THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for that warm welcome.
Mr. Mayor, I'm honored to be in your presence. This man is a great
mayor of a great city. (Applause.) I've learned one thing -- I'd
rather have him for me than against me. (Laughter.) And the good news
is, he is for the people of Chicago. And that's important, Mr. Mayor.
Michael, thank you very much for having us here. We're honored to
be able to come and to talk about how to make America a more
compassionate and better place for all people. I want to thank Rodney
Carroll, who is the President of the Welfare-to-Work Partnership, for
being here. He has helped recruit thousands of businesses across the
country, which have employed over 1.1 million citizens who were
formally on welfare, who are now independent and free to realize their
dreams. Rodney, thank you for your leadership. (Applause.)
I want to thank my two new friends who are here, with whom we'll be
discussing their lives and how important work is for the future of
their family. I want to thank members of the congressional delegation
who are joining us today -- Senator Peter Fitzgerald. Thank you,
Peter, for coming. (Applause.) Congressman Rod Blagjevich -- thank
you, Rod, for being here. (Applause.) The Chairman, Henry Hyde.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I'm glad you're here. (Applause.)
I'm looking forward to flying back to Washington with the Chairman
on Air Force One. I announced this morning at the South Lawn of the
White House that we've reached an agreement with Russia on a treaty
that will substantially reduce our nuclear weaponry, so that we can
enter into a new era of relations with Russia. I can't wait to explain
it to you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate your support. (Applause.)
I want to thank Judy Biggert for being here. Judy, thank you for
coming. I appreciate Mark Kirk, as well, for coming. Thank you,
Congressman. Jerry Weller -- thank you, Jerry. I appreciate you being
here. Finally, the Attorney General of the State of Illinois, Jim
Ryan. Thank you, Jim. (Applause.)
I want you to know that we're here to talk about how to make
America better. Before we talk about that, I want to remind you of one
thing: My job is also to make sure America is safer. And the best way
to make America safe is to not only have a homeland security strategy
that will support our mayors and our police and fire and EMS teams all
across America, but to make America safe, we've got to hunt these
killers down, one by one, and bring them to justice. (Applause.)
And much to the chagrin of the enemy, we are a united country. The
security of America has nothing to do with our political parties, it
has everything to do with doing our jobs. We are a united nation, we
are a patient nation. And we're plenty tough when it comes to
protecting that which we hold dear. And what we hold dear is freedom.
And we're not going to let anybody get -- (applause.)
I can't imagine -- I can't imagine what was going through the minds
of those people. They must have thought we were so materialistic, so
self-absorbed, that all we was going to do is maybe file a couple of
lawsuits. But much to their chagrin, they realized that we're tough.
But also the world is learning we're compassionate, as well. While we
work to make the world more secure, we've got to make the world a
better place.
And it starts right here at home. Today I had the honor of meeting
Adrienne and Jerry Welenc. Would you all stand up for a second,
please? These good folks -- hold on, don't applaud yet, until you hear
what they've done. They have fostered over 90 children over the last
35 years. (Applause.) These good Americans didn't need a law, they
didn't need a government telling them what to do. They decided to love
a neighbor just like they wanted to be loved themselves. These good
Americans asked the question, what could they do to save one person's
life. If you want to join the war on terror, help somebody in need.
It's going to be hard to do what they've done -- 90 children over
35 years is a fantastic feat. But it's a fabulous tribute to Americans
making the decision to help somebody. We can't do it all, but we can
help one person at a time. And as we do so, America will be a more
compassionate place. As we work hard to defy the evil ones through
military strength, we must also do so with the kindness and compassion
that define America.
I want to thank you all for being here. God bless you for your
work. (Applause.)
And we can continue to make America a better place, by helping
people find work, we can help America be a compassionate, decent land,
where hope can penetrate places of despair and despondency, by helping
people find a job.
And that's what we're here to talk about, as we reauthorize the
welfare bill. It is essential that a central component of that bill be
work. We must set high standards. Over the next five years, the
states, and working with the local governments, ought to place 70
percent of the people into a job. It is important not only for our
society, it's important for the people. Because as you're about to
hear, a job is such an important part of a person's dignity, a person's
future.
And so one of the things about welfare -- welfare to work is not
only do we need to encourage businesses to provide a place, we've got
to encourage states to get after it, to provide training and help.
Listen, the welfare budget we're submitting is $17 billion. That's
the same level it was when we had twice the number of welfare cases we
had to deal with. The welfare rolls have declined in half, yet the
dollars are the same, which ought to be ample money to help people with
training or drug treatment, to give them a chance so that they can
work, and realize the dignity of a job. When we reauthorize welfare
let us always remember that a job is a central core to someone's
hopeful future. (Applause.)
