From the Washington Politics
& Policy Desk
Published 1/28/2003 10:21 PM
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Transcript of President George W. Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night:
Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress, distinguished guests, fellow citizens:
1 Every year, by law and by custom, we meet here to consider the state of the
union. This year, we gather in this chamber deeply aware of decisive days that
lie ahead.
2 You and I serve our country in a time of great consequence. During this
session of Congress, we have the duty to reform domestic programs vital to our
country, and we have the opportunity to save millions of lives abroad from a
terrible disease. We will work for a prosperity that is broadly shared, and we
will answer every danger and every enemy that threatens the American people.
3 In all these days of promise and days of reckoning, we can be confident. In a
whirlwind of change, and hope, and peril, our faith is sure, our resolve is
firm, and our union is strong.
4 This country has many challenges. We will not deny, we will not ignore, we
will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, other presidents, and
other generations. We will confront them with focus, and clarity, and courage.
5 During the last two years, we have seen what can be accomplished when we work
together. To lift the standards of our public schools, we achieved historic
education reform, which must now be carried out in every school, and every
classroom, so that every child in America can read, and learn, and succeed in
life.
6 To protect our country, we reorganized our government and created the
Department of Homeland Security, which is mobilizing against the threats of a
new era.
7 To bring our economy out of recession, we delivered the largest tax relief in
a generation.
8 To insist on integrity in American business, we passed tough reforms, and we
are holding corporate criminals to account.
9 Some might call this a good record. I call it a good start. Tonight I ask the
House and Senate to join me in the next bold steps to serve our fellow citizens.
10 Our first goal is clear: we must have an economy that grows fast enough to
employ every man and woman who seeks a job.
11 After recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, and stock market
declines, our economy is recovering. Yet it is not growing fast enough, or
strongly enough. With unemployment rising, our nation needs more small
businesses to open, more companies to invest and expand, more employers to put
up the sign that says, "Help Wanted."
12 Jobs are created when the economy grows; the economy grows when Americans
have more money to spend and invest. And the best and fairest way to make sure
Americans have that money is not to tax it away in the first place.
13 I am proposing that all the income tax reductions set for 2004 and 2006 be
made permanent and effective this year. And under my plan, as soon as I have
signed the bill, this extra money will start showing up in workers' paychecks.
Instead of gradually reducing the marriage penalty, we should do it now. Instead
of slowly raising the child credit to $1,000, we should send the checks to
American families now.
14 This tax relief is for everyone who pays income taxes, and it will help our
economy immediately. Ninety-two million Americans will keep, this year, an
average of almost $1,100 more of their own money. A family of four with an
income of $40,000 would see their federal income taxes fall from $1,178 to $45
dollars per year. And our plan will improve the bottom line for more than 23
million small businesses.
15 You, the Congress, have already passed all these reductions, and promised
them for future years. If this tax relief is good for Americans three, or five,
or seven years from now, it is even better for Americans today.
16 We should also strengthen the economy by treating investors equally in our
tax laws. It is fair to tax a company's profits. It is not fair to again tax the
shareholder on the same profits. To boost investor confidence, and to help the
nearly 10 million seniors who receive dividend income, I ask you to end the
unfair double taxation of dividends.
17 Lower taxes and greater investment will help this economy expand. More jobs
mean more taxpayers and higher revenues to our government. The best way to
address the deficit and move toward a balanced budget is to encourage economic
growth and to show some spending discipline in Washington, D.C.
18 We must work together to fund only our most important priorities. I will send
you a budget that increases discretionary spending by four percent next year --
about as much as the average family's income is expected to grow. And that is a
good benchmark for us. Federal spending should not rise any faster than the
paychecks of American families.
19 A growing economy, and a focus on essential priorities, will be crucial to
the future of Social Security. As we continue to work together to keep Social
Security sound and reliable, we must offer younger workers a chance to invest in
retirement accounts that they will control and they will own.
20 Our second goal is high quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
21 The American system of medicine is a model of skill and innovation, with a
pace of discovery that is adding good years to our lives.
22 Yet for many people, medical care costs too much, and many have no coverage
at all. These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system
that dictates coverage and rations care. Instead, we must work toward a system
in which all Americans have a good insurance policy, choose their own doctors,
and seniors and low-income Americans receive the help they need. Instead of
bureaucrats, and trial lawyers, and HMOs, we must put doctors, and nurses, and
patients back in charge of American medicine.
23 Health care reform must begin with Medicare; Medicare is the binding
commitment of a caring society. We must renew that commitment by giving seniors
access to preventive medicine and new drugs that are transforming health care in
America.
