    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [August 15, 2001]
    [Pages 980-983]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Hispano Chamber of Commerce in Albuquerque
    August 15, 2001

        Thank you very much. Gracias por tu bienvenida. Thank you all. Es un
    gran honor para me de esta con ustedes--it's an honor to be here with
    you all. Thank you very much for your hospitality. Sientese. [Laughter]
    I appreciate so very much the hospitality. It's nice to come over from
    your neighboring State to New Mexico. I've always held New Mexico in
    high regard. It's such a beautiful land, full of decent and caring
    people, well represented, I might add, in the United States Senate

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    by my close friend Pete Domenici. I know
    this is not a political event, but I can't believe anybody would dare
    challenge Pete. He's doing such a good job
    on behalf of the people of New Mexico.
        I appreciate Jeff Bingaman, the other
    Senator from the State of New Mexico. I appreciate his service to the
    State. I look forward to working with Jeff to have a coherent energy
    policy for the United States of America. I appreciate Heather
    Wilson. She's a breath of fresh air in the
    United States Congress. I want to thank my friend Joe Skeen for coming up from southeast New Mexico.
        I appreciate el alcalde de Albuquerque, the mayor, for being here, as well. But most of all, I want to thank
    the good folks of the Hispano Chamber. I want to thank Loretta and Phil Castillo for their hospitality. And I want to thank them for
    their vision. I want to thank them for understanding the importance of
    community and of the importance of small business in our society.
        Archbishop, thank you very much for
    being here, as well.
        You know, the role of Government is not to try to create wealth. The
    role of Government is to create an environment in which people can
    realize the American Dream. And part of the American Dream is to be able
    to own your own business, to be able to say, ``I want to start my
    business. I want to nurture my business. I want to grow my business.''
    It's the wonderful thing about America that if you've got an idea, it
    doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, that that experience
    ought to be available to everybody.
        And so I think we're doing some things in Washington, DC, to make it
    easier for people to own their own small business. And by the way, it's
    incredibly important. As my friend Hector Barreto said, most of the new employment in America comes from
    small- business owners. Small business is the backbone--is the backbone
    of our economic system. And one of the pieces of incredibly good news
    about America is, the number of Latino businesses is increasingly
    dramatically. The fastest growing business sectors in many of our States
    is the Hispanic-owned businesses. That's good news for America. It's
    good news for neighborhoods all across our great country. I want to
    congratulate the entrepreneurs who are here today.
        We're making good progress about making the environment more
    conducive for ownership, starting by cutting the taxes on the people who
    pay the bills. We didn't just cut the taxes on a few; we said, ``If you
    pay taxes, you ought to get tax relief.'' We understand that our economy
    was slowing down, that it's not going the way we'd like it to. And one
    way to help kick-start the economy is to give people their own money
    back. After all, that money isn't the Government's money; it's the
    people's money. It's the small-business owner's money.
        I spent a lot of time reminding people in the United States Congress
    and in Washington that small businesses are oftentimes unincorporated.
    The small-business owner is more than likely to be the sole proprietor
    or have a Subchapter S corporation, which means they pay the highest
    marginal rate. And so when we cut all rates, including the top rate,
    what we're really doing is, we're making the business environment more
    conducive for the small-business owner. We were saying, ``The harder you
    work, the more money you have to reinvest in your business.'' Tax relief
    was an incredibly important part of making sure the environment is
    conducive for the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish in all
    neighborhoods all across America.
        We did the right thing. And by the way, we also did the right thing
    by getting rid of the estate tax, the death tax, so that a small-
    business owner--so that somebody that works their life to build up their
    business can leave it to a son or a daughter. That's part of the
    American Dream. It's what America ought to be about.

