Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, distinguished Members of Congress, honored guests, and fellow citizens: May I congratulate all of you who are Members of this historic 100th Congress of the United States of America. In this 200th anniversary year of our Constitution, you and I stand on the shoulders of giants—men whose words and deeds put wind in the sails of freedom. However, we must always remember that our Constitution is to be celebrated not for being old, but for being young—young with the same energy, spirit, and promise that filled each eventful day in Philadelphia's statehouse. We will be guided tonight by their acts, and we will be guided forever by their words. Now, forgive me, but I can't resist sharing a story from those historic days. Philadelphia was bursting with civic pride in the spring of 1787, and its newspapers began embellishing the arrival of the Convention delegates with elaborate social classifications. Governors of States were called Excellency. Justices and Chancellors had reserved for them honorable with a capital "H." For Congressmen, it was honorable with a small "h." And all others were referred to as "the following respectable characters." [Laughter] Well, for this 100th Congress, I invoke special executive powers to declare that each of you must never be titled less than honorable with a capital "H." Incidentally, I'm delighted you are celebrating the 100th birthday of the Congress. It's always a pleasure to congratulate someone with more birthdays than I've had. [Laughter] Now, there's a new face at this place of honor tonight. And please join me in warm congratulations to the Speaker of the House, Jim Wright. [Applause] Mr. Speaker, you might recall a similar situation in your very first session of Congress 32 years ago. Then, as now, the speakership had changed hands and another great son of Texas, Sam Rayburn—"Mr. Sam"—sat in your chair. I cannot find better words than those used by President Eisenhower that evening. He said, "We shall have much to do together; I am sure that we will get it done and that we shall do it in harmony and good will." Tonight I renew that pledge. To you, Mr. Speaker, and to Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, who brings 34 years of distinguished service to the Congress, may I say: Though there are changes in the Congress, America's interests remain the same. And I am confident that, along with Republican leaders Bob Michel and Bob Dole, this Congress can make history. Six years ago I was here to ask the Congress to join me in America's new beginning. Well, the results are something of which we can all be proud. Our inflation rate is now the lowest in a quarter of a century. The prime interest rate has fallen from the 21 1/2 percent the month before we took office to 7 1/2 percent today. And those rates have triggered the most housing starts in 8 years. The unemployment rate—still too high—is the lowest in nearly 7 years, and our people have created nearly 13 million new jobs. Over 61 percent of everyone over the age of 16, male and female, is employed—the highest percentage on record. Let's roll up our sleeves and go to work and put America's economic engine at full throttle. We can also be heartened by our progress across the world. Most important, America is at peace tonight, and freedom is on the march. And we've done much these past years to restore our defenses, our alliances, and our leadership in the world. Our sons and daughters in the services once again wear their uniforms with pride. But though we've made much progress, I have one major regret: I took a risk with regard to our action in Iran. It did not work, and for that I assume full responsibility. The goals were worthy. I do not believe it was wrong to try to establish contacts with a country of strategic importance or to try to save lives. And certainly it was not wrong to try to secure freedom for our citizens held in barbaric captivity. But we did not achieve what we wished, and serious mistakes were made in trying to do so. We will get to the bottom of this, and I will take whatever action is called for. But in debating the past, we must not deny ourselves the successes of the future. Let it never be said of this generation of Americans that we became so obsessed with failure that we refused to take risks that could further the cause of peace and freedom in the world. Much is at stake here, and the Nation and the world are watching to see if we go forward together in the national interest or if we let partisanship weaken us. And let there be no mistake about American policy: We will not sit idly by if our interests or our friends in the Middle East are threatened, nor will we yield to terrorist blackmail. And now, ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, why don't we get to work? I am pleased to report that because of our efforts to rebuild the strength of America, the world is a safer place. Earlier this month I submitted a budget to defend America and maintain our momentum to make up for neglect in the last decade. Well, I ask you to vote out a defense and foreign affairs budget that says yes to protecting our country. While the world is safer, it is not safe. Since 1970 the Soviets have invested $500 billion more on their military forces than we have. Even today, though nearly 1 in 3 Soviet families is without running hot water and the average family spends 2 hours a day shopping for the basic necessities of life, their government still found the resources to transfer $75 billion in weapons to client states in the past 5 years—clients like Syria, Vietnam, Cuba, Libya, Angola, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua. With 120,000 Soviet combat and military personnel and 15,000 military advisers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, can anyone still doubt their single-minded determination to expand their power? Despite this, the Congress cut my request for critical U.S. security assistance to free nations by 21 percent this year, and cut defense requests by $85 billion in the last 3 years. These assistance programs serve our national interests as well as mutual interests. And when the programs are devastated, American interests are harmed. My friends, it's my duty as President to say to you again tonight that there is no surer way to lose freedom than to lose our resolve. Today the brave people of Afghanistan are showing that resolve. The Soviet Union says it wants a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, yet it continues a brutal war and props up a regime whose days are clearly numbered. We are ready to support a political solution that guarantees the rapid withdrawal of all Soviet troops and genuine self-determination for the Afghan people. In Central America, too, the cause of freedom is being tested. And our resolve is being tested there as well. Here, especially, the world is watching to see how this nation responds. Today over 90 percent of the people of Latin America live in democracy. Democracy is on the march in Central and South America. Communist Nicaragua is the odd man out—suppressing the church, the press, and democratic dissent and promoting subversion in the region. We support diplomatic efforts, but these efforts can never succeed if the Sandinistas win their war against the Nicaraguan people. Our commitment to a Western Hemisphere safe from aggression did not occur by spontaneous generation on the day that we took office. It began with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 and continues our historic bipartisan American policy. Franklin Roosevelt said we "are determined to do everything possible to maintain peace on this hemisphere." President Truman was very blunt: "International communism seeks to crush and undermine and destroy the independence of the Americas. We cannot let that happen here." And John F. Kennedy made clear that "Communist domination in this hemisphere can never be negotiated." Some in this Congress may choose to depart from this historic commitment, but I will not. This year we celebrate the second century of our Constitution. The Sandinistas just signed theirs 2 weeks ago, and then suspended it. We won't know how my words tonight will be reported there for one simple reason: There is no free press in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan freedom fighters have never asked us to wage their battle, but I will fight any effort to shut off their lifeblood and consign them to death, defeat, or a life without freedom. There must be no Soviet beachhead in Central America. You know, we Americans have always preferred dialog to conflict, and so, we always remain open to more constructive relations with the Soviet Union. But more responsible Soviet conduct around the world is a key element of the U.S.-Soviet agenda. Progress is also required on the other items of our agenda as well—real respect for human rights and more open contacts between our societies and, of course, arms reduction. In Iceland, last October, we had one moment of opportunity that the Soviets dashed because they sought to cripple our Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI. I wouldn't let them do it then; I won't let them do it now or in the future. This is the most positive and promising defense program we have undertaken. It's the path, for both sides, to a safer future—a system that defends human life instead of threatening it. SDI will go forward. The United States has made serious, fair, and far-reaching proposals to the Soviet Union, and this is a moment of rare opportunity for arms reduction. But I will need, and American negotiators in Geneva will need, Congress' support. Enacting the Soviet negotiating position into American law would not be the way to win a good agreement. So, I must tell you in this Congress I will veto any effort that undercuts our national security and our negotiating leverage. Now, today, we also find ourselves engaged in expanding peaceful commerce across the world. We will work to expand our opportunities in international markets through the Uruguay round of trade negotiations and to complete an historic free trade arrangement between the world's two largest trading partners, Canada and the United States. Our basic trade policy remains the same: We remain opposed as ever to protectionism, because America's growth and future depend on trade. But we would insist on trade that is fair and free. We are always willing to be trade partners but never trade patsies. Now, from foreign borders let us return to our own, because America in the world is only as strong as America at home. This 100th Congress has high responsibilities. I begin with a gentle reminder that many of these are simply the incomplete obligations of the past. The American people deserve to be impatient, because we do not yet have the public house in order. We've had great success in restoring our economic integrity, and we've rescued our nation from the worst economic mess since the Depression. But there's more to do. For starters, the Federal deficit is outrageous. For years I've asked that we stop pushing onto our children the excesses of our government. And what the Congress finally needs to do is pass a constitutional amendment that mandates a balanced budget and forces government to live within its means. States, cities, and the families of America balance their budgets. Why can't we? Next, the budget process is a sorry spectacle. The missing of deadlines and the nightmare