    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [November 20, 2001]
    [Pages 1427-1430]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at So Others Might Eat
    November 20, 2001

        Thank you. Mel, thank you very much. I
    appreciate your leadership; I appreciate your vision; and I appreciate
    your heart. Father Adams referred to Mel--Mel's rescue from Cuba. He
    came over in a program called Pedro Pan, Peter Pan. And it's when his
    mother and dad decided that life in Cuba would be rough on young people,
    and they had great faith in America and great faith in a program that
    encouraged them to put their little boy on an airplane, and he flew to
    America.
        When we swore in Mel, I'll never forget
    meeting his adoptive parents that provided a loving home. Mel's a
    perfect choice to understand what a loving home means. He saw one in a
    foreign land that enabled him to go from scared little boy to now
    Secretary of HUD. It's a marvelous story about America. It also helps me
    to be able to assure people that the Secretary who runs HUD has got a
    heart of gold and a deep compassion about all Americans, those newly
    arrived as well as those who have been here for a long period of time.
    I'm honored that Mel has agreed to serve our Government. And I'm
    absolutely confident America and the needs of America will be more
    easily met as a result of his leadership.
        Oftentimes, when I speak around the Nation, I talk about the great
    strength of the Nation lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. I
    was using military terms at times even before the war began. I talked
    about armies of compassion. I truly believe that's one of the wonderful
    strengths of America, that we've got armies of compassion all across our
    country.
        And Father Adams is a general in the army of
    compassion. He won't admit it. He'll say he's a lowly foot soldier.
    [Laughter] But I saw the way he got people snapping to when it came time
    to introduce people in the kitchen. [Laughter] I see everybody with
    green aprons on. I suspect the general ordered that to be the case. But
    anyway--[laughter]--but I want to thank Father Adams and everybody else
    who works here for really bringing out the best in our country by
    helping people in need.
        The other thing that I'm most impressed about the vision of Father
    Adams, besides being a social entrepreneur,
    somebody willing to think as aggressively as possible to help people in
    need, is that this is a program that attracts people from all faiths.
    That's important for the world to see, that our country is a country of
    a variety of faiths, that we respect other faiths, and that we're bound
    by some common principles: Love a neighbor just like you would like to
    be loved yourself. That's common to faith.
        Last night we had an Iftaar dinner at the White House. That's a part
    of breaking the fast of Ramadan. I wanted to assure

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    people that there are common values, even though we may have different
    ways to worship God. This program shows those common values. A neighbor
    in need needs to be helped. We need to constantly figure out ways to
    reach out and help somebody who may not be as fortunate as we are.
        And as we come into the holiday season, the Thanksgiving season, the
    traditional holiday seasons of our country, we must always remember
    there are people who hurt in our society. And we will always remember,
    with blessings come the responsibility to help those in need. And so
    that's why I've come to So Others Might Eat, to highlight the successful
    programs that do make a difference in people's lives and to thank people
    for their concern and care for our fellow Americans who are in need.
        There's no question that our country has been deeply wounded. We
    were attacked. After all, we're never used to being attacked. Never did
    we dream--I certainly never dreamt that I'd be the President where there
    is a war on our homefront.
        But the evildoers never really--they must have not known who they
    were attacking. [Laughter] They must have thought we were soft and
    hateful. In fact, the attacks have united our country, have rallied a
    nation. And out of evil will come good, and part of my purpose as the
    President is to remind people of the good that can come out of these
    attacks.
        No question that the outpouring of support for--in the direct
    aftermath of the September 11th attack was astounding. People gave: They
    gave blood; they gave money; they gave time to help. And that's great,
    and I want to thank those Americans who have helped.
        But in order to make sure the homefront is secure, in order to make
    sure that we don't allow the terrorists to achieve any objective,
    Americans must give generously to programs like SOME, community-based
    programs that help make their neighborhoods a better place for all.
        I have been disturbed by reports that charitable giving has dropped
    off. I hope Americans will not substitute the gifts they've given in the
    aftermath of September 11th for neighborhood groups such as SOME or
    mentoring programs or programs that understand that when you change a
    person's heart, you can change their life for the better, that faith is
    such an integral part of our society and faith is such an integral part
    of helping people help themselves, and that as we think about ways to
    recognize the true blessings we have in America, that we must never
    forget the food banks and the hungry and the poor, and that the most
    effective programs are those that have sprung from the hearts and souls
    of social entrepreneurs such as Father Adams.
        And so, I hope America--I encourage America--that as we head into
    Thanksgiving, to find a program that needs help. Or, if you have been
    helping a program in the past, continue your help. The generosity of
    this country will say to the world that we're a nation that will not be
    affected by terror and evil; that, in fact, we encourage good to
    overcome evil through our actions and deeds, not just our bravado, not
    just our waving of flag but true actions and true compassionate acts of
    giving, in order to make sure this Nation remains whole and strong and
    complete.
        Government's got a responsibility, as well. There is a role for the
    Federal Government in making sure that charitable organizations thrive
    and flourish. Today I am pleased to announce that the Department of
    Housing and Urban Development is distributing more than $1 billion this
    year in grants to community charities which serve the homeless. It is
    the largest such grant in the history of the country. It is a grant
    program that will help provide food and shelter, drug treatment, job
    training, and other vital services. It is a part of our Government's
    desire to support the armies of compassion. We don't want Government to
    take the good Father's place. We want the