24 Seniors happy with the current Medicare system should be able to keep their
coverage just the way it is. And just like you, the members of Congress, members
of your staffs, and other federal employees, all seniors should have the choice
of a health care plan that provides prescription drugs.
25 My budget will commit an additional $400 billion over the next decade to
reform and strengthen Medicare. Leaders of both political parties have talked
for years about strengthening Medicare. I urge the members of this new Congress
to act this year.
26 To improve our health care system, we must address one of the prime causes of
higher costs: the constant threat that physicians and hospitals will be unfairly
sued. Because of excessive litigation, everybody pays more for health care, and
many parts of America are losing fine doctors. No one has ever been healed by a
frivolous lawsuit. I urge Congress to pass medical liability reform.
27 Our third goal is to promote energy independence for our country, while
dramatically improving the environment.
28 I have sent you a comprehensive energy plan to promote energy efficiency and
conservation, to develop cleaner technology, and to produce more energy at home.
I have sent you Clear Skies legislation that mandates a 70 percent cut in air
pollution from power plants over the next 15 years. I have sent you a Healthy
Forests Initiative, to help prevent the catastrophic fires that devastate
communities, kill wildlife, and burn away millions of acres of treasured forest.
29 I urge you to pass these measures, for the good of both our environment and
our economy. Even more, I ask you to take a crucial step and protect our
environment in ways that generations before us could not have imagined. In this
century, the greatest environmental progress will come about not through endless
lawsuits, or command and control regulations, but through technology and
innovation. Tonight I am proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that
America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered
automobiles.
30 A simple chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen generates energy,
which can be used to power a car, producing only water, not exhaust fumes. With
a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles
to taking these cars from laboratory to showroom so that the first car driven by
a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free. Join me in
this important innovation -- to make our air significantly cleaner, and our
country much less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
31 Our fourth goal is to apply the compassion of America to the deepest problems
of America. For so many in our country -- the homeless, the fatherless, the
addicted -- the need is great. Yet there is power, wonder-working power, in the
goodness, and idealism, and faith of the American people.
32 Americans are doing the work of compassion every day -- visiting prisoners,
providing shelter to battered women, bringing companionship to lonely seniors.
These good works deserve our praise, they deserve our personal support, and,
when appropriate, they deserve the assistance of our government. I urge you to
pass both my faith-based initiative and the Citizen Service Act to encourage
acts of compassion that can transform America one heart and one soul at a time.
33 Last year, I called on my fellow citizens to participate in USA Freedom
Corps, which is enlisting tens of thousands of new volunteers across America.
Tonight I ask Congress and the American people to focus the spirit of service
and the resources of government on the needs of some of our most vulnerable
citizens -- boys and girls trying to grow up without guidance and attention, and
children who have to go through a prison gate to be hugged by their mom or dad.
I propose a $450 million initiative to bring mentors to more than a million
disadvantaged junior high students and children of prisoners. Government will
support the training and recruiting of mentors, yet it is the men and women of
America who will fill the need. One mentor, one person, can change a life
forever, and I urge you to be that one person.
34 Another cause of hopelessness is addiction to drugs. Addiction crowds out
friendship, ambition, moral conviction, and reduces all the richness of life to
a single destructive desire. As a government, we are fighting illegal drugs by
cutting off supplies, and reducing demand through anti-drug education programs.
Yet for those already addicted, the fight against drugs is a fight for their own
lives.
35 Too many Americans in search of treatment cannot get it. So tonight I propose
a new $600 million program to help an additional 300,000 Americans receive
treatment over the next three years.
36 Our nation is blessed with recovery programs that do amazing work. One of
them is found at the Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, La. A man in the
program said, "God does miracles in people's lives, and you never think it could
be you." Tonight, let us bring to all Americans who struggle with drug addiction
this message of hope: the miracle of recovery is possible, and it could be you.
37 By caring for children who need mentors, and for addicted men and women who
need treatment, we are building a more welcoming society -- a culture that
values every life.
38 And in this work we must not overlook the weakest among us. I ask you to
protect infants at the very hour of birth, and end the practice of partial-birth
abortion. And because no human life should be started or ended as the object of
an experiment, I ask you to set a high standard for humanity and pass a law
against all human cloning.
39 The qualities of courage and compassion that we strive for in America also
determine our conduct abroad. The American flag stands for more than our power
and our interests. Our founders dedicated this country to the cause of human
dignity, the rights of every person and the possibilities of every life. This
conviction leads us into the world to help the afflicted, and defend the peace,
and confound the designs of evil men.