of monstrous continuing resolutions packing hundreds of billions of dollars of spending into one bill must be stopped. We ask the Congress once again: Give us the same tool that 43 Governors have—a lineitem veto so we can carve out the boondoggles and pork, those items that would never survive on their own. I will send the Congress broad recommendations on the budget, but first I'd like to see yours. Let's go to work and get this done together. But now let's talk about this year's budget. Even though I have submitted it within the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit reduction target, I have seen suggestions that we might postpone that timetable. Well, I think the American people are tired of hearing the same old excuses. Together we made a commitment to balance the budget. Now let's keep it. As for those suggestions that the answer is higher taxes, the American people have repeatedly rejected that shop-worn advice. They know that we don't have deficits because people are taxed too little. We have deficits because big government spends too much. Now, next month I'll place two additional reforms before the Congress. We've created a welfare monster that is a shocking indictment of our sense of priorities. Our national welfare system consists of some 59 major programs and over 6,000 pages of Federal laws and regulations on which more than $132 billion was spent in 1985. I will propose a new national welfare strategy, a program of welfare reform through State-sponsored, community-based demonstration projects. This is the time to reform this outmoded social dinosaur and finally break the poverty trap. Now, we will never abandon those who, through no fault of their own, must have our help. But let us work to see how many can be freed from the dependency of welfare and made self-supporting, which the great majority of welfare recipients want more than anything else. Next, let us remove a financial specter facing our older Americans: the fear of an illness so expensive that it can result in having to make an intolerable choice between bankruptcy and death. I will submit legislation shortly to help free the elderly from the fear of catastrophic illness. Now let's turn to the future. It's widely said that America is losing her competitive edge. Well, that won't happen if we act now. How well prepared are we to enter the 21st century? In my lifetime, America set the standard for the world. It is now time to determine that we should enter the next century having achieved a level of excellence unsurpassed in history. We will achieve this, first, by guaranteeing that government does everything possible to promote America's ability to compete. Second, we must act as individuals in a quest for excellence that will not be measured by new proposals or billions in new funding. Rather, it involves an expenditure of American spirit and just plain American grit. The Congress will soon receive my comprehensive proposals to enhance our competitiveness, including new science and technology centers and strong new funding for basic research. The bill will include legal and regulatory reforms and weapons to fight unfair trade practices. Competitiveness also means giving our farmers a shot at participating fairly and fully in a changing world market. Preparing for the future must begin, as always, with our children. We need to set for them new and more rigorous goals. We must demand more of ourselves and our children by raising literacy levels dramatically by the year 2000. Our children should master the basic concepts of math and science, and let's insist that students not leave high school until they have studied and understood the basic documents of our national heritage. There's one more thing we can't let up on: Let's redouble our personal efforts to provide for every child a safe and drug-free learning environment. If our crusade against drugs succeeds with our children, we will defeat that scourge all over the country. Finally, let's stop suppressing the spiritual core of our national being. Our nation could not have been conceived without divine help. Why is it that we can build a nation with our prayers, but we can't use a schoolroom for voluntary prayer? The 100th Congress of the United States should be remembered as the one that ended the expulsion of God from America's classrooms. The quest for excellence into the 21st century begins in the schoolroom but must go next to the workplace. More than 20 million new jobs will be created before the new century unfolds, and by then, our economy should be able to provide a job for everyone who wants to work. We must also enable our workers to adapt to the rapidly changing nature of the workplace. And I will propose substantial, new Federal commitments keyed to retraining and job mobility. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sending the Congress a complete series of these special messages—on budget reform, welfare reform, competitiveness, including education, trade, worker training and assistance, agriculture, and other subjects. The Congress can give us these tools, but to make these tools work, it really comes down to just being our best. And that is the core of American greatness. The responsibility of freedom presses us towards higher knowledge and, I believe, moral and spiritual greatness. Through lower taxes and smaller government, government has its ways of freeing people's spirits. But only we, each of us, can let the spirit soar against our own individual standards. Excellence is what makes freedom ring. And isn't that what we do best? We're entering our third century now, but it's wrong to judge our nation by its years. The calendar can't measure America because we were meant to be an endless experiment in freedom—with no limit to our reaches, no boundaries to what we can do, no end point to our hopes. The United States Constitution is the impassioned and inspired vehicle by which we travel through history. It grew out of the most fundamental inspiration of our existence: that we are here to serve Him by living free—that living free releases in us the noblest of impulses and the best of our abilities; that we would use these gifts for good and generous purposes and would secure them not just for ourselves and for our children but for all mankind. Over the years—I won't count if you don't—nothing has been so heartwarming to me as speaking to America's young, and the little ones especially, so fresh-faced and so eager to know. Well, from time to time I've been with them—they will ask about our Constitution. And I hope you Members of Congress will not deem this a breach of protocol if you'll permit me to share these thoughts again with the young people who might be listening or watching this evening. I've read the constitutions of a number of countries, including the Soviet Union's. Now, some people are surprised to hear that they have a constitution, and it even supposedly grants a number of freedoms to its people. Many countries have written into their constitution provisions for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Well, if this is true, why is the Constitution of the United States so exceptional? Well, the difference is so small that it almost escapes you, but it's so great it tells you the whole story in just three words: We the people. In those other constitutions, the Government tells the people of those countries what they're allowed to do. In our Constitution, we the people tell the Government what it can do, and it can do only those things listed in that document and no others. Virtually every other revolution in history has just exchanged one set of rulers for another set of rulers. Our revolution is the first to say the people are the masters and government is their servant. And you young people out there, don't ever forget that. Someday you could be in this room, but wherever you are, America is depending on you to reach your highest and be your best—because here in America, we the people are in charge. Just three words: We the people—those are the kids on Christmas Day looking out from a frozen sentry post on the 38th parallel in Korea or aboard an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. A million miles from home, but doing their duty. We the people—those are the warmhearted whose numbers we can't begin to count, who'll begin the day with a little prayer for hostages they will never know and MIA families they will never meet. Why? Because that's the way we are, this unique breed we call Americans. We the people—they're farmers on tough times, but who never stop feeding a hungry world. They're the volunteers at the hospital choking back their tears for the hundredth time, caring for a baby struggling for life because of a mother who used drugs. And you'll forgive me a special memory—it's a million mothers like Nelle Reagan who never knew a stranger or turned a hungry person away from her kitchen door. We the people—they refute last week's television commentary downgrading our optimism and our idealism. They are the entrepreneurs, the builders, the pioneers, and a lot of regular folks—the true heroes of our land who make up the most uncommon nation of doers in history. You know they're Americans because their spirit is as big as the universe and their hearts are bigger than their spirits. We the people—starting the third century of a dream and standing up to some cynic who's trying to tell us we're not going to get any better. Are we at the end? Well, I can't tell it any better than the real thing—a story recorded by James Madison from the final moments of the Constitutional Convention, September 17th, 1787. As the last few members signed the document, Benjamin Franklin—the oldest delegate at 81 years and in frail health—looked over toward the chair where George Washington daily presided. At the back of the chair was painted the picture of a Sun on the horizon. And turning to those sitting next to him, Franklin observed that artists found it difficult in their painting to distinguish between a rising and a setting Sun. Well, I know if we were there, we could see those delegates sitting around Franklin-leaning in to listen more closely to him. And then Dr. Franklin began to share his deepest hopes and fears about the outcome of their efforts, and this is what he said: "I have often looked at that picture behind the President without being able to tell whether it was a rising or setting Sun: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun." Well, you can bet it's rising because, my fellow citizens, America isn't finished. Her best days have just begun. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, distinguished Members of Congress, honored guests, and fellow citizens: May I congratulate all of you who are Members of this historic 100th Congress of the United States of America. In this 200th anniversary year of our Constitution, you and I stand on the shoulders of giants—men whose words and deeds put wind in the sails of freedom. However, we must always remember that our Constitution is to be celebrated not for being old, but for being young—young with the same energy, spirit, and promise that filled each eventful day in Philadelphia's statehouse. We will be guided tonight by their acts, and we will be guided forever by their words. Now, forgive me, but I cannot resist sharing a story from those historic days. Philadelphia was bursting with civic pride in the spring of 1787, and its newspapers began embellishing the arrival of the Convention delegates with elaborate social classifications. Governors of States were called Excellency. Justices and Chancellors had reserved for them honorable with a capital "H." For Congressmen, it was honorable with a small "h." And all others were referred to as "the following respectable characters." [Laughter] Well, for this 100th Congress, I invoke special executive powers to declare that each of you must never be titled less than honorable with a capital "H." Incidentally, I am delighted you are celebrating the 100th birthday of the Congress. It is always a pleasure to congratulate someone with more birthdays than I have had. [Laughter] Now, there is a new face at this place of honor tonight. And please join me in warm congratulations to the Speaker of the House, Jim Wright. [Applause] Mr. Speaker, you might recall a similar situation in your very first session of Congress 32 years ago. Then, as now, the speakership had changed hands and another great son of Texas, Sam Rayburn—"Mr. Sam"—sat in your chair. I cannot find better words than those used by President Eisenhower that evening. He said, "We shall have much to do together; I am sure that we will get it done and that we shall do it in harmony and good will." Tonight I renew that pledge. To you, Mr. Speaker, and to Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, who brings 34 years of distinguished service to the Congress, may I say: Though there are changes in the Congress, America's interests remain the same. And I am confident that, along with Republican leaders Bob Michel and Bob Dole, this Congress can make history. Six years ago I was here to ask the Congress to join me in America's new beginning. Well, the results are something of which we can all be proud. Our inflation rate is now the lowest in a quarter of a century. The prime interest rate has fallen from the 21 1/2 percent the month before we took office to 7 1/2 percent today. And those rates have triggered the most housing starts in 8 years. The unemployment rate—still too high—is the lowest in nearly 7 years, and our people have created nearly 13 million new jobs. Over 61 percent of everyone over the age of 16, male and female, is employed—the highest percentage on record. Let us roll up our sleeves and go to work and put America's economic engine at full throttle. We can also be heartened by our progress across the world. Most important, America is at peace tonight, and freedom is on the march. And we have done much these past years to restore our defenses, our alliances, and our leadership in the world. Our sons and daughters in the services once again wear their uniforms with pride. But though we have made much progress, I have one major regret: I took a risk with regard to our action in Iran. It did not work, and for that I assume full responsibility. The goals were worthy. I do not believe it was wrong to try to establish contacts with a country of strategic importance or to try to save lives. And certainly it was not wrong to try to secure freedom for our citizens held in barbaric captivity. But we did not achieve what we wished, and serious mistakes were made in trying to do so. We will get to the bottom of this, and I will take whatever action is called for. But in debating the past, we must not deny ourselves the successes of the future. Let it never be said of this generation of Americans that we became so obsessed with failure that we refused to take risks that could further the because of peace and freedom in the world. Much is at stake here, and the Nation and the world are watching to see if we go forward together in the national interest or if we let partisanship weaken us. And let there be no mistake about American policy: We will not sit idly by if our interests or our friends in the Middle East are threatened, nor will we yield to terrorist blackmail. And now, ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, why do not we get to work? I am pleased to report that because of our efforts to rebuild the strength of America, the world is a safer place. Earlier this month I submitted a budget to defend America and maintain our momentum to make up for neglect in the last decade. Well, I ask you to vote out a defense and foreign affairs budget that says yes to protecting our country. While the world is safer, it is not safe. Since 1970 the Soviets have invested $500 billion more on their military forces than we have. Even today, though nearly 1 in 3 Soviet families is without running hot water and the average family spends 2 hours a day shopping for the basic necessities of life, their government still found the resources to transfer $75 billion in weapons to client states in the past 5 years—clients like Syria, Vietnam, Cuba, Libya, Angola, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua. With 120,000 Soviet combat and military personnel and 15,000 military advisers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, can anyone still doubt their single-minded determination to expand their power? Despite this, the Congress cut my request for critical YOU.S. security assistance to free nations by 21 percent this year, and cut defense requests by $85 billion in the last 3 years. These assistance programs serve our national interests as well as mutual interests. And when the programs are devastated, American interests are harmed. My friends, it is my duty as President to say to you again tonight that there is no surer way to lose freedom than to lose our resolve. Today the brave people of Afghanistan are showing that resolve. The Soviet Union says it wants a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, yet it continues a brutal war and props up a regime whose days are clearly numbered. We are ready to support a political solution that guarantees the rapid withdrawal of all Soviet troops and genuine self-determination for the Afghan people. In Central America, too, the because of freedom is being tested. And our resolve is being tested there as well. Here, especially, the world is watching to see how this nation responds. Today over 90 percent of the people of Latin America live in democracy. Democracy is on the march in Central and South America. Communist Nicaragua is the odd man out—suppressing the church, the press, and democratic dissent and promoting subversion in the region. We support diplomatic efforts, but these efforts can never succeed if the Sandinistas win their war against the Nicaraguan people. Our commitment to a Western Hemisphere safe from aggression did not occur by spontaneous generation on the day that we took office. It began with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 and continues our historic bipartisan American policy. Franklin Roosevelt said we "are determined to do everything possible to maintain peace on this hemisphere." President Truman was very blunt: "International communism seeks to crush and undermine and destroy the independence of the Americas. We cannot let that happen here." And John F. Kennedy made clear that "Communist domination in this hemisphere can never be negotiated." Some in this Congress may choose to depart from this historic commitment, but I will not. This year we celebrate the second century of our Constitution. The Sandinistas just signed theirs 2 weeks ago, and then suspended it. We will not know how my words tonight will be reported there for one simple reason: There is no free press in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan freedom fighters have never asked us to wage their battle, but I will fight any effort to shut off their lifeblood and consign them to death, defeat, or a life without freedom. There must be no Soviet beachhead in Central America. You know, we Americans have always preferred dialog to conflict, and so, we always remain open to more constructive relations with the Soviet Union. But more responsible Soviet conduct around the world is a key element of the YOU.S.-Soviet agenda. Progress is also required on the other items of our agenda as well—real respect for human rights and more open contacts between our societies and, of course, arms reduction. In Iceland, last October, we had one moment of opportunity that the Soviets dashed because they sought to cripple our Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI. I would not let them do it then; I will not let them do it now or in the future. This is the most positive and promising defense program we have undertaken. It is the path, for both sides, to a safer future—a system that defends human life instead of threatening it. SDI will go forward. The United States has made serious, fair, and far-reaching proposals to the Soviet Union, and this is a moment of rare opportunity for arms reduction. But I will need, and American negotiators in Geneva will need, Congress' support. Enacting the Soviet negotiating position into American law would not be the way to win a good agreement. So, I must tell you in this Congress I will veto any effort that undercuts our national security and our negotiating leverage. Now, today, we also find ourselves engaged in expanding peaceful commerce across the world. We will work to expand our opportunities in international markets through the Uruguay round of trade negotiations and to complete an historic free trade arrangement between the world's two largest trading partners, Canada and the United States. Our basic trade policy remains the same: We remain opposed as ever to protectionism, because America's growth and future depend on trade. But we would insist on trade that is fair and free. We are always willing to be trade partners but never trade patsies. Now, from foreign borders let us return to our own, because America in the world is only as strong as America at home. This 100th Congress has high responsibilities. I begin with a gentle reminder that many of these are simply the incomplete obligations of the past. The American people deserve to be impatient, because we do not yet have the public house in order. We have had great success in restoring our economic integrity, and we have rescued our nation from the worst economic mess since the Depression. But there is more to do. For starters, the Federal deficit is outrageous. For years I have asked that we stop pushing onto our children the excesses of our government. And what the Congress finally needs to do is pass a constitutional amendment that mandates a balanced budget and forces government to live within its means. States, cities, and the families of America balance their budgets. Why cannot we? Next, the budget process is a sorry spectacle. The missing of deadlines and the nightmare of monstrous continuing resolutions packing hundreds of billions of dollars of spending into one bill must be stopped. We ask the Congress once again: Give us the same tool that 43 Governors have—a lineitem veto so we can carve out the boondoggles and pork, those items that would never survive on their own. I will send the Congress broad recommendations on the budget, but first I would like to see yours. Let us go to work and get this done together. But now let us talk about this year's budget. Even though I have submitted it within the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit reduction target, I have seen suggestions that we might postpone that timetable. Well, I think the American people are tired of hearing the same old excuses. Together we made a commitment to balance the budget. Now let us keep it. As for those suggestions