Transcript President Bush's State of your Union Tackle CQ Transcripts Wire
Tuesday, January 31, 2006; 10:11 PM
SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT Of the United states[*]
BUSH: Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress, members of your Supreme Court and diplomatic corps, distinguished visitors, and fellow citizens, right now our nation misplaced a beloved, graceful, courageous woman who known as The united states to its founding ideals and carried on the noble aspiration.
Tonight we are comforted by the hope of a glad reunion with all the husband who was taken so prolonged ago, and we are grateful for that very good existence of Coretta Scott King.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Every time I'm invited to this rostrum, I'm humbled through the privilege and mindful of your heritage we have observed collectively. We now have gathered under this Capitol dome in moments of national mourning and nationwide achievement. We've got served The united states through one of the most consequential intervals of our historical past.
And it's been my honor to serve with you.
Inside a method of two parties, two chambers and two elected branches, there will usually be distinctions and discussion. But even tough debates may be executed inside a civil tone. And our variances cannot be allowed to harden into anger.
To confront the fantastic problems before us, we need to act inside a spirit of fine will and respect for each other. And I'll do my component.
BUSH: And I'll do my aspect.
Tonight the state of our Union is powerful, and with each other we are going to make it stronger.
(APPLAUSE)
With this decisive yr, you and I'll make selections that determine the two the long run as well as the character of our nation.
We'll pick to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of independence or retreat from our duties from the desire of an simpler life.
We are going to decide on to develop our prosperity by major the globe economic system or shut ourselves off from trade and chance.
In a complex and difficult time, the road of isolationism and protectionism might appear broad and inviting, yet it ends in danger and decline.
The only strategy to defend our folks, the only strategy to secure the peace, the one way to handle our future is by our leadership.
So the us of America will proceed to lead.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Abroad, our nation is committed to an historic, long-term objective: We seek out the stop of tyranny within our globe.
Some dismiss that goal as misguided idealism. In fact, the future security of The united states depends on it.
On September the 11th, 2001, we discovered that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state seven,000 miles away could provide murder and destruction to our country.
Dictatorships shelter terrorists, and feed resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction.
Democracies change resentment with wish, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and be part of the combat towards terror.
BUSH: Each and every step towards freedom inside the globe makes our nation safer, and so we will act boldly in freedom's lead to.
(APPLAUSE)
Far from getting a hopeless dream, the advance of independence may be the excellent tale of our time.
In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely democracies inside the entire world. Right now you'll find 122.
And we are writing a brand new chapter from the story of self-government, with women lining as much as vote in Afghanistan, and countless Iraqis marking their liberty with purple ink, and men and women from Lebanon to Egypt debating the rights of people as well as the necessity of flexibility.
BUSH: With the start of 2006, much more than 50 percent the people of our world reside in democratic nations. And we don't forget the other half -- in spots like Syria and Burma, Zimbabwe,
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, North Korea and Iran -- because the demands of justice and also the peace of this planet call for their flexibility too.
(APPLAUSE)
Nobody can deny the accomplishment of freedom, but some males rage and battle against it.
BUSH: And on the list of main sources of response and opposition is radical Islam; the perversion by some of a noble faith into an ideology of terror and demise.
Terrorists like bin Laden are significant about mass murder and all of us need to consider their declared intentions significantly.
They seek out to impose a heartless technique of totalitarian handle through the Middle East and arm on their own with weapons of mass murder.
Their purpose is always to seize energy in Iraq and use it being a protected haven to start attacks versus The united states and the world.
Missing the army strength to challenge us right, the terrorists have picked the weapon of worry.
After they murder children at a college in Beslan or blow up commuters in London or behead a certain captive, the terrorists desire these horrors will break our will, permitting the violent to inherit the Earth.
BUSH: But they have miscalculated. We love our independence, and we'll battle to maintain it.
(APPLAUSE)
In a time of testing, we can not locate protection by abandoning our commitments and retreating inside our borders. If we were to depart these vicious attackers alone, they'd not go away us on your own. They'd basically move the battlefield to our individual shores.
There is absolutely no peace in retreat.
BUSH: And there isn't any honor in retreat.
By enabling radical Islam to perform its will, by leaving an assaulted world to fend for alone, we would signal to all that we no extended imagine in our personal ideals or perhaps in our personal courage.
