SCHotline

From: http://fred08.com/virtual/taxrelief.aspx

Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and New Economic Growth

In today’s competitive global economy, a fair, simple, and pro-growth tax system is essential for America’s success. America must be the best place in the world to invest and create high-paying jobs.

Fred Thompson’s Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth promotes fairness and simplicity in the tax code and will create greater growth in the economy. It is based on a fundamental assumption that keeping tax rates low increases economic growth and enhances American competitiveness in the global economy. Increased economic growth will lead to higher wages and higher levels of employment in America. Equally important, lower taxes enhance the personal and economic freedom of all Americans by allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned dollars. Allowing Americans to control their own financial future has been integral to our nation’s economic success and strength since its founding, and is the key to our future.

The economic proposals offered by Democrats will move us in the wrong direction — their plan for higher taxes, in particular, will reduce America’s competitiveness, push investment and jobs overseas, and send more of workers’ and families’ income to Washington. The conservative approach is to reduce government spending and return more money to America’s families.

The following elements of the Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth will spur economic growth and move the nation towards a fairer, simpler tax system on the way to Fred Thompson’s ultimate goal of fundamental tax reform.

1. Permanently Extend the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts. Tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 has proved critical to generating a strong economy that has experienced growth despite the war on terror, the collapse in the housing market, and other economic challenges over the last six years. Unless action is taken, every American taxpayer will see a massive tax increase after December 31, 2010. Allowing this tax hike will impose an enormous financial burden on American families, slow economic growth, cost America jobs, and make it more difficult to address the country’s long-term budget, economic, and security challenges. The Thompson plan ensures the following:
   • Reduced individual income tax rates, saving every tax-paying family a minimum of $600.
   • Preserving the $1000 child tax credit, which was doubled from $500 per child.
   • Protecting Marriage penalty relief.
   • Retaining Education tax incentives, including Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 529 college savingsplans, and deductions for higher education expenses.
   • Reduced tax rates on capital gains and qualified dividends.
   • Increased expensing of investment for small businesses.
2. Permanently Repeal the Death Tax. Current law provides death tax relief, but only through 2010. The death tax is inherently unfair. Under the Thompson Plan, the death tax would be permanently repealed, thus protecting millions of American families, including small business owners and family farmers, from double taxation at rates ranging as high as 55 percent.
3. Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT is a separate tax system that was intended to ensure that a few high income Americans could not use deductions and credits to eliminate their tax liability. However, because the AMT is not indexed to inflation, it is penalizing Americans it was never intended to affect. While in the U.S. Senate, Fred Thompson authored legislation that would have repealed the AMT. Consistent with that earlier proposal, the Thompson plan will eliminate the AMT as part of broader tax and spending reform. Until comprehensive reform is feasible, the Thompson plan would index the exemption amounts annually so that millions of middle class families will not become subject to this tax.
4. Reduce the Corporate Tax Rate. The United States has one of the highest rates of tax on businesses of the industrialized nations, second only to Japan. EvenJapan is currently considering reducing its corporate tax rate. Economic studies suggest that the U.S. Treasury is actually losing tax revenue by keeping the corporate tax rate so high. In order to increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies in the global marketplace, the Thompson plan would reduce the U.S. top corporate tax rate (including the corporate capital gains tax rate) from 35 percent to no more than 27 percent, which is the approximate average of the world’s leading economies—the nations of the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development. This tax reduction will promote U.S. competitiveness, encourage companies to keep their operations (and jobs) in the U.S., and spur continued economic expansion and growth.
5. Permanently Extend Small Business Expensing. Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America, and employ nearly 59 million Americans — more than half of the nation’s private-sector workforce. Women own a quarter of all small businesses, minorities are nearing the 20% mark, and Hispanic Americans are opening their own businesses at a rate three times the national average. Current law allows small businesses to write-off purchases of equipment of up to $125,000 per year, rather than depreciating those assets over time. Making expensing of equipment and other small business items permanent will encourage greater investment and growth.
6. Update and Simplify Depreciation Schedules. The current depreciation schedules are outdated and in many cases do not reflect the realistic useful life of an asset. This is particularly true for investments in high technology. For example, computers must be depreciated over three years, even though they become obsolete in half that time. The Thompson plan would simplify and update these schedules to allow American businesses to make the investments they need to compete and create more high-quality jobs.
7. Expand Taxpayer Choice. The Thompson plan would give Americans greater choice about how to pay their federal taxes. This plan is based on a proposal developed by the House of Representatives Republican Study Committee that would provide taxpayers the option of remaining under the current, complex tax code or opting for a simplified, flat tax code. The simplified tax code would contain two tax rates: 10% for joint filers on income of up to $100,000 ($50,000 for singles) and 25% on income above these amounts. The standard deduction would be more than doubled to $25,000 for joint filers and $12,500 for singles. The personal exemption amount would be increased to $3,500. Therefore, a family of 4 would be exempt from income tax on the first $39,000 of income. The simplified tax code would contain no other tax credits or deductions. It would also retain the 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends. This approach would dramatically simplify taxes for tens of millions of Americans. In addition, the larger standard deduction and personal exemption amounts will still provide significant tax relief to families with children. This proposal would serve as a stepping-stone to fundamental tax reform.

