There were two moments on my recent journey which, for me, confirmed the
final aims of our foreign policy and what it always must be.
One was in a little village in India, where I met a people as passionately
attached to their rights and liberties as we are, but whose children have a
far smaller chance for good health or food or education or human
fulfillment than a child born in this country.
The other moment was in Warsaw, capital of a nation twice devastated by war
in this century. There, people have rebuilt the city which war's
destruction took from them. But what was new only emphasized clearly what
was lost.
What I saw in those two places crystalized for me the purposes of our own
Nation's policy: to ensure economic justice, to advance human rights, to
resolve conflicts without violence, and to proclaim in our great democracy
our constant faith in the liberty and dignity of human beings everywhere.
We Americans have a great deal of work to do together. In the end, how well
we do that work will depend on the spirit in which we approach it. We must
seek fresh answers, unhindered by the stale prescriptions of the past.
It has been said that our best years are behind us. But I say again that
America's best is still ahead. We have emerged from bitter experiences
chastened but proud, confident once again, ready to face challenges once
again, and united once again.
We come together tonight at a solemn time. Last week the Senate lost a good
and honest man, Lee Metcalf of Montana.
And today, the flag of the United States flew at half-mast from this
Capitol and from American installations and ships all over the world, in
mourning for Senator Hubert Humphrey.
Because he exemplified so well the joy and the zest of living, his death
reminds us not so much of our own mortality, but of the possibilities
offered to us by life. He always looked to the future with a special
American kind of confidence, of hope and enthusiasm. And the best way that
we can honor him is by following his example.
Our task, to use the words of Senator Humphrey, is "reconciliation,
rebuilding, and rebirth."
Reconciliation of private needs and interests into a higher purpose.
Rebuilding the old dreams of justice and liberty, and country and
community.
Rebirth of our faith in the common good.
Each of us here tonight, and all who are listening in your homes, must
rededicate ourselves to serving the common good. We are a community, a
beloved community, all of us. Our individual fates are linked, our futures
intertwined. And if we act in that knowledge and in that spirit, together,
as the Bible says, we can move mountains.
Thank you very much.
***
State of the Union Address
Jimmy Carter
January 25, 1979
Tonight I want to examine in a broad sense the state of our American
Union--how we are building a new foundation for a peaceful and a prosperous
world.
Our children who will be born this year will come of age in the 21st
century. What kind of society, what kind of world are we building for them?
Will we ourselves be at peace? Will our children enjoy a better quality of
life? Will a strong and united America still be a force for freedom and
prosperity around the world?
Tonight, there is every sign that the state of our Union is sound.
Our economy offers greater prosperity for more of our people than ever
before. Real per capita income and real business profits have risen
substantially in the last 2 years. Farm exports are setting an all-time
record each year, and farm income last year, net farm income, was up more
than 25 percent.
Our liberties are secure. Our military defenses are strong and growing
stronger. And more importantly, tonight, America--our beloved country--is
at peace.
Our earliest national commitments, modified and reshaped by succeeding
generations, have served us well. But the problems that we face today are
different from those that confronted earlier generations of Americans. They
are more subtle, more complex, and more interrelated. At home, we are
recognizing ever more clearly that government alone cannot solve these
problems. And abroad, few of them can be solved by the United States alone.
But Americans as a united people, working with our allies and friends, have
never been afraid to face problems and to solve problems, either here or
abroad.
The challenge to us is to build a new and firmer foundation for the
future--for a sound economy, for a more effective government, for more
political trust, and for a stable peace--so that the America our children
inherit will be even stronger and even better than it is today.
We cannot resort to simplistic or extreme solutions which substitute myths
for common sense.
In our economy, it is a myth that we must choose endlessly between
inflation and recession. Together, we build the foundation for a strong
economy, with lower inflation, without contriving either a recession with
its high unemployment or unworkable, mandatory government controls.
In our government, it is a myth that we must choose between compassion and
competence. Together, we build the foundation for a government that works,
and works for people.
In our relations with our potential adversaries, it is a myth that we must
choose between confrontation and capitulation. Together, we build the
foundation for a stable world of both diversity and peace.
