    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [September 3, 2001]
    [Pages 1060-1064]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters in
    Kaukauna, Wisconsin
    September 3, 2001

        Thank you all. I brought the A team with me. [Laughter] I tell you,
    I can't tell you how proud I am of the job that Laura is doing. Both of us are thrilled to be back in the
    great State of Wisconsin, in the neighborhood of the mighty Green Bay
    Packers. I'm old enough to remember the Ice Bowl--[laughter]--but I
    shouldn't bring up a sore subject--[laughter]--well, I mean, a fine
    subject. [Laughter] At any rate, we're thrilled to be here.
        Doug, I want to thank you for a
    couple of things. First of all, I want to thank you for your leadership.
    Doug is a plain-spoken fellow. There's no question where he stands--
    [laughter]--which is good. There's also no question of where his heart
    is, and his heart is with the working men and women of the country, and
    I appreciate that, Doug.
        There are a lot of talkers in Washington, DC, a lot of fancy-
    footwork people, but there's also some doers. And Doug puts his mind to getting something done; he can get it
    done. And as he said, sometimes we agree; sometimes we don't. But I will
    tell you, we'll always answer his phone. We'll always listen to what he
    has to say.
        He brought a severe problem to my
    administration that relates to the carpenters and hard-working people of
    America. It had to do with pension benefits, that the pension plans
    weren't fair for the carpenters and for the working people. So we sat
    down with Doug and his folks and worked with some Members of Congress.
    And part of the tax relief plan that we got passed

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    is a part that Doug had a lot to do with, which is pension reform,
    401(k) reform, IRA reform, reform that's good for everybody in America
    who works with their hands, who works every single day.
        Doug McCarron is a can-do guy, and
    I'm honored to call him friend, and I'm honored to be able to work with
    him on behalf of the working people of America. Thank you, sir.
        I want to thank Jim Moore. I want to thank
    old Jim Moore. [Laughter] First person he introduced me to was his
    wife, and the second person he introduced me to
    was his mother--[laughter]--which reminds me of
    one of my favorite stories about my mother.
        I had just been elected Governor of Texas. Laura and I were in a
    central Texas town called Fredericksburg, Texas. Mother and Dad were
    going to be there to pay homage to the folks that had fought in the
    Pacific Theater in World War II. And by the way, all the World War II
    vets not only deserve a sense of thanks from us, but I'm proud to
    announce we're going to build a World War II memorial in Washington, DC.
        At any rate, you may relate to this story, Jim. I got up, and I said, ``Welcome to central Texas,'' to
    my dad, and everybody gave me a nice round of applause and gave him a
    nice round of applause. And I said, ``It's also a privilege to welcome
    my mother.'' And before I could get the words out of my mouth, people
    went wild. [Laughter] And I said, ``Mother, it's clear the people of
    central Texas still love you, and so do I. But you're still telling me
    what to do, after 50 years.'' [Laughter] And a guy in a cowboy hat
    strode right out in the middle of Main Street, Fredericksburg, and he
    said, ``And you better listen to her, too, boy.'' [Laughter] I asked Jim
    if he was listening to Evelyn--your mother's name is Evelyn? Yes, he said he's still listening to Evelyn.
    [Laughter] I'm still listening to Bar. [Laughter]
        I want to thank Elaine for traveling with
    me, too. Elaine is the Secretary of Labor. She's doing a fabulous job.
    There is another member of my Cabinet who isn't here but comes from the
    great State of Wisconsin, is doing a fabulous job--you trained him
    well--and that's Tommy Thompson.
        Tommy has been replaced by a good man,
    and he's with us today, the Governor of the great State of Wisconsin,
    Scott McCallum, and his wife,
    Laurie. Thank you, Scott.
        You sent a good Congressman from here up to Washington. He's a good,
    solid fellow. He's down to earth. He cares deeply about the folks in his
    district in Wisconsin, and that's Mark Green.
        As well, traveling with us today, and we're honored to have him with
    us, is a fine fellow as well. He's got a lot of experience in the
    Congress. He represents the folks in his district well, from Wisconsin;
    that's Tom Petri. Thank you, Tom, for
    coming. I appreciate it.
        And I want to thank you all for coming today. Thanks for taking time
    out of your Labor Day to come and say hello to Laura and me. We are
    honored to be here. We're honored to be able to deliver a Labor Day
    message here in Wisconsin, particularly in the midst of--in a hall of a
    group of hard-working folks that really make America go.
        Labor Day, as Doug mentioned, is a
    day in which we celebrate truly one of the great strengths of the
    country, and that's the working people of America. The thing that makes
    our Nation unique is that American people work hard to provide for their
    families. They're not afraid of hard work. They welcome hard work. The
    productivity of America is high because of the working people.
        And today our Nation takes a moment to say thanks: Thanks for what
    all you do; thanks for those who are on the--who carry a hammer; thanks
    for the police; thanks for the schoolteachers; thanks for the
    firefighters; thanks to people from all walks of life who work all
    across our country.

