[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S576-S580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE

                                 ______
                                 

   REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE UNION DELIVERED TO A JOINT SESSION OF 
                  CONGRESS ON JANUARY 30, 2018--PM 25

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States which was ordered to lie on the 
table:

To the Congress of the United States:
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady 
of the United States, and my fellow Americans:
  Less than 1 year has passed since I first stood at this podium, in 
this majestic chamber, to speak on behalf of the American People--and 
to address their concerns, their hopes, and their dreams. That night, 
our new Administration had already taken swift action. A new tide of 
optimism was already sweeping across our land.
  Each day since, we have gone forward with a clear vision and a 
righteous mission--to make America great again for all Americans.
  Over the last year, we have made incredible progress and achieved 
extraordinary success. We have faced challenges we expected, and others 
we could never have imagined. We have shared in the heights of victory 
and the pains of hardship. We endured floods and fires and storms. But 
through it all, we have seen the beauty of America's soul, and the 
steel in America's spine.
  Each test has forged new American heroes to remind us who we are, and 
show us what we can be.
  We saw the volunteers of the ``Cajun Navy,'' racing to the rescue 
with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a 
devastating hurricane.
  We saw strangers shielding strangers from a hail of gunfire on the 
Las Vegas strip.
  We heard tales of Americans like Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashlee 
Leppert, who is here tonight in the gallery with Melania. Ashlee was 
aboard

[[Page S577]]

one of the first helicopters on the scene in Houston during Hurricane 
Harvey. Through 18 hours of wind and rain, Ashlee braved live power 
lines and deep water, to help save more than 40 lives. Thank you, 
Ashlee.
  We heard about Americans like firefighter David Dahlberg. He is here 
with us too. David faced down walls of flame to rescue almost 60 
children trapped at a California summer camp threatened by wildfires.
  To everyone still recovering in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto 
Rico, the Virgin Islands, California, and everywhere else--we are with 
you, we love you, and we will pull through together.
  Some trials over the past year touched this chamber very personally. 
With us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this 
House--a guy who took a bullet, almost died, and was back to work three 
and a half months later: the legend from Louisiana, Congressman Steve 
Scalise.
  We are incredibly grateful for the heroic efforts of the Capitol 
Police Officers, the Alexandria Police, and the doctors, nurses, and 
paramedics who saved his life, and the lives of many others in this 
room.
  In the aftermath of that terrible shooting, we came together, not as 
Republicans or Democrats, but as representatives of the people. But it 
is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy. Tonight, I 
call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common 
ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we 
were elected to serve.
  Over the last year, the world has seen what we always knew: that no 
people on Earth are so fearless, or daring, or determined as Americans. 
If there is a mountain, we climb it. If there is a frontier, we cross 
it. If there is a challenge, we tame it. If there is an opportunity, we 
seize it.
  So let us begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our Union is 
strong because our people are strong.
  And together, we are building a safe, strong, and proud America.
  Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs, including 
200,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone. After years of wage 
stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages.
  Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. African-American 
unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic 
American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.
  Small business confidence is at an all-time high. The stock market 
has smashed one record after another, gaining $8 trillion in value. 
That is great news for Americans' 401k, retirement, pension, and 
college savings accounts.
  And just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months 
ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history.
  Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class 
and small businesses.
  To lower tax rates for hardworking Americans, we nearly doubled the 
standard deduction for everyone. Now, the first $24,000 earned by a 
married couple is completely tax-free. We also doubled the child tax 
credit.
  A typical family of four making $75,000 will see their tax bill 
reduced by $2,000--slashing their tax bill in half.
  This April will be the last time you ever file under the old broken 
system--and millions of Americans will have more take-home pay starting 
next month.
  We eliminated an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on Americans 
making less than $50,000 a year--forcing them to pay tremendous 
penalties simply because they could not afford government-ordered 
health plans. We repealed the core of disastrous Obamacare--the 
individual mandate is now gone.