I want to make three other points -- and then I promise, Mr. Mayor,
I'll be quiet -- for a brief period of time. The best way to help
people avoid welfare is education. Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for
setting high standards for the public schools of the city of Chicago.
(Applause.) Washington doesn't know everything, believe it or not.
That may be a horrible admission for somebody who lives there
temporarily to say. The best way to help people get off welfare is to
empower local folks; is to recognize one size doesn't fit all; is to
recognize that the more options there are at the local level, the more
opportunity it is for people to succeed.
And finally, in order to make sure welfare works, we've got to
welcome faith-based and community based programs into the compassionate
delivery of help. (Applause.) We shouldn't fear faith in our
society. We ought to welcome faith. We ought to welcome the programs
that come out of our inner-city churches or synagogues and mosques.
Our government ought to say, you ought to be able to access federal
money to help people in need, without losing your mission. In order to
make sure that welfare works, not only do you encourage jobs, but we
need to welcome those programs that can fundamentally change people's
lives by changing their hearts.
Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for letting me come here to
Chicago. (Applause.) I've been talking too much. So what I'm going
to do is ask Rodney Carroll, who's in charge of this Welfare to Work
partnership. One of the things I preach is personal responsibility.
There's also such things as corporate responsibility in America. CEOs
have the responsibility not only to make sure that we all understand
fully their assets and their liabilities, that there's full disclosure,
but they have the responsibilities of helping the communities in which
they live. Mike has done a fabulous job doing that for Big Brown, and
Rodney's in charge of lining up corporate America to do that, as well.
Welcome, Rodney. (Applause.)
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: I believe the thing that's interesting to note is,
a beneficiary, of course, is UPS. (Laughter.) You talk -- for a
person who has never worked a day in her life until UPS, you're one
articulate soul. And that's a really good job.
Q Thank you, very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Congratulations. And your oldest daughter?
Q She's 17.
THE PRESIDENT: What's she fixing to do?
Q She's about to graduate from the Firefighters Police Academy,
tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. (Applause.)
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: I think the -- what we're trying to say here, most
eloquently by these two ladies, is that in this country, if you give
somebody a chance, they can succeed. Now, it takes extra help
sometimes, and we've got to provide that help. It takes a little extra
education. We've got to provide that education. If we don't get it
right the first time, we can't quit. We've got to get it right the
second time.
But the key is, is that when this country puts its mind to
something, like making sure every child gets educated, or making sure
everybody gets a hand, businesses cooperating, local government
cooperating, we can succeed. And here are two prime examples of what
we're talking about, people who now have hope, children who see their
Mom -- and by the way, being a single mom, raising children, is the
toughest job in America, it's the toughest work. (Applause.)
And that's what makes these two stories even more courageous and
successful. I told them, when we got it back there in the back -- they
said they were nervous. I said, there's not going to be many people
out there. (Laughter.) But I thank you for sharing with us your
hearts and your story.
For those people who are watching, and realize that -- and maybe
wondering whether you can succeed, just look at these two ladies.
They're great examples of what is possible, what is possible.
Mr. Mayor, one of the things you do is you run a great city, and
you care deeply about the lives of the citizens here. In the city of
Chicago, the welfare rolls are down by 70 percent. (Applause.) I'm
proud of your record, Mr. Mayor, and we've love to hear from you.
(Applause.)
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank you all for giving us a chance to
come and visit with you. There's a lot of issues that we face in
Washington, or here in Chicago. But there's no bigger issue than all
of us remaining united to show the world what we're made out of; that
people from all walks of life, all backgrounds, political parties, can
come together to defend our country, and at the same time, elevate the
spirit of this great land. To defend common values that are bigger
than any single individual, and to serve a nation by helping somebody,
is really what we're talking about today -- people willing to help
themselves, as well as corporate America, willing to provide an
opportunity, so people can succeed.
I want you to know that you live in the greatest country on the
face of the Earth. (Applause.) The stories we hear here today speak
to our greatness, and speak to the fact that we will not rest as a
nation when we see and find pockets of despair and hopelessness; that
in order to make this country complete, everybody has got to feel a
part of its future -- not just some, but everybody. Oh, I know that's
a high goal, but it's a goal we can achieve. Working together, it's
something that this nation can do.
Out of the evil done to America will come incredible good. And
part of that incredible good is that the promise of America extend its
reach into every single neighborhood.
It is an honor for me to be here today. And it is an honor for me
to be the President of the greatest country on the face of the Earth.