[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[June 20, 2001]
[Pages 705-709]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Business Roundtable
June 20, 2001

    Thank you very much. Well, welcome to the White House. [Laughter] 
The Vice President and I are honored to be with 
you today. As I understand it, I'm to speak; the Vice President is to 
speak; Colin Powell is to speak; and 
Zoellick is to speak. And so I thank you 
all for your interest.
    Since I'm not going to be here to introduce the Vice President, Dick 
Cheney is a fabulous partner. Many of you know 
him; he brings a lot of good judgment and a steady hand. And my 
administration is going to be successful because of the players in it, 
and he's going to be one of the key players. And I'm really honored that 
he's here and honored that he's the Vice President.
    Zoellick is doing a pretty good job, 
too. [Laughter] I know because I got to see him in action in Europe. I 
had an interesting experience in Europe. First of all, it's a huge honor 
to represent America overseas. And it was an important trip because it 
gave me a chance to reinforce my administration's commitment to the 
European alliances--to NATO, to the expansion of NATO, to working with 
the European Union and the expansion of the European Union.
    There were some doubts in Europe as to whether or not ours would be 
a nation that would be internationalists with an American flavor, and 
they found out that we are. And I come home feeling upbeat about the 
relationships that I made and about the messages I was able to deliver.
    And secondly, I had a very good visit with Mr. Putin. I wasn't sure what to make of the man. I always was 
withholding judgment until I had a chance to meet him. But I found him 
to be a forward-thinking person and someone with whom our Nation should 
and will work to bring security to that part of the world and to bring 
prosperity, hopefully, through trade, to the Russian people. One of the 
things he asked is that I assemble a delegation, headed by somebody 
close to me. So I picked Don Evans, who is 
not only my close friend but Secretary of Commerce, to travel to Russia 
with some entrepreneurs and some American business people. And we will 
do that this summer. I believe he's interested in having a good 
relationship, and I know I am. And that's a pretty good start.
    But one of the things that I got to see Bob Zoellick in action on was our discussions about trade with 
the Europeans. I was able to make a firm commitment to our European 
partners that we want trade. We want open markets. We want to do 
everything in our power to make trade easier, not harder. I also 
reminded them that it's important for our economy to grow. If you want 
to trade with the United States, it's important to have a trading 
partner

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whose economy is vital and strong, where capital is flowing freely.
    That's why I assured them that we were on the right track when it 
came to balancing our environmental needs and economic growth and 
assured them that we share the same goal of reducing CO2, but 
we will do so in a way that doesn't damage our economy, that we believe 
that you can have economic vitality and good stewardship of our 
resources.
    And we also--I reminded them that one of the things our Nation 
needed to do was to develop a sound energy plan. It comes as a surprise 
to some that ours is the first administration who's willing to develop 
an energy plan and not only willing to develop one but to defend it, an 
energy plan that Dick will describe in detail, 
that's based upon sound conservation, more supply, and the ability to 
get supply to consumers.
    We had a great discussion, and what I'd like to do, before I talk 
about asking your help on a key legislative matter when it comes to 
trade, is I'd like to thank you first for helping on tax relief.
    Our economy is sputtering; many of you know that firsthand. And I 
believe that the best we can do in Government, at least in our part of 
Government, is to provide fiscal stimulus. And the package that we have 
done is a good package. It's one that will not only put money in the 
hands of American consumers; it is one also that brings some certainty 
into the Tax Code. In other words, it's certain that tax relief is going 
to happen, and hopefully, that will stimulate confidence in the 
entrepreneurial sector.
    Secondly, a lot of folks don't understand this, but there's a lot of 
small businesses that will benefit from the reduction of all rates, not 
just a few but all rates. Many of the small-business owners and the 
entrepreneurs in our respective States pay tax rates at the personal 
level, not the corporate level. They're sole proprietors; they're mom-
and-pops that pay personal income taxes. And when you drop that top rate 
like we did, it's going to stimulate economic growth and the flow of 
capital throughout our economy, which is going to be important to 
recovery. And so I want to thank you for the tax relief package. It was 
necessary; it was important; and it was timely.
    And secondly, I want to thank you for your help on an education 
plan. It passed the House. The bill passed the Senate 91 to 8, and it's 
now headed to conference. And I hope that the leadership will move that 
bill to get it to my desk so that public school districts can plan for 
the reforms inherent in the package. It's important to get that bill 
signed as soon as possible so that these school districts that are 
beginning to wonder what Federal dollars mean in the coming school year 
will have time to plan. They don't need to play politics with the school 
bill. This bill rises above partisan politics. It's important to get it 
going.
    The inherent reforms in the bill are these: One, we set high 
standards and high expectations. It's--the philosophy is fairly simple. 
It says, every child can learn.
    Secondly, we believe in local control of schools. We spend Federal 
money without a lot of strings. There's a lot more flexibility now at 
the local level. It recognizes--this bill recognizes that one size does 
not fit all when it comes to educating children. The issues in Texas, in 
south Texas, are different from the issues in Vermont or Connecticut. 
And the issues in south Texas are different from the issues in north 
Texas. There needs to be flexibility when it comes to developing the 
tactics necessary to make sure every child learns.
    But the cornerstone of reform in this bill says this: It says, if 
you receive Federal money, you must measure. This is a major overhaul of 
the education philosophy. It says, in return for Federal help, you, the 
school districts and the States, must develop strong accountability 
measures so that we know--we know--whether children are

