For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 19, 2002
Remarks by the President at Republican Governors Association Fall Reception
National Building Museum
6:53 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all very much. John, thank you
very much. I appreciate the invitation to get out of the house.
(Laughter.) I'm honored to come to thank you all for supporting our
governors.
I love our governors. I know them well. I was one. (Laughter.)
And these are fine, fine public servants who bring a lot of class and
dignity to the office they hold. They put results ahead of process.
These are people who put success ahead of excessive verbiage. They're
on the front lines of reform. They care deeply about our country. I'm
honored to be in their presence. And I want to thank you for
supporting their reelections. (Applause.)
Governors get things done. And governors can make a tremendous
difference in people's lives. I knew that when I started forming my
Cabinet. I knew that I needed to surround myself with people who not
only would bring honor to the office to which I appointed them, but
also would work hard to get something done for the country. And that's
why I named John Ashcroft, former governor; Christie Todd Whitman,
former governor; Tommy Thompson, former governor; and Tom Ridge, former
governor, to serve our country. (Applause.)
I want to thank Johnny Rowland for his leadership of the Republican
Governors Association, and for his fine leadership for the state of
Connecticut. (Applause.) He got one peep. (Laughter.) Bill Owens is
the Vice Chairman, from the great state of Colorado, and I appreciate
his leadership, as well. (Applause.)
I want to thank all the First Ladies who are here. First Ladies
really define the governor -- or First Gentlemen -- define the
governor. (Laughter.) Just like our great First Lady has helped me a
lot and defined me as a person. You know, people get to know a lot --
(applause) -- you can judge the nature of a man, in my case, by the
person he marries. And I married above myself. (Laughter.) People
have gotten to know Laura. They now understand why I asked her to
marry me. Lot of folks are still wondering why she said yes.
(Laughter.) She sends her love to our governors and their wives. She
sends her appreciation to you. And I can't tell you how proud I am of
the job she's doing for America. (Applause.)
I appreciate these governors being on the front line of making
America a stronger place, a safer place, and a better place for all
citizens -- regardless of their party affiliation, regardless of where
they live. That's the spirit of these can-do people.
And that's a job we all have in America, to make America a safer,
stronger, and better place. And to make sure America is a strong
place, we need to continue to work to make sure our fellow citizens can
find work. A strong America is an America in which people who want to
work and can't find a job are able to do so. A strong America is an
America that recognizes the vibrancy of the entrepreneur in America. A
strong America understands the role of government is not to create
wealth, but an environment in which the small business owner can grow
his or her business.
A strong America is one that recognizes that in times of recession
-- and I want you all to remember that when Dick Cheney and I got sworn
in, the country was in a recession -- and a strong economy, a strong
America, is one that recognizes that the engine to growth is the
American people. And so when we let American people keep more of their
own money, we sent a clear, strong signal to economic vitality.
Some up here don't get it, see. They forget whose money we're
talking about. They think we're talking about the government's money.
One thing we all understand is when it comes to tax money, it's your
money. And the tax cuts we passed in Washington came at the right
time. (Applause.) And that's just one of the first things we have
done here to make sure our economies grow, to make sure people can find
work.
I was the first President in a long time to get what they call
trade promotion authority. My attitude is, if you're good at
something, you ought to promote it. (Laughter.) We're good at growing
crops, we're good at raising cattle, we're good at the entrepreneurial
spirit, we're good at high-tech. We ought not to fear trade; we ought
to welcome trade. And for the sake of jobs, I got the Congress to pass
the trade promotion authority, so our people would be more likely to
find work. (Applause.)
For the sake of economic vitality, we sent a chilling signal to our
fellow Americans who feel like they can fudge the books, who feel like
they can get ahead by not telling the truth. Every one of these
governors understands the need for corporate responsibility in their
states and all across America. I proudly signed the most comprehensive
corporate reform since Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President of the
United States. And for the sake of a stronger America, we sent this
signal: No more easy money, just hard time, if you betray the trust of
your employees and your shareholders in America. (Applause.)
Now, we've got a foundation for economic vitality and growth that
is strong. Interest rates are low, inflation is low. The productivity
of the American worker is the best in the world. But we're not going
to rest until people find work. A stronger America requires a strong
economy. And there are some things that Congress can do to help us in
our desire to make America a stronger place.
And I'll give you one example. There are over 300,000 jobs that
don't exist because many developers and project managers cannot find
terrorism insurance. The Congress ought to pass a law that provides a
backstop for terrorism insurance, to get our hard-hats working again.
