[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[May 22, 2001]
[Pages 561-563]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks to Leaders of Hispanic Faith-Based Organizations
May 22, 2001
Thank you all. I now know why he's a
Baptist preacher. [Laughter]
Thank you, Luis, and thank you,
Jesse, and thank you all for coming. Before I
say a few remarks, I want to introduce some folks. I appreciate so very
much the Members from the United States Congress who are here,
Ileana and Lincoln and Henry from the great
State of Texas. Thank you so much for being here. It's a sign of unity
that you're here, and I look forward to working with you to get the
legislation through.
I reached into Philadelphia to ask a man to run the Office of the
Faith-Based Initiative. Fortunately, John DiIulio, who is one of the advanced thinkers about how to help
people, how the Nation should eradicate poverty, has joined my staff.
What we're about to talk about is an incredibly serious effort to make
sure that the American promise extends its reach in every neighborhood.
And John is leading the office, and for that I am most grateful, John.
Thank you very much. And Lisa Trevino Cummins is helping John, as well.
This is an important part of my administration, because I want the
great hope of America to be existent in every household in our country.
I worry about a society that could become divided between those who have
and those who don't. I'm concerned about the fact that certain children
are being left behind in America.
My vision includes everybody. It's described as compassionate
conservatism, but I emphasize the compassion. The problem is, Government
is not a very compassionate organization. We can fund--and we should--
budgets; there is a lot of talk about budgets. We've submitted budgets
that increase spending on social services. We've got what's called a
compassion fund, that matches--a $500 million fund that will encourage
faith-based initiatives throughout the country.
But the dilemma and the problem in the past has been that somewhere
along the line, everybody thought Government could make people love one
another. And that's not the way it works. And if part of the future of
the country is to love a neighbor
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like you would like to be loved yourself, it seems to follow, then, our
Government must welcome, not discriminate against, faith-based
organizations who are providing that.
I hope the Congress does not get caught up in the stale old process
argument of the legalisms involved with encouraging organizations of
faith to help people in need. Because, as Luis mentioned, there is
precedent: We fund religious hospitals through Medicare and Medicaid;
there is scholarship money for children to use at religious
institutions. Why does it not follow, I asked the Congress and those
folks who were elected, that we not allow faith-based programs to
compete for taxpayers' money if the services they provide are necessary
and the results are positive? The argument is, ``Let us focus on the
process.'' We're saying, ``Let us focus on the results.''
The way I like to put it--I gave a speech at Notre Dame last Sunday.
It was a speech that said--it started with talking about President
Lyndon Johnson's speech at the University of Texas kicking off the War
on Poverty. It recognized that that War on Poverty had some positive
effects. It also recognized, though, it had created a dependency on
Government. It had a perverse effect.
So then the welfare law came along in 1996, signed by my
predecessor--it had bipartisan support--that tried to address the
concept of dependency upon Government. But we need to take it a step
further, because there are still people who hurt and people whose lives
are affected, people whose hearts need mending. Government must be
active to fund the services but humble to recognize the power of
neighborhood healers and helpers, humble to step aside when somebody can
do a better job.
I've been so impressed by the faith-based leaders I've met all
around our country, because there is a genuine commitment to the poor
and the disadvantaged. And that's a commitment that we must channel and
a commitment we must harvest. I used to say in the campaign, I look
forward to rallying the soldiers and the armies of compassion. And I
mean that.
Our Nation is so unique in this way: We are a nation of people who
have heard a call to love a neighbor. We really are. I was sharing with
the good leaders that came to visit me about the fact that everywhere I
go people say, ``Mr. President, I'm praying for you.'' They're not
saying it's a Democrat prayer or a Republican prayer. [Laughter] It's
just prayer. [Laughter]
It reminds me on a daily basis about the great hope and promise of
America. It also reminds me how lucky I am to be the President of a
great land, where people truly care about our country. It also reminds
me about what Government ought to do: We ought to set money out there to
encourage faith-based initiatives.
At the same time, we must never be so arrogant as to say, ``You
can't fulfill your mission if you access Federal money. Therefore, you
have to change the entire mission of why you exist.'' I understand the
frustrations with some in the faith-based community and the nervousness
as they approach this issue. They say to themselves, ``Why would I want
to access Federal money if the Federal Government then tries to take
away my mission, to take the cross off the wall or the Star of David off
the wall? Why would I want to interface with a Government that's going
to say, `We'll reluctantly give you money and then force you to change
your calling?' ''
Well, I can understand that. And one of our commitments is that we
will work tirelessly to make sure that bureaucracies don't stifle the
very reason you exist in the first place and the power of your
ministries, which is faith--which is faith.
And so my message to you is, thanks for what you're doing. You'll
have a friend and an advocate in this administration that marches side
by side--side by side--that we will do our very level best to make sure
that the bureaucratic obstacles are
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cleared and that people in need are able to get help.
In the course of the campaign, I've tried to explain what a faith-
based initiative meant to many members of the press that followed me
and, of course, many citizens. I'll never forget going to Colfax, Iowa,
for a teen challenge program. You know, sometimes people accuse me of
not being very articulate. [Laughter] English is my second language.
[Laughter] But there was nothing more articulate than seeing a person
who had been hooked on serious drugs stand up and explain to the
Nation--at least those willing to listen--how he kicked drugs because
faith had entered into his life.
It's hard to measure that. There is no formula for that. You can't
write a regulation or a bureaucratic rule that suggests that that
happened. But what Government can do is recognize its limitations and,
more significantly, recognize the power of faith in our society. And
that's what this initiative does. We don't pick religions. We don't fund
religion. But we welcome the soldiers of the armies of compassion.
And to you soldiers, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for
caring about our great land, and thank you for the service you provide
on a daily basis.
God bless.
Note: The President spoke at 2:40 p.m. in Presidential Hall in the
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he
referred to Rev. Luis Cortes, president, Nueva Esperanza, and chairman,
National Hispanic Religious Partnership; Rev. Dr. Jesse Miranda,
president, Alianza de Ministerios Evangelicos Nacionales (AMEN);
Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida;
and Representative Henry Bonilla of Texas.