President Focuses on Economy and War on Terrorism in Kentucky Speech
Remarks by the President at Louisville, Kentucky Welcome
Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
Louisville, Kentucky
11:40 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Thank you all. It is
great
to be here in the state of Kentucky. (Applause.) Let me say, it's
great
to be back to the state of Kentucky. I want to thank you all for
coming.
It is my -- it's going to be my honor today to talk to you about
our country, our future. I want to talk about how to make our country
a safer country and a stronger country, and as importantly, a better
country. And
there's no better place to do it than Louisville, Kentucky.
(Applause.)
I want to thank Anne for her kind introduction, and I want to thank
the other members of the Kentucky delegation who are here today who are
my
friends, and that would be Senator Jim Bunning and Congressman Ken
Lucas. I appreciate all three members of the congressional delegation
coming down
today. (Applause.) As you know, they're up there in Washington
meeting,
and it's an honor that three members decided to come and hear the
President. (Laughter.)
I want to thank your Governor, Paul Patton, for coming today.
Governor, I appreciate you taking time to be here. I'm honored that
you're
here. (Applause.) I want to thank Elaine Chao, who is a member of
my
Cabinet, the Secretary of Labor. (Applause.) I appreciate you
coming,
Elaine. I want to thank the head of the Small Business
Administration,
Hector Barreto, for joining us, as well. (Applause.) Thank you,
Hector.
Oh, I forgot -- I forgot to mention the First Lady of Kentucky.
One thing you learn is never to forget to mention the First Ladies. I
appreciate Judy Patton being here, as well. (Applause.) Thank you for
coming, Judy.
Speaking about First Ladies, my wife is doing great, too.
(Applause.) I like to remind people that when I married her, she was a
public school librarian. And for all the public school librarians out
there, you've got an advocate in the White House. For all the teachers
out there, I want to thank you for being teachers, too. (Applause.)
She didn't like politics and she didn't like politicians when I married
her. Now she's stuck with one. (Laughter.) She's doing a great job.
I'm really proud of her. She sends her love and her best to all the
people of Kentucky. (Applause.)
I want to thank the members of the Louisville community who happen
to be small business owners for coming to visit. We just had a good
hour discussion about small business issues. You see, one of the best
ways to make sure that our economy grows is to have an environment in
which the entrepreneur can flourish and the small business can be
strong. Most new jobs are created in America by small businesses, and
therefore, we'd better worry about the health of small businesses, if
we're worried about the health and security of the country.
(Applause.)
And I'm worried about the health and security of our country, I
am. And we've got a lot of work to do. I'm not worried about our
future because I'm optimistic about America. We've got a great future
ahead of us. But so long as anybody who wants to work can't find work
I think we've got a problem in America. And so, therefore, our thought
process ought to be how to create jobs, how best to make sure that the
foundation of economic growth remains strong and that we go forward
with creating jobs. (Applause.)
And that's why I met with the small business owners and listened to
their concerns and heard their points of view. First, let me tell you
the foundation for our economy is strong. I mean, after all, interest
rates are low, inflation is low. We've got the best workers in the
world, our productivity is high. We've got the best farmers and
ranchers in the world. We've really got a lot of things in America
which creates the foundation for growth. I am not satisfied, however,
until everybody can find work. And so, fundamentally, what can we do?
First, you've got to understand the role of government is not to
create wealth. It's to create an environment in which people can
realize their dreams, in which small businesses can grow to be big
businesses. And one way to encourage that is to let people keep more
of their own money. (Applause.)
When we came in, it turns out the country was in a recession.
That's three quarters of negative growth. Fortunately, I was able to
team up with members of both political parties to take a chapter out of
this textbook. It's the chapter that says, if you let people keep more
of their own money, they will demand a good or a service. And if they
demand a good or a service, somebody is likely to produce that good or
a service. And when somebody produces that good or service, somebody
is more likely to find work. The tax relief came at the right time for
the American economy. (Applause.)
If you listen carefully to some of the dialogue in Washington, you
begin to hear a little tone about, well, maybe we ought to stop the tax
relief from being fully implemented. That would be a mistake for our
economy. That would be a terrible mistake for jobs and job creation.
(Applause.) Not only should we resist anybody who wants to undue the
tax relief, we need to make the tax relief permanent. (Applause.)
Well, people say, how can cutting income taxes on the people affect
small business? Well, most small businesses are sole proprietorships,
which means they pay tax at the individual income tax rate level. Or
most small businesses are limited partnerships. And so when you cut
the taxes on the people, you're really cutting the taxes on the sole
proprietors and on limited partnerships. You're helping small business
grow. And when small businesses grow, America is better off.
(Applause.)