And by the way, it needs to be a law that does not reward trial
lawyers, but rewards the hard-hats of America. (Applause.)
We need an energy bill in America -- an energy bill that fosters
more conservation, an energy bill that enhances renewables like
ethanol, but an energy bill that makes us less dependent on foreign
sources of crude oil. An energy bill is needed. There's too much talk
in Washington, and not enough action. (Applause.)
And finally, to make this economy strong, to make sure people can
find work, we've got to make sure Congress holds the line on spending.
There's an enormous appetite for spending your money up here. Every
project sounds wonderful in Washington, D.C. Problem is, is that the
price tags run in the billions. It is important for Congress to set
priorities.
It's hard to set priorities, however, when the Senate can't even
pass a budget. The House passed a budget. The Senate can't pass a
budget. My message to Congress, and I hope you help send the message,
is we expect the appropriators to be wise with the people's money. We
expect them to stay focused on national priorities. We expect them not
to overspend. We expect them to be reasonable and sound. Because if
we overspend, it will make it harder for people to find work.
No, the grounds for economic growth are strong. After all, this is
America. There's a lot of problems that we can overcome. But I just
want to assure you, and I want to assure my friends who are the
governors, this administration will not rest, we will stay focused on
economic vitality, because we understand a strong America is an America
in which people can find work. (Applause.)
And we're working hard here in Washington, and we're working hard
with our governors to make sure we have a safer America. We need to
work hard because there's still an enemy out there which hates our
country. They hate America. They hate us because we love. We love
freedom. We love the idea of our fellow citizens being able to worship
and almighty Gad any way he or she sees fit. We love the idea of
welcoming people to our country and letting them rise to their own
level that talents will take them. We love the idea of being able to
speak our minds, to have political discourse. We love a free press.
We love freedom.
But the enemy hates freedom. We also value each life in America.
Everybody counts. Everybody has got worth. Everybody matters. But
that's not the way our enemy thinks. They don't value life. They
don't care about innocent life. And so long as we hold these values
dear, which we will do, there will be an enemy trying to hurt America.
And so, therefore, my most important job is to protect the American
people from further harm, is to guard our homeland. You need to know a
lot of good folks are working hard to just that. I can testify for
those here in the federal government that are spending hours upon hours
chasing down every lead, running down every hint. We get a whiff of
anything that might be happening or going to happen to America, we're
moving on it -- and at the same time, I can proudly report,
safeguarding the United States Constitution. (Applause.)
And so are these governors. They're working hard to protect their
fellow citizens. They're working hard at the state level, and working
in coordination at the local level, to prepare, to be ready, to be on
alert. And I want to thank them for their service to our country.
I asked Congress to work with me to make a -- to make the
government work better. I readily concede my slogan wasn't, don't --
vote for me, I'm going to make government bigger. But I do want to
make it work better. And that's why I called upon our Congress to set
up a department of homeland defense, so we can better coordinate
amongst agencies; so we can have the protection of our homeland as our
number one priority; so, if need be, we can change cultures so that
this President and administration, and future Presidents and
administrations, can say to the American people, we're doing everything
in our power to protect you.
And we're making some progress. Republicans and Democrats came
together in the House of Representatives to pass a good homeland
security bill. We're kind of bogged down in the Senate, however. You
see, the Senate wants to take away some of the powers of the
administrative branch. The Senate wants to micromanage the process.
And I'm not going to let them do it.
For the sake of homeland security, the Senate -- (applause.) For
the sake of the security of our homeland, the Senate needs to be more
worried about the American people, and less worried about special
interest here in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
But the best way to secure our homeland is to chase the killers
down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice, which is exactly
what the United States is going to do. (Applause.) It's a different
kind of war. It's a war that is not measured by the destruction of
tanks, or ships, or aircraft, because we're fighting a different kind
of enemy. This is a war that is measured in terms of killers caught.
We're making progress, thanks to a coalition we have put together.
And we're making progress thanks to one of the finest militaries our
nation has ever seen. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thanks to our Commander-in-Chief! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: This is an enemy which hides in caves, or in the
dark corners of cities, and then sends youngsters to their suicidal
death. It's a different kind of enemy and a different kind of war.
But our resolve is just as fierce today as it has been in the past.
And we're making progress, we're making progress. I don't have an
exact count, but the number of those who the United States and our
coalition partners have arrested, detained, whatever you want to call
it, is over a couple thousand. And about a like number weren't as
lucky; they're just not around anymore.