America ’s economic future depends on our nation’s ability to maintain its competitive and innovative spirit. Solutions to challenges in our economy are found in the homes and small businesses of ordinary Americans, not in the halls of Washington. Fred Thompson’s goal is to allow Americans to retain greater control of their own money.

To do that, Fred Thompson believes we need a more limited, more effective federal government. Currently, government spending is projected to grow at nearly twice the rate of inflation over the next several years. This spending path is unsustainable and will hamper our economy unless fiscal discipline is imposed. It is critical that we address the problem of government spending, especially for entitlement programs, if the U.S. economy is grow and thrive in the coming decades.

The Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth provides commonsense solutions to increase American competitiveness in the 21st century. These solutions will allow Americans to keep more of their money and encourage companies and entrepreneurs to invest and create jobs in the United States. Enhancing the choices of taxpayers, permanently reducing taxes, encouraging investment in America’s corporations and small businesses, and restraining government spending are all steps in the right direction. America’s economy has endured several challenges over the last several years — it is time to move forward and enter a new era of economic security and prosperity.

www.schotline.com

We have learned that Jay W. Ragley will be appointed the new Executive Director of the South Carolina GOP. The move will be made official at the State Executive Committee meeting on Saturday. Jay W. Ragley was the executive director for the state NFIB. That job is currently posted on Monster.com.

Ragley was the former political director of the state Republican party.

Hogan Gidley, the current executive director, must be moving on to bigger opportunities.

by Andrew Citizen

Inspired by the FITSNews story; ‘Being Stupid Is Expensive’; we bought this awesome Nikon camera yesterday. The camera takes about twenty-gazillion frames per second in burst mode so basically anyone including A. Citizen may portend to be a photo-journalist er… evil traffic paparazzi. Long story short we opted for the latter and on our drive to work today (Which takes all of 3 minutes) we SAFELY, captured photos of three really dumb people in close proximity to the S.C. Statehouse, coincidence?

This dumb fellow runs a clearly red-light at Main & Laurel while towing a trailer, nice huh?

This really dumb person runs a red-light right in front of a Columbia police squad car (Was not pulled over) , no not kidding it happened at Gervais & Assembly where there are a lot of really smart people just trying to cross the street and earn a buck.

Shot a picture of this fellow just because we could, how he could even get into his vehicle that was so full junk is mind freaking numbing (Sorry you cannot see the bananas on the dash on top of the other trash).

Not quite sure where this dumb person thing will take us , but we are certain it will keep us in close proximity to the Statehouse.

Get your ‘I See Dumb People’ bumper sticker here

Posted in today’s Globe and Mail (2007-11-27)

________________________

‘It’s called reality’

DAVID H. WILKINS

November 27, 2007

U.S. Ambassador to Canada — “Paranoia anyone?” Lawrence Martin asks regarding U.S. and Canada security measures (Paranoia Anyone? Seeking An End To The Security Excess - Nov. 22).

Mr. Martin cites as “paranoia” our diligent security at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa - measures designed to protect both the U.S. and Canadian employees who work inside and outside of the building.

Certainly Mr. Martin recalls the 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies of the East African cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. Those attacks (linked to al-Qaeda and before the administration of George W. Bush) killed hundreds and injured thousands of other innocent people. Perhaps Mr. Martin will recall the 1993 World Trade Center bombing or the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia?

Does this summer’s terror arrest that thwarted a major bombing of JFK International Airport in New York remind Mr. Martin this is an enemy who does not rest? Sept. 11 was just six years ago; 3,000 innocent civilians (including 24 Canadians) murdered in cold blood.