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    It's fitting we honor the strength of America.
        I must say that our life in Washington is exciting. It's been a
    fantastic 8 months. We've got some problems on the horizon. One of my
    jobs is not to shirk problems; it's to deal with them. And on this Labor
    Day, I've got to tell you, I'm concerned about working families. I'm
    concerned our economy is not as strong as it should be.
        For the past 12 months our growth in our economy has been anemic, at
    best. It's been a paltry one percent over 12 months. That's not good
    enough for America. You know, they talk about unemployment statistics,
    and they're relatively good so far. But if you've been laid off of work,
    you're 100 percent unemployed, and I worry about it. I worry about the
    families affected. I'm concerned about the children whose dad or mom may
    not be able to find work right now. And I intend to do something about
    it. I intend--and it started with doing something strong for our
    economy, and that's taking your money and sending it back to where it
    belongs, the taxpayers of America.
        Make no mistake about it: Tax relief was the right thing to do at
    the right time. The rebate checks are now hitting; people have got more
    money to spend or invest, the very things needed to make sure that we
    sustain economic vitality and growth.
        There are some second-guessers in Washington. There are folks who,
    on the one hand, wish they had more money to spend. But I'm going to
    tell you, we've got ample money in Washington, DC, to spend if we set
    our priorities, if we do what you do on a regular basis--say, ``Here's
    my budget. Here are the priorities.'' If Washington would only
    prioritize, we've got plenty of money to spend in Washington, DC.
        Like any piece of policy, there will be second-guessers, and you'll
    hear them. They'll say, ``Oh, we shouldn't have had tax relief.'' My
    question to them is, do they want to raise taxes? My question to the
    critics is, if you're against tax relief, does that mean you're for now
    raising peoples' taxes? The worst thing that could happen to our
    economy, the absolute worst thing, is to raise the taxes on the working
    people.
        There is a fundamental difference of opinion in Washington, and it
    starts with folks in Washington forgetting whose money we're spending.
    All that money is not the Government's money; it's the working people's
    money.
        It's the right thing at the right time to make sure our economy
    grows. And even though people are hurting today--and I know they are--
    I'm confident in the basic underpinnings of the American economy. I'm
    confident in the productivity levels of our people. I'm confident that
    we'll recover. I'm confident that we'll have sustained growth. And I'm
    confident in the values, the hard work and values, that make our
    Nation--the values of hard work that make our Nation unique.
        There's another issue that we've been working on that I want to talk
    to you about that's incredibly important for you and your jobs, and
    that's energy. We don't have enough of it. We import a lot of energy
    from parts of the world that are unstable. And we need more energy, and
    we need to do a better job of conserving the energy we have. And I
    applaud the conservation efforts that take place all across America.
        And we're doing our part at the Federal level. We've told the
    military to increase savings of energy. We're beginning to use more
    cost-effective technologies to save energy. But the thing I appreciate
    Doug and the people who've got common
    sense in Washington, DC, is they also understand that we need to find
    energy in an environmentally friendly way. We, for the first time, have
    got an energy policy that's supported by members of the unions, because
    they understand good energy policy equals good jobs in America. And
    that's what we ought to be asking: How can our people find good jobs?

