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[House Document 107-157]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                     

107th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-157

 
                      STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

                   A REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE UNION

  February 4, 2002.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
 Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to 
                               be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, 
distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: As we gather 
tonight, our Nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and 
the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers. Yet the state 
of our Union has never been stronger.
    We last met in an hour of shock and suffering. In four 
short months, our Nation has comforted the victims . . . begun 
to rebuild New York and the Pentagon . . . rallied a great 
coalition . . . captured, arrested, and rid the world of 
thousands of terrorists . . . destroyed Afghanistan's terrorist 
training camps . . . saved a people from starvation . . . and 
freed a country from brutal oppression.
    The American flag flies again over our embassy in Kabul. 
Terrorists who once occupied Afghanistan now occupy cells at 
Guantanamo Bay. And terrorist leaders who urged followers to 
sacrifice their lives are running for their own.
    America and Afghanistan are now allies against terror . . . 
we will be partners in rebuilding that country . . . and this 
evening we welcome the distinguished interim leader of a 
liberated Afghanistan: Chairman Hamid Karzai.
    The last time we met in this chamber, the mothers and 
daughters of Afghanistan were captives in their own homes, 
forbidden from working or going to school. Today women are 
free, and are part of Afghanistan's new government, and we 
welcome the new Minister of Women's Affairs, Doctor Sima Samar.
    Our progress is a tribute to the spirit of the Afghan 
people, to the resolve of our coalition, and to the might of 
the United States military. When I called our troops into 
action, I did so with complete confidence in their courage and 
skill--and tonight, thanks to them, we are winning the war 
against terror. The men and women of our armed forces have 
delivered a message now clear to every enemy of the United 
States: Even seven thousand miles away, across oceans and 
continents, on mountaintops and in caves--you will not escape 
the justice of this Nation.
    For many Americans, these four months have brought sorrow, 
and pain that will never completely go away. Every day a 
retired firefighter returns to Ground Zero, to feel closer to 
his two sons who dies there. At a memorial in New York, a 
little boy left his football with a note for his lost father: 
``Dear Daddy, Please take this to Heaven. I don't want to play 
football until I can play with you again someday.'' Last month, 
at the grave of her husband, Micheal, a CIA officer and marine 
who died in Mazar-e Sharif, Shannon Spann said these words of 
farewell: ``Semper Fi, my love.'' Shannon is with us tonight.
    Shannon, I assure you and all who have lost a loved one 
that our cause is just, and our country will never forget the 
debt we owe Micheal and all who gave their lives for freedom.
    Our cause is just, and it continues. Our discoveries in 
Afghanistan confirmed our worst fears, and show us the true 
scope of the task ahead. We have seen the depth of our enemies' 
hatred in videos where they laugh about the loss of innocent 
life. And the depth of their hatred is equaled by the madness 
of the destruction they design. We have found diagrams of 
American nuclear power plants and public water facilities . . . 
detailed instructions for making chemical weapons . . . 
surveillance maps of American cities, and thorough descriptions 
of landmarks in America and throughout the world.
    What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that--far from 
ending there--our war against terror is only beginning. Most of 
the 19 men who hijacked planes on September 11th were trained 
in Afghanistan's camps--and so were tens of thousands of 
others. Thousands of dangerous killers, schooled in the methods 
of murder, often supported by outlaw regimes, are now spread 
throughout the world like ticking time bombs--set to go off 
without warning.
    Thanks to the work of our law enforcement officials and 
coalition partners, hundreds of terrorists have been arrested . 
. . yet tens of thousands of trained terrorists are still at 
large. These enemies view the entire world as a battlefield, 
and we must pursue them wherever they are. So long as training 
camps operate, so long as nations harbor terrorists, freedom is 
at risk--and America and our allies must not, and will not, 
allow it.
    Our Nation will continue to be steadfast, and patient, and 
persistent in the pursuit of two great objectives. First, we 
will shut down terrorist camps, disrupt terrorist plans, and 
bring terrorists to justice. Second, we must prevent the 
terrorists and regimes who seek chemical, biological, or 
nuclear weapons from threatening the United States and the 
world.
    Our military has put the terror training camps of 
Afghanistan out of business, yet camps still exist in at least 
a dozen boundaries. A terrorist underworld--including groups 
like Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Jaish-i-Mohammed--
operates in remote jungles and deserts, and hides in the 
centers of large cities.
