THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. And tonight, I have
a high privilege and distinct honor of my own -- as the first President
to begin the State of the Union message with these words: Madam Speaker.
(Applause.)
In his day, the late Congressman Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. from
Baltimore, Maryland, saw Presidents Roosevelt and Truman at this
rostrum. But nothing could compare with the sight of his only daughter,
Nancy, presiding tonight as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(Applause.) Congratulations, Madam Speaker. (Applause.)
Two members of the House and Senate are not with us tonight,
and we pray for the recovery and speedy return of Senator Tim Johnson
and Congressman Charlie Norwood. (Applause.)
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress,
distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
The rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour -- when
decisions are hard and courage is needed. We enter the year 2007 with
large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin. In all of
this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult
challenges and determined enemies -- and the wisdom to face them
together.
Some in this chamber are new to the House and the Senate -- and I
congratulate the Democrat majority. (Applause.) Congress has changed,
but not our responsibilities. Each of us is guided by our own
convictions -- and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we're all held to
the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To
extend this nation's prosperity; to spend the people's money wisely; to
solve problems, not leave them to future generations; to guard America
against all evil; and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to
defend us. (Applause.)
We're not the first to come here with a government divided and
uncertainty in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our
differences, and achieve big things for the American people. Our
citizens don't much care which side of the aisle we sit on -- as long as
we're willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done.
(Applause.) Our job is to make life better for our fellow Americans, and
to help them to build a future of hope and opportunity -- and this is
the business before us tonight.
A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy -- and
that is what we have. We're now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job
growth, in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs -- so far.
Unemployment is low, inflation is low, and wages are rising. This
economy is on the move, and our job is to keep it that way, not with
more government, but with more enterprise. (Applause.)
Next week, I'll deliver a full report on the state of our economy.
Tonight, I want to discuss three economic reforms that deserve to be
priorities for this Congress.
First, we must balance the federal budget. (Applause.) We can
do so without raising taxes. (Applause.) What we need to do is impose
spending discipline in Washington, D.C. We set a goal of cutting the
deficit in half by 2009, and met that goal three years ahead of
schedule. (Applause.) Now let us take the next step. In the coming
weeks, I will submit a budget that eliminates the federal deficit within
the next five years. (Applause.) I ask you to make the same commitment.
Together, we can restrain the spending appetite of the federal
government, and we can balance the federal budget. (Applause.)
Next, there is the matter of earmarks. These special interest items
are often slipped into bills at the last hour -- when not even C-SPAN is
watching. (Laughter.) In 2005 alone, the number of earmarks grew to over
13,000 and totaled nearly $18 billion. Even worse, over 90 percent of
earmarks never make it to the floor of the House and Senate -- they are
dropped into committee reports that are not even part of the bill that
arrives on my desk. You didn't vote them into law. I didn't sign them
into law. Yet, they're treated as if they have the force of law. The
time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform
the budget process, expose every earmark to the light of day and to a
vote in Congress, and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in
half by the end of this session. (Applause.)
And, finally, to keep this economy strong we must take on the
challenge of entitlements. Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are
commitments of conscience, and so it is our duty to keep them
permanently sound. Yet, we're failing in that duty. And this failure
will one day leave our children with three bad options: huge tax
increases, huge deficits, or huge and immediate cuts in benefits.
Everyone in this chamber knows this to be true -- yet somehow we have
not found it in ourselves to act. So let us work together and do it now.
With enough good sense and goodwill, you and I can fix Medicare and
Medicaid -- and save Social Security. (Applause.)
Spreading opportunity and hope in America also requires public
schools that give children the knowledge and character they need in
life. Five years ago, we rose above partisan differences to pass the No
Child Left Behind Act, preserving local control, raising standards, and
holding those schools accountable for results. And because we acted,
students are performing better in reading and math, and minority
students are closing the achievement gap.
Now the task is to build on the success, without watering down
standards, without taking control from local communities, and without
backsliding and calling it reform. We can lift student achievement even
higher by giving local leaders flexibility to turn around failing
schools, and by giving families with children stuck in failing schools
the right to choose someplace better. (Applause.) We must increase funds
for students who struggle -- and make sure these children get the
special help they need. (Applause.) And we can make sure our children
are prepared for the jobs of the future and our country is more
competitive by strengthening math and science skills. The No Child Left
Behind Act has worked for America's children -- and I ask Congress to
reauthorize this good law. (Applause.)
A future of hope and opportunity requires that all our citizens
have affordable and available health care. (Applause.) When it comes to
health care, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the
disabled, and poor children. And we will meet those responsibilities.