that the answer is higher taxes, the American people have repeatedly rejected that shop-worn advice. They know that we do not have deficits because people are taxed too little. We have deficits because big government spends too much. Now, next month I will place two additional reforms before the Congress. We have created a welfare monster that is a shocking indictment of our sense of priorities. Our national welfare system consists of some 59 major programs and over 6,000 pages of Federal laws and regulations on which more than $132 billion was spent in 1985. I will propose a new national welfare strategy, a program of welfare reform through State-sponsored, community-based demonstration projects. This is the time to reform this outmoded social dinosaur and finally break the poverty trap. Now, we will never abandon those who, through no fault of their own, must have our help. But let us work to see how many can be freed from the dependency of welfare and made self-supporting, which the great majority of welfare recipients want more than anything else. Next, let us remove a financial specter facing our older Americans: the fear of an illness so expensive that it can result in having to make an intolerable choice between bankruptcy and death. I will submit legislation shortly to help free the elderly from the fear of catastrophic illness. Now let us turn to the future. It is widely said that America is losing her competitive edge. Well, that will not happen if we act now. How well prepared are we to enter the 21st century? In my lifetime, America set the standard for the world. It is now time to determine that we should enter the next century having achieved a level of excellence unsurpassed in history. We will achieve this, first, by guaranteeing that government does everything possible to promote America's ability to compete. Second, we must act as individuals in a quest for excellence that will not be measured by new proposals or billions in new funding. Rather, it involves an expenditure of American spirit and just plain American grit. The Congress will soon receive my comprehensive proposals to enhance our competitiveness, including new science and technology centers and strong new funding for basic research. The bill will include legal and regulatory reforms and weapons to fight unfair trade practices. Competitiveness also means giving our farmers a shot at participating fairly and fully in a changing world market. Preparing for the future must begin, as always, with our children. We need to set for them new and more rigorous goals. We must demand more of ourselves and our children by raising literacy levels dramatically by the year 2000. Our children should master the basic concepts of math and science, and let us insist that students not leave high school until they have studied and understood the basic documents of our national heritage. There is one more thing we cannot let up on: Let us redouble our personal efforts to provide for every child a safe and drug-free learning environment. If our crusade against drugs succeeds with our children, we will defeat that scourge all over the country. Finally, let us stop suppressing the spiritual core of our national being. Our nation could not have been conceived without divine help. Why is it that we can build a nation with our prayers, but we cannot use a schoolroom for voluntary prayer? The 100th Congress of the United States should be remembered as the one that ended the expulsion of God from America's classrooms. The quest for excellence into the 21st century begins in the schoolroom but must go next to the workplace. More than 20 million new jobs will be created before the new century unfolds, and by then, our economy should be able to provide a job for everyone who wants to work. We must also enable our workers to adapt to the rapidly changing nature of the workplace. And I will propose substantial, new Federal commitments keyed to retraining and job mobility. Over the next few weeks, I will be sending the Congress a complete series of these special messages—on budget reform, welfare reform, competitiveness, including education, trade, worker training and assistance, agriculture, and other subjects. The Congress can give us these tools, but to make these tools work, it really comes down to just being our best. And that is the core of American greatness. The responsibility of freedom presses us towards higher knowledge and, I believe, moral and spiritual greatness. Through lower taxes and smaller government, government has its ways of freeing people's spirits. But only we, each of us, can let the spirit soar against our own individual standards. Excellence is what makes freedom ring. And is not that what we do best? We are entering our third century now, but it is wrong to judge our nation by its years. The calendar cannot measure America because we were meant to be an endless experiment in freedom—with no limit to our reaches, no boundaries to what we can do, no end point to our hopes. The United States Constitution is the impassioned and inspired vehicle by which we travel through history. It grew out of the most fundamental inspiration of our existence: that we are here to serve Him by living free—that living free releases in us the noblest of impulses and the best of our abilities; that we would use these gifts for good and generous purposes and would secure them not just for ourselves and for our children but for all mankind. Over the years—I will not count if you do not—nothing has been so heartwarming to me as speaking to America's young, and the little ones especially, so fresh-faced and so eager to know. Well, from time to time I have been with them—they will ask about our Constitution. And I hope you Members of Congress will not deem this a breach of protocol if you will permit me to share these thoughts again with the young people who might be listening or watching this evening. I have read the constitutions of a number of countries, including the Soviet Union's. Now, some people are surprised to hear that they have a constitution, and it even supposedly grants a number of freedoms to its people. Many countries have written into their constitution provisions for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Well, if this is true, why is the Constitution of the United States so exceptional? Well, the difference is so small that it almost escapes you, but it is so great it tells you the whole story in just three words: We the people. In those other constitutions, the Government tells the people of those countries what they are allowed to do. In our Constitution, we the people tell the Government what it can do, and it can do only those things listed in that document and no others. Virtually every other revolution in history has just exchanged one set of rulers for another set of rulers. Our revolution is the first to say the people are the masters and government is their servant. And you young people out there, do not ever forget that. Someday you could be in this room, but wherever you are, America is depending on you to reach your highest and be your best—because here in America, we the people are in charge. Just three words: We the people—those are the kids on Christmas Day looking out from a frozen sentry post on the 38th parallel in Korea or aboard an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. A million miles from home, but doing their duty. We the people—those are the warmhearted whose numbers we cannot begin to count, who will begin the day with a little prayer for hostages they will never know and MIA families they will never meet. Why? Because that is the way we are, this unique breed we call Americans. We the people—they are farmers on tough times, but who never stop feeding a hungry world. They are the volunteers at the hospital choking back their tears for the hundredth time, caring for a baby struggling for life because of a mother who used drugs. And you will forgive me a special memory—it is a million mothers like Nelle Reagan who never knew a stranger or turned a hungry person away from her kitchen door. We the people—they refute last week's television commentary downgrading our optimism and our idealism. They are the entrepreneurs, the builders, the pioneers, and a lot of regular folks—the true heroes of our land who make up the most uncommon nation of doers in history. You know they are Americans because their spirit is as big as the universe and their hearts are bigger than their spirits. We the people—starting the third century of a dream and standing up to some cynic who is trying to tell us we are not going to get any better. Are we at the end? Well, I cannot tell it any better than the real thing—a story recorded by James Madison from the final moments of the Constitutional Convention, September 17th, 1787. As the last few members signed the document, Benjamin Franklin—the oldest delegate at 81 years and in frail health—looked over toward the chair where George Washington daily presided. At the back of the chair was painted the picture of a Sun on the horizon. And turning to those sitting next to him, Franklin observed that artists found it difficult in their painting to distinguish between a rising and a setting Sun. Well, I know if we were there, we could see those delegates sitting around Franklin-leaning in to listen more closely to him. And then Dr. Franklin began to share his deepest hopes and fears about the outcome of their efforts, and this is what he said: "I have often looked at that picture behind the President without being able to tell whether it was a rising or setting Sun: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun." Well, you can bet it is rising because, my fellow citizens, America is not finished. Her best days have just begun. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
