For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 5, 2002
President Urges Action on Economic Plan in Speech to Oregon Workers
Remarks by the President Bush to Local Families, Business Leaders and Workers at Parkrose High School in Portland, Oregon
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all very much for such a
gracious and warm welcome. It's nice to be back here in
Oregon. (Applause.) I'm impressed by the Mighty
Ducks, they're awfully good. (Applause.) I wasn't
a believer, now I am. (Laughter and
applause.) They're good. Of course, they gave my
Texas boys a good lesson last year, as I recall. (Laughter.)
But thanks for coming out on a Saturday afternoon to say
hello. I was earlier in California and then I'm here; went
to a community college. You've got a wonderful community college here
in the Portland area, which is worried about helping people find
work. And I went by and saw the good instructors there that
are trying to help people help themselves.
And I come in here to be able to share some thoughts with
you. And then I'm going to hustle on home for
dinner. (Laughter.) Right there in Crawford,
Texas. (Applause.)
I want to thank Katie Harman for being
here. (Applause.) It was a pleasure to meet your
mayor. Mayor Katz, thank you for coming; it's very gracious
for you to be here today. (Applause.)
I picked a good man from Portland to represent us in New Zealand,
that's my friend, Butch Swindells, who is now the Ambassador to New
Zealand. (Applause.)
I spent a little time with some people that work for a company
called INFOCUS, which is a company -- (applause). John, it
sounds like you packed the
crowd. (Laughter.) Either that, or you've got a
big family. (Laughter.) But I want to thank John Harker and
his team for coming to talk to me about how best they think we can
stimulate growth. I want to thank them for employing people
in this part of the world; for trying to figure out how to grow their
economy; for worrying about their work force, as well as making a
quality product.
I'm going to share some thoughts that John shared with me in a
little bit. But I do want to thank you for coming.
I also want to thank my friends, Senator Gordon Smith and Greg
Walden. They were hitch-hiking in California and they needed --
(laughter.) They were looking for a free ride and Air Force
One happened to be available. (Laughter.) But they did fly
down with me. I'm impressed by these two good men.
We spent a lot of time talking about Oregon. They're
deeply concerned about the fact that a lot of people aren't
working. I am, too. They're deeply concerned
about the fact that parts of your state are not being treated very
well. (Applause.)
We spent time talking about the Klamath
Basin. (Applause.) I share their concern about
people who make a living off the land. And I told these two
good men that we'll do everything we can to make sure water is
available for people who farm. (Applause.)
I also want to thank two of the Congressmen from this area, Earl
Blumenauer and Darlene Hooley, for being here, as
well. Thank you so much for coming; I appreciate you being
here. (Applause.) I know you had better things to
do on Saturday afternoon, and here you are, stuck with me.
(Laughter.) Thanks for coming, it means a lot.
You know, there were some -- some of the things that are happening
in Washington, I expected. And there was one thing that
happened was not expected. It's been a heck of a
year. (Laughter.) I will tell you, before I get
into the expected and unexpected, I believe 2002 is going to be a
fabulous year for America. (Applause.)
I remember meeting with business leaders in Austin, Texas -- this
is before I began heading north to become sworn-in as your President --
and there was deep concern about the economy then. A year
ago December, people were saying, this economy is soft and we're going
to be in for a rough ride. It was not unexpected to see the
economic slow-down. And I want to share some thoughts with
you about how we can reverse the trend. Although I'm
optimistic about our economy, there are some numbers coming out that
appear that things are getting a little better.
The unemployment rate is 5.8 percent. But if you're
unemployed, it's 100 percent, and I'm worried about
that. (Applause.)
The unexpected, obviously, was September the 11th, when evil people
decided to attack America. I say "evil people" because I
don't view this as a religious war. I view this as a
struggle of good versus evil. And, make no mistake about it,
good will prevail. (Applause.)
We are making steady progress in the first theater on the war
against terror. We have made it clear to people that we
weren't going to allow the injustice done to America to
stand. And that if anybody harbored these people or fed them
or clothed them or tried to provide them help, they were just as guilty
as the terrorists were. (Applause.)
These people are like parasites and they find a
host. And for those of you who ranch, you understand what a
parasite can do to the host cow, for example. Too many
parasites weaken the host. What happened was, was that they
became parasites in Afghanistan. But we weaken the
host: the Taliban no longer is in
power. (Applause.)
And as a result, this great nation should be proud of the fact that
we led a coalition that liberated women and
children. (Applause.) A coalition that brought
down a government that was so incredibly repressive it's hard for those
of us who live in America to understand. Some of my finest
memories thus far of this war against terror was the joy that came on
people's faces when they realized that the Taliban would no longer hold
them hostage to an outdated, outmoded, dictatorial point of view.
