For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 7, 2004
Remarks by the President and the First Lady at "ask President Bush" Event
Cabela's Distribution Center
Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin
1:40 P.M. CDT
MRS. BUSH: Thank you very much. I'm the one who gets to introduce
the President. (Laughter.) I want to thank you all very, very much
for coming today. We're so excited to be here. We've had a terrific
bus trip so far across your beautiful state. It's really been lovely.
People are standing out on the streets with flags, and it's a really
wonderful picture of America that we're getting to see here in
Wisconsin. (Applause.)
George and I traveled together like this -- not exactly like this
-- by ourselves, in a car -- in 1978, when he ran for Congress in West
Texas, which was our home where we both had grown up. And the race
didn't turn out exactly like we wanted it to, but we had a great time.
And believe me, you learn a lot about your husband when you spend that
much time in the car with him. (Laughter.) By the end of the
campaign, he'd even convinced me to vote for him. (Laughter.)
I know you see what I see. The President is a steady leader during
these historic times. He's hopeful about the future because he has
enormous confidence in the American people. (Applause.) As we've
traveled together, I've seen the President encourage young children to
read, and older students to go to college; I've seen him pitch in to
help a family build their first home; I've seen him rally our men and
women in uniform at huge military bases. My husband treats the people
he meets with dignity and respect. (Applause.) And that's the same
dignity and respect that he has for the office he holds. He gives me
every reason to be proud of him, as President, and as a husband and a
father.
We look forward to the campaign this year. But being on the
campaign trail isn't what it was back in 1978. These days we get to
travel in a very nice plane, or bus, instead of an old car, and George
isn't behind the wheel anymore. (Laughter.)
But today we face a different world than we did back then. These
are especially challenging times for all Americans, times that require
determined and very strong leaders. And I'm proud that my husband is
that kind of leader.
Ladies and gentlemen, our President, George Bush. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thanks for coming. I better take
off my jacket. (Applause.) Listen, thank you all for coming. They
told me we were coming -- please sit down. It may take a while.
(Laughter.) They told me I was coming to Cabela's and I said, already,
fine, I'm looking for some power worms. (Laughter.) I like to be in
hunting and fishing country. (Applause.)
I thought what I'd do is share some thoughts with you, I'd talk to
some of the citizens of this part of the world about what life has been
like as a small business owner or a family trying to raise their
children, and then, if we've got time, answer some questions. And then
we've got to get on the bus and head up the road.
First, I want you to know I'm asking for your vote. (Applause.)
It may seem like a little early to start. It may seem like the
election is pretty far away. But if you really want to win, like I
want to win, you can't start too soon. And I want you to know that my
purpose after this is to let you know I have a reason for running. I
know where I want to lead the country. And we've got a job to do
together to make this country safer and stronger and better. We've got
a mission together. (Applause.)
Probably the best reason to put me back in there is so that Laura
has got four more years as the First Lady. (Applause.) We were both
raised in Midland, Texas, which is a relatively small West Texas town.
And when I met her later on in life -- we actually went to San Jacinto
Junior High together in the seventh grade -- and then when I saw her
afterward, after we'd both gone to college and did some things, she
wasn't particularly fond of politics -- or politicians. (Laughter.)
Fortunately, she said "yes" when I asked her to marry me, and now she
is a fabulous First Lady of our country. (Applause.)
She has come to realize what I know, that in this office that we
both occupy, President and First Lady, that we can make an enormous
difference in people's lives, that we can help people help themselves.
It's such an honor to be the President of such a great country. It
really is. And I'm so proud that Laura is standing by my side with
such calm and dignity and love.
I really appreciate the Cabelas for being here. You'll hear me
talk about the entrepreneurial spirit, and, Ms. Cabela, you are a true
entrepreneur. You had a dream; you counted on good people to help you
realize that dream, and you built one of the great companies in
America. And we're proud to be here at the Cabela site in this -- in
this part of Wisconsin. (Applause.)
And I know this: I know that if Mr. Cabela were standing up here,
he'd say, yes, I had a good idea, but if -- but it's the people that
worked with me that have made this -- made this company grow. I want
to thank the folks who work here at Cabela's for your hospitality.
Thanks for letting us disrupt your day. (Laughter.) Thanks for making
sure the fishermen and hunters of the country have got --
well-equipped. (Applause.)
I'm here to ask for your help, as well. I hope I give you some
reasons to go out and turn to your fellow citizen and ask them to make
sure they vote. I think you ought to talk to everybody from all
political parties -- people who don't even like politics. You need to
tell them to show up and do their duty in democracy. I'd start, if I
were you, by telling them that a President has got to put together a
good team of people to serve the country, which is what I've done.
I've surrounded myself with excellence, people from all walks of life,
people from different backgrounds, people who have come to Washington,
D.C. to serve their country and not their self-interest.
I'm running with a fabulous guy in Dick Cheney. He is a great Vice
President of the country. (Applause.) I, one time, said in front of
my mother, I said, Dick Cheney is the finest Vice President our country
has ever had. (Laughter.) She said, wait a minute, buster.
I want to thank Steve Freese for coming. Mr. Speaker, thank you.
I'm proud you're here. I want to thank all the other -- thanks for
coming over. (Applause.) I want to thank Gabe Loeffelholz for coming,
as well. I'm honored you're here. I appreciate the local officials
who have come out. We had the Mayor of Lancaster show up. We did an
impromptu stop. There were people in the town square there, so we
stopped the bus just to say "hi." The Mayor was there. I said, Mayor,
I've got some advice for you: Fill the potholes. (Laughter.) I don't
know if he appreciated the advice, or not. (Applause.)
I'm here to talk about ways to make this country safer and stronger
and better. My biggest duty and most solemn duty is to protect America
and -- from another attack. And you've just got to know there's an
enemy out there that still hates us. September the 11th changed the
country. It changed how we've got to look at our future. September
the 11th made us realize that oceans would not protect us from people
who would want to do our citizens harm.
