements. This year, the first of about 78 million baby boomers 
turn 60, including two of my dad's favorite people, me and President 
Clinton. This milestone is more than a personal crisis; it is a 
national challenge. The retirement of the baby boom generation will put 
unprecedented strains on the Federal Government. By 2030, spending for 
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid alone will be almost 60 percent 
of the entire Federal budget. And that will present future Congresses 
with impossible choices, staggering tax increases, immense deficits, or 
deep cuts in every category of spending.
  Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social 
Security; yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not 
going away. And with every year we fail to act, the situation gets 
worse. So tonight, I ask you to join me in creating a commission to 
examine the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Security, 
Medicare, and Medicaid. This commission should include Members of 
Congress of both parties, and offer bipartisan solutions. We need to 
put aside partisan politics, work together, and get this problem 
solved.
  Keeping America competitive requires us to open more markets for all 
that Americans make and grow. One out of every five factory jobs in 
America is related to global trade, and we want people everywhere to 
buy American. With open markets and a level playing field, no one can 
outproduce or outcompete the American worker.
  Keeping America competitive requires an immigration system that 
upholds our laws, reflects our values, and serves the interests of our 
economy. Our Nation needs orderly and secure borders. To meet this 
goal, we must have stronger immigration enforcement and border 
protection. And we must have a rational, humane guest worker program 
that rejects amnesty, allows temporary jobs for people who seek them 
legally, and reduces smuggling and crime at the border.
  Keeping America competitive requires affordable health care. Our 
government has a responsibility to help provide health care for the 
poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility. For all 
Americans, we must confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the 
doctor-patient relationship, and help people afford the insurance 
coverage they need. We will make wider use of electronic records and 
other health information technology to help control costs and reduce 
dangerous medical errors. We will strengthen health savings accounts by 
making sure individuals and small business employees can buy insurance 
with the same advantages that people working for big businesses now 
get. We will do more to make this coverage portable, so workers can 
switch jobs without having to worry about losing their health 
insurance. And because lawsuits are driving many good doctors out of 
practice, leaving women in nearly 1,500 American counties without a 
single OB-GYN, I ask the Congress to pass medical liability reform this 
year.
  Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. Here we have 
a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported 
from unstable parts of the world.
  The best way to break this addiction is through technology. Since 
2001, we

[[Page H18]]

have spent nearly $10 billion to develop cleaner, cheaper, and more 
reliable alternative energy sources; and we are on the threshold of 
incredible advances. So tonight, I announce the Advanced Energy 
Initiative, a 22 percent increase in clean energy research at the 
Department of Energy, to push for breakthroughs in two vital areas. To 
change how we power our homes and offices, we will invest more in zero-
emission coal-fired plants; revolutionary solar and wind technologies; 
and clean, safe nuclear energy.
  We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase 
our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars and in 
pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We will also fund additional 
research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from 
corn but from wood chips, stalks, or switch grass. Our goal is to make 
this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within 6 years. 
Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach 
another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports 
from the Middle East by 2025. By applying the talent and technology of 
America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move 
beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle 
Eastern oil a thing of the past.
  And to keep America competitive, one commitment is necessary above 
all: we must continue to lead the world in human talent and creativity. 
Our greatest advantage in the world has always been our educated, 
hardworking, ambitious people; and we are going to keep that edge. 
Tonight I announce the American Competitiveness Initiative, to 
encourage innovation throughout our economy and to give our Nation's 
children a firm grounding in math and science.
  First: I propose to double the Federal commitment to the most 
critical basic research programs in the physical sciences over the next 
10 years. This funding will support the work of America's most creative 
minds as they explore promising areas such as nanotechnology, 
supercomputing, and alternative energy sources.
  Second: I propose to make permanent the research and development tax 
credit, to encourage bolder private-sector investment in technology. 
With more research in both the public and private sectors, we will 
improve our quality of life and ensure that America will lead the world 
in opportunity and innovation for decades to come.
  Third: We need to encourage children to take more math and science 
and make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other 
nations. We have made a good start in the early grades with the No 
Child Left Behind Act, which is raising standards and lifting test 
scores across our country. Tonight, I propose to train 70,000 high 
school teachers to lead advanced placement courses in math and science; 
bring 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in classrooms; and 
give early help to students who struggle with math, so they have a 
better chance at good high-wage jobs. If we ensure that America's 
children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the 
world.
  Preparing our Nation to compete in the world is a goal that all of us 
can share. I urge you to support the American Competitiveness 
Initiative, and together we will show the world what the American 
people can achieve.
  America is a great force for freedom and prosperity. Yet our 
greatness is not measured in power or luxuries, but by who we are and 
how we treat one another. So we strive to be a compassionate, decent, 
hopeful society.
  In recent years, America has become a more hopeful Nation. Violent 
crime rates have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1970s. Welfare 
cases have dropped by more than half over the past decade. Drug use 
among youth is down 19 percent since 2001. There are fewer abortions in 
America than at any point in the last three decades, and the number of 
children born to teenage mothers has been falling for a dozen years in 
a row.
  These gains are evidence of a quiet transformation, a revolution of 
conscience, in which a rising generation is finding that a life of 
personal responsibility is a life of fulfillment. Government has played 
a role. Wise policies such as welfare reform, drug education, and 
support for abstinence and adoption have made a difference in the 
character of our country. And everyone here tonight, Democrat and 
Republican, has a right to be proud of this record.
  Yet many Americans, especially parents, still have deep concerns 
about the direction of our culture and the health of our most basic 
institutions. They are concerned about unethical conduct by public 
officials, and discouraged by activist courts that try to redefine 
marriage. And they worry about children in our society who need 
direction and love, and about fellow citizens still displaced by 
natural disaster, and about suffering caused by treatable diseases.

