 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. Well, thank you very much. You know, it took me to the second term before I got overlooking over my shoulders when they did that to see who they were doing it for. Well, welcome to the White House. It's an honor to be able to speak to the Congressional Leadership Council and you who are doing so much to keep our party strong. In the House. And not this House. You know the House I made. And as the campaign of 1986 draws near, it's vital for us to focus our efforts and begin to give it all we've got. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to get the voters' attention. I remember back to my first campaign in California and Jack Warner, Warner Brothers, where I'd been under contract for 13 years, heard that I was running for governor. He said, no, no. No, Jimmy Stewart for governor. Ronald Reagan for best friend. More than once during that campaign, I was reminded also of a remark made by his older brother, the other partner in Warner Brothers, Harry Warner, when sound pictures came in back in the late 20s. Harry Warner was known to have said, who wants to hear actors talk? But I want to give each of you my heartfelt gratitude for all that you've already accomplished and for the progress that I know you're going to enable our party to make. Special thanks to someone who I know is on his way over here and just hasn't arrived. But I thought we shouldn't keep you waiting any longer. Guy Vanderjack just got away up in the hill and he's on his way down here. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman for the past 10 years. To Tom Burnham, Republican Congressional Leadership Council Co-Chairman, and to the other Co-Chairman, Rich DeVos, who's marking his sixth anniversary in that post. My friends, these are historic times for the Republican Party and the ideals that unite us. Here in Washington, our party has established itself as the party of ideas. In the country at large, our numbers are growing. According to a major poll, in the last national election, voters between the ages of 18 and 24 cast their ballots for the GOP ticket by a margin of three to two. Now, we've been for a half a century so long thinking of ourselves as the minority party. Let's just look down the road a lot and see that if we play our cards right, that means we can go on for a long time as the majority party. So, in light of this historic shift, permit me to discuss for a moment or two our achievements and the challenges that we still face. When we first took the White House and the Senate five years ago, we inherited the disastrous results of two vast and prolonged experiments. The first experiment of domestic endeavor had begun during the 30s and was renewed on a massive scale during the 60s. It was based upon the premise that the answer to virtually every problem was more government. And this experiment involved a growing tax burden, an endless proliferation of government regulations, and a federal budget that took in more and more of our gross national product. And to give you an idea here, let me just say what happened in that period from the mid-60s on from 1965 to 1980, 15 years. The budget increased to roughly five times what it was in 1965. The deficit increased to 38 times what it had been in just those 15 years before. In short, government greatly expanded the public sector which can only consume and redistribute wealth at the expense of the private sector, the only sector that can create wealth. In the 70s, the results of this domestic experiment became clear. Rising unemployment and poverty, inflation and interest rates that were soaring out of control. In 1980, the great American economy plunged into a recession and the longest period of poor economic activity since the Great Depression back in the 30s. The second experiment involved foreign affairs. It was based in large measure upon a kind of moral relativism, the view that America was basically no different from the usual run of nations and that our role in world affairs should therefore be shrunk. It further held that the Soviet Union was for the most part a nation of goodwill whose main concern was not expansion but merely self-defense. Throughout the 1970s, we allowed our military capabilities to erode. For example, our fleet fell from nearly 1,000 battle-ready ships to under 500. Then we waited for the Soviet Union to demonstrate its good faith by doing the same. But the Soviets embarked upon the biggest arms buildup in the history of the world. Their navy grew from a coastal force to a global presence. They made vast investments in nuclear weaponry, investments that far surpassed any rational need for their own defense. And they projected their power into Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, Poland and Afghanistan. To many it seemed by the late 70s that America had fallen into a permanent decline. There was talk of drift and malaise, and it appeared that our proud spirit had been sapped, but the Republican Party believed otherwise. Then as now, we were convinced that ideas possessed power, that principles like limited government, individual freedom and economic growth could restore our nation to self-confidence and strength. In foreign affairs, when we took office, we began the rebuilding of our military. We boldly restated the fundamental moral difference between democracy and totalitarianism. And we reasserted America's just and proper role on behalf of human freedom. We demonstrated that just a few days ago, and we couldn't have done that five years ago. In 1983, we began the Strategic Defense Initiative. That's an initiative that could make strategic nuclear weapons obsolete. Today we've regained the respect of the world, including the respect of the Soviet Union. And permit me to add, the United States of America... I'm not saying they love us. No, no more than they ever did before. They just are looking at us in a different light. But the United States has made it clear to the terrorists of this world that they shouldn't mistake our peacefulness for passivity. We'll fight if we must fight. We will stand up for freedom. Here at home, we've turned our economy around, weeding out needless regulations, supporting a sound monetary policy, and enacting an across-the-board cut in personal income tax rates of nearly 25%. And today we've seen 40 months of expansion. Well, real income is up, interest rates are down, and inflation is at its lowest point, as I said before, in almost 15 years. 