40 In Afghanistan, we helped to liberate an oppressed people and we will
continue helping them secure their country, rebuild their society, and educate
all their children -- boys and girls.
41 In the Middle East, we will continue to seek peace between a secure Israel
and a democratic Palestine.
42 Across the earth, America is feeding the hungry; more than 60 percent of
international food aid comes as a gift from the people of the United States.
43 As our nation moves troops and builds alliances to make our world safer, we
must also remember our calling as a blessed country, to make this world better.
44 Today, on the continent of Africa, nearly 30 million people have the AIDS
virus, including 3 million children under the age of 15. There are whole
countries in Africa where more than one-third of the adult population carries
the infection. More than 4 million require immediate drug treatment. Yet across
that continent only 50,000 AIDS victims -- only 50,000 -- are receiving the
medicine they need.
45 Because the AIDS diagnosis is considered a death sentence, many do not seek
treatment. Almost all who do are turned away. A doctor in rural South Africa
describes his frustration. He says, "We have no medicines ... many hospitals
tell [people], 'You've got AIDS. We can't help you. Go home and die.'"
46 In an age of miraculous medicines, no person should have to hear those words.
AIDS can be prevented. Anti-retroviral drugs can extend life for many years. And
the cost of those drugs has dropped from $12,000 a year to under $300 a year,
which places a tremendous possibility within our grasp.
47 Ladies and gentlemen, seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do
so much for so many. We have confronted, and will continue to confront, HIV/AIDS
in our own country. And to meet a severe and urgent crisis abroad, tonight I
propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- a work of mercy beyond all current
international efforts to help the people of Africa. This comprehensive plan will
prevent seven million new AIDS infections, treat at least two million people
with life-extending drugs and provide humane care for millions of people
suffering from AIDS, and for children orphaned by AIDS. I ask the Congress to
commit $15 billion over the next five years, including nearly $10 billion in new
money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and
the Caribbean.
48 This nation can lead the world in sparing innocent people from a plague of
nature. And this nation is leading the world in confronting and defeating the
man-made evil of international terrorism.
49 There are days when the American people do not hear news about the war on
terror. There is never a day when I do not learn of another threat, or receive
reports of operations in progress, or give an order in this global war against a
scattered network of killers. The war goes on, and we are winning.
50 To date we have arrested or otherwise dealt with many key commanders of al
Qaida. They include a man who directed logistics and funding for the September
11th attacks, the chief of al Qaida operations in the Persian Gulf who planned
the bombings of our embassies in East Africa and the USS Cole, an al Qaida
operations chief from Southeast Asia, a former director of al-Qaida's training
camps in Afghanistan, a key al Qaida operative in Europe, and a major al Qaida
leader in Yemen. All told, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been
arrested in many countries. And many others have met a different fate. Put it
this way: they are no longer a problem for the United States and our friends and
allies.
51 We are working closely with other nations to prevent further attacks. America
and coalition countries have uncovered and stopped terrorist conspiracies
targeting the American Embassy in Yemen, the American Embassy in Singapore, a
Saudi military base, and ships in the straits of Hormuz, and the straits of
Gibraltar. We have broken al Qaida cells in Hamburg, and Milan, and Madrid, and
London, and Paris as well as Buffalo, New York.
52 We have the terrorists on the run; we are keeping them on the run. One by
one, the terrorists are learning the meaning of American justice.
53 As we fight this war, we will remember where it began -- here, in our own
country. This government is taking unprecedented measures to protect our people
and defend our homeland. We have intensified security at the borders and ports
of entry, posted more than 50,000 newly trained federal screeners in airports,
begun inoculating troops and first responders against smallpox, and are
deploying the nation's first early warning network of sensors to detect
biological attack. And this year, for the first time, we are beginning to field
a defense to protect this nation against ballistic missiles.
54 I thank the Congress for supporting these measures. I ask you tonight to add
to our future security with a major research and production effort to guard our
people against bio-terrorism, called Project Bioshield. The budget I send you
will propose almost six billion dollars to quickly make available effective
vaccines and treatments against agents like anthrax, botulinum toxin, Ebola, and
plague. We must assume that our enemies would use these diseases as weapons, and
we must act before the dangers are upon us.
55 Since September 11th, our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have
worked more closely than ever to track and disrupt the terrorists. The FBI is
improving its ability to analyze intelligence, and transforming itself to meet
new threats. And tonight I am instructing the leaders of the FBI, the CIA,
Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense to develop a Terrorist Threat
Integration Center, to merge and analyze all threat information in a single
location. Our government must have the very best information possible, and we
will use it to make sure the right people are in the right places to protect all
our citizens.
