Every citizen rightly expects efficient and economical administration of these many government programs I have outlined today.  I strongly recommend extension of the Reorganization Act and the law establishing the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, both of which expire this spring.  Thus the Congress will assure continuation of the excellent progress recently made in improving government organization and administration.  In this connection we are looking forward with great interest to the reports which will soon be going to the Congress from the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government.  I am sure that these studies, made under the chairmanship of former President Herbert Hoover with the assistance of more than two hundred distinguished citizens, will be of great value in paving the way toward more efficiency and economy in the government.

And now, I return to the point at which I began—­the faith of our people.

The many programs here summarized are, I believe, in full keeping with their needs, interests and aspirations.  The obligations upon us are clear: 

To labor earnestly, patiently, prayerfully, for peace, for freedom, for justice, throughout the world;

To keep our economy vigorous and free, that our people may lead fuller, happier lives;

To advance, not merely by our words but by our acts, the determination of our government that every citizen shall have opportunity to develop to his fullest capacity.

As we do these things, before us is a future filled with opportunity and hope.  That future will be ours if in our time we keep alive the patience, the courage, the confidence in tomorrow, the deep faith, of the millions who, in years past, made and preserved us this nation.

A decade ago, in the death and desolation of European battlefields, I saw the courage and resolution, I felt the inspiration, of American youth.  In these young men I felt America’s buoyant confidence and irresistible will-to-do.  In them I saw, too, a devout America, humble before God.

And so, I know with all my heart—­and I deeply believe that all Americans know—­that, despite the anxieties of this divided world, our faith, and the cause in which we all believe, will surely prevail.

The address as reported from the floor appears in the Congressional Record (vol. 101, p. 94).

***

State of the Union Address
Dwight D. Eisenhower
January 5, 1956

To the Congress of the United States: 

The opening of this new year must arouse in us all grateful thanks to a kind Providence whose protection has been ever present and whose bounty has been manifold and abundant.  The State of the Union today demonstrates what can be accomplished under God by a free people; by their vision, their understanding of national problems, their initiative, their self-reliance, their capacity for work—­and by their willingness to sacrifice whenever sacrifice is needed.