St. Louis, Missouri Remarks on Arrival at the City.

THE PRESIDENT. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. How many of you agree with me that we live in the greatest nation on Earth? [Applause]

For the last week, Rosalynn and Amy and I, along with the other passengers on board the Delta Queen, have had one of the most remarkable and enjoyable weeks of our lives. We've not only seen the beauty of the Midwest—the lovely land, the hills, the mountains-we've also seen one of the mightiest rivers on Earth that brings prosperity to this part of the country and gives us a reminder of what our history has been. But the most important thing to us has been to see the thousands and thousands of people who've come down to the banks of the Mississippi to make us feel welcome, to express your respect for our great country, and to take us into your arms and into your hearts as the President and the First Family of our Nation.

Amy has had a good time. Rosalynn has had a good time. And so have I. We hate to see the trip end, but if it has to end somewhere, it could not possibly end in a more beautiful place and a more exciting place than under this tremendous arch here in St. Louis.

It's my privilege, by the way, to announce the 10 millionth visitor to the top of the Gateway Arch, who was selected this morning immediately before we arrived at this historic St. Louis site. His name is Bill Bund from Alton, Illinois, the 10 millionth visitor to your beautiful arch. I think Bill is here somewhere. Here is the 10 millionth visitor over here. Congratulations, Bill.

I'd like to say just a few words to you now about our country. We've got so much to be thankful for. Sometimes we forget how much God has blessed us in the United States of America. He's given us some of the richest land on Earth, and we've seen it on both sides of the Mississippi River during the last week. This is indeed the breadbasket of the world. And if there's one tremendous, strategic advantage that our Nation presently has and which will always be a weapon for peace and for the good will and the well-being of people in our own country and throughout the world, it's the food and the fiber produced in this tremendous Mississippi River basin because of the wonderful land that God has given us. I've had a chance to speak to a lot of farmers on the way down and to express my thanks to them from the bottom of my heart as President of our country.

We've also seen the tremendous advantages that we have of a good transportation system with the river, and I believe in the future we can, with a good energy policy, have a much better transportation system, no matter what kind of river we want to use for goods or for people.

We also have a nation in which we can enjoy individual freedom, the right to be individuals, to be ourselves, to be different, to make our own decisions, to control our own government, and to develop in the best way that we can according to our own abilities and our own talents. This is one of the things that we sometimes forget, but I believe it's very important for us never to forget the freedom and the democracy that we have; a free enterprise system which lets us compete and lets us have innovation and lets us have new ideas to overcome problems.

So, we are blessed with the greatest nation on Earth. Unified, nothing can stand in our way to resolving problems, overcoming difficulties, and answering serious questions.

In the past our Nation has always been able to do this as we have been faced with serious trials and temptations that threaten our country. In the First World War, the Second World War, the Great Depression, Americans recognized the threat to our country. We united together and we overcame it.

Now we have a serious threat to our country that's not nearly so easy to understand and so far we've not united enough to overcome it. And that's the threat to our Nation's security brought about by excessive dependence on foreign oil. We import about half the oil we use, and along with oil that comes in from the Middle East, we also import unemployment, and we also import inflation.

We must do something about the energy challenge that faces us. There are two things that we can do. One thing is to save energy. Every American, every American can save energy in your own life, in your own family, in transportation, in your homes, on your job. This is something the government cannot do for you, but there are dozens of things that each one of you and each one of us can decide to do day in and day out that will be beneficial to our country, and will also give us, in the same process, a better life. It doesn't make it good for us or more enjoyable for us when we waste what God has given us. So, I ask all of you to help us conserve energy.

The second thing I'd like to ask you to do is to join in with me in helping to produce more energy in our own country. The Mideast OPEC nations all put together have less than 5 percent of the energy reserves in our world. The United States has 25 percent of all the energy, energy reserves in the world. So, what we must do is to produce more of our Nation's energy—oil, gas, coal, geothermal, with our tremendous cropland for gasohol, use more solar power. This can make us secure in energy.

Now the Congress has before it a windfall profits tax, which is being opposed by the oil lobby and which must be passed. Oil prices are going up in the future, and the basic question is: Who is going to get the tremendous profits that come in that are unearned? The oil companies have not earned this profit, but they want to keep it. So, with a windfall profits tax we can take these profits and give them back to the American people for a better transportation system, to help the low- and middle-income families pay the increased cost of fuel, to insulate our homes, to have a better way to produce synthetic fuels-all these benefits can come to us when the Congress passes a windfall profits tax.

We can have energy security. So, I want to ask you to do two things in summary: One is save energy, and the other one is work with me and the United States Congress to overcome the oil lobby, to pass the windfall profits tax, to make our Nation energy-secure.

With a strong nation we can stay at peace; we can keep our Nation secure. And if you'll help me, I will help you and the Members of Congress here with me to pass a windfall profits tax, to make the greatest nation on Earth even greater in the future. Will you do that? Will you help me? [Applause]

Thank you all very much, thank you.

Rosalynn, do you want to say a word? Rosalynn would like to say just a word.

MRS. CARTER. We've had a wonderful trip on the beautiful Mississippi River. The countryside is spectacular. I believe and I wish that every person in our country could take the trip that we have had and just see what we have in our country. It is so beautiful. We've enjoyed it. Amy has enjoyed it. The people along the way, you, too, have made it very special for us.

It's a week that Jimmy and I both will never forget. Thank you all for coming out today. We love you.

THE PRESIDENT. Amy? Say hi. All you have to do is say one word.

AMY CARTER. Hi. Hi.

THE PRESIDENT. How's that for a short speech? Thank you very much, everybody. We love every one of you. Thank you.

We'll come down and shake a few hands—the ones we can reach.