56 Our war against terror is a contest of will in which perseverance is power.
In the ruins of two towers, at the western wall of the Pentagon, on a field in
Pennsylvania, this nation made a pledge, and we renew that pledge tonight:
whatever the duration of this struggle and whatever the difficulties, we will
not permit the triumph of violence in the affairs of men -- free people will set
the course of history.
57 Today, the gravest danger in the war on terror -- the gravest danger facing
America and the world -- is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons. These regimes could use such weapons for
blackmail, terror, and mass murder. They could also give or sell those weapons
to their terrorist allies, who would use them without the least hesitation.
58 This threat is new; America's duty is familiar. Throughout the 20th century,
small groups of men seized control of great nations, built armies and arsenals
and set out to dominate the weak and intimidate the world. In each case, their
ambitions of cruelty and murder had no limit. In each case, the ambitions of
Hitlerism, militarism, and communism were defeated by the will of free peoples,
by the strength of great alliances, and by the might of the United States of
America.
59 Now, in this century, the ideology of power and domination has appeared again
and seeks to gain the ultimate weapons of terror. Once again, this nation and
our friends are all that stand between a world at peace and a world of chaos and
constant alarm. Once again, we are called to defend the safety of our people and
the hopes of all mankind. And we accept this responsibility.
60 America is making a broad and determined effort to confront these dangers. We
have called on the United Nations to fulfill its charter, and stand by its
demand that Iraq disarm. We are strongly supporting the International Atomic
Energy Agency in its mission to track and control nuclear materials around the
world. We are working with other governments to secure nuclear materials in the
former Soviet Union, and to strengthen global treaties banning the production
and shipment of missile technologies and weapons of mass destruction.
61 In all of these efforts, however, America's purpose is more than to follow a
process -- it is to achieve a result: the end of terrible threats to the
civilized world. All free nations have a stake in preventing sudden and
catastrophic attack. We are asking them to join us, and many are doing so. Yet
the course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others. Whatever
action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and
security of the American people.
62 Different threats require different strategies. In Iran, we continue to see a
government that represses its people, pursues weapons of mass destruction, and
supports terror. We also see Iranian citizens risking intimidation and death as
they speak out for liberty, human rights, and democracy. Iranians, like all
people, have a right to choose their own government, and determine their own
destiny, and the United States supports their aspirations to live in
freedom.
63 On the Korean peninsula, an oppressive regime rules a people living in fear
and starvation. Throughout the 1990s, the United States relied on a negotiated
framework to keep North Korea from gaining nuclear weapons. We now know that the
regime was deceiving the world, and developing those weapons all along. And
today the North Korean regime is using its nuclear program to incite fear and
seek concessions. America and the world will not be blackmailed.
64 America is working with the countries of the region -- South Korea, Japan,
China, and Russia -- to find a peaceful solution, and to show the North Korean
government that nuclear weapons will bring only isolation, economic stagnation
and continued hardship. The North Korean regime will find respect in the world,
and revival for its people, only when it turns away from its nuclear
ambitions.
65 Our nation and the world must learn the lessons of the Korean peninsula and
not allow an even greater threat to rise up in Iraq. A brutal dictator, with a
history of reckless aggression, with ties to terrorism, with great potential
wealth, will not be permitted to dominate a vital region and threaten the United
States.
66 Twelve years ago, Saddam Hussein faced the prospect of being the last
casualty in a war he had started and lost. To spare himself, he agreed to disarm
of all weapons of mass destruction. For the next 12 years, he systematically
violated that agreement. He pursued chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons
even while inspectors were in his country. Nothing to date has restrained him
from his pursuit of these weapons -- not economic sanctions, not isolation from
the civilized world, not even cruise missile strikes on his military facilities.
Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein
his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead his utter contempt for the
United Nations and for the opinion of the world.
67 The 108 U.N. weapons inspectors were not sent to conduct a scavenger hunt for
hidden materials across a country the size of California. The job of the
inspectors is to verify that Iraq's regime is disarming. It is up to Iraq to
show exactly where it is hiding its banned weapons, lay those weapons out for
the world to see and destroy them as directed. Nothing like this has
happened.
68 The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological
weapons materials sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax -- enough
doses to kill several million people. He has not accounted for that material. He
has given no evidence that he has destroyed it.