For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to
meet their needs. (Applause.) But many Americans cannot afford a health
insurance policy.
And so tonight, I propose two new initiatives to help more Americans
afford their own insurance. First, I propose a standard tax deduction
for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for
dependents. Families with health insurance will pay no income on payroll
tax -- or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income. Single Americans
with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $7,500 of
their income. With this reform, more than 100 million men, women, and
children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will benefit
from lower tax bills. At the same time, this reform will level the
playing field for those who do not get health insurance through their
job. For Americans who now purchase health insurance on their own, this
proposal would mean a substantial tax savings -- $4,500 for a family of
four making $60,000 a year. And for the millions of other Americans who
have no health insurance at all, this deduction would help put a basic
private health insurance plan within their reach. Changing the tax code
is a vital and necessary step to making health care affordable for more
Americans. (Applause.)
My second proposal is to help the states that are coming up
with innovative ways to cover the uninsured. States that make basic
private health insurance available to all their citizens should receive
federal funds to help them provide this coverage to the poor and the
sick. I have asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work
with Congress to take existing federal funds and use them to create
"Affordable Choices" grants. These grants would give our nation's
governors more money and more flexibility to get private health
insurance to those most in need.
There are many other ways that Congress can help. We need to expand
Health Savings Accounts. (Applause.) We need to help small businesses
through Association Health Plans. (Applause.) We need to reduce costs
and medical errors with better information technology. (Applause.) We
will encourage price transparency. And to protect good doctors from junk
lawsuits, we passing medical liability reform. (Applause.) In all we do,
we must remember that the best health care decisions are made not by
government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors.
(Applause.)
Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration
system worthy of America -- with laws that are fair and borders that are
secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms the
interests of our country. To secure our border, we're doubling the size
of the Border Patrol, and funding new infrastructure and technology.
Yet even with all these steps, we cannot fully secure the border
unless we take pressure off the border -- and that requires a temporary
worker program. We should establish a legal and orderly path for foreign
workers to enter our country to work on a temporary basis. As a result,
they won't have to try to sneak in, and that will leave Border Agents
free to chase down drug smugglers and criminals and terrorists.
(Applause.) We'll enforce our immigration laws at the work site and give
employers the tools to verify the legal status of their workers, so
there's no excuse left for violating the law. (Applause.)
We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that
welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. (Applause.) We need to resolve
the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country
without animosity and without amnesty. (Applause.) Convictions run deep
in this Capitol when it comes to immigration. Let us have a serious,
civil, and conclusive debate, so that you can pass, and I can sign,
comprehensive immigration reform into law. (Applause.)
Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable supply of
energy that keeps America's economy running and America's environment
clean. For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And
this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to
terrorists -- who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, and
raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy.
It's in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply --
the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way
America generates electric power, by even greater use of clean coal
technology, solar and wind energy, and clean, safe nuclear power.
(Applause.) We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and
hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and
biodiesel fuel. (Applause.) We must continue investing in new methods of
producing ethanol -- (applause) -- using everything from wood chips to
grasses, to agricultural wastes.
We made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies here in Washington
and the strong response of the market. And now even more dramatic
advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in
pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we've done and reduce
gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years.
(Applause.) When we do that we will have cut our total imports by the
equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the
Middle East.
To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels,
by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of
renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 -- and that is nearly five times
the current target. (Applause.) At the same time, we need to reform and
modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light
trucks -- and conserve up to 8.5 billion more gallons of gasoline by
2017.
Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our
dependence on foreign oil, but it's not going to eliminate it. And so as
we continue to diversify our fuel supply, we must step up domestic oil
production in environmentally sensitive ways. (Applause.) And to further
protect America against severe disruptions to our oil supply, I ask
Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve. (Applause.)
America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that
will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. And these
technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and
they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate
change. (Applause.)
A future of hope and opportunity requires a fair, impartial system of
justice. The lives of our citizens across our nation are affected by the
outcome of cases pending in our federal courts. We have a shared
obligation to ensure that the federal courts have enough judges to hear
those cases and deliver timely rulings. As President, I have a duty to
nominate qualified men and women to vacancies on the federal bench. And
the United States Senate has a duty, as well, to give those nominees a
fair hearing, and a prompt up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.
(Applause.)
For all of us in this room, there is no higher responsibility than to
protect the people of this country from danger. Five years have come and
gone since we saw the scenes and felt the sorrow that the terrorists can
cause. We've had time to take stock of our situation. We've added many
critical protections to guard the homeland. We know with certainty that
the horrors of that September morning were just a glimpse of what the
terrorists intend for us -- unless we stop them.