    While the most visible military action is in Afghanistan, 
America is acting elsewhere. We now have troops in the 
Philippines helping to train that country's armed forces to go 
after terrorist cells that have executed an American, and still 
hold hostages. Our soldiers, working with the Bosnian 
government, seized terrorists who were plotting to bomb our 
embassy. Our navy is patrolling the coast of Africa to block 
the shipment of weapons and the establishment of terrorist 
camps in Somalia.
    My hope is that all nations will heed our call, and 
eliminate the terrorist parasites who threaten their countries, 
and our own. Many nations are acting forcefully. Pakistan is 
now cracking down on terror, and I admire the leadership of 
President Musharraf. But some governments will be timid in the 
face of terror. And make no mistake: if they do not act, 
America will.
    Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror 
from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons 
of mass destruction.
    Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since 
September 11th. But we know their true nature. North Korea is a 
regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, 
while starving its citizens.
    Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, 
while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for 
freedom.
    Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and 
to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop 
anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. 
This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder 
thousands of its own citizens--leaving the bodies of mothers 
huddled over their dead children. This is a regime that agreed 
to international inspections--then kicked out the inspectors. 
This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized 
world.
    States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute 
an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By 
seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave 
and growing danger. They could provide these arms to 
terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They 
could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United 
States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would 
be catastrophic.
    We will work closely with our coalition to deny terrorists 
and their state sponsors the materials, technology, and 
expertise to make and deliver weapons of mass destruction. We 
will develop and deploy effective missile defenses to protect 
America and our allies from sudden attack. And all nations 
should know: America will do what is necessary to ensure our 
Nation's security.
    We will be deliberate, yet time is not on our side. I will 
not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, 
as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America 
will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten 
us with the world's most destructive weapons.
    Our war on terror is well begun, but it is only begun. Thus 
campaign may not be finished on our watch--yet it must be and 
it will be waged on our watch.
    We cannot stop short. If we stopped now--leaving terror 
camps intact and terror states unchecked--our sense of security 
would be false and temporary. History has called America and 
our allies to action, and it is both our responsibility and our 
privilege to fight freedom's fight.
    Our first priority must always be the security of our 
Nation, and that will be reflected in the budget I send to 
Congress. My budget supports three great goals for America: We 
will win this war, we will protect our homeland, and we will 
revive our economy.
    September 11th brought out the best in America, and the 
best in this Congress, and I join the American people in 
applauding your unity and resolve. Now Americans deserve to 
have this same spirit directed toward addressing problems here 
at home. I am a proud member of my party--yet as we act to win 
the war, protect our people, and create jobs in America, we 
must act first and foremost not as Republicans, not as 
Democrats, but as Americans.
    It costs a lot to fight this war. We have spent more than a 
billion dollars a month--over 30 million dollars a day--and we 
must be prepared for future operations. Afghanistan proved that 
expensive precision weapons defeat the enemy and spare innocent 
lives, and we need more of them. We need to replace aging 
aircraft and make our military more agile to put our troops 
anywhere in the world quickly and safely. Our men and women in 
uniform deserve the best weapons, the best equipment, and the 
best training--and they also deserve another pay raise. My 
budget includes the largest increase in defense spending in two 
decades . . . because while the price of freedom and security 
is high, it is never too high--whatever it costs to defend our 
country, we will pay it.
    The next priority of my budget is to do everything possible 
to protect our citizens and strengthen our Nation against the 
ongoing threat of another attack. Time and distance from the 
events of September 11th will not make us safer unless we act 
on its lessons. America is not longer protected by vast oceans. 
We are protected from attack only by vigorous action abroad, 
and increased vigilance at home.
    My budget nearly doubles funding for a sustained strategy 
of homeland security, focused on four key areas: bioterrorism, 
emergency response, airport and border security, and improved 
intelligence. We will develop vaccines to fight anthrax and 
other deadly diseases. We will increase funding to help states 
and communities train and equip our heroic police and 
firefighters. We will improve intelligence collection and 
sharing, expand patrols at our borders, strengthen the security 
of air travel, and use technology to track the arrivals and 
departures of visitors to the United States.
    Homeland security will make America, not only stronger, but 
in many ways better. Knowledge gained from bioterrorism 
research will improve public health . . . stronger police and 
fire departments will means safer neighborhoods . . . stricter 
border enforcement will help combat illegal drugs.
    And as government works to better secure our homeland, 
America will continue to depend on the eyes and ears of alert 
citizens. A few days before Christmas, an airline flight 
attendant spotted a passenger lighting a match. The crew and 
passengers quickly subdued the man, who had been trained by al-
Qaida, and was armed with explosives. The people on 
thatairplane were alert, and as a result, likely saved nearly 200 
lives--and tonight we welcome and thank flight attendants Hermis 
Moutardier and Christina Jones.
