Last night President Bush delivered his final State of the Union address to a combined gathering of both houses of Congress. His speech touched on a number of important pro-life, pro-family, and religious liberty issues.
The president threw down the gauntlet on stem cell research, telling Congress that we must continue to fund ethical research because human life must be respected. He highlighted the recent breakthrough in obtaining pluripotent stem cells from skin cells as proof that unethical research was unnecessary. The President championed the role of faith-based organizations in providing services and changing lives far more effectively than government alone can do. He called on Congress to allow more flexibility and local control for schools under the No Child Left Behind Act. He also encouraged Congress to maintain “charitable choice” provisions in federal law which protect the religious hiring rights of faith-based organizations (ex: allowing a Catholic charity to hire only Catholics who share that organization’s mission and standards).
The White House website has provided the text of the president’s address along with video links that allow you to watch the address. To read a helpful fact sheet provided by the administration about the agenda outlined in the president’s speech click here. To read helpful summaries of the various topics see below:
ECONOMY: Keeping Our Economy Healthy
BUDGET: Staying On Track To A Balanced Budget By 2012
NATIONAL SECURITY: Giving Our National Security Professionals Tools They Need To Protect America
IRAQ: Continued Progress In Iraq Allows "Return On Success"
GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR: Keeping America Safe By Fostering The Freedom Agenda
VETERANS: Supporting Our Nation's Troops And Their Families
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: Expanding Opportunity Under No Child Left Behind
EDUCATION: Empowering Parents With More Choices For Their Children's Education
FREE TRADE: Opening New Markets And Expanding Opportunities Through Free Trade
ENERGY: Increasing Our Energy Security And Confronting Climate Change
HEALTH CARE: Empowering Americans With Affordable Options For Health Care
STEM CELL RESEARCH: Increasing Federal Support For Ethical Stem Cell Research
FAITH-BASED INITIATIVES: Helping Those In Need Through The Faith-Based And Community Initiative
IMMIGRATION: Improving Border Security And Immigration
COMPASSION: Advancing An Agenda Of Compassion Worldwide