We got a guy the other day, just as an example, thought he could
hide in Pakistan. I don't know if you remember that doctrine I laid
out; said, either you're with us or you're with the enemy. President
Musharraf in Pakistan is with us when it comes to hunting these killers
down. (Applause.) The person who thought he'd be the 20th hijacker,
Binalshibh, is no longer a threat to the United States of America and
our friends and allies. (Applause.)
Oh, I know for some who are trying to fill the airways with
speculation and noise and news and all that stuff, it's not a very
glamorous war. But you've just got to know, this nation is steady in
our pursuit. We're strong in our resolve. No matter how long it
takes, we're going to hunt them down, one person at a time. We're
going to get them on the run, and we're going to keep them on the run,
until we bring them to justice. (Applause.)
I have submitted the largest increase in defense spending since
Ronald Reagan was the President. I sent that up to the Congress for
two reasons. One, any time this nation sends our troops into harm's
way, any time we ask our youngsters to go into the thin air of the
mountains of Afghanistan or anywhere else in harm's way, they deserve
the best pay, the best training, and the best possible equipment. We
not only owe it to their -- to the soldiers, we owe it to their loved
ones, as well. (Applause.)
And a defense bill sends another message. It sends a clear message
to our friends and to our foe that the United States is in this for the
long pull. There's not an artificial quitting date. There's not a
moment that says, you know, well, we've been at it for a period of
time, we're getting kind of worn out, and freedom isn't that
important. The message is that no matter how long it takes, and no
matter what the cost, we will defend the freedoms of the United States
of America. (Applause.)
The House passed a defense bill. The Senate passed the defense
bill. The way the process works is they're supposed to get together,
reconcile their differences, and get me a defense bill. It
languishes. It languishes. This Congress must do its duty and get me
a defense bill before it goes home. For the sake of our country, for
the sake of this war, for the sake of the military, I need a defense
appropriations bill. (Applause.)
Now, we've got a big task ahead. See, history has put the
spotlight on us. History will determine whether or not this nation was
strong and resolved in our defense of freedom. History will determine
whether or not we uphold our values, the values that say we not only
care for individuals here at home, but everybody matters. So far I
think history is going to judge us well.
I want you to remember that when it came time to uphold the
doctrine that said, if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist,
if you house a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist, we
upheld that doctrine. And in so doing -- (applause.) And in so
doing, we freed a group of people from the clutches of one of the most
barbaric regimes in the history of mankind. I want you to tell your
children when they ask about this war that our country went into
Afghanistan not to conquer anybody, but to liberate people. And as a
result of the United States and our friends and allies, many young
girls now go to school for the first time.
No, this might nation -- (applause) -- this mighty nation
believes that everybody matters. Each person has worth. Everybody
counts, regardless of where they are from. And we're going to have
tough times ahead of us, no question about it, as we pursue our goals.
There's going to be some rocky paths that we're going to have to climb
up. There's going to be some high hurdles we have to cross.
One of the highest hurdles is to recognize that as a nation we're
no longer protected by two vast oceans. No longer are we safe. We
used to think, well, there's a little conflict going over there, or
perhaps a leader over here who is a despicable person couldn't hurt
us. We learned a new lesson after September the 11th, that we're
vulnerable. For the sake of our security, we must not allow -- for
the sake of the future of our country and for the future of other
regions in the world, we must never allow the world's worst leaders to
develop, to deploy, to blackmail the free world, with the world's worst
weapons. (Applause.)
I believe it is important that there be an international
organization that is strong and vibrant, and capable of helping
freedom-loving countries keep the peace. You see, if the enemy hides
in caves, and a different kind of enemy, different kind of war, we need
a collection of friends sharing intelligence, cutting off money,
routing these people out. So I went to the United Nations. And I made
it clear to the United Nations that our nation hopes that the United
Nations succeeds. We want there to be a strong United Nations. We
want the United Nations to be more than a debating society. We don't
want the United Nations to become the League of Nations. We want the
United Nations to have backbone and to enforce -- enforce the
resolutions and doctrines and mandates. (Applause.)
I also made it clear, for the sake of peace, for the sake of
freedom for our country, if the United Nations will not act, the United
States and our friends will. We owe it to our children, we owe it to
our grandchildren to make sure that the dictator in Iraq never
threatens our country, or our children, or our children's children with
the world's worst weapons. (Applause.)
