President Bush Delivers Annual State of the Union Address
24 January 2007
President Bush has begun his State of the Union address at the House of Representatives after being introduced by the first-ever female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
Mr. Bush said the United States is entering 2007 with large endeavors underway and others to begin. He said the U.S. must have the will to face difficult challenges and determined enemies.
Mr. Bush also congratulated the new Democratic members of Congress, who now control the Senate and House of Representatives. He said while Congress has changed, the U.S. government's responsibilities have not.
Mr. Bush said Democrats and Republicans can work through their differences and achieve big things for the American people.
He said a future of opportunity begins with the United States' growing economy. He said it is the government's job to keep the economy growing.
President Bush said he and Congress must balance the federal budget, adding that it can be done without raising taxes. He said the key is to impose discipline in spending.
Mr. Bush said in the coming weeks, he will submit a budget that eliminates the federal deficit within the next five years.
He called on Congress to end the practice of earmarks - which is when a lawmaker slips a spending item into a bill without it being brought to a vote. He said earmarks cost the federal government $18 billion in 2005 alone.
Mr. Bush also called on Congress to fix the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit programs. He said without action, future generations will be faced with the choice between huge tax increases, huge deficits, or huge cuts in benefits.
Mr. Bush said the United States must build on successes made in public schools.
He said this can be done by increasing funds, giving local leaders flexibility to improve failing schools and giving families the right to choose better schools.
He said the No Child Left Behind Act has worked and he wants Congress to reauthorize it.
Mr. Bush also proposed two initiatives to help more Americans afford health insurance. One measure would provide a tax deduction for heath insurance costs. The other would make federal funds available to states that make basic insurance available to all their residents.
President Bush called for comprehensive immigration reform, saying the country needs a system with fair laws and secure borders.
He said the administration will double the size of the Border Patrol, and will fund new border-security infrastructure and technology.
But he also called for a temporary worker program. He said with this type of program, workers from abroad will not have to sneak into the United States. He added this would leave border agents free to chase down criminals and terrorists.
Mr. Bush said Congress also needs to resolve the status of illegal immigrants already living in the United States.
Moving on to energy policy, Mr. Bush said it is in America's vital interest to diversify its energy supply.
President Bush said he wants the United States to reduce gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years. He said doing so will drastically reduce oil imports from the Middle East.
He said that to reach this goal, the United States must increase the supply of alternative fuels and reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars.
Mr. Bush said these goals will dramatically reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He also asked Congress to double the capacity of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Mr. Bush said technological breakthroughs will help the U.S. confront the serious challenge of global climate change.
President Bush said the nation has added many protections to guard the homeland since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
He said to defeat terrorists, the United States must take the fight to the enemy and stay on the offensive.
The president listed several alleged terrorist plots he said were stopped, including an al-Qaida plot to fly a hijacked airplane into the tallest building on the U.S. West Coast.
He said the evil that inspired September 11 is still at work, and as long as that is case, America is a nation at war.
The president said al-Qaida and its followers are Sunni extremists possessed by hatred who, in his words, promise paradise for the murder of the innocent.
President Bush said the nation has added many protections to guard the homeland since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
He said to defeat terrorists, the United States must take the fight to the enemy and stay on the offensive.
The president listed several alleged terrorist plots he said were stopped, including an al-Qaida plot to fly a hijacked airplane into the tallest building on the U.S. West Coast.
He said the evil that inspired September 11 is still at work, and as long as that is case, America is a nation at war.
The president said al-Qaida and its followers are Sunni extremists possessed by hatred who, in his words, promise paradise for the murder of the innocent.
President Bush said the enemies of the United States are explicit about their intentions to overthrow moderate governments and establish safe havens from which to carry out attacks.
Mr. Bush said they want to force the United States to retreat from the world and abandon the cause of liberty.
Mr. Bush went on to say al-Qaida is just one part of the radical Islamist movement. He said Shi'ite extremists also pose a threat and are determined to dominate the Middle East. He said many of them take direction from Iran, which funds and arms groups like Hezbollah.