There are some other lessons that we must learn in order to protect
the country: One, that we face a killer that has no conscience. The
people of this country have a conscience; the people we face don't.
Secondly, these are not religious people, in my judgment; these are
people who have hijacked a great religion. This is a battle between
good and evil. These are people that are so evil that they will kill
innocent life, trying to shake the will of the United States of
America, trying to get us to retreat from our duties in the world.
There was another lesson on September the 11th, and that is, when
the American President says something, he better mean it. (Applause.)
I told the American people this is a different kind of war than we were
used to. I have an obligation to remind the American people, no matter
how painful it may be to some, that we're still at war. That's my
duty, to remind people that we're -- there's still danger. And
remember, the enemy only has to be right one time, and we've got to be
right 100 percent of the time to protect the country.
You need to know there's a lot of really good folks that are
working really hard to protect the homeland. We've got wonderful
people in law enforcement at all levels of government -- the local
level, the state level, the federal level -- that are talking like they
have never talked before, sharing intelligence like they have never
shared intelligence before -- nor were allowed to share intelligence,
by the way, prior to September the 11th, in some cases.
I don't know if you know this -- there's a lot of talk about what
they call the Patriot Act, but the Patriot Act was passed to allow the
criminal division of the FBI to be able to talk and share intelligence
with the intelligence division of the FBI. Prior to September the
11th, they couldn't even talk together. How could you possibly defeat
an enemy that is able to slide in our country if you can't share
intelligence among law enforcement?
At any rate, there are good people working hard. We've got people
that are doing a better job of guarding our borders and our ports.
You know, they're making you take off your shoes at the airports.
(Laughter.) I know it's a pain. But it's necessary to do everything we
can to protect the homeland. But the best way to protect the homeland
is to stay on the offense and bring these killers to justice before
they hurt us again. (Applause.) Thank you.
I told the American people that we would go on the offense, and we
would stay on the offense; that we would do so with firm determination
and resolve. And that's what I want to do. If I'm fortunate enough to
become your President for four more years, I will continue to lead this
great nation in utilizing every asset we have -- not just a few, or
some, but every single asset we have to protect the American people.
That's our most solemn duty.
I also said right after September the 11th that if you harbor a
terrorist, you're just as guilty as a terrorist. I want to tell you
something, which is truth about this job: When you speak you better
mean what you say. The President has got to speak clearly so there's
no ambiguity about what his words mean; and then when he says
something, he's got to act on it. In order to keep the world -- make
the world more peaceful, the President must be sincere about when he
says something. And so when I said that I was -- I meant it. And we
told that to the Taliban.
The Taliban were these awful characters that were running
Afghanistan. I say awful -- look at the movie, "Osama," and you know
what I'm talking about. Let me put it to you this way: They were so
bad that they would not allow many young girls to even go to school.
They were so backwards, so barbaric that they literally enslaved people
to -- to an empty ideology. And so we said, you're training al Qaeda,
you're harboring al Qaeda, give them up. They said, no, and they're no
longer in power. And the world is better off for it. The United
States of America -- (Applause.) The United States of America is
better off for it, and so are the people of Afghanistan.
I want you all to know that because we enforced doctrine, because
we worked to make our own country more secure, we liberated people.
People now have a chance to realize their dreams. Free societies are
peaceful societies.
A cornerstone of my vision in foreign policy is the understanding
of the power of freedom, and what freedom can mean for people. I
believe free societies are peaceful societies. I know that where
people do not have hope, freedom can change that. So we have freed the
people of Afghanistan, and a peaceful society is beginning to emerge.
The other lesson on September the 11th that's very important to
understand is that when we see a threat, we must not allow it to
gather. In other words, when we see a threat, we've got to deal with
it. In the past, if you didn't feel like you were a battlefield in the
war on terror, you could see a threat and maybe hope that it would go
away, but you were pretty certain it wouldn't affect you -- 9/11
changed that. It's essential for the President of the United States to
understand the realities we face. And the reality is that there's an
enemy out there that is able to train and gather and equip and gets
help from different places.
And so I looked at the intelligence after September the 11th and
saw a threat in Iraq, and the United States Congress looked at the very
same intelligence and they came to the same conclusion I did, that
there was a threat in Iraq. I want to remember -- I want to remind you
of the history. The United Nations Security Council looked at the same
intelligence and they saw a threat. The Security Council saw the
threat and the members on the Security Council saw the threat. These
are nations like France and Russia and other countries that looked at
the same intelligence -- Saddam's a threat. And so the world said,
disarm or face serious consequences. And, of course, we said the same
thing. If America says something, you better mean what you say.
The reason why I believe that the world reacted the way they did is
because not only did they look at the intelligence, they remembered
what Saddam Hussein was like. He attacked countries in his own
neighborhood. He paid terrorists to go kill innocent Israelis -- in
other words, he was funding terrorist activity -- suiciders would
receive money from him. He had terrorist connections. And, by the
way, we're still seeing some of the people that were in Iraq, still
moving in Iraq right now, a guy named Zarqawi -- he used weapons of
mass destruction against people in neighboring countries and he used
weapons of mass destruction against his own people.
So the world remembered the history, we remembered what he was
like. And I remembered the lessons that we learned on September the
11th. We saw a threat. I had a choice to make. Either trust the
decision of a madman, a tyrant, a torturer, a hater, or to protect
America. And given that choice, I will protect America every time.
(Applause.) Thank you all.
Because we acted, torture chambers are closed. Because we acted,
countries like Libya understood we meant business and they voluntarily
disarmed. Because we acted, there is a democracy beginning to grow in
a part of the world that needs freedom and hope. Because we acted,
this man's weapons programs will never be. Because we acted, our
country is more secure. Because we acted, the world is more free.