Together, we've already begun to build the foundation for confidence in our
economic system. During the last 2 years, in bringing our economy out of
the deepest recession since the 1930's, we've created 7,100,000 new jobs.
The unemployment rate has gone down 25 percent. And now we must redouble
our fight against the persistent inflation that has wracked our country for
more than a decade. That's our important domestic issue, and we must do it
together.
We know that inflation is a burden for all Americans, but it's a disaster
for the poor, the sick, and the old. No American family should be forced to
choose among food, warmth, health care, or decent housing because the cost
of any of these basic necessities has climbed out of reach.
Three months ago, I outlined to the Nation a balanced anti-inflation
program that couples responsible government restraint with responsible wage
and price restraint. It's based upon my knowledge that there is a more
powerful force than government compulsion--the force created by the
cooperative efforts of millions of Americans working toward a common goal.
Business and labor have been increasingly supportive. It's imperative that
we in government do our part. We must stop excessive government growth, and
we must control government spending habits.
I've sent to this Congress a stringent but a fair budget, one that, since I
ran for President in 1976, will have cut the Federal deficit in half. And
as a percentage of our gross national product, the deficit will have
dropped by almost 75 percent.
This Congress had a good record last year, and I now ask the 96th Congress
to continue this partnership in holding the line on excess Federal
spending. It will not be easy. But we must be strong, and we must be
persistent.
This budget is a clear message that, with the help of you and the American
people, I am determined, as President, to bring inflation under control.
The 1980 budget provides enough spending restraint to begin unwinding
inflation, but enough support for our country to keep American workers
productive and to encourage the investments that provide new jobs. We will
continue to mobilize our Nation's resources to reduce our trade deficit
substantially this year and to maintain the strength of the American
dollar.
We've demonstrated in this restrained budget that we can build on the gains
of the past 2 years to provide additional support to educate disadvantaged
children, to care for the elderly, to provide nutrition and legal services
for the poor, and to strengthen the economic base of our urban communities
and, also, our rural areas.
This year, we will take our first steps to develop a national health plan.
We must never accept a permanent group of unemployed Americans, with no
hope and no stake in building our society. For those left out of the
economy because of discrimination, a lack of skills, or poverty, we must
maintain high levels of training, and we must continue to provide jobs.
A responsible budget is not our only weapon to control inflation. We must
act now to protect all Americans from health care costs that are rising $1
million per hour, 24 hours a day, doubling every 5 years. We must take
control of the largest contributor to that inflation: skyrocketing hospital
costs.
There will be no clearer test of the commitment of this Congress to the
anti-inflation fight than the legislation that I will submit again this
year to hold down inflation in hospital care.
Over the next 5 years, my proposals will save Americans a total of $60
billion, of which $25 billion will be savings to the American taxpayer in
the Federal budget itself. The American people have waited long enough.
This year we must act on hospital cost containment.
We must also fight inflation by improvements and better enforcement of our
antitrust laws and by reducing government obstacles to competition in the
private sector.
We must begin to scrutinize the overall effect of regulation in our
economy. Through deregulation of the airline industry we've increased
profits, cut prices for all Americans, and begun--for one of the few times
in the history of our Nation--to actually dismantle a major Federal
bureaucracy. This year, we must begin the effort to reform our regulatory
processes for the railroad, bus, and the trucking industries.
America has the greatest economic system in the world. Let's reduce
government interference and give it a chance to work.
I call on Congress to take other anti-inflation action--to expand our
exports to protect American jobs threatened by unfair trade, to conserve
energy, to increase production and to speed development of solar power, and
to reassess our Nation's technological superiority. American workers who
enlist in the fight against inflation deserve not just our gratitude, but
they deserve the protection of the real wage insurance proposal that I have
already made to the Congress.
To be successful, we must change our attitudes as well as our policies. We
cannot afford to live beyond our means. We cannot afford to create programs
that we can neither manage nor finance, or to waste our natural resources,
and we cannot tolerate mismanagement and fraud. Above all, we must meet the
challenges of inflation as a united people.
With the support of the American people, government in recent decades has
helped to dismantle racial barriers, has provided assistance for the
jobless and the retired, has fed the hungry, has protected the safety,
health, and bargaining rights of American workers, and has helped to
preserve our natural heritage.