But our enemies and our pals may be specific: The us is not going to retreat from your planet, and we will never ever surrender to evil.
(APPLAUSE)
The us rejects the untrue comfort of isolationism. We're the nation that saved liberty in Europe, and liberated death camps, and served boost up democracies and faced down an evil empire.
As soon as yet again, we take the phone of history to deliver the oppressed and move this entire world toward peace.
BUSH: We remain around the offensive against terror networks. We've killed or captured numerous of their leaders. And, for the others, their day will come.
We stay about the offensive in Afghanistan, where a very good president and a national assembly are fighting terror whilst constructing the institutions of a new democracy.
We're on the offensive in Iraq, with a obvious prepare for victory.
1st, we're aiding Iraqis build an inclusive authorities, to ensure aged resentments is going to be eased and the insurgency is going to be marginalized.
2nd, we're continuing reconstruction efforts and assisting the Iraqi govt to battle corruption and create a contemporary economic system, so all Iraqis can encounter the advantages of flexibility.
3rd, we're striking terrorist targets although we train Iraqi forces which might be increasingly capable of defeating the enemy.
BUSH: Iraqis are displaying their courage each day, and we are proud to get their allies in the lead to of freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
Our work in Iraq is challenging, simply because our enemy is brutal. But that brutality has not stopped the remarkable progress of a new democracy. In much less than three a long time, the nation has gone from dictatorship, to liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to countrywide elections.
At the same time, our coalition has long been relentless in shutting off terrorist infiltration, clearing out insurgent strongholds and turning about territory to Iraqi security forces.
I'm confident within our prepare for victory. I am self-confident from the will of your Iraqi folks. I'm self-confident from the skill and spirit of our military.
Fellow citizens, we're in this fight to win, and we're successful.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: The street of victory may be the road that will take our troops house.
As we make progress on the ground and Iraqi forces increasingly consider the lead, we need to be able to even more lessen our troop ranges. But people choices is going to be created by our military commanders, not by politicians in Washington, D.C.
(APPLAUSE)
Our coalition has discovered from our expertise in Iraq. We've got adjusted our military tactics and transformed our approach to reconstruction.
BUSH: Along the way in which, we have benefited from responsible criticism and counsel provided by members of Congress of the two parties.
In the coming 12 months, I will carry on to achieve out and seek your very good advice. Nevertheless there's a big difference between accountable criticism that aims for good results and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge something but failure.
(APPLAUSE)
Hindsight alone isn't wisdom. And second-guessing is just not a method.
(APPLAUSE)
With a lot inside the harmony, those of us in general public workplace have a very duty to talk with candor.
BUSH: A sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq would abandon our Iraqi allies to death and prison, would place guys like bin Laden and Zarqawi in control of a strategic region and show that a pledge from The united states implies minor.
Members of Congress, however we sense in regards to the selections and debates with the previous, our nation has just one option: We need to keep our term, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American army in its vital mission.
(APPLAUSE)
Our males and females in uniform are making sacrifices and exhibiting a feeling of duty more powerful than all worry.
BUSH: They understand what it can be like to fight residence to residence in a very maze of streets, to put on large gear within the desert warmth, to determine a comrade killed by a roadside bomb.
And those who know the fees also know the stakes.
Marine Employees Sergeant Dan Clay was killed previous month fighting in Fabiani. He left behind a letter to his loved ones, but his words could just too be addressed to every American.
Here's what Dan wrote: "I understand what honor is. It's got been an honor to protect and serve all of you. I confronted demise together with the secure knowledge that you wouldn't have to.
"By no means falter. Don't hesitate to honor and support people of us who had the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting."
Staff Sergeant Dan Clay's wife, Lisa, and his mom and dad, Sara Jo and Bud, are with us this evening.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Welcome.
(APPLAUSE)
Our nation is grateful to the fallen who reside from the memory of our nation.
BUSH: We're grateful to all who volunteer to use our nation's uniform.
And, as we honor our brave troops, let us never overlook the sacrifices of America's military families.
(APPLAUSE)
Our offensive towards terror involves far more than military action. Ultimately, the one way to defeat the terrorists would be to defeat their dark vision of hatred and worry by offering the hopeful alternative of political freedom and peaceful change.
So america of The us supports democratic reform across the broader Center East.
BUSH: Elections are essential, however they are only the beginning.