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    Government to stand side by side with the good people of SOME and
    programs like it all around the country.
        We must also promote more private-sector giving, besides just words
    of encouragement. And so I want to make sure that the Tax Code is
    changed, and we've got time to do so with the Congress. I've been
    working closely with Joe Lieberman and
    Rick Santorum to say that you can deduct--non-
    itemizers can deduct charitable giving, or that out of your IRA you
    should be allowed to give gifts to charitable organizations. It is a
    wise use of the Tax Code to encourage more charitable giving to programs
    that are positively affecting people's lives, and I think we can get a
    bill out of Congress to do just that.
        I know that the House has responded; J.C. Watts and Tony Hall, Republican and
    Democrat, work closely together. Lieberman and Santorum are doing the same
    thing. And so why doesn't Congress, in order to help fight poverty and
    fight hopelessness, do something smart with legislation and bring it to
    my desk so I can sign it before Christmas? [Laughter] It makes a lot of
    sense.
        I think, as well, we ought to have a tax incentive for food
    donation. I know that we ought to create what's called a Compassion
    Capital Fund that will give community-based organizations needed
    resources and training. I suspect that if we have kind of a capital fund
    that will encourage people to duplicate that which works, there will be
    a lot of people coming here to SOME to see why this program is so
    successful. And I suspect the good Father will be willing to share with
    others from different communities as to how to make a program like this
    work.
        And the Federal Government ought to be in the process of encouraging
    the formation of community-based programs, and to that end, we need to
    simplify the process by which community-based organizations gain tax-
    exempt status.
        The mindset of the Federal Government has been that only Government-
    sponsored programs should receive Federal money. That's not my attitude.
    My attitude is, Government should be nondiscriminatory about how we use
    taxpayers' money. We ought to ask the question, does the program work?
    And if faith is the integral part of a program being successful, the
    Government ought to say, ``Hallelujah.'' We ought to say, ``We welcome
    the good work of faith in our society.'' We ought not to fear it. We
    ought to welcome it and encourage it.
        And so the Faith-Based Initiative that has passed the House and,
    hopefully, will pass the Senate recognizes the great power of faith in
    our society and says that Government ought to encourage the social
    entrepreneurship that we find here at SOME, and Government ought to
    encourage the armies of compassion to flourish all around our
    neighborhoods, that Government ought to welcome faith and not shy away
    from it.
        And as well as in this piece of legislation, we recognize there are
    some specific tasks that the social entrepreneurial system can deal
    with, such as a son or daughter of a person in prison. I can't think of
    anything more profound than to have a national mentoring program, where
    somebody whose dad or mother is in prison will have somebody put their
    arm around them and say, ``I love you; somebody loves you in our
    society.'' There's nothing more profound for a child than to be
    surrounded by love and care and compassion. So part of this initiative
    is to encourage the funding of a national mentoring program aimed at
    some of the most vulnerable in our society--those whose mom or dad may
    be sitting in prison right now.
        The fundamental question is, can America address these problems? And
    certainly, we can't address them with money alone. But as I'm sure
    Father Adams will testify, money can help.
    [Laughter] It's part of how a program succeeds. [Laughter]

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        And so, therefore, I ask Americans to dig a little deeper in their
    pocket. In the aftermath of the tragedy that so deeply affected our
    Nation, I ask the American people to understand that in order to make
    America whole, that programs such as SOME make an enormous difference in
    people's lives; that we are a blessed nation, and as we go into
    Thanksgiving we ought to thank God for our blessings--for our families,
    for our fantastic country, for the greatest country on the face of the
    Earth--we ought to thank Him for the protection that we've received
    since the attack, thank Him for our blessings, but at the same time seek
    ways to help, seek ways to help our fellow human, seek ways to save a
    heart, seek ways to save a soul.
        I am so honored to be able to come to this program and highlight the
    great successes that can take place in neighborhoods when loving
    Americans come together with the singular purpose of helping a neighbor
    in need.
        May God bless SOME. May God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:23 a.m. in the dining room at the 71 O
    St. NW location of So Others Might Eat (SOME). In his remarks, he
    referred to Father John Adams, executive director, SOME.