[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 47 (Wednesday, April 10, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2552-S2558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
61ST NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Pryor and myself, I
ask unanimous consent that the transcript of the 61th Annual National
Prayer Breakfast be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
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61st National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, February 7, 2013, Washington,
DC, Co-Chairs: Senator Jeff Sessions, Senator Mark Pryor
Senator Mark Pryor: Let me open by saying, ``Good morning
fellow sinners.'' My name is Mark Pryor, from Arkansas, and
this is my brother, Jeff Sessions, from Alabama. Together,
Jeff and I chair the weekly Senate breakfast group, which
means we get to chair this ``slightly larger'' event this
morning.
Senator Jeff Sessions: Thank you all for taking on the
adventure of getting here this morning. We have a challenging
experience planned for you this morning. We call this the
Prayer Breakfast, not only because we come together to pray,
but because so much prayer goes into this event, and
hopefully, so much prayer comes out of it.
Senator Pryor: Everything that happens over the next 90
minutes has really come about through prayer. As a matter of
fact, one of the hundreds of volunteers that make this
morning possible, literally came in very early this morning
and prayed over each place setting here--prayed over each of
you.
Senator Sessions: Prayer is not a spectator sport. We hope
this experience enriches your own life of prayer, for the
good of the nation, for the world and for your family.
Senator Pryor: Let us join our hearts in prayer. God of the
universe, who we individually worship in many different ways
and languages, bring us together this morning in a shared
experience of praise, understanding and commitment. Our world
and our lives fall short of what you created them to be. Use
this time to bless us, to bless our leaders, and especially
our President, with a sense of who you are and how we all
need to change. We are thankful for the food we are enjoying
and friendships old and new. Be present in each of our hearts
today, in your Holy, precious and matchless name, Amen.
Senator Sessions: Enjoy (what's left of) your breakfast.
Good morning. We've had a wonderful time together to
discuss issues and have a joyful noise. We thank you for your
attention.
Senator Pryor: It's overwhelming to think of the pathways
that each person took to get to this event today. Some from
little villages halfway around the world and some from just
12 blocks away, so thank you all for coming.
Senator Sessions: This huge event, which has taken place
for 61 years now, began with a group of people who happened
to be leaders wanting to get together for breakfast and for
prayer. One thing I know for sure is that life is complicated
and is likely to get more complicated tomorrow than
yesterday. But as members of the weekly Senate prayer
breakfast group, we've learned that taking time each week to
meet, to take off the disguises that we wear and pray and
share our lives together, makes life better.
Senator Pryor: In the modern world and especially in a city
like this, there are thousands of things that drive us
apart--politics, ideology and even religion. Today, though,
we come together in the Spirit of Jesus who taught us to love
one another, treat others as we want to be treated and to
love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. It
would be a whole lot better world if we just listened to Him.
Senator Sessions: As you look around the room, understand
that you're sharing this meal with people from more than 140
countries, all 50 states, heads of government, and leaders of
all kinds. Through prayer, we believe God has brought us
together for a reason. As you listen closely to the program,
try to figure out what God is saying to you. And as you've
heard, this event is hosted by members of the House and
Senate and I would like to ask all the members of the House
and Senate who are present, to stand at this time. We're also
honored to be joined by two prime ministers, the Prime
Minister of Serbia, His Excellency Ivica Dacic, and the Prime
Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, His Excellency
Augustin Matata Ponyo. Thank you so much for being with us.
Senator Pryor: I would like to introduce the head table
that will lead us through this experience. I'll start on my
right. Today you could say that you ate breakfast with the
President and a gold medalist. At the end of our program, our
closing prayer will be offered by Olympic champion, Gabrielle
Douglas, whose new book is appropriately subtitled ``My Leap
of Faith.'' Next to her is former U.S. Senator, Cabinet
member and President of the Red Cross, Elizabeth Dole.
Elizabeth, believe it or not, was our breakfast speaker 26
years ago. She will give a reading from the Holy Scriptures.
Next to her is California Representative, Janice Hahn, one of
two co-chairs of the House prayer breakfast group, and next
year she'll be standing in my place here. Then we have
Admiral and Mrs. Jonathan Greenert. He is the U.S. Chief of
Naval Operations, which puts him in charge of about 300,000
sailors, 300 ships and 3,500 aircraft. He will offer a prayer
for our national leaders. Next, we have the spouse of my co-
chair, Mary Sessions. And please join me in welcoming the
passionate, principled and inspirational First Lady of the
United States, Michelle Obama.
Senator Sessions: Continuing down the table, we have our
friend and former colleague, the good Vice President of the
United States, Joe Biden. On the other side of our speaker is
my colleague and friend, Chuck Schumer. He's the pride of
P.S. 197 in Brooklyn, New York and a dedicated member of
Congress for amazingly 30 years, and a key member of the
Democratic leadership. Chuck will be offering a reading from
the Holy Scripture. Next to him is another good friend and
former colleague of ours, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior,
Ken Salazar. In his day job, Ken is responsible for more than
500 million acres of United States land. He is a former chair
of this Senate prayer breakfast and will be offering a prayer
for world leaders. Next to him is Janice Hahn's sidekick for
the next year, co-chair of the House breakfast group, Louie
Gohmert. He is a member of the House for 8 years and is from
East Texas. And finally, visiting from Italy, Mr. Andrea
Primicerio, and our soloist, Andrea Bocelli. Mr. Bocelli has
gone from a small farming village near Pisa, Italy to selling
more than 80 million records worldwide. I read that, at last
count, in addition to song writing, he plays 9 instruments.
This morning, he will play the most beautiful instrument God
has created, the human voice. Join me in welcoming our
soloist, Andrea Bocelli.
