[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 4 (Monday, February 4, 2008)]
[Pages 113-114]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

January 26, 2008

    Good morning. On Monday night, I will address the American people 
about the state of our Union. I will report that over the last 7 years, 
we've made great progress on important issues at home and abroad. I will 
also report that we have unfinished business before us and we must work 
together to get it done.
    In my speech, I will lay out a full plate of issues for Congress to 
address in the year ahead. Two of these issues require immediate 
attention.
    First is the economy. I know many of you are worried about the risk 
of an economic downturn because of the instability in the housing and 
financial markets. You should know that while economic growth has slowed 
in recent months, the foundation for long-term growth remains solid. And 
I believe that with swift action, we can give our economy the boost it 
needs to continue expanding and creating new jobs for our citizens.
    On Thursday, my administration reached a bipartisan agreement with 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner on an 
economic growth package. This package will deliver direct tax relief to 
hard-working Americans. It will also include incentives for businesses--
including small businesses--to make new investments this year. I ask the 
House and Senate to enact this package into law as soon as possible. And 
while I understand the desire to add provisions from both the left and 
the right, it would be a mistake to undermine this important bipartisan 
agreement. By working together, we can provide our economy with a shot 
in the arm when we need it most.
    The other urgent issue before Congress is a matter of national 
security. Congress needs to provide our intelligence professionals with 
the tools and flexibility they need to protect America from attack. In 
August, Congress passed a bill that strengthened our ability to monitor 
terrorist communications. The problem is that Congress set this law to 
expire on February 1st. That is next Friday. If this law expires, it 
will become harder to figure out what our enemies are doing to 
infiltrate our country, harder for us to uncover terrorist plots, and 
harder to prevent attacks on the American people.

    Congress is now considering a bipartisan bill that will allow our 
professionals to maintain the vital flow of intelligence on terrorist 
threats. It would protect the freedoms of Americans while making sure we 
do not extend those same protections to terrorists overseas. It would 
provide liability protection to companies now facing billion-dollar 
lawsuits because they are believed to have assisted in efforts to defend 
our Nation following the 9/11 attacks. I call on Congress to pass this 
legislation quickly. We need to know who our enemies are and what they 
are plotting. And we cannot afford to wait until after an attack to put 
the pieces together.

    When I go before Congress on Monday, I will speak more about how we 
can keep our economy strong and our people safe. I am confident that we 
can work together to meet our responsibilities in these areas and leave 
our children a stronger and more prosperous America.

    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on January 25 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 26. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
January 25 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.

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