[[Page 707]]

learning. It's a paradigm shift--to use a fancy word.
    All of a sudden, we're beginning to ask the question, ``Do you know 
what you're supposed to know?'' At present or in the recent past, the 
question was asked, ``How old are you? Well, if you're 6, we'll just 
move you here; and if you're 10, you're supposed to be here; and if 
you're 14, you're here.'' It was a process-driven world that shuffled 
many kids through our system without asking the question, ``What do you 
know,'' and without saying, ``If you don't know what you're supposed to 
know, we'll make sure you do early, before it's too late.'' This is a 
great piece of legislation, and many of you helped work on it, and I 
want to thank you for that very much.
    I gave a speech at Notre Dame, where I talked about the next step of 
welfare reform. I said that--I began with Lyndon Johnson's speech at the 
University of Texas in the midsixties, where he declared a War on 
Poverty. I then said that there was some unintended consequences of that 
War on Poverty. Many people became dependent upon Government. While it 
helped some--and there are some fine programs that came out of it--many 
folks became dependent upon Government, and many in our society became 
dependent on Government to provide compassion. In other words, people 
looked and said, ``Well, don't worry. The Federal Government will solve 
the woes of our citizenry. We don't have to do anything as citizens.''
    I then said that the reforms signed by President Clinton and passed 
by a Republican Senate and House on welfare reform address one-half of 
the equation. It reduced dependency upon Government. It's now time to 
address the compassionate side of effective welfare reform.
    And one of the statistics I noted in my speech was how abysmal 
corporate giving is to religious organizations whose sole intent is to 
help people, people who have heard the call, ``What can I do to help a 
neighbor in need?''--people who live by the Golden Rule. And yet there 
are many charters of corporate America that refuse--or not refuse, just 
can't give and don't want to give to organizations whose intent it is to 
exist in neighborhood after neighborhood to solve people's lives by 
helping their souls. And one of my calls to corporate America is, please 
address the issue of funding faith-based and community-based groups 
whose sole purpose it is to make somebody's life better.
    One of the big initiatives I'm confident we're going to get through 
the Congress is one that says, we understand there are thousands of 
children who could easily be left behind in America, particularly those 
whose parents may be in prison or a parent is in prison. And what I want 
to do--and we put money in the budget--is I want mentoring programs all 
across the country to address, specifically, the needs of these 
children. I want there to be some citizen who puts his arm around a 
child and says, ``Somebody loves you here in America. Somebody cares for 
you. Somebody feels your hurt and your pain.'' And you all can help 
those programs, and I urge you to do so.
    Many of you give to great causes, but please don't forget the faith-
based organizations that exist for the sole purpose of loving a 
neighbor, just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
    And I want to ask your help, too, on trade. I don't think 
Americans--some Americans--really understand the benefit of trade, fully 
understand that trade helps people who want to find work, that open 
trade is vital to--for economic growth. It's essential that we send the 
message out that trade is good for the working men and women of America. 
I've seen it in my own State. Texas is a great beneficiary of NAFTA.
    And so is Mexico, which is the most fantastic news of all. We want 
our partners to succeed. If Mexico is our friend, which I believe she 
is, we want Mexico to be prosperous. We also want Mexico to be