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        Today I had the privilege of going to Griegos Elementary School to
    talk about education. Today is the first day of school for many
    elementary school students here in New Mexico. Education is an important
    part of making sure that the entrepreneurial spirit reaches everybody in
    America. If you're educated, you're more likely to be able to realize
    your dreams. It's so important we get it right.
        I want to thank the Hispano Chamber for the $100,000-a-year
    scholarship money they provide for hard-working high school students so
    they can help realize the college dream.
        And we're making progress in Washington on education matters. First,
    I want you to understand, I always remember where I came from. Local
    control of schools is the best way to make sure every child receives a
    good education. It's important that we trust the local folks.
        I visited with the superintendent of the Albuquerque schools today.
    We talked about high standards. We talked about challenging what I call
    the soft bigotry of low expectations. We believe every child can learn.
    And by the way, we also not only talked about reading and writing and
    adding and subtracting, basic education; we also talked about making
    sure that character education is an integral part of the public school
    system. We want our children to be able to read. We also want them to
    know the difference between right and wrong and to understand the values
    that have made America a great place.
        You hear a lot of talk about the education bill. I want to share
    with you my passion. My passion is to make sure no child gets left
    behind. My passion is to make sure that we clearly understand what's
    taking place in the schools all across America, and therefore, I've
    insisted that we have strong accountability measures. It's says, ``We
    must measure to know whether or not children are learning.''
        Now, you'll hear all kinds of debate on it. You hear some say,
    ``Well, that's too much Government.'' I don't think it's too much
    Government to ask--the fundamental question is, can our children read?
    That's legitimate Government to ask that question. We must ask that
    question early and often, because when we find children who can't read,
    we've got to correct the problem early, before it's too late.
        And then you'll hear some say, ``Well, we shouldn't measure. It's
    racist to measure.'' I believe it's racist not to measure. It's so easy
    to quit on a child whose parents don't speak English as a first
    language. It's so easy to walk into a classroom of the so-called hard to
    educate, and to give up and just move them through schools. That's
    wrong. What America must do is insist upon accountability measures. We
    must ask the question, do our children know how to read? And if they do,
    we'll praise and thank the teachers. But if not, we will blow the
    whistle on failure, insist a curriculum change, give parents more
    options and choices to make sure that not one single child is left
    behind in America.
        I want to talk about another subject that's incredibly important for
    not only the border States but all of America, and that's relations with
    our neighbors to the south, Mexico. Mexico is a friend of America.
    Mexico is our neighbor, and we want our neighbors to succeed. We want
    our neighbors to do well. We want our neighbors to be successful. We
    understand that a poor neighbor is somebody that's going to be harder to
    deal with than a neighbor that's prospering. And that's why it's so
    important for us to tear down barriers and walls that might separate
    Mexico from the United States. And that's why it's so important for us
    to stand strong when it comes to free trade with our neighbors to the
    south.
        NAFTA has been good for New Mexico, and it's been good for Mexico.
    And that's an important relationship that I pledge to continue on. I ask
    for the Congress to give me trade promotion authority, so that we can
    not only have free trade with our

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    neighbor to the south, so that we can have free trade throughout the
    hemisphere.
        Oh, I know there's some voices who want to wall us off from Mexico.
    They want to build a wall. I say to them, they want to condemn our
    neighbors to the south in poverty, and I refuse to accept that type of
    isolationist and protectionist attitude.
        And let me say one other thing, one other issue that's important. It
    speaks to the spirit of our Nation. It speaks to whether or not we're
    going to be true friends with the neighbors to the south. And that's the
    issue of trucking. There are some people who say we shouldn't allow our
    friends to the south to send their trucks into the United States. I say
    that's discrimination against Mexico.
        I say that if we're going to have NAFTA, we ought to enforce all of
    NAFTA. I believe strongly we can have safety on our highways without
    discriminating against our neighbors to the south. To the protectionists
    and isolationists, I say if Mexican trucks, if United States trucks and
    Canadian trucks are allowed to move freely on our highways, we can not
    only enforce the laws; it will help prosperity spread its roots
    throughout our neighborhood. And that's important for the future.
        I love the spirit of this facility, the idea of citizens saying,
    ``What can I do to improve a neighborhood? What can I do to improve a
    community in which I live?'' It's really the American spirit, isn't it?
    It's the thing that makes our Nation so different and unique, I think,
    is that the fact there are people who are saying, asking the question,
    ``What can I do to help a neighbor in need?'' And it's really one of my
    jobs, is to rally the compassion of America.
        I met recently with members of the faith community here in
    Albuquerque. We talked about the power of faith and good works at the
    grassroots level throughout our society. I welcome community-based
    programs. And you should welcome faith-based programs, that all exist--
    that all exist because somebody has heard a calling much greater than
    Government, much greater than--much greater than laws that can be passed
    out of the Congress. No, the great spirit of America lies in the hearts
    and souls of our wonderful citizenry, symbolized by this building, the
    willingness of people to help a neighbor in need, the willingness of
    good folks who have done pretty well in life to come together and say,
    ``How can I help a neighbor find a job? What can I do to help a neighbor
    develop a skill?''
        No, this is the spirit of America captured right here in
    Albuquerque, New Mexico. I want to applaud you all for giving me a
    chance to come by. I want to thank you for giving me a chance to serve
    the greatest nation on the face of the Earth, full of the most decent
    people.
        Thank you for coming. May God bless. May God bless New Mexico and
    the United States.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. outside the Albuquerque Hispano
    Chamber of Commerce building, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the
    Barelas Job Opportunity Center. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Jim
    Baca of Albuquerque; Loretta Armenta, president and chief executive
    officer, and Joseph ``Phil'' Castillo, chairman, Albuquerque Hispano
    Chamber of Commerce; Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, Archdiocese of Santa
    Fe, NM; and H. Bradford Allison, superintendent, Albuquerque Public
    School District.