For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 23, 2002
President Recaps Historic Week in Domestic and Foreign Affairs
Radio Address of the President to the Nation
NATO Summit Trip
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Europe
where, this week, I am meeting with NATO allies and friends to discuss
terrorism and other threats to our shared security. It has also been
an important week at home on Capitol Hill.
After two years of achievements, which included tax relief and
education reform, the last days of this session of Congress brought
additional historic progress. Soon after I return from Europe, I will
sign several important new laws to help secure the homeland and create
jobs.
Republicans and Democrats approved a department of homeland
security that will unite dozens of federal agencies and nearly 170,000
federal workers behind a single, overriding mission, keeping Americans
safe. This new department will coordinate our response to any future
emergency. It will help us know who's coming into our country and
who's going out. This new department will bring together the best
intelligence information about our vulnerabilities to terrorist attack
so that we can act quickly to protect America. I appreciate the
Congress listening to my concerns and retaining the authority of the
President to put the right people in the right place at the right time
in defense of our country.
Congress also acted to protect the nation's ports and coasts by
passing port security legislation. With this law, we will add port
security agents, restrict access to sensitive areas and require ships
to provide more information about the cargo, crew and passengers they
carry. These measures will help keep terrorists and their weapons out
of America.
In addition, Congress passed terrorism insurance legislation to
help protect our economy from any future terrorist attack. This new
important law will lower insurance premiums and get many real estate
and construction projects that had been put on hold moving again,
creating thousands of hard-hat jobs.
On my trip this week here in Europe, I'm consulting with our
friends and NATO allies about the new threats to freedom that we face
together. Today, the United States is joined by more than 90 nations
in a global coalition against terrorism, sharing intelligence, cutting
off terrorist finance and pursuing the terrorists where they plot and
train. The world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent
threat posed by Iraq, whose dictator has already used weapons of mass
destruction to kill thousands. We must not and will not permit either
terrorists or tyrants to blackmail freedom-loving nations.
Our NATO allies are making important contributions. Sixteen NATO
countries have sent military forces to the fight against terror in
Afghanistan and, at this week's summit, NATO committed to build a new
military response force with strong, ready forces that are prepared to
deploy on short notice wherever they are needed.
NATO members also voted to invite seven of Europe's newest
democracies to join our alliance. The addition of Bulgaria, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia will increase NATO's
military strength. These nations will also bring greater clarity to
NATO's purposes because they know, from the hard experience of the 20th
century, that threats to freedom must be opposed, not ignored or
appeased.
This week, we saw the historic expansion of NATO and historic
progress by Congress. Both will make America more secure. Thank you
for listening.
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