For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 1, 2002
President's Remarks at "Congress of Tomorrow" Lunch
Remarks by the President at 2002 "Congress of Tomorrow" Republican Retreat Luncheon
The Greenbrier
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
12:38 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Please be
seated; thank you. It is rare that a fella can give two
50-minute addresses in the same week. (Laughter.) I knew
you'd be thrilled. (Laughter.)
J.C., thanks for those kind words and thanks for your
leadership. One of us didn't get the dress code
right. (Laughter.) Yes, I didn't get the
memo. (Laughter.)
At any rate, I'm delighted to be here; I am. First, I
want to say something about the leaders of the two bodies represented
here. Your Speaker and the Majority Leader -- I call him
Majority Leader -- are two really good men to work with. I
have loved my experience working with Denny and Trent last
year. I really enjoy the candid discussions.
But most importantly, what I really appreciate is the desire to
work together to do what's right for the country. We're
lucky to have two such strong and good men leading the
country. And so it's an honor to be with the Speaker and
Senator Trent Lott. And I look forward to a fabulous year
working with the two men in 2002. (Applause.)
I think this is going to be a great year, I do. I've
never been more optimistic about anything in my life. In the
Oval Office there's a painting by a friend of mine named Tom Lea. And
when you come in the Oval Office, you'll notice it's the
western-looking painting right by the door where Logan used to
sit. By the way, this is Logan's last day working for me,
which is -- I didn't fire him, he voluntarily left.
But, anyway, if you were to work where Logan used to be, there's a
painting that shows a great expanse of west Texas. It is the
-- the guy who painted the painting was the person who wrote the quote
I used at the end of the convention, which I'm sure most of you have
memorized by now. (Laughter.)
It says, "Sarah and I live on the east side of the
mountain. It is the sunrise side, not the sunset
side. It is the side to see the day that is coming, not to
see the day that is gone."
It's so important for a President to see a day that is coming, that
is positive. And I do, in clear and vivid ways, I see a day
that is much better for not only America, and Americans, but the
world. We have an historic opportunity to fight a war that
will not only liberate people from the clutches of barbaric behavior,
but a war that could leave the world more peaceful in the years to
come.
None of us asked for this war. None of us wished that
what happened on September the 11th happened. And we
continue to pray for the victims. But now that it's happened, this
nation is ready to seize the moment. And I'm so proud that
the people in this room and on this podium understand the historic
opportunity we have. And I want to thank you for joining
this most noble and just cause.
We fight for freedom, and we stand for freedom, and we won't relent
until we defend freedom at its
core. (Applause.) And that's why the budget I
sent up there has got a significant increase in defense spending,
because we owe it to the defenders of freedom to give them the best
equipment, the best housing, the best training, and another pay raise.
(Applause.)
Now in my speech, I tried to educate the American people about what
we're up against. I talked about the fact that thousands of
people had gone through al Qaeda killer camps. And they're
still roaming around. And so long as they're roaming around
with the intention of hurting us, this nation will hunt them down.
I've been traveling the country, as you know, and I'm so pleased
with the fact that the American people are incredibly patient and
resolved and share our determination to achieve our noble
objective. They know that we have succeeded in one phase of
our war in Afghanistan; we liberated women and children by demolishing
the Taliban and its repressive government.
They also know that the stage we're now in, which is hunting down
the cave dwellers, is going to take a while. They understand
that, and I am grateful for the people's understanding. They
understand that this is a dangerous phase of the war. But
they have also been assured by me and by you all that we're not going
to weary. We're not going to rush our
military. We're going to be steady and relentless until we
achieve the objective of getting the al Qaeda killers and bringing them
to justice. (Applause.)
But they also understand that we are not preoccupied by one or two
people, that while bin Laden thinks he can hide in a cave or Mullah
Omar thinks he can run, it's just a matter of time. I don't
know how much time, and I don't worry about the time about when he is
brought -- or they are brought to justice. That's just not
one of my concerns. It's going to happen. And you
know, we've got them running, and it's just -- we'll get 'em.
But that's not our -- we're preoccupied. And the
American people understand that, because they understand our goal is
broader than just two individuals. It is terror wherever
terror exists. And it's upholding that doctrine, forcefully
upholding the doctrine that says if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed
a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, you, too, are as guilty as a
terrorist. (Applause.)
But the moment is broader than just destroying terrorist training
camps or finding terrorist trainers and bringing them to
justice. The moment that we must seize says that in order
for the world to be peaceful for our children and grandchildren, we've
got to prevent nations which develop weapons of mass destruction from
mating up with terrorist groups that will threaten the United States
and our allies.
Now we've got nations on notice as a result of the speech last
Tuesday night. Of course, I hope they change behavior on
their own. I hope they hear the message of not only the
United States, but a vast coalition of freedom-loving countries, as we
clearly say, get your house in order, don't develop weapons of mass
destruction.
And then people say, what are the consequences? They'll
find out in due course if they can't get their house in
order. The mighty United States will do whatever it takes to
defend our security. Make no mistake about it, if you
threaten us with weapons of mass destruction, if you threaten our
allies and friends with weapons of mass destruction, we will do
whatever it takes to protect our people. (Applause.)
And that's what we're doing at home. And I want to thank
you all for working with us. There's been some great ideas
that have come out of the Congress about how best to protect the
homeland, and we've incorporated a lot of them in the initial strategy
that we're outlining, not only in our budget but over the course of the
last couple of weeks, and we'll continue to do so. And Tom
Ridge and our team is open for more suggestions about how to protect
the people.