Paranoia? No. It’s called reality. And developing and implementing security measures to thwart the enemy who promises to strike again and often is called common sense.

We start the second day off with a private breakfast one on one with the Ambassador. He busily reads the newspaper preparing for his interview with Steve Madley, with CRFA, Ottawa’s premier NewsTalk Breakfast show. The Ambassador centers in one article of where a Quebec fire truck responding to an emergency request for assistance in upstate New York was delayed at the U.S. border despite having lights and sirens activated. The Canadian Ambassador calls it a “thickening of the border”. Ambassador Wilkins disagrees calling it one lone incident and points to the last sentence of the article that officials from both sides have talked to prevent this from happening in the future.

“He will ask me about this I better be prepared,” he tells me, and then we head out to the radio station.

When the Ambassador stepped out of the car people stopped and took notice of who was arriving. You could also feel the spotlight was on the Ambassador he confidently greeted Steve Madley. Mr. Madley greeted him as “A good friend of this city, a good friend of the radio station and I think a good friend of Canada.” Please listen to the whole interview by clicking here.

We arrived at the Embassy at 9AM where we attended a Political and Economy meeting with his chief deputies in these areas. When he came into the meeting all present showed their respect and immediately rose and sat back down when he sat down. There were about 20 people in attendance and the main discussion was current events, upcoming events and a lively discussion on the Northwest Passage. Canada and the U.S. continue to work on this issue and the U.S. position on this remains that if this waterway ever becomes navigable – it is a strait for international navigation. The U.S. does not question Canada’s sovereignty of the lands, mineral rights, etc, and in fact supports Canada’s efforts in these areas.

Next on the Ambassador’s agenda is USC video conference/ roundtable with the Parliament Hill Press Corps at the US Embassy. Four of Canada’s top Parliament Hill journalists participated. Bob Fife is the Ottawa Bureau Chief with the top-rated CTV television. Jane Taber co-hosts Sunday morning talk show Question Period on CTV. She’s also the Parliament Hill columnist for the Globe and Mail newspaper. Susan Delacourt is a senior correspondent with The Toronto Star and a best-selling political author, and Chris Hall is the Parliament Hill Bureau Chief for CBC radio. Each of them has at least 20 years in the business and was able to talk extensively on the U.S.-Canada relationship, the impact of the Iraq war and anti-Americanism on Canadian politics, and Ambassador Wilkins tenure in Canada.

The most striking comment made was said by the Ambassador when he told the students in the United States we wonder who will be our next president. In Canada we know who will be elected but we don’t know when the election will be held. At anytime the government could dissolve since the ruling party has a minority government. In Parliament the Conservative party holds fewer seats but they are in control because the other parties do not have enough votes to make up a majority against them. If you watch the video the reporters do an excellent job explaining this.

We have the exclusive full video of this on You Tube.

Next is the Embassy Thanksgiving day party. All of the Embassy staff was invited to take part in a traditional American Thanksgiving Day celebration. Mrs. Wilkins even came over to the Embassy to take part in the festivities.

Allons –y a Montréal. A two hour car ride allowed SCHotline to interview the Ambassador on a range of topics from the North American Union to his first day as Ambassador. The interview will be an upcoming story on SCHotline next week.

We arrived at the consulate in Montreal. To give you some perspective there is only one Embassy in the country. In big centers of population they have consulates the consulate is led by the Consul General who acts on behalf of the Ambassador when he is not present. In Canada there are 8 consulates with Consul Generals from the United States. In Montreal, the Consul General is Mary Marshall.

We are now heading to the Southeastern United States (SEUS) – Canada Alliance. The United States and Canada enjoy the world’s largest and most productive trading partnership. In fact, every day across only one bridge that connects Detroit, Michigan with Windsor, Ontario our two countries conduct more trade back and forth than the U.S. conducts with all of Japan! Canada (not the Middle East) is the United States number one supplier of energy – this includes oil, natural gas, and uranium.

The Governor from Tennessee so wisely stated in his opening remarks at the conference ““I’m a businessman. So when your largest client asks you to come for a meeting you come.” Canada and the southern states want to increase their trade and grow their economies by focusing on their neighbors across the border. The Premier of Quebec put it so forcefully, “If you are not going forward in a relationship then you must be going backwards.” This SEUS-Canada Alliance reaffirms that Canada and the Southeastern United States seeks to promote trade and investments between the two regions and countries.

