We talked about the response of the Federal Government. And most importantly, we talked about the way forward. We talked about what we can do, working together, to move forward. And as a result of that first meeting, we found areas where we share common purpose, and we have resolved to work together in practical ways. But I do want to work with him, and that is what I am here to talk to you about. And so we have been working together in helping the citizens along the gulf coast recover from one of the worst natural disasters in our Nation's history. You know, when we met, I told Bruce that I would work with the Congress to make sure we dedicated enough money to help the folks. He kind of looked at me like sure he is heard these political promises before. It is not the first time that he had heard somebody say, Well, we will work together to see if we cannot get enough money. And I suspect he might have thought, Well, he is just trying to get me out of the Oval Office. But I meant what I said, and I want to thank the United States Congress for joining with the administration. We have committed over $110 billion to help the people in the gulf coast. That is money to go to build new homes, good schools. Bruce and I talked a lot about how do we make sure the contracting that goes on down there in the gulf coast goes to minority-owned businesses. The road to recovery is long and difficult, but we will continue to work together to implement the strategy that Bruce and I worked on, along with people other people like Donna Brazile and other leaders. We have got a plan, and we have got a commitment. And the commitment is not only to work together, but it is a commitment to the people of the gulf coast of the United States to see to it that their lives are better and brighter than before the storm. We also worked together to ensure that African Americans can take advantage of the new Medicare drug benefit. Look, I understand that we had a political disagreement on the bill. I know that. But I worked with the Congress to make sure that the days of seniors having to choose between food and medicine is over. And that is the case of this new Medicare benefit. The Federal Government pays over 95 percent of the cost for our Nation's poorest seniors to get this new drug benefit. And I want to thank the NAACP for recognizing that it is important to help our seniors sign up for this benefit.


We put politics aside. We said, the day is over of arguing about the bill; let us make sure people receive the benefits of this bill. Bruce Gordon has shown leadership on this important issue, and I want to thank you for that. We will work together, and as we do so, you must understand, I understand that racism still lingers in America. It is a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African Americans distrust my political party. I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historic ties with the African American community. For too long, my party wrote off the African American vote, and many African Americans wrote off the Republican Party. That history has prevented us from working together when we agree on great goals. That is not good for our country. That is what I have come to share with you. We have put the interests of the country above political party. I want to change the relationship. The America we seek should be bigger than politics. And today I am going to talk about some areas where I believe we can work together to reduce the obstacles for opportunity for all our citizens. And that starts, by the way, with education. We want an excellent education for every child. I can remember being the Governor of Texas I do not know if there is any Texans here or not. I remember going to a ninth grade class when I was the Governor. It was in a neighborhood that is a low-income neighborhood there in Houston. And I asked the ninth grade teacher, I said, How is it going? The man looked me in the eye and said, My students cannot read. I decided to do something about it when I was the Governor, and I decided to do something about that when I became the President. See, we must challenge a system that simply shuffles children through grade to grade without determining whether they can read, write, and add and subtract. We need to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. If you have low expectations, you are going to get lousy results. We must not tolerate a system that gives up on people. So I came to Washington and I worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass the No Child Left Behind Act. It says that the Federal Government will spend more money on education in primary and secondary schools and we have increased the budgets by 40 percent. It also says, and in return for additional help, you must measure.

Remarks at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Annual Convention


And so why do you ask that? Why do you say that in return for increased money, you need to measure? And the reason why is because in order to solve a problem, you have got to diagnose the problem. Measuring results can tell us whether or not teaching methodology is sound. Measuring results can enable us to figure out which children are falling behind early. You know, one of the interesting things about the No Child Left Behind Act, it says that when we find a child falling behind early, there will be extra money for tutoring, extra money for help. The whole purpose is to make sure people are at the starting line. The whole purpose is to make sure that the teacher that told me that, My children cannot read, no longer happens in the ninth grade. There is an achievement gap in America that is wrong for America, an achievement gap that says we are not fulfilling the promise. One of the barriers to opportunity, one of the obstacles to success is the fact that too many of our children are not reading at grade level. And we know that because we measure, and we are doing something about it. Measuring allows parents to see how the school that their child is going to is doing. It lets the parents determine whether or not they should be satisfied with the education their child is getting. I strongly believe that parental involvement is important for our school systems. And I believe and I strongly believe a parent knows what is best for his or her child. That is what I believe. And therefore, when we find schools that are not teaching and will not change, our parents should have a different option. If you want quality education, you have got to trust the parents. You know, an amazing thing about our society today is wealthier white families have got the capacity to defeat mediocrity by moving. That is not the case for lower-income families. And so therefore, I strongly believe in charter schools and public school choice. I believe in opportunity scholarships to be able to enable parents to move their child out of a school that is not teaching, for the benefit of the United States of America. I also understand that we have got to do more for primary more than just primary and secondary education. I am proud to report that working with the United States Congress, the number of low-income Americans receiving Pell grants has increased by about a million Americans since I have become the President. Pell grants are an important part of educational excellence and opportunity.


We are expanding money for our community college system. I met my pledge to increase funding for Historically Black Universities by 30 percent. A decent education is the gateway to a life of opportunity. And I look forward to working with the NAACP to enhance educational excellence all across the United States of America. Second, I hope we can work together in an America where more people become owners, own something, something that they can call their own. From our Nation's earliest days, ownership has been at the heart of our country. Unfortunately, for most of our history, African Americans were excluded from the dream. That is the reality of our past. Most of your forefathers did not come to this land seeking a better life; most came in chains as the property of other people. Today, their children and grandchildren now have an opportunity to own their own property, and good policies will encourage that. And that is what we ought to work together on. For most Americans, ownership begins with owning your own home. Owning a home is to give something they can leave behind to their children. See, one of the concerns I have is that because of the past, there has not been enough assets that a family can pass on from one generation to the next. And we have got to address that problem. And a good way to do so is through homeownership. Today, nearly half of African Americans own their own homes, and that is good for America. That is good for our country, but they have still got to do more. So we working to do our part with helping people afford a downpayment and closing costs, helping families who are in rental assistance to become homeowners, helping people understand the fine print when it comes to mortgage documents. One of the things I want to work with the NAACP on is to encourage more people to be able to open the front door of the place where they live and say, Welcome to my home; welcome to my piece of property. I also want to work to home-ownership in other areas. We want to see more African Americans own their own businesses, and that is why we have increased loans to African American businesses by 40 percent. We are taking steps to make it easier for African American businesses to compete for Federal contracts. We are working to expand help to have African American workers own a piece of their own retirement. You know, one of my friends is Bob Johnson, founder of BET. He believes strongly in ownership.


He believes strongly, for example, that the death tax will prevent future African American entrepreneurs from being able to pass their assets from one generation to the next. He and I also understand that the investor class should not be just confined to the old definition of the investor class. You know, an amazing experience when I went to Canton, Mississippi, I asked the workers there, who were mainly African American workers, I said, How many of you have your own 401? That means they own their own assets. They manage their own money. It is a system that says, we want you to have assets that you can leave from one generation to the next. Asset accumulation is an important part of removing the barriers for opportunity. I think it is really important, and I want to work with Bruce, if possible. The Federal Government should encourage ownership in the Government pension program, to give people a chance to own an asset, something they can call their own. Ownership is vital to making sure this country extends its hope to every neighborhood in the United States of America. And I look forward to working with the NAACP to encourage ownership in America. I want to work with you to make sure America's communities are strong. I have got a friend named Tony Evans. Some of you may know Tony, from Dallas, Texas. He was one time giving a sermon, and I heard him speak, and I want to share with you what it was. He said he told a story about the man who had a crack on one of the walls in his home. So he got the plasterer to come by, and the guy plastered the wall. Got another plasterer in; put the plaster on the wall; and it reappeared again. He finally called a wise fellow over. The man explained what the problem was with the cracks on the wall. He said, look, in order to solve the cracks on the wall, you have to fix the foundation. What I want to do is work with the NAACP to help fix the foundations of our society. We want strong families. We want to help people who need help. We want to help the addicted; we want to help the homeless; we want to help those who are trying to reenter society after having been incarcerated. That is what we want to do. Government can hand out money and we do but it cannot put hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose in a person's life. That is why I strongly support institutions of faith and community service all around our country.