(Applause.)
I am so proud of our country. I'm proud of the fact that
at the same time that we waged a war against al Qaeda and the Taliban,
we fed the people. I read an important headline the other
day, that it said it looked like we avoided a terrible disaster by
providing food for thousands of people in Afghanistan. While
we dropped bombs, we also dropped food and medicine and clothing to
make sure that the innocents in Afghanistan could survive the brutal
winter in that part of the world. We're a great nation.
(Applause.)
We're making steady progress -- and I use the word "steady" because
sometimes it seems like there is a certain impatience in the
airwaves. But I don't believe there's an impatience amongst
the American people. As a matter of fact, I think the
American people are very patient. They understand this is a
difficult assignment. And they understand, like I do, that
we've got to be patient in order to be successful.
But we've accomplished a lot in 90 days. That's not a
very long period of time. It's been a long period of time
for al Qaeda -- (laughter) -- but it hasn't been a very long period of
time for us. (Applause.)
The reason we've had, we've got a good strategy and we've got a
great military. For those of you who serve in our military,
or for those of you whose sons or daughters or relatives serve in the
military, thank you. (Applause.)
But I do want to remind our fellow citizens that we're now in a
dangerous phase of this war in Afghanistan. Because those
who are willing to send young people to their suicide death hide in
caves, themselves, to save their own skin. And I told the
world, just like I told the American people, you can hide, but we will
smoke you out and bring you to justice. (Applause.)
I'm so sorry to report the Sergeant Nathan Chapman lost his life
yesterday. But I wanted -- I want Sergeant Chapman's family
to know that the cause for which he died is just and noble, the cause
of freedom and the hope that our children and grandchildren will be
able to grow up in a world that is free of the barbaric behavior of
terrorism. (Applause.)
We're on a mission and we will not yield until the mission is
complete. The war against terror is broader than just
Afghanistan. And that is exactly what I have made clear to
members of the vast coalition which we have put together. I
said there are no shades of grey in this fight for civilization; there
are no shades of grey. Either you're with the United States
of America or you're against the United States of
America. (Applause.)
I'm sure there were some people who were anxious to sit on the
fence for a while. But what they've come to realize is that
this nation, when aroused, is a mighty nation; a nation that when we
make up our mind we're going to do something, we're going to do
it. We're going to shake terrorism loose wherever it exists
and bring those to justice who have hurt America, and bring those to
justice who might hurt America.
Let me tell you that part of this war is overseas, but part of it
is here at home. My biggest job as your President is to make
sure no one harms the American people. My biggest job is to
rally the resources of this country and have a homeland defense that
will take every lead, every idea, every hint that somebody may harm us
and rout them out and give them a chance to protect America and give
them a chance to make this land secure.
And if we find somebody who wants to harm America, who espouses the
philosophy that's terrorist and bent, I can assure you we will bring
that person to justice. (Applause.) This nation
is on alert, and it should be.
But one of the things we're not going to let the terrorists do is
to cause us not to behave like Americans and enjoy our freedoms, and
enjoy our neighborhoods and enjoy travel and enjoy the great wonders of
our country. They think they can shut us down, they've got the wrong
country they're dealing with. (Applause.)
There is a new spirit in this country, and a unity that is so
powerful and so real that even a fellow who is hermetically sealed in
the White House can feel it. (Laughter.) I am
proud of the nation.
And we should not respond one way abroad and have a different
attitude about issues that face us at home. Here's what I
think. I think it's time for Congress to focus on what's
best for America and not political parties. (Applause.) I
believe we need to set priorities and get positive things done.
I'm getting ready to sign an education bill on
Tuesday. (Applause.) My friends in Midland, Texas will not
believe it when they turn on C-SPAN or one of these other channels,
because I am going to stand up and say to the nation, one, this is a
good piece of legislation and, two, I want to thank Senator Ted Kennedy
for working on it with me. (Applause.)
He's done a fine job. It shows what's possible when you
set aside -- listen, I'm a proud party man, but I'm American first, and
that's what we ought to be dealing with when it comes to
legislation. (Applause.) And there are troubling
signs that some in the nation's capital want to go back to the old
ways. And I don't think we ought to let them do that.
I think we ought to focus on what's good for the
country. And take the issue of the economy. Like
yourselves, I'm deeply concerned about the fact that Oregon leads the
country when it comes to unemployment. And we've got to do
something about that. First, my principle is this, in tough
times people need an unemployment check -- but for the long-term, what
they need is a paycheck and we've got to figure out how to get jobs
going. (Applause.)
