    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [November 28, 2001]
    [Pages 1452-1456]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Farm Journal Forum
    November 28, 2001

        Well, thank you so very much for that warm welcome. And it is great
    to be here with the farmers and ranchers and researchers and business
    leaders who make America the most innovative and most productive farm
    nation in the world.
        I am somewhat nostalgic for our place in Crawford. But I've been a
    little busy lately. [Laughter] I want to thank you for the opportunity
    to speak about the future of agriculture and the future of our economy,
    because they both begin with your

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    work. I want to thank Andy for providing this
    opportunity for me to come and speak.
        And I want to thank our Secretary of Agriculture for doing such a fine job of not only representing farmers
    and ranchers here at home but doing a fine job of making sure our
    farmers and ranchers are heard overseas, as well. She and Bob Zoellick went to Doha. I told them, ``No longer
    are we going to treat our farmers as trading commodities.'' Agriculture
    is the cornerstone of our economy, and our international agreements must
    reflect that. And so, Madam Secretary, thank you for your hard work in
    Doha. I appreciate it very much.
        The success of agriculture contributes to the strength of this
    Nation. It is in our national interests, in our national security
    interests that we have a strong farm economy. And the farmers of America
    contribute to the values of our Nation and to the generosity of our
    Nation. As we speak, trucks and planes are delivering American food to
    the hungry in Afghanistan. Those rations say, ``A gift from the people
    of the United States.'' This gift is made possible by the farmers in our
    country, and I want to thank you for it.
        The farmers represent and preserve the values of our Nation: hard
    work, risktaking, love of the land. I always like to say people who own
    their own land understand the necessity to be good stewards; every day
    is Earth Day if you own your own land. The farmers represent love of
    family and love of our country. And farming is our first industry, the
    industry that feeds us, that clothes us and, increasingly, provides our
    energy.
        As Andy mentioned, I was the Governor of
    the State of Texas; it happens to be the second largest agricultural
    State in the country. I understand how tough it is to make a living on
    the farm. I understand how much hard work goes into making the land
    productive. And I understand how valuable an asset land is and how
    important it is that it stay from one generation to the next. And that's
    why I'm glad to have signed a law that is sending the death tax on its
    way to extinction.
        Today, our Nation is challenged by a great conflict. We face new
    threats, and they require a fight on many fronts, both overseas and here
    at home. After September the 11th, I vowed to the world that we would
    bring to justice those who killed innocent women and children and men
    here in America. I also said that any nation that harbored a terrorist,
    that aided a terrorist, that abetted a terrorist would be held
    accountable, and that's exactly what's taking place today. Thanks to our
    military, thanks to friends and allies, we are destroying the Taliban
    military, and we're destroying the camps that terrorists use to plan
    attacks on nations such as America.
        We're meeting our goals in Afghanistan. After all, our allies now
    control most of the country. One of the objectives I laid out in front
    of Congress is that we would rescue those who were held, detained
    against their will. And so I had the honor last Monday of welcoming two
    young Baylor graduates to the White House, part of the humanitarian rescue
    mission that we pulled off successfully.
        As I mentioned, we're feeding the hungry and providing medicine and
    clothes to those poor, suffering, innocent citizens of Afghanistan. And
    we're after Al Qaida. The evil ones think they can hide. They think they
    can run. But they're learning that this is a patient nation, a nation
    that is determined to smoke them out and to bring them to justice. And
    that's exactly what we're going to do.
        I also recognize that we've got a war here on the homefront. And
    it's important for the American people to know that their Government is
    doing everything we possibly can to disrupt and deny the enemy, that we
    take every threat seriously, that we run down every lead, that we're on
    full alert. The thing I'm most proud of is that the American people will
    not be intimidated by the evil ones, that they understand