I believe in the neighborhood helpers and healers. We have provided more than $5 billion to faith-based groups that are running the soup kitchens and sheltering the homeless and healing the addicted and helping people reenter our society, people who are providing compassionate care and love. Organizations of faith exist to love a neighbor like they'd like to be loved themselves. And I believe it is important for Government to not only welcome but to encourage faith-based programs to help solve the intractable problems of our society. And this Faith-Based Initiative is being challenged in the courts. They claim that they fight the initiative in the name of civil liberties, yet they do not seem to realize that the organizations they are trying to prevent from accessing Federal money are the same ones that helped win the struggle of civil rights. I believe if an organization gets good results and helps people turn their lives around, it deserves support of Government. We should not discriminate based upon religion. We ought to welcome religious institutions into helping solve and save America, one soul and one heart at a time. Finally, you and I seek America that commits its wealth and expertise to helping those who suffer from terrible disease. We believe that every person in the world bears the image of our Maker and is an individual of matchless value. And when we see the scourge of ENTITY/ENTITY ravaging communities at home and abroad, we must not avert our eyes. Today, more than a million of our fellow Americans live with ENTITY, and more than half of all ENTITY cases arise in the African American community. This disease is spreading fastest among African American women. And one of the reasons the disease is spreading so quickly is many do not realize they have the virus. And so we are going to lead a nationwide effort and I want to work with the NAACP on this effort to deliver rapid ENTITY/ENTITY ENTITY tests to millions of our fellow citizens. Congress needs to reform and reauthorize the Ryan White Act and provide funding to States so we can end the waiting lists for ENTITY medications in this country. To whom much is given, much is required. This Nation is a blessed nation, and when we look at ENTITY/ENTITY on the continent of Africa, we have not turned away. We believe it is our Nation's responsibility to help those who suffer from this pandemic. We are leading the world when it comes to providing medications and help.


Today, more than 40 million people around the world are living with ENTITY/ENTITY; 26 million of those live in sub-Sahara Africa, including 2 million children under the age of 15. We are calling people together. We pledged $15 billion to provide medicine and help. We launched the Emergency Plan for ENTITY Relief. Before this ENTITY emergency plan was passed, only 50,000 people in sub-Sahara Africa were getting medicine. Today, that number has grown to more than 560,000 people, and more are getting help every day. By working together, we can turn the tide of this struggle against ENTITY/ENTITY and bring new hope to millions of people. These goals I have outlined are worthy of our Nation. In the century since the NAACP was founded, our Nation has grown more prosperous and more powerful. The history of America is one of constant renewal, and each generation has a responsibility to write a new chapter in the unfinished story of freedom. That story began with the founding promise of equality and justice and freedom for all men. And that promise has brought hope and inspiration to all peoples across the world. Yet our founding was also imperfect because the human beings that made our founding were imperfect. Many of the same Founders who signed their names to a parchment declaring that all men are created equal permitted whole categories of human beings to be excluded from these words. The future of our founding, to live up to its own words, opened a wound that has persisted to today. In the 19th century, the wound resulted in a civil war. In the 20th century, it denied African Americans the vote in many parts of our country. And at the beginnings of the 21st century, the wound is not fully healed and whole communities . To heal this wound for good, we must continue to work for a new founding that redeems the promise of our Declaration and guarantees the birthright of every citizen. For many African Americans this new founding began with the civil rights movement and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A generation of Americans that has grown up in the last few decades may not appreciate what this act has meant. Condi Rice understands what this act has meant. See, she tells me of her father's long struggle to register to vote, and the pride that came when he finally claimed his full rights as an American citizen to cast his first ballot. She shared that story with me. Yet that right was not fully guaranteed until President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.


Nixon and I are very honored to be here deep in the heart of Texas. I can say that the heart of America, today at this moment, is in the heart of Texas as this distinguished company so well illustrates. It is here to pay tribute to the life of a man, and the life of his wife as well, who has given 40 years of service to this State and to this Nation. The entire Nation is indebted to you, President Johnson, and to this great university, the University of Texas, to all who have had a hand in assembling and establishing this extraordinary treasury of insights into a critical period of this Nation's history. And on behalf of all the people of the United States, I am honored and privileged to accept it for America. The American people have reason to be doubly grateful to you today, first for your long period of service to the Nation, and now for this collection that can take the scholars of future generations behind the scenes of that service, as you have indicated in your remarks. One of the first rules of statecraft is that we can successfully chart the future only if we can understand the past. Libraries such as this can be among our best keys to that understanding. With its more than 31 million documents, this contains more items by far than any other Presidential library yet established; and through its connection with a great university, it promises both to enrich the university and to be enriched by the university. Often I am asked what it feels like to sit in the President's Oval Office--to know, in President Truman's famous phrase, that the buck stops here, and to experience the weight of history that hangs over that office. Just a few minutes ago, as President Johnson was throwing me -showing me through the library--I am coming back later when I have more time --we visited what I think may prove to be the most exciting and popular room in the whole library for the visitor, a replica of the Oval Office. As we were there in that office, furnished as it was during the period that he served as President, I reflected, as I am sure he did, once again on the answer to that question. President Johnson sometimes used to comment, in speaking about the Presidency, that the problem is not doing what is right; the problem is knowing what is right.

Remarks at the Dedication of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Texas.


Sitting in the Oval Office in Washington the other day, I found myself reflecting on its shape--on the fact that it is built as an oval, without corners, and with walls that might be said to have no sides or an infinite number of sides--and on the fact that there is a certain parallel with the shape of that office and the Presidency itself. For ENTITY of the United States cannot approach a question from one side or the other; on each issue that comes to the Oval Office there normally are an infinite number of sides and of competing considerations to be resolved or chosen among. This reflects the fact, of course, that the easy questions are not the ones that come to the President; those are decided at other levels. The ones that he must decide are the ones on which there are disagreements, even among members of his own administration who share his own goals but who have different perspectives or different judgments about the best way to achieve those goals. They deal not simply with right versus wrong but with varying degrees of right and wrong, with various balances of legitimate but competing interests, and with varying judgments about how best to accomplish what is right. And so the study of the Presidency is a study, in the final analysis, of the difficult decision, the close question. But I have found that the more deeply I study the Presidency, the more firm I become in my faith that throughout our history, the basic high principle of those who have been called upon to govern has been one of the great sustaining strengths of America. I believe this has been true because the office inhabits the man, just as the man inhabits the office. No one holds that office without a profound sense of obligation-to the country, to the world, and to the future. that each one who has been President has recognized, in his turn, that he is the one who must speak for all the people of America. A man of one region must speak for all regions. A man of one party must strive to see how problems look from the other party's point of view. A man who has crusaded for a cause recognizes that he has a responsibility to those of the opposite view, as well as to those who may agree with him. One of the most scholarly men ever to sit in the Senate of the United States was Albert Beveridge of Indiana. Partisanship, he said, should only be a method of patriotism. He who is a partisan merely for the sake of spoils is a buccaneer.


He who is a partisan merely for the sake of a party name is a ghost of the past among living events. He who is merely the partisan of an ordinary organization is only a pebble in the sling of a boss. But he who is the partisan of principle is a prince of citizenship. A partisan of principle--that is what our political system is all about; that is what transforms ordinary disputes into those great debates that illumine for years to come the issues confronting the Nation, in which men of principle test their principles and the Nation achieves a deeper understanding of itself. It also is what holds us together on those great questions on which our unity has kept us free. Every President has to be a leader of his party--and our party system is essential to our democratic system. But more and more in today's world, the times require that a President, and indeed all of us who help lead the Nation, go beyond party to be partisans of principle. For increasingly we confront great concerns that go beyond partisan considerations and partisan differences--concerns that reach to the security of our Nation, to our hopes for peace in the world, to realizing the American dream here at home in our lives and those of our children--on these great goals we must all be partisans of principle. It has been my privilege, during a quarter-century of public service, to know many partisans of principle. I think today especially of those times during the Eisenhower Administration, when I was Vice President and Lyndon Johnson was the Majority Leader of the United States Senate. He was a vigorous leader of his party. But I knew, and President Eisenhower often told me, and he knew, that whenever the great issues of national security were concerned, he would always be a partisan of principle, not a partisan of party. And so it is in that same spirit that we are gathered here today to dedicate this library, in doing so, to pay tribute to President Johnson--and to dedicate ourselves to the proposition, as Senator Albert Beveridge so eloquently put it so long ago, that the partisan of principle is a prince of citizenship.


From time to time I find that it is one of my pleasant duties to meet with groups who are convening here in the National Capital for some public-spirited service. It has been my privilege to extend to them a welcome on the part of the Administration and the National Government. In none of these cases have I felt greater satisfaction than I do this afternoon. By his or her presence here, each person attending this meeting shows their support for several things in which I passionately believe. One of them is support for the Constitution of the United States which, written in the recognition that all people are the children of God, made no distinction among them by reason of inconsequential factors over which they themselves had no control. I believe those of us who preach so loudly about constitutional government advance our cause as we meticulously observe that particular factor or foundation of that great Document. Another thing I have preached, as have many others, is against the theory that there can be any second-class citizen. I believe as long as we allow conditions to exist that make for second-class citizens, we are making of ourselves less than first-class citizens. In other words, I believe the only way to protect my own rights is to protect the rights of others. Everything that the Constitution accords to me, I must defend for others--or else finally there will be nobody left to defend me. And now I want to tell you a little bit of a story that just happened the day before yesterday. I was down at Annapolis, and I inspected a Marine Guard. As I went around, I noticed there were several Negroes occupying different positions in this Guard. One of them had on the chevrons of a non-commissioned officer. I talked with the commanding officer of this group. I said, Now here occurs one of those things that was always advanced as an argument when we were working for the cause of eliminating segregation in the armed services--it was said that white men would not willingly serve under a Negro superior. I must tell you that this man, when it came to the making of non-commissioned officers, could not pass the rigid mental examination we gave. But his personality was so fine, his qualities of leadership so evident, his character and reputation in the company so great that we had to make special arrangements so that it was unnecessary for him to pass completely the mental examination.