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        Part of a good economic plan is to make sure we've got a good
    education policy. And one of the reasons we came here is because of the
    training center that's here. It's good to see a union not only care
    about health care or pension benefits or wages but a union that cares
    about educating its workforce. This is a thoughtful union; this is a
    progressive union that understands.
        So I appreciate what Doug and
    Jim are doing, and I hope you appreciate what's
    taking place in Washington when it comes to educating our children.
    We're working hard to reform public education. And let me tell you what
    the philosophy behind our reforms are.
        The philosophy behind our reforms is this: We trust the local people
    to run their own schools; we trust the people of Wisconsin. I don't
    believe in federalizing education. I know that one size doesn't fit all
    when it comes to educating our children.
        Now, having said that, I also believe we've got to challenge what I
    call the soft bigotry of low expectations. Now, when you lower the bar,
    you're going to get lousy results. We need to raise standards all across
    America. And the Federal Government can help. The Federal Government can
    help.
        And I also believe in results. I'm a results-oriented person. It
    seems like, to me, it makes sense that if you spend money, you ought to
    ask the question, ``What are the results?'' If we spend money at the
    Federal level trying to teach children, we ought to say, ``Can they
    learn?'' And so part of the reform is that we are going to insist upon
    strong accountability measures.
        It says that States will measure because we want to know. We want to
    know whether or not children can read or write and add and subtract.
    That's what we want to know. That's a fundamental question we ought to
    be asking all across America. You in Wisconsin need to be demanding a
    return for your taxpayers' money. You ought to be asking the schools
    whether or not they're teaching the children to read. You ought to be
    demanding they use a curriculum based upon phonics, so that children can
    learn.
        We got a good bill out of the House; we got a good bill out of the
    Senate. And I hope when the Members come back tomorrow, they don't play
    politics with an education bill, and they get it on my desk so I can
    sign it so the local folks can start planning for the school year coming
    up.
        Good tax policy is important for our country, good energy policy,
    good education policy. We need to teach children more than just reading
    and writing and adding and subtracting. We need to teach them the right
    values. We need to not be afraid. We need to teach them right from
    wrong.
        One of the reasons I love coming to a Labor Day rally is because so
    many of you brought your families. And let me tell you, one of the great
    values of America is our family, family life.
        I think that one of my most important jobs is to remind the moms and
    dads of America that the most important job, if you happen to be a--
    well, since you are a mom or a dad, one of the most important jobs
    you'll ever have is loving your children with all your heart and all
    your soul. That that is the most important way you can make a
    contribution to our country, is to tell your children you love them and
    not be afraid to teach them the difference between right and wrong.
        I talked about the strength of the country being the willingness of
    our folks to work hard. But there's another strength, too, and that's in
    the hearts and souls of Americans. We're a compassionate nation based
    upon fantastic values, a nation that's strong because our people are
    strong, a nation that's decent because our people are decent, a nation
    that's compassionate because we've got folks who will walk right across
    the street and say to a neighbor in need, ``What can I do to help?'' It
    doesn't matter whether you have a union card or not a union

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    card; you love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself,
    because there's a higher calling amongst many in America.
        Now, on this Labor Day, we've got to remember the values not only of
    hard work but tried and true values of honoring your mother and dad and
    telling the truth, bringing integrity to whatever you do, and loving a
    neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        This is a great land, and I'm honored to be the President of the
    greatest land on the face of the Earth. I'm honored to be here in
    Wisconsin. Laura and I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts
    for your prayers and your support. Thank you for coming out today to say
    hello. May God bless the American worker, and may God bless America.
        Thank you very much. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:42 a.m. in the Hands-On Shop at the
    Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters Training Center. In
    his remarks, he referred to Douglas J. McCarron, general president,
    United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; and James Moore, executive
    secretary-treasurer, Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters,
    and his wife, Jeanne.