[Song.]
Senator Charles Schumer: Good morning. In the Jewish
tradition, we are given not only an English name but a Hebrew
name and my Hebrew name is Yesha'yahu--Isaiah. So I was
particularly honored when Mark asked me to read from the Book
of Isaiah. This is Isaiah 55:6-13,
``Seek the Lord, while He may be found, call on him while
he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways, and the
unrighteous their thoughts; let them turn to the Lord and he
will have mercy on them; and to our God, for He will freely
pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow
come down from the heaven, and do not return to it without
watering the earth, and making it bud and flourish so that it
yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my
word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me
empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the
purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be
led forth in peace. The mountains and hills will burst into
song before you and all the trees of the fields will clap
their hands. Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper
and instead of briars the myrtle will grow. This will be for
the Lord's renowned for an everlasting sign that will endure
forever.''
Representative Louie Gohmert: It is such a pleasure to be
here and it's such a pleasure to share our Thursday morning
prayer breakfast with you. My co-chair in the House is Janice
Hahn. It's a surprise for some people, after they see the way
we go back and forth and debate, to see that the Prayer
Breakfast is truly bipartisan. We work together. We pray
together. And there's something that really brings people
together when you pray together. It's the belief in the power
of prayer that brings us together.
My wife and I have tried to teach that to our three girls.
When they were old enough to pray, Cathy and I and our three
girls would gather around one of the girls' beds and we would
pray each night. One night we had some nose spray that a
doctor prescribed for our middle daughter, Caroline--she'd
been having real serious sinus problems. She didn't want it
up her nose--but I was bigger than her. It was going to be
good for her according to the doctor, so we got it up the
nose. But there was a lot of crying, wailing and gnashing of
teeth. But once the nose spray had been administered and the
tears subsided, the crying stopped, we gathered for prayers.
Katie prayed first and then Caroline and Caroline finished
her prayer by saying ``And please God, help Sarah (the little
one), mind her own business and quit being such a pest. And
help her to just leave me and Katie alone.'' Little Sarah had
the last prayer, and in her little angelic voice she said,
``Please God, help Daddy stick some more medicine up
Caroline's nose.'' We had taught them how to pray but not
necessarily what it was for.
So on Thursday mornings we gather, not to pray that God
will help us to stick something up our opponent's nose, but
we pray; and God grants mending and healing and blessing and
leadership, and it's a beautiful thing to see those come
together. It does make us better. It makes us stronger. And
it makes the government work better. Which is why Benjamin
Franklin, in his own words--his own handwriting--said, ``In
the beginning contest with Great Britain when we were
sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room. Our
prayers are heard and they were graciously answered.'' Janice
and I and our other colleagues have seen those prayers
answered and it's what brings us together. Thanks for joining
with us today.
Representative Janice Hahn: Good morning. Mr. President,
Madam First Lady, Mr. Vice President, Senators, distinguished
guests; I'm so delighted to be here this morning with all of
you. It's such an honor to co-chair the House Congressional
prayer breakfast with my friend and colleague, Congressman
Louie Gohmert. His colleagues have said, ``This is the only
chairmanship that Speaker Boehner can't remove him from for
bad behavior.'' Only God can do that.
Today's Prayer Breakfast offers an opportunity for us to
set aside political labels and come together to be inspired
and pray for the critical issues that are facing our nation
and the world. I was elected to Congress in the middle of one
of the most bitter, rancorous
[[Page S2554]]
and divided periods in our nation's history. But in the midst
of that discord, there was one place that I found that we
could set aside our partisan bickering and our differences
and come together--a place where once a week, we could be
there for each other with our God. That place was the weekly
Congressional prayer breakfast. I've found some unlikely
friends in that breakfast. But they have helped me to be a
better member of Congress and to better serve my God and my
constituents.
Faith has always been a strong part of my life and my
story. I grew up in the church. My grandparents on my
mother's side were missionaries to Japan. And my grandmother
on my father's side, in a moment of deep despair and
helplessness, turned to God for help in raising her seven
little boys under the age of 10 when her husband died
suddenly. That decision that my grandmother Hattie made,
helped me find my journey of faith. Every week when a member
of Congress comes to our prayer breakfast and tells their own
journey of faith, it gives us a bond that can't be broken. We
believe in the power of prayer and every week, we give thanks
when God has answered our prayers. Abraham Lincoln said, ``I
have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming
conviction that I have nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and
that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.'' May
we all continue to believe that our own wisdom is
insufficient. God bless you all.
Admiral Jonathan Greenert: Good Morning. Mr. President,
Mrs. Obama, Mr. Vice President, Senators, Congressmen,
distinguished guests. Many times many of you have said, even
today, to those of us that wear the cloth of the nation,''
thank you for your service.'' And on behalf of our soldiers,
sailors, airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen, may I say thank
you for your service and your support to your armed forces.
Please join me in a prayer for our national leaders.
Oh Lord, we come before you today, thankful for the many
blessings you have bestowed upon our nation. And we humbly
ask for your continued guidance and strength. On this day, we
are reminded to give thanks for the extraordinary freedoms
that we enjoy, made possible by the efforts of past
generations of men and women who have served this great
nation. Your word tells us of King David whose willingness to
place his faith in you during difficult times serves as an
example for us all. Like David, there are many in this nation
who have answered the call to serve, both in and out of
uniform. Lord, we are thankful for their dedication, their
passion, their perseverance and for the families that support
their every effort. When it comes to our search for
inspiration, Scripture clearly speaks about where we should
begin charting our course--we begin with prayer. We ask that
you continue to guide our leaders with wisdom and
understanding as they weather the storms that confront our
nation. Provide them, God, with the vision necessary to see
the way ahead. The strength required to act on difficult
decisions and the compassion to care for the wellbeing of
those that they lead. Fortify the resolve of the men and
women who lead our great nation and provide us with bold,
confident and accountable leaders capable of carrying out
those actions that your wisdom directs. In your Holy Name we
pray, amen.
