For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 26, 2002
President Discusses 2002 Priorities in Radio Address
Radio Address of the President to the Nation
Listen to the President's Remarks
10:06 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT:
Good morning. A few days from now I will go
before Congress to report on the state of the union, and lay out my
priorities for the coming year and beyond. These priorities
reflect a single, overarching commitment: To enhance the
security of America and its people.
Government's responsibilities begin with
the defense of our nation.
Our fight against terrorism began in Afghanistan,
but it will not end there. America must not rest
until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and
defeated. In this work, our military must have every
resource, every weapon needed to achieve full and final victory.
My budget calls for the largest
increase in defense spending in the
last 20 years, investing in more precision
weapons, missile defenses, unmanned vehicles, and high-tech
equipment for our soldiers on the ground.
I will also seek another pay increase
for the men and women who wear our
country's uniform.
We will spend what it takes to win the
war against terrorism.
A related priority is homeland
security. We will pursue a sustained
strategy to protect our people from the threat of
terrorism.
The federal
government has already acted to increase
airport security, investigate
terrorist activity and improve our response capability.
In the next budget, we will do even more. I'll be calling on
Congress to nearly double funding for homeland defense to $38 billion.
We will complete the hiring of tens of
thousands of new federal
airport security workers.
We will strengthen the border patrol,
hire another 300 FBI agents to help fight the war on
terror.
We'll provide more
money so that state and local firefighters,
police officers and EMTs have the equipment they
need. The American people are on watch against future
attacks, and their government will be as well.
The third key of my budget is to fight
the recession and build economic security for the American
people. Government doesn't create jobs,
but it can encourage an environment in
which jobs are created.
I'm glad
the Senate is finally moving forward, and I
urge it to pass a strong stimulus bill, like one that passed the House
last year.
Every budget reflects fundamental choices,
and my administration has
made choices to fit the
times.
We'll work to create jobs and renew the
strength of our economy. We'll protect our people
in every way necessary,
and we will carry on the campaign
against global terror until we achieve our goal: The peace
that comes from victory.
Thank you for listening.
END
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