Raising up a democracy requires the rule of law, and protection of minorities, and sturdy,
Buy Office 2007, accountable institutions that very last extended than a single vote.
The excellent people of Egypt have voted within a multiparty presidential election, and now their govt should open paths of peaceful opposition that can reduce the appeal of radicalism.
The Palestinian men and women have voted in elections. And now the leaders of Hamas ought to recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism and work for lasting peace.
(APPLAUSE)
Saudi Arabia has taken the initial steps of reform. Now it can offer its individuals a better long term by pressing forward with those efforts.
BUSH: Democracies inside the Middle East will not look like our very own, since they will reflect the traditions of their own citizens. But liberty is the long term of every single nation within the Middle East, because liberty may be the right and desire of all humanity.
(APPLAUSE)
Exactly the same is true of Iran, a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its men and women. The regime in that nation sponsors terrorists within the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon, and that should come to an finish.
(APPLAUSE)
The Iranian govt is defying the world with its nuclear ambitions, as well as the nations with the entire world should not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: America will proceed to rally the world to confront these threats.
And, tonight, let me speak straight to the citizens of Iran: The united states respects you and we respect your nation. We respect your right to select your individual future and win your very own independence. And our nation hopes a single day to be the closest of close friends having a free and democratic Iran.
(APPLAUSE)
To overcome dangers within our entire world, we ought to also get the offensive by encouraging economic progress and fighting disease and spreading desire in hopeless lands.
BUSH: Isolationism would not only tie our hands in fighting enemies; it would maintain us from helping our friends in desperate need.
We show compassion overseas since Americans feel inside the God- given dignity and worth of a villager with HIV/AIDS, or an infant with malaria, or a refugee fleeing genocide, or a young girl sold into slavery.
We also show compassion abroad since regions overwhelmed by poverty, corruption and despair are sources of terrorism and organized crime and human trafficking as well as the drug trade.
In recent years, you and I have taken unprecedented action to battle AIDS and malaria, expand the education of girls, and reward developing nations which might be moving forward with economic and political reform.
BUSH: For men and women everywhere, the us is really a partner for a better daily life. Short-changing these efforts would increase the suffering and chaos of our world, undercut our long-term safety and dull the conscience of our country.
I urge members of Congress to serve the interests of The united states by displaying the compassion of The us.
Our region need to also continue to be around the offensive towards terrorism right here at residence. The enemy has not misplaced the desire or capability to attack us.
Fortunately, this nation has superb professionals in law enforcement, intelligence, the army and homeland security. These women and men are dedicating their lives to protecting us all, and they deserve our support and our thanks.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: They also deserve the same tools they already use to combat drug trafficking and organized crime -- so I ask you to reauthorize the Patriot Act.
(APPLAUSE)
It is said that prior to the attacks of September the 11th, our authorities failed to connect the dots from the conspiracy. We now know that two of your hijackers in the Usa placed telephone calls to Al Qaida operatives overseas. But we did not know about their plans until it was too late.
BUSH: So to prevent another attack -- based on authority given to me through the Constitution and by statute -- I have authorized a terrorist surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international communications of suspected Al Qaida operatives and affiliates to and from America.
Previous presidents have used the identical constitutional authority I have and federal courts have approved the use of that authority. Appropriate members of Congress have been kept informed.
The terrorist surveillance program has aided prevent terrorist attacks. It remains essential to the protection of The us. If you'll find folks inside our region who are talking with Al Qaida, we want to know about it,
Office Pro Plus 2010 Key, because we'll not sit back and wait to be hit once again.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: In all these areas -- through the disruption of terror networks, to victory in Iraq, to the spread of flexibility and wish in troubled regions -- we need the support of our pals and allies.
To draw that support, we should usually be clear within our principles and willing to act.
The one alternative to American leadership is a dramatically much more dangerous and anxious entire world.
But we also pick to lead since it can be a privilege to serve the values that gave us birth.
American leaders -- from Roosevelt, to Truman, to Kennedy, to Reagan -- rejected isolation and retreat since they knew that America is constantly a lot more safe when freedom is about the march.
Our individual generation is in a very extended war against a determined enemy, a war that may be fought by presidents of equally events who will need steady bipartisan support from your Congress.
BUSH: And tonight I ask for yours. With each other, let us shield our country, support the men and women who defend us, and lead this globe towards freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
Here at home, The us also has a excellent chance: We will create the prosperity of our country by strengthening our economic leadership from the entire world.