Remarks at the United Negro College Fund Luncheon


We have an expression we used to have an expression when I served in the Senate Senator Van Hollen they said when they wanted to make some statement that was personal, they'd say, A point of personal privilege. You know, when you were talking about being a waterman, working on the water my family is originally from Baltimore, came in the early 1800s. And the entire Biden family worked in the water were watermen until probably 1906, -7, or -8. And my father was raised here in Baltimore. They do not say Baltimore. They say Bawltamer. And so, you know, although they never worked at the port, they did work in the bay and along here. So, you know, this has been this is one the oldest ports in the country continuously running and one of the best ports in the country. I appreciate it very much. And I want to thank Governor Hogan for being here and members of the delegation. I want start off with one of my best buddies and, I think, one of the most effective people in the United States Senate, Chris Van Hollen. Do not if you need something, go to him, man. And a guy who I knew him when he was a kid. He does not remember me. I am getting so old; I knew his dad, Senator Sarbanes. You got a first-rate delegation. And so, I want to thank them for being here today and thank them for all the help in getting the members of the House and getting the legislation passed. It is going to make a big difference. We are the only country in the world we underestimate ourselves; we are sort of down on ourselves the last 10 years or so we are the only country in the world, as a matter of history, that every crisis we have faced we have come out better on the other side. We not only beat it not a joke, think about it we have come out better than we were before we went into the crisis. And the economic and political, as well as the health crisis we found with ENTITY I was determined, when we got elected, we got to build it back better than it was. We are in competition to determine whether or not we can still remain the most powerful economic force in the world. And so, today, I am here to talk about one of the most pressing economic concerns of the American people and it is real.

Remarks by President Biden on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal


getting prices down, number one; number two, making sure our stores are fully stocked; and number three, getting a lot of people back to work while tracking and tackling these two above challenges I mentioned. Tell us the Ameri- the American people, in the midst of an economic crisis, that recovery is showing strong results, but not to them. Everything from a gallon of gas to loaf of bread costs more. We still face challenges, and we have to tackle them. We have to tackle them head on. And on the good side, we are seeing the highest growth rate in decades, the fastest decrease in unemployment at this point ever since 1950. But we are we got problems too. Many people remain unsettled about the economy, and we all know why. They see higher prices. They go to the store online, or they cannot or they go to the store go online and they cannot find what they always want and when they want it. And we are tracking these issues and trying to figure out how to tackle them head on. My administration, with the help of the folks on my left over here, is has a plan to finish the job at getting us back to normal from the pandemic and having a stronger economy than we have ever had before. Let me explain the part that the ports play and why they are so critically important. Infrastructure week has finally arrived. How many times did you hear over the last five years Infrastructure week is coming? The House of Representatives passed my Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Along with another plan that I am advancing, this bill is going to reduce the cost of goods to consumers and businesses, and get people back to work, helping us build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out that where everybody is better off. You know, I am tired of this trickle-down economy stuff. I come from Delaware just across the line up here and, you know, we have more corporations in Delaware than every other nation in the state combined. And so, I understand big business. The fact of the matter is, it is time they start paying their fair share. The fact is, you have 55 corporations last year that, in fact, made $40 billion did not pay a single penny in taxes. Nobody is going to nobody is going to pay more if you make less than 400 grand, you are not going to pay anything more in taxes at all.


And so, look, this is a once-in-a-generation investment to create good-paying jobs, modernize our infrastructure, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity. We are dealing with climate think jobs. Because that is how you beat the climate crisis. Put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century we face with China and the rest of the world. China is outspending us on research and development. And China is outspending all these these other countries are as well. I am going to create good-paying union jobs union. Not good jo- not 12 dollars an hour, not 15 dollars an hour 45 bucks an hour and up with good benefits so you can raise a family on and build the middle class out. And jobs that cannot be outsourced; they cannot outsource these jobs. And I am going to transform our transportation system with the most significant investment in passenger rail in the past 50 years; in roads and bridges the most significant investment in 70 years; and investments in public transit that we have done over the period. You know, it is going to it is going to modernize our ports with $17 billion in investment $17 billion in investment. We are going to reduce congestion. We are going to address repair and maintenance backlogs, deploy state-of-the-art technologies, and make our ports cleaner and more efficient. And we are going to do the same with our airports and freight rail. We are going to create jobs replacing lead water pipes that are here in Maryland, as well as every other state in the union, that are poisoning our kids and others. We are going to make high-speed Internet affordable and available to everywhere in America. Those of you who have kids in school when we we have been going to this hybrid thing some in class, some out of class how many times if you haven- if you do not live in an area where you have high-speed Internet you can afford, how many times have you driven your kids to the parking lot of McDonald's and sat there going off the McDonald's Internet so you could hear? So, folks, we are going to build the first-ever national network of electric vehicle charging stations all across the country. IBEW is going to put in 500,000 charging stations across the country. That is in the Recovery Act excuse me that is in the Build Back Better Bill, which is not going to raise taxes one single cent.


Totally paid for by making taxes work for people who make over 400 grand and just do their fair share. I am going to get America off the sidelines on manufacturing the manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries to store energy and power the electric vehicles from school buses to automobiles. We are also going to make historic investments in environmental cleanup and remediation, rebuilding resilience against superstorms and droughts and wildfires and hurricanes. I traveled all over the country this year. You know, there is nine- literally, $99 billion in losses because of storms this year. Did you ever think you'd see you'd go out more wildfires in the West than the entire and lost land lost, homes lost burned to the ground I have flown over in Marine One than the entire state of New Jersey, from the Cape all the way to New York. That is how much we have lost in America so far so far. And according to the economic experts, this bill is going to ease inflationary pressures, lowering the cost to working families. Seventeen excuse me yeah, 17 Nobel laureates in economics wrote a letter to me about 10 days ago saying this is going to affect bring inflation down, not up. Best of all, the vast majority of these jobs are going to create that we are going to create do not require a college degree do not require it. This is the ultimate blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America. I am not waiting to sign a bill to start improving the flow of goods from ships to shelves. Yesterday, I announced a port of a port plan of action. It lays out concrete steps for my administration to take over the next three months to invest in our ports and to relieve bottlenecks. This builds on the progress we have already made. Last month, I reached a deal with two of the largest ports in America the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. And I met with you guys, with the longshoremen there, and we worked out a deal between the port owners and the longshoremen to move toward operating those two ports. Forty percent of everything in the Pacific comes through those two ports. So they all agreed they are going to go 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Last week, the number of container ships in the docks for more than nine days fell by over 20 percent.


And now we are announcing steps to improve ports on the East Coast to provide support for the Port of Savannah, the fourth-largest container port in the country, to help reduce congestion. With our help, they now have the funds they need to set up five new inland port sites in Georgia and North Carolina so goods can get closer to their final destination more quickly. And other ports across the country will have the resources they need to make these kinds of immediate investments as well. The challenge we need to meet here, and that my plan is going to help address, has to do with the supply chain. You hear a lot about the supply chains in the news, but, frankly, not a lot of people are clear or have a clear understanding, whether they have a PhD or they did not go to school, about how a supply chain works. It is easy to talk about it, but what is the impact on the economy, let alone how to fix it? And as long as goods and materials are getting where they need to go on time, there is usually no need to worry about the supply chains. But when global disruptions hit, like a pandemic, they can hit supply chains particularly hard. ENTITY has stretched global supply chains like never before. And suddenly, when you go to order a pair of sneakers or a bicycle or Christmas presents for the family, you are met with higher prices and long delays, or they say they just do not have any at all. And the reason for that, last year, was has a lot to do with most companies make their product how they make their products today. raw materials plus labor, assembly, shipping everything it takes to create the finished product. Even products as simple as a pencil can have to use wood from Brazil, graphite from India before it comes together at a factory in the United States to get a pencil. So if, all of a sudden, you got a ENTITY crisis in Brazil, you cannot get the product maybe because the plant shuts down. Products like smartphones often bring together parts from France, Italy; chips from the Netherlands; touchscreens from New York State; camera components from Japan a supply chain that crosses dozens of countries. That is just the nature of a modern economy the world economy. But global supply chains have helped dramatically bring down the price we pay for things we buy. But they have also made us much more reliant on what happens in other parts of the world.