  We slashed the business tax rate from 35 percent all the way down to 
21 percent, so American companies can compete and win against anyone in 
the world. These changes alone are estimated to increase average family 
income by more than $4,000.
  Small businesses have also received a massive tax cut, and can now 
deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  Here tonight are Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger of Staub 
Manufacturing--a small business in Ohio. They have just finished the 
best year in their 20-year history. Because of tax reform, they are 
handing out raises, hiring an additional 14 people, and expanding into 
the building next door.
  One of Staub's employees, Corey Adams, is also with us tonight. Corey 
is an all-American worker. He supported himself through high school, 
lost his job during the 2008 recession, and was later hired by Staub, 
where he trained to become a welder. Like many hardworking Americans, 
Corey plans to invest his tax-cut raise into his new home and his two 
daughters' education. Please join me in congratulating Corey.
  Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already 
gotten tax cut bonuses--many of them thousands of dollars per worker. 
Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in 
America, and hire another 20,000 workers.
  This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time 
to start living the American Dream.
  So to every citizen watching at home tonight--no matter where you 
have been, or where you come from, this is your time. If you work hard, 
if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can 
dream anything, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve 
anything.
  Tonight, I want to talk about what kind of future we are going to 
have, and what kind of Nation we are going to be. All of us, together, 
as one team, one people, and one American family.
  We all share the same home, the same heart, the same destiny, and the 
same great American flag.
  Together, we are rediscovering the American way.
  In America, we know that faith and family, not government and 
bureaucracy, are the center of the American life. Our motto is ``in God 
we trust.''
  And we celebrate our police, our military, and our amazing veterans 
as heroes who deserve our total and unwavering support.
  Here tonight is Preston Sharp, a 12-year-old boy from Redding, 
California, who noticed that veterans' graves were not marked with 
flags on Veterans Day. He decided to change that, and started a 
movement that has now placed 40,000 flags at the graves of our great 
heroes. Preston: a job well done.
  Young patriots like Preston teach all of us about our civic duty as 
Americans. Preston's reverence for those who have served our Nation 
reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts 
for the pledge of allegiance, and why we proudly stand for the national 
anthem.
  Americans love their country. And they deserve a Government that 
shows them the same love and loyalty in return.
  For the last year we have sought to restore the bonds of trust 
between our citizens and their Government.
  Working with the Senate, we are appointing judges who will interpret 
the Constitution as written, including a great new Supreme Court 
Justice, and more circuit court judges than any new administration in 
the history of our country.
  We are defending our Second Amendment, and have taken historic 
actions to protect religious liberty.
  And we are serving our brave veterans, including giving our veterans 
choice in their healthcare decisions. Last year, the Congress passed, 
and I signed, the landmark VA Accountability Act. Since its passage, my 
Administration has already removed more than 1,500 VA employees who 
failed to give our veterans the care they deserve--and we are hiring 
talented people who love our vets as much as we do.
  I will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of, which 
has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great 
journey.
  All Americans deserve accountability and respect--and that is what we 
are giving them. So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every 
Cabinet Secretary with the authority to reward good workers--and to 
remove Federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the 
American people.
  In our drive to make Washington accountable, we have eliminated more 
regulations in our first year than any administration in history.
  We have ended the war on American Energy--and we have ended the war 
on clean coal. We are now an exporter of energy to the world.
  In Detroit, I halted Government mandates that crippled America's 
autoworkers--so we can get the Motor City revving its engines once 
again.

[[Page S578]]

