For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 16, 2002
President Calls on Congress to Show Fiscal Responsibility
Remarks by the President at Meeting of the Leaders of the Fiscal Responsibility Coalition
Room 450
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all very much. I appreciate you
coming and giving me a chance to discuss the budget -- (laughter)
-- of our country.
First, I want to thank Ted Fowler and Grady Rosier for leading this
mobile effort to make sure that Congress gets the message that fiscal
sanity and discipline is important as we fight our war against terror.
I want to thank the members of my administration who are here, the
Deputy Director of the OMB. I don't know where "The Blade" is, but --
(laughter) -- he's traveling. But I want to thank you all very much
for making up the Fiscal Responsibility Coalition.
Now, last night was not only the night people were supposed to file
their taxes, but Congress is supposed to file its budget. The House
has, and the Senate hasn't acted yet. But I want you to know that we
fulfilled our responsibility. And I want to talk about budgeting in
the face of the war against terror and budgeting in the face of a
slowdown in our economy.
It's an important issue because sound budgeting is going to
determine whether or not, and sound appropriating is going to determine
whether or not people are going to be able to find work.
First, I think it's important on any budget to set priorities. And
I want to share with you the three priorities that I've set and why I
did it. Homeland security: we've doubled the amount of money
available for homeland security because my most important job is to
protect our homeland. I need to be able to say to the American people
that you can go about your lives because we're doing everything we can
to protect you, and we are.
We've got money in our budget for first time responders -- those
are your police and your fire and your emergency medical teams -- so
that they can have a capacity to respond to any emergency that may
occur, if one does. We've got money for bioterrorism in our budget.
We've got medicines available. We're beefing up the public health
units around the country. We've got money in our budget for border
security. I mean, let's be frank about it, we've got to know -- do a
better job about knowing who's coming in and why they're coming into
America, how long they intend to stay, and whether or not they're
staying for as long as they say they're staying.
We beefed up our Coast Guard, to make sure that our ports and --
ports of entry are better protected. We're doing a much better job
here in America of communicating between law enforcement agencies.
We've got money in our budget to modernize the capacity for the FBI to
communicate internally, as well as with other law enforcement agencies
around the country.
You just need to know that any time we get any hint that somebody
might be thinking about doing something to America, we're responding.
We're chasing down every possible lead to make sure the homeland is
secure.
But the reality is is that the way to secure the homeland is to
find these killers, wherever they try to hide, and bring them to
justice. That's the best way to secure America. I know some Americans
wonder what is -- how long this is going to go on. The answer is,
for however long it takes. History has called us into action. We're
not going to blink, we're not going to get tired. We're going to do
what is necessary to defend our freedoms.
I like to tell people in these speeches I'm giving, that I can't
imagine what went through the mind of the killers. They must have
thought we were so materialistic, so self-absorbed, that all we were
going to do was file a lawsuit. (Laughter.) They found out that we
think differently here.
And so my budget prioritizes our national defense. It's the
biggest increase in the defense budget in 20 years. And there's a
couple of reasons why. First, any time we send our troops into harm's
way, they've got to have the best training, the best equipment, the
best possible pay. I mean, we owe it to our soldiers that it be this
way.
And secondly, the size of the budget request ought to indicate to
the American people that we're in it for the -- and the enemy, by the
way -- that we're in this for the long pull; that there is no calendar
on my desk that says, oh by the way, this thing must end by such and
such a moment. That's just not the way I'm thinking, and it's not the
way our military is thinking. And the Congress needs to understand
that as well, that it's expensive to fight for freedom, but it's not
too expensive, because it's freedom we fight for.
These people, these terrorists still want to hit us. They're
cold-blooded murderers, that's just what they are, and we're denying
them places to hide. And, slowly but surely, we're going to get them.
And just ask their chief operating operator, Abu Zubaydah, what it's
like to be on the wrong side of the United States of America. We got
him, and America's safer for it, but there's more out there.
I feel the same way, by the way, about nations that are going to
develop these weapons of mass destruction, who have got a history of
hating America, hating freedom, and using these weapons against their
own people, for example. I've got one country in mind, as I laid out
that characteristic. (Laughter.)
But we can't, for the good of our children and for the sake of our
future, allow them ever to team up with an al Qaeda organization, and
try to hold us hostage or hold the free world hostage. And it's just
not going to happen. I'm going to be patient and deliberate, be
steady. And our budget reflects that.
And so -- and the third priority has been to make sure that we
promote economic vitality and growth. And so the priority in the
budget was the tax cut that many of you worked on and is now in place.
And I will tell you that I remember giving speech after speech after
speech saying our economy needs a tax cut. It's important to let
people have their own money so that they can spend and, when they do,
demand increases and then somebody will meet that demand with a good or
a service, and then somebody will be able to find work. And it made a
huge difference in our -- in the vitality of our economy that we cut
the taxes. Those taxes need to be permanent, by the way. And I look
forward to working -- (applause).
And the budget also included a blueprint for the economic stimulus
plan that I signed. And, again, I want to thank some of you in this
room for working on this -- a good thing. (Applause.)
