 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I know that Al and Don have already briefed you, so I'll keep my own remarks reasonably short. I often reflect that George Washington gave an inaugural address of just 135 words and became a great great president. And then it was William Henry Harrison. He spoke at his inauguration for nearly two hours, caught pneumonia and died within a month. You know, the shame is I told him not to talk about it. But keeping it brief, I thought it would be good for us to get together today to discuss the agenda of the coming weeks and months. As we look ahead, two major events stand out on the political calendar, two events of which none of us can help but be mindful, the end of the 99th Congress and the elections of 1986. After these, our administration will have left only two years and a handful of months. We must approach each new task, indeed, each new day with the sense of urgency we first brought to Washington back in 1981. You know, I can't help interjecting here that political life has always reminded me a little of my former career. Six years ago we opened big, and now, well, it's time for a really a curtain line, time for a finale. This town will never forget. So if you'll permit me, here are the next issues for the spotlight. In the war on drugs, this morning I met with the Cabinet to discuss a major new initiative to combat drug abuse, and this afternoon I will meet with congressional leaders, and later today I expect to make an announcement. Details will have to wait until then, but I can tell you that this initiative will build upon Nancy's efforts and upon programs we've already set in place, programs like the Vice President's South Florida Task Force and NNBIS, the National Narcotics Border Interdiction System. It'll raise drug abuse to a central issue of dominating importance, an issue that commands the attention and commitment of the entire nation, and it'll focus not only upon the smuggler and the pusher, but upon the true and sad source of the problem, the user. Virtually every department and agency will have a role, and I urge you, and indeed I urge as forcefully as I know how, to place this initiative at the top of your agenda. We've accomplished so much in our five and a half years here, so much the experts said could never be done. You know how this scourge reaches into American life? I think you agree with me, it's time we take drug abuse head on and with a nationwide crusade that we will launch out there at the private sector and with all the agencies of government combined, we'll take it on and the goal will be totally eradication. Next will be the budget. It now appears that there's only a short time left until the 99th Congress adjourns for the final time, a few weeks in which to bring spending for the next fiscal year under control. Since the Supreme Court struck down the enforcement provision of Graham Rudman Hollings, the Congress has been groping for a new way to subject spending to at least rudimentary discipline. It should remember that with the original passage of Graham Rudman Hollings, the Congress made a firm commitment to deficit reductions leading to a balanced budget. And I know each of you agrees that whatever the outcome of current negotiations, we must see that commitment honored. We must hold the line this year now on spending for fiscal year 87. Or if we do so this year, we'll succeed for the rest of our time in Washington. But if we fail, well, we just won't have time to correct that mistake. So please see to it that your departments and agencies stay within their budgeting limits. On tax reform, we've all been working together for so long that there's no need for me to be labor the importance of seeing the final legislation successfully through the conference committee, except to remind you that Will Rogers once said that the income tax had made more liars among the American people than golf. But now we're within weeks, perhaps only days, of giving America the most economically advantageous tax code in the industrialized world. Frankly, I think we deserve to give ourselves a big hand. We do this and let's agree to redouble our efforts to make certain that tax reform passes and that we can give ourselves an even bigger hand later on. On trade, it's imperative to overcome protectionist, really destructionist, sentiment that's rampant up on Capitol Hill. Certainly the trade bill passed by the House would be a disaster for America and virtually every trading nation on earth. It's vital for all of us to join in stressing all the actions our administration is taking to keep world trade both free and fair. Actions that include crackdowns on unfair trading practices, preparations for a new round of GAT talks, and our successful efforts to moderate the value of the dollar against other major currencies. We face a crucial challenge on Wednesday, the vote to override my veto of protectionist legislation for textiles. Yes, there is such a thing as unfair trade, but the textile bill is no way to combat it. Instead, we must go forward with arrangements like the new agreement on textiles we've just reached with major trading partners. The vote in the House will be close, and I know that each of you can help make a difference. I count on your help. Even after this textile vote, we must work on to shift the political focus from negative protectionist measures to positive pro-growth efforts like tax reform, spending reduction, and a more balanced dollar. After all, it wasn't protectionism but economic growth that created more than 10 million, almost 11 million American jobs in the past three and a half years. 1,650,000 of those in just the first seven months of this year. In foreign policy, well, disarmament represents a central, overriding aim. And you'll notice I said disarmament, not arms control. That's because after we reasserted our seriousness and our strength, I'm convinced we possess an historic opportunity to achieve genuine and verifiable arms reductions. Mr. Gorbachev has yet to make clear the Soviet Union's own final intentions, but it is significant that Mr. Gorbachev has become the first Soviet leader in history to call for actual cuts in nuclear weapons. And I look forward to welcoming here for a second summit, aid for the democratic resistance in Nicaragua. The freedom fighters, of course, represent a second central goal of our foreign policy. And that's advancing the cause of freedom as well as of peace. When the House voted assistance for the freedom fighters, everything changed, mood, momentum, expectations, history itself. Now we must see the assistance through the Senate. You know, sometimes I suspect that it's this above all for which we shall be remembered, that in our own time, indeed largely through our own efforts, human freedom ended its retreat and turned back to the advance. I've spoken here in large part about the legislative agenda, but we have to remember that Congress is going home to campaign in early October, and that these coming elections will help determine our effectiveness in the final two years of our administration. As these elections approach, I'll be taken to the road to advance this agenda, and to see to it that the historic 100th Congress of the United States is filled with men and women dedicated to our cause, dedicated in short to freedom at home and abroad. Cabinet members will join me in speaking out, and so I hope with each of you. I want you to know how grateful I am and how deeply grateful for all that you've been doing over these five and a half years now, for all the testifying on the Hill, for all the negotiating within your own departments, for all the travel, all the speeches, all the interviews, and yes, for putting up with Washington and the muggy weather that we've been having. I have to admit there have been days this summer when I knew what John Kennedy meant when he called Washington a city of southern efficiency and northern charm. But as I said a moment ago, we've done so much already. Now we have two and a half years in which to crown our achievements with greater achievement still. I don't see a single individual in here that looks like a lame duck. And I don't feel like a lame duck. So well then we do all of this, my friends. We can take the time to look back upon these as the best years of our lives. So maybe I went a little longer than I promised you I would, but you just have to expect that in Washington, don't you? Anyway, I want to thank you all. Thank you for what you've been doing. God bless you all.