THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for that warm welcome. David, thanks for
your kind remarks. It's a great honor to be here. It's a great
pleasure to get out of Washington. (Laughter.) It feels like I'm kind
of getting closer to home, to be with people who make their living on
the land. I'm honored to be with the good folks who supply our country
with food and the good folks who live the values of the farm.
(Applause.)
I am honored to be traveling today with Tom Ridge. I gave a speech
last night to the nation that talked about the need to make sure we do
everything we can to secure the homeland. And Tom -- I convinced him
to leave the governor's -- the state house of Pennsylvania to join me
in Washington, and he's done a really good job, really good job.
(Applause.)
I want to thank some of my friends who flew down from Washington
with me. I don't know if they wanted a free ride or not, but they
came. (Laughter.) You know how Senator Grassley is. (Laughter and
applause.)
Congressman Ganske, Leach and Latham also came down with me, and I
was honored to travel with them. I appreciate their friendship.
(Applause.) We spent a lot of time talking about the farm. Any time
you're around people from Iowa, at least the congressional delegation,
they're always talking about the farm. And that's good. (Applause.)
I'm told Senator Harkin is here. Thank you for coming, Senator. I
appreciate you being here. (Applause.) Congressman Leornard Boswell
is here. Thank you for coming, Congressman. I'm honored you're here.
The Lieutenant Governor Sally Peterson, is here. Governor, thank you
for being here. I'm honored you came. (Applause.)
I've got one regret, the traveling team wasn't complete,
unfortunately. My wife didn't come with me.
(Audience groans.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I agree with you. (Laughter.) You know, I'm
really proud of her. The country is -- has gotten to know Laura, like
I have gotten to know her. People now understand why I asked her to
marry me. A lot of people are still confused as to why she said yes.
(Laughter.) But she has been a great comfort to our nation, and a
great love of my life. (Applause.)
I remember -- I remember campaigning in Chicago, and one of the
reporters said, would you ever deficit spend? I said only -- only in
times of war, in times of economic insecurity as a result of a
recession, or in times of national emergency. Never did I dream we'd
have a trifecta. (Laughter.)
But I want you to know we are dealing with these issues in a way
that I hope makes you proud, that we're dealing with the issues.
(Applause.) I'm doing everything I can to put the interests of the
American people ahead of politics. (Applause.) I'm doing everything I
can -- everything I can to address these issues in a way that solves
problems. So, for example, on the issue of economic security, I went
at it in a way -- the only way I knew how, which is in a
straightforward, plain-spoken way.
I said, the best way to make sure we've got a strong farm economy
and to make sure our economy recovers from the recession is to let
people keep their own money. (Applause.) I believe that when you let
a person keep his own -- his or her own money, they're going to spend
it. And when they spend it, it increases demands for goods and
services. And with an increase of demand for goods and services,
somebody has got to produce that good and service. And when they
produce it, it means somebody's going to find work. (Applause.)
It was one year ago today I had the honor of signing the tax relief
bill that Chairman Chuck Grassley -- then Chairman Grassley --
shepherded, helped shepherd through the United States Senate. It was
the right public policy at the right time for the United States of
America. (Applause.) And today I'm told that there are some statistics
coming out that shows that the unemployment rate in America is
dropping. People are getting back to work. My attitude is, I don't
pay attention to the numbers, however. If a person's looking for work
and can't find work, I'm worried about it. And so long as there are
people looking for work who can't find work, we're going to continue
doing the right thing in Washington to stimulate job creation.
Now, part of that tax relief package was something really important
for the future of the country, for the future of your families.
Finally, the United States Congress realized how unfair the death tax
is to the people who make a living on the farm. And, finally, we
repealed the death tax. (Applause.) Now -- but because of a quirk in
the law, that repeal isn't permanent. It's hard for me to explain
why. They repeal it, but didn't repeal it. And so what I want you to
do is work with members of the United States Senate, so that they do
what they did in the House, which is to make the repeal of the death
tax permanent. (Applause.) It makes no sense to tax a person's assets
twice, and it makes no sense to have a tax that drives people off the
farm. For the good of American agriculture, let's make sure that death
tax is forever buried, and forever done away with. (Applause.)
For the good of the economy, and for economic security, they need
to get me an energy bill -- an energy bill that encourages
conservation, an energy bill that encourages reasonable,
environmentally sound exploration, and an energy bill -- and an energy
bill that promotes renewable sources of energy such as ethanol and
bio-diesel. (Applause.)
When I first came to Iowa, to ask for the support of the people
here, and I talked about ethanol, people's eyes tended to glaze over at
times, because they said, well, this guy's from Texas. He can't
possibly mean what he says about ethanol. First, I hope I proved them
wrong. And secondly, you've got to understand, it's in our nation's
national interest, it is in our national interest to have more forms of
energy produced at home, so we're less reliant upon foreign sources of
energy. (Applause.)
