President George W. Bush participates in a panel on school safety at the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006. "All of us in this country want our classrooms to be gentle places of learning, places where people not only learn the basics -- basic skills necessary to become productive citizens, but learn to relate to one another," said President Bush. "And our parents I know want to be able send their child or children to schools that are safe places." White House photo by Kimberlee Hewitt
President Bush on Wednesday said, "Our goals remain clear: peace and security in Northeast Asia and a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. We will take the necessary actions to achieve these goals. We will work with the United Nations. We'll support our allies in the region. And together, we will ensure that North Korea understands the consequences if it continues down its current path."
President Bush on Wednesday said, "In 2004, I made a promise to the American people, we would cut the federal budget deficit in half over five years. Today I'm pleased to report that we have achieved this goal, and we've done it three years ahead of schedule. ... These numbers show that the budget deficit has been reduced to $248 billion and is down to just 1.9 percent of the economy."
In his 2006 State of the Union Address, President Bush described the state of our Union as strong and he laid out an agenda of leadership to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom and to build our prosperity by leading the world economy. The President rejected the roads of isolationism and protectionism and called for cooperation and courage in confronting challenges. America will lead freedom's advance, compete and excel in the global economy, and renew the defining moral commitments of this land, confident of victory.
The President announced three new domestic initiatives the American Competitiveness Initiative, to encourage American innovation and strengthen our Nation's ability to compete in the global economy; the Advanced Energy Initiative, to help break America's dependence on foreign sources of energy; and a comprehensive agenda to make health care in America more affordable, portable, transparent, and efficient. With the right policies, we will maintain America's competitive edge, we will create more jobs, and we will improve the quality of life and standard of living for generations to come.
President Bush laid out ambitious goals for the future, behind which all Americans can unite, and urged the Nation to move forward with the work that needs to be done this year:
One of the principal purposes of the Cabinet is to advise the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of their respective offices.