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    "ocrText": "2014-0126-F\n[\n]\nMonday, August 10, 2015\nFOIA Marker\nThis is not a textual record. This FOIA Marker indicates that material has been removed\nduring FOIA processing by George W. Bush Presidential Library staff.\nNational Economic Council\nBlahous, Charles\nLocation or\nNARA Number:\nFRC ID:\nOA Number:\nStack: Row: Sect.: Shelf: Pos.:\nHollinger ID:\nW\n30\n19\n8\n1\n6100\n19035\n7184\n7276\nFolder Title:\nState of the Union, Address to the 108th Congress, Second Session, 01/20/2004\nPLURIBUS\nSTATE OF THE UNION\nADDRESS TO THE 108TH CONGRESS\nSECOND SESSION\nPresident George W. Bush\nJANUARY 20, 2004 WASHINGTON, DC\nPRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH\nSTATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS\nTHE UNITED STATES CAPITOL\nJANUARY 20, 2004\nMr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished\nguests, and fellow citizens:\nAmerica this evening is a Nation called to great responsibilities. And we are\nrising to meet them.\nAs we gather tonight, hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and\nwomen are deployed across the world in the war on terror. By bringing hope to\nthe oppressed, and delivering justice to the violent, they are making America\nmore secure.\nEach day, law enforcement personnel and intelligence officers are tracking\nterrorist threats; analysts are examining airline passenger lists; the men and\nwomen of our new Homeland Security Department are patrolling our coasts\nand borders. And their vigilance is protecting America.\nAmericans are proving once again to be the hardest working people in the\nworld. The American economy is growing stronger. The tax relief you passed is\nworking.\nTonight, Members of Congress can take pride in the great works of\ncompassion and reform that skeptics had thought impossible. You're raising the\nstandards for our public schools; and you are giving our senior citizens prescrip-\ntion drug coverage under Medicare.\nWe have faced serious challenges together - and now we face a choice. We\ncan go forward with confidence and resolve - or we can turn back to the\ndangerous illusion that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no\nthreat to us. We can press on with economic growth, and reforms in education\nand Medicare - or we can turn back to old policies and old divisions.\nWe have not come all this way- through tragedy, and trial, and war - only\nto falter and leave our work unfinished. Americans are rising to the tasks of\nhistory, and they expect the same from us. In their efforts, their enterprise, and\ntheir character, the American people are showing that the state of our Union is\nconfident and strong.\nOur greatest responsibility is the active defense of the American people.\nTwenty-eight months have passed since September the 11th, 2001 over two\nyears without an attack on American soil- and it is tempting to believe that the\ndanger is behind us. That hope is understandable, comforting - and false. The\nkilling has continued in Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Riyadh, Mombassa, Jerusalem,\n1\nIstanbul, and Baghdad. The terrorists continue to plot against America and the\ncivilized world. And by our will and courage, this danger will be defeated.\nInside the United States, where the war began, we must continue to give\nour homeland security and law enforcement personnel every tool they need to\ndefend us. And one of those essential tools is the PATRIOT Act, which allows\nFederal law enforcement to better share information, to track terrorists, to\ndisrupt their cells, and to seize their assets. For years, we have used similar provi-\nsions to catch embezzlers and drug traffickers. If these methods are good for\nhunting criminals, they are even more important for hunting terrorists. Key\nprovisions of the PATRIOT Act are set to expire next year. The terrorist threat\nwill not expire on that schedule. Our law enforcement needs this vital legislation\nto protect our citizens - you need to renew the PATRIOT Act.\nAmerica is on the offensive against the terrorists who started this war. Last\nMarch, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a mastermind of September the 11th, awoke\nto find himself in the custody of U.S. and Pakistani authorities. Last August the\n1 th brought the capture of the terrorist Hambali, who was a key player in the\nattack in Indonesia that killed over 200 people. We're tracking al-Qaida around\nthe world - and nearly two-thirds of their known leaders have now been\ncaptured or killed. Thousands of very skilled and determined military\npersonnel are on the manhunt, going after the remaining killers who hide in\ncities and caves - and, one by one, we will bring these terrorists to justice.\nAs part of the offensive against terror, we are also confronting the regimes\nthat harbor and support terrorists, and could supply them with nuclear, chem-\nical, or biological weapons. The United States and our allies are determined: We\nrefuse to live in the shadow of this ultimate danger.\nThe first to see our determination were the Taliban, who made Afghanistan\nthe primary training base of al-Qaida killers. As of this month, that country has\na new constitution, guaranteeing free elections and full participation by women.