We've got hard work to do in Iraq now. It's really hard work. And
the reason it is, is because there are people who want to stop the
advance of freedom. Freedom frightens terrorists. Freedom frightens
people who believe that they can impose their will through acts that
are unconscionable, through killing innocent people. That's what
you're seeing.
You're seeing a mixture of supporters of a young Shia named Sadr
who is a -- he's promoting lawlessness. You're seeing people that used
to be loyal to Saddam Hussein who realized that there's no hope for
them unless there's anarchy and the rule of law doesn't prevail. And
you're seeing the influence of foreign fighters, like this guy,
Zarqawi. That's what you're seeing. You're also seeing incredibly
brave action by American troops as we stay on the offensive.
(Applause.)
The enemy wants us to quit. That's what they want. The Iraqi
citizens who long for freedom are worried that we will. See, some
people don't want to take a risk for peace, if they think they do, and
then they're -- and then they were punished if there's no security.
And the enemy is trying to shake our will. My job as your President is
to stand strong. My job as your President is to be as -- to show
utmost determination in our belief that freedom will prevail. And it
will prevail. (Applause.)
I believe that freedom is embedded in everybody's soul. I believe
people want to be free. I believe moms and dads want to raise their
children in a peaceful environment. I believe moms and dads want their
children to be educated and to be able to realize their dreams. I
believe that is the aspirations of all people. I know freedom is not
America's gift to world. Freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each
man and woman in this world. (Applause.) And I believe this strong
and generous and compassionate nation must work to continue to spread
freedom -- not only for our own security, but for the sake of others
who have been enslaved by tyrants.
I've told the Iraqi people this, and I mean it; we will transfer
sovereignty to the Iraqi people on June the 30th. Of course, I know
I'm -- American citizens hear, well, maybe the Iraqis don't want us to
occupy them. Who wants to be occupied? Nobody wants to be occupied.
People do want to be liberated. The Iraqis want us to stay to help
with their security, but they want to run their own country. And I
don't blame them. And so on June the 30th, we'll start the -- we will
transfer sovereignty and start a process that will allow them to have
elections in January 2005.
The closer we come to sovereignty, the more the enemy will make us
want to leave. And I know how hard it is. I know how hard it is for
moms and dads who have got troops overseas. I know how hard it is for
a mom or dad to lose a son. It's tough. And nobody in America --
America suffers when one of us suffers, is the best way to put it. But
I've told those mothers and dads when I've had the opportunity to see
them: We will finish what we have begun. Your son or daughter will
not die in vain. (Applause.)
I see we've got some troops here. I want to thank you all for
coming. I have the duty to make sure they get what they need. When we
put somebody in harm's way, those of us in positions of responsibility
have the duty to make sure they've got the best possible equipment.
That's why -- that's why I asked Congress to vote for an $87 billion,
what they call, supplemental. That just means $87 billion available,
$67 billion of which was available to the troops to make sure they have
the best equipment.
I don't want to get too political here, but my opponent voted
against it, and they asked him why. His answer was, I voted for the
$87 billion -- right before I voted against it. Let me tell you
something; this country doesn't need double-talk, it needs plain talk,
and it needs people to be able to support -- (applause) -- to support
these troops. (Applause.)
I'll just say one other thing about our troops -- a couple other
things. I told our commanders, tell me how many you need on the ground
and you'll get it. This war is going to be -- the decision-making part
about what the troops need in this war is going to be made by generals,
not politicians. (Applause.) The people in the Army, the Marines, and
the Air Force will be making the decisions. (Applause.) The President
sets a strategy, the President sets a goal, and our commanders on the
ground tell us what it takes to meet those goals.
The second thing I want to say about our military, I'm just as
disgusted of those pictures you've seen on TV as you are. This isn't
the America we know. Let me tell you something; those few people have
stained the honor of this country. They have put -- they've helped
paint a picture of the country that doesn't exist. The men and women
we have sent into harm's way for our security and for freedom in the
world are the finest of citizens in this country. (Applause.) Thank
you all. And I can't tell you how proud I am to be their
Commander-in-Chief.
I want to say one other thing about this -- these horrible pictures
and what we've seen. In a free society, we will find out the truth,
and everybody will see the truth. In a society that is a free society,
there will be transparency in the process. People will testify; there
will be fair trials, if there are trials; the truth will be known. In
societies run by tyrants, you never see the truth. You never find out
the truth. This country honors every individual. We believe in human
rights and human dignity. And the example we will set for the world
will confirm that.
Now, let me talk a little bit about how to make the country
stronger. You make the country stronger by making sure the
entrepreneurial spirit in this country is strong so that people can
find work. The role of government is to create an environment in which
small businesses can grow to be big businesses, in which people can
realize their dreams by starting their own business, so that people can
find work. That's the role of government. That's what I want to talk
a little bit about today.
First, I can't tell you how optimistic I am about our economy. In
fact, we had a pretty good job increase today -- it came out at 288,000
new jobs for the month of April has just been posted. (Applause.)
We're growing. That's 1.1 million jobs since last August have been
created. That's really incredibly good news.
When I find out people are looking for work, it troubles me. So my
job is to work to make an environment such that people expand their
businesses so people can work. That's what we want, we want people
working. We want people realizing their dreams of being able to put
food on the table for their families. And it's happening.
But let me remind you right quick what we have overcome. I think
it will help make these numbers even more amazing to you. This
country, in a very brief period of time, overcame the stock market
decline, starting in March of 2000. If you're a saver, that affected
your outlook in life. If you're a retired citizen that has stock that
you're relying upon in your retirement, it affects your outlook.
Then we went to a recession. Starting in early 2001, we went
through a recession. That means we're going backward. That means if
you're a worker, you're wondering about whether or not you're going to
keep your job. That means if you're a small business owner, you're
wondering whether it makes sense to make investment. It is a negative
period.
And then, just as we were coming out of that recession, the enemy
hit us. I've talked to you about what it means from a foreign policy
perspective. It also meant we lost jobs and work. It affected our
economy; it just did. Any time your country gets attacked as
significantly as it was, it affected the economy. We overcame that.