The Honorable Elizabeth Dole: Mr. President, Mrs. Obama,
Mr. Vice President, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It's my privilege today to read selected portions of Hebrews
11, which has been called the Hall of Faith. And I'll end
with Hebrews 12 versus 1-3 and verse 14.
``Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain
of what we do not see. By faith we understand that the
universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was
not made out of what was visible. And without faith, it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
earnestly seek him. By faith, Noah, when warned about things
not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.
By faith, Abraham, even though he was past age and Sarah
herself was barren was unable to become a father because he
considered him faithful who had made the promise. By faith,
Abraham when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He
who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one
and only son even though God had said to him ``it is through
Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'' Abraham
reasoned that God could raise the dead and figuratively
speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. By faith,
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By
faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's
sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By
faith, Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus
of the Israelites from Egypt. By faith, Moses' parents hid
him for three months after he was born because they saw he
was no ordinary child and they were not afraid of the king's
edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be
known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. By faith, he left
Egypt not fearing the king's anger. He persevered because he
saw him who is invisible. By faith the people passed through
the Red Sea as on dry land. By faith, the walls of Jericho
fell after the people had marched around them for seven days.
By faith, the prostitute Rehab because she welcomed the
spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And
what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about
Gideon, Barack, Sampson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the
prophets who through faith, conquered kingdoms, administered
justice and gained what was promised. Who shut the mouths of
lions, quenched the fury of the flames and escaped the edge
of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength. Others
were tortured and refused to be released so that they might
gain a better resurrection. Some faced years of flogging
while still others were chained and put in prison. They were
stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the
sword. These were all commended for their faith. Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so
easily entangles and let us run with perseverance, the race
that is set before us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before
him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him, who
endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart. Make every effort to live in peace
with all men and to be holy, for without holiness no one will
see the Lord.''
The Honorable Ken Salazar: Mr. President, Mrs. Obama, Vice
President Biden, members of the United States Senate, fellow
Cabinet members, members of the House of Representatives and
distinguished guests. The following prayer was written by
Cesar Chavez, the great leader of the United States Farm
Workers of America. Last year, President Obama visited the
gravesite of Cesar Chavez and his office at a place in La
Paz, California; and there, he made this place a national
monument so that we can honor the work of a true hero and a
follower of Christ and a follower of Gandhi. It was a moving
time for the President and all of us who were there that day.
Chavez was a servant leader who followed the teachings of
Jesus Christ. He followed the teachings of Gandhi and Dr.
Martin Luther King. He was ever prayerful to Nuestra Senora
de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe). Today as the world, in
many different places, rages in a debate about the peopling
of our nations and immigration, and as our nation does the
same thing, let us pray that all of our world leaders and all
of our leaders here in the United States, will be inspired by
the true story of the peopling of our nations and give voice
to those who now live in the fear of the shadows of our
society. And so, inspired by the teachings and life of Saint
Francis and Jesus Christ, let us pray as Cesar Chavez prayed,
as he fasted for those who have no voice, who are the most
vulnerable in our society.
He prayed: ``Show me the suffering of the most miserable,
so that I will know my people's plight. Free me to pray for
others, because you are present in every person. Help me to
take responsibility for my own life, so that I can be free at
last. Grant me the courage to serve others, for in service
there is true life. Give me honesty and patience, so that I
can work with others. Bring forth song and celebration, so
that the Spirit will be alive among us. Let the Spirit
flourish and grow, so that we will never tire of the
struggle. Let us remember those who have died for justice,
for they have given us life. Help us love even those who hate
us, so we can change the world.'' God bless you, God bless
the United States of America, God bless all of our leaders.
Senator Sessions: Of all of the complex things in the
world, perhaps the most complex is the human brain. How come
I can remember the words of the preamble of the Constitution
but can't find my glasses? We've invited as our guest speaker
this morning a gentleman for three reasons: he loves Jesus,
he has a compelling life story and he is a distinguished man
of science and healing. We hope that he can help us sort some
things out. May I introduce, the director of Pediatric
Neurosurgery at one of the world's great hospitals, Johns
Hopkins in Baltimore, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Sr.
Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr.: Thank you so much. Mr.
President, Mr. Vice President, Mrs. Obama, distinguished
guests--which includes everybody. Thank you so much for this
wonderful honor to be at this stage again. I was here 16
years ago and the fact that they've invited me back means
that I didn't offend too many people--so that was great. I
want to start by reading four texts, which will put into
context what I'm going to say.
Proverbs 11:9. ``With his mouth, the godless destroys his
neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous escape.''
Proverbs 11:12, ``A man who lacks judgment derides his
neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue.''
Proverbs 11:25, ``A generous man will prosper; he who
refreshes others will himself be refreshed.''
2nd Chronicles 7:14, ``If my people who are called by my
name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and
will forgive their sins and heal their land.''
I have an opportunity to speak in a lot of venues--this is
my fourth speech this week--and to talk to a lot of people.
And I've been asking people--what concerns you? What are you
most concerned about in the terms of the spirituality and the
direction of our nation and our world? I've talked to very
prominent Democrats, and very prominent Republicans and I was
surprised by the uniformity of their answers. And those have
informed my comments this morning.
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It's not my intention to offend anyone. I have discovered,
however, in recent years that it's very difficult to speak to
a large group of people these days and not offend someone.
