    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [September 27, 2001]
    [Pages 1170-1173]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1170]]

    Remarks to Airline Employees in Chicago, Illinois
    September 27, 2001

        The President. Thank you all very much for such a warm welcome. I
    first want to thank Craig and Michele for their love and compassion for their friends and
    for being such great representatives of an incredibly important industry
    for America's future.
        I want to thank all the airline employees who are here from all the
    airlines around America. I want to thank you for your dedication, for
    your concern, and for being such great patriots for this great country.
        Besides you all, I'm keeping pretty good company today. First, I'm
    pleased to introduce the Secretary of Transportation, Norm
    Mineta. I want you to know that Norm took a
    United flight, and he said the flight was just perfect. I appreciate
    Norm's hard work and concern about our mutual goal, and that's to get
    the airplanes flying again all across America.
        I'm proud to be on the stage with your Governor and with his honor, the mayor. The mayor said he's going to buy me lunch today.
    [Laughter] I like my cheeseburger medium. [Laughter]
        I appreciate so very much Jane Garvey
    from the FAA being here. Thank you for coming.
        I'm really proud of the attitude in Washington, DC, right now.
    Traveling with me today were Republicans and Democrats, but make no
    mistake about it, they're first and foremost patriotic Americans.
        The State of Illinois has produced a good man and a good Speaker,
    and that's Denny Hastert. Thank you,
    Denny, for being here. Also traveling is Minority Leader Dick
    Gephardt. Dick has been a joy to work
    with as we do what's right for America. I appreciate Senator Dick
    Durbin for being with us today, and I want
    to thank you coming, Dick. Henry Hyde of the
    great State of Illinois, Mark Kirk of
    Illinois, Jerry Weller of Illinois--we've got
    quite a crowd traveling today, all of whom--all of whom are here to say
    as clearly as we can to the American public, ``Get on the airlines; get
    about the business of America.''
        That's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it? I want to thank not only
    the employees, the people that make the airlines go, but I want to thank
    the chief executive officers from American Airlines and United Airlines,
    as well as old Herb Kelleher from
    Southwest Airlines, Jim Goodwin, and Don
    Carty. George Mikelsons of American Trans Air is here, as well. Thank you all
    for coming, and thank all your employees for being here. I know this
    will make Representative Gephardt feel
    good: There's a lot of folks from TWA here.
        I'm so honored to be here. I think it's interesting that on one
    side, we see American; on the other side, it says United. Because that's
    what we are: America is united. We are united. We are united in bringing
    justice to those folks who did the evil deed on September 11th.
        We're not only united; we're determined. We're determined to find
    those terrorists who tried to affect our way of life. We're determined
    to find them and to bring them to justice, and we will.
        But our determination goes beyond the immediate and the short term.
    This is a nation that's determined to defend freedom from any terrorist,
    anyplace in the world. This is a determined nation, and we're a strong
    nation. We're a nation based upon fabulous values.
        We're also a nation that is adjusting to a new type of war. This
    isn't a conventional war that we're waging. Ours is a campaign that will
    have to reflect the new enemy. There's no longer islands to conquer or
    beachheads to storm. We face a brand of evil, the likes of which we
    haven't seen in a long time in the world. These are people who strike
    and hide, people who know no borders, people who are--people

    [[Page 1171]]

    who depend upon others. And make no mistake about it, the new war is not
    only against the evildoers, themselves; the new war is against those who
    harbor them and finance them and feed them.
        We will need patience and determination in order to succeed. We must
    understand that sometimes we will see our resources deployed, and
    sometimes we won't. But we will use every resource at our disposal. We
    will use the military might of the United States. We will use our
    intelligence-gathering capacity of the United States. We will use every
    diplomatic means of the United States. We will disrupt their financial
    networks. We will do everything we can to achieve our objective, which
    is to rout out and destroy global terrorism.
        Americans understand we fight not a religion; ours is not a campaign
    against the Muslim faith. Ours is a campaign against evil.
        And there is a broad coalition of nations that understand what's at
    stake that have come rallying to our side. And I want to thank the
    nations of the world that have stood side by side with our country to
    defend freedom. It's heartening to know that we stand not alone in the
    world. It's a coalition that will require different efforts from
    different countries. Some countries may want to participate in one way
    but not in another. All we ask is that you participate. All we ask is
    that you use the same amount of effort the United States will to win
    this war against freedom, to win this battle against global terrorism.
        This coalition will exist to achieve the mission, and I can assure
    you our mission will not change to fit any coalition's. America will
    stand strong. Others will tire and weary--I understand that--but not our
    Nation. Others will get--others will second-guess, but not our Nation.
    Others will become impatient, but not this great Nation. We will stand
    firm and stand strong until we've achieved our mission. We hope
    everybody follows, but we're marching on. We're marching on to do what's
    right.
        This great Nation will not only deploy resources overseas, but we
    will work at home as well to fight terrorism and to win this war. I had
    the honor of announcing an Office of Homeland Security the other night
    in front of Congress. My good friend the Governor of Pennsylvania has agreed to leave his office early to serve the Nation,
    to coordinate activities to make sure that anybody who wants to harm
    America will have a hard time doing so, to make sure that we're strong
    at home as we are abroad, to make sure our resources are deployed
    effectively.
        We have thousands of FBI agents working today to chase down any
    lead, to look at any hint, to make sure America is as secure as can
    possibly be.
        And we must stand against terror by going back to work. Everybody
    here who showed up for work at this important industry is making a clear
    statement that terrorism will not stand, that the evildoers will not be
    able to terrorize America and our workforce and our people.
        America understands--America understands that these have been
    incredibly tense days for the people who work in the airline industry,
    difficult times for stewardesses and captains and baggage handlers and
    people who are running the desks. America knows that, and we
    appreciate--we appreciate your steadfast willingness to fight terror in
    your own way. You stand against terror by flying the airplanes and by
    maintaining them. You stand against terror by loading a bag or serving a
    passenger. And by doing so, you're expressing a firm national commitment
    that's so important: that we will not surrender our freedom to travel;
    that we will not surrender our freedoms in America; that while you may
    think you have struck our soul, you haven't touched it; that we are too
    strong a nation to be carried down by terrorist activity.
        When they struck, they wanted to create an atmosphere of fear. And
    one of the great goals of this Nation's war is to restore public
    confidence in the airline industry.