So if a factory in Malaysia shuts down due to a ENTITY outbreak which they have it causes a ripple effect that can slow down auto manufacturing in Detroit. They cannot get the computer chips they need. If a climate disaster closes a port in China, it can delay shipment of furniture or clothing, reduce worldwide supply, and driving up prices here in America. People have more money now because of the first major piece of legislation I passed. You all got checks for $1,400. You got checks for a whole range of things. If you are a mom and you have kids under the age of 7, you are getting 300 bucks a month, and if it is over over 7 to 17, you are getting $360 a month like wealthy people used to when they'd get back tax returns. It changes people's lives. But what happens if there is nothing to buy and you got more money? You compete for getting it there. It creates a real problem. So, on the one hand, we are facing new disruptions to our supplies. But at the same time, we are also experiencing higher demand for goods because wages are up, as well as as well as people have money in the bank. And because of the strength of our economic recovery, American families have been able to buy more products. They are not going out to dinner and lunch and going to the local bars because of ENTITY. So what are they doing? They are staying home, they are ordering online, and they are buying product. Well, with more people with money buying product and less product to buy, what happens? The supply chain is the reason, and the answer is you guys and I will get to that in a minute but what happens? So, we got nearly 20 percent more goods coming into the country than we did before the pandemic struck. In 19 day- excuse me ENTITY has changed the way we spend our time and our money. That is because people have a little more breathing room than they did last year, and that is a good thing. But it also means we got a higher demand for goods at the same time we are facing disruptions in the supplies to make those goods. There is a reci- this is a recipe for delays and for higher prices, and people are feeling it. They are feeling it. Did you ever think you'd be paying this much for a gallon of gas? In some parts of California, they are paying $4.50 a gallon.


That is why it is so important that we do everything in our power to stabilize the supply chain. Yesterday, I spoke with the CEOs personally spoke with the CEOs of the major retailers Walmart, Target and the leading freight movers FedEx and UPS. They assured me that the shelves will be stocked in stores this holiday because they signed on to 24/7 as well. They signed on to 24/7. And they provide more avenues they are getting more of their containers off the ports quicker than ever before. Because a lot of stuff on the ports, it was sitting around, staying there. Because it no longer is the product they need at this moment. And it does not cost them anything to leave them sitting at the port, rather than in their warehouses. Part of the reason why is because my Port Envoy, John Porcari who was the Secretary of Transportation here for two governors John has worked with the operators, the shippers shipping companies and unions and retailers to speed commerce so they can get products to stores and to your doors, and to get the shelves fully stocked this holiday season. railroads, ocean liners, labor, state and local governments. And now we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill the deal it is only going to accelerate. Infrastructure infrastructure used to be rated, in the United States, as the best in the world when I got to the Congress. But today, according to the World Economic Forum, you know where we rank in infrastructure? Twelve countries in the world have more modern, efficient infrastructure than the United States of America. By investing in our roads, our bridges, our ports, and so much else, this bill is going to make it easier for companies to get goods to market more quickly. Here in Baltimore, you have got a port that is older than America itself, and it is been operating for 315 years. By the way, you got any Marines here any former Marines? Well, if you are here as a Marine, happy birthday. They deserve some applause. Look, this port is connected to the nation's oldest rail line, the B&O Railroad, which which in turn relies on the tunnels that are about 126 years old, those tunnels. The tunnel has become a major bottleneck to the port. Now, the Port of Baltimore will be getting a $125 million grant to upgrade that tunnel so freight trains can come double-stacked through that tunnel double-stacked with with these cars with containers on top of them.


They move out a hell of a lot more quickly if they are going if they are imports going out, but if they are exports going across the ocean. That means, in addition to more good jobs being filled, more products on shelves delivered faster and lower prices. It is about taking a long-term view of our economy to deliver lower costs, more jobs, and ensure our shelves are stocked with product. pandemics, weather extremes, cyberattacks, or whatever else comes our way. You know it. We need companies throughout the supply chain to create and support good-paying jobs for people that are that they can grow in, build skills in, join a union, make a decent living. That is when disruption hits so when disruption hits, companies can quickly adapt because they are invested in their workers, their skills, their training, and a strong foundation of what when I always think unions and my family, I think of dignity and respect. dignity and respect. When I got elected, I said we are going to I get to spend quote, unquote $600 billion of your money making everything from aircraft carriers to balloons. So much of it has been going out and getting foreign contractors to do it. Well, this administration has been doing we set new rules to strengthen our domestic supply chains with a new Made in America office within the White House. Never again should our country be left unable to produce critical goods because we do not have access to the materials we need. Never again should we have to rely on one company or one country, particularly when the country does not share our values. We are in a competition for the 21st century and who is going to own it. America still has the most productive workers in the world and the most innovative minds in the world. We risk losing our edge if we do not step up now. It represents the biggest investment in ports in American history. And for American families, it means products moving faster and less expensively from factory floor, through the supply chain, to your home. With the bill we passed last week and the steps we are taking to reduce bottlenecks at home and abroad, we are set to make significant progress. We are already in the midst of a historic economic recovery. And thanks to those steps we are taking, very soon we are going to see the supply chain start catching up with demand. So not only will we see more record-breaking job growth, we will see lower prices and faster deliveries as well.


And, Joe, I never had a doubt. Joe had an operation on his shoulder. I just want you to know it was not because of anything we did. He is in great shape. Were it not for you, your wife telling you to endorse me, I would not be standing here. You know, while they could not be here, I especially want to thank Nancy Pelosi, who was instrumental in this law, and Vice President Harris for her incredible work she did. And I am about to sign the Inflation Reduction Act into law, one of the most significant laws in our history. With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost. We are in a session of-for a while, people doubted whether any of that was going to happen. But we are in a season of substance. as Jim said, a once-in-a-century pandemic, devastating joblessness, clear and present threats to democracy and the rule of law, doubts about America's future itself. Instead, we are delivering results for the American people. And today-today-offers further proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright, and the promise of America is real and just beginning. It is about delivering progress and prosperity to American families. It is about showing the American and-the American people that democracy still works in America-notwithstanding all the talk of its demise-not just for the privileged few, but for all of us. You know, I swore an oath of office to you and to God to faithfully execute the duties of this sacred office. To me, the critical duty-the critical duty-of the Presidency is to defend what is best about America. Defend what is best about America. To pursue justice, to ensure fairness, and to deliver results that create possibilities, possibilities that all of us-all of us-can live a life of consequence and prosperity in a nation that is safe and secure. You know, Presidents should be judged not only by our words, but by our deeds; not by our rhetoric, but by our actions; not by our promise, but by reality. And today is part of an extraordinary story that is being written by this administration and our brave allies in the Congress. This law-this law that I am about to sign-finally delivers on a promise that Washington has made for decades to the American people. I got here as a 29-year-old kid.

Remarks on Signing Legislation To Combat Inflation, Promote Clean Energy Production, and Reduce Prescription Drug Costs


We were promising to make sure that Medicare would have the power to negotiate lower drug prices back then-back then-prescription drug prices. We are giving Medicare the power to negotiate those prices now, on some drugs. This means seniors are going to pay less for their prescription drugs while we are changing circumstances for people on Medicare by putting a cap-a cap of a maximum of $2,000 a year on their prescription drug costs, no matter what the reason for those prescriptions are. That means if you are on Medicare, you will never have to pay more than $2,000 a year, no matter how many prescriptions you have, whether it is for cancer or any other disease. And you all know it because a lot of you come from families that need this. This is a Godsend to many families and so, so long overdue. The Inflation Reduction Act locks in place lower health care premiums for millions of families who get their coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Last year, a family of four saved on average $2,400 through the American Rescue Plan that I signed into law that the Congress voted in place. In the years ahead, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, 13 million people are going to continue to save an average of $800 a year on health insurance. The Inflation Reduction Act invests $369 billion to take the most aggressive action ever-ever, ever, ever-in confronting the climate crisis and strengthening our economic-our energy security. It is going to offer working families thousands of dollars in savings by providing them rebates to buy new and efficient appliances, weatherize their homes, get tax credit for purchasing heat pumps and rooftop solar, electric stoves, ovens, dryers. It gives consumers a tax credit to buy electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles, new or used. And it gives them a credit-a tax credit of up to $7,500 if those vehicles were made in America. American auto companies, along with American labor, are committing their treasure and their talent-billions of dollars in investment-to make electric vehicles and battery and electric charging stations all across America, made in America. All of it made in America. solar factories in the Midwest and the South, wind farms across the Plains and off our shores, clean hydrogen projects and more, all across America, every part of America.