And so our bioterrorism initiative is substantial and
real. And I want to thank you for working on
it. Our first-responder initiative, where we're working with
local governments, through governors, is going to be real and
meaningful. Our airport security measures are
strong. I mean, we're doing everything we can, and the
American people need to know that.
And so when you go back to your districts, I thank you very much
for sharing our mutual concern and our knowledge that the enemy still
wants to hit us, but our government is responding
forcefully. You need to know, and I know you know this, that
the FBI, under Bob Mueller, has changed its culture. It's
still after spies and white collar criminals, and that's
important. But the primary focus of 4,000-plus agents, is to
disrupt the enemy, is to find out any information possible and run it
down. We take every lead seriously. We take every
hint of evidence seriously. We understand the intentions of
the enemy, and your constituents must know that this government is
doing everything in our power to make America safe. (Applause.)
But the best way to secure the homeland for the long-run is to get
'em; get 'em where they hide, get 'em where they train, and bring 'em
to justice. And you just need to know something about your
President, I am not going to tarry like I -- wary -- weary, on this
subject, like I said in my first speech in September after the
war. I understand the call. My determination
today is as strong as it was when I addressed you all in October, and
my determination three years from now will be just as strong then as it
today. I understand the call, I understand the mission, and
this great country will defend freedom to it's
core. (Applause.)
I said in my State of the Union that I stand in awe of the American
people, and you know what I'm talking about. You've seen it
in your communities when you go back home. You've seen it in
your coffee shops, you've seen it in your different clubs, you've seen
it when you've seen your neighbors. I mean, this country is
a country that is not only strong and determined, but it's a
compassionate country, as well.
People often ask me: What can I do to participate in the
war against terror? And as you know, in this particular
issue, I see things pretty clearly, in just plain
terms. Since this is a war of good versus evil, those of --
who want to participate in the war against terror can do acts of
kindness to overwhelm the evil done to the country.
People can participate in the war against terror all kinds of
ways. You can help serve as eyes and ears, you can alert, be
alert. But you can love a neighbor. An American,
in fighting the war against terror, can walk across the street to a
neighbor who is shut in and say, I care for you. And it's those
millions of acts of kindness on a daily basis that define our country
and stand defiantly in the face of evil.
And so one of the things I've tried to do is to capture the
magnificent spirit of the country. And we set up what's
called The USA Freedom Corps. And somebody who is interested
in joining can dial 1-877-USA-CORPS. Or, if you happen to be
computer-literate, USAfreedomcorps.gov. And it's a chance
for citizens to heed my call, which says we'd like you to serve your
country for two additional years, or 4,000 hours over your lifetime.
Now, I understand many in this room and many of your constituents
already have heard the call. And keep doing -- my call is,
keep doing it. But some don't know where to start. And here
is a good place for people to start. And if they call the
USA Freedom Corps number, they will find ways to, if you're a senior
citizen, participate in Senior Corps. Or if you want to
teach, Teach for America. Or if you want to go to the Peace
Corps, we're expanding the Peace Corps to take our values and
compassion into the Islamic world, for example.
There's all kinds of opportunity to serve. And we're
calling on the American people to do so. And it's really to
help change our culture. That's how I view it. A lot of us
grew up in a culture which has said, if it feels good, just go ahead
and do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody
else. See, I believe out of this evil can come a new
cultural -- a new culture, a new assessment of what America is all
about. Our hope is that the country's culture changes to one
of responsibility, that each of us are responsible for the decisions we
make in life.
If you are a mom and dad, you are responsible for loving your child
with all your heart and all your soul. If you're a
compassionate neighbor, you're responsible for helping a neighbor in
need. If you're corporate America, you're responsible for
making sure you reveal all your assets and liabilities to your
shareholders and your employees. (Applause.)
So part of the ushering in the responsibility era, not only from
the individual basis but on the corporate basis, I have proposed some
pension reforms I would like to outline briefly for you today, and ask
you to take them up as quickly as possible.
We are announcing some proposals to protect pensions. My
plan will strengthen the workers' ability to manage their own
retirement funds by giving them more freedom to diversify, better
access to professional investment advice, and quarterly information
about their investments.
Employers should be encouraged to make generous contribution to
workers' 401(k) plans. It's a positive development when
employers give stock to people who work for them. About 42
million workers own 401(k) accounts with a total of $2 trillion in
assets, and that's a critical part of retirement security for workers
all across America.
But workers should also have the freedom to choose how to invest
their retirement savings. And so the proposal I'll submit to
Congress and work with members here in this room will allow workers to
sell company contributed stock and diversify into other investment
options after three years of participation in their company's plan.
To ensure that blackout periods are fair, the plan will ensure that
company executives be bound by the same blackout restrictions they
impose on their workers. (Applause.) If it's okay
for the sailor, it ought to be okay for the captain. My plan
also requires that workers be given a 30 day notice before any blackout
period begins, so workers can plan to make changes in their
investments. It's a matter of fairness, it's a matter of
openness, it's a matter of respect for the process. And I
look forward to working with you to get something done.
I also look forward to working with you to continue the progress
we've made on a lot of issues. I think America appreciates
it when people come to this body, or your respective bodies, and work
hard for what's good for the country. We've made good
progress doing that.
I am so proud of working with you. I'm proud to be able
to call you a colleague here in Washington, D.C. It's been a
remarkable experience for me. It's a joy to exchange
ideas. It's been sometimes a joy to watch the legislative
process. (Laughter.) Generally, it's an amazing
experience to watch. (Laughter.) But I'm looking
forward to working with you to make sure that the legislation that does
come out is positive and hopeful for the American people.
Thanks for your friendship. God
bless. (Applause.)
END 12:57
P.M. EST
|