By working closely with our friends abroad, we can promote the economic health of the whole world, with fair and balanced agreements lowering the barriers to trade.

Despite the inevitable pressures that build up when the world economy suffers from high unemployment, we must firmly resist the demands for self-defeating protectionism.  But free trade must also be fair trade.  And I am determined to protect American industry and American workers against foreign trade practices which are unfair or illegal.

In a separate written message to Congress, I’ve outlined other domestic initiatives, such as welfare reform, consumer protection, basic education skills, urban policy, reform of our labor laws, and national health care later on this year.  I will not repeat these tonight.  But there are several other points that I would like to make directly to you.

During these past years, Americans have seen our Government grow far from us.

For some citizens, the Government has almost become like a foreign country, so strange and distant that we’ve often had to deal with it through trained ambassadors who have sometimes become too powerful and too influential, lawyers, accountants, and lobbyists.  This cannot go on.

We must have what Abraham Lincoln wanted, a government for the people.

We’ve made progress toward that kind of government.  You’ve given me the authority I requested to reorganize the Federal bureaucracy.  And I am using that authority.

We’ve already begun a series of reorganization plans which will be completed over a period of 3 years.  We have also proposed abolishing almost 500 Federal advisory and other commissions and boards.  But I know that the American people are still sick and tired of Federal paperwork and redtape.  Bit by bit we are chopping down the thicket of unnecessary Federal regulations by which Government too often interferes in our personal lives and our personal business.  We’ve cut the public’s Federal paperwork load by more than 12 percent in less than a year.  And we are not through cutting.

We’ve made a good start on turning the gobbledygook of Federal regulations into plain English that people can understand.  But we know that we still have a long way to go.

We’ve brought together parts of 11 Government agencies to create a new Department of Energy.  And now it’s time to take another major step by creating a separate Department of Education.

But even the best organized Government will only be as effective as the people who carry out its policies.  For this reason, I consider civil service reform to be absolutely vital.  Worked out with the civil servants themselves, this reorganization plan will restore the merit principle to a system which has grown into a bureaucratic maze.  It will provide greater management flexibility and better rewards for better performance without compromising job security.