To the Congress of the United States:

My State of the Union Address will be devoted to a discussion of the most important challenges facing our country as we enter the 1980's. Over the coming year, those challenges will receive my highest priority and greatest efforts. However, there will also be many other significant areas which will receive my personal commitment, as well as that of my Administration, during the 2nd Session of the 96th Congress.

It is important that Congress, along with the public, be aware of these other vital areas of concern as they listen to my State of the Union Address. In that way, the context of the Address, and my Administration's full message for 1980, can best be understood. For that reason, I am sending this State of the Union Message to the Congress today, several days before my State of the Union Address.

CONGRESS

During the last three years, my Administration has developed a very cooperative and productive record with Congress. Landmark legislation has been enacted; major domestic and international problems have been addressed directly and resolved; and a spirit of mutual trust and respect has been restored to Executive.

Legislative relations. Indeed, in no other three-year period in our recent past has there been a comparable record of progress and achievement for the American people. But much more remains to be done. We cannot afford to rest on our record. We cannot fail to complete the agenda begun in the 1970's; we cannot ignore the new challenges of the 1980's. By continuing to work together, my Administration and the Congress can meet these goals.

Our cooperative efforts can help to ensure stable prices and economic growth; a return to energy security; an efficient, responsive government; a strong, unsurpassed defense capability; and world peace. The program that I have placed before the Congress since 1977, combined with the few new initiatives I will be placing before the Congress this year, will enable us to reach these goals.

Our task in this Session is to complete the work on that program. I have no doubt that we can do it. There is no time to waste.

RECORD OF PROGRESS

When I took office in 1977, our Nation faced a number of serious domestic and international problems:

-- the economy had still not recovered from the most serious recession since World War II;

-- unemployment was near 8%, and almost 8 million American workers were unemployed;

-- no national energy policy existed, and our dependence on foreign oil was rapidly increasing;

-- public trust in the integrity and openness of the government was extremely low;

-- the Federal government was operating inefficiently in administering essential programs and policies;

-- major social problems were being ignored or poorly addressed by the Federal government;

-- our defense posture was declining as a result of a continuously shrinking defense budget;

-- the strength of the NATO Alliance was at a post-World War II low;

-- tensions between Israel and Egypt threatened another Middle East war; and

-- America's resolve to oppose international aggression and human rights violations was under serious question.

Over the past 36 months, clear progress has been made in solving the challenges we found in January of 1977:

-- the unemployment rate at the end of last year of 5.9%, representing a 25% decrease in three years; 9 million jobs have been created, and more Americans, 98 million, are at work than at any time in our history;

-- major parts of a comprehensive energy program have been enacted; a Department of Energy has been established to administer the program; and Congress is on the verge of enacting the remaining major parts of the energy program;

-- confidence in the government's integrity has been restored, and respect for the government's openness and fairness has been renewed;

-- the government has been made more effective and efficient: the Civil Service system was completely reformed for the first time this century; 13 reorganization initiatives have been proposed to the Congress, approved, and implemented, two new Cabinet departments 'have been created to consolidate and streamline the government's handling of energy and education problems; inspectors general have been placed in each Cabinet department to combat fraud, waste and other abuses; zero-based budgeting practices have been instituted throughout the Federal government; cash management reforms have saved hundreds of millions of dollars; the process of issuing regulations has been reformed to eliminate unneeded and incomprehensible regulations; procedures have been established to assure citizen participation in government; and the airline industry has been deregulated, at enormous savings to the consumer.

-- critical social problems, many long ignored by the Federal government, have been addressed directly and boldly: an urban policy was developed and implemented, reversing the decline in our urban areas; the Food Stamp program has been expanded and the purchase requirement eliminated; the Social Security System was refinanced to put it on a sound financial basis; the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act was enacted; Federal assistance for education was expanded by 75%; the minimum wage was increased to levels needed to ease the effects of inflation; affirmative action has been pursued aggressively -- more blacks, Hispanics and women have been appointed to senior government positions and to judgeships than at any other time in our history; the ERA ratification deadline was extended to aid the ratification effort; and minority business procurement by the Federal government has more than doubled;

-- the decline in defense spending has been reversed; defense spending has increased at a real rate of over 3% in 1979, and I am proposing a real increase in the defense spending level of more than 20% over the next 5 years;

-- the NATO Alliance has been revitalized and strengthened through substantially increased resources, new deterrent weapons, and improved coordination; increased emphasis has also been given to conventional force capabilities to meet crises in other areas of the world;

-- Egypt and Israel have ended more than 30 years of war through a Peace Treaty that also established a framework for comprehensive peace in the Middle East;

-- the commitment of our Nation to pursue human rights throughout the world, in nations which are friendly and those which are not, has been made clear to all;

-- our resolve to oppose aggression, such as the illegal invasion of the Soviet Union into Afghanistan, has been supported by tough action.

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

In the coming legislative session, the last in this Presidential term, I am deeply committed to finishing the agenda that I have placed before the Congress. That agenda has been comprehensive and demanding, but it has also been absolutely essential for our Nation's well-being. I do not plan to add significantly to the agenda this year.

Because of the importance of enacting the proposals already before the Congress, and the relatively short Congressional session facing us, I will be limiting my major new proposals to a critical few:

-- Youth Employment;

-- General Revenue Sharing;

-- Utility Oil Use Reduction;

-- Nuclear Waste Management and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Re. organization;

-- Standby Gasoline Rationing Plan; and

-- Initiatives implementing my response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

I am convinced that these new initiatives, along with the major proposals I previously made to the Congress, can be enacted this year, if we have a dedicated, all-out effort on the part of the Administration and the Congress. I pledge such an effort on my part, and that of my Administration. As in the previous three years, I will be working with you toward the basic goals of:

-- Ensuring our economic strength;

-- Creating energy security for our nation;

-- Enhancing basic human and social needs;

-- Making our government more efficient and effective;

-- Protecting and enhancing our rights and liberties;

-- Preserving and developing our natural resources;

-- Building America's military strength;

-- Working to resolve international disputes through peaceful means;

-- Striving to resolve pressing international economic problems;