[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 6 (Monday, February 14, 2005)]
[Pages 183-184]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

February 5, 2005

    Good morning. This week, in my address to Congress and the American 
people, I was pleased to report that the state of our Union is confident 
and strong. Many challenges still lie before us, and I will work with 
Congress to do what Americans have always done, leave a better world for 
our children and grandchildren.
    Meeting this responsibility to the future starts with being good 
stewards of the American economy. I welcome the bipartisan calls to 
control the spending appetite of the Federal Government. On Monday, my 
administration will submit a budget that holds the growth of 
discretionary spending below inflation, makes tax relief permanent, and 
stays on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. In the long run, the 
best way to reduce the deficit is to grow the economy, and we will take 
steps to make the American economy stronger, more innovative, and more 
competitive.
    We must also strengthen and save Social Security for our children 
and grandchildren. For those of you born before 1950, I have a message: 
The Social Security system will not change in any way for you. For 
younger workers, the system has serious problems

[[Page 184]]

that will grow worse with time. With every year that passes, we have 
fewer workers paying ever-larger benefits to ever-increasing numbers of 
retirees. In 2018, Social Security will be paying out more than it takes 
in. By the time today's younger workers retire in 2042, the system will 
be bankrupt unless we act now.
    Fixing Social Security will require an open, candid review of the 
options. I will listen to anyone who has a good idea to offer, and I 
will work with Members of Congress to find the most effective 
combination of reforms. As we proceed, we will adhere to a few basic 
principles. We will make Social Security's finances permanently sound, 
not leave the task for another day. We will not increase payroll taxes. 
We will make the system a better deal for younger workers by allowing 
them to save some of their payroll taxes in voluntary personal 
retirement accounts, a nest egg they can call their own which Government 
can never take away.
    Our second broad responsibility to the future is to preserve and 
pass on the values that sustain a free society. We must continue to 
build a culture of life that respects human dignity while advancing 
science. To promote the compassionate character of America, we will 
pursue initiatives to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS, help our at-risk 
youth reject gangs and violence, and help prevent wrongful convictions 
in our courts. I will continue to nominate well-qualified judges who 
understand the proper role of courts in our democracy, and the Senate 
must fulfill its constitutional responsibility and give every nominee an 
up-or-down vote.
    Finally, our commitment to human dignity and freedom at home also 
leads us to spread freedom and peace around the world. We remain at war 
against the forces of terror, and we will not rest until the fight is 
won. We will continue to hunt down terrorists abroad, so we do not have 
to face them here at home. Our budget will give our military all the 
tools they need for victory, and we will also honor the sacrifices of 
the fallen by increasing substantially the payments made to the families 
of our service men and women who have given their lives in the war on 
terror.
    Recently, we have seen freedom's gathering momentum in Afghanistan, 
the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, and last Sunday, in Iraq. On that 
day, millions of brave Iraqis defied the threats of terrorists and cast 
votes to determine their nation's future. The whole world can now see 
that the assassins and car-bombers are doomed to fail, because they are 
fighting the desire of the Iraqi people to live in freedom. And when 
Iraq is democratic, at peace with its neighbors, and able to defend 
itself, our Nation will be safer, and our troops will return home with 
the honor they have earned.
    The work ahead is not easy. But we go forward with confidence, 
knowing that America's best days are yet to come.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9 a.m. on February 4 at the Omaha 
Hilton in Omaha, NE, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February 5. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
February 4 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.