Our economic system is healthy and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations. Within the final two-and-a-half decades, The united states has created 4.6 million new jobs -- far more than Japan along with the European Union combined.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Even inside the face of higher energy prices and natural disasters, the American people have turned in an economic performance that will be the envy from the planet.
The American economic system is preeminent, but we cannot afford for being complacent. Within a dynamic world economy, we are seeing new competitors like China and India. And this creates uncertainty, which helps make it simpler to feed people's fears.
So we're seeing some previous temptations return. Protectionists want to escape competition, pretending that we can keep our high standard of living whilst walling off our economic system.
Other folks say that the government needs to consider a larger role in directing the economic climate, centralizing far more power in Washington and increasing taxes.
BUSH: We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for your financial system, even though this economy could not function without them.
(APPLAUSE)
All these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead inside the exact same direction: toward a stagnant and second-rate economic system.
Tonight I will set out a better path: an agenda for a nation that competes with confidence, an agenda that can boost standards of living and generate new jobs.
Americans ought to not concern our economic long run, due to the fact we intend to shape it.
Keeping The united states competitive begins with keeping our financial system growing.
BUSH: And our financial system grows when Americans have far more of their very own money to spend, save and invest.
In the final five a long time, the tax relief you passed has left $880 billion inside the hands of American workers, investors, small businesses and families. And they've got used it to help produce more than four decades of uninterrupted economic growth.
(APPLAUSE)
Nevertheless the tax relief is set to expire in the next couple of a long time.
If we do nothing, American families will face a massive tax increase they do not expect and is not going to welcome.
Due to the fact The us needs far more than a temporary expansion, we need a lot more than temporary tax relief.
I urge the Congress to act responsibly and make the tax cuts permanent.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Keeping America competitive requires us for being excellent stewards of tax dollars.
Each and every yr of my presidency, we've reduced the growth of nonsecurity discretionary spending. And final 12 months you passed bills that cut this spending.
This 12 months my budget will cut it yet again and reduce or eliminate much more than 140 programs that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities.
By passing these reforms, we will save the American taxpayer one more $14 billion next 12 months and stay on track to cut the deficit in fifty percent by 2009.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: I'm pleased that the members of Congress are working on earmark reform, since the federal budget has too a lot of special interest projects. And we can tackle this problem collectively, if you pass the line-item veto.
(APPLAUSE)
We need to also confront the larger challenge of mandatory spending, or entitlements.
This yr, the 1st of about 78 million baby boomers turns 60, including two of my dad's favorite people: me and President Clinton.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
This milestone is far more than a personal crisis.
(LAUGHTER)
It can be a national problem.
BUSH: The retirement of your baby boom generation will place unprecedented strains on the federal federal government. By 2030, spending for Social Protection,
Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010, Medicare and Medicaid alone will likely be almost 60 percent of the entire federal budget. And that may present potential Congresses with impossible options: staggering tax increases, immense deficits or deep cuts in each and every category of spending.
Congress did not act final year on my proposal to save Social Security...
(APPLAUSE)
... nevertheless the rising cost of entitlements is actually a problem that isn't going away.
BUSH: And with each yr we fail to act, the situation gets worse.
So tonight I ask you to join me in creating a commission to examine the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Protection, Medicare and Medicaid.
This commission should include members of Congress of both parties and offer bipartisan solutions. We need to put aside partisan politics and work with each other and get this problem solved.
(APPLAUSE)
Keeping The united states competitive requires us to open a lot more markets for all that Americans make and grow.
BUSH: 1 out of each five factory jobs in The us is related to global trade, and we want folks everywhere to buy American.
With open markets plus a level playing field, nobody can out- produce or out-compete the American worker.
(APPLAUSE)
Keeping The us competitive requires an immigration program that upholds our laws, reflects our values and serves the interests of our economic system.
Our nation needs orderly and secure borders.
(APPLAUSE)
To meet this objective, we need to have stronger immigration enforcement and border protection.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: And we need to possess a rational, humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty, allows temporary jobs for folks who seek out them legally, and reduces smuggling and crime with the border.
(APPLAUSE)
Keeping The us competitive requires affordable health care.
(APPLAUSE)
Our federal government has a responsibility to help provide health care for your poor along with the elderly, and we're meeting that responsibility.