With the distance of time, we find ourselves debating the causes of
conflict and the course we have followed. Such debates are essential
when a great democracy faces great questions. Yet one question has
surely been settled: that to win the war on terror we must take the
fight to the enemy. (Applause.)
From the start, America and our allies have protected our people by
staying on the offense. The enemy knows that the days of comfortable
sanctuary, easy movement, steady financing, and free flowing
communications are long over. For the terrorists, life since 9/11 has
never been the same.
Our success in this war is often measured by the things that
did not happen. We cannot know the full extent of the attacks that we
and our allies have prevented, but here is some of what we do know: We
stopped an al Qaeda plot to fly a hijacked airplane into the tallest
building on the West Coast. We broke up a Southeast Asian terror cell
grooming operatives for attacks inside the United States. We uncovered
an al Qaeda cell developing anthrax to be used in attacks against
America. And just last August, British authorities uncovered a plot to
blow up passenger planes bound for America over the Atlantic Ocean. For
each life saved, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave public servants
who devote their lives to finding the terrorists and stopping them.
(Applause.)
Every success against the terrorists is a reminder of the shoreless
ambitions of this enemy. The evil that inspired and rejoiced in 9/11 is
still at work in the world. And so long as that's the case, America is
still a nation at war.
In the mind of the terrorist, this war began well before September
the 11th, and will not end until their radical vision is fulfilled. And
these past five years have given us a much clearer view of the nature of
this enemy. Al Qaeda and its followers are Sunni extremists, possessed
by hatred and commanded by a harsh and narrow ideology. Take almost any
principle of civilization, and their goal is the opposite. They preach
with threats, instruct with bullets and bombs, and promise paradise for
the murder of the innocent.
Our enemies are quite explicit about their intentions. They want to
overthrow moderate governments, and establish safe havens from which to
plan and carry out new attacks on our country. By killing and
terrorizing Americans, they want to force our country to retreat from
the world and abandon the cause of liberty. They would then be free to
impose their will and spread their totalitarian ideology. Listen to this
warning from the late terrorist Zarqawi: "We will sacrifice our blood
and bodies to put an end to your dreams, and what is coming is even
worse." Osama bin Laden declared: "Death is better than living on this
Earth with the unbelievers among us."
These men are not given to idle words, and they are just one
camp in the Islamist radical movement. In recent times, it has also
become clear that we face an escalating danger from Shia extremists who
are just as hostile to America, and are also determined to dominate the
Middle East. Many are known to take direction from the regime in Iran,
which is funding and arming terrorists like Hezbollah -- a group second
only to al Qaeda in the American lives it has taken.
The Shia and Sunni extremists are different faces of the same
totalitarian threat. Whatever slogans they chant, when they slaughter
the innocent they have the same wicked purposes. They want to kill
Americans, kill democracy in the Middle East, and gain the weapons to
kill on an even more horrific scale.
In the sixth year since our nation was attacked, I wish I could
report to you that the dangers had ended. They have not. And so it
remains the policy of this government to use every lawful and proper
tool of intelligence, diplomacy, law enforcement, and military action to
do our duty, to find these enemies, and to protect the American people.
(Applause.)
This war is more than a clash of arms -- it is a decisive ideological
struggle, and the security of our nation is in the balance. To prevail,
we must remove the conditions that inspire blind hatred, and drove 19
men to get onto airplanes and to come and kill us. What every terrorist
fears most is human freedom
-- societies where men and women make their own choices, answer to
their own conscience, and live by their hopes instead of their
resentments. Free people are not drawn to violent and malignant
ideologies -- and most will choose a better way when they're given a
chance. So we advance our own security interests by helping moderates
and reformers and brave voices for democracy. The great question of our
day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to
build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And I say,
for the sake of our own security, we must. (Applause.)
In the last two years, we've seen the desire for liberty in the
broader Middle East -- and we have been sobered by the enemy's fierce
reaction. In 2005, the world watched as the citizens of Lebanon raised
the banner of the Cedar Revolution, they drove out the Syrian occupiers
and chose new leaders in free elections. In 2005, the people of
Afghanistan defied the terrorists and elected a democratic legislature.
And in 2005, the Iraqi people held three national elections, choosing a
transitional government, adopting the most progressive, democratic
constitution in the Arab world, and then electing a government under
that constitution. Despite endless threats from the killers in their
midst, nearly 12 million Iraqi citizens came out to vote in a show of
hope and solidarity that we should never forget. (Applause.)
A thinking enemy watched all of these scenes, adjusted their
tactics, and in 2006 they struck back. In Lebanon, assassins took the
life of Pierre Gemayel, a prominent participant in the Cedar Revolution.