Then we had another problem in our economy, one that shook the
confidence of the American people, and that is we had some people
forget to tell the truth. There's some corporate CEOs who fudged the
numbers and didn't tell the truth. And it affected us. We acted on
that, by the way. I worked with both Republicans and Democrats in
Congress to pass tough law, tough law. The message is real clear in
America. If you're in a position of responsibility, you behave
responsibly when it comes to shareholders and employees, or you'll be
held to account. We're not going to tolerate dishonesty in the
boardrooms of America. (Applause.)
Then, of course, I've talked about my decision to go into Iraq.
But remember on your TV screens it said, "March to War," during that
period of time. That's something the economy had to overcome because
when you read about marching to war, it is -- it is negative. People
who are making capital decisions, or decisions to expand, take a look
at that and say, gosh, I'm not sure I want to expand if we're marching
to war. Now we're marching to peace.
Things have changed. Our economy is growing. It's strong, and
it's getting stronger. Witness the numbers today. And what it really
speaks to is the fact that the entrepreneurial spirit in this country
is strong, that small businesses are vibrant and strong. Seventy
percent of new jobs in America are created by small businesses. And if
you've got your job base growing as fast as it is, it means somebody is
growing the job base. We're going to talk to a couple of small
business owners here today.
I'd like to take a little credit for the pro-growth that's
happening today because of the tax cuts. See, I believe that when you
give people more of their own money -- and notice I said, more of their
own money -- it's not the government money we're passing back, it's the
people's money we take in the first place. (Applause.) We're going to
talk about the effect of tax cuts on some families here. But when
you've got more money in your pocket, you're likely to demand an
additional good or a service. And when you demand an additional good
or a service in our marketplace-type economy, somebody will produce
it. And when somebody produces the good or a service, somebody is more
likely to keep a job or find work. That's just the way it works.
The tax cuts were important economic policy. They also helped
families because we've increased the child credit. We reduced the
marriage penalty. My attitude about that is, why do you want to
penalize marriage? You ought to encourage marriage and family.
(Applause.) And we helped small businesses. But the tendency in
politics is to focus on the now. My job is to focus on the future, to
make sure that we're the most competitive place to do business in the
world. In other words, it's a good place to do business so that the
job base expands. So the question is, what do we need to do to make
sure we're the leader in the world.
Let me tell you a couple ideas. I want to talk about one other
thing, and then I'm going to talk to some of our citizens here.
First, I believe there needs to be certainty in the tax code. We
should not raise the taxes on the American people right now, in order
to keep this economy growing. (Applause.) And it's an issue in the
campaign. I'm telling you, it's an issue. We've been counting the
number of new promises the fellow I'm running against is making. He's
up to $1.9 trillion so far, of new promises. And we got a long way to
go in the campaign. Pretty easy to stand up in front of people and
say, well, I promise you this, and I'll spend that, and then it begins
to mount up after a while. So the question is, how is he going to pay
for it?
And the answer -- his answer, of course, is taxing rich people.
But the problem is there's not enough tax revenue to be generated to
pay for $1.9 trillion worth of new spending by taxing rich people. And
so there's a tax gap. And I'll you how he's going to fill the tax
gap. You get to fill the tax gap. In order to fulfill the promises,
the only way he can do so is to tax the hardworking people of America.
The good news is, we're not going to let him do it. (Applause.)
Right quick, let me tell you how you have a vision -- how you
implement a vision to make sure people can find work. One, education
matters a lot. We got to make sure our children learn to read and
write and add and subtract early so that they're better able --
(applause.) This No Child Left Behind Act I've signed is good, really
good. I'll tell you why: It raises the bar. We spent more money at
the federal level for Title I kids, and for the first time the federal
government says, please show us whether or not the children can read
and write and add and subtract. If they can't, we'll find out early,
and get the kids extra help. If they can, we'll praise the teachers
for doing the work that we expect them to do. If the curriculum works,
we'll find out. If it doesn't work, we'll find out.
We'll find out a lot through making sure that the facts are known
as to whether or not children are learning. The way to make sure you
challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations is to raise the bar, and
measure, and correct problems early, before they're too late.
A second challenge for education is, is that technology races
through our economy. It's one of the facts of the 21st century.
There's new technologies happening all the time. Take the health care
field. It's changing dramatically in a very rapid period of time. And
there's a lot of communities looking for health care workers. But a
lot of times, the worker doesn't have the skill necessary to fill the
job. And so we've got to be really wise about how we use places like
the community college system, to make sure that they match willing
workers with people looking for work, with the skills necessary for the
jobs for the 21st century. By reeducating people for the jobs which
actually exist, we also increase the productivity level of the work
force. And a more productive work force is a work force that makes
more money.
Let me give you an example. I've been to a lot of community
colleges around, because I believe so deeply in their value, and
they're important. Again, the economy changes, and we're in a period
of change now, and we better make sure the work force has got the
skills to change with it. And so I met a lady in Mesa Community
College in Arizona, and she was telling me her story. She went back
and got an associate's degree with a high-tech emphasis. And she had
been a graphic design artist and, after 12 years, she was making X
number of dollars. Went back to the community college -- and, by the
way, there's money available to help people. There's trade adjustment
assistance, there's Pell grants. There's money. And that's good. The
federal government wants to help retrain people.
And she got retrained, and she made more money in her level entry
job, having gotten an associate's degree, than she made after 12 years
of being a graphic artist. In other words, going back to school makes
the citizen more productive and they make more money.
Secondly, there's a lot of talk about trade. When you're good at
something, you want to promote it. And we're in farm country here --
we're really good about growing things in America. We've got the best
farmers in the world. We've got the most productive -- (applause.)
And where we're from, we think we're pretty good about raising cows.