I think it's very important for us to extend unemployment benefits,
including monies to help people pay for their health care, for those
whose lives were affected on 9/11. I think it's very
important for our country to do this. I know there is the
will to get that done in Washington, D.C. It makes sense that we help
people.
I met with the people in the community college today -- a chemical
engineer and an electrical engineer who were reliant upon the high-tech
world to make a living. They got laid off. They
need these benefits so they can help themselves and be prepared when
the economy recovers.
But any economic stimulus plan must also expand the job
base. We ought to be asking ourselves, what does it take to
increase more jobs, so people can find work. And that starts
with understanding that the biggest job creators in America are the
small business and entrepreneurs of America. (Applause.)
I mentioned that last winter -- we got the indications that the
economy was slowing down. And that's one of the reasons I
fought so hard for tax relief. Because I understand that if
the economy is growing down -- slowing down, the best thing to do is to
give people their own money back. The best thing to do --
(applause) -- is because the government doesn't create wealth, the
government creates an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit
can flourish. (Applause.)
There is an amazing new kind of economic theory working its way
through Washington, and it said that tax relief causes recessions.
(Laughter.) I'm not exactly sure what economic book that
came out of, but if you want to get your way out of a recession, you
provide tax relief. The worst thing you can do -- the worst thing you
can do is raise taxes in a recession. And, yet, some in
Washington, D.C., are talking about getting rid of the tax
cuts. I can't think of anything worse for growing our
economy.
The answer to those who want to raise taxes is no, you're not going
to raise taxes. (Applause.)
Most small businesses are sole proprietorships or, perhaps, a
limited partnership. And when you cut personal income taxes,
you're really affecting the ability of small businesses to
grow. The question we ought to ask is how do you expand the
job base?
I spent time with John and the people of his good
company. I like the idea of providing incentives to
encourage corporate America to make investments in capital which is
equal to jobs eventually. We ought to have an economic
stimulus package that says let's create more jobs for the American
people, and we ought to get on about the American people's business --
put politics aside and come together and do what's right for this
country. (Applause.)
We have the ingredients for a plan. There's a bill that
came out of the House; there was one that could have come out of the
Senate -- the votes were there. And so I just hope some of
the senators that kind of stood in the way of getting an economic plan
done listen to the people and hear the voices of the people and come
back and do what's right for the country. (Applause.)
I'll tell you something about America. The people are
the true strength of this country. And we can talk about
government all we want to talk about, but the thing that makes this
country great is our people. I have been so proud of the
American people. I love the stories that had to do with the
aftermath of September the 11th. When they heard that women
of cover, women of the Muslim faith were worried about going outside
their home because somebody might take severe action against them --
Jewish women and Christian women in the suburb of Detroit called up on
the phone and said, we want to help you go to the store, we want to
provide whatever comfort we can so you can go about your lives.
That's the America I know. And that's the America I
love. (Applause.)
It's been an amazing event, series of events that have taken
place. One of the most heartening things for me is to know that
thousands of Americans are reassessing their values. Moms
and dads are asking what they can do to be better
parents. That as a result of the evil-doer, not
only are we responding militarily and not only have we put this broad
coalition together that says we'll rid the world of terror, but here at
home people are saying, gosh, let me reassess my life. It's
so important for moms and dads to know that the most important job they
will ever have is to love their children with all their heart and all
their soul. (Applause.)
I'm so pleased to report to you that the great fabric of the
country, in terms of helping people, exists because of faith-based
institutions regardless of their religion. All across
neighborhoods in America, that people are asking the question, what can
I do to help. That the great mosaic of America is made up of
the millions of acts of kindness which takes place every single day.
September the 11th was an attack on our country, but it didn't
affect our heart, it didn't affect our soul.
My great hope for the year 2002 is that people who want to work can
find a job. My hope is that our military is safe in their
mission. I understand the war on terror is going to beyond
probably 2002. I have no unrealistic aspirations about a
calendar, a quick calendar.
But my true hope, as well, is that the great compassion of America
and the value system that has made us so different and so unique
continues to be vibrant and strong; that people, when they want to know
how to help America, turn to a neighbor in need and say, I want to
help; to provide comfort for a child who may need a loving mentor; to
say to somebody elderly on your block, gosh, I want to provide you
company.
That's the great -- that's my hope for the country. That
our compassion continues to well up, and that this great American
experience continues to touch every possible heart. I pray
for peace. I pray for prosperity. And I pray for
the greatest land on the face of the earth --
America. (Applause.)