Four premiers from Canada, two Governors from the United States, and one Lt. Governor attended the conference. This is a great start to creating more trade you can check out more details at Georgia Initiates SEUS-Canada Alliance, Affirms Ties with Largest Trading Partner

We spent the night in Montreal at the Consul General’s residence. This ends our second night of our three day adventure.

[Update]  SCHotline has learned that Bob Inglis has just endorsed former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for President in a conference call to supporters.

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We just received this email from Congressman Bob Inglis. Could something be in the works?

Special Edition
Talk with Gov. Mike Huckabee
In A Conference Call Tonight

Call in to our conference telephone line at 8 p.m. TONIGHT, Tuesday, Nov. 20, and join Rep. Bob Inglis and Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee for a special announcement.

A Question & Answer time will follow.

In our recent trip we went to the SEUS – Canada Alliance dinner where Premier Jean Charest of Quebec (our equivalent of Governor) was speaking and he said he wished to thank former Governor David Wilkins and current US Ambassador for attending the meeting he then went on latter in the meeting to repeat it again Governor David Wilkins. Could this be a slip of the tongue or a prediction of the future?

After the Premier sat down the Ambassador came over and said he was upset the Premier had given him a demotion to Governor.

SCHotline.com was given the opportunity to shadow the U.S. States Ambassador to Canada for three days. We were with him twenty four hours a day we even stayed at his personal residence in Ottawa. No reporter/interviewer has been granted such total and unfettered access to the Ambassador.

After arriving in Ottawa I was driven to the Ambassador’s residence “Lornado” - named after a favorite novel of the original owner. It is a ten acre estate that is perched atop the Ottawa and Gatineau Rivers and offers remarkable views of the Gatineau Hills in Quebec. It has 32 rooms and I was assigned a room on the third floor overlooking the river. The residence is located in one of the most beautiful parts of Canada and many ambassadors have residences in this area including the Holy See! (The Pope)

The residence is not cold but full of life everywhere you look. There are many pictures everywhere of the Wilkins’ family, President Bush and the Ambassador, and of South Carolina. Another reason it is so inviting is the Wilkins’ two dogs Speaker and Lilly running around and sniffing which make it seem like a true home that you can live in.

Next is lunch at the residence and as you can imagine it is no ordinary thing. This day it is lunch with Minister Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defense (our equivalent of Secretary Robert Gates) who is here for special meetings with an advisor to Dr. Rice from the U.S. State Department and other military personnel at the US Embassy - all total I think it is about 15 people. They are going to discuss Canada’s role in Afghanistan. The Ambassador introduces me to all of these people and I am like a deer in the headlights talking to these high ranking government officials.

Minister Peter McKay recounts a recent time when he visited Afghanistan and his convoy was fired upon and how he escaped with the help of a black hawk helicopter. All I can do is listen and marvel at where I am and with whom I am speaking.

The Ambassador has lunch with his guests and I have lunch with Mrs. Wilkins on the sun porch.

We have a wonderful time talking about many things but Mrs. Wilkins is quick to point out that she is an avid gardener and how when they first arrived in Canada they took a trip to the market, bought some flowers and planted them in the front yard.

We have to rush off to Parliament hill for Question Time. This is where the opposition party gets to ask questions of the Prime Minister for 45 minutes. Imagine if everyday Congress is in session President Bush and his entire cabinet had to take questions from Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. As you can imagine it is not a calm affair. There are cheers and howls on every question and most of the response are insults hurled back at the person who asked the question. It is grand political theater at its best.

After Question Time the Ambassador has a meeting with Minister Jay Hill, Secretary of State and Chief Government Whip they talk a bit about the Canadian American days (CANAM) in Myrtle Beach which are scheduled for mid March and the Ambassador invites him to Myrtle Beach to participate in it. They also talk about funding for a plaque on the Alaskan highway. American GI’s participated in building this highway during WW II and a number of them lost their lives. Mile “0″ of the highway starts in British Columbia and the Ambassador is planning to travel there in May where a ceremony is slated to be held to in honor of the American soldiers who helped build the highway.

We leave with the Ambassador back to the Embassy. This is my first time riding in the car with him. The US Ambassador has protection from the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) and his car has bulletproof glass and many other security measures that we cannot discuss. The Ambassador cannot leave his residence without the RCMP. He can go anywhere in his residence but if he leaves the gates of his residence he will need the RCMP. Just as a side note here there are only three Ambassadors in Canada that have protection of the RCMP.

