Editor’s Note: Here is the text of President Obama’s speech as prepared for delivery to a joint session of Congress:
Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First
Lady of the United States:
I’ve come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and
women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the
men and women who sent us here.
I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our
economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If
you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably
know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family.
You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our
economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you
wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It’s the job you
thought you’d retire from but now have lost; the business you built your
dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance
letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this
recession is real, and it is everywhere.
But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though
we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want
every American to know this:
We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will
emerge stronger than before.
The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation.
The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in
our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in
the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the
hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America
the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still
possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to
pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take
responsibility for our future once more.
Now, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that for too long, we
have not always met these responsibilities – as a government or as a
people. I say this not to lay blame or look backwards, but because it
is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we’ll be
able to lift ourselves out of this predicament.
The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did
all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock
market sank. We have known for decades that our survival depends on
finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever
before. The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings
each year, yet we keep delaying reform. Our children will compete for
jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools do not prepare
them for. And though all these challenges went unsolved, we still
managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals
and through our government, than ever before.
In other words, we have lived through an era where too often, short-term
gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look
beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A
surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an
opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the
sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People
bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who
pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and
difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.
Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of
our future is here.
Now is the time to act boldly and wisely – to not only revive this
economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now is
the time to jumpstart job creation, re-start lending, and invest in
areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our
economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That
is what my economic agenda is designed to do, and that’s what I’d like
to talk to you about tonight.
It’s an agenda that begins with jobs.
As soon as I took office, I asked this Congress to send me a recovery
plan by President’s Day that would put people back to work and put money
in their pockets. Not because I believe in bigger government – I don’t.
Not because I’m not mindful of the massive debt we’ve inherited – I am.
I called for action because the failure to do so would have cost more
jobs and caused more hardships. In fact, a failure to act would have
worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth for
years. That’s why I pushed for quick action. And tonight, I am
grateful that this Congress delivered, and pleased to say that the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law.
Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs.
More than 90% of these jobs will be in the private sector – jobs
rebuilding our roads and bridges; constructing wind turbines and solar
panels; laying broadband and expanding mass transit.
Because of this plan, there are teachers who can now keep their jobs and
educate our kids. Health care professionals can continue caring for our
sick. There are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of
Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their
department was about to make.
Because of this plan, 95% of the working households in America will
receive a tax cut – a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks
beginning on April 1st.
Because of this plan, families who are struggling to pay tuition costs
will receive a $2,500 tax credit for all four years of college. And
Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able to
receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care
coverage to help them weather this storm.
I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are
skeptical of whether this plan will work. I understand that skepticism.
Here in Washington, we’ve all seen how quickly good intentions can turn
into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this
scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.
That is why I have asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough,
unprecedented oversight effort – because nobody messes with Joe. I have
told each member of my Cabinet as well as mayors and governors across
the country that they will be held accountable by me and the American
people for every dollar they spend. I have appointed a proven and
aggressive Inspector General to ferret out any and all cases of waste
and fraud. And we have created a new website called recovery.gov so
that every American can find out how and where their money is being
spent.
So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy
back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we
manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we
clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial
system.
I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because
every American should know that it directly affects you and your
family’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’ve
deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure;
and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system.
That is not the source of concern.
The concern is that if we do not re-start lending in this country, our
recovery will be choked off before it even begins.
You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The
ability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from
a home to a car to a college education; how stores stock their shelves,
farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.
But credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans
from the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many
banks. With so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now
fearful of lending out any more money to households, to businesses, or
to each other. When there is no lending, families can’t afford to buy
homes or cars. So businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy
suffers even more, and credit dries up even further.
That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to
break this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-start lending.
We will do so in several ways. First, we are creating a new lending
fund that represents the largest effort ever to help provide auto loans,
college loans, and small business loans to the consumers and
entrepreneurs who keep this economy running.
Second, we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible
families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments
and re-finance their mortgages. It’s a plan that won’t help speculators
or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope
to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling
with declining home values – Americans who will now be able to take
advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped
bring about. In fact, the average family who re-finances today can save
nearly $2000 per year on their mortgage.
Third, we will act with the full force of the federal government to
ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough
confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And
when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold
accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide
the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity
of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our
economy.
I understand that on any given day, Wall Street may be more comforted by
an approach that gives banks bailouts with no strings attached, and that
holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions. But such an
approach won’t solve the problem. And our goal is to quicken the day
when we re-start lending to the American people and American business
and end this crisis once and for all.
I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they
receive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how
taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This
time, CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or
buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.
Still, this plan will require significant resources from the federal
government – and yes, probably more than we’ve already set aside. But
while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost
of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that
sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade. That
would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and
worse for the next generation. And I refuse to let that happen.
I understand that when the last administration asked this Congress to
provide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicans alike
were infuriated by the mismanagement and results that followed. So were
the American taxpayers. So was I.
So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now,
especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions.
I promise you – I get it.
But I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out
of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment. My job – our job – is
to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense of
responsibility. I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of
rewarding a single Wall Street executive, but I will do whatever it
takes to help the small business that can’t pay its workers or the
family that has saved and still can’t get a mortgage.
That’s what this is about. It’s not about helping banks – it’s about
helping people. Because when credit is available again, that young
family can finally buy a new home. And then some company will hire
workers to build it. And then those workers will have money to spend,
and if they can get a loan too, maybe they’ll finally buy that car, or
open their own business. Investors will return to the market, and
American families will see their retirement secured once more. Slowly,
but surely, confidence will return, and our economy will recover.
So I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary.
Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession. And to
ensure that a crisis of this magnitude never happens again, I ask
Congress to move quickly on legislation that will finally reform our
outdated regulatory system. It is time to put in place tough, new
common-sense rules of the road so that our financial market rewards
drive and innovation, and punishes short-cuts and abuse.
The recovery plan and the financial stability plan are the immediate
steps we’re taking to revive our economy in the short-term. But the
only way to fully restore America’s economic strength is to make the
long-term investments that will lead to new jobs, new industries, and a
renewed ability to compete with the rest of the world. The only way this
century will be another American century is if we confront at last the
price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of health care; the
schools that aren’t preparing our children and the mountain of debt they
stand to inherit. That is our responsibility.
In the next few days, I will submit a budget to Congress. So often, we
have come to view these documents as simply numbers on a page or laundry
lists of programs. I see this document differently. I see it as a
vision for America – as a blueprint for our future.
My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every
issue. It reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited – a
trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.
Given these realities, everyone in this chamber – Democrats and
Republicans – will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which
there are no dollars. And that includes me.
But that does not mean we can afford to ignore our long-term challenges.
I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of
themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation
for our common prosperity.
For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every
moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has
responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we
laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and
industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system
of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age. In the
wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and
created the largest middle-class in history. And a twilight struggle
for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an
explosion of technology that still shapes our world.
In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it
catalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands
of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.
We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimed
opportunity from ordeal. Now we must be that nation again. That is
why, even as it cuts back on the programs we don’t need, the budget I
submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to
our economic future: energy, health care, and education.
It begins with energy.
We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy
will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the
largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We
invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like
Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our
assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea.
Well I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow
take root beyond our borders – and I know you don’t either. It is time
for America to lead again.
Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation’s supply of
renewable energy in the next three years. We have also made the largest
investment in basic research funding in American history – an investment
that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in
medicine, science, and technology.
We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry
new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put
Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that
we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills.
But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our
planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make
clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this
Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon
pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America.
And to support that innovation, we will invest fifteen billion dollars a
year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced
biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks built
right here in America.
As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad
decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the
brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad
practices. But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined
auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it.
Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that
invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.
None of this will come without cost, nor will it be easy. But this is
America. We don’t do what’s easy. We do what is necessary to move this
country forward.
For that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health
care.