And I know people walk around with their feelings on their
shoulders waiting for you to say something--``Ah, did you
hear that?'' And they can't hear anything else you say. The
PC police are out in force at all times. I remember once I
was talking to a group about the difference between a human
brain and a dog's brain. And a man got offended--he said,
``You can't talk about dogs like that.'' But people just
focus in on that and completely miss the point of what you're
saying. We've reached the point where people are afraid to
actually talk about what they want to say--because somebody
might be offended. People are afraid to say, ``Merry
Christmas'' at Christmastime. It doesn't matter whether the
person you're talking to is Jewish or whether they're any
religion--that's a salutation of greeting, of good will.
We've got to get over this sensitivity. It keeps people from
saying what they really believe.
I'm reminded of a very successful young businessman who
loved to buy his mother these exotic gifts for Mother's Day.
And he ran out of ideas, and then he ran across these birds.
These birds were cool. They cost 5,000 dollars apiece--they
could dance, they could sing, they could talk. He was so
excited, he bought two of them; sent them to his mother;
couldn't' wait to call her up on Mother's Day, ``Mother,
mother, what did you think of those birds?'' And she said,
``They was good.'' He said, ``No, no, no, mother, you didn't
eat those birds; those birds cost 5,000 dollars apiece--they
could dance, they could sing, they could talk.'' And she
said, ``Well, they should have said something.'' And that's
where we end up too if we don't speak up for what we believe.
What we need to do in this PC world is forget about unanimity
of speech and unanimity of thought and we need to concentrate
on being respectful to those people with whom we disagree--
that's when I think we begin to make real progress.
One last thing about political correctness--which I think
is a horrible thing, by the way. I'm very, very compassionate
and I'm not ever out to offend anyone, but PC is dangerous
because in this country, one of the founding principles was
freedom of thought and freedom of expression and it muffles
people, it puts a muzzle on them. And at the same time, keeps
people from discussing important issues while the fabric of
their society is being changed. And we cannot fall for that
trick. What we need to do is start talking about things,
talking about things that are important, things that were
important in the development of our nation. One of those
things was education. I'm very passionate about education
because it made such a big difference in my life. But here we
are at a time in the world, the information age, the age of
technology, and yet 30 per cent of people who enter high
school in this country do not graduate. 44 percent of the
people who start a four year college program do not finish it
in four years. What is that about?
Think back to a darker time in our history. 200 years ago
when slavery was going on, it was illegal to educate a slave,
particularly to teach him to read. Why do you think that was?
Because when you educate a man, you liberate the man. And
there I was as a youngster placing myself in the same
situation that a horrible institution did because I wasn't
taking advantage of the education, because I was a horrible
student. Most of my classmates thought I was the stupidest
person in the world. They called me ``dummy.'' I was the butt
of all the jokes. Admittedly, it was a bad environment--a
single parent home--my mother and father had gotten divorced
early on. My mother got married when she was 13. She was one
of 24 children; had a horrible life, discovered that her
husband was a bigamist, had another family, and she only had
a third grade education. She had to take care of us, in dire
poverty. I had a horrible temper, poor self-esteem; all of
the things that you think would preclude success. But I had
something very important. I had a mother who believed in me.
And I had a mother who would never allow herself to be a
victim, no matter what happened. She never made excuses and
she never accepted an excuse from us. And if we ever came up
with an excuse, she always said, ``Do you have a brain?'' And
if the answer was ``Yes,'' then she said, ``Then you could of
thought your way out of it; it doesn't matter what John or
Susan or Mary or anybody else did or said.'' And it was the
most important thing she did for my brother and myself
because if you don't accept excuses, pretty soon people stop
giving them and they start looking for solutions and that is
a critical issue when it comes to success.
We did live in dire poverty and one of the things that I
hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders, some people hate
snakes--I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. But my mother
couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school.
She prayed, she asked God to give her wisdom, what could she
do to get her young sons to understand the importance of
developing their minds, so that they could control their own
lives? And you know what? God gave her the wisdom, at least
in her opinion. My brother and I didn't think it was that
wise because it was to turn off the TV. She let us only watch
two or three TV programs during the week. And with all that
spare time, read two books apiece from the Detroit public
libraries and submit to her written book reports, which she
couldn't read but we didn't know that--she'd put checkmarks
and highlights and stuff. But you know, I just hated this,
and my friends were out having a good time. Her friends would
criticize her, they would say, ``You can't make boys stay in
the house reading books, they'll grow up, they'll hate you.''
I would overhear them and I would say, ``You know, mother,
they're right.'' But she didn't care. But after a while, I
actually began to enjoy reading those books. Even though we
were very poor, between the covers of those books, I could go
anywhere, I could be anybody, I could do anything. I began to
read about people of great accomplishment. And as I read
those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to
see that the person that has the most to do with you and what
happens to you in life is you. You make decisions. You decide
how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I
came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. At
that point, I didn't hate poverty anymore because I knew it
was only temporary. I knew I could change that. It was
incredibly liberating for me, it made all the difference.
And to continue on that theme of education, in 1831, Alexis
de Tocqueville came to America to study this country. The
Europeans were fascinated--how could a fledgling nation
barely 50 years old already be competing with them on
virtually every level. This is impossible--de Tocqueville was
going to sort it out. And he looked at our government and he
was duly impressed by the three branches of government--four
now because now of special interest groups, but it was only
three back in those days. And he said, ``Wow, this is really
something.'' And then he said, ``Let me look at their
educational system,'' and he was blown away. Anybody
finishing second grade was completely literate. He could find
a mountain man on the outskirts of society--the man could
read a newspaper, could have a political discussion, could
tell him how the government worked.
