For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
October 6, 2004
Remarks by First Lady Laura Bush at Victory '04 Rally in Reno, Nevada
Reno Sparks Convention Center Reno, Nevada October 5, 2004
3:56 P.M. PDT
MRS. BUSH: Thank you, and thank you, Jenna, for that very sweet
introduction. It's so nice to have my girls on the campaign trail with
me. George and I have really loved every minute of being with them on
this campaign.
I also especially want to thank Dawn Gibbons. Thank you very much,
Dawn, for your introduction. And, of course, Dema Guinn the First Lady
of Nevada, one of my really good friends. (Applause.) Laurie Porter,
the wife of Congressman John Porter, thank you for being here. Is the
Mayor here? I think Mayor Bob Cashell was supposed to be here. And
Earlene, you're terrific. Earlene is Nevada's Republican Party
Chairman. Thank you so much. (Applause.)
Brian Krolicki is here, Nevada's state treasurer and Brian
Sandoval, thank you for being here. And thanks so much to all the
volunteers who are working so hard to reelect President Bush.
(Applause.)
I'm so happy to be back in Nevada to talk about why it's so
important to work on the President's campaign. I was in Las Vegas last
week and I know the President will be back again before November 2nd,
and with your help, we're going to win the state of Nevada.
(Applause.)
As I have traveled across our country over the last several months,
I've met so many people who have a very deep love for our country --
and for our President. People all across America see what you and I
see, and that is my husband is a man of great character and
conviction. (Applause.)
We've watched as President Bush has led this country though the
most historic struggle of our generation. We've been through a lot
together these last four years. But today, our economy is growing,
we're closing the achievement gap in our schools, and America is safer
and stronger thanks to the President's decisive leadership.
(Applause.)
In Ohio, I visited with a woman business owner who summed up our
success this way. She said, "President Bush was born for such a time
as this. He never wavers when it comes to doing the right thing. It
makes me feel so secure to know that our leader has such a love for our
country." (Applause.)
These are historic times, and they're also times of change that
require new ideas to move America forward. Just think about the
differences in our lives today and the lives of our parents or
grandparents. Today in most families, both parents are working outside
the home, including two-thirds of all mothers. And more single parents
are doing double duty alone. More entrepreneurs are starting their own
businesses. Workers are changing jobs often during their lifetimes,
and more people are going back to school to keep up with our changing
economy.
At our convention in New York, President Bush outlined his agenda
for a new term. Helping families face the challenges of this changing
world is at the heart of the President's plan. And we know that all
opportunity starts with education.
Thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act, our schools are improving
with higher standards, accountability, and the most federal funding
ever for elementary and secondary education. (Applause.)
More children are reading at grade level and scores in math are
improving, and we owe much of this success to America's incredible
teachers. (Applause.)
As we help our younger students, we also want to make sure that our
students in high schools are well prepared for the new jobs of the 21st
century. We want high school students to have increased math and
science training, because we know that's where the new jobs will be.
President Bush wants to make it easier for high school students to take
courses at community college and earn credits toward their degrees
before they even graduate. He also wants to make federal student
financial aid more flexible, so Americans can receive training, earn a
degree, or take specialized courses that will help them get a great
job. (Applause.)
And when these graduates enter the work force, I'm proud to say
that a lot of them will go to work for a woman boss. (Applause.) Ten
million women in America own their own business, and that sisterhood
just keeps growing. Millions of families and small business owners are
saving more of their own money, because the President worked to pass
the largest tax relief in a generation. (Applause.)
And just in case you don't know, a lot of small businesses are
either sole proprietorships or sub-S corporations, which means they're
taxed with regular income tax. So when you talk about tax cuts, you're
also talking about the tax cuts that help small business owners expand
their businesses and hire more people. (Applause.)
America has added 1.7 million jobs since August 2003. That's more
jobs than Germany, Japan, England, Canada and France added, combined.
(Applause.)
We know that we have more work to do to make sure everybody who
wants a job can find one. Yesterday, President Bush singed a bill
extending tax relief so families and small businesses can stay on the
path to greater prosperity. (Applause.)
The bipartisan bill that the President signed extends the $1,000
child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief, and the expanded 10
percent tax bracket. Overall, 94 million Americans will have a lower
tax bill next year, including 70 million women and 38 million families
with children. (Applause.)
My husband also wants working moms and dads to keep something we
never have enough of, and that's time -- time to play with our kids,
time to take care of our parents. President Bush will work with
Congress to make flex time and comp time available so that more
Americans can better manage the demands of work and family.
(Applause.)
Another growing crisis that is of particular interest to women and
doctors is medical liability reform. Recently, I was in Philadelphia
where I met Erin Zezzo, who learned about junk lawsuits the hard way.
Erin had a trusting relationship with her OB-GYN, who had delivered her
first two children. Into her third pregnancy, Erin's doctor stopped
delivering babies, because he couldn't afford the medical liability
insurance. Erin had to find a new doctor when she was six months
pregnant. Frivolous lawsuits raise the cost of insurance and they
drive good doctors out of practice. (Applause.)
