Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of
the Union
And as we develop the frontier of space, let us remember our
responsibility to preserve our older resources here on Earth.
Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative
challenge, it's common sense.
Though this is a time of budget constraints, I have requested
for EPA one of the largest percentage budget increases of any
agency. We will begin the long, necessary effort to clean up a
productive recreational area and a special national resource--the
Chesapeake Bay.
To reduce the threat posed by abandoned hazardous waste dumps,
EPA will spend $410 million. And I will request a supplemental
increase of 50 million. And because the Superfund law expires in
1985, I've asked Bill Ruckelshaus to develop a proposal for its
extension so there'll be additional time to complete this
important task.
On the question of acid rain, which concerns people in many
areas of the United States and Canada, I'm proposing a research
program that doubles our current funding. And we'll take
additional action to restore our lakes and develop new technology
to reduce pollution that causes acid rain.
We have greatly improved the conditions of our natural
resources. well ask the Congress for $157 million beginning in
1985 to acquire new park and conservation lands. The Department
of the Interior will en courage careful, selective exploration
and production on our vital resources in an Ex clusive Economic
Zone within the 200-mile limit off our coasts--but with strict
adherence to environmental laws and with fuller State and public
participation.
But our most precious resources, our greatest hope for the
future, are the minds and hearts of our people, especially our
children. We can help them build tomorrow by strengthening our
community of shared values. This must be our third great goal.
For us, faith, work, family, neighbor hood, freedom, and peace
are not just words; they're expressions of what America means,
definitions of what makes us a good and loving people.
Families stand at the center of our society. And every family
has a personal stake in Promoting excellence in education.
Excellence does not begin in Washington. A 600percent increase in
Federal spending on education between 1960 and 1980 was
accompanied by a steady decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test
scores. Excellence must begin in our homes and neighborhood
schoois, where it's the responsibility of every parent and
teacher and the right of every child.
Our children come first, and that's why I established a
bipartisan National Commission on Excellence in Education, to
help us chart a commonsense course for better education. And
already, communities are implementing the Commission's
recommendations. Schools are reporting progress in math and
reading skills. But we must do more to restore discipline to
schools; and we must encourage the teaching of new basics, reward
teachers of merit, enforce tougher standards, and put our parents
back in charge.
I will continue to press for tuition tax credits to expand
opportunities for families and to soften the double payment for
those paying public school taxes and private school tuition. Our
proposal would target assistance to low- and middle-income
families. Just as more incentives are needed within our schools,
greater competition is needed among our schools. Without
standards and competition, there can be no o champions, no
records broken, no excellence in education or any other walk of
life.
And while I'm on this subject, each day your Members observe a
200-year-old tradition meant to signify America is one nation
under God. I must ask: If you can begin your day with a member of
the clergy standing right here leading you in prayer, then why
can't freedom to acknowledge God be enjoyed again by children in
every schoolroom across this land?
America was founded by people who believed that God was their
rock of safety. He is ours. I recognize we must be cautious in
claiming that God is on our side, but I think it's all right to
keep asking if we're on His side.
During our first 3 years, we have joined bipartisan efforts to
restore protection of the law to unborn children. Now, I know
this issue is very controversial. But unless and until it can be
proven that an unborn child is not a living human being, can we
justify assuming without proof that it isn't? No one has yet
offered such proof; indeed, all the evidence is to the contrary.
We should rise above bitterness and reproach, and if Americans
could come together in a spirit of understanding and helping,
then we could find positive solutions to the tragedy of abortion.
Economic recovery, better education, rededication to values,
all show the spirit of renewal gaining the upper hand. And all
will improve family life in the eighties. But families need more.
They need assurance that they and their loved ones can walk the
streets of America without being afraid. Parents need to know
their children will not be victims of child pornography and
abduction. This year we will intensify our drive against these
and other horribie crimes like sexual abuse and family violence.
Already our efforts to crack down on career criminals.
organized crime, drugpushers, and to enforce tougher sentences
and paroles are having effect. In 1982 the crime rate dropped by
4.3 percent, the biggest decline since 1972. Protecting victims
is just as important as safeguarding the rights of defendants.
Opportunities for all Americans will in crease if we move
forward in fair housing and work to ensure women's rights,
provide for equitable treatment in pension benefits and
Individual Retirement Accounts, facili tate child care, and
enforce delinquent parent support payments.
It's not just the home but the workplace and community that
sustain our values and shape our future. So, I ask your help in
assisting more communities to break the bondage of dependency.
Help usto free enterprise by permitting debate and voting yes
on our proposal for enterprise zones in America. This has been
before you for 2 years. Its passage can help high-unemploy ment
areas by creating jobs and restoring neighborhoods.
A society bursting with opportunities, reaching for its future
with confidence, sustained by faith, fair play, and a conviction
that good and courageous people will flour ish when they're
free--these are the secrets of a strong and prosperous America
at peace with itself and the world.
A lasting and meaningful peace is our fourth great goal. It is
our highest aspira tion. And our record is clear: Americans
resort to force only when we must. We have never been
aggressors. We have always struggled to defend freedom and
democracy.
We have no territorial ambitions. We occupy no countries. We
build no walls to lock people in. Americans build the future.
And our vision of a better life for farmers, merchants, and
working people, from the Americas to Asia, begins with a simple
premise: The future is best decided by ballots, not bullets.
Governments which rest upon the consent of the governed do not
wage war on their neighbors. Only when people are given a
personal stake in deciding their own destiny, benefiting from
their own risks, do they create societies that are prosperous,
progressive, and free. Tonight, it is democracies that offer hope
by feeding the hungry, prolonging life, and eliminating drudgery.