If you really want to be impressed, take a look at the
chapter on education in my latest book, ``America the
Beautiful,'' which I wrote with my wife; it came out last
year. And in that education chapter, you will see questions
extracted from a sixth grade Exit Exam from the 1800's--a
test you had to pass to get your sixth grade certificate. I
doubt most college graduates today could pass that test. We
have dumbed things down to that level. And the reason that
that is so dangerous is because the people who founded this
nation said that our system of government was designed for a
well informed and educated populous. And when they become
less informed, they become vulnerable. Think about that, our
system of government, and that's why the education is so
vitally important.
Now some people say ``Ah, you're overblowing it, things
aren't that bad, and you're a doctor, a neurosurgeon, why are
you concerned about these things?'' I've got news for you.
Five doctors signed the Declaration of Independence. Doctors
were involved in the framing of the Constitution, the Bill of
Rights, and a whole bunch of things. It's only been in recent
decades that we've extracted ourselves--which I think is a
big mistake. We need doctors and we need scientists,
engineers, we need all of those people involved in
government, not just lawyers. I don't have anything against
lawyers, but here's the thing about lawyers--and I'm sorry
but I got to be truthful--what do lawyers learn in law
school? To win, by hook or by crook, you got to win. So
you've got all these Democrat lawyers and you've got all
these Republican lawyers and their side wants to win. We need
to get rid of that. What we need to start thinking about is:
how do we solve problems?
Now, before I get shot, let me finish here. I don't like to
bring up problems without coming up with solutions. My wife
and I started the Carson Scholars Fund 16 years ago after we
heard about an international survey looking at the ability of
eighth graders in 22 countries to solve math and science
problems; and we came out number 21 out of 22, barely beat
out number 22, very concerning. And we'd go into schools and
we'd see all these trophies, All State basketball, All State
wrestling, All State this, that and the other. The
quarterback was the big man on campus, What about the
intellectual superstar? What did they get? A National Honor
Society pin, a pat on the head, ``there, there little
nerd''--nobody cared about them. And is it any wonder that
sometimes the smart kids try to hide; they don't want anybody
to know that they're smart? This is not helping us as a
nation. So we started giving out scholarships to students
from all backgrounds for superior academic performance and
demonstration of humanitarian qualities. Unless you cared
about other people, it didn't matter how smart you were.
We've got plenty of people like that, we don't need those. We
need smart people who care about other people. We will give
them money, the money would go into a trust, they would get
interest on it and then when they went to college, they get
the money. But also, the school gets a trophy, every bit as
impressive as the sports trophies. It goes right out there
with the others. They get a medal. They get to go to a
banquet. And we try to put them on the same kind of pedestal
as we do the All State athletes.
Now, I have nothing against athletics or entertainment,
please believe me. I'm from Baltimore, the Ravens won, this
is great, okay. But what will maintain our position in the
world, the ability to shoot a 25 foot jump
[[Page S2556]]
shot or the ability to solve a quadratic equation? We need to
put things into proper perspective. Many teachers have told
us that when we put a Carson Scholar in their class room, the
GPA of the whole class goes up over the next year. And it's
been very gratifying. We started 16 years ago with 25
scholarships in Maryland; now we've given out more than 5,000
and we're in all 50 states. But we also put in reading rooms.
These are fascinating places that no little kid could
possibly pass up. They get points for the amount of time they
spend in their reading, the number of books that they read,
and they can trade them in for prizes. In the beginning, they
do it for the prizes, but it doesn't take long before their
academic performance begins to improve. We particularly
target Title 1 schools where kids come from homes with no
books and they go to schools with no libraries. Those are the
ones who drop out and we need to truncate that process early
on because we can't afford to waste any of those young
people. For every one of those people that we keep from going
down that path, that path of self-destruction and mediocrity,
that's one less person you have to protect yourself and your
family from. One less person you have to pay for in the penal
or the welfare system. One more tax paying productive member
of society who may invent a new energy source or come up with
a cure for cancer. They're all important to us and we need
every single one of them, it makes a difference. When you go
home tonight, please read about it, Carson Scholar Fund,
Carsonscholars.org.
But, why is it so important that we educate our people?
Because we don't want to go down the same pathway as many
other pinnacle nations have who have preceded us. I think
particularly about ancient Rome--very powerful, nobody could
even challenge them militarily. But what happened to them?
They destroyed themselves from within--moral decay, fiscal
irresponsibility--they destroyed themselves. And if you don't
think that can happen to America, you get out your books and
you start reading. But you know we can fix it. Why can we fix
it? Because we're smart; we have some of the most
intellectually gifted people leading our nation. All we need
to do is remember what our real responsibilities are so we
can solve the problems. I think about these problems all the
time and my role model was Jesus and he used parables to help
people understand things.
One of our big problems right now--and like I said, I'm not
politically correct so, I'm sorry--our deficit is a big
problem. Think about it. Our national debt, 16\1/2\ trillion
dollars, you think that's not a lot of money. I tell you
what, count one number per second, which you can't even do
because when you get to a thousand, you can't, it'll take you
longer than a second, but one number per second. You know how
long that'll take you to count to 16 trillion? 507,000
years--more than a half a million years to get there. We have
to deal with this. Here's the parable. A family falls on hard
times--dad loses his job or is demoted, gets part time work,
has five children. He comes to the five children and he says
``We're going to have to reduce your allowance.'' Well,
they're not happy about it; but he says, ``Except for John
and Susan, they're special. They can keep their allowance; in
fact, I may give them more.'' How do you think that's going
to go down? Not too well. Same thing happens, enough said.