  Many car companies are now building and expanding plants in the 
United States--something we have not seen for decades.
  Chrysler is moving a major plant from Mexico to Michigan; Toyota and 
Mazda are opening up a plant in Alabama. Soon, plants will be opening 
up all over the country. This is all news Americans are unaccustomed to 
hearing--for many years, companies and jobs were only leaving us. But 
now they are coming back.
  Exciting progress is happening every day.
  To speed access to breakthrough cures and affordable generic drugs, 
last year the FDA approved more new and generic drugs and medical 
devices than ever before in our history.
  We also believe that patients with terminal conditions should have 
access to experimental treatments that could potentially save their 
lives.
  People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to 
country to seek a cure--I want to give them a chance right here at 
home. It is time for the Congress to give these wonderful Americans the 
``right to try.''
  One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription 
drugs. In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we 
pay in the United States. That is why I have directed my Administration 
to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top 
priorities. Prices will come down.
  America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade 
deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, 
our jobs, and our Nation's wealth.
  The era of economic surrender is over.
  From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be 
reciprocal.
  We will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones.
  And we will protect American workers and American intellectual 
property, through strong enforcement of our trade rules.
  As we rebuild our industries, it is also time to rebuild our 
crumbling infrastructure.
  America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building 
in just 1 year--is it not a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just 
to get a permit approved for a simple road?
  I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, 
reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people 
deserve.
  Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that 
generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment 
we need.
  Every Federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with State and 
local governments and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector 
investment--to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit.
  Any bill must also streamline the permitting and approval process--
getting it down to no more than two years, and perhaps even one.
  Together, we can reclaim our building heritage. We will build 
gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across 
our land. And we will do it with American heart, American hands, and 
American grit.
  We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day's work. We 
want every child to be safe in their home at night. And we want every 
citizen to be proud of this land that we love.
  We can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to 
independence, and from poverty to prosperity.
  As tax cuts create new jobs, let us invest in workforce development 
and job training. Let us open great vocational schools so our future 
workers can learn a craft and realize their full potential. And let us 
support working families by supporting paid family leave.
  As America regains its strength, this opportunity must be extended to 
all citizens. That is why this year we will embark on reforming our 
prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a second 
chance.
  Struggling communities, especially immigrant communities, will also 
be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of 
American workers and American families.
  For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into 
our most vulnerable communities. They have allowed millions of low-wage 
workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans. 
Most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives.
  Here tonight are two fathers and two mothers: Evelyn Rodriguez, 
Freddy Cuevas, Elizabeth Alvarado, and Robert Mickens. Their two 
teenage daughters--Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens--were close friends on 
Long Island. But in September 2016, on the eve of Nisa's 16th Birthday, 
neither of them came home. These two precious girls were brutally 
murdered while walking together in their hometown. Six members of the 
savage gang MS-13 have been charged with Kayla and Nisa's murders. Many 
of these gang members took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws 
to enter the country as unaccompanied alien minors--and wound up in 
Kayla and Nisa's high school.
  Evelyn, Elizabeth, Freddy, and Robert: Tonight, everyone in this 
chamber is praying for you. Everyone in America is grieving for you. 
And 320 million hearts are breaking for you. We cannot imagine the 
depth of your sorrow, but we can make sure that other families never 
have to endure this pain.
  Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to finally close the deadly 
loopholes that have allowed MS-13, and other criminals, to break into 
our country. We have proposed new legislation that will fix our 
immigration laws, and support our ICE and Border Patrol Agents, so that 
this cannot ever happen again.
  The United States is a compassionate nation. We are proud that we do 
more than any other country to help the needy, the struggling, and the 
underprivileged all over the world. But as President of the United 
States, my highest loyalty, my greatest compassion, and my constant 
concern is for America's children, America's struggling workers, and 
America's forgotten communities. I want our youth to grow up to achieve 
great things. I want our poor to have their chance to rise.
  So tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both 
parties--Democrats and Republicans--to protect our citizens of every 
background, color, religion, and creed. My duty, and the sacred duty of 
every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans--to 
protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their 
right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers too.
  Here tonight is one leader in the effort to defend our country: 
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Celestino Martinez--he 
goes by CJ. CJ served 15 years in the Air Force before becoming an ICE 
agent and spending the last 15 years fighting gang violence and getting 
dangerous criminals off our streets. At one point, MS-13 leaders 
ordered CJ's murder. But he did not cave to threats or fear. Last May, 
he commanded an operation to track down gang members on Long Island. 
His team has arrested nearly 400, including more than 220 from MS-13.
  CJ: Great work. Now let us get the Congress to send you some 
reinforcements.
  Over the next few weeks, the House and Senate will be voting on an 
immigration reform package.
  In recent months, my Administration has met extensively with both 
Democrats and Republicans to craft a bipartisan approach to immigration 
reform. Based on these discussions, we presented the Congress with a 
detailed proposal that should be supported by both parties as a fair 
compromise--one where nobody gets everything they want, but where our 
country gets the critical reforms it needs.
  Here are the four pillars of our plan:
  The first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to 
citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by 
their parents at a young age--that covers almost three times more 
people than the previous administration. Under our plan, those who meet 
education and work requirements, and show good moral character, will be 
able to become full citizens of the United States.
  The second pillar fully secures the border. That means building a 
wall on the Southern border, and it means hiring more heroes like CJ to 
keep our communities safe. Crucially, our plan closes the terrible 
loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists to enter our country--
and it finally ends the dangerous practice of ``catch and release.''
  The third pillar ends the visa lottery--a program that randomly hands