speaker president distinguished members of congress honored guests and fellow citizens may i congratulate all of you who are members of this historic 100th congress of the united states of america in this 200th anniversary year of our constitution you and i stand on the shoulders of whose words and deeds put wind in the sails of freedom however we must always remember that our constitution is to be celebrated not for being old but for being with the same energy spirit and promise that filled each eventful day in philadelphia statehouse we will be guided tonight by their acts and we will be guided forever by their words now forgive me but i can not resist sharing a story from those historic days philadelphia was bursting with civic pride in the spring of 1787 and its newspapers began embellishing the arrival of the convention delegates with elaborate social classifications governors of states were called excellency justices and chancellors had reserved for them honorable with a capital for congressmen it was honorable with a small and all others were referred to as the following respectable characters laughter well for this 100th congress i invoke special executive powers to declare that each of you must never be titled less than honorable with a capital incidentally i am delighted you are celebrating the 100th birthday of the congress it is always a pleasure to congratulate someone with more birthdays than i have had laughter now there is a new face at this place of honor tonight and please join me in warm congratulations to the speaker of the house jim wright applause speaker you might recall a similar situation in your very first session of congress 32 years ago then as now the speakership had changed hands and another great son of texas sam sam in your chair i can not find better words than those used by president eisenhower that evening he said we shall have much to do together i am sure that we will get it done and that we shall do it in harmony and good will tonight i renew that pledge to you speaker and to senate majority leader robert byrd who brings 34 years of distinguished service to the congress may i say though there are changes in the congress america interests remain the same and i am confident that along with republican leaders bob michel and bob dole this congress can make history six years ago i was here to ask the congress to join me in america new beginning well the results are something of which we can all be proud our inflation rate is now the lowest in a quarter of a century the prime interest rate has fallen from the 21 percent the month before we took office to 7 percent today and those rates have triggered the most housing starts in 8 years the unemployment too the lowest in nearly 7 years and our people have created nearly 13 million new jobs over 61 percent of everyone over the age of 16 male and female is highest percentage on record let us roll up our sleeves and go to work and put america economic engine at full throttle we can also be heartened by our progress across the world most important america is at peace tonight and freedom is on the march and we have done much these past years to restore our defenses our alliances and our leadership in the world our sons and daughters in the services once again wear their uniforms with pride but though we have made much progress i have one major regret i took a risk with regard to our action in iran it did not work and for that i assume full responsibility the goals were worthy i do not believe it was wrong to try to establish contacts with a country of strategic importance or to try to save lives and certainly it was not wrong to try to secure freedom for our citizens held in barbaric captivity but we did not achieve what we wished and serious mistakes were made in trying to do so we will get to the bottom of this and i will take whatever action is called for but in debating the past we must not deny ourselves the successes of the future let it never be said of this generation of americans that we became so obsessed with failure that we refused to take risks that could further the because of peace and freedom in the world much is at stake here and the nation and the world are watching to see if we go forward together in the national interest or if we let partisanship weaken us and let there be no mistake about american policy we will not sit idly by if our interests or our friends in the middle east are threatened nor will we yield to terrorist blackmail and now ladies and gentlemen of the congress why do not we get to work i am pleased to report that because of our efforts to rebuild the strength of america the world is a safer place earlier this month i submitted a budget to defend america and maintain our momentum to make up for neglect in the last decade well i ask you to vote out a defense and foreign affairs budget that says yes to protecting our country while the world is safer it is not safe since 1970 the soviets have invested 500 billion more on their military forces than we have even today though nearly 1 in 3 soviet families is without running hot water and the average family spends 2 hours a day shopping for the basic necessities of life their government still found the resources to transfer 75 billion in weapons to client states in the past 5 like syria vietnam cuba libya angola ethiopia afghanistan and nicaragua with soviet combat and military personnel and military advisers in asia africa and latin america can anyone still doubt their determination to expand their power despite this the congress cut my request for critical security assistance to free nations by 21 percent this year and cut defense requests by 85 billion in the last 3 years these assistance programs serve our national interests as well as mutual interests and when the programs are devastated american interests are harmed my friends it is my duty as president to say to you again tonight that there is no surer way to lose freedom than to lose our resolve today the brave people of afghanistan are showing that resolve the soviet union says it wants a peaceful settlement in afghanistan yet it continues a brutal war and props up a regime whose days are clearly numbered we are ready to support a political solution that guarantees the rapid withdrawal of all soviet troops and genuine for the afghan people in central america too the because of freedom is being tested and our resolve is being tested there as well here especially the world is watching to see how this nation responds today over 90 percent of the people of latin america live in democracy democracy is on the march in central and south america communist nicaragua is the odd man the church the press and democratic dissent and promoting subversion in the region we support diplomatic efforts but these efforts can never succeed if the sandinistas win their war against the nicaraguan people our commitment to a western hemisphere safe from aggression did not occur by spontaneous generation on the day that we took office it began with the monroe doctrine in 1823 and continues our historic bipartisan american policy franklin roosevelt said we are determined to do everything possible to maintain peace on this hemisphere president truman was very blunt international communism seeks to crush and undermine and destroy the independence of the americas we can not let that happen here and john kennedy made clear that communist domination in this hemisphere can never be negotiated some in this congress may choose to depart from this historic commitment but i will not this year we celebrate the second century of our constitution the sandinistas just signed theirs 2 weeks ago and then suspended it we will not know how my words tonight will be reported there for one simple reason there is no free press in nicaragua nicaraguan freedom fighters have never asked us to wage their battle but i will fight any effort to shut off their lifeblood and consign them to death defeat or a life without freedom there must be no soviet beachhead in central america you know we americans have always preferred dialog to conflict and so we always remain open to more constructive relations with the soviet union but more responsible soviet conduct around the world is a key element of the agenda progress is also required on the other items of our agenda as respect for human rights and more open contacts between our societies and of course arms reduction in iceland last october we had one moment of opportunity that the soviets dashed because they sought to cripple our strategic defense initiative sdi i would not let them do it then i will not let them do it now or in the future this is the most positive and promising defense program we have undertaken it is the path for both sides to a safer system that defends human life instead of threatening it sdi will go forward the united states has made serious fair and proposals to the soviet union and this is a moment of rare opportunity for arms reduction but i will need and american negotiators in geneva will need congress support enacting the soviet negotiating position into american law would not be the way to win a good agreement so i must tell you in this congress i will veto any effort that undercuts our national security and our negotiating leverage now today we also find ourselves engaged in expanding peaceful commerce across the world we will work to expand our opportunities in international markets through the uruguay round of trade negotiations and to complete an historic free trade arrangement between the world two largest trading partners canada and the united states our basic trade policy remains the same we remain opposed as ever to protectionism because america growth and future depend on trade but we would insist on trade that is fair and free we are always willing to be trade partners but never trade patsies now from foreign borders let us return to our own because america in the world is only as strong as america at home this 100th congress has high responsibilities i begin with a gentle reminder that many of these are simply the incomplete obligations of the past the american people deserve to be impatient because we do not yet have the public house in order we have had great success in restoring our economic integrity and we have rescued our nation from the worst economic mess since the depression but there is more to do for starters the federal deficit is outrageous for years i have asked that we stop pushing onto our children the excesses of our government and what the congress finally needs to do is pass a constitutional amendment that mandates a balanced budget and forces government to live within its means states cities and the families of america balance their budgets why can not we next the budget process is a sorry spectacle the missing of deadlines and the nightmare of monstrous continuing resolutions packing hundreds of billions of dollars of spending into one bill must be stopped we ask the congress once again give us the same tool that 43 governors lineitem veto so we can carve out the boondoggles and pork those items that would never survive on their own i will send the congress broad recommendations on the budget but first i would like to see yours let us go to work and get this done together but now let us talk about this year budget even though i have submitted it within the deficit reduction target i have seen suggestions that we might postpone that timetable well i think the american people are tired of hearing the same old excuses together we made a commitment to balance the budget now let us keep it as for those suggestions that the answer is higher taxes the american people have repeatedly rejected that advice they know that we do not have deficits because people are taxed too little we have deficits because big government spends too much now next month i will place two additional reforms before the congress we have created a welfare monster that is a shocking indictment of our sense of priorities our national welfare system consists of some 59 major programs and over pages of federal laws and regulations on which more than 132 billion was spent in 1985 i will propose a new national welfare strategy a program of welfare reform through demonstration projects this is the time to reform this outmoded social dinosaur and finally break the poverty trap now we will never abandon those who through no fault of their own must have our help but let us work to see how many can be freed from the dependency of welfare and made which the great majority of welfare recipients want more than anything else next let us remove a financial specter facing our older americans the fear of an illness so expensive that it can result in having to make an intolerable choice between bankruptcy and death i will submit legislation shortly to help free the elderly from the fear of catastrophic illness now let us turn to the future it is widely said that america is losing her competitive edge well that will not happen if we act now how well prepared are we to enter the 21st century in my lifetime america set the standard for the world it is now time