Then I got my first glimpse of the US Embassy in Ottawa. It is cold and sterile on the inside and the only thing you notice beside the hallways and the stone on the inside are several quotes on the fourth floor.

Here is one quote that is by John F. Kennedy about Canada.On the executive level of the Embassy there are a couple of interesting facts. I had to turn off my cell phone and leave it down the hall from the Ambassadors office. State Department rules prohibit any electronic equipment - radios, blackberries, even televisions near high-security offices because they can be compromised and turned into eavesdropping devices.

Ambassador Wilkins’ office has all the flavor of South Carolina and Canada. There is a clock with the South Carolina state seal on one wall and a map of Canada on another wall. Looking out his window you can see Parliament Hill but if you look on that same wall you will see a picture of the South Carolina Statehouse. There is no doubt he keeps his eyes on Canada but his heart is in South Carolina.

The Ambassador has an interview with nationally syndicated columnist Deirdre McMurdy talking about the copyright laws in Canada. Canada has the weakest copyright laws of the G-7. Just recently it passed an anti-camcorder act in parliament but has yet to act on strengthening the full copyright laws. Needless to say, the US and other nations would like Canada to change its laws and this is one area Ambassador Wilkins is working on. You can see the whole article here. Copyright act key to Canada’s industrial strategy.

Around 4:30 PM the Ambassador tells me he forgot to tell me but I will need to leave the office because he will be receiving a classified briefing from a top level law enforcement agent on world affairs. Soon a woman comes to his office holding about 8″ of paper with a folder marked TOP SECRET. I wait outside in the hall while he receives his briefing.

The time arrives for us to go back to the residence and freshen up before the reception of the night. This night it is to benefit the U.S.-Canadian Forum on Mental Health. There are about 160 people in attendance and the Ambassador has agreed to open his house and show some Southern Hospitality. He makes a speech about the house and then talks about the friendship the United States has with Canada. After they all leave we sat down to eat the leftover hors d’oeuvres but before we do he asks his wife to say a blessing for the food. He tells me this is a just a typical day that starts early in the morning and keeps on going into the evening.

“We host one or two of these events a week like this,” he says, while eating some of the leftover shrimp. After we are finished he helps gather up the plates to take them into the kitchen. He then asks the staff to have breakfast ready at 7:15. He looks at me and says we need to leave by 7:40 for the radio station where he is being interviewed tomorrow. So ends our first day in the life of the Ambassador.

BY Lou Neiger, CLU

The $256 million school bond tax for Lexington 5 schools was defeated, what a way to go into the holidays.

Voters in Lexington 5 were successful in defeating the extravagant, almost half a billion dollar (including interest) facilities plan put forth by District 5. Voters are hoping the school will become more responsive to the community needs rather than JUST making plans to expand at the whims of builders & developers. They fully expect to see the District go for another referendum next year or even worse… use 8% loophole (instead of maintaining existing schools) to build new schools - in sparsely populated areas  - to avoid a public vote.  They hope that the latter will not occur.

Some of the things the Lexington school district has done, which in my mind removes the public trust of our school administers who try to push through the school boards and public referendums without totally disclosing what they are doing, are as follows:

· The school board didn’t even see the facilities plans until 11 days before their August vote to hold the referendum;

·They bought portable after portable (with taxpayers money) and placed them at schools with declining enrollment to give the appearance of overcrowding.   (Irmo dropped 299 students yet received 17 brand new portables).

· They used public resources ($30,000 plus expenses) to hire a political consultant whose contract allowed them to target the groups most likely to vote in favor of the bond, instead of educating all voters. 

· They used their publicly funded emergency notification system (phone system) to invite certain groups to referendum “informational” meetings (folks without children “Taxpayers” in the District 5 schools did not get that call).

· They used their widely distributed school email system and put flyers in children’s book bags to dispense get-out-the-vote correspondence.

· They refused to admit the district grew by only 24 students from last year to this year, then removed important enrollment data from their website so that voters could not compare that information for themselves.

· They baited voters with projects for their own schools in hopes to gain enough votes to build 3 new schools.  (They have been attempting to form a fourth high school attendance area with the 3 new schools in the most rural part of district 5 since 2001 when they made an offer to buy a 240-acre tract in partnership with the Mungo Co.).  What are they doing in the land business with the Mungo Co.?