\nBusinesses are opening, health care centers are being established, and the boys\nand girls of Afghanistan are back in school. With the help from the new Afghan\nArmy, our coalition is leading aggressive raids against the surviving members of\nthe Taliban and al-Qaida. The men and women of Afghanistan are building a\nnation that is free, and proud, and fighting terror - and America is honored to\nbe their friend.\nSince we last met in this chamber, combat forces of the United States, Great\nBritain, Australia, Poland, and other countries enforced the demands of the\nUnited Nations, ended the rule of Saddam Hussein - and the people of Iraq are\nfree. Having broken the Baathist regime, we face a remnant of violent Saddam\nsupporters. Men who ran away from our troops in battle are now dispersed and\nattack from the shadows.\nThese killers, joined by foreign terrorists, are a serious, continuing danger.\nYet we're making progress against them. The once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was\n2\nfound in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell. Of the top 55 officials of the former\nregime, we have captured or killed 45. Our forces are on the offensive, leading\nover 1,600 patrols a day, and conducting an average of 180 raids a week. We are\ndealing with these thugs in Iraq, just as surely as we dealt with Saddam Hussein's\nevil regime.\nThe work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right. And America has\nalways been willing to do what it takes for what is right. Last January, Iraq's only\nlaw was the whim of one brutal man. Today our coalition is working with the\nIraqi Governing Council to draft a basic law, with a bill of rights. We're working\nwith Iraqis and the United Nations to prepare for a transition to full Iraqi sover-\neignty by the end of June. As democracy takes hold in Iraq, the enemies of\nfreedom will do all in their power to spread violence and fear. They are trying to\nshake the will of our country and our friends - but the United States of America\nwill never be intimidated by thugs and assassins. The killers will fail, and the\nIraqi people will live in freedom.\nMonth by month, Iraqis are assuming more responsibility for their own\nsecurity and their own future. And tonight we are honored to welcome one of\nIraq's most respected leaders: the current President of the Iraqi Governing\nCouncil, Adnan Pachachi. Sir, America stands with you and the Iraqi people as\nyou build a free and peaceful nation.\nBecause of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the\nbetter. Last month, the leader of Libya voluntarily pledged to disclose and\ndismantle all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs, including\na uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons. Colonel Qadhafi correctly\njudged that his country would be better off, and far more secure, without\nweapons of mass murder. Nine months of intense negotiations involving the\nUnited States and Great Britain succeeded with Libya, while 12 years of diplo-\nmacy with Iraq did not. And one reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective,\nwords must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.\nDifferent threats require different strategies. Along with nations in the\nregion, we are insisting that North Korea eliminate its nuclear program. America\nand the international community are demanding that Iran meet its commit-\nments and not develop nuclear weapons. America is committed to keeping the\nworld's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the most dangerous\nregimes.\nWhen I came to this rostrum on September the 20th, 2001, I brought the\npolice shield of a fallen officer, my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that\ndoes not end. I gave to you and to all Americans my complete commitment to\nsecuring our country and defeating our enemies. And this pledge, given by one,\nhas been kept by many. You in the Congress have provided the resources for our\ndefense, and cast the difficult votes of war and peace. Our closest allies have been\n3\nunwavering. America's intelligence personnel and diplomats have been skilled\nand tireless.\nAnd the men and women of the American military - they have taken the\nhardest duty. We've seen their skill and their courage in armored charges, and\nmidnight raids, and lonely hours on faithful watch. We have seen the joy when\nthey return, and felt the sorrow when one is lost. I've had the honor of meeting\nour servicemen and women at many posts, from the deck of a carrier in the\nPacific, to a mess hall in Baghdad. Many of our troops are listening tonight. And\nI want you and your families to know: America is proud of you. And my\nAdministration, and this Congress, will give you the resources you need to fight\nand win the war on terror.\nI know that some people question if America is really in a war at all. They\nview terrorism more as a crime - a problem to be solved mainly with law\nenforcement and indictments. After the World Trade Center was first attacked in\n1993, some of the guilty were indicted, and tried, and convicted, and sent to\nprison. But the matter was not settled. The terrorists were still training and plot-\nting in other nations, and drawing up more ambitious plans. After the chaos and\ncarnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal\npapers. The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States -\nand war is what they got.