What about our taxation system? So complex there is no one
who can possibly comply with every jot and tittle of our tax
system. If I wanted to get you, I could get you on a tax
issue. That doesn't make any sense. What we need to do is
come up with something that is simple. When I pick up my
Bible, you know what I see? I see the fairest individual in
the universe, God. And he's given us a system, it's called,
tithe. Now, we don't necessarily have to do it 10 per cent,
but it's the principle. He didn't say, ``If your crops fail,
don't give me any tithes.'' He didn't say, ``If you have a
bumper crop, give me triple tithes.'' So there must be
something inherently fair about proportionality. You make 10
billion dollars, you put in a billion. You make 10 dollars,
you put in one. Of course, you've got to get rid of the
loopholes. But now some people say, ``Well that's not fair
because it doesn't hurt the guy who made 10 billion dollars
as much as the guy who made 10.'' Where does it say you have
to hurt the guy? He just put a billion dollars in the pot;
you know we don't need to hurt him. It's that kind of
thinking that has resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman
Islands. That money needs to be back here building our
infrastructure and creating jobs. And we're smart enough to
figure out how to do that.
We've already started down the path of solving one of the
other big problems, health care. We need to have good health
care for everybody. It's the most important thing that a
person can have. Money means nothing, titles means nothing,
when you don't have your health. But, we've got to figure out
efficient ways to do it. We spend a lot of money on health
care, twice as much per capita as anybody else in the world
and yet we're not very efficient. What can we do? Here's my
solution. When a person is born, give them a birth
certificate, an electronic medical record and a health
saving's account to which money can be contributed pre-tax
from the time you're born to the time you die. When you die,
you can pass it on to your family members so that when you're
85 years old and you've got six diseases, you're not trying
to spend up everything, you're happy to pass it on and
there's nobody talking about death panels. That's number one.
And also, for the people who are indigent, who don't have any
money; we can make contributions to their HSA each month
because we already have this huge pot of money. Instead of
sending it to some bureaucracy, let's put it in their HSA's.
Now they have some control over their own health care. And
what do you think they're going to do? They're going to learn
very quickly how to be responsible. When Mr. Jones gets that
diabetic foot ulcer, he's not going to the emergency room and
blowing a big chunk of it. He's going to go to the clinic. He
learns that very quickly. He gets the same treatment in the
emergency room they send him out to the clinic and say ``Now
let's get your diabetes under control so you're not back here
in three weeks with another problem. That's how we begin to
solve these kinds of problems. It's much more complex than
that and I don't have time to go into it all but we can do
all of these things because we're smart people.
And let me just begin to close here by another parable. A
sea captain is out on the sea, near to the area where the
Titanic went down. He looks ahead and there's a bright light
right there, another ship he figures. He tells his signaler;
signal that ship, ``Deviate 10 degrees to the south.'' Back
comes the message ``No, you deviate 10 degrees to the
north.'' Well he's a little bit incensed, he says, ``Send a
message, This is Captain Johnson, deviate 10 degrees to the
north'.'' Back comes the message, ``This is Ensign 4th Class
Riley, deviate 10 degrees to the south.'' Now he's really
upset. He says, ``Send them a message, this is a naval
destroyer.'' Back comes the message, ``This is a light
house.'' Enough said.
What about the symbol of our nation, the eagle, the bald
eagle. It's an interesting story how we chose that but a lot
of people think we call it the bald eagle because it looks
like it has a bald head. That's not the reason. It comes from
the Old English word, piebald, which means crowned with
white; and we just shortened it to bald. Now use that the
next time you see somebody who thinks they know everything--
you get them with that one. But, why is that eagle able to
fly high, to fly forward? Because it has two wings, a left
wing and a right wing. Enough said.
And I want to close with this story. 200 years ago this
nation was involved in a war, the War of 1812. The British,
who are now our good friends, thought that we were young
whippersnappers; it was time for us to become a colony again.
They were winning that war, marching up the Eastern Seaboard,
destroying city after city, destroyed Washington D.C., burned
down the White House; next stop, Baltimore. As they came into
the Chesapeake Bay, that armada of ships--war ships as far as
the eye could see--it was looking grim; Fort McHenry standing
right there. General Armistead, who was in charge of Fort
McHenry, had a large American flag commissioned to fly in
front of the fort. The admiral in charge of the British fleet
was offended and said, ``Take that flag down. You have until
dusk to take that flag down. If you don't take it down, we
will reduce you to ashes.'' There was a young amateur poet on
board by the name of Francis Scott Key, sent by President
Madison to try to obtain the release of an American physician
who was being held captive. He overheard the British plans;
they were not going to let him off the ship. He mourned as
dusk approached. He mourned for his fledgling young nation.
And as the sun fell, the bombardment started, bombs bursting
in air, missiles, so much debris. He strained trying to see--
was the flag still there? Couldn't see a thing. All night
long it continued. At the crack of dawn he ran out to the
banister, he looked, straining his eyes, but all he could see
was dust and debris. And then there was a clearing and he
beheld the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen--the torn and
tattered stars and stripes still waving. And many historians
say that was the turning point in the War of 1812. We went on
to win that war and to retain our freedom. And if you had
gone onto the grounds of Fort McHenry that day, you would
have seen at the base of that flag the bodies of soldiers who
took turns propping up that flag. They would not let that
flag go down because they believed in what that flag
symbolized. And what did it symbolize? One nation under God,
indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, God
bless.
Senator Pryor: Thank you Dr. Carson. It is now my great
honor to introduce our President. One of the striking
measures of the passage of time since you first were with us
Mr. President is the comparison photographs of your daughters
at your first Inauguration and you're second. You have a
beautiful and wonderful family. And they remind us of the
core American values of faith, family and optimism in the
future. Mr. President, we want to express our love and our
respect for you this morning. You carry burdens none of us in
this room can imagine. Thank you for keeping the unbroken
commitment of ten former presidents to join us for breakfast
and prayer. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United
States, Barack Obama.