This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever-ever-and it is going to allow us to boldly take additional steps toward meeting all of my climate goals, the ones we set out when we ran. It includes ensuring that we create clean energy opportunities in frontline and fence-line communities that have been smothered-smothered-by the legacy of pollution, and fight environmental injustice that is been going on for so long. In addition to cutting the deficit by $350 billion last year, in my first year in office, and cutting it $1.7 trillion this year, this fiscal year, we are going to cut the deficit-I point out-by another $300 billion with the Inflation Reduction Act over the next decade. We are cutting deficits to fight inflation by having the wealthy and big corporations finally begin to pay part of their fair share. Big corporations will now pay a minimum 15-percent tax instead of us-5-55 of them got away with paying zero dollars in Federal income tax on $40 billion in profit. No one-let me emphasize: no one-earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in Federal taxes. Folks, the Inflation Reduction Act does so many things that, for so many years, so many of us have fought to make happen. In this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people, and every single Republican in the Congress sided with the special interests in this vote-every single one. In fact, the big truck-big drug companies spent nearly $100 million to defeat this bill. Every single Republican in Congress voted against this bill. Every single Republican in Congress voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering health care costs, against a fairer tax system. Every single Republican-every single one-voted against tackling the climate crisis, against lowering our energy costs, against creating good-paying jobs. We can protect the already powerful or show the courage to build a future where everybody has an even shot. That is what I believe in. Today, too often we confuse noise with substance. Too often we confuse setbacks with defeat. Too often we hand the biggest microphone to the critics and the cynics who delight in declaring failure while those committed to making real progress do the hard work of governing. Making progress in this country is a-as big and complicated as ours clearly is not easy. But with unwavering conviction, commitment, and patience, progress does come.


It is nice to meet personally with a group with whom I spend about 10 hours a day. The music that you make not only pleases ENTITY , but I think it extends the beneficial impact of American life throughout the world. As you well know, because you have achieved this high standard of accomplishment, the American sound recording industry has indeed been innovative, dynamic, pleasant, profitable, and- -I was just trying to see which one of those adjectives appealed to you most. But for people who have the talent to both create and produce sound recordings, I want to express my thanks to you as ENTITY. I have got a lot of friends in this room. You have been my friends when the Jimmy Carter performance was on the top of the chart and also when it was on the bottom. And I thank you for it very much. I understand that she is going to be honored tonight with your top award for cultural music performer. In this very room, not too long ago, she not only thrilled a very wonderful audience but she gave me a good dancing lesson, and I enjoyed being with her. And I have just walked over here with Chet Atkins. I have been a fan of his for 20 years or more, and I still listen to his music often. 30 to say that his performance there not only was an inspiration to her personally, and his friendship was very important to her, but the whole audience that heard him play his guitar were electrified, as usual. You are not surprised at that. I might say this is not the first time he has had an interrelationship with the Carter family. He started out with them, or they with him, a long time ago in Nashville, I do want to say that Chet Atkins, who is practically a classical performer-we had Andres Segovia play in this room a couple of Sundays ago-and Chet, also represent the highest kind of personal artistic achievement-Beverly Sills, who has made opera come to life for many people with her personal beauty and her acting talent as well as her lovely voice-represent the gamut of offerings that you have made available to us in this great country and also throughout the world. And I am deeply indebted to you personally and want to express, on behalf of more than 200 million Americans, our thanks for what you mean to us. I believe that you know how close I feel to many of you personally.

Jimmy Carter Recording Industry Association of America Remarks at a White House Reception.


Laura and I are thrilled to be with you. We have just come from Texas. I spent this morning in San Antonio with some small-business owners. They were rightly concerned about our economy and their ability to get credit. They were wondering about a man they know who believes strongly in free markets and wondering why I promoted a significant piece of legislation to deal with what I believe and others believe is a significant problem, and that is the inability of credit to move as freely as we want. And I told them, if I thought that the problem would be contained only to Wall Street, I would have taken a particular point of view, but I told them I was concerned about them-just like I am concerned about you-and therefore proposed with the Congress a big rescue plan to deal with a big problem. I believe that this plan will work over time. I signed the bill on Friday. It is going to take time for the Treasury Department to put a plan in place that will not waste your money and that will achieve the objective. I believe in the long run this economy is going to be just fine. It is a resilient economy; it is a productive economy with good workers. This is a reminder that we have been through tough times before, and we are going to come through this just fine. And so I am telling my fellow citizens, like the three people I had coffee with there in San Antonio, that this plan is big for a reason. And the plan is going to take time to implement. And I-in the meantime, I told them to keep selling their products and working hard. So I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come and talk about judges, but before I did so I wanted to share with you my morning. And I am sure you hear the same thing; people are just wondering, are these banks going to freeze up? And my answer is, we got a plan to deal with it. And we got a plan to deal with judges too. It is something I have been implementing for 712 years. And so today I want to thank Peter and Chip Miller-happens to be the president of the Cincinnati lawyers chapter of the mighty Federalist Society; Fred Finks, the president of Ashland University; Gene Meyer, the president of the Federalist Society, for giving me a chance to come and talk about the judiciary. I appreciate Ed Meese, former Attorney General, for joining us; Paul Clement.

Remarks to the Cincinnati Chapter of the Federalist Society in Cincinnati, Ohio


I understand there are members of the Federalist Society who are viewing this program from afar, over the Internet. So we welcome you via the wonders of modern technology. Before Oliver Wendell Holmes took his seat on the Supreme Court, he met a supporter who wished him well in his new duties. The supporter expressed satisfaction that Holmes would be going to Washington to administer justice. I am going there to administer the law. to apply the laws as written and not to advance their own agendas. He knew that it was up to elected officials, not appointed judges, to represent the popular will. Our Founders gave the judicial branch enormous power. It is the only branch of Government whose officers are unelected. That means judges on the Federal bench must exercise their power prudently, cautiously, or some might even say, conservatively. And that means that the selection and confirmation of good judges should be a high priority for every citizen. We have seen the profound impact that judges can have on the daily lives of every citizen. We saw the power of judges in 2002, when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because it contained the words under God. We saw the power of judges in the Kelo decision, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court that ruled that governments could seize people's homes for private development. The government decided the seizure was for the greater good. We saw the power of judges in Boumediene v. Bush. There, a 5-4 majority rejected the carefully crafted procedures Congress established for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in response to a prior Supreme Court decision. And for the first time, the Court awarded foreign terrorists held overseas legal rights previously reserved for American citizens. Recently we have also seen the important role of judges in the rulings of a very different 5-4 majority. We saw this last year, when five members of the Supreme Court upheld a law banning the grisly practice of partial-birth abortion. We saw it again this June, when that same slender majority stood up for the plain meaning of our Constitution and upheld the rights of citizens under the Second Amendment. Judges matter. And that means the selection of good judges should be a priority for all of us. I appreciate that many people listening today and here in this room have worked hard to recruit more Americans to this cause. This work is in all our interests, but the truth of the matter is, the belief in judicial restraint is shared by the vast majority of American citizens.


A lot has happened since 2000, yet I can still remember the heated debate over the kinds of judges Presidents should appoint. One group said that judges ought to look at the Constitution as a document that grows with our country and our history. This concept of a living Constitution gives unelected judges wide latitude in creating new laws and policies without accountability to the people. And then there was another side, which I happened to be a part of, that said we needed judges who believed that the Constitution means what it says. When asked if I had any idea in mind of the kinds of judges I would appoint, I clearly remember saying, I do. Judge Scalia recently gave an interview on the TV show 60 Minutes. I do not know if you are supposed to call it a TV show, kind of newsworthy show. He talked about the schoolchildren who visit the Supreme Court and proudly recite what they had been taught about the living Constitution. Judge Scalia noted that he usually had the sad duty of telling the children that the Constitution was never alive. He believed, as I do and many in this hall believe, that the Constitution is not a living document, it is an enduring document, and good judges know the difference. And I made a promise to the American people during the campaign that if I was fortunate enough to be elected, my administration would seek out judicial nominees who follow that philosophy. We would search from a diverse array of candidates and nominate those who met the highest standards of competence. We would not impose any litmus tests concerning particular issues or cases. Instead, we would seek judges who would faithfully interpret the Constitution and not use the courts to invent laws or dictate social policy. And with your support, we have kept that pledge. I have appointed more than one-third of all the judges now sitting on the Federal bench, and these men and women are jurists of the highest caliber, with an abiding belief in the sanctity of our Constitution. The judicial philosophy that I brought to Washington, DC, is demonstrated most clearly by the-some of the judges I have named to the bench-matter of fact, all the judges I have named to the bench. One of them is the son of an Italian American-schoolteachers from Trenton, New Jersey. He graduated from Princeton and Yale Law. He worked in Ronald Reagan's Justice Department, was the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, and served as a distinguished circuit court judge.