69 The United Nations concluded that Saddam Hussein had materials sufficient to
produce more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin -- enough to subject millions
of people to death by respiratory failure. He has not accounted for that
material. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed it.
70 Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to
produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent. In such
quantities, these chemical agents also could kill untold thousands. He has not
accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed
them.
71 U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000
munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up
16 of them, despite Iraq's recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam
Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited
munitions. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.
72 From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several
mobile biological weapons labs. These are designed to produce germ warfare
agents and can be moved from place to place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein
has not disclosed these facilities. He has given no evidence that he has
destroyed them.
73 The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam
Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a
nuclear weapon, and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium
for a bomb. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently
sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources
tell us that he has attempted to purchase high strength aluminum tubes suitable
for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these
activities. He clearly has much to hide.
74 The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving.
75 From intelligence sources, we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi
security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N.
inspectors -- sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors
themselves. Iraqi officials accompany the inspectors in order to intimidate
witnesses. Iraq is blocking U-2 surveillance flights requested by the United
Nations. Iraqi intelligence officers are posing as the scientists inspectors are
supposed to interview. Real scientists have been coached by Iraqi officials on
what to say. And intelligence sources indicate that Saddam Hussein has ordered
that scientists who cooperate with U.N. inspectors in disarming Iraq will be
killed, along with their families.
76 Year after year, Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous
sums, taken great risks, to build and keep weapons of mass destruction -- but
why? The only possible explanation, the only possible use he could have for
those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate, or attack. With nuclear arms or a
full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his
ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in the region.
77 And this Congress and the American people must recognize another threat.
Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by
people now in custody, reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists,
including members of al Qaida. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could
provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists or help them develop their own.
78 Before September 11th, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could
be contained. But chemical agents and lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist
networks are not easily contained. Imagine those 19 hijackers with other
weapons, and other plans -- this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take
just one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day
of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to
make sure that day never comes.
79 Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have
terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice
before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge,
all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in
the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy and it is not an
option.
80 This dictator, who is assembling the world's most dangerous weapons, has
already used them on whole villages, leaving thousands of his own citizens dead,
blind, or disfigured. Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained
-- by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International
human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers
of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin,
mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues and rape.
81 If this is not evil then evil has no meaning.
82 And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: your
enemy is not surrounding your country -- your enemy is ruling your country. And
the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your
liberation.
83 The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. America will not accept a
serious and mounting threat to our country and our friends and our allies. The
United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February 5th to
consider the facts of Iraq's ongoing defiance of the world. Secretary of State
Powell will present information and intelligence about Iraq's illegal weapons
programs, its attempts to hide those weapons from inspectors and its links to
terrorist groups.
84 We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does
not fully disarm for the safety of our people and for the peace of the world, we
will lead a coalition to disarm him.
85 Tonight I also have a message for the men and women who will keep the peace,
members of the American Armed Forces: many of you are assembling in and near the
Middle East, and some crucial hours may lie ahead. In those hours, the success
of our cause will depend on you. Your training has prepared you. Your honor will
guide you. You believe in America, and America believes in you.
86 Sending Americans into battle is the most profound decision a president can
make. The technologies of war have changed, the risks and suffering of war have
not. For the brave Americans who bear the risk, no victory is free from sorrow.
This nation fights reluctantly, because we know the cost, and we dread the days
of mourning that always come.
87 We seek peace. We strive for peace. And sometimes peace must be defended. A
future lived at the mercy of terrible threats is no peace at all. If war is
forced upon us, we will fight in a just cause and by just means -- sparing, in
every way we can, the innocent. And if war is forced upon us, we will fight with
the full force and might of the United States military and we will prevail.
88 And as we and our coalition partners are doing in Afghanistan, we will bring
to the Iraqi people food, and medicines, and supplies ... and freedom.
89 Many challenges, abroad and at home, have arrived in a single season. In two
years, America has gone from a sense of invulnerability to an awareness of
peril; from bitter division in small matters to calm unity in great causes. And
we go forward with confidence, because this call of history has come to the
right country.
90 Americans are a resolute people, who have risen to every test of our time.
Adversity has revealed the character of our country, to the world, and to
ourselves.
91 America is a strong nation and honorable in the use of our strength. We
exercise power without conquest and we sacrifice for the liberty of strangers.
92 Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every
person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's
gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity.
93 We Americans have faith in ourselves, but not in ourselves alone. We do not
claim to know all the ways of Providence, yet we can trust in them, placing our
confidence in the loving God behind all of life and all of history.
94 May He guide us now, and may God continue to bless the United States of
America.
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