President Barack Obama: Thank you very much. Please have a
seat. Mark, thank you for that introduction. I thought he was
going to talk about my gray hair. It is true that my
daughters are gorgeous. That's because my wife is gorgeous.
And my goal is to improve my gene pool. To Mark and Jeff,
thank you for your wonderful work on behalf of
[[Page S2557]]
this breakfast. To all of those who worked so hard to put
this together; to the heads of state, members of Congress,
and my Cabinet, religious leaders and distinguished guests.
To our outstanding speaker. To all the faithful who've
journeyed to our capital, Michelle and I are truly honored to
be with you this morning.
Before I begin, I hope people don't mind me taking a moment
of personal privilege. I want to say a quick word about a
close friend of mine and yours, Joshua Dubois. Now, some of
you may not know Joshua, but Joshua has been at my side--in
work and in prayer--for years now. He is a young reverend,
but wise in years. He's worked on my staff. He's done an
outstanding job as the head of our Faith-Based office. Every
morning he sends me via email a daily meditation--a snippet
of Scripture for me to reflect on. And it has meant the world
to me. And despite my pleas, tomorrow will be his last day in
the White House. So this morning I want to publically thank
Joshua for all that he's done, and I know that everybody
joins me in wishing him all the best in his future
endeavors--including getting married.
It says something about us--as a nation and as a people--
that every year, for 61 years now, this great prayerful
tradition has endured. It says something about us that every
year, in times of triumph and in tragedy, in calm and in
crisis, we come together, not as Democrats or Republicans,
but as brothers and sisters, and as children of God. Every
year, in the midst of all our busy and noisy lives, we set
aside one morning to gather as one community, united in
prayer. We do so because we're a nation ever humbled by our
history, and we're ever attentive to our imperfections--
particularly the imperfections of our President. We come
together because we're a people of faith. We know that faith
is something that must be cultivated. Faith is not a
possession. Faith is a process.
I was struck by the passage that was read earlier from the
Book of Hebrews: ``Without faith it is impossible to please
God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He
exists and He rewards those who diligently seek Him.'' He
rewards those who diligently seek Him--not just for one
moment, or one day, but for every moment, and every day. As
Christians, we place our faith in the nail-scarred hands of
Jesus Christ. But so many other Americans also know the close
embrace of faith--Muslims and Jews, Hindus and Sikhs. And all
Americans--whether religious or secular--have a deep and
abiding faith in this nation.
Recently I had occasion to reflect on the power of faith. A
few weeks ago, during the inauguration, I was blessed to
place my hand on the Bibles of two great Americans, two men
whose faith still echoes today. One was the Bible owned by
President Abraham Lincoln, and the other, the Bible owned by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As I prepared to take the sacred
oath, I thought about these two men, and I thought of how, in
times of joy and pain and uncertainty, they turned to their
Bibles to seek the wisdom of God's word--and thought of how,
for as long as we've been a nation, so many of our leaders,
our Presidents, and our preachers, our legislators and our
jurists have done the same. Each one faced their own
challenges; each one finding in Scripture their own lessons
from the Lord. And as I was looking out on the crowd during
the inauguration I thought of Dr. King. We often think of him
standing tall in front of the endless crowds, stirring the
nation's conscience with a bellowing voice and a mighty
dream. But I also thought of his doubts and his fears, for
those moments came as well--the lonely moments when he was
left to confront the presence of long-festering injustice and
undisguised hate; imagined the darkness and the doubt that
must have surrounded him when he was in that Birmingham jail,
and the anger that surely rose up in him the night his house
was bombed with his wife and child inside, and the grief that
shook him as he eulogized those four precious girls taken
from this Earth as they gathered in a house of God. And I was
reminded that, yes, Dr. King was a man of audacious hope and
a man of relentless optimism. But he was also a man
occasionally brought to his knees in fear and in doubt and in
helplessness. And in those moments, we know that he retreated
alone to a quiet space so he could reflect and he could pray
and he could grow his faith. And I imagine he turned to
certain verses that we now read. I imagine him reflecting on
Isaiah, that we wait upon the Lord; that the Lord shall renew
those who wait; that they shall mount up with wings as
eagles, and they shall run and not be weary, and they shall
walk and not faint. We know that in Scripture, Dr. King found
strength; in the Bible, he found conviction. In the words of
God, he found a truth about the dignity of man that, once
realized, he never relinquished.
We know Lincoln had such moments as well. To see this
country torn apart, to see his fellow citizens waging a
ferocious war that pitted brother against brother, family
against family--that was as heavy a burden as any President
will ever have to bear. We know Lincoln constantly met with
troops and visited the wounded and honored the dead. And the
toll mounted day after day, week after week. And you can see
in the lines of his face the toll that the war cost him. But
he did not break. Even as he buried a beloved son, he did not
break. Even as he struggled to overcome melancholy, despair,
grief, he did not break. And we know that he surely found
solace in Scripture; that he could acknowledge his own
doubts, that he was humbled in the face of the Lord. And
that, I think, allowed him to become a better leader. It's
what allowed him in what may be one of the greatest speeches
ever written, in his second Inaugural, to describe the Union
and the Confederate soldier alike--both reading the same
Bible, both prayed to the same God, but ``the prayers of both
could not be answered. That of neither has been answered
fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.'' In Lincoln's
eyes, the power of faith was humbling, allowing us to embrace
our limits in knowing God's will. And as a consequence, he
was able to see God in those who vehemently opposed him.