President Bush will work to reform the medical liability system and
reduce frivolous lawsuits. (Applause.) My husband will make sure that
patients and doctors are in charge of health care, not bureaucrats in
Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
George believes that government should try to help people improve
their lives, not try to run them. And one of the most promising ways
government can help improve our lives is by supporting medical
research. The President is strongly committed to advancing research.
He has doubled the budget for the National Institutes of Health and he
has requested $28.8 billion for the NIH for next year. This money will
support research that leads to new and better treatments for heart
disease and cancer and many other illnesses. (Applause.)
The President also looks forward to medical breakthroughs that may
arise through stem cell research. You may not realize that, because
many people try to distort his record. But the truth is George W. Bush
is the only President to authorize federal funding for embryonic stem
cell research. (Applause.) Last year, the federal government invested
nearly $25 million in embryonic stem cell research and nearly $191
million in adult and other stem cell research. Many millions more are
spent by researchers in the private sector.
My father died of Alzheimer's disease and I share the President's
eagerness to find a cure for this devastating illness. I hope that
stem cells yield cures and therapies for a myriad of illnesses, but I
know that stem cell research does not offer a cure right now, and it's
irresponsible to suggest that it does.
The promise of research lies in the advancement of scientific
knowledge and a growing understanding of how stem cells can be used to
treat illnesses. The President's policy makes it possible for
researchers to explore the potential of stem cells while respecting the
ethical and moral implications associated with this research.
(Applause.)
As President, my husband has met the toughest challenges with
courage. He believes that his duty, the responsibility of every
leader, is to find solutions to problems, not pass them on to future
Presidents and future generations. (Applause.) As we mark the third
anniversary of September 11th, I believe what's important is my
husband's work to protect our country and to defeat terror around the
world. (Applause.)
President Bush and I want our men and women in uniform and their
families to know how much every American appreciates their service and
their sacrifice. (Applause.) We appreciate courageous Americans like
Robyn Griffin of the United States Air Force, who recently returned
from Iraq and Afghanistan. Robyn's mother, Patricia, is here with us
today. (Applause.)
Thank you, Patricia, and please thank your daughter for us, and
know that you and your family, and all of our military families, are in
the thoughts and prayers of every American. (Applause.)
As we do the hard work of confronting terror, we can be proud that
50 million more men, women and children now have the chance to live in
freedom thanks to the United States of America and our allies.
(Applause.)
After years of being treated as virtual prisoners by the Taliban,
the women of Afghanistan are now able to leave their homes without a
male escort, and after being denied an education, even the chance to
learn to read, the little girls of Afghanistan are in school.
(Applause.)
Those who still question whether people in the broader Middle East
desire freedom need only ask the 10-and-a-half million Afghans who have
registered to vote in their first free presidential election.
(Applause.) This Saturday will be an historic milestone for all of
Afghanistan, especially for the more than 4 million women who will be
heading to the polls.
Because we acted, the people of Iraq are now free from the tyranny
of Saddam Hussein. (Applause.) Recently, President Bush met with
Iraq's new leader, Prime Minister Allawi, at the White House. Prime
Minister Allawi said that the Iraqi people are determined to exercise
their right to vote this January, even as they face violence from those
who oppose their democracy. These violent acts are grim reminders of
why our work to defeat terror and to support free societies in the
Middle East is so important.
We still have work to do, but we'll stand with the people of Iraq
and Afghanistan while their hopes for freedom are being fulfilled.
(Applause.)
Building a democracy takes time. Think of how long it took us in
our country. It took almost 100 years after our founders declared all
men are created equal to abolish slavery in America -- and not until 84
years ago did American women get the right to vote. (Applause.)
Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals
have never ceased to guide us. (Applause.) Last night, at the debate
in Miami -- last Thursday night at the debate in Miami, the people of
America saw the strong and thoughtful man I've known for the last 27
years, a man who says what he means and does what he says. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
MRS. BUSH: This Friday, the President will once again talk to
Americans about his plans for making America safer and more prosperous
and making the world more secure, and of course I hope you'll all watch
Vice President Cheney tonight. (Applause.)
One more thing I hope you'll do in the next four weeks is talk to
your neighbors about the President's accomplishments and his plans for
a second term. Reach out to Democrats and Independents who appreciate
strong and optimistic leadership. Make sure your friends are
registered to vote. October 12 is your last day here in this state.
And then turn them all out at the polls. Everything you do to help
will be a huge asset for the President's campaign. (Applause.)
These are times of change for our nation, but they're also years of
promise. George and I grew up in West Texas, where the sky seems
endless and so do the possibilities. My husband brings that optimism,
that sense of purpose, that certainty that a better day is before us to
his job every day and, with your help, he'll do it for four more
years.
Thank you all. Thanks so much. Thanks, and may God bless
America. Thank you all. (Applause.)
END 4:15 P.M. PDT
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