\nSome in this chamber, and in our country, did not support the liberation\nof Iraq. Objections to war often come from principled motives. But let us be\ncandid about the consequences of leaving Saddam Hussein in power. We're\nseeking all the facts - already the Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of\nmass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equip-\nment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations. Had we failed to act, the\ndictator's weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day.\nHad we failed to act, Security Council resolutions on Iraq would have been\nrevealed as empty threats, weakening the United Nations and encouraging defi-\nance by dictators around the world. Iraq's torture chambers would still be filled\nwith victims - terrified and innocent. The killing fields of Iraq - where hundreds\nof thousands of men, and women, and children vanished into the sands - would\nstill be known only to the killers. For all who love freedom and peace, the world\nwithout Saddam Hussein's regime is a better and safer place.\nSome critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This\nparticular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan,\nSouth Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark,\nHungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands, Norway, El Salvador,\nand the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq. As we debate at\nhome, we must never ignore the vital contributions of our international part-\nners, or dismiss their sacrifices. From the beginning, America has sought inter-\nnational support for our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have gained\n4\nmuch support. There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of\nmany nations, and submitting to the objections of a few. America will never seek\na permission slip to defend the security of our country.\nWe also hear doubts that democracy is a realistic goal for the greater Middle\nEast, where freedom is rare. Yet it is mistaken, and condescending, to assume that\nwhole cultures and great religions are incompatible with liberty and self-govern-\nment. I believe that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in\nfreedom. And even when that desire is crushed by tyranny for decades, it will rise\nagain.\nAs long as the Middle East remains a place of tyranny, and despair, and\nanger, it will continue to produce men and movements that threaten the safety\nof America and our friends. So America is pursuing a forward strategy of\nfreedom in the greater Middle East. We will challenge the enemies of reform,\nconfront the allies of terror, and expect a higher standard from our friends. To\ncut through the barriers of hateful propaganda, the Voice of America and other\nbroadcast services are expanding their programming in Arabic and Persian -\nand soon, a new television service will begin providing reliable news and infor-\nmation across the region. I will send you a proposal to double the budget of the\nNational Endowment for Democracy, and to focus its new work on the devel-\nopment of free elections, and free markets, free press, and free labor unions in\nthe Middle East. And above all, we will finish the historic work of democracy in\nAfghanistan and Iraq, so those nations can light the way for others, and help\ntransform a troubled part of the world.\nAmerica is a Nation with a mission - and that mission comes from our\nmost basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire. Our\naim is a democratic peace - a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of\nevery man and woman. America acts in this cause with friends and allies at our\nside, yet we understand our special calling: This great Republic will lead the\ncause of freedom.\nIn the last three years, adversity has also revealed the fundamental strengths\nof the American economy. We have come through recession, and terrorist attack,\nand corporate scandals, and the uncertainties of war. And because you acted to\nstimulate our economy with tax relief, this economy is strong, and growing\nstronger.\nYou have doubled the child tax credit from 500 to a thousand dollars,\nreduced the marriage penalty, begun to phase out the death tax, reduced taxes on\ncapital gains and stock dividends, cut taxes on small businesses, and you have\nlowered taxes for every American who pays income taxes.\nAmericans took those dollars and put them to work, driving this economy\nforward. The pace of economic growth in the third quarter of 2003 was the\nfastest in nearly 20 years. New home construction: the highest in almost 20 years.\nHome ownership rates: the highest ever. Manufacturing activity is increasing.\n5\nInflation is low. Interest rates are low. Exports are growing. Productivity is high.\nAnd jobs are on the rise.\nThese numbers confirm that the American people are using their money\nfar better than government would have - and you were right to return it.\nAmerica's growing economy is also a changing economy. As technology\ntransforms the way almost every job is done, America becomes more productive,\nand workers need new skills. Much of our job growth will be found in high-\nskilled fields like health care and biotechnology. So we must respond by helping\nmore Americans gain the skills to find good jobs in our new economy.