[[Page 708]]

prosperous because we want our people to be able to find work at home. 
People are coming to America because they want to feed their families. 
Family values does not stop at the Rio Bravo, and America has got to 
understand that.
    But America has also got to understand the hope of free trade, not 
only with Mexico and Canada but in our hemisphere. And that's why 
we're--that's why the first meeting I had was the Summit of the 
Americas, to talk about the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. My 
belief is that when you have a secure neighborhood and a prosperous 
neighborhood, America is better off. And so the first summit I had with 
foreign leaders with--34 democratically elected leaders showed up in 
Quebec City, and the cornerstone of those discussions was open markets 
and free trade.
    We're going to have another global--another round of global trade 
talks that Ambassador Zoellick is leading 
from my administration. And we urge the European Union to cooperate with 
us to begin those talks.
    But in order for me to be effective on trade, I need trade promotion 
authority. I need the ability to speak with a single voice for our 
country. I need to have the capacity as an administration to negotiate 
free trade agreements without the fear of them being undermined. 
Otherwise, our trading partners are going to be confused and concerned 
about an honest and open dialog.
    And yet, the President doesn't have trade promotion authority. And 
so I'm asking you to help join us; get this bill passed through the 
Congress.
    And we should not let legitimate environmental and labor concerns 
undermine the capacity for the President to make good free trade 
agreements. I explained to the critics in Congress--there are some who 
are legitimately concerned about the environment and labor. But I remind 
them that if you believe in trade, you believe that prosperity will 
spread. If you believe in trading with a country, it will help that 
country grow economically. And a country that is more prosperous is one 
more likely to be able to take care of their environment, and one more 
prosperous is one more likely to take care of their workforce. And if 
you believe in improving the environment, in helping the labor 
conditions in countries, don't wall off those countries. Don't create--
don't enhance poverty by refusing to allow there to be trade.
    Now, there are some who want to put codicils on the trade protection 
authority for one reason: They don't like free trade. They're 
protectionists, and they're isolationists. And we must reject that kind 
of thought here in America. Free trade is good for America. It's good 
for our trading partners. It will help alleviate poverty. And as 
importantly, it will help democracy spread her wings. Because when you 
introduce the disciplines and freedoms of a free market and an open 
market, it's amazing what happens in totalitarian countries. They taste 
freedom in the economy, and they begin to ask for freedom with religion 
and freedom with speech and freedom to express themselves in the ballot 
box.
    Now, our Nation is better off as a free trading country, and I am 
here to ask for your help. It's important. It's a priority of my 
administration, and we're going to dedicate the time and energy and 
effort to see if we can't get a good bill through the United States 
Congress.
    You might be able to tell, I'm kind of enthusiastic about my work. 
[Laughter] You would be, too, if you got to see what I see. See, I get 
to see an America from a different perspective. I get to see an America 
that is--loves her Government; sometimes they like the President. 
[Laughter] But they care about the country. This is a fantastic land. It 
is a land of decent and caring and honorable citizens who really want 
the best for their families and for their neighbors and for their 
country.
    It is a huge honor to be the President of this great land. We've got 
some great causes ahead of us, peace and prosperity.

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But there is the mission also of lifting this country's spirit. And I'm 
dedicated to doing that. I want to call upon the best of America and 
American citizens. And I'm enthusiastic about that calling because I 
truly believe it will leave this land a better place.
    Thank you all for being here, and God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 3:17 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Vladimir Putin of 
Russia.