to determine that we should enter the next century having achieved a level of excellence unsurpassed in history we will achieve this first by guaranteeing that government does everything possible to promote america ability to compete second we must act as individuals in a quest for excellence that will not be measured by new proposals or billions in new funding rather it involves an expenditure of american spirit and just plain american grit the congress will soon receive my comprehensive proposals to enhance our competitiveness including new science and technology centers and strong new funding for basic research the bill will include legal and regulatory reforms and weapons to fight unfair trade practices competitiveness also means giving our farmers a shot at participating fairly and fully in a changing world market preparing for the future must begin as always with our children we need to set for them new and more rigorous goals we must demand more of ourselves and our children by raising literacy levels dramatically by the year 2000 our children should master the basic concepts of math and science and let us insist that students not leave high school until they have studied and understood the basic documents of our national heritage there is one more thing we can not let up on let us redouble our personal efforts to provide for every child a safe and learning environment if our crusade against drugs succeeds with our children we will defeat that scourge all over the country finally let us stop suppressing the spiritual core of our national being our nation could not have been conceived without divine help why is it that we can build a nation with our prayers but we can not use a schoolroom for voluntary prayer the 100th congress of the united states should be remembered as the one that ended the expulsion of god from america classrooms the quest for excellence into the 21st century begins in the schoolroom but must go next to the workplace more than 20 million new jobs will be created before the new century unfolds and by then our economy should be able to provide a job for everyone who wants to work we must also enable our workers to adapt to the rapidly changing nature of the workplace and i will propose substantial new federal commitments keyed to retraining and job mobility over the next few weeks i will be sending the congress a complete series of these special budget reform welfare reform competitiveness including education trade worker training and assistance agriculture and other subjects the congress can give us these tools but to make these tools work it really comes down to just being our best and that is the core of american greatness the responsibility of freedom presses us towards higher knowledge and i believe moral and spiritual greatness through lower taxes and smaller government government has its ways of freeing people spirits but only we each of us can let the spirit soar against our own individual standards excellence is what makes freedom ring and is not that what we do best we are entering our third century now but it is wrong to judge our nation by its years the calendar can not measure america because we were meant to be an endless experiment in no limit to our reaches no boundaries to what we can do no end point to our hopes the united states constitution is the impassioned and inspired vehicle by which we travel through history it grew out of the most fundamental inspiration of our existence that we are here to serve him by living living free releases in us the noblest of impulses and the best of our abilities that we would use these gifts for good and generous purposes and would secure them not just for ourselves and for our children but for all mankind over the will not count if you do has been so heartwarming to me as speaking to america young and the little ones especially so and so eager to know well from time to time i have been with will ask about our constitution and i hope you members of congress will not deem this a breach of protocol if you will permit me to share these thoughts again with the young people who might be listening or watching this evening i have read the constitutions of a number of countries including the soviet union now some people are surprised to hear that they have a constitution and it even supposedly grants a number of freedoms to its people many countries have written into their constitution provisions for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly well if this is true why is the constitution of the united states so exceptional well the difference is so small that it almost escapes you but it is so great it tells you the whole story in just three words we the people in those other constitutions the government tells the people of those countries what they are allowed to do in our constitution we the people tell the government what it can do and it can do only those things listed in that document and no others virtually every other revolution in history has just exchanged one set of rulers for another set of rulers our revolution is the first to say the people are the masters and government is their servant and you young people out there do not ever forget that someday you could be in this room but wherever you are america is depending on you to reach your highest and be your here in america we the people are in charge just three words we the are the kids on christmas day looking out from a frozen sentry post on the 38th parallel in korea or aboard an aircraft carrier in the mediterranean a million miles from home but doing their duty we the are the warmhearted whose numbers we can not begin to count who will begin the day with a little prayer for hostages they will never know and mia families they will never meet why because that is the way we are this unique breed we call americans we the are farmers on tough times but who never stop feeding a hungry world they are the volunteers at the hospital choking back their tears for the hundredth time caring for a baby struggling for life because of a mother who used drugs and you will forgive me a special is a million mothers like nelle reagan who never knew a stranger or turned a hungry person away from her kitchen door we the refute last week television commentary downgrading our optimism and our idealism they are the entrepreneurs the builders the pioneers and a lot of regular true heroes of our land who make up the most uncommon nation of doers in history you know they are americans because their spirit is as big as the universe and their hearts are bigger than their spirits we the the third century of a dream and standing up to some cynic who is trying to tell us we are not going to get any better are we at the end well i can not tell it any better than the real story recorded by james madison from the final moments of the constitutional convention september 17th 1787 as the last few members signed the document benjamin oldest delegate at 81 years and in frail over toward the chair where george washington daily presided at the back of the chair was painted the picture of a sun on the horizon and turning to those sitting next to him franklin observed that artists found it difficult in their painting to distinguish between a rising and a setting sun well i know if we were there we could see those delegates sitting around in to listen more closely to him and then franklin began to share his deepest hopes and fears about the outcome of their efforts and this is what he said i have often looked at that picture behind the president without being able to tell whether it was a rising or setting sun but now at length i have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun well you can bet it is rising because my fellow citizens america is not finished her best days have just begun thank you god bless you and god bless america
speaker president distinguished members congress honored guests fellow citizens may congratulate members historic 100th congress united states america 200th anniversary year constitution stand shoulders whose words deeds put wind sails freedom however must always remember constitution celebrated old energy spirit promise filled eventful day philadelphia statehouse guided tonight acts guided forever words forgive resist sharing story historic days philadelphia bursting civic pride spring 1787 newspapers began embellishing arrival convention delegates elaborate social classifications governors states called excellency justices chancellors reserved honorable capital congressmen honorable small others referred following respectable characters laughter well 100th congress invoke special executive powers declare must never titled less honorable capital incidentally delighted celebrating 100th birthday congress always pleasure congratulate someone birthdays laughter new face place honor tonight please join warm congratulations speaker house jim wright applause speaker might recall similar situation first session congress 32 years ago speakership changed hands another great son texas sam sam chair find better words used president eisenhower evening said shall much together sure get done shall harmony good tonight renew pledge speaker senate majority leader robert byrd brings 34 years distinguished service congress may say though changes congress america interests remain confident along republican leaders bob michel bob dole congress make history six years ago ask congress join america new beginning well results something proud inflation rate lowest quarter century prime interest rate fallen 21 percent month took office 7 percent today rates triggered housing starts 8 years unemployment lowest nearly 7 years people created nearly 13 million new jobs 61 percent everyone age 16 male female highest percentage record let us roll sleeves go work put america economic engine full throttle also heartened progress across world important america peace tonight freedom march done much past years restore defenses alliances leadership world sons daughters services wear uniforms pride though made much progress one major regret took risk regard action iran work assume full responsibility goals worthy believe wrong try establish contacts country strategic importance try save lives certainly wrong try secure freedom citizens held barbaric captivity achieve wished serious mistakes made trying get bottom take whatever action called debating past must deny successes future let never said generation americans became obsessed failure refused take risks could peace freedom world much stake nation world watching see go forward together national interest let partisanship weaken us let mistake american policy sit idly interests friends middle east threatened yield terrorist blackmail ladies gentlemen congress get work pleased report efforts rebuild strength america world safer place earlier month submitted budget defend america maintain momentum make neglect last decade well ask vote defense foreign affairs budget says yes protecting country world safer safe since 1970 soviets invested 500 billion military forces even today though nearly 1 3 soviet families without running hot water average family spends 2 hours day shopping basic necessities life government still found resources transfer 75 billion weapons client states past 5 like syria vietnam cuba libya angola ethiopia afghanistan nicaragua soviet combat military personnel military advisers asia africa latin america anyone still doubt determination expand power despite congress