When it comes to keeping America strong, free, and at peace,
there should be no Republicans or Democrats, just patriotic
Americans. We can decide the tough issues not by who is right,
but by what is right.
Together, we can continue to advance our agenda for peace. We
can establish a more stable basis for peaceful relations with the
Soviet Union; strengthen allied relations across the board;
achieve real and equitable reductions in the levels of nuclear
arms; reinforce our peacemaking efforts in the Middle East,
Central America, and southern Africa; or assist developing
countries, particularly our neighbors in the Western
Hemisphere; and assist in the development of democratic
institutions throughout the world.
The wisdom of our bipartisan cooperation was seen in the work
of the Scowcroft commission, which strengthened our ability to
deter war and protect peace. In that same spirit, I urge you to
move forward with the Henry Jackson plan to implement the
recommendations of the Bipartisan Commission on Central America.
Your joint resolution on the multinational peacekeeping force
in Lebanon is also serving the cause of peace. We are making
progress in Lebanon. For nearly 10 years, the Lebanese have lived
from tragedy to tragedy with no hope for their future. Now
the multinational peacekeeping force and our marines are helping
them break their cycle of despair. There is hope for a free,
independent, and sovereign Lebanon. We must have the courage to
give peace a chance. And we must not be driven from our
objectives for peace in Lebanon by state-sponsored terrorism. We
have seen this ugly specter in Beirut, Kuwait, and Rangoon. It
demands international attention. I will forward shortly
legislative proposals to help combat terrorism. And I will be
seeking support from our allies for concerted action.
Our NATO alliance is strong. 1983 was a banner year for
political courage. And we have strengthened our partnerships and
our friendships in the Far East. We're committed to dialog,
deterrence, and promoting prosperity. We'll work with our trading
partners for a new round of negotiations in support of freer
world trade, greater competition, and more open markets.
A rebirth of bipartisan cooperation, of economic growth,
and military deterrence, and a growing spirit of unity among our
people at home and our allies abroad underline a fundamental and
far-reaching change: The United States is safer, stronger, and
more secure in 1984 than before. We can now move with confidence
to seize the opportunities for peace, and we will.
Tonight, I want to speak to the people of the Soviet Union, to
tell them it's true that our governments have had serious
differences, but our sons and daughters have never fought each
other in war. And if we Americans have our way, they never will.
People of the Soviet Union, there is only one sane policy, for
your country and mine, to preserve our civilization in this
modern age: A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.
The only value in our two nations possessing nuclear weapons is
to make sure they will never be used. But then would it not be
better to do away with them entirely?
People of the Soviet, President Dwight Eisenhower, who fought
by your side in World War II, said the essential struggle "is not
merely man against man or nation against nation. It is man
against war. Americans are people of peace. If your government
wants peace, there will be peace. We can come together in faith
and friendship to build a safer and far better world for our
children and our children's children. And the whole world will
rejoice. That is my message to you.
Some days when life seems hard and we reach out for values to
sustain us or a friend to help us, we find a person who reminds
us what it means to be Americans.
Sergeant Stephen Trujillo, a medic in the 2d Ranger Battalion,
75th Infantry, was in the first helicopter to land at the
compound held by Cuban forces in Grenada. He saw fhree other
helicopters crash. Despite the inminent explosion of the burning
aircraft, he never hesitated. He ran across 25 yards Of open
terrain through enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers. He directed
two Other medics, administered first aid, and returned again and
again to the crash site to Cany his wounded friends to safety.
Sergeant Trujillo, you and your fellow Service men and women
not only saved innocent lives; you set a nation free. You inspire
us as a force for freedom, not for despotism; and, yes, for
peace, not conquest. God bless you.
And then there are unsung heroes: single parents, couples,
church and civic volunteers. Their hearts carry without complaint
the pains of family and community problems. They soothe our
sorrow, heal our wounds, calm our fears, and share our joy.
A person like Father Ritter is always there. His Covenant
House programs in New York and Houston provide shelter and help
to thousands of frightened and abused children each year. The
same is true of Dr. Charles Carson. Paralyzed in a plane crash,
he still believed nothing is impossible. Today in Minnesota, he
works 80 hours a week without pay, helping pioneer the field of
computer-controlled walking. He has given hope to 500,000
paralyzed Americans that some day they may walk again.
How can we not believe in the greatness of America? How can we
not do what is right and needed to preserve this last best hope
of man on Earth? After all our struggles to restore America, to
revive confidence in our country, hope for our future, after all
our hard-won victories earned through the patience and courage of
every citizen, we cannot, must not, and will not turn back. We
will finish our job. How could we do less? We're Americans.
Carl Sandburg said, "I see America not in Ihe setting sun of a
black night of despair I see America in the crimson light of a
rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God . . . I
see great days ahead for men and women of will and vision."
I've never felt more strongly that America's best days and
democracy's best days lie ahead. We're a powerful force for good.
With faith and courage, we can perform great deeds and take
freedom's next step. And we will. We will carry on the tradition
of a good and worthy people who have brought light where there
was darkness, warmth where there was cold, medicine where there
was disease, food where there was hunger, and peace where there
was only bloodshed.
Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our
time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We
finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith.
Thank you very much. God bless you, and God bless America.
Note: The President spoke at 9:02 p.m. in the House Chamber of
the Capitol. He was introduced by Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr., Speaker
of the House of Representatives. The address was broadcast live
on nationwide radio and television.
Peace Park | Reopen Pennsylvania Avenue
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