But it's not enough to have created a lot of government programs. Now we
must make the good programs more effective and improve or weed out those
which are wasteful or unnecessary.
With the support of the Congress, we've begun to reorganize and to get
control of the bureaucracy. We are reforming the civil service system, so
that we can recognize and reward those who do a good job and correct or
remove those who do not.
This year, we must extend major reorganization efforts to education, to
economic development, and to the management of our natural resources. We
need to enact a sunshine [sunset] law that when government programs have
outlived their value, they will automatically be terminated.
There's no such thing as an effective and a noncontroversial reorganization
and reform. But we know that honest, effective government is essential to
restore public faith in our public action.
None of us can be satisfied when two-thirds of the American citizens chose
not to vote last year in a national election. Too many Americans feel
powerless against the influence of private lobbying groups and the
unbelievable flood of private campaign money which threatens our electoral
process.
This year, we must regain the public's faith by requiring limited financial
funds from public funds for congressional election campaigns. House bill 1
provides for this public financing of campaigns. And I look forward with a
great deal of anticipation to signing it at an early date.
A strong economy and an effective government will restore confidence in
America. But the path of the future must be charted in peace. We must
continue to build a new and a firm foundation for a stable world
community.
We are building that new foundation from a position of national
strength--the strength of our own defenses, the strength of our friendships
with other nations, and of our oldest American ideals.
America's military power is a major force for security and stability in the
world. We must maintain our strategic capability and continue the progress
of the last 2 years with our NATO Allies, with whom we have increased our
readiness, modernized our equipment, and strengthened our defense forces in
Europe. I urge you to support the strong defense budget which I have
proposed to the Congress.
But our national security in this complicated age requires more than just
military might. In less than a lifetime, world population has more than
doubled, colonial empires have disappeared, and a hundred new nations have
been born, and migration to the world's cities have all awakened new
yearnings for economic justice and human rights among people everywhere.
This demand for justice and human rights is a wave of the future. In such a
world, the choice is not which super power will dominate the world. None
can and none will. The choice instead is between a world of anarchy and
destruction, or a world of cooperation and peace.
In such a world, we seek not to stifle inevitable change, but to influence
its course in helpful and constructive ways that enhance our values, our
national interests, and the cause of peace.
Towering over this volatile, changing world, like a thundercloud on a
summer day, looms the awesome power of nuclear weapons.
We will continue to help shape the forces of change, to anticipate emerging
problems of nuclear proliferation and conventional arms sales, and to use
our great strength parts of the world before they erupt and spread.
We have no desire to be the world's policeman. But America does want to be
the world's peacemaker.
We are building the foundation for truly global cooperation, not only with
Western and industrialized nations but with the developing countries as
well. Our ties with Japan and our European allies are stronger than ever,
and so are our friendly relations with the people of Latin America, Africa,
and the Western Pacific and Asia.
We've won new respect in this hemisphere with the Panama Canal treaties.
We've gained new trust with the developing world through our opposition to
racism, our commitment to human rights, and our support for majority rule
in Africa.
The multilateral trade negotiations are now reaching a successful
conclusion, and congressional approval is essential to the economic
well-being of our own country and of the world. This will be one of our top
priorities in 1979.
We are entering a hopeful era in our relations with one-fourth of the
world's people who live in China. The presence of Vice Premier Deng
Xiaoping next week will help to inaugurate that new era. And with prompt
congressional action on authorizing legislation, we will continue our
commitment to a prosperous, peaceful, and secure life for the people of
Taiwan.
I'm grateful that in the past year, as in the year before, no American has
died in combat anywhere in the world. And in Iran, Nicaragua, Cyprus,
Namibia, and Rhodesia, our country is working for peaceful solutions to
dangerous conflicts.
In the Middle East, under the most difficult circumstances, we have sought
to help ancient enemies lay aside deep-seated differences that have
produced four bitter wars in our lifetime.
Our firm commitment to Israel's survival and security is rooted in our
deepest convictions and in our knowledge of the strategic importance to our
own Nation of a stable Middle East. To promote peace and reconciliation in
the region, we must retain the trust and the confidence both of Israel and
also of the Arab nations that are sincerely searching for peace.