\nAll skills begin with the basics of reading and math, which are supposed to\nbe learned in the early grades of our schools. Yet for too long, for too many chil-\ndren, those skills were never mastered. By passing the No Child Left Behind Act,\nyou have made the expectation of literacy the law of our country. We're\nproviding more funding for our schools - a 36 percent increase since 2001. We're\nrequiring higher standards. We are regularly testing every child on the funda-\nmentals. We are reporting results to parents, and making sure they have better\noptions when schools are not performing. We are making progress toward excel-\nlence for every child in America.\nBut the status quo always has defenders. Some want to undermine the No\nChild Left Behind Act by weakening standards and accountability. Yet the results\nwe require are really a matter of common sense: We expect third graders to read\nand do math at the third grade level - and that's not asking too much. Testing is\nthe only way to identify and help students who are falling behind.\nThis Nation will not go back to the days of simply shuffling children along\nfrom grade to grade without them learning the basics. I refuse to give up on any\nchild - and the No Child Left Behind Act is opening the door of opportunity to\nall of America's children.\nAt the same time, we must ensure that older students and adults can gain\nthe skills they need to find work now. Many of the fastest-growing occupations\nrequire strong math and science preparation, and training beyond the high\nschool level. So tonight I propose a series of measures called Jobs for the 21st\nCentury. This program will provide extra help to middle- and high school\nstudents who fall behind in reading and math, expand Advanced Placement\nprograms in low-income schools, invite math and science professionals from the\nprivate sector to teach part-time in our high schools. I propose larger Pell Grants\nfor students who prepare for college with demanding courses in high school. I\npropose increasing our support for America's fine community colleges. I do so\nso they can train workers for the industries that are creating the most new jobs.\nBy all these actions, we'll help more and more Americans to join in the growing\nprosperity of our country.\nJob training is important, and so is job creation. We must continue to\npursue an aggressive, pro-growth economic agenda.\n6\nCongress has some unfinished business on the issue of taxes. The tax\nreductions you passed are set to expire. Unless you act, the unfair tax on\nmarriage will go back up. Unless you act, millions of families will be charged 300\ndollars more in Federal taxes for every child. Unless you act, small businesses will\npay higher taxes. Unless you act, the death tax will eventually come back to life.\nUnless you act, Americans face a tax increase. What Congress has given, the\nCongress should not take away: For the sake of job growth, the tax cuts you\npassed should be permanent.\nOur agenda for jobs and growth must help small business owners and\nemployees with relief from needless Federal regulation, and protect them from\njunk and frivolous lawsuits. Consumers and businesses need reliable supplies of\nenergy to make our economy run - so I urge you to pass legislation to\nmodernize our electricity system, promote conservation, and make America less\ndependent on foreign sources of energy. My Administration is promoting free\nand fair trade, to open up new markets for America's entrepreneurs, and manu-\nfacturers, and farmers - to create jobs for American workers. Younger workers\nshould have the opportunity to build a nest egg by saving part of their Social\nSecurity taxes in a personal retirement account. We should make the Social\nSecurity system a source of ownership for the American people.\nAnd we should limit the burden of government on this economy by acting\nas good stewards of taxpayers' dollars. In two weeks, I will send you a budget that\nfunds the war, protects the homeland, and meets important domestic needs,\nwhile limiting the growth in discretionary spending to less than four percent.\nThis will require that Congress focus on priorities, cut wasteful spending, and be\nwise with the people's money. By doing so, we can cut the deficit in half over the\nnext five years.\nTonight I also ask you to reform our immigration laws, so they reflect our\nvalues and benefit our economy. I propose a new temporary worker program to\nmatch willing foreign workers with willing employers, when no Americans can\nbe found to fill the job. This reform will be good for our economy - because\nemployers will find needed workers in an honest and orderly system. A tempo-\nrary worker program will help protect our homeland - allowing border patrol\nand law enforcement to focus on true threats to our national security. I oppose\namnesty, because it would encourage further illegal immigration, and unfairly\nreward those who break our laws. My temporary worker program will preserve\nthe citizenship path for those who respect the law, while bringing millions of\nhardworking men and women out from the shadows of American life.