But let me also tell you that in the tax relief plan we began to
mitigate the effects of the marriage penalty. Listen, the tax code
ought to encourage marriage, not discourage marriage. (Applause.) And
the other thing is we sent the death tax on the way to extinction. The
death tax is bad for Kentucky farmers, it's bad for Kentucky ranchers,
and it's bad for Kentucky entrepreneurs. (Applause.)
And then you say, well, why, Mr. President, do you need to talk
about making the tax relief permanent? Because a quirk in the law in
the United States Senate says that you won't -- we're going to cut your
taxes, but in 10 years it will have come back. It's hard for me to
explain. I mean, how can you say, on the one hand, we're cutting your
taxes, on the other hand, it goes away after 10 years? Well, that's
just the way the Senate happens to work right now. But there's a way
to change that, and that is to get the United States Senate to agree to
make all this tax relief permanent.
It will help people plan; it will help good policy; and anybody who
wants to find work is more likely to be able to do so if the tax relief
is permanent. (Applause.)
In order to make sure people find work and our economy is strong,
Congress must not overspend. (Applause.) Every idea sounds like a
good idea in Washington. Just that they cost billions of dollars. We
need to set priorities, and we have set priorities in Washington --
priorities of how to make America safer, stronger, and better. And
it's my job to hold the line on spending the people's money.
See, it's important to have the right mind-set up there. We're not
spending government money, we're spending your money. In order to make
sure it's spent wisely -- (applause) -- I look forward to working with
Congress to make sure we spend your money wisely. If we overspend, it
will serve as a drag on our economy. If we overspend, it will make it
harder for people to find work. I'm worried about people finding
work. I want anybody who wants a job to be able to find one here in
America.
There's some other practical things we can do in Washington, D.C.
We need to get us a terrorism insurance bill, to get our hard-hats back
to work. Over $10 billion of construction projects are not going
forward because people can't get the proper insurance because of what
the terrorists did to America. The government ought to help here. It
makes sense that the government help. We want our hard-hats back to
working. The construction trades believe that over 300,000 workers
will go back to work if we can get this bill out of Congress. I want a
bill out of Congress that helps the hard-hats, not helps the
plaintiffs' attorneys. I want people going back to work in America.
(Applause.)
We need an energy bill. A good energy bill will create jobs in
America. We also need an energy bill which will encourage conservation
and the use of renewable energy. We can do that, but we also need an
energy bill that will encourage exploration here in America,
exploration in environmentally friendly ways, so that we become less
dependent on foreign sources of crude oil. (Applause.) An energy bill
is good for jobs and it's good for national security, and it's time the
Congress quit talking and get an energy bill to my desk. (Applause.)
Now, I'm optimistic about our economy, I'm optimistic about job
growth, I'm optimistic about the future -- because I understand
America. We've got problems, no question, but we have a spirit that is
indomitable and strong. I'm also optimistic about being able to do my
most important job, which is to protect the homeland.
You know, one of my concerns was the farther we got away from
September the 11th, the more likely it would be that some in our
country might not think the enemy still existed. But they do. And
they're nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded killers. That's all they
are. (Applause.) People in our country wonder why, why would somebody
hate America. It's because we love freedom, that's why. We love the
idea that free people can worship and almighty God any way they so
choose in America. (Applause.) We value the freedom for people to
speak their mind in this country. We value a free press. We value
freedom. And the more we value freedom, the more they hate us. That's
why. That's why the enemy still exists.
And there's another reason. Every life matters in America;
everybody counts; everybody has worth. (Applause.) And these killers
don't think that way. They're willing to take innocent life in the
name of a hijacked religion. And so my job is to do everything we can
to protect our homeland, it's to make America more secure.
You need to know there's a lot of good folks working hard to
protect us. I mean, any time we're getting a hint that the enemy might
be thinking about doing something to us, we're moving on it. We
communicate better, we're aware of their hatred. Prior to September
the 11th we would never assume that America would be a battlefield. It
is now. It's a different era. I want you to know that you should take
comfort in the fact that a lot of good people are doing everything they
can to make sure that America is secure, not only at the federal level,
but at the state level and here at the local level. A lot of really
good people are getting better information and are acting on it as
quickly as possible.
I went to Congress, and I said, in order to help me and future
Presidents -- and notice I say future Presidents, because I don't think
this war and this hatred is going to go away any time soon -- that
future Presidents can deal with the threat of the homeland, I've asked
for a new department in Washington called the department of homeland
security. The reason I did is because there's over 100 agencies in
Washington, D.C. that have something to do with protecting the
homeland. They're scattered everywhere. In order to make sure the
number one priority of these agencies is your protection, I've asked
that they be put under one umbrella, one Cabinet secretary to be
confirmed by the United States Senate.
I want to be able to align authority and responsibility. I want to
be able to say clearly to the American people, we're doing a better job
of protecting our borders. See, we need to know who's coming into
America, what they're bringing into America, and whether or not they're
going to leave America when they say they're going to leave America.
