State of the Union AddressesBush, George W. (George Walker)
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State of the Union Addresses
Bush, George W. (George Walker)
Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
On the critical issue of health care, our goal is to ensure that
Americans can choose and afford private health care coverage that best
fits their individual needs. To make insurance more affordable,
Congress must act to address rapidly rising health care costs. Small
businesses should be able to band together and negotiate for lower
insurance rates, so they can cover more workers with health insurance -
I urge you to pass Association Health Plans. I ask you to give
lower-income Americans a refundable tax credit that would allow
millions to buy their own basic health insurance. By computerizing
health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs,
and improve care. To protect the doctor-patient relationship, and keep
good doctors doing good work, we must eliminate wasteful and frivolous
medical lawsuits. And tonight I propose that individuals who buy
catastrophic health care coverage, as part of our new health savings
accounts, be allowed to deduct 100 percent of the premiums from their
taxes.
A government-run health care system is the wrong prescription. By
keeping costs under control, expanding access, and helping more
Americans afford coverage, we will preserve the system of private
medicine that makes America's health care the best in the world.
We are living in a time of great change - in our world, in our economy,
and in science and medicine. Yet some things endure - courage and
compassion, reverence and integrity, respect for differences of faith
and race. The values we try to live by never change. And they are
instilled in us by fundamental institutions, such as families, and
schools, and religious congregations. These institutions - the unseen
pillars of civilization - must remain strong in America, and we will
defend them.
We must stand with our families to help them raise healthy, responsible
children. And when it comes to helping children make right choices,
there is work for all of us to do.
One of the worst decisions our children can make is to gamble their
lives and futures on drugs. Our government is helping parents confront
this problem, with aggressive education, treatment, and law
enforcement. Drug use in high school has declined by 11 percent over
the past two years. Four hundred thousand fewer young people are using
illegal drugs than in the year 2001. In my budget, I have proposed new
funding to continue our aggressive, community-based strategy to reduce
demand for illegal drugs. Drug testing in our schools has proven to be
an effective part of this effort. So tonight I propose an additional 23
million dollars for schools that want to use drug testing as a tool to
save children's lives. The aim here is not to punish children, but to
send them this message: We love you, and we don't want to lose you.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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