I am determined, as President, to use the full, beneficial influence of our
country so that the precious opportunity for lasting peace between Israel
and Egypt will not be lost.
The new foundation of international cooperation that we seek excludes no
nation. Cooperation with the Soviet Union serves the cause of peace, for in
this nuclear age, world peace must include peace between the super
powers--and it must mean the control of nuclear arms.
Ten years ago, the United States and the Soviet Union made the historic
decision to open the strategic arms limitations talks, or SALT. The purpose
of SALT, then as now, is not to gain a unilateral advantage for either
nation, but to protect the security of both nations, to reverse the costly
and dangerous momentum of the nuclear arms race, to preserve a stable
balance of nuclear forces, and to demonstrate to a concerned world that we
are determined to help preserve the peace.
The first SALT agreement was concluded in 1972. And since then, during 6
years of negotiation by both Republican and Democratic leaders, nearly all
issues of SALT II have been resolved. If the Soviet Union continues to
negotiate in good faith, a responsible SALT agreement will be reached.
It's important that the American people understand the nature of the SALT
process.
SALT II is not based on sentiment; it's based on self-interest--of the
United States and of the Soviet Union. Both nations share a powerful common
interest in reducing the threat of a nuclear war. I will sign no agreement
which does not enhance our national security.
SALT II does not rely on trust; it will be verifiable. We have very
sophisticated, proven means, including our satellites, to determine for
ourselves whether or not the Soviet Union is meeting its treaty
obligations. I will sign no agreement which cannot be verified.
The American nuclear deterrent will remain strong after SALT II. For
example, just one of our relatively invulnerable Poseidon
submarines--comprising less than 2 percent of our total nuclear force of
submarines, aircraft, and land-based missiles--carries enough warheads to
destroy every large- and medium-sized city in the Soviet Union. Our
deterrent is overwhelming, and I will sign no agreement unless our deterrent
force will remain overwhelming.
A SALT agreement, of course, cannot substitute for wise diplomacy or a
strong defense, nor will it end the danger of nuclear war. But it will
certainly reduce that danger. It will strengthen our efforts to ban nuclear
tests and to stop the spread of atomic weapons to other nations. And it can
begin the process of negotiating new agreements which will further limit
nuclear arms.
The path of arms control, backed by a strong defense, the path our Nation
and every President has walked for 30 years, can lead to a world of law and
of international negotiation and consultation in which all peoples might
live in peace. In this year 1979, nothing is more important than that the
Congress and the people of the United States resolve to continue with me on
that path of nuclear arms control and world peace. This is paramount.
I've outlined some of the changes that have transformed the world and which
are continuing as we meet here tonight. But we in America need not fear
change. The values on which our Nation was founded: individual liberty,
self-determination, the potential for human fulfillment in freedom, all of
these endure. We find these democratic principles praised, even in books
smuggled out of totalitarian nations and on wallposters in lands which we
thought were closed to our influence. Our country has regained its special
place of leadership in the worldwide struggle for human rights. And that is
a commitment that we must keep at home, as well as abroad.
The civil rights revolution freed all Americans, black and white, but its
full promise still remains unrealized. I will continue to work with all my
strength for equal opportunity for all Americans--and for affirmative
action for those who carry the extra burden of past denial of equal
opportunity.
We remain committed to improving our labor laws to better protect the
rights of American workers. And our Nation must make it clear that the
legal rights of women as citizens are guaranteed under the laws of our land
by ratifying the equal rights amendment.
As long as I'm President, at home and around the world America's examples
and America's influence will be marshaled to advance the cause of human
rights.
To establish those values, two centuries ago a bold generation of Americans
risked their property, their position, and life itself. We are their heirs,
and they are sending us a message across the centuries. The words they made
so vivid are now growing faintly indistinct, because they are not heard
often enough. They are words like "justice," "equality," "unity," "truth,"
"sacrifice," "liberty," "faith," and "love."
These words remind us that the duty of our generation of Americans is to
renew our Nation's faith, not focused just against foreign threats but
against the threats of selfishness, cynicism, and apathy.
The new foundation I've discussed tonight can help us build a nation and a
world where every child is nurtured and can look to the future with hope,
where the resources now wasted on war can be turned towards meeting human
needs, where all people have enough to eat, a decent home, and protection
against disease.
