 My fellow Americans, there are strange things done, even midnight sun with a minimum oil for gold. The arctic trails have seen strange tales that would make your blood run cold. The northern lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see was that night on the march of Lake Lebarge when I cremated Sam McGee. I almost said Tip O'Neill. Heaven's sakes. Who's that? Oh, let's see. Somebody who has a friend whose aunt makes these for you. Entrepreneurship, seeing something like this, is just wonderful. I've just hung up down there in the patio, shelter out there outside the house, a present we got. You know how these oak trees will get these big brown, kind of knotholes in number? Yeah, they'll come out in seven minutes. There's a married couple, and for a kind of hobby, they would cut these. They got a lot of oak trees in their place. They'd cut these out, and then they, well, not square, but whatever the shape of the knot hole. And then in the knot hole, they'd get a stone or something and paint it. A flat stone, like a little owl, sitting in the knot hole and then put a black cover on the back of it. And they were doing that for a hobby. It's now a business. So we have one down there that they said, but it just never ceases to amaze me, the things that suddenly people turn out doing like that. Thank you. Ten seconds, drop tone, Mark. Come on, please. My fellow Americans, I will soon send a message to the Congress asking your senators and representatives to join me in reforming the defense establishment. That includes my office, the Defense Department, the Congress, and industry. The changes our administration will request are based upon the recommendations made in February by the Packard Commission, a bipartisan group that spent months studying ways to give our nation stronger defenses more economically. Earlier this week, I ordered implementation of those recommendations that can be made without congressional action. Now, with congressional support, we'll be able to put into effect perhaps the most thoroughgoing reform of our defense establishment since 1958. This new effort takes place against a background of national defenses that have already grown much stronger. When we first took office, we inherited a navy that had shrunk from nearly a thousand ships to less than 500 and planes that couldn't fly for one of spare parts. My predecessor had called attention to this and had proposed a five-year expansion of the defense budget. Well now, our rebuilding program has added ships to the fleet, put planes back in the air, and perhaps most important, boosted the morale of our men and women in uniform by giving them the training and pay they deserve. Much still needs to be done, but today the United States has substantially reestablished the strength and self-confidence it needs to perform its role as a leader of the free world. As we've rebuilt our strength, we've made strides in marshaling the defense resources of the nation with increased efficiency. Before we came into office, the cost of major systems had been escalating at an annual rate of 14%. With lower inflation, Defense Secretary Weinberger got that crazy spiral under control. Indeed, for the last two years, cost increases have fallen to less than 1%. It's lower than the rate of inflation. This one achievement alone has saved billions of dollars. Yet, despite these successes, Secretary Weinberger and I knew at the beginning of our second term that still more needed to be done. So, last summer, I appointed a bipartisan commission to study the management of our defenses. To chair the commission, I chose Dave Packard, an entrepreneur who started a company that has become one of our country's leaders in high technology, famous the world over for its management techniques and efficiency. He was joined by 16 outstanding Americans, Republicans and Democrats, who represent the best of the business, defense, and academic communities. In February, the Packard commission submitted its recommendations. Now, the time has come to put them into effect. Some recommendations can be acted upon without congressional approval. And under Secretary Weinberger's leadership, this is taking place. This week, I signed a directive that will enhance coordination between the two sides of the Pentagon budget process. The one that says what we need and the one that says what we can afford. In addition, the Pentagon is streamlining its large procurement structure, and it will begin to give experienced managers more leeway for using their own good judgment in the purchasing process. But certain steps that would make the Department of Defense even more ship shape can take place only with congressional approval. You know, it's as if the Pentagon can swab the decks on its own, but only the Congress can grant permission to polish the brasswork. Well, it's to get this permission that I'm sending my message to Capitol Hill. The Packard commission report urges the Congress to make a number of improvements in the way it deals with defense. The commission suggests, for example, that the Congress move from a one-year to a two-year budget cycle. It also urges the Congress to better focus its consideration of defense matters. Today, there are some 40 congressional committees and subcommittees, each of which has some jurisdiction over defense. And the Packard commission points out that many of these committees duplicate each other's efforts. Friends, we can all agree with the Packard commission. There must be a better, more efficient way. Other recommendations the Congress must approve include moving from year-to-year to multi-year procurements of weapons systems in order to make the acquisition process more stable. The rewriting of procurement laws to eliminate red tape and the budgeting of major programs according to milestones within the programs themselves, not the dictates of the calendar year. In the coming weeks, the Congress will have before it proposals that would both strengthen our defenses and make the Department of Defense itself more completely the servant of the American people. The Packard commission has made its recommendations. Now it's time for the administration and the Congress to act upon them. Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you. Thank you all very much. Appreciate it. Nice to meet you. Yes, it's a nice ranch. It's wonderful. It is when you can see it. I'm sure that makes a difference, yeah. Oh, it's great ride up here. Have any systems or anything you can turn on? Well, we can pray a lot. We can make a lot of money on it. I've been doing that. I've been doing that. I've been always getting my busy side. Must have been foggy the whole time up here though. No, we've had very nice weather. Started off, we thought it was going to be bad. Started off and we've been able to ride every day. How good. Except, I can't say whether it's going to be able to do today. The President, they're very helpful for us coming to Santa Barbara. Thank you for that. We find beds for them. Oh, I make sure the bill's going to the Treasury. They're a good group to have. Yo, they're great down there. It's just tremendous. We only enjoy having them. I keep pushing to see if you can't have them more often. I love it. It's sure nice to meet you. Wonderful taking the time. Okay, nice to see you.