    Once we have funded our national security and our homeland 
security, the final great priority of my budget is economic 
security for the American people. To achieve these great 
national objectives--to win the war, protect the homeland, and 
revitalize our economy--our budget will run a deficit that will 
be small and short term so long as Congress restrains spending 
and acts in a fiscally responsible way. We have clear 
priorities and we must act at home with the same purpose and 
resolve we have shown overseas: We will prevail in the war, and 
we will defeat this recession.
    Americans who have lost their jobs need our help and I 
support extending unemployment benefits, and direct assistance 
for health care coverage. Yet American workers want more than 
unemployment checks--they want a steady paycheck. When America 
works, America prospers, so my economic security plan can be 
summed up in one word: jobs.
    Good jobs begin with good schools--and here we've made a 
fine start. Republicans and Democrats worked together to 
achieve historic education reform so no child in America will 
be left behind. I was proud to work with Members of both 
parties--Chairman John Boehner and Congressman George Miller, 
Senator Judd Gregg--and I was so proud of our work I even had 
nice things to say about my friend Ted Kennedy. The folks at 
the Crawford coffee shop couldn't quite believe it--but our 
work on this bill shows what is possible if we set aside 
posturing and focus on results.
    There is more to do. We need to prepare our children to 
read and succeed in school with improved Head Start and early 
childhood development programs. We must upgrade our teacher 
colleges and teacher training and launch a major recruiting 
drive with a great goal for America: a quality teacher in every 
classroom.
    Good jobs also depend on reliable and affordable energy. 
This Congress must act to encourage conservation, promote 
technology, build infrastructure, and it must act to increase 
energy production at home so America is less dependent on 
foreign oil.
    Good jobs depend on expanded trade. Selling into new 
markets creates new jobs, so I ask Congress to finally approve 
Trade Promotion Authority. On these two key issues, trade and 
energy, the House of Representatives has acted to create jobs--
and I urge the Senate to pass this legislation.
    Good jobs depend on sound tax policy. Last year, some in 
this hall thought my tax relief plan was too small--and some 
thought it was too big. But when those checks arrived in the 
mail, most Americans thought tax relief was just about right. 
Congress listened to the people and responded by reducing tax 
rates, doubling the child credit, and ending the death tax. For 
the sake of long-term growth and to help Americans plan for the 
future, let's make these tax cuts permanent.
    The way out of this recession, the way to create jobs, is 
to grow the economy by encouraging investment in factories and 
equipment, and by speeding up tax relief so people have more 
money to spend. For the sake of American workers, let's pass a 
stimulus package.
    Good jobs must be the aim of welfare reform. As we 
reauthorize these important reforms, we must always remember 
the goal is to reduce dependency on government and offer every 
American the dignity of a job.
    Americans know economic security can vanish in an instant 
without health security. I ask Congress to join me this year to 
enact a Patients' Bill of Rights . . . to give uninsured 
workers credits to help buy health coverage . . . to approve an 
historic increase in spending for veterans' health . . . and to 
give seniors a sound and modern Medicare system that includes 
coverage for prescription drugs.
    A good job should lead to security in retirement. I ask 
Congress to enact new safeguards for 401(k) and pension plans, 
because employees who have worked hard and saved all their 
lives should not have to risk losing everything if their 
company fails. Through stricter accounting standards and 
tougher disclosure requirements, corporate America must be made 
more accountable to employees and shareholders and held to the 
highest standards of conduct.
    Retirement security also depends upon keeping the 
commitments of Social Security--and we will. We must make 
Social Security financially stable and allow personal 
retirement accounts for younger workers who choose them.
    Members, you and I will work together in the months ahead 
on other issues: productive farm policy . . . a cleaner 
environment . . . broader home ownership, especially among 
minorities . . . and ways to encourage the good work of 
charities and faith-based groups. I ask you to join me on these 
important domestic issues in the same spirit of cooperation we 
have applied to our war against terrorism.
    During these last few months, I have been humbled and 
privileged to see the true character of this country in a time 
of testing. Our enemies believed America was weak and 
materialistic, that we would splinter in fear and selfishness. 
They were as wrong as they are evil.
    The American people have responded magnificently, with 
courage and compassion, strength and resolve. As I have met the 
heroes, hugged the families, and looked into the tired faces of 
rescuers, I have stood in awe of the American people.
    And I hope you will join me in expressing thanks to one 
American for the strength, and calm, and comfort she brings to 
our Nation in crisis: our First Lady, Laura Bush.