Hezbollah terrorists, with support from Syria and Iran, sowed conflict
in the region and are seeking to undermine Lebanon's legitimately
elected government. In Afghanistan, Taliban and al Qaeda fighters tried
to regain power by regrouping and engaging Afghan and NATO forces. In
Iraq, al Qaeda and other Sunni extremists blew up one of the most sacred
places in Shia Islam -- the Golden Mosque of Samarra. This atrocity,
directed at a Muslim house of prayer, was designed to provoke
retaliation from Iraqi Shia -- and it succeeded. Radical Shia elements,
some of whom receive support from Iran, formed death squads. The result
was a tragic escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal that continues to
this day.
This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we're
in. Every one of us wishes this war were over and won. Yet it would not
be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our
own security at risk. (Applause.) Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at
this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this
battle. Let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.
(Applause.)
We're carrying out a new strategy in Iraq -- a plan that demands more
from Iraq's elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the
reinforcements they need to complete their mission. Our goal is a
democratic Iraq that upholds the rule of law, respects the rights of its
people, provides them security, and is an ally in the war on terror.
In order to make progress toward this goal, the Iraqi government must
stop the sectarian violence in its capital. But the Iraqis are not yet
ready to do this on their own. So we're deploying reinforcements of more
than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq. The vast majority
will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and
secure neighborhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army
units. With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by
chasing down the terrorists, insurgents, and the roaming death squads.
And in Anbar Province, where al Qaeda terrorists have gathered and local
forces have begun showing a willingness to fight them, we're sending an
additional 4,000 United States Marines, with orders to find the
terrorists and clear them out. (Applause.) We didn't drive al Qaeda out
of their safe haven in Afghanistan only to let them set up a new safe
haven in a free Iraq.
The people of Iraq want to live in peace, and now it's time for their
government to act. Iraq's leaders know that our commitment is not
open-ended. They have promised to deploy more of their own troops to
secure Baghdad -- and they must do so. They pledged that they will
confront violent radicals of any faction or political party -- and they
need to follow through, and lift needless restrictions on Iraqi and
coalition forces, so these troops can achieve their mission of bringing
security to all of the people of Baghdad. Iraq's leaders have committed
themselves to a series of benchmarks -- to achieve reconciliation, to
share oil revenues among all of Iraq's citizens, to put the wealth of
Iraq into the rebuilding of Iraq, to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their
nation's civic life, to hold local elections, and to take responsibility
for security in every Iraqi province. But for all of this to happen,
Baghdad must be secure. And our plan will help the Iraqi government take
back its capital and make good on its commitments.
My fellow citizens, our military commanders and I have carefully
weighed the options. We discussed every possible approach. In the end, I
chose this course of action because it provides the best chance for
success. Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in
Iraq, because you understand that the consequences of failure would be
grievous and far-reaching.
If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi
government would be overrun by extremists on all sides. We could expect
an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni
extremists aided by al Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A
contagion of violence could spill out across the country -- and in time,
the entire region could be drawn into the conflict.
For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the
objective. Chaos is the greatest ally -- their greatest ally in this
struggle. And out of chaos in Iraq would emerge an emboldened enemy with
new safe havens, new recruits, new resources, and an even greater
determination to harm America. To allow this to happen would be to
ignore the lessons of September the 11th and invite tragedy. Ladies and
gentlemen, nothing is more important at this moment in our history than
for America to succeed in the Middle East, to succeed in Iraq and to
spare the American people from this danger. (Applause.)
This is where matters stand tonight, in the here and now. I have
spoken with many of you in person. I respect you and the arguments
you've made. We went into this largely united, in our assumptions and in
our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for
failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq, and I ask you
to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the
field, and those on their way. (Applause.)
The war on terror we fight today is a generational struggle that will
continue long after you and I have turned our duties over to others. And
that's why it's important to work together so our nation can see this
great effort through. Both parties and both branches should work in
close consultation. It's why I propose to establish a special advisory
council on the war on terror, made up of leaders in Congress from both
political parties. We will share ideas for how to position America to
meet every challenge that confronts us. We'll show our enemies abroad
that we are united in the goal of victory.
And one of the first steps we can take together is to add to the
ranks of our military so that the American Armed Forces are ready for
all the challenges ahead. (Applause.) Tonight I ask the Congress to
authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by
92,000 in the next five years. (Applause.) A second task we can take on
together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps.
Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would
ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians
with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs
them. It would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a
chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time.