And so I urge Congress to get moving on the appropriations process,
particularly when it comes to the Defense bill. Generally, here in
Washington, they wait and put the Defense bill out last. I'm not going
to read any reasons why into that; it just happens. I'll let the
experts tell you why.
It seems like to me if we're at war -- and we are at war --
that they ought to get the Defense appropriations bill out first, and
not play games with the Defense appropriations. (Applause.) And so
I'm asking Congress to do that. I've made this clear to the
leadership. I had a breakfast; they were -- seemed to be very
responsive. And now it's time for the appropriators to act.
I also asked Congress to pass the supplemental that we submitted.
It's emergency funding for defense and homeland security and economic
security, and we'd like to get that done by Memorial Day. It's time
for them to get that supplemental passed.
The key, however, in making sure that this all fits together is
that Congress understand the consequences of excessive spending beyond
the priorities. The budget we submitted sets our priorities. But
areas outside of our priorities will increase in expenditure by 2
percent -- which is a pretty darn healthy increase in times of war.
It means that we're going to meet other obligations. The education
bill, for example, is an increase, after a substantial increase from
last year. And one of the things that I'm urging Congress is to make
sure that when they begin to think about programs and what they're
going to spend the money on is to think of the lessons of the past. We
must not repeat the mistakes in the '60s, when increased spending
required by war was not balanced by slower spending in the rest of
government. That the appropriators thought, what the heck, we'll just
spend it on everything without any fiscal discipline in Washington,
D.C. And, as a result, in the '70s, we faced unemployment and growing
deficits and spiraling inflation.
In times of -- now is the time for us to be responsible when it
comes to spending the people's money. That's not to say it's not
always time to be responsible when it comes to spending the people's
money, but it's a time to be disciplined. The lesson ought to be clear
that when you have excess spending, it's going to cost people their
jobs. And Congress has got to be very careful about that.
The recession -- no question, I remember when I was campaigning,
I said, would you ever deficit spend? And I said, yes, only if there
were a time of war, or recession, or a national emergency. Never
thought we'd get -- (laughter and applause.) And so we have a
temporary deficit in our budget, because we are at war, we're
recovering, our economy is recovering, and we've had a national
emergency. Never did I dream we'd have the trifecta. (Laughter.)
But the key is to make sure it's as small as possible. And to make
sure it doesn't last very long. And so you'll hear some who say, well,
let's raise taxes as the way to deal with this temporary deficit.
That, of course, would slow the economy down. It would make deficits
worse.
The best way to make sure that we get rid of this deficit, this
short-term, temporary deficit is to continue stimulating our economy,
more jobs, more growth equals more tax revenues. And at the same time,
have strong fiscal discipline here in Washington, D.C.
If we restrain spending, even though we're at war, even though our
economy is still clunking along, if we react responsibly, we can return
to a balanced budget, something I want, as early as 2004. But tough
choices on Capitol have to be made.
I intend to help them make those choices. I want them to --
(applause.) I think we can do so in the spirit of cooperation,
focusing on what's best for America. This doesn't have to be a time
for harsh partisanship, where people are trying to advance their own
political agendas as opposed to focusing on what's best for the
country.
What's best for the country is winning the war on terror, buttoning
up the homeland, and keeping this economy growing so people can find
work. That's what's best for the country. And we don't have to get
into needless partisan screeching over the budget. We've got to be
wise and reasonable with the people's money.
And we've got to have some goals. And I've set the goals in terms
of the war, and set the goals in terms of the homeland. Our economy
needs to get growing. But we also can focus on making sure we end this
deficit. And we can do so, if the United States Congress does not
overspend. And that's what I'm here to ask for your help on.
I know you're interested in our country. I know you're most
interested in the budgeting process. And we need your help, to help
them hold the line on spending.
You've got a tool, and that's called your voice, and the people you
work with. And I've got a tool, and that's called a veto. (Laughter
and applause.) And perhaps -- and together -- (applause).
I don't think that's going to be necessary, because I believe, in
this difficult time for America, there's a common spirit on Capitol
Hill, and one that we can promote and use for the benefit of the
people.
And let me conclude by telling you, as people who've got influence
in your communities and around the country, that there is a way you can
help fight this war against terror, beyond trying to affect the budget,
make sure you keep employing people. And that is to love your neighbor
like you'd like to be loved yourself; that if you're interested in
fighting evil, do some good, mentor a child, tell your own children you
love them every single day, help a shut-in; get your church or
synagogue or mosque to feed the hungry.
Always remember there are pockets of despair and hopelessness in
America, pockets of -- places where -- but a place that can be
changed, as a result of a loving soul entering someone's life. The
best way to fight evil in America is, do some good. And it's those
collective acts of kindness and decency and compassion which will not
only -- stands America squarely in the face of evil, but which will
turn the evil acts done to us -- incredible good for people, people
all around the country.
This is a great country. There's no doubt in my mind that not only
will we be able to achieve peace, but we'll achieve a hopeful America
for everybody.
Thank you all for coming, and may God bless. (Applause.)