 When the president of the United States, thank you. Thank you very much. Well As you can see I brought back up well, good afternoon and Welcome to the White House. I always feel a little strange when I say that welcome to the White House and here We are across the street in the executive office building, but they tell me that it has to have that title too Well, it's an honor to have you join us today, although With so many conservative legislators here in Washington, I'm a little nervous about what might be getting passed back in the state houses It is conservatives you and I have traveled the same road indeed whenever I speak to you the audience seems to be full of old friends and Today's no exception Perhaps you will join me in thinking back for a moment of the distance that we as conservatives have journeyed For decades liberals dominated the public debate They were full of ideas and energy and they promised a vast social Experiment with the naive excitement of those who've allowed themselves to forget the lessons of history Under their leadership the tax burden grew while social programs ballooned Soon the results of their experiment began to come in our once vibrant economy was growing stagnant Thousands were being turned into permanent dependence of the welfare state Our defenses were growing weaker the Soviets were expanding and our nation was losing face throughout the world the American people Retained their good sense and courage, but when they saw what the government was doing to their beloved country They felt sick at heart The conservative response to these developments was at first muted We had the principles limited government lower taxes incentives to work save and invest and A strong national defense But we lacked political experience in a unifying voice Then a powerful movement began to take shape Perhaps it began in 1964 with Barry Goldwater that plange and voice crying in the wilderness In 1973 your own American legislative exchange council was founded By the late 1970s we had proposition 13 and the sagebrush rebellion And then for the first time in nearly three decades 1980 a Republican Senate was elected and if you will permit me so as a conservative president Today American vitality and vigor have been restored The economy is growing again and our nation created more new jobs during the past 27 months than did all the countries of Western Europe during the past 10 years Crime is down Student test scores are up and private sector initiatives are giving our communities new vitality Our defenses have been strengthened Just as important power today has begun to flow back where it belongs To you in your states According to an article that appeared last month in the Christian science monitor And I'll quote from Oregon in the west to Maine in the east the states are shouldering more responsibility Decentralization of power the experts say could be one of the most long-lasting effects of this presidency. Well, what do you know for once the experts are right? But those of us who as conservatives have traveled this long road together We've developed the deepest possible bonds of friendship You and I have shared the same devotions. We've shared the same setbacks and enjoy the same triumphs on The way we've offered each other guidance and support And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that your efforts have meant to me Having come this far. However, we face issues that this very spring Will determine whether we go forward or back Permit me to take a moment to discuss with you two of the most pressing issues our strategic modernization program and the budget Tomorrow in Geneva American negotiators will begin the most important arms talks our nation is likely to participate in during this decade In view of the death of Chairman Chinienco I'm pleased that negotiations will begin as scheduled and I want the Soviet leadership to know that we'll deal with Chairman Chinienco's successor with an open mind Later this month while the Geneva talks are in progress Each house of the Congress will cast votes that will directly affect the outcome of the talks These votes will shape the future of our strategic modernization program Including the peacekeeper missile a central component of the plans to bring our nation's deterrent forces up to date At present our intercontinental ballistic missiles the land-based portion of our deterrent forces are technologically behind the times Older in many cases in the Air Force men and women who are attending them The deployment of the MX moreover is long overdue Indeed during the years that the Congress has debated the future of this missile the Soviets have put in place More than 600 MX caliber missiles of their own deployment of the nx now represents a simple necessity It's up to the Congress They can either move ahead and let the world know that the America represented in Geneva is United in Resolute or they can cast a negative vote and assure Moscow that we're divided and vacillating and that our weaknesses can be Exploited at the table in the name of world peace that must not happen This spring the budget and our tax reform plan will come under serious consideration We have two main aims each vital First we must win the battle to control government spending once and for all We're asking the Congress to cut fifty billion dollars by Easter and to do so without jeopardizing our national security Already over the past four years defense spending has been reduced nearly a hundred and fifty billion dollars Below the five-year spending plan that I proposed in 1981. I don't think you've any of you've seen or heard that or read it Any place yet the military threats that we and our allies must face have not been reduced on the contrary They have grown During much of the 60s and 70s We lived in a security largely because of the investments in our national defense that had been made during the 50s Too often however, we failed to make the needed new investments to keep our forces credible and up to date Today we've begun the long overdue rebuilding We must remain utterly determined to see it through to its completion The plain truth is that national security is not just another category in the budget But the first duty of the federal government to the American people It is already been cut enough You might be interested to know that so far It is lower than the projected arms spending of the previous administration that they had made for these same five years Now the Congress must summon the political courage to make reductions elsewhere If the Congress lacks that courage, then I can at least give me the authority to veto line items in the budget. I Like the kitchen so I won't mind the heat Keep spending under control for future generations We're proposing the passage of a balanced budget amendment that will require the of the federal government What is already required in 49 of your states? I know you agree the federal government must stop spending more than it takes in Our second aim is to foster economic growth and in this regard our tax simplification plan will prove vital during the 1970s as the government took an ever higher proportion of earnings away from the American people it was in effect Punishing the very saving investment and initiative that lead to economic growth and it's no wonder that the economy went bad Yet when our cuts in personal income tax rates restored simple economic incentives The economy recovered began the strongest expansion in more than three decades The lesson is clear incentives spur growth and that's why our tax plan to broaden the base Cut your personal income tax rates and simplify the tax code deserves wide and bipartisan support in the Congress in the 12 years since the American Legislative Exchange Council was founded You and your fellow legislators have been a tremendous service to your country Speaking out forcefully on behalf of a strong and prosperous America With votes on the peacekeeper in the budget before us today. I ask you once again to serve our country Please speak in your home counties and districts. Let your voices ring out in state capitals from Albany to Sacramento And please let them be heard right here in Washington Together, let us continue along the road that we conservatives have already traveled so far Our destination is more than worth the effort as it shines before us a golden land of freedom and goodwill Where achievement is limited by only by how hard we work and how big we dream Let me just add something here. I know that our budget cuts I Have given you some problems Problems with regard to grant programs and so forth But let me just suggest over the longer term what I really believe having been a governor my own state back Along about the time that I was casting my first vote Governance in America federal state and local only took a dime out of every dollar earned and of that dime two-thirds was taken by the states and local governments and only one third by the federal government and Then with the depression of the New Deal the federal government expanded the spending and the growth of the federal government Preempting the tax sources that should have been available at your levels of government Then having created the problems by preempting all the tax source the federal government says oh We will generously help you will give you a grant and usually it came tied with so much red tape That you had a hard time finding the program Or making it work. Well, my goal is in my dream is To reshape it to the place that while yes in our trimming we may have to cut some grants that have been made I At the same time want to see the federal government reduce the share of the tax burden. It is taking to reopen again tax resources Available to state and local governments so that when you in whatever your community or state may be have a particular need you And not someone in the Washington bureaucracy Can go to the people and say this is worth the tax that we're going to apply to pay for it And now I Knew when I came in here that my time was limited and I can't do what I'd like to do I'm going to have to go back over to the office I got a letter once that was sent to me from the Des Moines register from a little girl that had written the letter to them telling Her 1981 what she thought my job was and it was pretty good She outlined all the real problems and everything I was good a face And then she wound up because the letter was addressed to me not to the paper And then the last line was now get back to the Oval Office and get to work So I'll do that Bill Once again express to you our appreciation for all the cooperation your administration has given to us Who were out there in the field and watching her know that you give us the chance? We'll continue to spread the message and fight what we think are the right things that you are doing in Washington God bless you. Thank you all very much