This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty
seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans
to lose their homes. In the last eight years, premiums have grown four
times faster than wages. And in each of these years, one million more
Americans have lost their health insurance. It is one of the major
reasons why small businesses close their doors and corporations ship
jobs overseas. And it’s one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of
our budget.
Given these facts, we can no longer afford to put health care reform on
hold.
Already, we have done more to advance the cause of health care reform in
the last thirty days than we have in the last decade. When it was days
old, this Congress passed a law to provide and protect health insurance
for eleven million American children whose parents work full-time. Our
recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new
technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy,
and save lives. It will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that
has touched the life of nearly every American by seeking a cure for
cancer in our time. And it makes the largest investment ever in
preventive care, because that is one of the best ways to keep our people
healthy and our costs under control.
This budget builds on these reforms. It includes an historic commitment
to comprehensive health care reform – a down-payment on the principle
that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American.
It’s a commitment that’s paid for in part by efficiencies in our system
that are long overdue. And it’s a step we must take if we hope to bring
down our deficit in the years to come.
Now, there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to
achieve reform, and that is why I’m bringing together businesses and
workers, doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to
begin work on this issue next week.
I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be
hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first
called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our
economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be
no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will
not wait another year.
The third challenge we must address is the urgent need to expand the
promise of education in America.
In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your
knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity –
it is a pre-requisite.
Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require
more than a high school diploma. And yet, just over half of our
citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high
school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the
students who begin college never finish.
This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the
countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is
why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every
child has access to a complete and competitive education – from the day
they are born to the day they begin a career.
Already, we have made an historic investment in education through the
economic recovery plan. We have dramatically expanded early childhood
education and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that
the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We have
made college affordable for nearly seven million more students. And we
have provided the resources necessary to prevent painful cuts and
teacher layoffs that would set back our children’s progress.
But we know that our schools don’t just need more resources. They need
more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher
performance; pathways for advancement, and rewards for success. We’ll
invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high
standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment
to charter schools.
It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system
work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in
it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year
or more of higher education or career training. This can be community
college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship.
But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more
than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no
longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on
your country – and this country needs and values the talents of every
American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to
complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020, America will once again
have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if
you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your
community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a
higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service
for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me the
bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch as
well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his
country – Senator Edward Kennedy.
These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our
children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the
end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or
father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with
homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and
read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but as a
father when I say that responsibility for our children’s education must
begin at home.
There is, of course, another responsibility we have to our children.
And that is the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them
a debt they cannot pay. With the deficit we inherited, the cost of the
crisis we face, and the long-term challenges we must meet, it has never
been more important to ensure that as our economy recovers, we do what
it takes to bring this deficit down.
I’m proud that we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want
to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend
reflects only our most important national priorities.
Yesterday, I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in
half by the end of my first term in office. My administration has also
begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to
eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs. As you can imagine, this
is a process that will take some time. But we’re starting with the
biggest lines. We have already identified two trillion dollars in
savings over the next decade.
In this budget, we will end education programs that don’t work and end
direct payments to large agribusinesses that don’t need them. We’ll
eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and
reform our defense budget so that we’re not paying for Cold War-era
weapons systems we don’t use. We will root out the waste, fraud, and
abuse in our Medicare program that doesn’t make our seniors any
healthier, and we will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our
tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our
jobs overseas.
In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end
the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. But let me perfectly
clear, because I know you’ll hear the same old claims that rolling back
these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people:
if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your
taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime. In fact,
the recovery plan provides a tax cut – that’s right, a tax cut – for 95%
of working families. And these checks are on the way.
To preserve our long-term fiscal health, we must also address the
growing costs in Medicare and Social Security. Comprehensive health
care reform is the best way to strengthen Medicare for years to come.
And we must also begin a conversation on how to do the same for Social
Security, while creating tax-free universal savings accounts for all
Americans.
Finally, because we’re also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am
committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our
budget. That is why this budget looks ahead ten years and accounts for
spending that was left out under the old rules – and for the first time,
that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For
seven years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its
price.