In order to make sure this economy is strong, we've got to make
sure that the agricultural sector of our economy is strong. See, I
understand that. I was from a -- the governor of the second largest
agricultural state in the Union. I understand farm economics. I
understand the need to have a hopeful economy. And I understand the
need to be able to grow more -- to grow more food than we need, for the
national security of the country as well.
But I also understand, when there's oversupply, it's a problem.
And one of the ways to deal with oversupply is to sell Iowa pork in
foreign markets. I need the trade promotion authority. (Applause.)
It is time to quit playing politics with trade promotion. It's
time for the House and the Senate to get together and get that bill on
my desk. And my promise to you all is this. We're not going to treat
agriculture as some second class citizen when it comes to international
trade agreements.
I understand the importance of agriculture for our economy. I
understand the importance of agriculture for job creation. And I
understand the need to fight for foreign markets so that when we're
good at something, we benefit. And we're good at growing hogs, and we
ought to be selling our hogs all across the world. (Applause.)
And the farm bill I signed recognizes the importance of trade. To
put it in fancy Washington talk, it's what we call WTO compliant. It
means we've honored our trade agreements when it comes to agriculture.
But it also recognizes there needs to be a safety net for the American
farmer. And it also recognizes the need to promote conservation in
America through the EQUIP program, for example. I signed a good farm
bill. It's good for the American farmer and it's good for the United
States of America. (Applause.)
And finally, to work on the economic security of this country, we
need terrorism insurance. There's a lot of construction programs or
projects that aren't going forward, because people can't get the right
kind of insurance for fear of a terrorist attack. And Congress has got
to act, for the good of the working people, for the good of people who
are building skyscrapers and construction projects all across America.
The United States Congress needs to get to my desk a bill to make sure
we've got terrorism insurance all across the United States of America.
If we're interested in economic security, this is a good step in that
right direction. This is a step in a direction that will help people
find work, when it comes to building plants and equipment.
(Applause.) The economy's getting better. But I'm not going to rest
until everybody can find work.
The other big challenge we have is to make sure our homeland is
secure. As I mentioned last night, when I get into the Oval Office
every morning, I read what they call a threat assessment. By the way,
I do have a ritual every morning. I'm still getting Laura the coffee.
I hate to put the pressure on you guys, but -- (laughter) -- there I
was this morning. (Applause.)
I'm kind of on a farmer's schedule. We're up early. In comes the
coffee. I don't spend a lot of time on the editorial pages, I want you
to know. (Laughter.) And then I'd walk the dogs. And it's a moment
of high drama for the dogs. They're looking forward to getting out of
the confines of the White House. Spot the dog, is pretty comfortable
there. After all, she was born when my dad was the President, born
right there at the White House. And so she's -- second time around,
feels -- understands where the hedges are. (Laughter.) And Barney,
one-and-a-half-year-old Scottish terrier, he's a feisty little guy. He
doesn't spend a lot of time in the White House -- I mean, in the Oval
Office. After all, we've got a new rug in there. (Laughter.)
So off goes Barney in one direction, and Spot and I go in the Oval
Office. And I settle in to read this threat assessment. And it
reminds me, on a daily basis, my most important job is to protect
America from attack. (Applause.) We're constantly asking inside the
White House, what can we do -- what do we need to do -- to protect
innocent Americans. And the reason we're having to do that is because
we face a formidable enemy, an enemy which hates America, because we
stand for freedom. The problem is, they're going to be on the losing
side, because we're more formidable, because we love freedom.
(Applause.)
I don't know what went through their mind when they attacked us.
They must have thought we were so materialistic, and so weak, and so
self-absorbed, that all we would do is file a couple of lawsuits. They
found out we're a little different than that.
And the first thing we've got to do is to make sure we do
everything at home to protect the people. And that's why last night,
on national TV, I proposed the creation of the Department of Homeland
Security, a new Cabinet-level position that will consolidate the
essential functions of securing our homeland into one agency.
See, there's now over 100 different entities -- agencies that deal
with the homeland, which makes it kind of hard to hold anybody
accountable. I believe in accountability in government. After all,
you will hold me accountable. (Applause.) And therefore, it's
important to align authority and responsibility, to create
accountability.
Last night, I used a couple of examples. You know, I said that the
Coast Guard's -- obviously -- job is to patrol the coast, but they
report to the Transportation Department. And the Transportation
Department's primary function is not the security of the country.