·They failed to tell voters that using the maximum millage rate allowed to be charged by law was not adequate to pay to operate the proposed new schools. Approval of the referendum would result in the largest tax increase in the history of District 5 schools General fund.

·They threw in projects to benefit certain schools at the 11^th hour (well after the public was shown original plans) - like the Chapin area’s multi-million dollar fine arts center and sports complex - which looked like an effort to “buy” votes;

·They recently approved a policy to utilize only 75% of middle and high school capacity.   Instead of using the 25% (classrooms) held empty for teacher planning, which was to be used for class rooms- whether used or not, they purchased portables - again giving the appearance of overcrowding;

 · They released the architectural firm who was to renovate the 3 existing high     schools after its renderings of renovations had been presented to the public, then contracted with another firm who came up with a new set of designs for schools - designs that were never publicly vetted.

 · They never justified how building 3 new schools in Chapin’s rural Spring Hill community would benefit education of the children and their communities.   It would have benefited builders and developers.

 · They failed to tell voters that plans presented were purely schematic and subject to change after the $256,500,000 was in their hands.

· The “District 5 First” vote yes ballot measure committee was advised by the same political consultant firm hired by District 5 to target groups most likely to vote in favor of the referendum.  Eighty-eight percent of the funds contributed to the “District 5 First” group came from builders and developers.

  Lexington 5 Public school district would be wise to work with and spend MORE time in educating children. Lexington 5 is one of the better schools but they and the rest of South Carolina public schools are still not competing in the global education arena.
It appears that the Lexington 5 school system is continuing to put a plan together with developers and builders to create an expansion of the schools with out the input of all the concerned citizens and local governments.  It is like the rest of the public schools systems, it seems the attitude is ‘we are going to go forward no matter what the concerns are’.  The public school must come back to realize they work for all the citizens who pay their check not developers. I truly believe concerned citizens, local mayors and county council members with the schools should develop a over all plan of an expansion, if needed for growth at a modest level and not allow developers and schools be the driving force to make it like the congested Harbison area.

Lou Neiger has worked in the Insurance Planning field since 1981 and earned his CLU designation from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa.   Lou has been published in several papers as a guest columnist in South Carolina. 

By Nicolas Sarkozy

Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The state of our friendship and our alliance is strong.

Friendship, first and foremost, means being true to one’s friends. Since the United States first appeared on the world scene, the loyalty between the French and American people has never failed. And far from being weakened by the vicissitudes of History, it has never ceased growing stronger.

Friends may have differences; they may have disagreements; they may have disputes.

But in times of difficulty, in times of hardship, friends stand together, side by side; they support each other; and help one another.

In times of difficulty, in times of hardship, America and France have always stood side by side, supported one another, helped one another, fought for each other’s freedom.

The United States and France remain true to the memory of their common history, true to the blood spilled by their children in common battles. But they are not true merely to the memory of what they accomplished together in the past. They remain true, first and foremost, to the same ideal, the same principles, the same values that have always united them.

The deliberations of your Congress are conducted under the double gaze of Washington and Lafayette. Lafayette, whose 250th birthday we are celebrating this year and who was the first foreign dignitary, in 1824, to address a joint session of Congress. What was it that brought these two men–so far apart in age and background–together, if not their faith in common values, the heritage of the Enlightenment, the same love for freedom and justice?

Upon first meeting Washington, Lafayette told him: “I have come here to learn, not to teach.” It was this new spirit and youth of the Old World seeking out the wisdom of the New World that opened a new era for all of humanity.

From the very beginning, the American dream meant putting into practice the dreams of the Old World.

From the very beginning, the American dream meant proving to all mankind that freedom, justice, human rights and democracy were no utopia but were rather the most realistic policy there is and the most likely to improve the fate of each and every person.

America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who–with their hands, their intelligence and their heart–built the greatest nation in the world: “Come, and everything will be given to you.” She said: “Come, and the only limits to what you’ll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your own talent.” America embodies this extraordinary ability to grant each and every person a second chance.

Here, both the humblest and most illustrious citizens alike know that nothing is owed to them and that everything has to be earned. That’s what constitutes the moral value of America. America did not teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the world. It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that freedom was possible.

What made America great was her ability to transform her own dream into hope for all mankind.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The men and women of my generation heard their grandparents talk about how in 1917, America saved France at a time when it had reached the final limits of its strength, which it had exhausted in the most absurd and bloodiest of wars.

The men and women of my generation heard their parents talk about how in 1944, America returned to free Europe from the horrifying tyranny that threatened to enslave it.