When I announced his nomination, this good man was hailed by Democrats and Republicans alike for his keen mind and impeccable credentials. And America is well served by the 110th Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Samuel A. Alito. And serving with Justice Alito on the High Court is the former captain of a high school football team who worked summers in the steel mill to help pay for college. He received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in just 3 years and was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. He later clerked for William H. Rehnquist, the man he would replace as Chief Justice. Judges are like umpires. Umpires do not make the rules, they apply them. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire. I was very proud to nominate for the Supreme Court a really decent man and a man of good judgment, and that would be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts. Chief Justice Roberts was so obviously well qualified that he received overwhelming support from Members of the Senate, including many Senators generally considered to be well left of center. Unfortunately, the broad, bipartisan, and timely support for Chief Justice Roberts has increasingly become the exception. Over the years, the advice and consent clause of our Constitution has been subjected to serious abuse. Members of the Senate seem to embrace the advice part; it is the consent part that seems to be the problem. Perhaps the best demonstration of this problem is the story of Miguel Estrada. Miguel was one of my first nominees to the courts, and he had an inspiring personal history. He was an immigrant from Latin America who came to the United States with little knowledge of English. He came to live the dream. He studied hard, and he worked hard, and he made his way to Columbia Law School and then Harvard Law School. He prosecuted crimes in the U.S. attorney's office in New York, and he served in the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton. When Miguel Estrada was nominated for a seat on the DC Circuit Court, he received a unanimous well-qualified rating from the American Bar Association. Yet for more than 2 years, he awaited a simple up-or-down vote in the United States Senate; he never got one. For the first time in history, the Senate used a filibuster to block a nominee to the Court of Appeals.


This fine American endured years of delay; he had his character unfairly attacked and ultimately withdrew his name from consideration, all because a minority of Senators thought they would not like his rulings on the bench and worried that a ENTITY might one day elevate him to the Supreme Court. He deserved a more dignified treatment from the United States Senate. And the American people deserve better behavior from those they send to represent them in Washington, DC. Many other well-qualified nominees have endured uncertainty and withering attacks on their character simply because they have accepted the call to public service. Those waiting in limbo include Peter Keisler for the DC Circuit Court, Rod Rosenstein for the Fourth Circuit, and dozens of other nominees to district and circuit courts across this country. Some of these nominees waiting for a simple up-or-down vote would fill court vacancies that have been designated judicial emergencies. While these vacancies remain unfulfilled-unfilled, legal disputes are left unresolved, the backlog of cases grows larger, and the rule of law is delayed for millions of Americans. The broken confirmation process has other consequences that Americans never see. Lawyers approached about being nominated will often politely decline because of the uncertainty and delay and ruthlessness that now characterizes the confirmation process. Some worry about the impact a nomination might have on their children, who would hear their dad or mom's name dragged through the political mud. This situation is unacceptable, and it is bad for our country. A judicial nomination should be a moment of pride for nominees and their families, not the beginning of an ugly battle. And the confirmation process should befit the greatest democracy in the world and not look like a bad episode of Survivor. It is clear we need to improve the process for confirming qualified judicial nominees. But there are a few things that the American people expect us to agree on. First, the American people expect nominees and their families to be treated with dignity. Nominees should not have to wait years for the up-or-down vote that the Senate owes them. The American people expect their elected officials to do the job of screening judicial nominees. We should not cede to any one legal association the exclusive power to veto a nominee before he or she can make their case to Members of the Senate. The American people expect the nomination process to be as free of partisanship as possible and for Senators to rise above tricks and gimmicks designed to thwart nominees.


As you know, we have just had a meeting where we have addressed a number of issues, which I will be describing. First of all, I would like to welcome once again President-the President of the United States to the Palace of the Moncloa, President Barack Obama. I have thanked him, and I would like to thank him once again for coming before the end of his term. No U.S. President had visited Spain for 15 years last time-the last visit we had was 15 years ago. So I would like to thank him particularly. I did it earlier, and I'd like to do it formally. On behalf of all Spaniards, I would like to thank him for maintaining his visit after the serious events that have taken place in his country. And I have expressed our sympathy and our affection for-to all the American people. I have also explained the-this country's situation at this time, especially from an economic standpoint. The President of the United States knows how the situation has evolved in our economy. He showed interest for our country's economy. When the crisis started in 2007, 2008, and when I was already President of the Government in 2012, we went through very difficult times, and now we see that those times have been overcome in spite of some pending issues. Spain is no longer in a recession. Spain is growing; it is the economy which is growing fastest in the EU. In 2015, we had very positive figures, as you know. And 2016 is also positive for the time being, and we hope things will continue like that. We have overcome imbalances. And the Spanish economy has bright prospects if it continues-we continue to have an economic policy to keep public accounts under control and if we continue to undertake structural reforms. We have also spoken about the elections in Spain, the process that has concluded with the 26 June elections. And I told President Obama that I will do everything possible to form a Government as soon as possible. I think that having had to rerun the elections for the first time in the history of Spain was bad news, but having to have a third election would be very negative, and it would affect the economy and also our credibility in Spain and outside . We have also discussed issues on the European Union. We have talked about Brexit. Spain's position in the negotiations with the U.K. will be constructive. I think that is what is reasonable and what makes sense.

Remarks Following a Meeting With Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey of Spain and an Exchange With Reporters in Madrid, Spain


We have also talked about the refugee crisis and the immigration problems and immigration for economic reasons. Obviously, we have a position, and our position is that problems need to be resolved at the point of origin, and we think that they should be resolved soon-the issue of Libya, the issue of Syria-because that will help us greatly. And I have also told President Obama about what I am doing at the EU so the EU gets involved in resolving problems at the point of origin. A young person who has no prospects in his or her country-who has no prospects to live in his country, who cannot have a dignified life-will do anything he can to leave his or her country and find something elsewhere. So problems need to be resolved at the point of origin, and countries need to be helped. And we have to do it together with the European Union. We have also talked about NATO relations. We have talked about Rota, Morn. And I think things have been done properly with the consensus of most of Spanish society. And that is very good for Spain, and it is also very good for the United States and for all of us who defend democracy, freedom, human rights, and security for people. Bilateral relations at this time are wonderful from all perspectives. The United States is the top investor in Spain-foreign investor. Lastly, we have also addressed the situation in Cuba. We are optimistic for the future. And in Colombia, we wish lots of luck to President Santos because he is deploying great efforts. And we have also talked about Venezuela and the need to normalize the situation. So we have addressed issues which are very important for Spain and for the United States. And I would like to conclude by saying, anyone who wants to hear me, that President Obama is a good friend of Spain's and a good friend of Spaniards. He is honest and a person that we have cooperated with very pleasantly. We would be very pleased if he came back to Spain. Well, let me begin by thanking Prime Minister Rajoy and his team and the Spanish people for welcoming us. It has been an extraordinarily gracious and warm welcome, particularly given the tough situation that we have had at home and my need to rearrange my schedule. I was hoping for a longer stay, but I thought that it was important to make sure that, while I was still President, I visited such an important friend and ally.


Because the relationship between us is a bond of friendship; it is an alliance relationship. We have shared economic and security interests. And we have shared values and ideals as two democracies. And the United States, given the size of its Spanish-speaking population or persons with Hispanic heritage, I think, feel a special connection to Spain. We-I thought the Prime Minister summarized our conversations well. We meet here at a difficult, challenging time for Europe and for the world. We have a world that is integrating rapidly and presents enormous opportunities. But if our institutional arrangements do not ensure inclusion, if we do not coordinate effectively on economic and security issues, then it can present great dangers, both in terms of our own people feeling as if they are left-being left behind, as well as people from other countries fleeing bad situations, wanting to come here, or engaging in conflicts that create safe havens for terrorism and present future challenges to us. The good news is, is that the relationship between the United States and Spain is extremely strong and we have been able to work together on a whole range of these issues. I am confident that taking the approach that Spain has suggested on the Brexit negotiations, that that can be managed in a way that does not have an adverse impact on economic growth and opportunity for all of Europe, including the U.K., and will not have an adverse effect on the global economy. I want to congratulate the Prime Minister and the Spanish people for the economic progress that is been made over the last several years. It has been a difficult journey, but many of the changes that were taken are starting to bear fruit. And we still have more work to do, all of us, in improving the prospects for young people who are unemployed and creating more innovation and productivity and growth in our economies and making sure that those economies are broad based. So we discussed how we can do that on both sides of the Atlantic. We just both came from the NATO meeting in Warsaw, and I want to thank the people of Spain and Spanish Armed Forces for the outstanding leadership that they provide on a whole spectrum of NATO initiatives, whether it is heading up one of NATO's new joint task forces, the incredible contribution that is provided by the Rota and Morn facilities and the hospitality shown to our forces, the work that the EU and NATO together are doing in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea. On all these issues, Spain has been a critical contributor.