Mr. Bush said all these extremists want to kill Americans, kill democracy in the Middle East, and obtain weapons of mass destruction.
The president said dangers have not ended in the years since the September 11, terrorist attacks of 2001. Because of this, Mr. Bush said the government will use every lawful tool to protect the American people.
President Bush said Americans have been sobered by the reaction of anti-democratic forces in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
He said Hezbollah forces in Lebanon are trying to undermine the legitimate government, and that the Taleban is trying to fight its way back to power in Afghanistan.
He said in Iraq, Sunni extremists have succeeded in escalating sectarian violence with Shi'ites.
Mr. Bush said this is not the fight the U.S. entered in Iraq, but that the country cannot abandon its friends.
He said the U.S. still has the power to shape the outcome in Iraq, and in his words, turn events toward victory.
President Bush said the United States is carrying out a new strategy in Iraq that demands more of the Iraqi government.
He said the Iraqi government must stop sectarian violence in Baghdad to reach the goal of a democratic and secure Iraq. He said because Iraqis are not ready to do this on their own, the United States is sending more than 20,000 additional forces to Iraq. He said most of the additional forces will go to Baghdad.
Mr. Bush said the people of Iraq want to live in peace. He said Iraq's leaders know the U.S. commitment is not open ended. He said Iraq's leaders have pledged to confront radicals and committed themselves to benchmarks to achieve reconciliation among all Iraqis.
Mr. Bush said the consequences of failure in Iraq would be grievous and far reaching.
President Bush said if American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists.
He said that would set off an epic battle between Shi'ite extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni extremists aided by al-Qaida and supporters of the Saddam Hussein regime.
He said after the chaos, Iraq would emerge as a new safe haven for terrorists.
The president appealed to Congress to give his new strategy in Iraq a chance to work. He said he respects the arguments of his opponents but asked Congress to, in his words, support the troops in the field and those on their way.
He also called for creation of an advisory council on the war on terror, consisting of congressional leaders from both major parties.
President Bush said the U.S. armed forces must be expanded to be ready for new challenges.
He asked Congress to authorize an increase in the active Army and Marine Corps by 92-thousand people in the next five years.
He also called for the establishment of a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps that would function much like the military reserve.
Mr. Bush said Americans can have confidence that the United States is not alone in the struggle against extremism.
He said the U.S. is working with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf states to increase support for Iraq's government. He said the United Nations has imposed sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program, and the U.S. is working with other world powers to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He added that the U.S. is working with China, Japan, Russia and South Korea to achieve a Korean peninsula without nuclear weapons. Mr. Bush also said the U.S. will speak out for the cause of freedom in places like Cuba, Belarus and Burma, and continue to put attention on the crisis in Darfur.
President Bush said the U.S. must continue to fight HIV and AIDS, especially in Africa.
He said the U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has provided more than 800-thousand people with life-saving drugs over the past three years.
He also asked Congress to provide $1.2 billion over five years to combat malaria in 15 African countries.
Mr. Bush appealed Congress to fund the Millennium Challenge Account Program, so, in his words, American aid reaches people where democracy is on the rise and corruption is in retreat.
The president pointed out professional basketball player Dikembe Mutombo in the audience. Mutombo is a native of Congo who recently built a brand new hospital in his hometown of Kinshasa. He said Mutombo never forgot the land of his birth or his duty to share his blessings with others.
President Bush also noted the presence of Wesley Autrey, who saved a man who fell onto the tracks of the New York City subway three weeks ago.
Mr. Bush also recognized Sergeant Tommy Rieman, who was wounded in Iraq and saved a fellow soldier in 2003 and was awarded the Silver Star.
Mr. Bush said their courage and compassion show the spirit and character of America. He said the U.S. is a decent, honorable and resilient country.
He says the U.S. has faced challenges and dangers in the past. He says the state of the union is strong and America's cause in the world is right.
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