(Applause.) We need to do a better job of coordinating our -- the
strategy of our first responders, the brave police and fire and EMS
teams that you've got right here in Louisville and all across America.
We need to do a better job of being able to respond to potential
weapons of mass destruction attacks. Need to do a better job of taking
the intelligence we have and analyzing it and addressing the
vulnerabilities that may be evident here in America.
And so I've asked Congress to act. And I appreciate the fact that
the House of Representatives have acted. And I'm sure on your TV
screens, if you bother to watch TV, you'll see that the Senate is
debating this bill. I've got deep concerns about where the Senate is
headed, however. I need the flexibility necessary to be able to move
people to the right place at the right time in order to protect
America. And I'll give you an example.
On our borders we've got three different agencies involved with
protecting the border -- Customs, INS and Border Patrol. They wear
different uniforms, they have different strategies, they've got
different bosses. For the sake of protecting America, any
administration must have the flexibility to move people around to
address our vulnerabilities. The enemy moves quickly, and so should
the federal government be able to move quickly. And yet, the bill out
of the Senate has got rules this thick -- they want to micromanage the
process.
The Senate must hear this. I expect to get a bill that is not in
the best interests or vested interests in Washington, but in the best
interests of protecting the American people. (Applause.)
The best way to protect our homeland is to hunt the killers down
one by one and bring them to justice. The best way to secure America
-- (applause.) The best way to secure our country and to protect our
freedom is to find the killers. This is a different kind of war, but
the war goes on. We've got some great veterans in this hall who
remember the way war used to be. You could determine the size of the
enemy based upon the number of tanks they have, or the number of
airplanes they have, or the number of ships. This is a different kind
of enemy. These are commanders who hide in dark caves, and then send
youngsters to their suicidal death.
They kind of slither into cities and hope not to get caught.
They're sophisticated, they understand we're after them. And they're
allusive and they're determined -- but so are we. We've got a fabulous
United States military, and they're on the hunt. (Applause.) We've
got a strong coalition of nations which have heard, as Anne mentioned,
the doctrine that says, either you're with us or you're with the
enemy. We have upheld the doctrine that says, if you harbor a
terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist.
And I want you to tell your youngsters, your children and your
grandchildren, that when this great nation went into Afghanistan, we
didn't go to conquer anybody, we went in to liberate. We went in to
liberate people from the clutches of the most barbaric regime in
history. (Applause.) This great nation and our friends and allies not
only upheld an important doctrine, but as a result of our action, many
young girls go to school for the first time in Afghanistan.
(Applause.)
And we're not leaving. We believe so strongly that every
individual counts, that we want to help democracy flourish in that
region. And we're not leaving because there's still al Qaeda and their
buddies roaming around. And there's a lot of brave folks on the hunt.
Probably some of your relatives. And if you've got a relative in the
United States military, or if you're in the United States military,
this nation is incredibly proud of what your relative is doing.
(Applause.)
I have submitted a defense spending bill that is the largest
increase since Ronald Reagan was the President. And I did so for two
reasons -- two reasons. One, any time we put our troops into harm's
way, they deserve the best pay, the best equipment and the best
training. (Applause.) And secondly, I did so because I want to send a
message to friend and foe alike that we're in this deal for the long
haul. When it comes to the freedoms we love, when it comes to
something we hold dear, this country is determined and patient and
plenty resolved to achieve victory. (Applause.)
Congress is back. The House passed a version of the defense bill;
the Senate passed a version of the defense bill. I expect the Congress
to work together and get that defense bill to my desk as soon as
possible. It's in the interests of the United States. (Applause.)
The American people are not going to like it if they see the Congress
playing politics with the defense bill, when we're at war. (Applause.)
We're making progress. See, because the enemy is different and the
nature of the war is different, sometimes you don't see what's going
on. As I said early on, and right after September the 11th, sometimes
you'll see what's happening, and sometimes you won't. That's just the
nature of this war. Sometimes one of these killers will be brought to
justice and you'll hear about it, and sometimes they won't. But we're
making progress. Slowly but surely, we're making progress. Slowly but
surely, we're bringing people to justice.
Notice I don't say, slowly but surely we're seeking revenge. I
said, slowly but surely, we're bringing people to justice. We owe that
to our children. We owe that to our children's children. We must stay
on the hunt for the sake of freedom here. We must continue to deny
sanctuary. Once we get them on the run, we've also got to make it hard
for them to light anywhere. We must make sure that those who would
like to harbor them continue to get the message that there will be a
consequence. We must anticipate problems before they occur. We must
deal with threats to our security today, before it can be too late.