And Spain's men and women in uniform do an outstanding job. As Prime Minister mentioned, we also are working together in some very difficult places, like the Middle East. And the contributions that Spain is making to training Iraqi military and police so that they can consolidate the gains that we are making against ISIL have been critically important, and we appreciate that very much as well. Outside of Europe and the Middle East, we also discussed Latin America, where we have a shared interest, given Spain's roots and strong relationships throughout the Spanish-speaking world and given the fact that what happens in the southern half of our hemisphere has a huge impact on us. We agree that Cuba offers the potential of new prosperity and new freedom if managed correctly, the process of normalization between the United States and Cuba. Our hope is, is that although it will not happen overnight, that it provides new opportunity for the people of Cuba. Peace in Colombia has been elusive for decades. And the fact that President Santos has been able to initiate these changes and forge a tentative, but very important peace deal, I think, promises greater prosperity and security for all the Colombian people. We are jointly concerned about the situation in Venezuela. And our hope is, is that we can find a way in which all sides can come together, stabilize the Government, and stabilize the economy. And we want to be helpful, although, obviously, we cannot dictate the outcomes in Venezuela. Let me just conclude by saying that I definitely will come back as an ex-President, because Spain is beautiful. But-and I want to thank the extraordinary hospitality that is been shown to Michelle and my daughters when they have traveled here. They love it as well. So I think, as your children get older, they do not always want to spend time with you. But if you tell them, we will take you to Spain- -then it is a good way to bribe them and force them to spend time with you. But as President of the United States, in my formal role, I want to express the warmth, the gratitude, the friendship that the American people feel towards the Spanish people. We share values. We share ideals. We believe in democracy. We believe in rule of law. We believe in the dignity of all people. And our work together across the international stage is hugely important. So I hope that I am setting a precedent so that it will not be another 15 years before the next U.S. President comes here.


It is a pleasure to welcome once again President Pea Nieto, as well as his delegation. It is appropriate that our first meeting of the year is with one of our closest allies, neighbors, and friends. Obviously, the bonds between Mexico and the United States are long and deep, not only because of the economic ties and strategic ties between our two countries, but most importantly, because of the people-to-people and cultural ties between our people between our two countries. And this meeting has given us an opportunity to continue to find ways to deepen those bonds. We have discussed something that is uppermost on the minds of most Mexicans and Americans, and that is, creating economic growth and jobs and prosperity. I have congratulated President Pea Nieto on some of his structural reforms that I think will unleash even further the enormous potential of the Mexican economy. And we also have discussed how we can continue to work on issues like clean energy, scientific and educational exchanges, improving cross-border commerce, and continue to strengthen the kinds of mutual investment and trade that creates jobs both in Mexico and the United States. We also discussed the issues of security. And obviously, we have been following here in the United States some of the tragic events surrounding the students whose lives were lost. And President Pea Nieto was able to describe to me the reform program that he is initiated around these issues. Our commitment is to be a friend and supporter of Mexico in its efforts to eliminate the scourge of violence and the drug cartels that are responsible for so much tragedy inside of Mexico. And we want to be a good partner in that process, recognizing that ultimately, it will be up to Mexico and its law enforcement to carry out the key decisions that need to be made. I described to President Pea Nieto our efforts to fix our broken immigration system here in the United States and to strengthen our borders as well. I very much appreciate Mexico's efforts in addressing the unaccompanied children who we saw spiking during the summer. In part because of strong efforts by Mexico, including at its southern border, we have seen those numbers reduced back to much more manageable levels. But one of the things that we both agreed on is our continued need to work with Central American governments so that we can address some of the social and economic challenges there that led to that spike in unaccompanied children.

Remarks Following a Meeting With President Enrique Pea Nieto of Mexico


In recent weeks, we have been consulting with our allies and friends on the imposition of sanctions against North Korea because of its refusal to permit full inspections of its nuclear program. Today there are reports that the North Koreans, in discussions with President Carter, may have offered new steps to resolve the international community's concerns, saying that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and monitoring equipment would be left in place and that North Korea desires to replace its present nuclear program with a new light water reactor technology that is more resistant to nuclear proliferation. If North Korea means by this, also, that it is willing to freeze its nuclear program while talks take place, this could be a promising development. As we review these reports today and in the days ahead, I want to take a moment to explain the extent of our interests and the steps we are taking to protect them. Our Nation clearly has vital interests on the Korean Peninsula. Four decades after the conflict there that claimed hundreds of thousands of South Korean and American lives, South Korea continues to face a threat of a million troops, most of them massed near its border. America's commitment to South Korea, our treaty ally, our trading partner, our fellow democracy, is unshakable. We have some 37,000 American troops in Korea to maintain that commitment, and their safety is of vital importance to us. We also have an interest in preserving the stability of the Asian-Pacific region. And we have a compelling interest in preserving the integrity of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to prevent the spread of global nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. a nonnuclear Korean Peninsula and a strong international nonproliferation regime. We have made serious and extensive efforts to resolve the North Korean issue through negotiations and have given North Korea many opportunities to return to compliance with its own nonproliferation commitments, made first 9 years ago when North Korea signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and in 1991, when North Korea agreed with South Korea to pursue a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula. We have made clear that these negotiations could continue, but only if North Korea cooperated with the International Atomic Energy Agency and did not deepen its violation of international nuclear safeguards. If today's developments mean that North Korea is genuinely and verifiably prepared to freeze its nuclear program while talks go on-and we hope that is the case-then we would be willing to resume highlevel talks. In the meantime, we will pursue our consultations on sanctions at the United Nations.

Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters on North Korea


It was 30 years ago when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935 and made it the law of the land. At that time he said, and I want to quote his words, we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age. That very simple statement still expresses the purposes of this wonderful program, though the social security system has grown vastly larger since 1935. Today, as we meet here, more than an million Americans find social security benefit checks in their mailboxes each month. This represents more than $1 1/3 billion a month, more than $16 billion a year, providing a much more secure life for our citizens and contributing a great deal of economic soundness to our economic system. Millions of other Americans at their jobs each day are building up future benefits and looking forward to the day when they will qualify. Franklin Roosevelt called the original Social Security Act, and I quote, a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete. That is true today as it was 30 years ago when President Roosevelt stated it. We are working steadily with the enlightened Members of the Senate and the Congress and the Cabinet here with me this morning to build and to strengthen the social security system. Legislation has already passed the House of Representatives--it is now pending in the Senate--which will provide increased monthly benefits to retired persons, to widows, to orphans, and to the disabled. This year, for the first time, health insurance protection for persons of 65 and over will become a part of America's social security system. I believe that most Americans are looking forward with me to the day when these great measures are signed into law. In this country we all believe that every man wants dignity and a decent life, and not a dole. We believe that every man wants a fair chance, and not charity. We believe that older Americans have earned and deserve peace of mind, not pain and panic, when misfortune strikes. The social security system, and the historic legislation that is now pending in the Senate, are our testaments to those beliefs. So, Mr. Kappel, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to meet with you today and to present to you the 20-millionth recipient of social security benefits, your first social security check.

Lyndon B. Johnson Remarks Upon Presenting a Social Security Check to the 20-Millionth Beneficiary.


I have accepted this occasion for a frank statement of what I consider the dominant issue before the American people. Its solution is more vital to the preservation of our institutions than any other question before us. That is the enforcement and obedience to the laws of the United States, both Federal and State. I ask only that you weigh this for yourselves, and if my position is right, that you support it not to support me but to support something infinitely more precious--the one force that holds our civilization together law. And I wish to discuss it as law, not as to the merits or demerits of a particular law but all law, Federal and State, for ours is a government of laws made by the people themselves. A surprising number of our people, otherwise of responsibility in the community, have drifted into the extraordinary notion that laws are made for those who choose to obey them. And in addition, our law enforcement machinery is suffering from many infirmities arising out of its technicalities, its circumlocutions, its involved procedures, and too often, I regret, from inefficient and delinquent officials. We are reaping the harvest of these defects. More than 9,000 human beings are lawlessly killed every year in the United States. Less than one-sixth of these slayers are convicted, and but a scandalously small percentage are adequately punished. Twenty times as many people in proportion to population are lawlessly killed in the United States as in Great Britain. In many of our great cities murder can apparently be committed with impunity. At least 50 times as many robberies in proportion to population are committed in the United States as in Great Britain, and 3 times as many burglaries. Even in such premeditated crimes as embezzlement and forgery our record stands no comparison with stable nations. No part of the country, rural or urban, is immune. Life and property are relatively more unsafe than in any other civilized country in the world. In spite of all this we have reason to pride ourselves on our institutions and the high moral instincts of the great majority of our people. No one will assert that such crimes would be committed if we had even a normal respect for law and if the laws of our country were properly enforced.

Address to the Associated Press: Law Enforcement and Respect for the Law.


In order to dispel certain illusions in the public mind on this subject, let me say at once that while violations of law have been increased by inclusion of crimes under the 18th amendment and by the vast sums that are poured into the hands of the criminal classes by the patronage of illicit liquor by otherwise responsible citizens, yet this is but one segment of our problem. I have purposely cited the extent of murder, burglary, robbery, forgery, and embezzlement, for but a small percentage of these can be attributed to the 18th amendment. In fact, of the total number of convictions for felony last year, less than 8 percent came from that source. It is, therefore, but a sector of the invasion of lawlessness. What we are facing today is something far larger and more fundamental-the possibility that respect for law as law is fading from the sensibilities of our people. Whatever the value of any law may be, the enforcement of that law written in plain terms upon our statute books is not, in my mind, a debatable question. Law should be observed and must be enforced until it is repealed by the proper processes of our democracy. The duty to enforce the laws rests upon every public official and the duty to obey it rests upon every citizen. No individual has the right to determine what law shall be obeyed and what law shall not be enforced. If a law is wrong, its rigid enforcement is the surest guaranty of its repeal. If it is right, its enforcement is the quickest method of compelling respect for it. I have seen statements published within a few days encouraging citizens to defy a law because that particular journal did not approve of the law itself. I leave comment on such an attitude to any citizen with a sense of responsibility to his country. There is no citizen who would approve of the President of the United States assuming any other attitude. It may be said by some that the larger responsibility for the enforcement of laws against crime rests with State and local authorities and it does not concern the Federal Government. But it does concern the President of the United States, both as a citizen and as the one upon whom rests the primary responsibility of leadership for the establishment of standards of law enforcement in this country. Respect for law and obedience to law does not distinguish between Federal and State laws--it is a common conscience.


After all, the processes of criminal-law enforcement are simply methods of instilling respect and fear into the minds of those who have not the intelligence and moral instinct to obey the law as a matter of conscience. The real problem is to awaken this consciousness, this moral sense, and if necessary to segregate such degenerate minds where they can do no future harm. to investigate our existing agencies of enforcement and to reorganize our system of enforcement in such manner as to eliminate its weaknesses. It is the purpose of the Federal administration systematically to strengthen its law enforcement agencies week by week, month by month, year by year, not by dramatic displays and violent attacks in order to make headlines, not by violating the law itself through misuse of the law in its enforcement, but by steady pressure, steady weeding out of all incapable and negligent officials no matter what their status; by encouragement, promotion, and recognition for those who do their duty; and by the most rigid scrutiny of the records and attitudes of all persons suggested for appointment to official posts in our entire law enforcement machinery. That is administration for which my colleagues and I are fully responsible so far as the human material which can be assembled for the task will permit. Furthermore, I wish to determine and, as far as possible, remove the scores of inherent defects in our present system that defeat the most devoted officials. Every student of our law enforcement mechanism knows full well that it is in need of vigorous reorganization; that its procedure unduly favors the criminal; that our judiciary needs to be strengthened; that the method of assembling our juries needs revision; that justice must be more swift and sure. In our desire to be merciful the pendulum has swung in favor of the prisoner and far away from the protection of society. The sympathetic mind of the American people in its overconcern about those who are in difficulties has swung too far from the family of the murdered to the family of the murderer. With a view to enlisting public understanding, public support, accurate determination of the facts, and constructive conclusions, I have proposed to establish a national commission to study and report upon the whole of our problems involved in criminal-law enforcement. That proposal has met with gratifying support, and I am sure it will have the cooperation of the bar associations and crime commissions in our various States in the widespread effort now being made by them. I do not propose to be hasty in the selection of this commission.


I want time and advice, in order that I may select high-minded men, impartial in their judgment, skilled in the science of the law and our judicial system, clear in their conception of our institutions. Such a commission can perform the greatest of service to our generation. This is the basic question of the understanding, the ideals, the relationship of the individual citizen to the law itself. It is in this field that the press plays a dominant part. It is almost final in its potency to arouse the interest and consciousness of our people. It can destroy their finer sensibilities or it can invigorate them. I am well aware that the great majority of our important journals day by day give support to these high ideals. I wonder, sometimes, however, if perhaps a little more support to our laws could not be given in one direction. If, instead of the glamor of romance and heroism which our American imaginative minds too frequently throw around those who break the law, we would invest with a little romance and heroism those thousands of our officers who are endeavoring to enforce the law, it would itself decrease crime. Praise and respect for those who properly enforce the laws and daily condemnation of those who defy the laws would help. Perhaps a little better proportioned balance of news concerning those criminals who are convicted and punished would serve to instill the fear of the law. I need not repeat that absolute freedom of the press to discuss public questions is a foundation stone of American liberty. I put the question, however, to every individual conscience, whether flippancy is a useful or even legitimate device in such discussions. Its effect is as misleading and as distorting of public conscience as deliberate misrepresentation. Not clarification, but confusion of issues arises from it. Our people for many years have been intensely absorbed in business, in the astonishing upbuilding of a great country, and we have attempted to specialize in our occupations, to strive to achieve in our own specialities and to respect competency of others in theirs. Unconsciously, we have carried this psychology into our state of mind toward government. We tend to regard the making of laws and their administration as a function of a group of specialists in government whom we hired for this purpose and whom we call public servants. After hiring them it is our purpose casually to review their actions, to accept those which we approved, and to reject the rest.


This attitude of mind is destructive government is predicated upon the fact will take his part in the creation of law, of self-government, for self-government is predicated on the fact that every responsible citizen will take his part in the creation of law, obedience to law, and the selection of officials and methods for its enforcement. Finally, I wish to again reiterate that the problem of law enforcement is not alone a function or business of government. If law can be upheld only by enforcement officers, then our scheme of government is at an end. Every citizen has a personal duty in it--the duty to order his own actions, to so weigh the effect of his example, that his conduct shall be a positive force in his community with respect to the law. I have no criticism to make of the American press. I greatly admire its independence and its courage. I sometimes feel that it could give more emphasis to one phase or another of our national problem, but I realize the difficulties under which it operates. I am wondering whether the time has not come, however, to realize that we are confronted with a national necessity of the first degree, that we are not suffering from an ephemeral crime wave but from a subsidence of our foundations. Possibly the time is at hand for the press to systematically demand and support the reorganization of our law enforcement machinery--Federal, State, and local--so that crime may be reduced, and on the other hand to demand that our citizens shall awake to the fundamental consciousness of democracy which is that the laws are theirs and that every responsible member of a democracy has the primary duty to obey the law. It is unnecessary for me to argue the fact that the very essence of freedom is obedience to law; that liberty itself has but one foundation, and that is in the law. Let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap. Let it be taught in the schools, in seminaries, in colleges. Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in the legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice.


One of the great stories of this decade, a story that goes too often unremarked, involves the movement toward democracy in this, our own Western Hemisphere. Less than 50 percent of the people of Latin America lived in democracies when our administration took office. Today that percentage is more than 90. Latin America's extraordinary effort to create a democratic order is the most stunning and moving political fact of recent years. Yet in the face of this broad and sweeping movement toward human freedom, one country has gone in the opposite direction, away from freedom and toward oppression. Since the Communist Sandinista regime of Nicaragua took power in 1979, its political opposition has been subjected to constant harassment. Freedom of the press was replaced by state censorship. Communist control of the economy has produced hyperinflation and a standard of living that is now nothing short of desperate. Some 250,000 Nicaraguans, over 10 percent of the entire population, have fled the country. For the Communist regime has placed Nicaragua within the Soviet orbit, embarked upon a massive military buildup, and already begun to send arms and guerrillas into neighboring countries. First, El Salvador, then Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica-the Communist Sandinistas have sought to extend violence throughout all of Central America. It could be only a matter of time before serious unrest and instability reached Mexico. Were that to happen, the decade of the nineties could open with hundreds of thousands of refugees streaming toward our own southern borders. Yet people in Central America have themselves moved to prevent this threat from becoming a reality. First among these are the Nicaraguan freedom fighters. These brave men and women have given up ordinary life to endure the hardship of living in the countryside-virtually always on the move-to fight for freedom in their own country. There was a time when the freedom fighters, with few supplies, little medical support, and dwindling ammunition, were forced to retreat. But in recent months, in large measure because we in the United States have stood with them, the freedom fighters have begun to win major victories, placing intense pressure upon the Communist Sandinista regime to reform. Outside Communist Nicaragua, the democratic leaders of neighboring Central American countries have worked together to develop a peace plan for the region. Among its provisions, the peace plan calls for all the countries of Central America, including Nicaragua, to respect civil liberties, including freedom of the press and freedom to hold elections.

Radio Address to the Nation on Aid to the Nicaraguan Democratic Resistance