[[Page S579]]

out green cards without any regard for skill, merit, or the safety of 
our people. It is time to begin moving towards a merit-based 
immigration system--one that admits people who are skilled, who want to 
work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect 
our country.
  The fourth and final pillar protects the nuclear family by ending 
chain migration. Under the current broken system, a single immigrant 
can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under 
our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to 
spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary, not just 
for our economy, but for our security, and our future.
  In recent weeks, two terrorist attacks in New York were made possible 
by the visa lottery and chain migration. In the age of terrorism, these 
programs present risks we can no longer afford.
  It is time to reform these outdated immigration rules, and finally 
bring our immigration system into the 21st century.
  These four pillars represent a down-the-middle compromise, and one 
that will create a safe, modern, and lawful immigration system.
  For over 30 years, Washington has tried and failed to solve this 
problem. This Congress can be the one that finally makes it happen.
  Most importantly, these four pillars will produce legislation that 
fulfills my ironclad pledge to only sign a bill that puts America 
first. So let us come together, set politics aside, and finally get the 
job done.
  These reforms will also support our response to the terrible crisis 
of opioid and drug addiction.
  In 2016, we lost 64,000 Americans to drug overdoses: 174 deaths per 
day. Seven per hour. We must get much tougher on drug dealers and 
pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge.
  My Administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and 
helping get treatment for those in need. The struggle will be long and 
difficult--but, as Americans always do, we will prevail.
  As we have seen tonight, the most difficult challenges bring out the 
best in America.
  We see a vivid expression of this truth in the story of the Holets 
family of New Mexico. Ryan Holets is 27 years old, and an officer with 
the Albuquerque Police Department. He is here tonight with his wife 
Rebecca. Last year, Ryan was on duty when he saw a pregnant, homeless 
woman preparing to inject heroin. When Ryan told her she was going to 
harm her unborn child, she began to weep. She told him she did not know 
where to turn, but badly wanted a safe home for her baby.
  In that moment, Ryan said he felt God speak to him: ``You will do 
it--because you can.'' He took out a picture of his wife and their four 
kids. Then, he went home to tell his wife Rebecca. In an instant, she 
agreed to adopt. The Holets named their new daughter Hope.
  Ryan and Rebecca: You embody the goodness of our Nation. Thank you, 
and congratulations.
  As we rebuild America's strength and confidence at home, we are also 
restoring our strength and standing abroad.
  Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals 
like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and 
our values. In confronting these dangers, we know that weakness is the 
surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means of our 
defense.
  For this reason, I am asking the Congress to end the dangerous 
defense sequester and fully fund our great military.
  As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear 
arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and 
powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression. Perhaps someday in 
the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the 
world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. 
Unfortunately, we are not there yet.
  Last year, I also pledged that we would work with our allies to 
extinguish ISIS from the face of the Earth. One year later, I am proud 
to report that the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated almost 100 
percent of the territory once held by these killers in Iraq and Syria. 
But there is much more work to be done. We will continue our fight 
until ISIS is defeated.
  Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck is here tonight. Near Raqqa last 
November, Justin and his comrade, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, 
were on a mission to clear buildings that ISIS had rigged with 
explosives so that civilians could return to the city.
  Clearing the second floor of a vital hospital, Kenton Stacy was 
severely wounded by an explosion. Immediately, Justin bounded into the 
booby-trapped building and found Kenton in bad shape. He applied 
pressure to the wound and inserted a tube to reopen an airway. He then 
performed CPR for 20 straight minutes during the ground transport and 
maintained artificial respiration through 2 hours of emergency surgery.
  Kenton Stacy would have died if not for Justin's selfless love for a 
fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is 
liberated. And Justin is wearing his new Bronze Star, with a ``V'' for 
``Valor.'' Staff Sergeant Peck: All of America salutes you.
  Terrorists who do things like place bombs in civilian hospitals are 
evil. When possible, we annihilate them. When necessary, we must be 
able to detain and question them. But we must be clear: Terrorists are 
not merely criminals. They are unlawful enemy combatants. And when 
captured overseas, they should be treated like the terrorists they are.
  In the past, we have foolishly released hundreds of dangerous 
terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield--including the 
ISIS leader, al-Baghdadi.
  So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed an order 
directing Secretary Mattis to reexamine our military detention policy 
and to keep open the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay.
  I am also asking the Congress to ensure that, in the fight against 
ISIS and al-Qa'ida, we continue to have all necessary power to detain 
terrorists--wherever we chase them down.
  Our warriors in Afghanistan also have new rules of engagement. Along 
with their heroic Afghan partners, our military is no longer undermined 
by artificial timelines, and we no longer tell our enemies our plans.
  Last month, I also took an action endorsed unanimously by the Senate 
just months before: I recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
  Shortly afterwards, dozens of countries voted in the United Nations 
General Assembly against America's sovereign right to make this 
recognition. American taxpayers generously send those same countries 
billions of dollars in aid every year.
  That is why, tonight, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to 
help ensure American foreign-assistance dollars always serve American 
interests, and only go to America's friends.
  As we strengthen friendships around the world, we are also restoring 
clarity about our adversaries.
  When the people of Iran rose up against the crimes of their corrupt 
dictatorship, I did not stay silent. America stands with the people of 
Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom.
  I am asking the Congress to address the fundamental flaws in the 
terrible Iran nuclear deal.
  My Administration has also imposed tough sanctions on the communist 
and socialist dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela.
  But no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally 
than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea.
  North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon 
threaten our homeland.
  We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from 
happening.
  Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only 
invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of 
past administrations that got us into this dangerous position.
  We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean 
regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to 
America and our allies.
  Otto Warmbier was a hardworking student at the University of 
Virginia. On his way to study abroad in Asia, Otto joined a tour to 
North Korea. At its conclusion, this wonderful young man was arrested 
and charged with crimes against the state. After a