Yesterday I announced to the country that I would be working
closely with our United States Congress and the American people to
explain the threat that Saddam Hussein poses to world peace. I take
the threat very seriously. I take the fact that he develops weapons of
mass destruction very seriously. I remember the fact that he has
invaded two countries before. I know for a fact that he's poisoned his
own people. He doesn't believe in the worth of each individual. He
doesn't believe in public dissent.
I look forward to a dialogue. I'm a patient man. I've got tools
-- we've got tools at our disposal. And therefore, yesterday I began
an important discussion about our future, about peace, about freedom; a
discussion that I will continue to have with the United States
Congress, Republican and Democrat alike; a discussion I will carry on
with the American people; a discussion I will begin at the United
Nations next week; a discussion I will have with the Prime Minister of
Britain Saturday; a discussion I'll have with the Prime Minister of
Canada on Monday; a discussion I'll be having with the President of
Russia, Premier of China, President of France tomorrow.
I will remind them that history has called us into action; that we
love freedom, that we'll be deliberate, patient and strong in the
values that we adhere to, but we can't let the world's worst leaders
blackmail, threaten, hold freedom-loving nations hostage with the
world's worst weapons. (Applause.)
I can't imagine what went through the enemy's mind when they hit
us. I can't imagine what they were thinking. Let me guess. They
probably said, America is so selfish and so self-absorbed and so
materialistic, that after September the 11th we might file a lawsuit or
two, but that's all we would do. They were wrong. See, they don't
understand America. (Applause.) They don't understand our character
and they don't understand our fiber. They don't understand that when
we love something, we love it dearly. We love life, and we love
freedom. (Applause.)
And they understand one thing about us, too -- when we need to be
plenty tough, we're going to be plenty tough. (Applause.) And they're
learning another thing about America. When we need to be compassionate
and loving, we can be compassionate and loving, too. You see, I
believe out of the evil done to America -- and make no mistake, it was
an incredibly evil act -- will come incredible good. You need to tell
your loved ones, the little ones in particular, that when they hear the
President talking about al Qaeda, Iraq and other places, I do so
because I long for peace. See, I believe out of the evil done to
America, if we're strong and focused and determined, we can achieve
peace. We can not only achieve peace today for America, but peace in
the long-term.
But not only for America. See, every life matters in this
country. And you don't have to be an American for you to matter, as
far as this nation is concerned. We want peace in parts of the world
that have quit on peace. We want there to be peace in the Middle
East. We want there to be peace in South Asia. We act because we
believe in peace. And out of the evil done to America can come a more
peaceful world.
And out of the evil done to America can come a more compassionate
America, too. A lot of people say, well, what can I do on the war
against terror? You can love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved
yourself is what you can do. (Applause.)
No, I'm for a safer and strong America, and I'm for a better
America. A better America begins, by the way, with making sure every
child gets an education in this country, and no child is left behind.
(Applause.) A better America is when we take care of people who can't
help themselves with a health care system that's modern. A better
America is one that calls upon the best of America. See, government
can hand out money -- we do a pretty good job of it. But what
government cannot do is put hope into people's hearts or a sense of
purpose in people's lives. That's done when a loving individual puts
his arm around a fellow citizen and says, I love you, what can I do to
help you.
You see, America is changing, one person at a time, one person at a
time. We're saving America one soul, one conscience at a time, because
thousands of our fellow citizens have recognized it's important to
serve something greater than yourself. (Applause.)
Robert Mihalovic is here. I met two groups of people -- I met one
group of people, and I met one person. I met Robert; I also met the
Louisville Little League team. (Applause.) Both kind of heroes in
their own way. One group of kids won a championship. I did remind
them, it's just beginning for you. You've got a responsibility now
that you're champs, a responsibility to make the right choices in
life.
Robert is here -- Robert, if you don't mind standing up -- I'll
tell you why Robert is here. He's a Navy World War II veteran.
(Applause.) He's a Korean War veteran. But let me tell you something
about him. He mentors children. See, he's decided that in order to
make a difference, in order to be a patriot, he wants to help a child
in need. Robert told me at Air Force One that his most beautiful
moments come when the child hugs him and says, thank you, when the
child says, thanks for giving me some hope, and thanks for giving me
love.
No government program can do that. It happens because thousands of
citizens like Robert, who I call soldiers in the armies of compassion,
have heard the call to love their neighbor like they'd like to be loved
themselves. One person, one Robert can't do everything. But he can do
something. He can help change America, one heart, one soul at a time.
The enemy hit us. They did tremendous evil to America. But out of
that evil is going to come a more compassionate country. We can deal
with addiction and hopelessness and despair when our fellow citizens
answer the call to make America a compassionate and a decent place.
(Applause.) And that's what's happening in this country. It's
happening in America. No, out of the evil done to America is going to
come incredible good -- peace and a better society. Because we're the
greatest nation, full of the greatest people on the face of the Earth.
Thank you for coming. God bless. God bless America.