(Laughter.) But if you're good at it, you want to open up markets
rather than close markets. Farm income is strong now. A lot of it has
to do with the fact that we're selling more farm product overseas than
ever before. Trade policy needs to be confident, not pessimistic, in
the ability for Americans to compete.
Most Presidents have opened up our markets for other countries.
That's good for consumers. If you've got more product from which to
choose, you're likely to get a better price and better quality. In
other words, the most choice you get, the more that people will meet
demand with better product at a price you can afford.
But the problem is, other countries haven't responded. So rather
than becoming economic isolationists, for the sake of long-term job
growth, this country must say, treat us like we treat you. With a
level playing field, we can compete with anybody, anyplace, anywhere.
Good trade policy is necessary to make sure jobs exist not only in the
short-term, in the long-term.
We need to make sure we do something about the cost of health
care.
I'm for health savings accounts, association health care plans, and
medical liability reform at the federal level so that health care costs
make it -- don't make it -- make it impossible for small businesses to
continue to employ people. (Applause.)
Two other quick points, then one other point. (Laughter.) Laura
said, keep it short, the bus might leave. (Laughter.) She's been
hearing me give a lot of speeches for a long time, which means she's a
pretty patient lady.
We need tort reform. If you're a business owner, somebody
expanding the job base of small business, a frivolous or junk lawsuit
makes it awfully hard on you as a business person. Remember, jobs are
created when businesses expand. And if people are afraid to risk
capital, which is how you expand, because of a junk lawsuit, it makes
it very hard. We need justice in America. But we've got to -- we've
got to make sure the justice -- the scales of justice are balanced and
fair.
And finally, it is very important for us to have an energy policy
in America. We've got to increase supply in this country. We have got
to -- we've got to utilize -- (applause.) Of course, we want to work
on the demand side by encouraging conservation. That's important. And
we've got things in the bill that will encourage conservation. But you
can't conserve your way to a lack of dependence on foreign sources of
energy. You've also got to increase supply so that you don't have to
rely upon foreign sources of energy. And one of the things we've got
in the energy bill is the continued expansion of the use of soy beans
and corn to diversify the energy supply. It makes a lot of sense to do
so. (Applause.)
I'm a supporter of biodiesel and ethanol because I understand the
practicality of it. At some point in time, we're going to say, gosh,
the yields on corn are real good, and now we're less dependent. We
need clean coal technology. We've got a lot of coal. We need to
expand clean coal technology. We need -- in my judgment, we need to
have a safe nuclear energy program in order to expand -- (applause.)
We need to be drilling for natural gas in environmentally friendly
ways. What I'm telling you is, in order to make sure that we're a good
place to do business, so we can expand the job base, we need to become
less relied on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.)
The other strategy is to make America a better place. The
government can help, but government is not love. Government is justice
and law. Love comes from the hearts and souls of citizens. And that
is -- which is the true strength of the country, by the way. We talk
about our military, and it's an important part of our strength and
we'll keep you strong. We talk about our wealth, and that's an
important part of our strength, and we want to continue to expand our
economy. The true strength of this country is the hearts and souls of
the American citizens. (Applause.)
Let me tell you What I mean by that. That happens -- the strength
happens when somebody takes time out of their life to love somebody who
hurts. In the land of plenty, there are people who are -- who hurt.
There are people who are addicted, people who are homeless, people who
are hungry. And the best way to cure that aspect of our society's ills
is to rally the armies of compassion. See, society can and does change
one heart, one soul at a time.
I want to be your President for four more years not only to keep
the country safe and stronger, but to continue to rally the spirit of
America; to call upon our fellow citizens -- (applause) -- to call upon
our fellow citizens to heed the universal call, the call of all
religions, to love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
yourself. You know what I'm talking about. You know how societies can
change. You've seen what happens in your communities when people take
it upon themselves to help those who hurt, to build a home for the
homeless through Habitat for Humanity, who take time out to instill
values in Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. You've seen what it's like when
people say, I'm going to be a coach in a Little League to help a kid
learn a team sport and, at the same time, sportsmanship. You know what
it means when you've seen church groups come together and say, let's go
feed this family that hurts. You have seen what happens when the great
compassion of this country wells up and starts saving lives. The
strength of this country lies in the hearts and souls of our fellow
citizens, which makes us such a fabulous nation. (Applause.)
I've asked some folks to come today. Paul Darley is a small
business owner, W.S. Darley. He is the president and chief operating
officer.
Tell us what you do.
MR. DARLEY: Our company is a 96-year-old family business. We
manufacture firefighting equipment, specifically fire trucks, fire
pumps, that we distribute all over America and around the world.
THE PRESIDENT: Based right here?
MR. DARLEY: We're based in Sitwell Falls, Wisconsin. We just last
year built a $3.8 billion plant. And additionally, we bought equipment
worth over $1 million, which we were able to do as a result of the tax
relief that took place over the last two years. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: One of the important parts of the tax relief that I
hope people understand is this: Most small businesses, like this good
man's business, pay tax at the individual income tax level. A lot of
citizens don't know that. But if you're a sub-chapter S corporation or
a sole proprietorship, you pay tax at the individual income tax level.
So when you heard us talking about reducing individual income taxes,
not only, obviously, did it affect citizens, it affects small
businesses. And so when you hear people say, we're going to tax the
rich by running up some of those income taxes, they're taxing small
businesses. It's important for people to understand that.
The other thing we did was we helped with what they call bonus
depreciation. In other words, if you make an investment, you get to
deduct more money. In other words, there was an incentive in the tax
code.
So what did you do with the money?
MR. DARLEY: We built a new $3 million plant. We also built about
a million dollars' worth of equipment. But additionally, we were able
to take that money through -- because we had less dividends to pay out
because our tax burden was less, we were able to reinvest that money
back into our business. We were able to create jobs, we were able to
train our employees. We were able to compete in a global environment.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. See, when he builds something like expands
his plant, I think he needed to add employees.
MR. DARLEY: We did.