\nOur Nation's health care system, like our economy, is also in a time of\nchange. Amazing medical technologies are improving and saving lives. This\ndramatic progress has brought its own challenge, in the rising costs of medical\ncare and health insurance. Members of Congress, we must work together to help\n7\ncontrol those costs and extend the benefits of modern medicine throughout our\ncountry.\nMeeting these goals requires bipartisan effort - and two months ago, you\nshowed the way. By strengthening Medicare and adding a prescription drug\nbenefit, you kept a basic commitment to our seniors: You are giving them the\nmodern medicine they deserve.\nStarting this year, under the law you passed, seniors can choose to receive\na drug discount card, saving them 10 to 25 percent off the retail price of most\nprescription drugs - and millions of low-income seniors can get an additional\n600 dollars to buy medicine. Beginning next year, seniors will have new coverage\nfor preventive screenings against diabetes and heart disease, and seniors just\nentering Medicare can receive wellness exams.\nIn January of 2006, seniors can get prescription drug coverage under\nMedicare. For a monthly premium of about 35 dollars, most seniors who do not\nhave that coverage today can expect to see their drug bills cut roughly in half.\nUnder this reform, senior citizens will be able to keep their Medicare just as it is,\nor they can choose a Medicare plan that fits them best - just as you, as Members\nof Congress, can choose an insurance plan that meets your needs. And starting\nthis year, millions of Americans will be able to save money tax-free for their\nmedical expenses, in a health savings account.\nI signed this measure proudly, and any attempt to limit the choices of our\nseniors, or to take away their prescription drug coverage under Medicare, will\nmeet my veto.\nOn the critical issue of health care, our goal is to ensure that Americans can\nchoose and afford private health care coverage that best fits their individual\nneeds. To make insurance more affordable, Congress must act to address rapidly\nrising health care costs. Small businesses should be able to band together and\nnegotiate for lower insurance rates, so they can cover more workers with health\ninsurance - I urge you to pass Association Health Plans. I ask you to give lower-\nincome Americans a refundable tax credit that would allow millions to buy their\nown basic health insurance. By computerizing health records, we can avoid\ndangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care. To protect the\ndoctor-patient relationship, and keep good doctors doing good work, we must\neliminate wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits. And tonight I propose that\nindividuals who buy catastrophic health care coverage, as part of our new health\nsavings accounts, be allowed to deduct 100 percent of the premiums from their\ntaxes.\nA government-run health care system is the wrong prescription. By\nkeeping costs under control, expanding access, and helping more Americans\nafford coverage, we will preserve the system of private medicine that makes\nAmerica's health care the best in the world.\n8\nWe are living in a time of great change - in our world, in our economy, in\nscience and medicine. Yet some things endure - courage and compassion, rever-\nence and integrity, respect for differences of faith and race. The values we try to\nlive by never change. And they are instilled in us by fundamental institutions,\nsuch as families, and schools, and religious congregations. These institutions - -\nthese unseen pillars of civilization - must remain strong in America, and we will\ndefend them.\nWe must stand with our families to help them raise healthy, responsible\nchildren. When it comes to helping children make right choices, there is work for\nall of us to do.\nOne of the worst decisions our children can make is to gamble their lives\nand futures on drugs. Our government is helping parents confront this problem,\nwith aggressive education, treatment, and law enforcement. Drug use in high\nschool has declined by 11 percent over the last two years. Four hundred thou-\nsand fewer young people are using illegal drugs than in the year 2001. In my\nbudget, I have proposed new funding to continue our aggressive, community-\nbased strategy to reduce demand for illegal drugs. Drug testing in our schools\nhas proven to be an effective part of this effort. So tonight I've proposed an addi-\ntional 23 million dollars for schools that want to use drug testing as a tool to save\nchildren's lives. The aim here is not to punish children, but to send them this\nmessage: We love you, and we do not want to lose you.\nTo help children make right choices, they need good examples. Athletics\nplay such an important role in our society, but, unfortunately, some in profes-\nsional sports are not setting much of an example. The use of performance-\nenhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is\ndangerous, and it sends the wrong message - that there are shortcuts to accom-\nplishment, and that performance is more important than character. So tonight\nI call on team owners, union representatives, coaches, and players to take the\nlead, to send the right signal, to get tough, and to get rid of steroids now.