What is true in terms of our domestic initiatives is true also in the world.  This period we now are in, in the world—­and I say this as one who has seen so much of the world, not only in these past 5 years but going back over many years—­we are in a period which presents a juncture of historic forces unique in this century.  They provide an opportunity we may never have again to create a structure of peace solid enough to last a lifetime and more, not just peace in our time but peace in our children’s time as well.  It is on the way we respond to this opportunity, more than anything else, that history will judge whether we in America have met our responsibility.  And I am confident we will meet that great historic responsibility which is ours today.

It was 27 years ago that John F. Kennedy and I sat in this Chamber, as freshmen Congressmen, hearing our first State of the Union address delivered by Harry Truman.  I know from my talks with him, as members of the Labor Committee on which we both served, that neither of us then even dreamed that either one or both might eventually be standing in this place that I now stand in now and that he once stood in, before me.  It may well be that one of the freshmen Members of the 93d Congress, one of you out there, will deliver his own State of the Union message 27 years from now, in the year 2001.

Well, whichever one it is, I want you to be able to look back with pride and to say that your first years here were great years and recall that you were here in this 93d Congress when America ended its longest war and began its longest peace.

Mr. Speaker, and Mr. President, and my distinguished colleagues and our guests:  I would like to add a personal word with regard to an issue that has been of great concern to all Americans over the past year.  I refer, of course, to the investigations of the so-called Watergate affair.  As you know, I have provided to the Special Prosecutor voluntarily a great deal of material.  I believe that I have provided all the material that he needs to conclude his investigations and to proceed to prosecute the guilty and to clear the innocent.

I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end.  One year of Watergate is enough.

And the time has come, my colleagues, for not only the Executive, the President, but the Members of Congress, for all of us to join together in devoting our full energies to these great issues that I have discussed tonight which involve the welfare of all of the American people in so many different ways, as well as the peace of the world.

I recognize that the House Judiciary Committee has a special responsibility in this area, and I want to indicate on this occasion that I will cooperate with the Judiciary Committee in its investigation.  I will cooperate so that it can conclude its investigation, make its decision, and I will cooperate in any way that I consider consistent with my responsibilities to the Office of the Presidency of the United States.