cut request critical security assistance free nations 21 percent year cut defense requests 85 billion last 3 years assistance programs serve national interests well mutual interests programs devastated american interests harmed friends duty president say tonight surer way lose freedom lose resolve today brave people afghanistan showing resolve soviet union says wants peaceful settlement afghanistan yet continues brutal war props regime whose days clearly numbered ready support political solution guarantees rapid withdrawal soviet troops genuine afghan people central america freedom tested resolve tested well especially world watching see nation responds today 90 percent people latin america live democracy democracy march central south america communist nicaragua odd man church press democratic dissent promoting subversion region support diplomatic efforts efforts never succeed sandinistas win war nicaraguan people commitment western hemisphere safe aggression occur spontaneous generation day took office began monroe doctrine 1823 continues historic bipartisan american policy franklin roosevelt said determined everything possible maintain peace hemisphere president truman blunt international communism seeks crush undermine destroy independence americas let happen john kennedy made clear communist domination hemisphere never negotiated congress may choose depart historic commitment year celebrate second century constitution sandinistas signed 2 weeks ago suspended know words tonight reported one simple reason free press nicaragua nicaraguan freedom fighters never asked us wage battle fight effort shut lifeblood consign death defeat life without freedom must soviet beachhead central america know americans always preferred dialog conflict always remain open constructive relations soviet union responsible soviet conduct around world key element agenda progress also required items agenda respect human rights open contacts societies course arms reduction iceland last october one moment opportunity soviets dashed sought cripple strategic defense initiative sdi would let let future positive promising defense program undertaken path sides safer system defends human life instead threatening sdi go forward united states made serious fair proposals soviet union moment rare opportunity arms reduction need american negotiators geneva need congress support enacting soviet negotiating position american law would way win good agreement must tell congress veto effort undercuts national security negotiating leverage today also find engaged expanding peaceful commerce across world work expand opportunities international markets uruguay round trade negotiations complete historic free trade arrangement world two largest trading partners canada united states basic trade policy remains remain opposed ever protectionism america growth future depend trade would insist trade fair free always willing trade partners never trade patsies foreign borders let us return america world strong america home 100th congress high responsibilities begin gentle reminder many simply incomplete obligations past american people deserve impatient yet public house order great success restoring economic integrity rescued nation worst economic mess since depression starters federal deficit outrageous years asked stop pushing onto children excesses government congress finally needs pass constitutional amendment mandates balanced budget forces government live within means states cities families america balance budgets next budget process sorry spectacle missing deadlines nightmare monstrous continuing resolutions packing hundreds billions dollars spending one bill must stopped ask congress give us tool 43 governors lineitem veto carve boondoggles pork items would never survive send congress broad recommendations budget first would like see let us go work get done together let us talk year budget even though submitted within deficit reduction target seen suggestions might postpone timetable well think american people tired hearing old excuses together made commitment balance budget let us keep suggestions answer higher taxes american people repeatedly rejected advice know deficits people taxed little deficits big government spends much next month place two additional reforms congress created welfare monster shocking indictment sense priorities national welfare system consists 59 major programs pages federal laws regulations 132 billion spent 1985 propose new national welfare strategy program welfare reform demonstration projects time reform outmoded social dinosaur finally break poverty trap never abandon fault must help let us work see many freed dependency welfare made great majority welfare recipients want anything else next let us remove financial specter facing older americans fear illness expensive result make intolerable choice bankruptcy death submit legislation shortly help free elderly fear catastrophic illness let us turn future widely said america losing competitive edge well happen act well prepared enter 21st century lifetime america set standard world time determine enter next century achieved level excellence unsurpassed history achieve first guaranteeing government everything possible promote america ability compete second must act individuals quest excellence measured new proposals billions new funding rather involves expenditure american spirit plain american grit congress soon receive comprehensive proposals enhance competitiveness including new science technology centers strong new funding basic research bill include legal regulatory reforms weapons fight unfair trade practices competitiveness also means giving farmers shot participating fairly fully changing world market preparing future must begin always children need set new rigorous goals must demand children raising literacy levels dramatically year 2000 children master basic concepts math science let us insist students leave high school studied understood basic documents national heritage one thing let let us redouble personal efforts provide every child safe learning environment crusade drugs succeeds children defeat scourge country finally let us stop suppressing spiritual core national nation could conceived without divine help build nation prayers use schoolroom voluntary prayer 100th congress united states remembered one ended expulsion god america classrooms quest excellence 21st century begins schoolroom must go next workplace 20 million new jobs created new century unfolds economy able provide job everyone wants work must also enable workers adapt rapidly changing nature workplace propose substantial new federal commitments keyed retraining job mobility next weeks sending congress complete series special budget reform welfare reform competitiveness including education trade worker training assistance agriculture subjects congress give us tools make tools work really comes best core american greatness responsibility freedom presses us towards higher knowledge believe moral spiritual greatness lower taxes smaller government government ways freeing people spirits us let spirit soar individual standards excellence makes freedom ring best entering third century wrong judge nation years calendar measure america meant endless experiment limit reaches boundaries end point hopes united states constitution impassioned inspired vehicle travel history grew fundamental inspiration existence serve living living free releases us noblest impulses best abilities would use gifts good generous purposes would secure children mankind count heartwarming speaking america young little ones especially eager know well time time ask constitution hope members congress deem breach protocol permit share thoughts young people might listening watching evening read constitutions number countries including soviet union people surprised hear constitution even supposedly grants number freedoms people many countries written constitution provisions freedom speech freedom assembly well true constitution united states exceptional well difference small almost escapes great tells whole story three words people constitutions government tells people countries allowed constitution people tell government things listed document others virtually every revolution history exchanged one set rulers another set rulers revolution first say people masters government servant young people ever forget someday could room wherever america depending reach highest america people charge three words kids christmas day looking frozen sentry post 38th parallel korea aboard aircraft carrier mediterranean million miles home duty warmhearted whose numbers begin count begin day little prayer hostages never know mia families never meet way unique breed call americans farmers tough times never stop feeding hungry world volunteers hospital choking back tears hundredth time caring baby struggling life mother used drugs forgive special million mothers like nelle reagan never knew stranger turned hungry person away kitchen door refute last week television commentary downgrading optimism idealism entrepreneurs builders pioneers lot regular true heroes land make uncommon nation doers history know americans spirit big universe hearts bigger spirits third century dream standing cynic trying tell us going get better end well tell better real story recorded james madison final moments constitutional convention september 17th 1787 last members signed document benjamin oldest delegate 81 years frail toward chair george washington daily presided back chair painted picture sun horizon turning sitting next franklin observed artists found difficult painting distinguish rising setting sun well know could see delegates sitting around listen closely franklin began share deepest hopes fears outcome efforts said often looked picture behind president without able tell whether rising setting sun length happiness know rising setting sun well bet rising fellow citizens america finished best days begun thank god bless god bless america