It can help us build a nation and a world where all people are free to seek
the truth and to add to human understanding, so that all of us may live our
lives in peace.
Tonight, I ask you, the Members of the Congress, to join me in building
that new foundation, a better foundation, for our beloved country and our
world.
Thank you very much.
***
State of the Union Address
Jimmy Carter
January 21, 1980
This last few months has not been an easy time for any of us. As we meet
tonight, it has never been more clear that the state of our Union depends
on the state of the world. And tonight, as throughout our own generation,
freedom and peace in the world depend on the state of our Union.
The 1980's have been born in turmoil, strife, and change. This is a time of
challenge to our interests and our values and it's a time that tests our
wisdom and our skills.
At this time in Iran, 50 Americans are still held captive, innocent victims
of terrorism and anarchy. Also at this moment, massive Soviet troops are
attempting to subjugate the fiercely independent and deeply religious
people of Afghanistan. These two acts--one of international terrorism and
one of military aggression--present a serious challenge to the United
States of America and indeed to all the nations of the world. Together, we
will meet these threats to peace.
I'm determined that the United States will remain the strongest of all
nations, but our power will never be used to initiate a threat to the
security of any nation or to the rights of any human being. We seek to be
and to remain secure--a nation at peace in a stable world. But to be secure
we must face the world as it is.
Three basic developments have helped to shape our challenges: the steady
growth and increased projection of Soviet military power beyond its own
borders; the overwhelming dependence of the Western democracies on oil
supplies from the Middle East; and the press of social and religious and
economic and political change in the many nations of the developing world,
exemplified by the revolution in Iran.
Each of these factors is important in its own right. Each interacts with
the others. All must be faced together, squarely and courageously. We will
face these challenges, and we will meet them with the best that is in us.
And we will not fail.
In response to the abhorrent act in Iran, our Nation has never been aroused
and unified so greatly in peacetime. Our position is clear. The United
States will not yield to blackmail.
We continue to pursue these specific goals: first, to protect the present
and long-range interests of the United States; secondly, to preserve the
lives of the American hostages and to secure, as quickly as possible, their
safe release, if possible, to avoid bloodshed which might further endanger
the lives of our fellow citizens; to enlist the help of other nations in
condemning this act of violence, which is shocking and violates the moral
and the legal standards of a civilized world; and also to convince and to
persuade the Iranian leaders that the real danger to their nation lies in
the north, in the Soviet Union and from the Soviet troops now in
Afghanistan, and that the unwarranted Iranian quarrel with the United
States hampers their response to this far greater danger to them.
If the American hostages are harmed, a severe price will be paid. We will
never rest until every one of the American hostages are released.
But now we face a broader and more fundamental challenge in this region
because of the recent military action of the Soviet Union.
Now, as during the last 3 1/2 decades, the relationship between our
country, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union is the most
critical factor in determining whether the world will live at peace or be
engulfed in global conflict.
Since the end of the Second World War, America has led other nations in
meeting the challenge of mounting Soviet power. This has not been a simple
or a static relationship. Between us there has been cooperation, there has
been competition, and at times there has been confrontation.
In the 1940's we took the lead in creating the Atlantic Alliance in
response to the Soviet Union's suppression and then consolidation of its
East European empire and the resulting threat of the Warsaw Pact to Western
Europe.
In the 1950's we helped to contain further Soviet challenges in Korea and
in the Middle East, and we rearmed to assure the continuation of that
containment.
In the 1960's we met the Soviet challenges in Berlin, and we faced the
Cuban missile crisis. And we sought to engage the Soviet Union in the
important task of moving beyond the cold war and away from confrontation.
And in the 1970's three American Presidents negotiated with the Soviet
leaders in attempts to halt the growth of the nuclear arms race. We sought
to establish rules of behavior that would reduce the risks of conflict, and
we searched for areas of cooperation that could make our relations
reciprocal and productive, not only for the sake of our two nations but for
the security and peace of the entire world.
In all these actions, we have maintained two commitments: to be ready to
meet any challenge by Soviet military power, and to develop ways to resolve
disputes and to keep the peace.