  As we look at these challenges, we must never give in to the belief 
that America is in decline or that our culture is doomed to unravel. 
The American people know better than that. We have proven the 
pessimists wrong before, and we will do it again.
  A hopeful society depends on courts that deliver equal justice under 
the law. The Supreme Court now has two superb new members on its bench, 
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito. I thank the Senate 
for confirming both of them. I will continue to nominate men and women 
who understand that judges must be servants of the law, and not 
legislate from the bench. Today marks the official retirement of a very 
special American. For 24 years of faithful service to our Nation, the 
United States is grateful to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
  A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do 
not cut ethical corners and that recognize the matchless value of every 
life. Tonight, I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most 
egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms, 
creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal 
hybrids, and buying, selling or patenting human embryos. Human life is 
a gift from our Creator, and that gift should never be discarded, 
devalued, or put up for sale.
  A hopeful society expects elected officials to uphold the public 
trust. Honorable people in both parties are working on reforms to 
strengthen the ethical standards of Washington, and I support your 
efforts. Each of us has made a pledge to be worthy of public 
responsibility, and that is a pledge we must never forget, never 
dismiss, and never betray.
  As we renew the promise of our institutions, let us also show the 
character of America in our compassion and care for one another.
  A hopeful society gives special attention to children who lack 
direction and love. Through the Helping America's Youth Initiative, we 
are encouraging caring adults to get involved in the life of a child, 
and this good work is being led by our First Lady, Laura Bush. This 
year we will add resources to encourage young people to stay in school, 
so more of America's youth can raise their sights and achieve their 
dreams.
  A hopeful society comes to the aid of fellow citizens in times of 
suffering and emergency and stays at it until they are back on their 
feet. So far the Federal Government has committed $85 billion to the 
people of the gulf coast and New Orleans. We are removing debris, 
repairing highways, and building stronger levees. We are providing 
business loans and housing assistance. Yet as we meet these immediate 
needs, we must also address deeper challenges that existed before the 
storm arrived. In New Orleans and in other places, many of our fellow 
citizens have felt excluded from the promise of our country. The answer 
is not only temporary relief, but schools that teach every child and 
job skills that bring upward mobility and more opportunities to own a 
home and start a business. As we recover from a disaster, let us also 
work for the day when all Americans are protected by justice, equal in 
hope, and rich in opportunity.
  A hopeful society acts boldly to fight diseases like HIV/AIDS, which 
can be prevented and treated and defeated. More than a million 
Americans live with HIV, and half of all AIDS cases occur among African 
Americans. I ask Congress to reform and reauthorize the Ryan White Act 
and provide new funding to States so we end the waiting lists for AIDS 
medicines in America. We will also lead a nationwide effort, working 
closely with African American

[[Page H19]]

churches and faith-based groups, to deliver rapid HIV tests to 
millions, end the stigma of AIDS, and come closer to the day when there 
are no new infections in America.
  Fellow citizens, we have been called to leadership in a period of 
consequence. We have entered a great ideological conflict we did 
nothing to invite. We see great changes in science and commerce that 
will influence all our lives. And sometimes it can seem that history is 
turning in a wide arc, toward an unknown shore.
  Yet the destination of history is determined by human action, and 
every great movement of history comes to a point of choosing. Lincoln 
could have accepted peace at the cost of disunity and continued 
slavery. Martin Luther King could have stopped at Birmingham or at 
Selma and achieved only half a victory over segregation. The United 
States could have accepted the permanent division of Europe and been 
complicit in the oppression of others. Today, having come far in our 
own historical journey, we must decide: Will we turn back, or finish 
well?
  Before history is written down in books, it is written in courage. 
Like Americans before us, we will show that courage, and we will finish 
well. We will lead freedom's advance. We will compete and excel in the 
global economy. We will renew the defining moral commitments of this 
land. And so we move forward, optimistic about our country, faithful to 
its cause, and confident of the victories to come.
  May God bless America.
  [Applause, the Members rising.]
  At 10 o'clock and 5 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; Chief Justice of the United 
States and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United 
States;
  The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

                          ____________________