The Customs reports to the head of the Treasury. The main job of
the Treasury is not the security of the country. It's time for us to
consolidate, not to increase the size of government, but to increase
the efficiency of your government, so we can do the job you expect us
to do. (Applause.)
This is going to be a tough battle, because we're going to be
stepping on some people's toes. I understand that. You see, when you
take power away from one person in Washington, it tends to make them
nervous. So we're just going to have to keep the pressure on the
people in the United States Congress to do the right thing. I believe
it is going to happen.
This morning, we had a group of senators and House members from
both parties -- Joe Lieberman was there, Arlen Specter was there --
talking about how to get this bill started in Congress and through
Congress as quickly as possible. And so I'm confident it's going to
happen, particularly when the American people understand it is in our
national interests that we bring these agencies under one -- under one
head, so that we can do everything in our power -- and I mean
everything in our power -- to keep you all safe.
But the best way to keep you safe, the best way to protect the
homeland, is to chase the killers down one by one and bring them to
justice. And that's what we're going to do. (Applause.)
I see some youngsters out there. I want you to understand that the
goal of this country is to have peace. The goal of the United States
is to remain strong and tough, so that you can grow up in a peaceful
world. That's my hope. And it's not just you growing up in a peaceful
world; it is children all around the world growing up in a peaceful
world.
But so long as there are people out there that want to harm us
because of that vision, because we love freedom, because we worship
freely, because we're free to speak our mind, the United States of
America has an obligation to lead. The United States of America has an
obligation to lead a coalition to bring people to justice. And so long
as I'm the President of the United States, that is precisely what this
great nation is going to do. (Applause.)
This is a new kind of war. We're not used to this kind of war in
America. First of all, we weren't used to the fact that anybody could
come into our country and kill thousands of innocent people. We've got
to get used to the fact that they want to come again. That's what we
have to get used to.
But we've also got to get used to the fact that we're fighting an
enemy that's willing to send youngsters to their suicide, to the death
by suicide, and they themselves hide in a cave. And so it's going to
require this country to be determined, strong, patient. And that's
exactly how the country feels. And for that, I'm grateful. And for
that, the enemy is nervous.
You see, the world looks at us right now. They say, well, this
great bastion of freedom, how are we going to react? As time goes
between September the 11th and now, what's going to happen to the
United States? How strong are they? How much are they willing to
defend their country? What are they really like?
And that's why it's important for us to remain tough and strong.
If we blink, the world's going to go to sleep, and I understand that.
In order to defend freedom, we've got to have the world by our side.
And that's what's going to happen, folks, that's just exactly what's
going to happen. There is no cave dark enough and deep enough, to
prevent us from chasing down these killers. (Applause.)
And so one by one, this great and steady and strong United States
of America is going to liberate the world from people who would destroy
civilization as we know it. It's the right course of action. History
has called our nation into action. History has given us a chance, and
it's a chance I intend to seize.
I believe -- I firmly believe, out of the evil done to the country
will come some great good, I do. I believe that over time, we can
achieve peace in places where there's never been a hope for peace. I
believe by being strong, diligent, by speaking out against right from
wrong, by calling evil what it is, we can lead the world to a more
peaceful tomorrow.
And I also know this about America: Out of the evil done to our
country can come some incredible good right here in Iowa, and all
across the country. People ask me all the time, what can I do to help
America, how can I participate in this war against terror? Well, if
you're interested, really interested, you can call up -- dial up USA
Freedom Corps on the Internet to find out. But you don't need to do
that. If you're interested in fighting evil, do some good. If you're
interested in fighting evil, love a neighbor just like you'd like to be
loved yourself. (Applause.)
Sometimes the acts of kindness are noticeable, and sometimes
they're not. Walking across the street to a shut-in, saying, I love
you, what can I do to help you, is part of loving your neighbor like
you'd like to be loved yourself. Mentoring a child is an incredibly
important part of defining America for what we are, which is a country
of goodness and decency.
Today at the airport I met a young lady named Annie Wignall. She's
the founder of Care Bags Foundation. Young lady -- where are you,
Annie? Stand up. (Applause.) Annie started this foundation on her
own. She just decided she's going to do something to make a difference
in somebody's life. It collects and distributes clothes, toys and
personal care items to children who are victims of abuse or neglect.
Annie is a soldier in the army of compassion. (Applause.)
Annie sets a good example for all of us. One person can't do
everything, but one person can do something to make somebody's life
better. So my call to my fellow Americans is that on the one hand
we're tough, to keep the peace. But on the other hand, I know we can
rise to the challenge of showing the world that in the face of the
incredible evil done to America can come some great good. And it
starts right with you. Every act of individual kindness and
compassion, the gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness and
compassion, will show the enemy and the world the true face of the
greatest nation on the face of the earth.