Rep. Watts delivered the Republican response to President Clinton’s State of the Union address. His audience was a group of his constituents and high school students from around the nation in the members' Reading Room at the Library of Congress. He focused on three main themes in his speech: traditional family values, allowing faith-based organizations to help renew socially disintegrated communities in urban areas and balancing the budget. In his conclusion he stated that the essence of the Republican agenda was “to put our men and women back together, to put ourselves back together, and, in that way, get our country back together.”