speaker president distinguish member congress honor guest fellow citizen may congratulate member historic 100th congress united state america 200th anniversary year constitution stand shoulder whose word deeds put wind sail freedom however must always remember constitution celebrate old energy spirit promise fill eventful day philadelphia statehouse guide tonight act guide forever word forgive resist share story historic day philadelphia burst civic pride spring 1787 newspaper begin embellish arrival convention delegate elaborate social classification governor state call excellency justice chancellor reserve honorable capital congressman honorable small others refer follow respectable character laughter well 100th congress invoke special executive power declare must never title less honorable capital incidentally delight celebrate 100th birthday congress always pleasure congratulate someone birthdays laughter new face place honor tonight please join warm congratulation speaker house jim wright applause speaker might recall similar situation first session congress 32 year ago speakership change hand another great son texas sam sam chair find good word use president eisenhower evening say shall much together sure get do shall harmony good tonight renew pledge speaker senate majority leader robert byrd bring 34 year distinguish service congress may say though change congress america interest remain confident along republican leader bob michel bob dole congress make history six year ago ask congress join america new begin well result something proud inflation rate low quarter century prime interest rate fall 21 percent month take office 7 percent today rate trigger housing start 8 year unemployment low nearly 7 year people create nearly 13 million new job 61 percent everyone age 16 male female high percentage record let u roll sleeve go work put america economic engine full throttle also hearten progress across world important america peace tonight freedom march do much past year restore defense alliance leadership world sons daughter service wear uniforms pride though make much progress one major regret take risk regard action iran work assume full responsibility goal worthy believe wrong try establish contact country strategic importance try save live certainly wrong try secure freedom citizen hold barbaric captivity achieve wish serious mistake make try get bottom take whatever action call debating past must deny success future let never say generation american become obsessed failure refuse take risk could peace freedom world much stake nation world watch see go forward together national interest let partisanship weaken u let mistake american policy sit idly interest friends middle east threaten yield terrorist blackmail lady gentlemen congress get work pleased report effort rebuild strength america world safer place earlier month submit budget defend america maintain momentum make neglect last decade well ask vote defense foreign affair budget say yes protect country world safer safe since 1970 soviet invest 500 billion military force even today though nearly 1 3 soviet family without run hot water average family spend 2 hour day shop basic necessity life government still find resource transfer 75 billion weapon client state past 5 like syria vietnam cuba libya angola ethiopia afghanistan nicaragua soviet combat military personnel military adviser asia africa latin america anyone still doubt determination expand power despite congress cut request critical security assistance free nation 21 percent year cut defense request 85 billion last 3 year assistance program serve national interest well mutual interest program devastate american interest harm friend duty president say tonight sure way lose freedom lose resolve today brave people afghanistan show resolve soviet union say want peaceful settlement afghanistan yet continue brutal war prop regime whose day clearly number ready support political solution guarantee rapid withdrawal soviet troop genuine afghan people central america freedom test resolve test well especially world watch see nation responds today 90 percent people latin america live democracy democracy march central south america communist nicaragua odd man church press democratic dissent promote subversion region support diplomatic effort effort never succeed sandinistas win war nicaraguan people commitment western hemisphere safe aggression occur spontaneous generation day take office begin monroe doctrine 1823 continue historic bipartisan american policy franklin roosevelt say determine everything possible maintain peace hemisphere president truman blunt international communism seek crush undermine destroy independence americas let happen john kennedy make clear communist domination hemisphere never negotiate congress may choose depart historic commitment year celebrate second century constitution sandinistas sign 2 week ago suspend know word tonight report one simple reason free press nicaragua nicaraguan freedom fighter never ask u wage battle fight effort shut lifeblood consign death defeat life without freedom must soviet beachhead central america know americans always prefer dialog conflict always remain open constructive relation soviet union responsible soviet conduct around world key element agenda progress also require item agenda respect human right open contact society course arm reduction iceland last october one moment opportunity soviet dash sought cripple strategic defense initiative sdi would let let future positive promising defense program undertaken path side safer system defend human life instead threaten sdi go forward united state make serious fair proposal soviet union moment rare opportunity arm reduction need american negotiator geneva need congress support enact soviet negotiating position american law would way win good agreement must tell congress veto effort undercuts national security negotiate leverage today also find engaged expand peaceful commerce across world work expand opportunities international market uruguay round trade negotiation complete historic free trade arrangement world two large trade partner canada united state basic trade policy remain remain opposed ever protectionism america growth future depend trade would insist trade fair free always willing trade partner never trade patsy foreign border let u return america world strong america home 100th congress high responsibility begin gentle reminder many simply incomplete obligation past american people deserve impatient yet public house order great success restore economic integrity rescue nation bad economic mess since depression starter federal deficit outrageous year ask stop push onto child excess government congress finally need pass constitutional amendment mandate balance budget force government live within mean state city family america balance budget next budget process sorry spectacle miss deadline nightmare monstrous continue resolution pack hundred billion dollar spend one bill must stop ask congress give u tool 43 governor lineitem veto carve boondoggle pork item would never survive send congress broad recommendation budget first would like see let u go work get do together let u talk year budget even though submit within deficit reduction target see suggestion might postpone timetable well think american people tire hear old excuse together make commitment balance budget let u keep suggestion answer high tax american people repeatedly reject advice know deficit people tax little deficit big government spend much next month place two additional reform congress create welfare monster shock indictment sense priorities national welfare system consist 59 major program page federal law regulation 132 billion spent 1985 propose new national welfare strategy program welfare reform demonstration project time reform outmode social dinosaur finally break poverty trap never abandon fault must help let u work see many free dependency welfare make great majority welfare recipient want anything else next let u remove financial specter face old american fear illness expensive result make intolerable choice bankruptcy death submit legislation shortly help free elderly fear catastrophic illness let u turn future widely say america lose competitive edge well happen act well prepared enter 21st century lifetime america set standard world time determine enter next century achieve level excellence unsurpassed history achieve first guaranteeing government everything possible promote america ability compete second must act individual quest excellence measure new proposal billion new fund rather involve expenditure american spirit plain american grit congress soon receive comprehensive proposal enhance competitiveness include new science technology center strong new funding basic research bill include legal regulatory reform weapon fight unfair trade practice competitiveness also mean give farmer shot participate fairly fully change world market prepare future must begin always child need set new rigorous goal must demand child raise literacy level dramatically year 2000 child master basic concept math science let u insist student leave high school study understood basic document national heritage one thing let let u redouble personal effort provide every child safe learning environment crusade drug succeed child defeat scourge country finally let u stop suppress spiritual core national nation could conceive without divine help build nation prayer use schoolroom voluntary prayer 100th congress united state remember one end expulsion god america classroom quest excellence 21st century begin schoolroom must go next workplace 20 million new job create new century unfolds economy able provide job everyone want work must also enable worker adapt rapidly change nature workplace propose substantial new federal commitment key retrain job mobility next week send congress complete series special budget reform welfare reform competitiveness include education trade worker train assistance agriculture subject congress give u tool make tools work really come best core american greatness responsibility freedom press u towards high knowledge believe moral spiritual greatness low tax small government government way free people spirit u let spirit soar individual standard excellence make freedom ring best enter third century wrong judge nation year calendar measure america mean endless experiment limit reach boundary end point hope united state constitution impassioned inspired vehicle travel history grow fundamental inspiration existence serve live live free release u noble impulse best ability would use gift good generous purpose would secure child mankind count heartwarming speak america young little one especially eager know well time time ask constitution hope member congress deem breach protocol permit share thought young people might listen watch even read constitution number country include soviet union people surprise hear constitution even supposedly grant number freedoms people many country write constitution provision freedom speech freedom assembly well true constitution united state exceptional well difference small almost escape great tell whole story three word people constitution government tell people country allow constitution people tell government thing list document others virtually every revolution history exchange one set ruler another set ruler revolution first say people master government servant young people ever forget someday could room wherever america depend reach high america people charge three word kid christmas day look frozen sentry post 38th parallel korea aboard aircraft carrier mediterranean million mile home duty warmhearted whose number begin count begin day little prayer hostages never know mia family never meet way unique breed call americans farmer tough time never stop feed hungry world volunteer hospital choke back tear hundredth time care baby struggle life mother use drug forgive special million mother like nelle reagan never know stranger turn hungry person away kitchen door refute last week television commentary downgrade optimism idealism entrepreneurs builder pioneer lot regular true hero land make uncommon nation doer history know american spirit big universe heart big spirit third century dream stand cynic try tell u go get good end well tell good real story record james madison final moment constitutional convention september 17th 1787 last member sign document benjamin old delegate 81 year frail toward chair george washington daily preside back chair painted picture sun horizon turn sit next franklin observe artist find difficult paint distinguish rise set sun well know could see delegate sit around listen closely franklin begin share deep hop fear outcome effort say often looked picture behind president without able tell whether rise set sun length happiness know rise set sun well bet rise fellow citizen america finish best day begin thank god bless god bless america