THE PRESIDENT: The reason I bring this up is when you hear that
tax relief encourages investment -- there's two aspects to investment
-- two effects of investment. First, when he buys equipment, new
equipment, somebody has got to make it, right? If somebody makes it,
some business makes it, some laborer who is making the product for the
business is more likely to keep a job, or if the demand is greater,
they'll add jobs to make the new equipment, orders for new equipment.
Secondly, when he says he's invested in his company because of the
tax incentives, he's got to have people that work at that additional
plant and equipment. So when you hear "investment equals jobs," that's
how it works. He makes a decision; somebody produces the product for
him; and as he expands his business, he hires new people.
Is that what happened? So how many people did you hire last year?
MR. DARLEY: I think 24 in the last two years, and then
additionally, nine since the beginning of January this year, and we
plan to hire 14 or 15 more in the next seven months.
THE PRESIDENT: That's good news. It's good news if you're
somebody -- (applause.) Thank you, Paul.
There's a lot of -- there's a lot of small businesses like Paul's
-- a lot of companies. See, the entrepreneurial spirit is strong. You
heard him say, I'm thinking about hiring 14 more. There's a lot of
people out there feeling the same way now. That's really encouraging
-- the work force is trained to be able to -- to be able to do the jobs
he's looking for.
You heard him say, I took some of the savings so that we could
train workers. There's all kinds of ways workers get trained. I
mentioned the community college. But a lot of times, businesses train
their own workers, too. And tax relief would help make his work force
more productive.
I want to thank you for hanging in there, thanks for expanding your
business.
Jim Hutchison is with us, as well. Jim is the owner --
(applause.) When did you start your business, and what does it do?
MR. HUTCHISON: 1994. And first of all, thank you for coming to
Prairie du Chien, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm glad to be here. (Applause.)
MR. HUTCHISON: We started in 1994.
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for the excuse of getting out of
Washington. (Laughter.)
MR. HUTCHISON: And it's a nice drive for you, too.
THE PRESIDENT: It's beautiful -- it really is. A little different
from Midland, Texas. (Laughter.) Which is flat and in the desert. Go
ahead.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Did you start this?
MR. HUTCHISON: I started it in 1994. We started with seven
people.
THE PRESIDENT: How did you think of it?
MR. HUTCHISON: Well, I heard some people from the 3M company were
shipping a lot of work out the area. They didn't have anyone to
package for them. And I was able to get an interview with them. I
thought it would last 15 minutes; it lasted four hours, and 300 people
later here we are.
THE PRESIDENT: That's in 10 years? Good. (Applause.) I don't
want to hog the spotlight, but the entrepreneurial spirit, you just
heard it, he just defined what that means. The guy had a dream. He
said, I can do something better than that which was being done, give me
a chance to compete. And the key is for policy to encourage those
dreams to go on; for people to say, look, with a good idea and hard
work, I can achieve a dream.
Go ahead.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Sixty employees this year. See, it's happening.
Here's an optimistic guy, he stands in front of the President and the
cameras and people and says, look, I'm optimistic, I'm growing my
business, I want to compete, and I'm investing so I can become more
productive. That's how the economy works. Good tax policy encourages
this.
By the way, if the Congress doesn't act on some of this tax policy,
the taxes go up. And to me, if the taxes start going up at this point,
it changes the attitude of those who are risking capital. So I told
you we don't need to be raising taxes right now. I'm trying to put a
face as to why we don't need to. See, it's one thing for me to stand
up there and say it. They'll say, sure, he's running for office. But
the reason -- I have a reason to say it. And these small business
owners helped me make the case.
Thank you both for coming. I'm proud of your entrepreneurial
spirit. Good job. (Applause.) Real good.
Christine and Mark Seeley are with us. I'm proud you all are
here. (Applause.) They're a family of -- they got three kids. And
the reason I asked them to come, along with the Hendricksons, is so
that people can hear what tax relief has meant to their life. Again,
it's easy for us to spew numbers in Washington. But tax relief affects
people in such positive ways that it's important for people who don't
agree with the tax relief, or are willing to take -- raise the taxes on
people, to understand the consequences. And that's why they're here.
First of all, what do you do?
MR. SEELEY: I'm an athletic trainer with Prairie du Chien Memorial
Hospital right here in town.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. My knee hurts. (Laughter.)
MR. SEELEY: See me afterwards. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
MR. SEELEY: And Christine is a stay-at-home mom.
THE PRESIDENT: That's good. Congratulations.
MRS. SEELEY: Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Because we raised the child credit, expanded the --
reduced -- created a 10-percent bracket, and relieved the marriage
penalty, this couple saved $2,200? -- $2,200 in '03 and in '04.
(Applause.) That may not seem like a lot to people who are throwing
around a lot of zeroes in Washington, but I bet -- well, I'll let them
tell you if it means anything to them. Unlike -- I'm not a lawyer,
you'll be happy to hear, but I realize I'm leading the witness.
(Laughter.) Tell us about the money.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Right. Pretty hard to raise a family with a leaky
roof.
MR. SEELEY: That's right. You have to keep the roof over their
heads, so we hired a couple of contractors to come in and repair our
roof. And that's where that money went.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. Somebody had to come over. In other words,
you got the relief, and you said, we better get on the phone and call
Joe's Roofing Company. Is that who it was? (Laughter.)
MR. SEELEY: Randy Jones Construction.
THE PRESIDENT: Randy. (Applause.) All right, here's Jones'
chance. Did you do a good job? Did he do a good job?
MRS. SEELEY: Oh, fabulous.
MR. SEELEY: Yes, he did a great job.
THE PRESIDENT: Great job. Good. I don't know where Jones is, if
he's listening, he just got a plug for business. Anyway, he came
over. I presume he didn't do it by himself.