Preventing nuclear war is the foremost responsibility of the two
superpowers. That's why we've negotiated the strategic arms limitation
treaties--SALT I and SALT II. Especially now, in a time of great tension,
observing the mutual constraints imposed by the terms of these treaties
will be in the best interest of both countries and will help to preserve
world peace. I will consult very closely with the Congress on this matter
as we strive to control nuclear weapons. That effort to control nuclear
weapons will not be abandoned.
We superpowers also have the responsibility to exercise restraint in the
use of our great military force. The integrity and the independence of
weaker nations must not be threatened. They must know that in our presence
they are secure.
But now the Soviet Union has taken a radical and an aggressive new step.
It's using its great military power against a relatively defenseless
nation. The implications of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan could pose
the most serious threat to the peace since the Second World War.
The vast majority of nations on Earth have condemned this latest Soviet
attempt to extend its colonial domination of others and have demanded the
immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops. The Moslem world is especially and
justifiably outraged by this aggression against an Islamic people. No
action of a world power has ever been so quickly and so overwhelmingly
condemned. But verbal condemnation is not enough. The Soviet Union must pay
a concrete price for their aggression.
While this invasion continues, we and the other nations of the world cannot
conduct business as usual with the Soviet Union. That's why the United
States has imposed stiff economic penalties on the Soviet Union. I will not
issue any permits for Soviet ships to fish in the coastal waters of the
United States. I've cut Soviet access to high-technology equipment and to
agricultural products. I've limited other commerce with the Soviet Union,
and I've asked our allies and friends to join with us in restraining their
own trade with the Soviets and not to replace our own embargoed items. And
I have notified the Olympic Committee that with Soviet invading forces in
Afghanistan, neither the American people nor I will support sending an
Olympic team to Moscow.
The Soviet Union is going to have to answer some basic questions: Will it
help promote a more stable international environment in which its own
legitimate, peaceful concerns can be pursued? Or will it continue to expand
its military power far beyond its genuine security needs, and use that
power for colonial conquest? The Soviet Union must realize that its
decision to use military force in Afghanistan will be costly to every
political and economic relationship it values.
The region which is now threatened by Soviet troops in Afghanistan is of
great strategic importance: It contains more than two-thirds of the world's
exportable oil. The Soviet effort to dominate Afghanistan has brought
Soviet military forces to within 300 miles of the Indian Ocean and close to
the Straits of Hormuz, a waterway through which most of the world's oil
must flow. The Soviet Union is now attempting to consolidate a strategic
position, therefore, that poses a grave threat to the free movement of
Middle East oil.
This situation demands careful thought, steady nerves, and resolute action,
not only for this year but for many years to come. It demands collective
efforts to meet this new threat to security in the Persian Gulf and in
Southwest Asia. It demands the participation of all those who rely on oil
from the Middle East and who are concerned with global peace and stability.
And it demands consultation and close cooperation with countries in the
area which might be threatened.
Meeting this challenge will take national will, diplomatic and political
wisdom, economic sacrifice, and, of course, military capability. We must
call on the best that is in us to preserve the security of this crucial
region.
Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to
gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on
the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault
will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.
During the past 3 years, you have joined with me to improve our own
security and the prospects for peace, not only in the vital oil-producing
area of the Persian Gulf region but around the world. We've increased
annually our real commitment for defense, and we will sustain this increase
of effort throughout the Five Year Defense Program. It's imperative that
Congress approve this strong defense budget for 1981, encompassing a
5-percent real growth in authorizations, without any reduction.
We are also improving our capability to deploy U.S. military forces rapidly
to distant areas. We've helped to strengthen NATO and our other alliances,
and recently we and other NATO members have decided to develop and to
deploy modernized, intermediate-range nuclear forces to meet an unwarranted
and increased threat from the nuclear weapons of the Soviet Union.
We are working with our allies to prevent conflict in the Middle East. The
peace treaty between Egypt and Israel is a notable achievement which
represents a strategic asset for America and which also enhances prospects
for regional and world peace. We are now engaged in further negotiations to
provide full autonomy for the people of the West Bank and Gaza, to resolve
the Palestinian issue in all its aspects, and to preserve the peace and
security of Israel. Let no one doubt our commitment to the security of
Israel. In a few days we will observe an historic event when Israel makes
another major withdrawal from the Sinai and when Ambassadors will be
exchanged between Israel and Egypt.