    None of us would ever wish the evil that was done on 
September 11th, yet after America was attacked, it was as if 
our entire country looked into a mirror, and saw our better 
selves. We were reminded that we are citizens, with obligations 
to each other, to our country, and to history. We began to 
think less of the goods we can accumulate, and more about the 
good we can do.
    For too long our culture has said, ``If it feels good, do 
it.'' Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed: 
``Let's roll.'' In the sacrifice of soldiers, the fierce 
brotherhood of firefighters, and the bravery and generosity of 
ordinary citizens, we have glimpsed what a new culture of 
responsibility could look like. We want to be a Nation that 
serves goals larger than self. We have been offered a unique 
opportunity, and we must not let this moment pass.
    My call tonight is for every American to commit at least 
two years--four thousand hours over the rest of your lifetime--
to the service of your neighbors and your Nation.
    Many are already serving and I thank you. If you aren't 
sure how to help, I've got a good place to start. To sustain 
and extend the best that has emerged in America, I invite you 
to join the new USA Freedom Corps. The Freedom Corps will focus 
on three areas of need: responding in case of crisis at home, 
rebuilding our communities, and extending American compassion 
throughout the world.
    One purpose of the USA Freedom Corps will be homeland 
security. America needs retired doctors and nurses who can be 
mobilized in major emergencies . . . volunteers to help police 
and fire departments . . . transportation and utility workers 
well-trained in spotting danger.
    Our country also needs citizens working to rebuild our 
communities. We need mentors to love children, especially 
children whose parents are in prison, and we need more talented 
teachers in troubled schools. USA Freedom Corps will expand and 
improve the good efforts of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps to 
recruit more than 200,000 new volunteers.
    And America needs citizens to extend the compassion of our 
country to every part of the world. So we will renew the 
promise of the Peace Corps, double its volunteers over the next 
five years, and ask it to join a new effort to encourage 
development, and education, and opportunity in the Islamic 
world.
    This time of adversity offers a unique moment of 
opportunity--a moment we must seize to change our culture. 
Through the gathering momentum of millions of acts of service 
and decency and kindness, I know: We can overcome evil with 
greater good.
    And we have a great opportunity during this time of war to 
lead the world toward the values that will bring lasting peace. 
All fathers and mothers, in all societies, want their children 
to be educated and live free from poverty and violence. No 
people on earth yearn to be oppressed, or aspire to servitude, 
or eagerly await the midnight knock of the secret police.
    If anyone doubts this, let them look to Afghanistan, where 
the Islamic ``street'' greeted the fall of tyranny with song 
and celebration. Let the skeptics look to Islam's own rich 
history--with its centuries of learning, and tolerance, and 
progress.
    America will lead by defending liberty and justice because 
they are right and true and unchanging for all people 
everywhere. No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is 
exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our 
culture--but America will always stand firm for the non-
negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law . . . 
limits on the power of the state . . . respect for women . . . 
private property . . . free speech . . . equal justice . . . 
and religious tolerance.
    America will take the side of brave men and women who 
advocate these values around the world--including the Islamic 
world--because we a greater objective than eliminating threats 
and containing resentment. We seek a just and peaceful world 
beyond the war on terror.
    In this moment of opportunity, a common danger is erasing 
old rivalries. America is working with Russia, China, and India 
in ways we never have before to achieve peace and prosperity. 
In every region, free markets and free trade and free societies 
are proving their power to lift lives. Together with friends 
and allies from Europe to Asia, from Africa to Latin America, 
we will demonstrate that the forces of terror cannot stop the 
momentum of freedom.
    The last time I spoke here, I expressed the hope that life 
would return to normal. In some ways, it has. In others, it 
never will. Those of us who have lived through these 
challenging times have been changed by them. We've come to know 
truths that we will never question: Evil is real, and it must 
be opposed. Beyond all differences of race or creed, we are one 
country, mourning together and facing danger together. Deep in 
the American character, there is honor, and it is stronger than 
cynicism. Many have discovered again that even in tragedy--
especially in tragedy--God is near.
    In a single instant, we realized that this will be a 
decisive decade in the history of liberty--that we have been 
called to a unique role in human events. Rarely has the world 
faced a choice more clear or consequential.
    Our enemies send other people's children on missions of 
suicide and murder. They embrace tyranny and death as a cause 
and a creed. We stand for a different choice--made long ago, on 
the day of our founding. We affirm it again today. We choose 
freedom and the dignity of every life.
    Steadfast in our purpose, we now press on. We have known 
freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. And in this 
great conflict, my fellow Americans, we will see freedom's 
victory.
    Thank you, and my God bless the United States of America.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, January 29, 2002.

                                
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