MR. SEELEY: No, he had actually two other crew members, and then
we had another company that put on some rubber roofing in back of the
house. And I think they employed, had four guys with them.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Let me tell you what happens if Congress
doesn't act. These folks pay $1,000 tax increase, see? That's the
debate in Washington. You're hearing this debate about whether to make
the tax relief permanent. That's not the way to look at it. The way
to look at it is, if Congress doesn't act, instead of $2,200, they're
going to be $1,000 less than that. It's like a tax increase. That's
$1,000 less money in their pocket. I like to remind people that this
economy is cranking and beginning to grow because the people have spent
their money far better then the government would have. (Applause.)
Now that you got the floor, you can say anything you want.
(Laughter.) Thanks for coming.
MR. SEELEY: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Glad you're here. I appreciate you taking time out
of your life. (Applause.) Where are the little ones, are they here?
MR. SEELEY: They couldn't make it.
THE PRESIDENT: They're at home?
MRS. SEELEY: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Too little.
MRS. SEELEY: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Afraid the President would speak too long.
(Laughter.) I understand.
Tina and Mike Hendrickson are with us, as well. Oh, they're down
here. Good. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) What do you do,
Michael?
MR. HENDRICKSON: I work for the Highway County Department.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. So when I said, fill the potholes, you knew
what I'm talking about. (Laughter.)
MR. HENDRICKSON: That's right.
THE PRESIDENT: I wasn't speaking to you, I was speaking to the
decision-maker. Maybe you are the decision-maker?
MR. HENDRICKSON: No, I get told to go fill the potholes.
(Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: That's right. And Tina is a worker.
MRS. HENDRICKSON: Yes, I work at Prairie Industries. I'm a
warehouse manager.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Great. Thanks for coming. I'm proud
you're both here. They've got two young children. So when we
increased the child credit to $1,000, it affected them. And they're
married, and so we've reduced the marriage penalty; it affected them.
And so did the expansion of the 10-percent bracket, all of which will
go away next year unless Congress acts.
The tax savings were?
MR. HENDRICKSON: I forget -- $3,000, something like that.
THE PRESIDENT: Less.
MRS. HENDRICKSON: $1,900.
THE PRESIDENT: $1,900 -- well, $1,900 here, $3,000 there.
(Laughter.) And so what -- how does it affect you? What do you do?
When you get a $1,900 check, less taxes, how does it affect your
thinking?
MRS. HENDRICKSON: A lot. Well, we've been able to start saving
for college for the kids.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
MRS. HENDRICKSON: That's a plus.
THE PRESIDENT: Doing her duty as a mom or a dad, taking that extra
money, it makes it easier for them to fulfill their obligations. And I
appreciate that. (Applause.)
What else?
MRS. HENDRICKSON: We went to St. Louis in April -- short
vacation.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. And I presume -- you stayed in a motel, or
what?
MRS. HENDRICKSON: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. So the clerk at the motel was able to keep a
job. (Laughter.) Because if the motel was empty, there wouldn't be a
need to have a clerk. (Laughter.)
Yes, thank you all for coming. I'm glad you're here. (Applause.)
The reason why -- the tax relief affected people. It increases
their confidence about the future. It enables them to better raise
their families. These people are working hard to raise their two
sons. They're thinking about, how can we put money aside for college,
which is a vital part of the duty of being a parent, isn't it? And you
want -- you want your children to be able to realize their dreams. And
college is an important part of it. The tax relief matters. And
Congress does not need to be raising the taxes on these people.
The reason I've asked them to come, both small business and
individuals, to come is I hope it helps you better understand the
pro-growth package, how it works and the philosophy behind the
decisions we made.
I think I've got a little time to answer some questions. This is
called, "Ask George Bush," so you might as well start asking so at
least we fulfill the promise of the program's name. And I'll be glad
to answer -- ask some questions.
Yes, what have you got? This is a written question. (Laughter.)
This isn't exactly off the top of your head, is it? (Laughter.)
Q I was afraid I couldn't read my own writing. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Are you a doctor?
Q No, I'm not. (Laughter.) Mr. President, as a member of the
local clergy of this city, I'm appalled at the different lengths of
political correctness that has affected religious rights in Canada,
Australia, France, and other European nations. Laws are being passed
to limit offensive speech. If reelected, what will your administration
do to the rights -- to help the rights of conservative Christians so
that courts in America can't limit our free speech when it comes to
offensive speech toward different groups?
THE PRESIDENT: Look, here's the thing. Freedom to speak is a
valuable part of our country. And a President has got to protect
that. People ought to be allowed to speak the way you want to speak.
But there are limits. And it is very important for our society to work
with those that push the limits without abridging anybody else's
freedom to speak.
Let me talk about freedom of religion, as well, which is an
incredibly important part of our society. My job as the President is
to make sure -- this may get to your question, by the way, besides
speech -- an incredibly important part about what you're asking is, can
people worship freely, as well. Yes. That's the part of the job of
the President, is to make sure that people can worship any way they
want, any way they want. And they can choose any religion they want.
Or they can choose no religion. You see, you're just as big a patriot
-- as good a patriot as the next fellow if you choose not to worship.
It's your choice to make. And the freedom of this country is that you
can choose to do any way you want. And it's important that we keep
that -- that freedom real and intact.
I happen to believe that it would be very difficult to be the
President without believing. I believe that -- I know it's been an
important part of my presidency. And I appreciate the fact --
(applause.) But what -- what I'm answering to you is, is that we've got
to be very careful about tampering with freedoms in America -- the
freedom to speak or the freedom to worship. It is the thing that sets
us apart from other parts of the world, that people can come to this
country and express themselves the way they see fit.
Obviously there's a line to cross when it comes to speech. That's
been a difficult challenge for our country, to figure out where it is
and where it isn't. You know, sometimes on TV, there are things you
don't want to see. But that's why you put an off-on button on there.
You just kind of turn it off. You don't have to watch it. You can
also pay attention -- (applause.) And there are other things we can do
to make it easier for parents to make sure their children aren't
watching garbage. And there are things you can do on the Internet to
make sure that garbage doesn't get in your living room. But it's very
important that we remain a country of free speech and of free
religion.