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shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard 
labor, before returning him to America last June--horribly injured and 
on the verge of death. He passed away just days after his return.
  Otto's Parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, are with us tonight--along 
with Otto's brother and sister, Austin and Greta. You are powerful 
witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength 
inspires us all. Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto's memory with 
American resolve.
  Finally, we are joined by one more witness to the ominous nature of 
this regime. His name is Mr. Ji Seong-ho.
  In 1996, Seong-ho was a starving boy in North Korea. One day, he 
tried to steal coal from a railroad car to barter for a few scraps of 
food. In the process, he passed out on the train tracks, exhausted from 
hunger. He woke up as a train ran over his limbs. He then endured 
multiple amputations without anything to dull the pain. His brother and 
sister gave what little food they had to help him recover and ate dirt 
themselves--permanently stunting their own growth. Later, he was 
tortured by North Korean authorities after returning from a brief visit 
to China. His tormentors wanted to know if he had met any Christians. 
He had--and he resolved to be free.
  Seong-ho traveled thousands of miles on crutches across China and 
Southeast Asia to freedom. Most of his family followed. His father was 
caught trying to escape, and was tortured to death.
  Today he lives in Seoul, where he rescues other defectors, and 
broadcasts into North Korea what the regime fears the most--the truth.
  Today he has a new leg, but Seong-ho, I understand you still keep 
those crutches as a reminder of how far you have come. Your great 
sacrifice is an inspiration to us all.
  Seong-ho's story is a testament to the yearning of every human soul 
to live in freedom.
  It was that same yearning for freedom that nearly 250 years ago gave 
birth to a special place called America. It was a small cluster of 
colonies caught between a great ocean and a vast wilderness. But it was 
home to an incredible people with a revolutionary idea: that they could 
rule themselves. That they could chart their own destiny. And that, 
together, they could light up the world.
  That is what our country has always been about. That is what 
Americans have always stood for, always strived for, and always done.
  Atop the dome of this Capitol stands the Statue of Freedom. She 
stands tall and dignified among the monuments to our ancestors who 
fought and lived and died to protect her.
  Monuments to Washington and Jefferson--to Lincoln and King.
  Memorials to the heroes of Yorktown and Saratoga--to young Americans 
who shed their blood on the shores of Normandy, and the fields beyond. 
And others, who went down in the waters of the Pacific and the skies 
over Asia.
  And freedom stands tall over one more monument: this one. This 
Capitol. This living monument to the American people.
  A people whose heroes live not only in the past, but all around us--
defending hope, pride, and the American way.
  They work in every trade. They sacrifice to raise a family. They care 
for our children at home. They defend our flag abroad. They are strong 
moms and brave kids. They are firefighters, police officers, border 
agents, medics, and Marines.
  But above all else, they are Americans. And this Capitol, this city, 
and this Nation, belong to them.
  Our task is to respect them, to listen to them, to serve them, to 
protect them, and to always be worthy of them.
  Americans fill the world with art and music. They push the bounds of 
science and discovery. And they forever remind us of what we should 
never forget: The people dreamed this country. The people built this 
country. And it is the people who are making America great again.
  As long as we are proud of who we are, and what we are fighting for, 
there is nothing we cannot achieve.
  As long as we have confidence in our values, faith in our citizens, 
and trust in our God, we will not fail.
  Our families will thrive.
  Our people will prosper.
  And our Nation will forever be safe and strong and proud and mighty 
and free.
  Thank you, and God bless America.
                                                     Donald J. Trump.  
The White House, January 30, 2018.

                          ____________________