We've also expanded our own sphere of friendship. Our deep commitment to
human rights and to meeting human needs has improved our relationship with
much of the Third World. Our decision to normalize relations with the
People's Republic of China will help to preserve peace and stability in
Asia and in the Western Pacific.
We've increased and strengthened our naval presence in the Indian Ocean,
and we are now making arrangements for key naval and air facilities to be
used by our forces in the region of northeast Africa and the Persian Gulf.
We've reconfirmed our 1959 agreement to help Pakistan preserve its
independence and its integrity. The United States will take action
consistent with our own laws to assist Pakistan in resisting any outside
aggression. And I'm asking the Congress specifically to reaffirm this
agreement. I'm also working, along with the leaders of other nations, to
provide additional military and economic aid for Pakistan. That request
will come to you in just a few days.
Finally, we are prepared to work with other countries in the region to
share a cooperative security framework that respects differing values and
political beliefs, yet which enhances the independence, security, and
prosperity of all.
All these efforts combined emphasize our dedication to defend and preserve
the vital interests of the region and of the nation which we represent and
those of our allies--in Europe and the Pacific, and also in the parts of
the world which have such great strategic importance to us, stretching
especially through the Middle East and Southwest Asia. With your help, I
will pursue these efforts with vigor and with determination. You and I will
act as necessary to protect and to preserve our Nation's security.
The men and women of America's Armed Forces are on duty tonight in many
parts of the world. I'm proud of the job they are doing, and I know you
share that pride. I believe that our volunteer forces are adequate for
current defense needs, and I hope that it will not become necessary to
impose a draft. However, we must be prepared for that possibility. For this
reason, I have determined that the Selective Service System must now be
revitalized. I will send legislation and budget proposals to the Congress
next month so that we can begin registration and then meet future
mobilization needs rapidly if they arise.
We also need clear and quick passage of a new charter to define the legal
authority and accountability of our intelligence agencies. We will
guarantee that abuses do not recur, but we must tighten our controls on
sensitive intelligence information, and we need to remove unwarranted
restraints on America's ability to collect intelligence.
The decade ahead will be a time of rapid change, as nations everywhere seek
to deal with new problems and age-old tensions. But America need have no
fear. We can thrive in a world of change if we remain true to our values
and actively engaged in promoting world peace. We will continue to work as
we have for peace in the Middle East and southern Africa. We will continue
to build our ties with developing nations, respecting and helping to
strengthen their national independence which they have struggled so hard to
achieve. And we will continue to support the growth of democracy and the
protection of human rights.
In repressive regimes, popular frustrations often have no outlet except
through violence. But when peoples and their governments can approach their
problems together through open, democratic methods, the basis for stability
and peace is far more solid and far more enduring. That is why our support
for human rights in other countries is in our own national interest as well
as part of our own national character.
Peace--a peace that preserves freedom--remains America's first goal. In the
coming years, as a mighty nation we will continue to pursue peace. But to
be strong abroad we must be strong at home. And in order to be strong, we
must continue to face up to the difficult issues that confront us as a
nation today.
The crises in Iran and Afghanistan have dramatized a very important lesson:
Our excessive dependence on foreign oil is a clear and present danger to
our Nation's security. The need has never been more urgent. At long last,
we must have a clear, comprehensive energy policy for the United States.
As you well know, I have been working with the Congress in a concentrated
and persistent way over the past 3 years to meet this need. We have made
progress together. But Congress must act promptly now to complete final
action on this vital energy legislation. Our Nation will then have a major
conservation effort, important initiatives to develop solar power,
realistic pricing based on the true value of oil, strong incentives for the
production of coal and other fossil fuels in the United States, and our
Nation's most massive peacetime investment in the development of synthetic
fuels.
The American people are making progress in energy conservation. Last year
we reduced overall petroleum consumption by 8 percent and gasoline
consumption by 5 percent below what it was the year before. Now we must do
more.
After consultation with the Governors, we will set gasoline conservation
goals for each of the 50 States, and I will make them mandatory if these
goals are not met.