Anybody else got something? Yes, ma'am.
Q Hi. I'm from LaCrosse. My name is Karen Heffner. My
husband and I own a small steel fabricating business.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, good.
Q I know. You like that one, right? (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I'm glad you own a business.
How long have you owned it?
Q Since '92.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
Q And we have been growing steadily, too. We started with
about six employees, but a couple of setbacks along the way. I just
want to know -- my question is, with the steel market so volatile, what
can we do to help stabilize that and all the construction trade?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. She is referring to the fact that the price
of steel, which was very low at one point, is now higher. And the
reason why is, is because the world's economies are beginning to grow.
For a period of time, the world was in recession. We were recession --
in recession -- and other countries were. And all of a sudden, the
world is beginning to come out of its recession. There's a cyclicality
to economies and the cycle is now coming on an upswing.
In a country like China, it's really booming and they're absorbing
a lot of the supply of steel in the world, which is, in fact -- I
believe you're referring to the price of steel getting higher, which is
making it more difficult for you to work. I believe that the higher
price of steel will serve as an incentive for people to produce more
steel, and that -- it's a price-driven industry, as you know -- and as
people produce more steel, it should take -- relieve the pressure.
It's just like what's happening in the energy markets today. For a
while, there was excess supply because the world's demand was
depressed. And now the world is growing, very much like the steel
prices. And, by the way, I'm sure the energy prices affects your
business, too, I would think, which is high and hard to deal with, I
fully recognize. We're seeing it at the gasoline pumps, as well, and
that's not positive for American consumers and American people.
It has to do with the fact that the demand is increasing relative
to supply. And when you get these countries beginning to grow and
they're not very fuel-efficient to begin with, like China, they're
taking a lot of world oil off the market in order for their economy to
grow, and it's affecting our prices.
That's why we need an energy bill. That's why we need to be
diversified. I believe there will be an increase in fuel supply in
response to price, which would make it -- which would then begin to
ease off.
About three years ago, if I'm not mistaken, the price of your
product was significantly different than it is today. And I guess what
I'm telling you is you're going through a rough cycle. But I don't
think the government policy can say, okay, fine, you know -- make
people go out and produce more product to relieve the price. I think
the market is going to have to adjust to do that.
I also suspect you're a little nervous about reliability of
electricity. I hear from small manufacturers all the time. And a part
of the energy bill that's stuck in the Congress, by the way -- I've
been trying to get it moving for the good of the country; it's stuck.
Part of it is to make sure that our electricity systems are modern;
that the electricity systems have got maximum reliability standards
from these sellers of electricity, as well as modern ways to attract
capital to expand the electricity systems and modernize them.
That's a very good question on steel. Commodity prices go up and
down. And the thing that our country must not do, as I mentioned to
you, in response to economic conditions, is wall ourselves off from the
rest of the world. I think it would be a terrible mistake to become
isolated from the rest of the world. Economic isolationism is
pessimistic and it does not lead to a hopeful future. Again, I'm going
to repeat what I said about not becoming isolated from the rest of the
world. If you're good at something, and we're very good at things,
with a level playing field we can compete. And as we compete, people
are more likely to find a job.
Anybody got anything? Yes, ma'am.
Q I'm an eighth grade teacher --
THE PRESIDENT: First, thanks for teaching.
Q You're welcome. (Applause.) Typically, when I'm discussing
education policy and, specifically funding, with my colleagues, I'm
pretty much in the minority with a conservative view. What can I tell
my colleagues that the Bush administration is pro-education?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure. You can tell them we've increased Title I --
elementary and secondary education spending since I've been in office,
from 2001 to today, by over 47 percent. That's a healthy increase in
spending. On the other hand, I believe that spending -- the federal
government ought not to try to run the schools. I believe the best
spending decisions are made by state and local people.
I believe the ratio between the federal government and the state
and local people is a good ratio, something about 94 to 6 or 93 to 7
percent -- 7 percent coming from the federal government. We're more
than happy to encourage spending. I just want to make sure that the
spending works.
And so you can tell the folks that our approach has changed,
literally changed how people -- what people -- not what people can do
with the money, but what they must achieve with the money. You notice
I used the word "achieve." In other words, we expect results. If you
don't measure, if you don't get -- if you don't ask for results, it is
likely you won't get results, or at least you won't know. How do you
know -- tell your friends, how can you possibly know whether or not a
child can read unless you're willing to measure?
Secondly, tell your friends that when we find -- in the No Child
Left Behind Act, early on when we discover that a child doesn't have
the tools necessary to read, he or she gets extra help. Third, that if
a school perpetually fails, parents get different options in order to
make sure that people respond to the moms and dads and to the needs of
the children.
We've got a really good record on public education. And the No
Child Left Behind Act is a strong piece of legislation which I believe
will make the public school systems work better, not worse.
What else? Yes, sir.
Q I don't have a question, sir. I just wanted to thank you. I
served in the United States Air Force for 10 years. I just love the
love that you have for our troops and admiration you have for our
troops and I salute you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir.
Q -- and the First Lady, as well. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I appreciate that. Thanks for saying
that.
I'm a fellow -- I'm a fellow who knows a good exit line.
(Laughter.) We're getting on the bus and heading up the road. I want
to thank you all for coming. I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I
have. I'm glad to get out of the Nation's Capital and come and be with
you all. I really enjoyed our dialogue and our discussion. I hope you
can tell I have a reason why I want to be your President for four more
years. I hope you can tell I'm counting on you to go to your neighbors
and let them know I have a reason. And I hope you can tell I'm
incredibly optimistic and hopeful about the future of this country,
because I understand the strength of this country is the people who
live in America.
May God bless you all. And may God continue to bless our country.
Thanks for coming. (Applause.)
END 2:51 P.M. CDT
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