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    It's to tell the traveling public: Get on board; do your business around
    the country; fly and enjoy America's great destination spots; get down
    to Disney World in Florida; take your families and enjoy life the way we
    want it to be enjoyed.
        And we've got a role--the Government's got a role. Not only do you
    have a role to play, which you're playing in such fine fashion, but the
    Government has a role to play as well. We've got a significant
    responsibility to deal with this emergency in a strong and bold way. And
    we are doing so.
        The first action we took was when Republicans and Democrats alike
    came together and put together a package to provide stability for the
    airline industry. We approved--it was the first part of an economic
    recovery package. We understand, when we get our airlines up and
    running, it's going to affect so much of our economy. And so we jointly
    approved $15 billion of monies available to provide not only relief for
    airlines but loan guarantees for airlines, to make sure our airlines are
    strong and healthy in the aftermath of this national emergency.
        And I want to thank the Speaker and
    Leader Gephardt for taking the lead.
    They showed folks that Washington can work in concert and in a
    constructive way. But there's more to do. We must address the issue of
    airline safety in a constructive, smart way. For the sake of every
    passenger, every crewmember, and every pilot, we are going to make our
    airline security stronger and more reliable.
        Last week I reserved $3 billion in funding to achieve this goal. And
    today I want to outline some of our plans to do just that. First, I will
    work with Congress to put the Federal Government in charge of passenger
    and bag screening and all safety inspections. We will make our standards
    tougher and better and consistent all around the country.
        I understand it takes time for legislation to work through the halls
    of Congress, and you need to understand that, too. And so, to make sure
    we improve security right now, the Federal Government will pay for
    Governors to call up National Guard and place guardsmen at inspection
    stations in airports.
        Some airports already meet high standards, and you all know that.
    But for those airports that need help, we will work with the Governors
    to provide security measures--visible security measures--so the
    traveling public will know that we are serious about airline safety in
    America.
        Secondly, we are going to dramatically increase the number of
    Federal air marshals on our airplanes. When Americans fly, there need to
    be more highly skilled and fully equipped officers of law flying
    alongside them. Now, these marshals, of course, will wear plainclothes;
    they're going to be--they'll be like any other passenger. But Americans
    will know that there's more of them. And our crews will know there's
    more of them. And the terrorists will know there's more of them.
        And third, we will set aside $500 million in new funding for
    aircraft security. Grants will go to airlines for enhanced cockpit
    protection. We look forward to working with the pilots and airlines to
    fortify doors and provide stronger locks, so our pilots will always be
    in command of the airplanes.
        We will invest in new technology for aircraft security, with grants
    to develop transponders that cannot be switched off from the cockpit,
    video monitors in the cockpit to alert pilots to trouble in the cabin.
    And we will look at all kinds of technologies to make sure that our
    airlines are safe--and for example, including technology to enable
    controllers to take over distressed aircraft and land it by remote
    control.
        With all these actions, we're returning America's airlines back to
    the American people. We're making a strong statement that together--
    together--the Government and the private sector will make flying a way
    of life again in America.

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        The American people must know that my administration is confident.
    Tomorrow nine Cabinet members will board U.S. airlines to fly around our
    country to do their jobs, and so will thousands of other citizens, from
    all walks of life, will board aircraft. And these are good things for
    our Nation, because this Nation will not live in fear. We have awakened
    to a new danger, but our resolve is great, and the spirit of America is
    incredibly strong.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. The attacks on America were intended to break our
    spirit. But the evildoers failed. It's a fabulous land; we're lucky to
    live in it. It's a land--they have stirred a mighty nation to action,
    and the world is seeing what we're made out of. The world sees our
    resolve and is willing to follow. The world sees our commitment to
    freedom, as it impressed. The world sees our compassion toward one
    another, as neighbor helps neighbor, as neighbor grieves with neighbor,
    as people from all across our country want to hold the families who have
    been dangered--and have been hurt in their arms. The world sees a nation
    at prayer, Christian, Jew, and Muslim alike, praying for strength to an
    almighty and merciful God. The world is beginning to see the best of
    this great land. The world is beginning to understand why we all
    treasure America so much--our values, our freedom, and the strength of
    the American character.
        No, they thought they attacked America and hurt us. We are stronger
    than ever, and we will prove it to the world.
        Thank you all for coming. May God bless America.
        And now it is my honor to introduce the Speaker of the House of
    Representatives, Illinois' own, Denny Hastert. Mr. Speaker.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:40 a.m. on the tarmac at O'Hare
    International Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Capt. Craig
    Eldridge, pilot, United Airlines; Michele Smith, flight attendant,
    American Airlines; Gov. George H. Ryan of Illinois; Mayor Richard M.
    Daley of Chicago; Herbert D. Kelleher, chairman of the board and
    chairman of the executive committee, Southwest Airlines; James E.
    Goodwin, chairman and chief executive officer, United Airlines; Donald
    J. Carty, president and chief executive officer, American Airlines,
    Inc.; George Mikelsons, chairman and founder, American Trans Air; and
    Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania. The Office of the Press Secretary also
    released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.