I've established an import ceiling for 1980 of 8.2 million barrels a
day--well below the level of foreign oil purchases in 1977. I expect our
imports to be much lower than this, but the ceiling will be enforced by an
oil import fee if necessary. I'm prepared to lower these imports still
further if the other oil-consuming countries will join us in a fair and
mutual reduction. If we have a serious shortage, I will not hesitate to
impose mandatory gasoline rationing immediately.
The single biggest factor in the inflation rate last year, the increase in
the inflation rate last year, was from one cause: the skyrocketing prices
of OPEC oil. We must take whatever actions are necessary to reduce our
dependence on foreign oil--and at the same time reduce inflation.
As individuals and as families, few of us can produce energy by ourselves.
But all of us can conserve energy--every one of us, every day of our lives.
Tonight I call on you--in fact, all the people of America--to help our
Nation. Conserve energy. Eliminate waste. Make 1980 indeed a year of energy
conservation.
Of course, we must take other actions to strengthen our Nation's economy.
First, we will continue to reduce the deficit and then to balance the
Federal budget.
Second, as we continue to work with business to hold down prices, we'll
build also on the historic national accord with organized labor to restrain
pay increases in a fair fight against inflation.
Third, we will continue our successful efforts to cut paperwork and to
dismantle unnecessary Government regulation.
Fourth, we will continue our progress in providing jobs for America,
concentrating on a major new program to provide training and work for our
young people, especially minority youth. It has been said that "a mind is a
terrible thing to waste." We will give our young people new hope for jobs
and a better life in the 1980's.
And fifth, we must use the decade of the 1980's to attack the basic
structural weaknesses and problems in our economy through measures to
increase productivity, savings, and investment.
With these energy and economic policies, we will make America even stronger
at home in this decade--just as our foreign and defense policies will make
us stronger and safer throughout the world. We will never abandon our
struggle for a just and a decent society here at home. That's the heart of
America--and it's the source of our ability to inspire other people to
defend their own rights abroad.
Our material resources, great as they are, are limited. Our problems are
too complex for simple slogans or for quick solutions. We cannot solve them
without effort and sacrifice. Walter Lippmann once reminded us, "You took
the good things for granted. Now you must earn them again. For every right
that you cherish, you have a duty which you must fulfill. For every good
which you wish to preserve, you will have to sacrifice your comfort and
your ease. There is nothing for nothing any longer."
Our challenges are formidable. But there's a new spirit of unity and
resolve in our country. We move into the 1980's with confidence and hope
and a bright vision of the America we want: an America strong and free, an
America at peace, an America with equal rights for all citizens--and for
women, guaranteed in the United States Constitution--an America with jobs
and good health and good education for every citizen, an America with a
clean and bountiful life in our cities and on our farms, an America that
helps to feed the world, an America secure in filling its own energy needs,
an America of justice, tolerance, and compassion. For this vision to come
true, we must sacrifice, but this national commitment will be an exciting
enterprise that will unify our people.
Together as one people, let us work to build our strength at home, and
together as one indivisible union, let us seek peace and security
throughout the world.
Together let us make of this time of challenge and danger a decade of
national resolve and of brave achievement.
Thank you very much.
***
State of the Union Address
Jimmy Carter
January 16, 1981
To the Congress of the United States:
The State of the Union is sound. Our economy is recovering from a
recession. A national energy plan is in place and our dependence on foreign
oil is decreasing. We have been at peace for four uninterrupted years.
But, our Nation has serious problems. Inflation and unemployment are
unacceptably high. The world oil market is increasingly tight. There are
trouble spots throughout the world, and 52 American hostages are being held
in Iran against international law and against every precept of human
affairs.
However, I firmly believe that, as a result of the progress made in so many
domestic and international areas over the past four years, our Nation is
stronger, wealthier, more compassionate and freer than it was four years
ago. I am proud of that fact. And I believe the Congress should be proud as
well, for so much of what has been accomplished over the past four years
has been due to the hard work, insights and cooperation of Congress. I
applaud the Congress for its efforts and its achievements.
In this State of the Union Message I want to recount the achievements and
progress of the last four years and to offer recommendations to the
Congress for this year. While my term as President will end before the 97th
Congress begins its work in earnest, I hope that my recommendations will
serve as a guide for the direction this country should take so we build on
the record of the past four years.