2.2% rate for the first quarter of this year. Renewed respect and strength abroad renewed growth and opportunity here at home. This is a record of which we Republicans can be truly proud as we turn to face the challenges that are still ahead. But we still have a big job to do in two areas. First, the budget. Tuesday, April 15th, the same date on which taxpayers had to file their returns, whether they wanted to or not, the Congress faced a deadline of its own. According to the Graham-Rudman Hollings Act, April 15th was the deadline for the Congress to pass a budget resolution. But even today, April 17th, the budget resolution is nowhere near completion. And while Congress delays, we hear the same old song about the American people being undertaxed. Well, enough is enough. I urge the Congress to forget about raising taxes and concentrate instead on controlling spending and putting government's financial house in order. And I urge you, my friends and all Republicans, to go to the root of this problem by helping to change the composition of the Congress. Don't you agree it's time that a few of the rascals went on permanent vacations? Second, we must build a national consensus for aid to freedom fighters around the world. That is correct. Last year, the Congress signaled that the old blame America first syndrome may be coming to an end when it voted aid to the anti-communist forces in Cambodia, Afghanistan and Nicaragua and lifted restrictions on such aid in Angola. As you know, it was my view that the freedom fighters in Nicaragua urgently needed more aid. And so at the beginning of this year, we went back to the Congress to make that request. Well, we're not there yet. But I want to tell you, I'm going to keep on fighting until they get the aid they need. Let's give those freedom fighters a chance. You know, the Sandinista government, just like the Soviet Union now and it's a satellite of the Soviet Union, has a disinformation program that has kept most of America completely confused about what's going on there. And what's going on is very simple. As a matter of fact, if you haven't already, there's a book put out by the State Department. It is a book of the papers and documents that we captured when we went into Grenada. It's signed by such people, many of those as Gromyko and Ogarkov and many of the other Soviet leaders. And they're dealing with the then-communist leaders of Grenada who aren't there anymore. But they were talking to them about their task here in the Western Hemisphere. And they named Nicaragua and Cuba as the basis for the revolution that must spread throughout the Americas because the ultimate enemy was the United States. And as I say, we've got to work harder to make more people understand why it is that we think the Contras are the good guys down there. Now, we must go forward making human freedom throughout the world a cornerstone of American foreign policy. And once again, putting more Republicans in the House will prove crucial. We must have more Republicans in the House for freedom abroad and limited government and economic growth here at home. And every seat makes a difference. Last year, the House nearly doubled the authorization for one spending program by just a dozen votes and added more than $2.5 billion to federal domestic spending over the budget resolution, which they had already agreed to by just four votes. Think of it, just a few more Republicans could have saved the American people, literally billions. Now, I know that conventional wisdom holds that the party in the White House tends to lose House seats in the off-year elections. But that's because the voters have frequently had good reason to be unhappy with that party in large part, often enough because the economy had been weak. But here we are in 86 with a growing economy, as I said, and sinking interest rates. Believe it or not, the short-term Treasury notes are below 6% for the first time in decades and decades. And I told you about inflation and where it is for the first time in nearly 15 years. Today, for the first time in decades, virtually as many voters call themselves Republicans as call themselves Democrats. But maybe even more important than numbers is the matter of initiative. For perhaps the first time since the 1920s, the GOP is on the offensive. We've become the party of ideas, the party of the young, and as the other fellows who are running scared. I remember when I first became a Republican, and that was only back in 1962. You know, when I was a child, I spake as a child, I thought as a child. But I can remember the first time I attended and addressed some Republican fundraisers. I went home and told Nancy, I said, the only young people there looked like they couldn't join anything else. But not anymore. If you don't, I tell you, to go to anymore to a campus where I have been hung in effigy so many times back in the 60s, to go there now and see those kids believe me, America's going to be in great hands in the next century. Well, as our CLC members, you provide the backbone to one of the most innovative campaign operations in history. And you're at the forefront in our battle of ideas. So my friends, we've got to face this autumn with one confidence. Let's work hard and be generous with our time and resources. And remember, I'm going to have to live in this house for two more years. And you know how important good neighbors are. I'd rather have to do with some more Republicans on Capitol Hill. It would improve the neighborhood. So if you'll forgive me, I'd like to ask you to just win one more for the Gipper. Has Guy Van Der Jack come in? He's voting over there. He's voting? And the right way. Well, listen, I know that I've taken too much of your time standing here now with this monologue, but thank you all and God bless you. And if on the way out through there, I shake a few hands, it's because I may run for mayor of Carmel. Mr. President, we're all very proud of you. See you Tuesday night at the Heritage Center. See you Tuesday night at the Heritage Center. Thank you very much.