(APPLAUSE)
For all Americans -- for all Americans -- we need to confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, and help people afford the insurance coverage they need.
BUSH: We will make wider use of electronic records and other health information technology to help control costs and reduce dangerous medical errors.
We'll strengthen health savings accounts, creating sure people and small-business employees can buy insurance together with the identical advantages that people working for big businesses now get.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll do a lot more to make this coverage portable, so workers can switch jobs without having to worry about losing their health insurance.
(APPLAUSE)
And due to the fact lawsuits are driving a lot of excellent doctors out of practice -- leaving females in nearly 1,500 American counties without a single OB/GYN -- I ask the Congress to pass medical liability reform this yr.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And right here we have a serious problem: The united states is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the entire world.
The best approach to break this addiction is by means of technology. Since 2001, we now have spent nearly $10 billion to develop cleaner, cheaper and more reliable alternative energy sources. And we are on the threshold of incredible advances.
So tonight I announce the Advanced Energy Initiative -- a 22 percent increase in clean-energy research with the Department of Energy to push for breakthroughs in two crucial areas. To change how we power our homes and offices, we are going to invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants; revolutionary solar and wind technologies; and clean, protected nuclear energy.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: We should also change how we energy our automobiles.
We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen.
We'll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but from wood chips and stalks or switch grass.
Our goal would be to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive in six decades.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us get to another wonderful objective: to replace far more than 75 percent of our oil imports in the Center East by 2025.
By applying...
(APPLAUSE)
By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum- based financial system and make our dependence on Center Eastern oil a thing from the past.
(APPLAUSE)
And to keep America competitive, 1 commitment is necessary above all: We ought to continue to lead the entire world in human talent and creativity. Our greatest advantage inside the globe has always been our educated, hardworking, ambitious folks, and we're going to keep that edge.
BUSH: Tonight I announce the American Competitiveness Initiative to encourage innovation during our economic climate and to give our nation's youngsters a firm grounding in math and science.
(APPLAUSE)
First, I propose to double the federal commitment to essentially the most critical basic research programs inside the physical sciences above the next 10 a long time. This funding will support the function of America's most creative minds as they explore promising areas such as nanotechnology, supercomputing and alternative energy sources.
2nd, I propose to make permanent the research and development tax credit, to encourage bolder private-sector initiatives in technology.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: With much more research in each the public and private sectors,
Office Standard 2007 Key, we are going to improve our quality of lifestyle and ensure that The us will lead the world in opportunity and innovation for decades to arrive.
(APPLAUSE)
Third, we need to encourage children to take far more math and science, and to make sure individuals courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations. We made a very good begin from the early grades with all the No Child Left Behind Act, which is raising standards and lifting test scores across our country.
Tonight I propose to train 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced placement courses in math and science, carry 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in classrooms, and give early help to students who struggle with math so they have a better chance at good, high-wage jobs.
BUSH: If we ensure that America's children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds from the planet.
(APPLAUSE)
Preparing our nation to compete inside the entire world is actually a objective that all of us can share. I urge you to support the American Competitiveness Initiative and, jointly, we'll show the entire world what the American individuals can achieve.
The us can be a great force for independence and prosperity. Yet our greatness is just not measured in power or luxuries, but by who we're and how we treat each other. So we strive to be a compassionate, decent, hopeful society.
In recent a long time, America has become a much more hopeful nation. Violent crime rates have fallen to their lowest amounts since the 1970s. Welfare cases have dropped by more than 50 percent more than the previous decade. Drug use among youth is down 19 percent since 2001.
BUSH: You can find fewer abortions in The united states than at any point in the previous 3 decades.
And also the number of children born to teenage mothers has been falling for a dozen decades inside a row.
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These gains are evidence of the quiet transformation, a revolution of conscience in which a rising generation is finding that a daily life of personal responsibility is really a daily life of fulfillment.
Government has played a role.
Wise policies such as welfare reform, and drug education, and support for abstinence and adoption have created a difference in the character of our region.
And everyone right here tonight, Democrat and Republican, has a right to become proud of this record.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: However several Americans, especially parents, still have deep concerns in regards to the direction of our culture and the health of our most basic institutions.
They are concerned about unethical conduct by general public officials and discouraged by activist courts that try to redefine marriage. They worry about children in our society who need direction and adore, and about fellow citizens still displaced by natural disaster, and about suffering caused by treatable diseases.
