We Americans are still the technological leaders in most fields.  We must keep that edge, and to do so we need to begin renewing the basics—­starting with our educational system.  While we grew complacent, others have acted.  Japan, with a population only about half the size of ours, graduates from its universities more engineers than we do.  If a child doesn’t receive adequate math and science teaching by the age of 16, he or she has lost the chance to be a scientist or an engineer.  We must join together—­parents, teachers, grass roots groups, organized labor, and the business community—­to revitalize American education by setting a standard of excellence.

In 1983 we seek four major education goals:  a quality education initiative to encourage a substantial upgrading of math and science instruction through block grants to the States; establishment of education savings accounts that will give middle and lower-income families an incentive to save for their children’s college education and, at the same time, encourage a real increase in savings for economic growth; passage of tuition tax credits for parents who want to send their children to private or religiously affiliated schools; a constitutional amendment to permit voluntary school prayer.  God should never have been expelled from America’s classrooms in the first place.

Our commitment to fairness means that we must assure legal and economic equity for women, and eliminate, once and for all, all traces of unjust discrimination against women from the United States Code.  We will not tolerate wage discrimination based on sex, and we intend to strengthen enforcement of child support laws to ensure that single parents, most of whom are women, do not suffer unfair financial hardship.  We will also take action to remedy inequities in pensions.  These initiatives will be joined by others to continue our efforts to promote equity for women.

Also in the area of fairness and equity, we will ask for extension of the Civil Rights Commission, which is due to expire this year.  The Commission is an important part of the ongoing struggle for justice in America, and we strongly support its reauthorization.  Effective enforcement of our nation’s fair housing laws is also essential to ensuring equal opportunity.  In the year ahead, we’ll work to strengthen enforcement of fair housing laws for all Americans.

The time has also come for major reform of our criminal justice statutes and acceleration of the drive against organized crime and drug trafficking.  It’s high time that we make our cities safe again.  This administration hereby declares an all-out war on big-time organized crime and the drug racketeers who are poisoning our young people.  We will also implement recommendations of our Task Force on Victims of Crime, which will report to me this week.