Americans can have confidence in the outcome of this struggle because
we're not in this struggle alone. We have a diplomatic strategy that is
rallying the world to join in the fight against extremism. In Iraq,
multinational forces are operating under a mandate from the United
Nations. We're working with Jordan and Saudi Arabia and Egypt and the
Gulf States to increase support for Iraq's government.
The United Nations has imposed sanctions on Iran, and made it clear
that the world will not allow the regime in Tehran to acquire nuclear
weapons. (Applause.) With the other members of the Quartet -- the U.N.,
the European Union, and Russia -- we're pursuing diplomacy to help bring
peace to the Holy Land, and pursuing the establishment of a democratic
Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security.
(Applause.) In Afghanistan, NATO has taken the lead in turning back the
Taliban and al Qaeda offensive -- the first time the Alliance has
deployed forces outside the North Atlantic area. Together with our
partners in China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, we're pursuing
intensive diplomacy to achieve a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear
weapons. (Applause.)
We will continue to speak out for the cause of freedom in places like
Cuba, Belarus, and Burma -- and continue to awaken the conscience of the
world to save the people of Darfur. (Applause.)
American foreign policy is more than a matter of war and diplomacy.
Our work in the world is also based on a timeless truth: To whom much is
given, much is required. We hear the call to take on the challenges of
hunger and poverty and disease -- and that is precisely what America is
doing. We must continue to fight HIV/AIDS, especially on the continent
of Africa. (Applause.) Because you funded our Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief, the number of people receiving life-saving drugs has grown from
50,000 to more than 800,000 in three short years. I ask you to continue
funding our efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. I ask you to provide $1.2 billion
over five years so we can combat malaria in 15 African countries.
(Applause.)
I ask that you fund the Millennium Challenge Account, so that
American aid reaches the people who need it, in nations where democracy
is on the rise and corruption is in retreat. And let us continue to
support the expanded trade and debt relief that are the best hope for
lifting lives and eliminating poverty. (Applause.)
When America serves others in this way, we show the strength and
generosity of our country. These deeds reflect the character of our
people. The greatest strength we have is the heroic kindness, courage,
and self-sacrifice of the American people. You see this spirit often if
you know where to look -- and tonight we need only look above to the
gallery.
Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa, amid great poverty and disease. He
came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine -- but
Coach John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea.
(Laughter.) Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the
United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth, or the duty to
share his blessings with others. He built a brand new hospital in his
old hometown. A friend has said of this good-hearted man: "Mutombo
believes that God has given him this opportunity to do great things."
And we are proud to call this son of the Congo a citizen of the United
States of America. (Applause.)
After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to
share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some
equipment, and began filming children's videos in her basement. The Baby
Einstein Company was born, and in just five years her business grew to
more than $20 million in sales. In November 2001, Julie sold Baby
Einstein to the Walt Disney Company, and with her help Baby Einstein has
grown into a $200 million business. Julie represents the great
enterprising spirit of America. And she is using her success to help
others -- producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new
project: "I believe it's the most important thing that I have ever done.
I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe."
And so tonight, we are pleased to welcome this talented business
entrepreneur and generous social entrepreneur -- Julie Aigner-Clark.
(Applause.)
Three weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station
with his two little girls, when he saw a man fall into the path of a
train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the
man into the space between the rails, and held him as the train passed
right above their heads. He insists he's not a hero. He says: "We got
guys and girls overseas dying for us to have our freedoms. We have got
to show each other some love." There is something wonderful about a
country that produces a brave and humble man like Wesley Autrey.
(Applause.)
Tommy Rieman was a teenager pumping gas in Independence, Kentucky,
when he enlisted in the United States Army. In December 2003, he was on
a reconnaissance mission in Iraq when his team came under heavy enemy
fire. From his Humvee, Sergeant Rieman returned fire; he used his body
as a shield to protect his gunner. He was shot in the chest and arm, and
received shrapnel wounds to his legs -- yet he refused medical
attention, and stayed in the fight. He helped to repel a second attack,
firing grenades at the enemy's position. For his exceptional courage,
Sergeant Rieman was awarded the Silver Star. And like so many other
Americans who have volunteered to defend us, he has earned the respect
and the gratitude of our entire country. (Applause.)
In such courage and compassion, ladies and gentlemen, we see the
spirit and character of America -- and these qualities are not in short
supply. This is a decent and honorable country -- and resilient, too.
We've been through a lot together. We've met challenges and faced
dangers, and we know that more lie ahead. Yet we can go forward with
confidence -- because the State of our Union is strong, our cause in the
world is right, and tonight that cause goes on. God bless. (Applause.)
See you next year. Thank you for your prayers. |