As we look at these challenges, we should never give in to the belief that America is in decline or that our culture is doomed to unravel.
The American individuals know better than that. We've got proven the pessimists wrong before, and we will do it once more.
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A hopeful society is determined by courts that supply equal justice underneath law.
The Supreme Court now has two superb new members -- new members on its bench: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito.
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BUSH: I thank the Senate for confirming the two of them. I'll carry on to nominate males and females who understand that judges should be servants of the law and not legislate in the bench.
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Right now marks the official retirement of a very special American. For 24 many years of faithful service to our nation, the united states is grateful to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners and that recognize the matchless value of each life.
Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit essentially the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms; creating or implanting embryos for experiments; creating human-animal hybrids; and buying, selling or patenting human embryos.
Human existence can be a gift from our creator, and that gift ought to never ever be discarded, devalued or place up for sale.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: A hopeful society expects elected officials to uphold the public trust.
(APPLAUSE)
Honorable individuals in the two parties are working on reforms to strengthen the ethical standards of Washington.
I support your efforts.
Each of us has produced a pledge for being worthy of general public responsibility, and that can be a pledge we ought to never neglect, by no means dismiss and by no means betray.
(APPLAUSE)
As we renew the promise of our establishments, let us also display the character of The us within our compassion and care for each other.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: As we renew the promise of our institutions, let us also present the character of The us in our compassion and care for each other.
A hopeful society gives special attention to children who lack direction and really like. Via the Supporting America's Youth Initiative, we're encouraging caring adults to get involved in the life of the child.
And this very good function is led by our initial lady, Laura Bush.
(APPLAUSE)
This 12 months we'll add resources to encourage young men and women to stay in college so much more of America's youth can increase their sights and achieve their dreams.
A hopeful society comes to the aid of fellow citizens in times of suffering and emergency and stays at it until they're back on their feet.
BUSH: So much, the federal federal government has committed $85 billion to the folks with the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. We're removing debris and repairing highways and rebuilding more powerful levees. We're providing business loans and housing assistance.
Nevertheless, as we meet these immediate needs, we need to also tackle deeper challenges that existed before the storm arrived.
In New Orleans and in other locations, numerous of our fellow citizens have felt excluded from your promise of our region.
The answer is not only temporary relief, but schools that teach every single child, and job skills that deliver upward mobility, and more opportunities to very own a house and start a business.
As we recover from a disaster, let us also operate for your day when all Americans are protected by justice; equal in wish and rich in option.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: A hopeful society acts boldly to battle diseases like HIV/AIDS, which could be prevented and treated and defeated.
Much more than a million Americans stay with HIV, and fifty percent of all AIDS cases occur among African-Americans.
I ask Congress to reform and reauthorize the Ryan White Act and provide new funding to states so we stop the waiting lists for AIDS medicines in The united states.
(APPLAUSE)
We will also lead a nationwide effort, working closely with African-American churches and faith-based groups, to provide rapid HIV tests to thousands and thousands, end the stigma of AIDS and arrive closer to the day when you can find no new infections in The united states.
(APPLAUSE)
Fellow citizens, we have been referred to as to leadership in a very period of consequence. We've got entered a fantastic ideological conflict we did nothing to invite.
BUSH: We see excellent changes in science and commerce that will influence all our lives.
Sometimes it can appear that heritage is turning within a wide arc, towards an unknown shore.
Nevertheless the destination of historical past is determined by human action, and each great movement of heritage comes to a point of choosing.
Lincoln could have accepted peace with the cost of disunity and continued slavery. Martin Luther King could have stopped at Birmingham or at Selma and achieved only half a victory about segregation. The usa could have accepted the permanent division of Europe and been complicit inside the oppression of others.
Right now, having arrive much within our own historical journey, we must decide: Will we turn back or finish properly?
BUSH: Before history is written down in books, it is written in courage.
Like Americans ahead of us, we'll present that courage and we are going to finish well.
We will lead freedom's advance.
We will compete and excel inside the global economy.
We are going to renew the defining moral commitments of this land.
And so we move forward optimistic about our nation, faithful to its trigger and confident of your victories to arrive.
Could God bless America.
(APPLAUSE)
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Source: CQ Transcriptions © 2006, Congressional Quarterly Inc., All Rights Reserved