As we work to make our country stronger and safer, we also must
never forget to work to make it better. That's why I'm so strong for
these governors -- they understand that. I signed one of the most
comprehensive education reform bills in our nation's history. It says,
we expect there to be high standards in American schools. We want to
challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. I believe -- and
these fine governors believe -- that every child in America can
learn. Everybody can learn. And therefore, we expect everybody to
learn. (Applause.)
If you believe everybody can learn, then you should expect
everybody to learn. Inherent in that bill is my great trust for the
governors of the United States and for local folks. I strongly believe
in local control of schools. But I also believe in this -- that if
you take federal money, if you receive a dime of federal money, you owe
it to the taxpayers to show us whether or not the children are learning
to read and write and add and subtract. And if they are, there will be
plenty of praise for our nation's teachers. But if not, we must not
allow our children to be trapped in schools which will not teach and
will not change. (Applause.)
A better tomorrow recognizes that when it comes to reforming
welfare we must insist upon work. People find dignity in a job. I
look forward to working with our governors to make sure we continue the
great progress of welfare reform by helping people help themselves, by
helping people find job training so that instead of being dependent
upon government, they can find a job and be dependent upon their skills
and their talents to provide for their families.
A better tomorrow recognizes the great power of our faith-based
institutions in America. A better tomorrow recognizes that in our
churches, in synagogues and mosques, we find great compassion and
love. We understand that government can hand out money, but what
government cannot do -- and by the way, we do a pretty good job of it
up here -- but what government cannot do is put hope in people's
hearts, or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That's found in --
all across America. It's found particularly in places that exist
because of the universal dictum that people should love their neighbors
just like they should be loved themselves. (Applause.)
You know, the enemy hit us, the enemy hit us, and they didn't know
who they were hitting. Oh, they probably thought that after September
the 11th, 2001, we'd kind of regroup and file a lawsuit or two.
(Laughter.) They didn't realize that this bold country is a great
country, full of decent and compassionate people. I want you to know
that out of the evil done to America is going to come great good.
Around the world, if we remain tough and strong, we can achieve peace.
If we're willing to speak clearly about good and evil, if we continue
to denounce terror, if we understand the plight of the human condition,
which we do in America -- that people must have hope, that everybody
matters, that freedom counts -- we can achieve peace in this world.
Oh, you'll hear a lot of war rhetoric. But I want you to know, my
goal is peace. I long for peace. And I believe out of the evil done
to America can come peace in places around the world that have quit on
peace, including the Middle East and South Asia. (Applause.) I also
want you to know -- I want you to know that we will be a better
America, too. Because the strength of the country lies in the hearts
and souls of our fellow citizens.
People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I
fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a
shut-in's house and say I love you; by running a Boy Scout troop or a
Girl Scout troop; by being involved in your Boys and Girls Clubs; by
joining the USA Freedom Corps. If you're interested in helping America
fight evil, love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
yourself.
An educated America, a working America, an America that understands
the power of our faith-based and charitable organizations is an America
that is going to be a better America. There is no question in my mind
that out of the evil done to this country, that we will be able to help
eradicate those pockets of despair and hopelessness which exist. In
our land of plenty, there are people who hurt, people who cry, people
who wonder whether or not the American Dream is meant for them. And
this society of ours, this society of ours is going to change, one
heart, one soul, one conscience at a time, because thousands of our
fellow citizens are loving a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved
themselves. (Applause.)
People understand in America now that a patriot is somebody who not
only puts his hand over his heart and says, "I pledge allegiance" to
one nation under God, but somebody who serves something greater than
themselves.
See, that was the example of Flight 93, an example which is vivid
in my mind, and I'm sure vivid in yours. It's an historic moment in
many ways, a sad, tragic moment. On the other hand, it's a moment that
I hope people remember for a long time. After all, it was a flight full
of our fellow citizens. They learned that the plane they were on was
going to be used as a weapon. They told their loved ones good-bye, or,
I love you. They said a prayer. One guy said, "Let's roll." They
drove the plane into the ground to serve something greater than
themselves in life.
No, the spirit of America was alive on that airplane. The spirit
of America is alive today. No, out of the evil done to this great
country is going to come a more compassionate, a more decent, a more
hopeful country. There's no doubt in my mind that we can achieve the
big goals before us, because this is the finest country on the face of
the Earth, full of the finest people.
May God bless you all, and may God bless America. (Applause.)
Thank you all. (Applause.)
END 7:22 P.M. EDT
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