We are now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will
soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and
responsibly ends this war.
And with our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive
strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat
extremism. Because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the
American people from safe havens half a world away.
As we meet here tonight, our men and women in uniform stand watch abroad
and more are readying to deploy. To each and every one of them, and to
the families who bear the quiet burden of their absence, Americans are
united in sending one message: we honor your service, we are inspired by
your sacrifice, and you have our unyielding support. To relieve the
strain on our forces, my budget increases the number of our soldiers and
Marines. And to keep our sacred trust with those who serve, we will
raise their pay, and give our veterans the expanded health care and
benefits that they have earned.
To overcome extremism, we must also be vigilant in upholding the values
our troops defend – because there is no force in the world more powerful
than the example of America. That is why I have ordered the closing of
the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and will seek swift and certain
justice for captured terrorists – because living our values doesn’t make
us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger. And that is why
I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that
the United States of America does not torture.
In words and deeds, we are showing the world that a new era of
engagement has begun. For we know that America cannot meet the threats
of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America.
We cannot shun the negotiating table, nor ignore the foes or forces that
could do us harm. We are instead called to move forward with the sense
of confidence and candor that serious times demand.
To seek progress toward a secure and lasting peace between Israel and
her neighbors, we have appointed an envoy to sustain our effort. To
meet the challenges of the 21st century – from terrorism to nuclear
proliferation; from pandemic disease to cyber threats to crushing
poverty – we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones, and use all
elements of our national power.
And to respond to an economic crisis that is global in scope, we are
working with the nations of the G-20 to restore confidence in our
financial system, avoid the possibility of escalating protectionism, and
spur demand for American goods in markets across the globe. For the
world depends on us to have a strong economy, just as our economy
depends on the strength of the world’s.
As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all
nations are once again upon us – watching to see what we do with this
moment; waiting for us to lead.
Those of us gathered here tonight have been called to govern in
extraordinary times. It is a tremendous burden, but also a great
privilege – one that has been entrusted to few generations of Americans.
For in our hands lies the ability to shape our world for good or for
ill.
I know that it is easy to lose sight of this truth – to become cynical
and doubtful; consumed with the petty and the trivial.
But in my life, I have also learned that hope is found in unlikely
places; that inspiration often comes not from those with the most power
or celebrity, but from the dreams and aspirations of Americans who are
anything but ordinary.
I think about Leonard Abess, the bank president from Miami who
reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave
it out to all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to
work for him. He didn’t tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found
out, he simply said, ”I knew some of these people since I was 7 years
old. I didn’t feel right getting the money myself.”
I think about Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was completely destroyed
by a tornado, but is being rebuilt by its residents as a global example
of how clean energy can power an entire community – how it can bring
jobs and businesses to a place where piles of bricks and rubble once
lay. “The tragedy was terrible,” said one of the men who helped them
rebuild. “But the folks here know that it also provided an incredible
opportunity.”
And I think about Ty’Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I
visited in Dillon, South Carolina – a place where the ceilings leak, the
paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a
day because the train barrels by their classroom. She has been told
that her school is hopeless, but the other day after class she went to
the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this
room. She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp. The
letter asks us for help, and says, “We are just students trying to
become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself and one day
president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South
Carolina but also the world. We are not quitters.”
We are not quitters.
These words and these stories tell us something about the spirit of the
people who sent us here. They tell us that even in the most trying
times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, a
resilience, a decency, and a determination that perseveres; a
willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity.
Their resolve must be our inspiration. Their concerns must be our
cause. And we must show them and all our people that we are equal to
the task before us.
I know that we haven’t agreed on every issue thus far, and there are
surely times in the future when we will part ways. But I also know that
every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants
it to succeed. That must be the starting point for every debate we have
in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done.
That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build
common ground.
And if we do – if we come together and lift this nation from the depths
of this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine
of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our
time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit,
then someday years from now our children can tell their children that
this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into
this very chamber, “something worthy to be remembered.” Thank you, God
Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