\nTo encourage right choices, we must be willing to confront the dangers\nyoung people face even when they're difficult to talk about. Each year, about\nthree million teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases that can harm\nthem, or kill them, or prevent them from ever becoming parents. In my budget,\nI propose a grassroots campaign to help inform families about these medical\nrisks. We will double Federal funding for abstinence programs, so schools can\nteach this fact of life: Abstinence for young people is the only certain way to\navoid sexually transmitted diseases. Decisions children now make can affect their\nhealth and character for the rest of their lives. All of us - parents, schools, and\ngovernment - must work together to counter the negative influence of the\nculture, and to send the right messages to our children.\nA strong America must also value the institution of marriage. I believe we\nshould respect individuals as we take a principled stand for one of the most\n9\nfundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization. Congress has already\ntaken a stand on this issue by passing the Defense of Marriage Act, signed in\n1996 by President Clinton. That statute protects marriage under Federal law as\na union of a man and a woman, and declares that one state may not redefine\nmarriage for other states. Activist judges, however, have begun redefining\nmarriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their\nelected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice\nmust be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people,\nthe only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our\nNation must defend the sanctity of marriage.\nThe outcome of this debate is important - and so is the way we conduct it.\nThe same moral tradition that defines marriage also teaches that each individual\nhas dignity and value in God's sight.\nIt's also important to strengthen our communities by unleashing the\ncompassion of America's religious institutions. Religious charities of every creed\nare doing some of the most vital work in our country - mentoring children,\nfeeding the hungry, taking the hand of the lonely. Yet government has often\ndenied social service grants and contracts to these groups, just because they have\na cross or a Star of David or a crescent on the wall. By Executive Order, I have\nopened billions of dollars in grant money to competition that includes faith-\nbased charities. Tonight I ask you to codify this into law, so people of faith can\nknow that the law will never discriminate against them again.\nIn the past, we have worked together to bring mentors to children of pris-\noners, and provide treatment for the addicted, and help for the homeless.\nTonight I ask you to consider another group of Americans in need of help. This\nyear, some 600,000 inmates will be released from prison back into society. We\nknow from long experience that if they can't find work, or a home, or help, they\nare much more likely to commit crime and return to prison. So tonight, I\npropose a four-year, 300 million dollar Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative to expand\njob training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help\nnewly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups.\nAmerica is the land of second chance - and when the gates of the prison open,\nthe path ahead should lead to a better life.\nFor all Americans, the last three years have brought tests we did not ask for,\nand achievements shared by all. By our actions, we have shown what kind of\nNation we are. In grief, we have found the grace to go on. In challenge, we redis-\ncovered the courage and daring of a free people. In victory, we have shown the\nnoble aims and good heart of America. And having come this far, we sense that\nwe live in a time set apart.\nI've been witness to the character of the people of America, who have\nshown calm in times of danger, compassion for one another, and toughness for\nthe long haul. All of us have been partners in a great enterprise. And even some\n10\nof the youngest understand that we are living in historic times. Last month a girl\nin Lincoln, Rhode Island, sent me a letter. It began, \"Dear George W. Bush.\" \"If\nthere is anything you know, I Ashley Pearson age 10 can do to help anyone,\nplease send me a letter and tell me what I can do to save our country.\" She added\nthis P.S.: \"If you can send a letter to the troops please put, 'Ashley Pearson\nbelieves in you.\"\nTonight, Ashley, your message to our troops has just been conveyed. And\nyes, you have some duties yourself. Study hard in school, listen to your mom or\ndad, help someone in need, and when you and your friends see a man or woman\nin uniform, say \"thank you.\" And, Ashley, while you do your part, all of us here\nin this great chamber will do our best to keep you and the rest of America safe\nand free.\nMy fellow citizens, we now move forward, with confidence and faith. Our\nNation is strong and steadfast. The cause we serve is right, because it is the cause\nof all mankind. The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable- - and\nit is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power\nWho guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know\nthat His purposes are just and true.\nMay God continue to bless America.\n11"
}