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    that the intent of the Al Qaida murderers was to freeze our Nation in
    place. But they don't understand America like I do. America is resolved.
    We are united. And we will not relent until we make sure that those who
    believe they can harm our Government and our friends are brought to
    justice, whether it be in Afghanistan or any other place they hide.
        I said, when this war first started, that the farther away we get
    from September the 11th, the more likely it is people will forget that
    there are evil ones in the world who want to destroy our country, what
    we stand for. And that may be the case amongst some. But that's not what
    I've seen in America. This Nation is resolved to do whatever it takes,
    in whatever theater is necessary, to make sure that civilization itself
    remains intact, to make sure that our children and our grandchildren can
    grow up in a world that is free and peaceful. It is the calling of our
    time, and it's a calling that we accept. And we're going to win. I view
    this as a fight between good and evil, and good will always prevail.
        We also have difficulties here on the homefront because of our
    economic situation. Statistics recently showed that shortly after I was
    sworn in as President, our economy was slow and had been slowing for a
    while. I made the case--and fortunately, Congress listened--that a slow
    economy required immediate action when it came to tax relief, and they
    delivered. That's an important part of making sure that we generate
    growth, is to let people keep more of their hard-earned money so they
    can spend it, and not the Government.
        And at the same time, in order to address an economic slowdown, we
    brought sorely needed fiscal discipline to Washington, DC, that we
    fought for and got a budget that was realistic, that didn't grow way
    beyond the means of our Government. And by the end of summer, the
    economy was beginning to stabilize.
        Yet the terrorist attack of September the 11th, no question, dealt
    our economy a serious blow. So while we fight our enemies and states
    that harbor terrorism and while we defend our homeland and our airways,
    we must take further action to strengthen our economy. Americans know
    our economy was targeted for terror--by terror. And they're asking us to
    fight back, and we must.
        These are incredibly tough times for some of our fellow Americans.
    Some have lost their jobs. Some have had their hours curtailed. Many
    have seen their savings shrink, and small businesses are struggling just
    to stay in business. We're facing tough times, but if we act quickly,
    I'm confident we can grow our economy.
        On October the 5th, 7 weeks ago, I asked Congress to send me an
    economic stimulus package, and I outlined the principles that should
    guide the plan. First, any plan must help displaced workers. Any plan
    must recognize that folks have been severely hurt by the attack on
    September the 11th, and we must help them.
        Secondly, the plan should speed up the individual income tax cuts
    Congress approved last May. The sooner rates come down, the faster our
    economy will rise. The plan should provide tax relief for low- and
    moderate-income workers to help them through these tough times. The plan
    should allow companies and entrepreneurs to deduct the cost of new
    investments more quickly, to encourage businesses to grow and to create
    job opportunities for Americans. And the plan should reform the
    corporate income tax to do away with the alternative minimum tax, a tax
    that pushes tax rates up at exactly the moment when corporate America's
    profits are going down.
        The House of Representatives acted on a stimulus bill, but it seems
    to be stuck in the Senate. It is important for the Senate not to look
    for ways to spend new money but to look for ways to create new jobs. And
    so I ask the Senate leadership to work out their differences and pass an
    economic stimulus plan, so they can get it in conference and get a bill
    to my desk as quickly

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    as possible. The American people expect it, and I expect it.
        This country is waiting for action. And in the time that we have
    been waiting, more than 415,000 workers have lost their jobs. Further
    delay could put more Americans and more families at risk. So let's move.
    Let's get the job done.
        I also want to improve our homeland security and our economy by
    having a national energy plan. I want to thank the Farm Journal Forum
    for emphasizing the importance of ethanol and biofuels. These fuels are
    gentle on the environment. They are fuels that can be renewed year after
    year and fuels that can expand our farm economy. These fuels are made
    right here in America, so they can't be threatened by any foreign power.
    Ethanol and biofuels are fuels of the future for this country.
        Since the beginning of my administration, I have strongly supported
    ethanol and biofuels. And the energy plan I sent to Congress back in the
    spring supports biofuels. The House passed an energy plan. Now it's time
    for the Senate to act and pass an energy plan. It's in our national
    security interests to do so. I look forward to signing a national energy
    bill.
        I'm also ready to sign trade promotion authority, to open up markets
    for American industry and American farmers. This authority sends an
    unmistakable signal to our trading partners that the Congress and the
    administration are united on trade. The House will soon vote on trade
    promotion authority. I hope you'll join me in pressing for its passage
    and, in the process, helping to restore U.S. leadership in support of
    free trade.
        U.S. leadership matters. We recently helped bring China into the
    World Trade Organization, and that is good for American farmers. It is
    in our interests, in our agricultural interests to help feed China.
        We helped start a new world trade round in Doha. Our negotiators
    came back from Doha with excellent news for American farmers. American
    farmers too often lose markets or suffer low prices because of unfair
    export subsidies. The Doha Declaration calls for reducing export
    subsidies and, ultimately, phasing them out. For too long, the
    agricultural market has been rigged against farmers who play fair. Doha
    shows the way toward a more level playing field. That's good news for
    the world's hungry; it's good news for the world's most productive food
    producers, the American farmers.
        We've got a good stimulus bill, a sound energy plan, and it's
    important to have a good farm bill, too. A good farm bill should keep
    the safety net under our food producers, without misleading our farmers
    into overproducing crops that are already in oversupply, by increasing
    loan rates. A good farm bill should help farmers help themselves with
    farm savings accounts. These accounts would help farmers set aside money
    in good years to sustain them in hard times. A good farm bill should
    promote responsible stewardship of America's farms and ranchers by
    promoting conservation on working lands. A good farm bill should honor
    our trade obligations, as we expect our competitors to honor their
    obligations. And a good farm bill should be generous but affordable. It
    should honor the budget limits that Congress has agreed to live by.
        You know, we've learned a lot about our country since September the
    11th. We've learned that our people are strong, that our military is
    very good at what it does, and that our country's heart has never been
    more generous and good. And we have much to mourn and much to rebuild,
    but much to be grateful for.
        Just a few days ago we gave thanks for God's bounty to America. But
    we should never forget that it takes the hard toil on the land to turn
    that bounty into the food we eat and that we share with the world's
    hungry our bounty. We should never forget who does that toil. It's the
    American farmer and the American rancher.
        May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

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    Note: The President spoke at 1:32 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at the JW
    Marriott. In his remarks, he referred to Andrew Webber, president and
    chief executive officer, Farm Journal; and rescued humanitarian aid
    workers Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry.