    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [September 3, 2001]
    [Pages 1067-1070]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Teamsters Barbecue in Detroit, Michigan
    September 3, 2001

        The President. Thank you, all. Larry Brennan said there hadn't been a President come to a Teamster
    rally in 50 years--only he's been long enough to know if that's 50
    years. [Laughter] I appreciate it.
        Listen, I want to thank you all very much. First of all, thank you
    for your hospitality, and thank you for being so nice to my wife. Yes, I
    brought my wife. You think I'd travel without
    her, you're crazy. [Laughter] Best decision I ever made was to ask Laura
    to marry me. There's a lot of folks wondering whether the best decision
    she ever made was to say yes. [Laughter]
        But we are honored to be here on Labor Day to celebrate the American
    worker. And it's a good place to be, right here in Michigan, where
    people work hard, with the Teamsters, who made an historical record of
    setting the example of how to work hard.
        I want to thank the working families who are here to greet us, and I
    want to thank the working families all across America, who make our
    Nation unique and different. I mean, we're different because our folks
    aren't afraid of hard work, and they know what it means to support
    family, and they know what it means to make their communities better. So
    thanks for having us and giving us a chance to celebrate.
        I appreciate the officials who are here, your Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and
    the mayor of the great city of Detroit, all
    out here to say a few nice words to

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    the President. It makes me feel good on Labor Day.
        I also want to thank Bill Black for his
    hospitality and the leadership of this local for letting me come. Some
    folks might have thought they took a risk inviting a Republican here,
    but I stand before you as a proud American, first and foremost.
        And I'll tell you, another proud American is traveling with me--we
    just came from the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area, and Doug
    McCarron is the president of the United
    Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Where's Doug? There he is. He
    gave them a stemwinder this morning. But we were there to celebrate the
    carpenters of America as well.
        And I understand we don't necessarily agree on every single issue,
    but we agree to listen. And I agree about this, that you've got a good
    man running the Teamsters in Jimmy Hoffa. I
    don't know if that will help him or hurt him in his reelection campaign.
    [Laughter] But let me tell you something about him. Like Doug, if he's got an issue, he brings it forward in a
    straightforward way with the union workers in mind. And we listen. We
    listen. Ours is an administration that answers the phone. We don't ask
    the question, ``How did you vote?'' We ask the question, ``What's on
    your mind? Is it good for America?'' And that's why we're working
    together on some key issues.
        Let me tell you another thing about Jimmy Hoffa. He's running a good union and in an above-board way, in an
    above-board way. And make no mistake about it, people are beginning to
    notice, particularly in Washington, DC. [Laughter]
        Now, let me tell you, I'm a little concerned. I'm proud of our
    workers; I'm concerned about the fact that our economy is just bumping
    along. This is a Labor Day where we can't celebrate a booming economy.
    For the last 12 months--let me repeat--for the last 12 months the
    economy has been way too slow. And people are hurting. And people are
    suffering. And there are families who wonder about how they're going to
    feed their kids. And I understand that, and we've got help in
    Washington.
        But the best thing we can do is ask the question, how do we make
    sure our economy grows? And I came up with this answer: Our economy can
    grow best when we give people their own money back, when we give the
    hard-working Americans their own money back in the form of rebates, so
    that you spend it. And that's what's going to help this economy rebound.
    The Federal Government must keep a lid on spending and remember that
    when the American consumer spends, it is the best way to kick-start a
    soft economy. The biggest threat to economic vitality and economic
    growth is if Congress overspends. And that's why I'm glad to have Peter
    Hoekstra on my side. He not only supported
    tax relief for the American families; he understands that Congress and
    Washington should not overspend.
        Now, I came in, I saw a sign that said, ``Thank you for the rebate,
    Mr. President,'' as if that's my money to give back. But the person
    holding the sign, I appreciate the thanks----
        Audience member. It's my money.
        The President. Yes. It's not the Government's money. It's the hard-
    working Teamsters' money. It's your money to begin with.
        There's another issue that we're working on, and Jimmy Hoffa was on national TV yesterday talking about it, and
    that's energy. He understands good, sound energy policy means jobs for
    American workers. And if we run out of energy, if we become more
    beholden to foreign sources of energy, it's going to be hard on the
    working families in America. So he stood strong, as did Doug, with our administration as we developed the first
    energy plan in a long period of time for this Government.
        Now, energy means we've got to conserve better, and we will. But it
    also means that when we can find exploration activities in our own
    country, it makes sense to do so. It not only means independence; it

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    means jobs. And I appreciate the leadership that Jimmy Hoffa took on good, sound energy policy in America.
        We're working hard on good education policy. One of the reasons I
    like to come to picnics like this is people bring their families. They
    bring their families to say hello to the President. They bring their
    families because they want to celebrate their off days with their kids.
    That's what I like. And I understand a lot of folks in this audience
    understand the most important priority you have--and not necessarily
    driving a truck--but if you have a child, it's to love your child with
    all your heart and all your soul. The most important thing you can do--
    it doesn't matter what your job is, what your political party is--if
    you're a mom or a dad, your most important job is to love your child and
    let them know that on an everyday basis. In order to make sure America
    works the way we want it to, we've got to have an education policy that
    starts at home, with moms and dads setting a good example for their
    children, surrounding their children with love, giving their children
    confidence.
        And then we've got to make sure we've got a public school system
    that works. And that's why we're proposing education reform that insists
    upon local control of schools but at the same time that says, we're
    going to measure to find out whether or not children are learning to
    read and write and add and subtract. And if they are, we're going to
    praise the teachers. But if we find schools that won't teach and won't
    change, we'll demand something different. There are no second-rate
    children in this country called America, and there are no second-rate
    dreams, as far as I'm concerned.
        We're going to be focusing on the economy and education, and another
    issue I'm focusing on is security. And for those of you who serve the
    United States in the military, I want to thank you for your service. For
    those of you who have got relatives in the military, let me assure you I
    understand a strong military is needed to keep the peace.
        And finally, we'll be talking about opportunity. Opportunity not
    only means good education; opportunity means not only letting people
    keep their own money so you can spend it, so you can make the decisions
    for your families. But opportunity means also understanding there are
    people in our society who hurt and therefore, in order to make sure
    people realize the American Dream is meant for them, that we must rally
    the great compassion of America. And oftentimes that's found in our
    churches and synagogues and mosques. And our Government must not fear
    institutions of faith that exist to love a neighbor just like you'd like
    to be loved yourself. We shouldn't resist faith-based programs. We ought
    to welcome them. We ought to encourage them. We ought to spread them out
    in neighborhoods so nobody feels left out in America.
        I was walking in the audience here, and somebody stuck out their
    hand and said, ``Mr. President, I pray for you.'' I can't tell you how
    good that makes me feel. They didn't say, ``Let me check your voter
    registration card.'' [Laughter] They said, ``I'm praying for you.'' And
    that speaks to the greatness of our country. I want you to know that--
    that ours is a nation of people on bended knee. Ours is a nation that's
    got great values. One of the values is hard work; another value is
    family; and another value is faith. We're a nation where you're free to
    choose.
        But there are a lot of faithful people in America, and that's what
    gives me great hope for the future of this country. I know we can work
    our way out of the economic doldrums we have. But I also know that we
    can love our way out of the problems we find in our neighborhoods, in
    our communities.
        And my job as your President is to set a tone that will encourage
    the very best from each citizen. My job as the President is to lift our
    sights and raise our spirits. And my job as the President of the United

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    States is to set an example for which you'll be proud. I accept the
    challenge. I'm honored to be here as your President.
        Thank you for your hospitality, and may God bless you all. May God
    bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:36 p.m. on a lot across the street from
    the Teamsters Joint Council 43 headquarters building. In his remarks, he
    referred to Larry Brennan, president, and Bill Black, D.R.I.V.E.
    director, Joint Council 43, and James P. Hoffa, general president,
    International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Gov. John Engler and Lt. Gov.
    Dick Posthumus of Michigan; and Mayor Dennis W. Archer of Detroit.