Fathers took their sons to see the vast cemeteries where, under thousands of white crosses so far from home, thousands of young American soldiers lay who had fallen not to defend their own freedom but the freedom of all others, not to defend their own families, their own homeland, but to defend humanity as a whole.

Fathers took their sons to the beaches where the young men of America had so heroically landed. They read them the admirable letters of farewell that those 20-year-old soldiers had written to their families before the battle to tell them: “We don’t consider ourselves heroes. We want this war to be over. But however much dread we may feel, you can count on us.” Before they landed, Eisenhower told them: “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”

And as they listened to their fathers, watched movies, read history books and the letters of soldiers who died on the beaches of Normandy and Provence, as they visited the cemeteries where the star-spangled banner flies, the children of my generation understood that these young Americans, 20 years old, were true heroes to whom they owed the fact that they were free people and not slaves. France will never forget the sacrifice of your children.

To those 20-year-old heroes who gave us everything, to the families of those who never returned, to the children who mourned fathers they barely got a chance to know, I want to express France’s eternal gratitude.

On behalf of my generation, which did not experience war but knows how much it owes to their courage and their sacrifice; on behalf of our children, who must never forget; to all the veterans who are here today and, notably the seven I had the honor to decorate yesterday evening, one of whom, Senator Inouye, belongs to your Congress, I want to express the deep, sincere gratitude of the French people. I want to tell you that whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France. I think of them and I am sad, as one is sad to lose a member of one’s family.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The men and women of my generation remember the Marshall Plan that allowed their fathers to rebuild a devastated Europe. They remember the Cold War, during which America again stood as the bulwark of the Free World against the threat of new tyranny.

I remember the Berlin crisis and Kennedy who unhesitatingly risked engaging the United States in the most destructive of wars so that Europe could preserve the freedom for which the American people had already sacrificed so much. No one has the right to forget. Forgetting, for a person of my generation, would be tantamount to self-denial.

But my generation did not love America only because she had defended freedom. We also loved her because for us, she embodied what was most audacious about the human adventure; for us, she embodied the spirit of conquest. We loved America because for us, America was a new frontier that was continuously pushed back–a constantly renewed challenge to the inventiveness of the human spirit.

My generation shared all the American dreams. Our imaginations were fueled by the winning of the West and Hollywood. By Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Hemingway. By John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth. And by Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, fulfilling mankind’s oldest dream.

What was so extraordinary for us was that through her literature, her cinema and her music, America always seemed to emerge from adversity even greater and stronger; that instead of causing America to doubt herself, such ordeals only strengthened her belief in her values.

What makes America strong is the strength of this ideal that is shared by all Americans and by all those who love her because they love freedom.

America’s strength is not only a material strength, it is first and foremost a spiritual and moral strength. No one expressed this better than a black pastor who asked just one thing of America: that she be true to the ideal in whose name he–the grandson of a slave–felt so deeply American. His name was Martin Luther King. He made America a universal role model.

The world still remembers his words–words of love, dignity and justice. America heard those words and America changed. And the men and women who had doubted America because they no longer recognized her began loving her again.

Fundamentally, what are those who love America asking of her, if not to remain forever true to her founding values?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today as in the past, as we stand at the beginning of the 21st century, it is together that we must fight to defend and promote the values and ideals of freedom and democracy that men such as Washington and Lafayette invented together.

Together we must fight against terrorism. On September 11, 2001, all of France–petrified with horror–rallied to the side of the American people. The front-page headline of one of our major dailies read: “We are all American.” And on that day, when you were mourning for so many dead, never had America appeared to us as so great, so dignified, so strong. The terrorists had thought they would weaken you. They made you greater. The entire world felt admiration for the courage of the American people. And from day one, France decided to participate shoulder to shoulder with you in the war in Afghanistan. Let me tell you solemnly today: France will remain engaged in Afghanistan as long as it takes, because what’s at stake in that country is the future of our values and that of the Atlantic Alliance. For me, failure is not an option. Terrorism will not win because democracies are not weak, because we are not afraid of this barbarism. America can count on France.

Together we must fight against proliferation. Success in Libya and progress under way in North Korea shows that nuclear proliferation is not inevitable. Let me say it here before all of you: The prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons is unacceptable. The Iranian people is a great people. It deserves better than the increased sanctions and growing isolation to which its leaders condemn it. Iran must be convinced to choose cooperation, dialogue and openness. No one must doubt our determination.

Together we must help the people of the Middle East find the path of peace and security. To the Israeli and Palestinian leaders I say this: Don’t hesitate! Risk peace! And do it now! The status quo hides even greater dangers: that of delivering Palestinian society as a whole to the extremists that contest Israel’s existence; that of playing into the hands of radical regimes that are exploiting the deadlock in the conflict to destabilize the region; that of fueling the propaganda of terrorists who want to set Islam against the West. France wants security for Israel and a State for the Palestinians.

Together we must help the Lebanese people affirm their independence, their sovereignty, their freedom, their democracy. What Lebanon needs today is a broad-based president elected according to the established schedule and in strict respect of the Constitution. France stands engaged alongside all the Lebanese. It will not accept attempts to subjugate the Lebanese people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

America feels it has the vocation to inspire the world. Because she is the most powerful country in the world. Because, for more than two centuries, she has striven to uphold the ideals of democracy and freedom. But this stated responsibility comes with duties, the first of which is setting an example.

Those who love this nation which, more than any other, has demonstrated the virtues of free enterprise expect America to be the first to denounce the abuses and excesses of a financial capitalism that sets too great a store on speculation. They expect her to commit fully to the establishment of the necessary rules and safeguards. The America I love is the one that encourages entrepreneurs, not speculators.

Those who admire the nation that has built the world’s greatest economy and has never ceased trying to persuade the world of the advantages of free trade expect her to be the first to promote fair exchange rates. The yuan is already everyone’s problem. The dollar cannot remain solely the problem of others. If we’re not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims.

Those who love the country of wide open spaces, national parks and nature reserves expect America to stand alongside Europe in leading the fight against global warming that threatens the destruction of our planet. I know that each day, in their cities and states, the American people are more aware of the stakes and determined to act. This essential fight for the future of humanity must be all of America’s fight.

Those who have not forgotten that it was the United States that, at the end of the Second World War, raised hopes for a new world order are asking America to take the lead in the necessary reforms of the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and the G8. Our globalized world must be organized for the 21st century, not for the last century. The emerging countries we need for global equilibrium must be given their rightful place.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to express one last conviction: Trust Europe.

In this unstable, dangerous world, the United States of America needs a strong, determined Europe. With the simplified treaty I proposed to our partners, the European Union is about to emerge from 10 years of discussions on its institutions and 10 years of paralysis. Soon it will have a stable president and a more powerful High Representative for foreign and security policy, and it must now reactivate the construction of its military capacities.

The ambition I am proposing to our partners is based on a simple observation: There are more crises than there are capacities to face them. NATO cannot be everywhere. The EU must be able to act, as it did in the Balkans and in the Congo, and as it will tomorrow on the border of Sudan and Chad. For that the Europeans must step up their efforts.

My approach is purely pragmatic. Having learned from history, I want the Europeans, in the years to come, to have the means to shoulder a growing share of their defense. Who could blame the United States for ensuring its own security? No one. Who could blame me for wanting Europe to ensure more of its own security? No one. All of our Allies, beginning with the United States, with whom we most often share the same interests and the same adversaries, have a strategic interest in a Europe that can assert itself as a strong, credible security partner.

At the same time, I want to affirm my attachment to NATO. I say it here before this Congress: The more successful we are in the establishment of a European Defense, the more France will be resolved to resume its full role in NATO.

I would like France, a founding member of our Alliance and already one of its largest contributors, to assume its full role in the effort to renew NATO’s instruments and means of action and, in this context, to allow its relations with the Alliance to evolve.

This is no time for theological quarrels but for pragmatic responses to make our security tools more effective and operational in the face of crises. The EU and NATO must march hand in hand.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I want to be your friend, your ally and your partner. But a friend who stands on his own two feet. An independent ally. A free partner.

France must be stronger. I am determined to carry through with the reforms that my country has put off for all too long. I will not turn back, because France has turned back for all too long. My country has enormous assets. While respecting its unique identity, I want to put it into a position to win all the battles of globalization. I passionately love France. I am lucid about the work that remains to be accomplished.

It is this ambitious France that I have come to present to you today. A France that comes out to meet America to renew the pact of friendship and the alliance that Washington and Lafayette sealed in Yorktown.

Together let us be worthy of their example, let us be equal to their ambition, let us be true to their memories!

Long live the United States of America!

Vive la France!
Long live French-American friendship!