Today, the divisions in this country are, thankfully, not
as deep or destructive as when Lincoln led, but they are
real. The differences in how we hope to move our nation
forward are less pronounced than when King marched, but they
do exist. And as we debate what is right and what is just,
what is the surest way to create a more hopeful--for our
children--how we're going to reduce our deficit, what kind of
tax plans we're going to have, how we're going to make sure
that every child is getting a great education--and, Doctor,
it is very encouraging to me that you turned out so well by
your mom not letting you watch TV. I'm going to tell my
daughters that when they complain. In the midst of all these
debates, we must keep that same humility that Dr. King and
Lincoln and Washington and all our great leaders understood
is at the core of true leadership. In a democracy as big and
as diverse as ours, we will encounter every opinion. And our
task as citizens--whether we are leaders in government or
business or spreading the word--is to spend our days with
open hearts and open minds; to seek out the truth that exists
in an opposing view and to find the common ground that allows
for us as a nation, as a people, to take real and meaningful
action. And we have to do that humbly, for no one can know
the full and encompassing mind of God. And we have to do it
every day, not just at a prayer breakfast. I have to say this
is now our fifth prayer breakfast and it is always just a
wonderful event. But I do worry sometimes that as soon as we
leave the prayer breakfast, everything we've been talking
about the whole time at the prayer breakfast seems to be
forgotten--on the same day of the prayer breakfast. I mean,
you'd like to think that the shelf life wasn't so short. But
I go back to the Oval Office and I start watching the cable
news networks and it's like we didn't pray.
And so my hope is that that humility carries over every
day, every moment. While God may reveal His plan to us in
portions, the expanse of His plan is for God, and God alone,
to understand. ``For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know
even as also I am known.'' Until that moment, until we know,
and are fully known, all we can do is live our lives in a
Godly way and assume that those we deal with every day,
including those in an opposing party, they're groping their
way, doing their best, going through the same struggles we're
going through. And in that pursuit, we are blessed with
guidance. God has told us how He wishes for us to spend our
days. His Commandments are there to be followed. Jesus is
there to guide us; the Holy Spirit, to help us. Love the Lord
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. See in everyone,
even in those with whom you disagree most vehemently, the
face of God. For we are all His children. That's what I
thought of as I took the oath of office a few weeks ago and
touched those Bibles--the comfort that Scripture gave Lincoln
and King and so many leaders throughout our history; the
verses they cherished, and how those words of God are there
for us as well, waiting to be read any day that we choose. I
thought about how their faith gave them the strength to meet
the challenges of their time, just as our faith can give us
the strength to meet the challenges of ours. And most of all,
I thought about their humility, and how we don't seem to live
that out the way we should, every day, even when we give lip
service to it.
As President, sometimes I have to search for the words to
console the inconsolable. Sometimes I search Scripture to
determine how best to balance life as a President and as a
husband and as a father. I often search for Scripture to
figure out how I can be a better man as well as a better
President. And I believe that we are united in these
struggles. But I also believe that we are united in the
knowledge of a redeeming Savior, whose grace is sufficient
for the multitude of our sins, and whose love is never
failing. And most of all, I know that all Americans--men and
women of different faiths and, yes, those of no faith that
they can name--are, nevertheless, joined together in common
purpose, believing in something that is bigger than
ourselves, and the ideals that lie at the heart of our
nation's founding--that as a people we are bound together.
And so this morning, let us summon the common resolve that
comes from our faith. Let us pray to God that we may be
worthy of the many blessings He has bestowed upon our nation.
Let us retain that humility not just during this hour but for
every hour. And let me suggest that those of us with the most
power and influence need to be the most humble. And let us
promise Him and to each other, every day as the sun rises
over America that it will rise over a people who are striving
to make this a more perfect union. Thank you. God bless you,
and God bless the United States of America.
[[Page S2558]]
Senator Sessions: Thank you. Thank you Mr. President. We're
not of the same political party, sometimes we disagree, but
speaking as an American, we are one nation and we have one
President who serves us all. Thank you for being my
President, thank you for being our President.
So let's all enjoy now a final selection from Andrea
Boccelli.
[Song]
Mr. Andrea Bocelli: Thank you very much. I'm very ashamed
of my English because I would like to tell you many, many
things but I can't because my English is very poor. But I
live this moment like a dream, because very often my country
has been in trouble, just because the left and the right
never are able to speak with each other. And in this country
where I received a lot, a big, big affection, incredible
affection, today I received also a big teaching. I will try
going back to my country, Italy, to transmit this will that
for me is the most important thing--the will to pray
together. Thank you very much.
Senator Pryor: Thank you Andrea. Just like your songs that
was very beautiful. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus said, ``Therefore, everyone who hears these words of
mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built
his house on the rock.'' Let's be wise people in the
important roles that we're about to step back into in a few
minutes and put what we've heard and learned here into
practice.
Senator Sessions: Love God. Love your neighbor. Let's make
that simple rule our guide and make our complex world a
better one today. And to offer our closing prayer, please
welcome Olympic gold medalist, Gabrielle Douglas.
Ms. Gabrielle Douglas: Thank you. It's such an honor to be
here today with so many distinguished leaders, especially Mr.
President, Mrs. Obama, Mr. Vice President and the Honorable
Mark Pryor and the Honorable Jeff Sessions. Now please,
please join me as we bow our heads and pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the many continued
blessings. We uplift every leader from every nation and ask
that you continue to give them wisdom as they govern. Teach
us to walk in humility, strengthen us as we strive to fulfill
your plan, your purpose for our lives. And as we go from
here, I pray we would all pursue your peace, your love and
your grace, in Jesus' name, Amen.
Senator Pryor: We're done, thank you, God bless you.
____________________